Tag Archives: Louisiana

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: The power was still out for more than 600,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana on Saturday, as the utility’s top executives said it continued to make slow progress fixing the worst ever storm damage to hit the state’s electricity infrastructure. The damage to Entergy’s transmission infrastructure — to poles, sub-stations, distribution lines, and even the large …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: The massive storm, which arrived on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, sent rescuers scrambling to retrieve people from attics as flood waters poured into places like Lafitte, LaPlace and Braithwaite. The winds, matching the highest speeds ever recorded in Louisiana, tore roofs off homes, toppled transmission towers and left historic buildings in ruin. But …

USA Today reports: Mayor Tim Kerner said much of the Town of Jean Lafitte, a community of 2,000 people just outside Jefferson Parish levee protection system, was underwater. Kerner told WGNO the levees were overtopped by rapidly rising water. Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told the station that “people are in attics in Lower Lafitte.” “Total devastation, catastrophic” Kerner said. …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A slow-moving Hurricane Ida has left all of Orleans Parish customers without power due to “catastrophic transmission damage,” according to Entergy New Orleans. The intense storm had caused all eight transmission lines into the New Orleans area to go down, spokesman Brandon Scardigli said in an emailed statement. That created a load imbalance that knocked …

ABC News reports: Hurricane Ida has made landfall in Louisiana as one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever strike the U.S. with 150 mph winds. Ida, which became a Category 1 hurricane Friday afternoon, has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds. Storm surge could reach 15 feet along parts of the Louisiana/Mississippi coastline and 6 …

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Ida has strengthened into a Category 4 as it heads toward landfall on the northern Gulf Coast today, where it will bring life-threatening storm surge, dangerous rainfall flooding and potentially catastrophic winds. Ida had winds of 150 mph as of 6 a.m. CDT on Sunday, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane. Maximum sustained winds …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Mayor LaToya Cantrell today said that with little time left before Hurricane Ida reaches Louisiana, residents should get ready to hunker down and ride out the storm. She told a news conference there wasn’t enough time to establish the highway contraflow procedures necessary to move all residents out of the city before the storm’s expected …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Hurricane Ida has formed and is expected to make landfall Sunday in Louisiana near Category 4 strength, forecasters with National Hurricane Center said Friday. Hurricane watches have been issued for Louisiana, including metro New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The latest track has Ida coming ashore Sunday, bringing life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and heavy …

The Weather Channel reports: Tropical Storm Ida is strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and is forecast to threaten the northern U.S. Gulf Coast as a major hurricane this weekend. A hurricane watch stretches from Cameron, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama state line, including the New Orleans metro area. A storm surge watch has also been issued from the Texas-Louisiana state line …

The Associated Press reports: An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. A pastor at a California megachurch is offering religious exemptions for anyone morally conflicted over vaccine requirements. And Louisiana’s attorney general has posted sample letters on his office’s Facebook page for those seeking to get …

New Orleans’ CBS News affiliate reports: Louisiana’s State Bond Commission voted to delay action on funding for several projects in New Orleans, including renovations to the Superdome. Commission members, including Attorney General Jeff Landry [photo], were explicit about what they wanted to see before they would issue funds for the Superdome: Refunds for Saints season ticket holders who would not …

Via press release: Gov. John Bel Edwards is calling upon Louisianans who believe in the power of prayer to join him and First Lady Donna Edwards in praying and fasting during their lunch time for three days for Louisiana health care workers and all of those who are sick with or affected by COVID-19. In addition to prayer, the Governor …

Pitchfork reports: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has officially canceled its 2021 edition due to concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 edition of Jazz Fest will occur in the event’s typical spring time slot. The festival was initially postponed in March 2020 amid early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Festival organizers announced that the rescheduled event …

New Orleans’ CBS News affiliate reports: The New Orleans City Council pardoned thousands of people who have been cited for marijuana possession. According to Council President Helena Moreno, about 10,000 convictions and pending case penalties for small amounts of cannabis possession have been pardoned as well as any future summons. The council hopes that the new move will help the …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: As confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to surge in Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards reinstituted an indoor mask mandate on Monday requiring residents to wear face coverings in schools, churches, businesses and any other public spaces. “It has been clear that current recommendations on their own haven’t worked,” said Edwards, who already has signed …

CBS News reports: Roughly one in three Louisianans are fully vaccinated. This week, the state’s health department reported the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since late February. Scott Roe is one of them. “Here I am recovering, getting out of here finally tomorrow. Am I going to get a vaccine? No,” Roe said. “Because there’s too many issues with these …

A furious press release from the NRA’s lobbying arm: In the waning hours of last night, the final day to sign Louisiana’s Constitutional Carry Legislation into law, John Bel Edwards decided to listen to the anti-gun minority in the Sportsman’s Paradise, and veto Senate Bill 118. Despite the thousands of emails, calls, and texts coming from NRA Members and Second …

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports: Gov. John Bel Edwards today vetoed legislation that would have barred transgender girls and women from participating on sports teams that match their gender identity, calling the proposal discriminatory and a “solution in search of a problem that does not exist in Louisiana.” Senate Bill 156, sponsored by Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, would have required …

NBC News reports: Democrat Troy Carter won Saturday’s special election for Louisiana’s vacant U.S. House seat, defeating his state Senate colleague and ending an acrimonious, intraparty clash. Carter easily defeated Karen Carter Peterson in the race for Louisiana’s only Democrat-held seat in Congress, handing a victory to the more moderate side of the party after Peterson planted herself firmly in …

The Guardian reports: The Republican Julia Letlow easily won a Saturday special election for a north-east Louisiana-based US House seat her husband, Luke, won before his death from complications related to Covid-19. Julia Letlow becomes the third woman ever elected to the US House from Louisiana, the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state and the only woman …