The Army Corps of Engineers seeks approval for a two billion dollar levee improvement project in the Upper Barataria Levee system in southeast Louisiana. Matt Doyle has the story.
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According to WalletHub, the average Louisiana smoker pays out $1.8 million to support their habit. Brooke Thorington explains
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President Donald Trump was impeached Wednesday over his role in allegedly inciting the deadly mob assault on the U.S. Capitol last week. Matt Doyle has the story.
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The Army Corps of Engineers is proposing a two billion dollar set of levee improvements in southeast Louisiana along a 30 mile stretch of the Upper Barataria levee system.
Corps Flood Risk Management Section Chief Travis Creel says a big part of the project involves the existing levee in St. Charles Parish, which is only six to seven feet tall.
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The improvements would build on the Magnolia Ridge levee system in St. Charles, connect to the existing Sunset Levee District in Des Allemands, create a gate structure across Bayou Des Allemands, and built a new levee system parallel to Highway 90 all the way to Raceland.
The intent is to provide 100-year storm level protection. Creel says the proposal also includes a request for funding to maintain that 100-year protection out to the next 50 years.
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The project has an estimated 1.3 rate of return per dollar.
The system would protect roughly 360,000 coastal residents from floods. Creel says the price of these levees is a bit higher than it used to be, but for good reason.
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The project would need Congressional authorization and the state would have to front 35 percent of the cost. If approved construction would begin in 2023 and be completed in 2026.
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If you are looking to save some money and kick a habit at the same time, WalletHub said the ideal New Year’s Resolution for you, would be to give up smoking. WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales said the average Louisiana smoker is letting $1.8 million dollars go up in smoke over a lifetime.
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The cost was based on the average pack-a-day smoker beginning at age 21 and ending at 69. The average Louisiana smoker spends $113 thousand in healthcare costs, which is third in the nation.
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In addition to smokers having an elevated risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms. Gonzales said on average smokers make 20-percent less than nonsmokers, which includes healthcare-related costs due to smoking.
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Gonzales said while it is cheaper to buy cigarettes in Louisiana compared to other states, that usually means a higher number of smokers. She said healthcare workplace issues greatly offset the cost of a pack of cigarettes in the end.
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This morning the Louisiana Department and Wildlife and Fisheries is stocking community ponds across the state with rainbow trout. LDWF spokesperson Rene LeBreton says this time of year catfish are harder to catch due to the cold temps but grab your pole and ice chest and cast a line for some rainbow trout.
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LeBreton says not only is it a chance to try out a new fish that’s not common in the area, taking the great outdoors fishing is a great way to spend the day.
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LeBreton says sixteen community ponds are being stocked and as for what you do once you’ve caught them?
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For a list of ponds and stocking schedule visit LDWF’s Get Out and Fish Facebook page.
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The U.S. House voted 232 to 197 Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for Incitement of Insurrection.
The Louisiana Republican Congressional Delegation voted against impeachment, including Metairie Congressman Steve Scalise who says impeachment will only serve to further divide the nation.
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Scalise says the earliest the Senate could take up Trump’s trial would be January 20th, the day he leaves the Oval Office.
The state’s lone Democratic Congressman, Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, says the President can’t be let off the hook this time.
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Richmond is set to depart the House for a role as a senior aide in the Biden Administration. He also accused, in his last speech on the floor, some of his Republican colleagues of being co-conspirators in the Capitol attack. He did not name any lawmakers by name.
Scalise, who was shot in an act of political violence by a liberal in 2017, called out his colleague’s hypocrisy over not condemning violent protests last year.
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Richmond laid out the Democrats case against the President…
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Ten Republicans voted in favor of impeachment and four Republicans chose not to vote. All Democratic members of the House voted in favor.
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New LSU offensive coordinator Jake Peetz made his first comments since he was hired to lead the Tigers offense. Peetz is only 37-years-old but says he learned a lot from former LSU assistant and current Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady during his time as the Panthers quarterback coach. Peetz says he plans to run an attacking offense and possibly doing it in different ways
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Peetz will have the opportunity to work with three quarterbacks who won football games for the Tigers last season, TJ Finley, Myles Brennan, and Max Johnson….
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The matchup between Drew Brees and Tom Brady is getting all of the headlines heading into Sunday’s playoff game between the Saints and the Buccaneers. But Coach Sean Payton says the trenches will also play a big role in who wins
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Payton says getting pressure on the quarterback will also be important…
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