President Biden grants New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s request that Mardi Gras be upgraded to a SEAR 1 event, the highest Special Event Assessment Rating by the Department of Homeland Security.
Cut 8 (08) “…and months ahead.”
SEAR 1 events are events that require extensive federal interagency support. The Super Bowl is already designated as a SEAR 1 event.
A pair of magnitude 3.0 earthquakes strike Caddo Parish. The first was reported late last night near Mooringsport, while the second struck the same area a short time later. Research Geophysicist Thomas Pratt with the U.S. Geological Survey says this has been occurring for the past few weeks.
Cut 12 (09) “…call them a sequence.”
Pratt says the earthquakes are due to oil and gas companies injecting fluid into the earth that increases the pressure and opens the faults up more.
The Committee of 100’s year-end economic report says healthcare, construction, and professional services will be the fastest job growing sectors through 2032. CEO Adam Knapp says healthcare alone is expected to create 20-thousand new jobs.
Cut 4 (07) “…future in healthcare.”
Knapp says demand will especially be high for registered nurses, medical assistants, and home health aides.
Some changes in unemployment insurance in Louisiana took effect January 1st. Robert Wooley, the assistant secretary of Unemployment Insurance Administration at the Louisiana Workforce Commission, says benefits go down from 26 weeks to between 12 and 20 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate.
Wooley says people can get up to eight additional weeks of benefits if they enroll in an approved training program.