AM NEWSCALL
More and more Blue Roofs are being installed on homes after Hurricane Ida’s devastation, but as Dave Brannen reports, the application deadline is Thursday.
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell tells Krewe members if you want the parades to roll, then roll up your sleeve. Brooke Thorington throws out the details
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The FDA and CDC have issued guidance for the Pfizer vaccine booster but what if you received another vaccine? Brooke Thorington has more.
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The application deadline for the federal Blue Roof Program is quickly approaching for those still looking to protect their properties after Hurricane Ida. Lt. Colonel Robert Warren Green.
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Green says contractors have already installed at least 10-thousand no-cost Blue Roofs in the parishes impacted by Ida, and have at least 40-thousand more to go.
Colonel Green talked about the pace of work that contractors installing Blue Roofs have achieved since the program began after Ida
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Colonel Green says to keep in mind that the Blue Roof program doesn’t cost the affected homeowner anything to have installed.
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Again, the deadline to apply to take part in the Blue Roof program is Thursday, September 30th.
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The FBI is out with a report that shows the murder rate climbed nearly 30-percent last year. That’s the largest jump in six decades when the agency began recording crime statistics. Peter Scharf, a criminologist with the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, tells us the rate is even higher locally.
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Scharf explains that the near double rate is more to blame on the criminal justice system than people dealing with Covid and hurricanes.
Scharf notes how the New Orleans murder rate for 2020 was significantly higher than the national increase of 30 percent, similar spikes showing up in other major cities across the nation.
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Scharf says don’t look for things to get any better on the crime front until the criminal justice system, ranging from the cops on the beat to the courts, can be improved after events like George Floyd’s murder and growing distrust of policing.
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is encouraging Mardi Gras advisory council members to have all krewes fully vaccinated before the 2022 carnival season. Is this an indicator that the good times will roll once again after a two-year absence? Mardi Gras Guide publisher Arthur Hardy seems to think it’s a formidable carrot to dangle towards some forty thousand krewe members.
With carnival season set to begin in approximately three months, Hardy says it’s encouraging news especially as COVID hospitalizations continue to decline. But as hopeful as Hardy is about 2022, he knows that revelers must remain guarded.
Hardy says the more people who are vaccinated the more likely we are to have a safer Mardi Gras season and with the pandemic and two catastrophic hurricane seasons, there’s a great need to let loose and catch some beads.
The season kicks off on January 6th and Fat Tuesday is March 1st.
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So far there’s only been guidance for a booster shot for the Pfizer COVID vaccine and not the other two, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson used in the United States. While some data might indicate less of a need for a Moderna booster, Tulane epidemiologist Dr. Susan Hassig says it’s hard to compare the long-term efficacy of the vaccines at this point.
Hassig who admittedly is not a proponent of booster shots says the vaccines are serving their purpose and for the most part keep those from serious illness and hospitalization of the virus.
As for the need for a booster shot for those who took the one-dose J&J vaccine, Hassig says it’s hard to tell because not as many in the U-S took the J & J offering.
As for the long-term efficacy for Moderna, Hassig says it’s hard to tell because for the most part in Louisiana the majority of those who received the Moderna vaccine are nursing home residents.
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The LSU Tigers are getting ready for a physical game on Saturday night against the Auburn Tigers. Both defenses have shown the ability to get behind the line of scrimmage. Auburn leads the nation in tackles for a loss, with 43. Coach Ed Orgeron says his offensive line better be ready
LSU’s defense faded in the win over Mississippi State as the Bulldogs scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to make it a close game. Orgeron says they needed to rotate their defensive players earlier in order to avoid fatigue…
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The Pelicans begin training camp but All-Star Forward Zion Williamson is recovering from offseason surgery to repair a broken foot. He’s expected to be ready when the regular season starts on October 20th. Williamson also addressed rumors he rather play somewhere else. Zion says he loves New Orleans and his relationship with the executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is good…
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Williamson also explained why he was not part of player-driven offseason workouts with his teammates. He says when he hurt his foot, he was disappointed with the injury…
A recent Times-Picayune-Advocate report suggests Williamson and Griffin have not been on the same page since his rookie season and Griffin played the piano for Zion in an effort to bond with the All-Star while the team was in the NBA bubble in the summer of 2020. Zion denies the report…