5:30 LRN Newscast Nov 29

Time is just about up with the deadline today to register for FEMA disaster relief funds following Hurricane Ida more than three months ago. The agency’s Nathan Custer says no matter the extent of damage there is no fixed dollar amount on the financial assistance you can request:

Cut 4   (11)  …to the catastrophic.

Visit DisasterAssistance.gov for more information.

 

The Louisiana Supreme Court has cleared the way for St. Tammany Parish voters to decide whether the $325 million Camellia Bay casino resort should be built or not near Slidell.  In a ruling today, the justices overturned a lower court ruling that would have removed the ballot proposition from the December 11th ballot. It had been challenged on a constitutional question. Approval of the ballot measure later this month would cast aside a vote in 1996 that banned casinos in the parish.

 

News of the Omicron variant of COVID has health experts concerned as a number of countries have reported cases of the new variant, including Canada. No cases have been confirmed in Louisiana. Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are now experiencing a surge in the Delta variant, similar to the one Louisiana had over the summer. Governor Edwards says it’s another reminder the pandemic is far from over and everyone needs to help slow transmission.

Cut 7 (10) “…global pandemic.”  

 

This year’s 12th annual Small Business Saturday was a hit nationwide with spending hitting an estimated all-time high of 23.3-billion dollars. Dawn McVea, Louisiana Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says the figure includes a two percent increase in small business online shopping that increased to 58 percent.

 

Cut 12 (06) “…good positive trend.”  

 

McVea says six percent more shoppers opted Saturday to support local independent restaurants around the nation than in 2020.