The tornado that ravaged the community of Arabi Tuesday night also claimed the life of 25-year-old Conner Lambert. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Legislation that would result in fines against businesses that deny a person from entering a building based on their vaccination status runs into resistance in the House Criminal Justice Committee. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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25-year old Conner Lambert was killed Tuesday night in the tornado that struck the community of Arabi. Lambert, a UL-Lafayette graduate who worked as an engineer at Stennis Space Center is remembered fondly by his Chalmette High School football coach Jason Tucker.
Tucker says Lambert was in the home he’d just purchased three months ago when the tornado hit. In addition to playing football at Chalmette, Lambert also excelled at track and baseball and was even a National Merit finalist.
Tucker says Lambert was very family-oriented and moved back to the area to be near his relatives, and the loss is felt throughout the community.
Lambert not only excelled on the field at Chalmette, but Tucker says in high school he received about 15 academic scholarships and even a National Merit Scholarship from Alabama. Lambert got his engineering degree at ULL and Tucker says the loss is even more tragic because of all Lambert’s potential.
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In the midst of a mostly-positive press conference on the eve of Brian Kelly’s first spring practice session at LSU, the new head coach chose to step into the murky legal waters surrounding the lawsuit filed by former associate athletic director Sharon Lewis. Kelly was asked directly about the status of running backs coach and associate head coach Frank Wilson who has been added to Lewis’ complaint.
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While Wilson’s status may be unchanged with regards to his position on Kelly’s staff, LSU should be aware that Lewis amended her lawsuit earlier this month alleging that Wilson showed her his genitals and harassed another female employee as well. USA Today has reported it interviewed two other women with similar allegations against Wilson. Kelly pushed back against those reports.
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Lewis alleges the incident occurred in 2013 when Wilson was a member of Les Miles’ staff, and that she reported it to two other associate ADs at the university without any investigation made or action taken. Wilson could also be attached to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations citing a lack of institutional control within the football program over multiple years. Regardless, Kelly says he’s in Wilson’s corner.
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Legislation that would make state waters more attractive to companies interested in developing wind energy projects off of the state’s coastline is headed to the House floor. Houma Representative Jerome Zeringue says he supports oil and gas production but also recognizes alternative energy is coming
Zeringue says a recent study shows a single offshore wind project could generate over five-thousand jobs.
The House bill would increase the maximum size of a lease from five thousand to 25-thousand acres. Larose Representative Joseph Orgeron says wind turbines need more space than oil and gas rigs
Louisiana Natural Resources Secretary Thomas Harris says he’s heard from several wind energy developers but decided not to do business because of the current five-thousand-acre limit…
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A proposal to make it a crime to deny someone entrance into a building based on their vaccination status received a hearing today in a House committee, but even Republican lawmakers who oppose vaccine mandates had issues with the measure. The bill’s author, Stonewall Representative Larry Bagley, blames the COVID vaccine for his recent heart attack…
Bagley says since there are concerns over the safety of the COVID vaccine and its effectiveness, businesses, and schools should not require people to be vaccinated. But Baton Rouge Representative Scott McKnight doesn’t like the bill because it’s telling businesses what to do
Bagley’s bill called for fines if a person or business denied a person entry into a building based on their vaccination status. Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson is not comfortable with the potential penalties…
Bagley voluntarily deferred his bill, but plans to present a revised version later in the session.