Today is the official start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Among those getting ready is utility giant Entergy. Vice president of Reliability John Hawkins says a major component of their storm preparedness is keeping limbs and branches away from power lines. He says they have been installing underground cables and strengthening pole supports for power lines as part of efforts to withstand storms this year. Hawkins reminds customers that they need to have a storm plan as well…:

CUT 08(10)      “…on that plan.”

UL-Lafayette fraternity Pi Kappa alpha has been suspended for three years for hazings that occurred last fall. The alleged acts included extreme sleep deprivation, followed by demands that pledges do excessive calisthenics. ULL officials says the university has a zero-tolerance policy for hazing and take all allegations seriously.

Baby formula…meat…toilet paper…all things we’ve seen recent shortages of in Louisiana. Now the state – and the nation – are faced with a shortage of a main ingredient used in CT scans. This creates problems for cancer patients and other needing imaging diagnoses…and their doctors. LSU Health New Orleans radiology professor Bradley Spieler says doctors in Louisiana are forced to delay non-essential CT scans, and concentrate on those that are more of an emergency. The problem is the contrast dye used in those scans. It’s mostly made in China, but COVID there has cut production by over half…:

CUT 10(11)      “..to Ireland actually.”

He says it could be months before there is any relief.

The National Hurricane Center says a depression or storm will likely form by the end of the week near Florida. The system is the remains of PACIFIC Hurricane Agatha. If it regains named storm strength it will be called Alex, but it poses little to no threat to Louisiana.