Because Louisiana has multiple bridges and major ports, many worry that what happened in Baltimore could happen here. Brooke Thorington has more.
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A Senate committee has given approval to a bill that would give Louisiana police officers the ability to arrest people living in Louisiana that are not legal citizens. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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After the horrific collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Tuesday, many in Louisiana are concerned if it could happen in the Bayou State. State Transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallet says bridges that have large vessel traffic the support beams are protected by a fender system.
And while not every bridge has a fender system in Louisiana, Mallet says for those waterways where cargo ships and other large vessels travel, a fender system is in place.
Mallet also points out that because the Mississippi River is winding, barge traffic tends to go slower, and comparing what happened in Baltimore is an apples-to-oranges scenario right now.
And until the investigation of the bridge collapse in Baltimore is completed Mallet says it’s hard to answer if exactly what happened there could happen here. But Mallet points out that the new Mississippi River Bridge, that’s been there since the 60s…
Mallet also says if a bridge is open in Louisiana, it’s safe to drive over. DOTD is required to inspect all bridges every two years, but Mallet says those with high-traffic, are inspected every six months.
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A Senate committee approves legislation that gives Louisiana police officers the power to arrest people who are in the United States illegally. Denham Springs Senator Valarie Hodges says the federal government is doing a poor job of keeping migrants from coming over the southern border, the U-S constitution gives states the ability to protect themselves…
Susan Weishar, from the Jesuit Social Research Institute, warned this proposed law could lead to the deportation of hundreds migrant laborers, who would be separated from their children..
Huey Fischer Garcia, a staff attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, says this law would clog up the state’s legal system as state judges are not up to speed on immigration law
Port Allen Senator Caleb Kleinpeter is the co-author legislation and didn’t want to hear the argument that this legislation will cost the state more dollars to prosecute cases…
Weishar says their are students that show the crime rates for undocumented individuals are lower than U.S. Citizens.
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AccuWeather has released their early forecast for the 2024 hurricane season and to sum it up, climatologist Barry Keim says it’s not good. They are forecasting between 20 and 25 named storms; they expect 8-12 of them to become hurricanes and of those 4 to 7 to be major hurricanes.
In 2020 there were 30 named storms and Keim says the forecast is in line with what we’ve seen in recent years, even though Louisiana had a reprieve last year.
Keim says there are two driving factors for the grim forecast, well-average sea surface temperatures and we’re expected to trend to a La Nina during the height of hurricane season.
Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, what Keim refers to as the main development region in the Atlantic Ocean…
As the weather pattern transitions to a La Nina, Keim says that means more rain and less wind shear to shred and diminish the threat of hurricanes.
As for where the more than anticipated storms will make landfall, Keim says remains to be seen.