Entergy and CLECO are working to restore power to thousands of Louisiana customers after yesterday’s severe weather. Teiko Foxx has more…
______________________________________
House Education approves legislation that says teachers must use a students name and pronoun that aligns with their birth sex unless the child’s parent says otherwise. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
______________________________________
Cleco says 24,000 customers remain without power after tornadoes and strong winds ripped through the state Wednesday. The utility company says it has brought in 400 additional line mechanics to help in power restoration efforts. Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says they also have specialized equipment to help move debris.
There are about four-thousand customers in St. Landry Parish without power. High winds destroyed 50 poles and downed power lines in Opelousas.
Most of Cleco’s outages are in Slidell where initial surveys indicate an area near Old Spanish Trail was hit by at least an EF-1 tornado. Cahill says their St. Tammany customers could be without power for multiple days.
There are also dozens of broken poles in Slidell, along with damaged crossarms.
For the latest updates, visit CLECO.com
_____________________________________________________________
Entergy Louisiana expects to restore power to the majority of its 13,000 customers who are without power by tonight. Spokesperson David Freese says crews are working to clear debris and repair power lines.
Freese says they plan to have the power restored for most of its customers by tonight. But he says it could be until tomorrow for customers in Calcasieu Parish and the Lafayette area…
Entergy customers can visit entergy.com for the latest outage updates.
____________________________________________________________________
House Education has advanced a bill to the House floor that says teachers do not have to use a student’s preferred gender pronoun unless the child’s parents request that the child be identified as another gender. Bossier City Representative Raymond Crews is the author of the bill…
Cut 7 (09) “…the legislation ”
Even if the parent requests a pronoun that differs from a child’s biological sex, the teacher can still refuse over religious and moral objections.
St. Tammany Parish resident Jamie Segura testified in opposition and questioned how this legislation will improve education in public schools…
Cut 8 (12) “…real education issues”
Crews calls his legislation a parental rights bill, but Laplace Representative Sylvia Taylor told Crews the legislation is not needed…
The bill was approved on a nine-to-three vote.
____________________________________________________________________
Officials in St. Tammany Parish say the damage caused by Wednesday’s tornado in Slidell is reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. Parish President Mike Cooper says there’s significant destruction to homes, commercial buildings, churches, and power poles.
Cut 10 (07) “…Hurricane Ida. “
Cooper says nearby parishes and cities have graciously offered assistance with clean-up and they are asking for volunteers to help residents with removing and sorting construction debris from downed vegetation.
The parish has also set up a distribution point for ice, water, and tarps. As clean-up and damage assessment continue, Cooper says they’ve also declared a parish-wide state of emergency that allows them to mobilize their debris pick-up contractor and more.
They are asking residents to self-report damage, you can find a link at LouisianaRadioNetwork.com