A huge mess on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway as at least 40 vehicles are involved in crashes this morning. Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechau says visibility dropped to nearly zero.
Cut 9 (07) “…on both bridges,”
Dufrechou says crews responded to as many as nine separate crashes. No one went over the rail and into the water, and all stranded vehicles made it off the Causeway. There were no serious injuries.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry has confirmed a case of bird flu. Commissioner Mike Strain says this is in Bossier Parish.
Cut 6 (11) “…not commercial flock.”
Strain says wild geese and ducks are bringing the virus into Louisiana. He says if you see a sick duck or goose, do not touch it and keep it out of contact with your domestic birds.
School absenteeism is trending in the wrong direction. For the second year in a row, the rate of chronic absenteeism – kids who are absent more than ten-percent of the time – has increased. In the 2023-24 school year, chronic absenteeism grew to almost 25-percent, up nearly three percentage points from the year prior. BESE President Ronnie Morris says one factor that’s likely contributing to the problem is the fact that many students can’t read at grade level.