Drivers headed to Texas early Saturday morning had some unexpected overhead obstacles to dodge. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Joe Salter, who served as Louisiana’s House Speaker, during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, has died at the age of 82. Jeff Palermo looks back at his life…
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Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is excited about the possibilities Amtrak’s new passenger rail service between New Orleans and Mobile will bring to the state. The Mardi Gras service will have morning and evening departures from both cities, offering same-day connections daily in both directions. Nungesser says the new passenger rail service is another attraction for international travelers…
Nungesser is hopeful the Mardi Gras service leads to an expansion of passenger rail service throughout Louisiana, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and then Baton Rouge to Shreveport and a train line that crosses north Louisiana along I-20….
Amtrak reported a record-breaking 32-million passengers in Fiscal year 2024. Nungesser says more people are looking to take the train to get to their destination, so it’s important that Louisiana can provide that option…
The Mardi Gas service also has stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The route clocks in at just under four hours.
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Drivers headed to Texas on I-10 early Saturday morning found themselves having to dodge cables dangling from a construction crane. State Police Trooper Henry Perez says 37-year-old Matthew Vincent of Vinton, for some unknown reason, decided to hop into the idle crane in the median near Highway 108, about eight miles from the Texas state line, and moved the cables over the westbound lanes.
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In all, four crashes resulted, and two people suffered minor injuries. Trooper Perez says Vincent is now facing several charges.
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Perez says Vincent left some valuable evidence behind inside the crane, making it very easy for investigators to find their perpetrator.
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Former Louisiana House Speaker Joe Salter has died at the age of 82. Salter was an educator from Sabine Parish and spent 22 years in the House. He served as House Speaker from 2004 to 2008 when Kathleen Blanco was governor. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat remembers Salter as a friendly man…
Salter served as House Speaker during a chaotic time as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crippled Louisiana. Pinsonat says Blanco leaned on Salter to help create the federally funded Road Home program, re-establish K-through-12 education in New Orleans and push the governor’s initiative to increase teacher pay…
Salter was known as friendly and even-keeled, he could also be tough. Pinsonat says the Florein native removed Troy Hebert as chairman of the House Insurance Committee after Hebert did not vote to extend a sales tax that Blanco was trying to get passed.
Salter died from kidney cancer. He inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame in 2008. Salter also worked in the Secretary of State’s Office, the Department of Education and also served as a board member for the University of Louisiana system.
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Those with seizure disorders now have the option of having an indicator placed on their driver’s licenses. Nick Gremillion (GREM-ee-on) with the Department of Public Safety says eligible residents can now apply to have the designation added to their licenses or ID cards.
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Gremillion says it’s open to those who have been diagnosed with a seizure disorder by a qualified medical or mental health professional.
Gremillion says this is another way to help law enforcement or first responders help those suffering from medical or mental episodes.