The anticipated opening of the Buc-ee’s in Ruston is now being pushed back to early 2027. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
____________________________________________
Another round of grants for the Louisiana Fortify Homes program is coming up, and registration for the lottery opens at eight this morning. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
____________________________________________
The recovery continues in southwest Louisiana five years following one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the Gulf Coast. Jeff Palermo has more on the impact Laura is still having on Calcasieu Parish…
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
_________________________________________________
First, it was announced that construction of the Lafayette Buc-ee’s is experiencing delays. Now, word comes that the scheduled opening of the new Buc-ee’s in Ruston is being pushed back to early 2027. Mayor Ronny Walker says he’s not concerned.
Cut 4 (08) “…especially want that.”
Mayor Walker says he expects dirt to start turning this month.
Cut 5 (06) “…we’re fine with.”
So now, the big question is, which city’s Buc-ee’s will open first, Lafayette or Ruston? Walker says not that it matters, but he thinks his city is in the lead.
_________________________________________________
A new round of the Louisiana Fortify Homes grant program is coming up, and registration for the next lottery opens at eight this morning. There are 500 grants of up to ten-thousand dollars each, and they will be selected at random among those who have registered. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says what’s new this time around is that if you had registered for a previous lottery, there’s no need to do so again.
Temple says this program is limited to those who live in the coastal zone, as well as Lake Charles, Sulphur and Westlake.
Cut 8 (07) “…in South Louisiana.”
Temple says fortified roofs not only protect homes and valuables in the event of damaging storms, but they also make the home cheaper to insure and easier to sell – and homeowners across the state know it.
Cut 9 (12) “…spent their money.”
Registration for the lottery closes at five p-m Friday, September 12th, and the random drawing will take place shortly thereafter. Those who are automatically entered because of a prior registration will not have any advantage over those who newly register.
___________________________________________
Southwest Louisiana continues rebuilding five years after Hurricane Laura made landfall. Calcasieu Parish President Judd Bares (BEAR-es) says months after the vicious storm, the parish developed a long-term hurricane recovery plan which helped produce a more resilient and upgraded infrastructure system….
Bares says drainage projects and waterworks projects have seen major investments. He says the Police Jury completed a 200-million dollar project to remove debris from drainage laterals following Hurricanes Laura and Delta.
Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm with 150 mile per hour winds on August 27, 2020 near Cameron. It caused 17-billion dollars in damage and killed 33 people statewide. Ninety-five percent of the buildings in Lake Charles sustained damage and the state received one-billion dollars for recovery from hurricanes Laura and Delta. Delta hit the same area six weeks after Laura.
Bares says there are some residents still battling with their insurance company over hurricane repairs…
___________________________________________________________
Twenty years ago, the largest field hospital history was set up at LSU to provide care for storm weary patients who were ill or injured because of Hurricane Katrina. Doctor Matthew Giglia (JIL-lyah) was a sophomore at LSU planning to pursue a medical career and his time as a volunteer at the field hospital in the PMAC convinced him to become a doctor…
Doctor Giglia is now chief of surgery and a colon and rectal surgeon at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Baton Rouge. Giglia says seeing the nurses and doctors at the field hospital interact with the patients, showed him what that this is what he wanted to do in his life…
Giglia says Katrina showed him that not only as a doctor you are dealing with a disease, but you’re also dealing with a human and that’s the more important side of what they do…
_____________________________________________
LSU’s new look offensive line held up against a good Clemson defense on Saturday in the Fighting Tigers 17 to 10 win. Coach Brian Kelly says the addition of starting center Braelin Moore has helped that group get on the same page…
LSU put extra emphasis on beating Clemson as the Tigers desperately wanted to snap their streak of five consecutive season opening losses. They had shirts printed that said 1-and-0. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier says it’s great to start the season off with a win, now they got to do it again…
__________________________________________________
The Ragin Cajuns passing game was nonexistent in a 14-to-12 loss to Rice on Saturday night. New starting quarterback Walker Howard only threw for 88 yards and he was intercepted once. Coach Michael Desormeaux says he thought they would execute much better…
Howard also left the game late with an undisclosed injury.
____________________________________________________
T-minus five days before the Saints get their season underway in the Superdome against the Arizona Cardinals. The game marks the head coaching debut of Kellen Moore, the NFL’s youngest head coach. Moore says it’s a moment that he and the entire team have worked towards all off-season long.
During the holiday weekend, the Saints made a roster move, and Moore says it was a rather difficult one.
(The Saints released safety and special teams standout J.T. Gray) The Saints also announced that they will break out their new gold jerseys for Sunday’s game, which will be paired with their black alternate helmets and black pants. Kickoff in the Superdome Sunday is noon.