The Red Cross is helping thousands of people in Louisiana who have been impacted by the recent flooding. Halen Doughty has more…
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Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson wants to follow the lead of other states and decrease the incarceration rate in Louisiana. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Officials in Livingston Parish have also been working around the clock dealing with flood waters and residents who were displaced from their homes. Sheriff Jason Ard says they saw high levels in the Maurepas area, Springfield, Holden and Denham Springs…:
Ard says they’ve rescued over 100 people since the flood event started, but now it seems as though the rivers have crested and are now going down. He says many people in the parish took on water and are dealing with nightmare cleanup and recovery…:
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Louisiana State University is launching the car sharing service, Zipcar, so students without a car can rent a vehicle by the hour, week, or month. Jeff Campbell, LSU’s Sr. Director of Parking and Transportation Services, says interested college kids or anyone in the area would pay a yearly membership fee and the vehicles are conveniently located around campus.
Campbell says to sign up for the Zipcar service either go online to their website or download the Zipcar app on your smartphone. He hopes this will help with the increase of international students at LSU.
Zipcar pays for your gas and insurance. Campbell says this is the first car sharing program at a college campus in Louisiana. He says any service like this is a plus to LSU.
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The Red Cross has been active in and around the state assisting people affected by the flooding. Nancy Malone with the Red Cross says hundreds of disaster workers are responding in Louisiana. Malone says more than 200 people stayed overnight in the 14 Red Cross and community run shelters throughout the state.
Malone says the Red Cross has 6 shelters in north Louisiana, three in southeast Louisiana and one in the Calcasieu area that are still open. She says hundreds of homes were either destroyed or received major damage.
Malone says people can get involved with flood relief efforts by applying to become a member of the Red Cross at red cross-dot-org or by making donations.
Malone says people can donate $10 to the Red Cross via cell phone by texting the word “REDCROSS” to 9-0-9-9-9.
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Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the United States and Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson wants to reduce the number of low level inmates, which will save the state money. Johnson says the US locks up more people than Iran, China, and Germany.
Johnson says Louisiana spent over 600 million dollars in state corrections last fiscal year. She says our greatest resource is our people, so the state needs to invest in programs to provide job opportunities…
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Johnson says South Carolina has passed legislation to significantly reduce the prison population while also influencing a reduction in violent crimes, all while saving the state 350 million dollars. She says comprehensive solutions to the state’s over-incarceration should include changes to pre-trial services, like South Carolina and Kentucky have done.
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Alexandria attorney Thomas Davenport is asking the Rapides Parish Police Jury to remove a Confederate monument outside of the Rapides Parish Courthouse. Davenport says the monument, which has been there for over 100 years, alters the perception of justice.
The tall monument features a Confederate soldier on top, along with the phrases such as “Lest We forget.” Davenport says this statue is not the kind of thing people should see before they enter a courthouse to seek justice. He says he wants the monument to be replaced.
The police jury has reviewed Davenport’s request, but is holding off on any action, until the state legislature acts on legislation dealing with the confederate monuments. He says it is saddening that of all the good things our state has done, this is what was chosen to be memorialized.