Kids in Livingston Parish Schools finally return to class today after the flooding. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Louisiana elected leaders are making the push for more federal aid to assist in the flood recovery, but will they be successful? Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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About one-quarter of the estimated $8.7 billion dollars in overall flood damage affected businesses in the state. Michelle Southern reports on the assessment by Louisiana Economic Development…:
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Students in Livingston Parish finally return to school today after being out for almost a month because of the historic flooding. Parish School Superintendent Rick Wentzel says going back to school gives these kids a sense of normalcy that’s been missing for too long. He says this also helps parents relax a little more knowing their children are safe and back to learning.
Six schools in Livingston Parish will not reopen due to flood damage. Wentzel says some schools are platooning, which means students at the home school attend classes in the morning, while kids from a flood damaged school go in the afternoon. He says they are still working to find contractors to begin construction on schools that were completely ruined by the flood waters.
Wentzel says the re-opening of schools is a major milestone in the recovery…
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The push is on for more federal dollars to assist in flood recovery. Governor John Bel Edwards has requested Congress pass a two billion dollar federal aid package. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says Louisiana’s Congressional delegation will face some difficulty, because three of our members voted against a Superstorm Sandy relief package. Hogan says party politics could also play a factor…
Hogan says House Minority Whip Steve Scalise plays a critical role in Louisiana’s efforts, because of his leadership position. But he says Louisiana’s request could run into some resistance from a Republican-controlled Congress…
Hogan says other areas of the country have also dealt with significant flooding, which could result in Congressional leaders approving a financial aid package that helps multiple states. But he says time is a factor with Congress taking a recess at the end of the month for the November election.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has closed several oyster harvesting areas and delayed the season because the industry is struggling. John Tesvich is a fourth generation oyster grower and also sits on the Oyster Task Force. He says planting usually opens after Labor Day, but this year was more of a partial opening.
Tesvich says the industry is still recovering from the BP oil spill that happened over 6 years ago, and then there was a mass die off this summer because of dead zones in the water. He says high water levels in the rivers are bringing more nutrient rich water into the harvesting areas and killing the oysters.
Tesvich says sacking usually begins on October 15, but LDWF delayed it until November 15 in the hopes of helping the oysters grow more. He says most of the Louisiana oysters on the market are coming from private harvesting areas, not public reef.
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Businesses in Louisiana suffered losses due to the historic floods to the tune of over $2 billion dollars. That’s according to Don Pierson, the Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. He says overall, the August 2016 disaster caused a total of about $8.7 billion dollars in damage…:
More than 6,000 businesses flooded in the 22 affected parishes. Pierson says it’s vital that employers take advantage of the assistance being provided by the Small Business Administration, and get their case in prior to October 13th. He says so far, FEMA has surpassed $1 billion dollars in total federal assistance to Louisiana disaster survivors…:
LED is providing a complete resource guide for flood assistance at OpportunityLouisiana.com. Pierson says the good news is that most of Louisiana’s major industries remained open and today are continuing operations successfully. He says what’s been majorly impacted is the workforce…:
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(LED’s assessment found that Louisiana shouldered labor and value-added production losses that affected 6 percent of our economic activity statewide.)
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Two back-ups led the LSU Tigers to a 34-13 win over Jacksonville State for the Bayou Bengals first victory of the season. Quarterback Danny Etling came off the bench for an ineffective Brandon Harris and on his first drive connected with DeSean Smith on a 46-yard touchdown pass. Etling says he was ready for his opportunity…
Etling ended up throwing for 100 yards, all of it came in the 2nd quarter. He also had a rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Etling arrived on LSU’s campus last year after transferring in from Purdue. He came to LSU after losing his starting job at the Big Ten School and understands the demands of the quarterback position…
When Etling came on the field for the first time in the 2nd quarter, the energy level picked up in Tiger Stadium. Derrius Guice, who filled in for the injured Leonard Fournette and rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown, noticed that LSU played better with Etling at the controls…
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The Saints fail to preserve a two-touchdown lead in the 2nd half and lose to the Oakland Raiders 35-34 in the season opener. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw for 423 yards and touchdowns, but the defense gave up numerous big plays in the 4th quarter to allow Oakland to score 22 points in the 4th quarter. Brees says it was one of those games that could have gone either way…
Payton says he was disappointed with his defense, but the offense also takes some of the blame in this loss…