Twenty years ago today, Hurricane Rita flooded low-lying areas of southwest Louisiana with its storm surge and produced more power outages to a state struggling to get back on its feet from Katrina. Jeff Palermo has more…

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NOLA.com is reporting the Superdome lease negotiations are at standstill between the Saints and the state. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is asking you to be on the lookout for the eastern spotted skunk so that biologists can determine the current distribution and conservation needs of the species. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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Today is the 20^th anniversary of Hurricane Rita’s landfall in Cameron Parish. The storm produced widespread damage across southwest Louisiana as the state was still reeling from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina. Retired Major General John Basilica was the commander of Louisiana National Guard’s storm operations in Louisiana and says it was difficult to respond to two natural disasters at the same time…

Cut 4 (12) “…Rita.”

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29^th in Plaquemines Parish, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless. On September 21^st, Rita entered the Gulf of Mexico as a hurricane and developed into Category Five storm before eventually weakening to a Category Three storm in southwest Louisiana on September 24^th. Basilica says the preparation for the storm was well done, despite the tough circumstances…

Cut 5 (09) “…listened.”

There was only one reported in death in Louisiana that was attributed to Rita, while Texas had 113. Rita produced four-billion dollars in damages across southwest Louisiana and left one-million people without power, including the thousands that were still without power because of Katrina.

Many low-lying areas of southwest Louisiana were flooded as storm surge flooding even reached Lake Charles. Many buildings and homes in Cameron Parish were washed away.

Basilica says just like with Katrina, they had to perform search and rescue operations, but they had more assistance than they did with Katrina

Cut 6 (07) “…getting it.”

Basilica says it was not until February 2006 until the National Guard restored all authority and responsibility back to civilian authorities.

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Louisiana approves its first-ever carbon storage well. The state issued Sempra Infrastructure a Class Six permit to inject an estimated two-million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year for up to 20 years underneath Black Lake in Cameron Parish. Patrick Courreges (cur-RAHJ) with the Department of Energy and Natural Resources says these permits are the most restrictive permits the department does, because something is being injected into the ground permanently.

Cut 7 (16) “…inject the carbon.”

Courreges says a company like Sempra really needs to know the geology in the area to build the storage well.

Cut 8 (14) “…the zone underground.”

Courreges says the well will need to be thoroughly monitored.

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The well is expected to be drilled more than ten-thousand feet below ground level.

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NOLA.com reports that the Superdome lease negotiations have stalled because of pending deals regarding related properties such as Benson Tower, Champions Square and the Saints practice facility. Times-Picayune reporter Jeff Duncan says that state and the Saints are in the midst of a major disagreement.

Cut 10 (15) “…philosophical disagreement.”

As part of the current lease agreement, the state has rented office space in Benson Tower since 2010. The Saints have been leasing the spaces to state agencies at $32.50 per square foot compared to the New Orleans average of $20.67 per square foot. Duncan says the agreement is a way to for the state to financially support the Saints….

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The current lease agreement ends in 2030. Duncan says he doesn’t see a world where the Saints relocate to another city, but he says neither side is planning to back down.

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The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is asking you to be on the lookout for the eastern spotted skunk. It’s a species that hasn’t officially been documented in the state in more than three decades, and the department wants to use the data to help biologists determine the current distribution and conservation needs of the species. Jennifer Manuel, the furbearer biologist with the State of Louisiana, says the eastern spotted skunk is the smallest species of skunk, and they have a very distinctive pattern of white spots on a black coat – and they have a unique behavior.

Cut 13 (14)  “…scare away predators.”

Manuel says the eastern spotted skunk is very good at pest control.

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Manuel says if you see an eastern spotted skunk, you can do one thing to help LDWF.

Cut 15 (05) “…might still occur.”

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LSU attacked the transfer portal heavily this offseason, specifically on defense. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin credited Brian Kelly’s aggressiveness in the portal and said that the Tigers got the best of the best at the defensive back positions by adding Mansoor Delane, AJ Haulcy and Tamarcus Cooley.

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LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is coming off of his best game of the season after totaling four touchdowns against Southeastern. Kiffin says that Nussmeier has an elite pocket presence that saved the Tigers in last year’s matchup in Baton Rouge.

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Even though the LSU offense hasn’t statistically jumped out to most, Kiffin says that the Tigers’ receivers are extremely gifted and that it will be a difficult matchup for the Rebels’ defensive backs.

Cut 18 (16) “…really challenged.”

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Louisiana Tech sophomore quarterback Blake Baker played the entire game against Southern Miss last week, completing 15 of his 21 passes for 239 yards while also rushing for 29 yards and a touchdown in the 30 to 20 win. Baker says that he was not initially a quarterback that would leave the quarterback, but understood that offensive coordinator Tony Franklin needed a QB that could both pass it and use his legs.

Cut 19 (13) “…out tremendously.”

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New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson has had an extensive history with injuries. Last season, he only played in 30 games due to a hamstring issue; but after a long year of training, Williamson says he feels the best he’s ever felt physically.

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The State of Louisiana has a stern warning for litterbugs – we’re not putting up with your garbage anymore! Don Molino reports.

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Senator Bill Cassidy is pushing back on the notion that autism could be caused by pregnant women taking Tylenol. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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The State of Louisiana has a stern warning for litterbugs: We’re not taking your trash anymore! Harahan Representative John Illg authored the new state law that beefs up enforcement of the state’s anti-littering enforcement efforts.

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Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser says part of the new law is the establishment of a litter hotline.

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Fines for littering range from 175 dollars for simple littering on a first offense up to one-thousand dollars for gross littering – dumping large amounts of trash or having an illegal dump site. For those who can’t afford the fines, the judge has the option to require eight hours of picking up trash. Nungesser says if you think those fines are stiff, think about what littering costs the state.

Cut 5 (10) “…on other things.”

Illg and Nungesser touted the new law ahead of the start of the Keep Louisiana Beautiful State Conference.

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Senator Bill Cassidy is pushing back on President Trump’s notion that autism can be linked to women taking acetaminophen while pregnant. The Republican Cassidy, who’s a medical doctor by trade, says it’s important to note that no study has explicitly said that taking the drug, most commonly sold under the Tylenol brand, CAUSES autism.

Cut 6 (08) “…that it’s associated.”

Cassidy cited an article out of Sweden, in which they followed two-million people, which he says is the highest quality study done on the topic.

Cut 7 (12) “…Tylenol and autism.”

Cassidy says when in doubt, don’t listen to politicians on television or anything you read on the internet, especially on social media – always trust your doctor.

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It seems that restaurants in the Monroe and Ruston areas need a little work in telling diners about the source of their shrimp. SeaD (“seed”) Consulting went to 24 restaurants, and Founder David Williams said none of them said anything about the possibility of their shrimp being imported, as required by law.

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SeaD Consulting did genetic testing on the shrimp from all 24 restaurants and found that every single one of them was serving imported shrimp – including seven where the server told them that their shrimp was caught in the Gulf of Mexico. Williams says especially with the increase in radioactive material being found in imported shrimp, that’s a huge issue

Cut 10 (14) “…issue to me.”

Williams says the fact that many restaurants in Monroe, Ruston – and Shreveport, as previously tested – serve imported shrimp is par for the course, based on his company’s findings.

Cut 11 (07) “…drop down significantly.”

By contrast, the authenticity rate along the I-10 corridor tends to be very high, with the New Orleans area being the highest.

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An Allen Parish man is facing multiple counts of arson after he allegedly set ten fires along Louisiana Highway 26. Louisiana Agricultural and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says 67-year-old Bradley Montou set the fires on September 15^th…

Cut 12 (10) “…the highway.”

Strain says Montou was booked into the Allen Parish jail on ten counts of simple arson and his bond is set at 75-thousand dollars.

Cut 13 (09)  “…more fires.”

Strain says quick actions by the Agriculture and Forestry fire crew personnel and aircraft minimized the damage from these fires. He says with the dry conditions, these fires could have gotten out of hand…

Cut 14 (09) “…wildfire.”

The public is urged to report any and all forestry-related crimes to the LDAF 24-hour hotline at 1-855-452-5323.