The Louisiana House has approved a bill that would allow the Senate and House Health Committees strike down COVID public health restrictions that limit in-person visitation at nursing homes. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Former Louisiana Tech football star Fred Dean has passed away at the age of 68 after losing a battle with COVID-19. Taylor Sharp has more.
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The Louisiana House has approved a bill allowing the Legislature to strike down parts of the Governor’s COVID-19 public health orders pertaining to limitations on in-person visitation at nursing homes.
Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala brought the bill after speaking to frustrated constituents and the Alzheimer’s Association…
Under the bill, a restriction could be eliminated if both the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees vote to do so. Any restrictions ordered by federal agencies could not be overturned.
But there were concerns from members like Kenner Representative Joe Stagni that the Legislature is not equipped to make these kinds of decisions.
Natchitoches Representative Kenny Cox says the bill may restrict the Governor from re-implementing restrictions on nursing homes should we be hit with another wave of COVID.
The measure heads to the Senate for more discussion.
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Louisiana Tech legend and Hall Of Famer Fred Dean has died at the age of 68 from Covid-19. Dean played for the Bulldogs in the early 70s and had a 12-year NFL career, winning two Super Bowls with the 49ers. Former Tech Sports Information Director Keith Prince remembers Dean’s dominance on the football field.
Dean was on the 49ers Super Bowl-winning teams in 1981 and 1984. In 1983, he had 17.5 sacks, six of them came in one game against the Saints. He was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Prince says Dean was an exceptional person as well.
Even though Dean played out west for the Chargers and 49er’s, Prince says that Dean never forgot where he came from.
Dean was born in Arcadia and he played at Ruston High in the late 1960s. He once played a football game at Ruston with a bullet in his stomach.
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A plan to bring high-speed internet to fourteen parishes in north Louisiana clears the Public Service Commission. Rural electric cooperatives serving the area received approval from the PSC to enter the internet business. Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell says the initiative is long overdue.
The PSC voted unanimously for Campbell’s plan to allow Claiborne Electric in Homer and Northeast Louisiana Power in Winnsboro to use federal grants and low-interest loans to provide high-speed internet from Webster Parish eastward to the Mississippi River. Campbell says it’s a necessity for economic development.
Cut 10 (12) “…..part of the country”
Campbell says currently the electric co-ops provide some of the lowest power rates in the state and he expects them to be able to provide high-speed internet at reasonable rates as well to rural areas of Northern Louisiana.
Campbell predicts high-speed internet availability in the area in 15 months.
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell supports the idea of the Saints temporarily playing their home games at LSU’s Tiger Stadium. Cantrell has concerns about having 25-percent fan capacity in the Superdome during the pandemic, so she says playing somewhere outdoors makes more sense.
Cantrell says no other NFL facility with a fixed roof is allowing fans to attend their games.
But there are stadiums with retractable roofs that are allowing fans, such as Dallas, Houston and Atlanta.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Saints played in Tiger Stadium. The Black and Gold played several games in Baton Rouge in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. Cantrell says the city is not where it needs to be in its battle against COVID-19 in order to welcome fans back to the Dome…