The Louisiana House gives approval to a resolution that would suspend the state Fire Marshal’s ability to enforce Governor Edwards coronavirus orders on businesses. Jim Shannon has the story….

Cut 1 (33) “   I’m Jim Shannon”  

____________________________

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell warns lawmakers steep cuts in local government services are likely due to pandemic revenue losses. Matt Doyle has more.

cut 2 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”  

_____________________________

The Louisiana House votes for a resolution that would suspend the Fire Marshal’s authority to enforce coronavirus restrictions. Erath Representative Blake Miguez says fire marshal deputies are checking businesses to make sure they are following capacity restrictions and it’s the fire marshal who helped develop the capacity limits at high school and college football games

Cut 3 (11)  “…Texas A-and-M fan”   

Miguez says his legislation is part of an overall effort from Republican lawmakers who are trying to rein in the coronavirus emergency orders that have been established by the Edwards administration…

Cut 4 (10)   “…allows that to happen” 

The state Fire Marshal is not the agency that issues penalties. The state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control and the state Health Department handle those duties. Metairie Representative Stephanie Hilferty argued her interactions with State Fire Marshal Butch Browning have all been positive…

Cut 5 (10) “…nefarious actor”

The Resolution passed on a 62-33 vote and heads to the Senate for more discussion.

________________

Governor John Bel Edwards received his flu shot today. Edwards is encouraging all Louisiana residents to do the same

Cut 6 (10) “…soon”

Edwards received his vaccination at the Our Lady of the Lake North Baton Rouge Clinic. O-L-O-L Family Medicine Specialist Doctor Joshua Clark says the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from getting the flu, which could lead to other complications

Cut 7 (07) “…ventiliation”

The flu causes about 500 deaths and nearly three-thousand hospitalizations each year. Clark says the best way to avoid a flu outbreak is if everyone gets the vaccine…

Cut 8 (06) “community”

__________________________________________

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell told the House Appropriations Committee that the Crescent City faces a 150 million dollar shortfall because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cantrell says they’ve been granted less than 60 million dollars in federal CARES Act money by the state, and that’s just not enough…

Cut 9 (10) “feeling it”

Through those CARES Act funds, some one-time dollars, and a variety of other efforts the city has cut that deficit down to 41 million dollars. To close the gap employees are being encouraged to retire early, contracts are being cut and vacant positions are being left open.

The city is furloughing its entire 4,000 person workforce for one day per pay period through the end of the year to save an estimated six million dollars. Cantrell says they had no choice.

Cut 10 (09) “…table”

Cantrell says there’s no way local governments will be able to restart their economies next year with budgets deep in the red…

Cut 11 (11) “…can”

Republican legislators told the mayor that the city could start to see more tax revenue if she loosened the restrictions on bars and restaurants. The mayor says bars will open to outside patio services this Friday.

________________________

As of Tuesday afternoon, the number of customers in Louisiana without power as a result of Hurricane Delta has dropped to 95-thousand. About a third of the outages involve Entergy Louisiana customers. Entergy spokesperson David Freese says their crews are making steady process

Cut 12 (06) “…major hurricanes”

After Laura roared through, it took weeks in some cases for the power to come back on. But Freese says Delta was not as destructive

Cut 13 (11) “…electric grid”

Freese says they anticipate most of their customers will have power back by Thursday. He says the hardest areas from Lake Charles to the east of Lafayette may have to wait until Saturday

Cut 14 (13) “…backyards”

A bill that would have increased the state unemployment benefit from a maximum of 247 dollars to 347 dollars a week was rejected in a House committee. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “   I’m matt Doyle”

________________________________

Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter says residents are “despondent, frustrated, and emotional” after suffering a blow from yet another named storm. Matt Doyle spoke with the Mayor…

Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

__________________________________________

A bill that would result in a loss of construction funding for local governments who decide to reduce their police department’s budget by ten percent advances out of the House. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

_______________________________

The House Labor Committee has rejected legislation that would have increased the state unemployment benefit from 247 to 347 dollars a week.

The panel heard testimony from struggling unemployed workers. Montrell McGraw is a furloughed hotel worker and says at 247 dollars a week he has to make tough choices.

Cut 4 (10) “…down to”

McGraw says under the 600 dollar federally boosted benefits he made ends meet while waiting for his employer to call him back in.

Latoya Howard is a furloughed New Orleans Convention Center worker who says she’s played by the rules and worked her whole life but now can’t pay her bills.

Cut 5 (12) “…system.”

The legislation came as the state is having to borrow money from the feds to keep the unemployment trust fund afloat. Jim Patterson, vice president of governmental relations at Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, says we can’t afford this right now.

Cut 6 (12) “…up there”

Without federal intervention, it is likely that payroll taxes will be hiked on businesses starting next year to replenish the fund.

_______________________________

Just six weeks after Lake Charles was battered by Laura’s extreme winds the city endured over a foot of rainfall from Hurricane Delta flooding many homes.

Mayor Nic Hunter says Delta was two categories weaker than Laura but a much wetter storm.

Cut 7 (08) “water”

Hunter says the mood in the city is not great as people try to recover from yet another punch, many of whom have yet to even agree to insurance settlements regarding Hurricane Laura.

Cut 8 (11) “…right now”

Hunter says his city needs volunteers and charitable donations, but most of all it needs a promise from the feds that FEMA will reimburse the city for 100 percent of the damages it has suffered this season, just like it did for the Florida Panhandle in 2018 after Michael.

Cut 9 (10) “if not more”

Hunter encourages you to donate to the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana or the United Way to help out.

_______________________________

The Louisiana House approves a bill that would give the state the authority to take construction funds away from a local government that defunds its police department’s budget by more than ten-percent. Alexandria Representative Lance Harris says cuts to law enforcement will lead to an increase in crime…

Cut 10 (06) “…not sky rocketed.”

An opponent of the legislation, Baton Rouge Representative Ted James, says the defund the police movement has not happened in Louisiana, plus there’s a task force is looking at ways to improve police practices

Cut 11 (10) “…these issues”

Harris responded to James’ argument by telling the House, this bill will make a city or parish think twice before defunding its police department

Cut 12 (10) “..future”

Harris’ measure passed on a 61-26 vote and heads to the Senate for more discussion.

_____________________________

Today is the last day to register to vote in the November 3^rd election and your only option to do so is online at Geaux-Vote-Dot-Com.

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says time is quickly running out and if have any changes to make, or first-time voter registration to do now is the time to do it.

Cut 13 (11) “dot com.”

Once you are registered Ardoin encourages you to download the GeauxVote Mobile App which provides registration info along with voting locations and ballot information.

Ardoin says changing your registration couldn’t be faster or easier, and registering for the first time doesn’t take long.

Cut 14 (11) “…possible”

Ardoin says we’ve seen a spike in registration that indicates a lot of enthusiasm for the November ballot…

Cut 15 (12) “interest”

Early voting for the November 3^rd election starts Friday and runs through October 27^th from 8 AM to 7 PM.

___________________________

The Saints fell behind 20-3 but clawed back to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 in overtime. New Orleans tied the game at 20 early in the fourth quarter on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Jared Cook. Coach Sean Payton says that was one of several big plays

cut 16 (23) “the win”

After the TD pass to Cook, the Chargers scored again when when Justin Herbert hit a wide open Mike Williams on a 64-yard touchdown pass. But the Saints came back to tie on a Taysom Hill 8-yard touchdown run. The Chargers could have won it in regulation, but Michael Badgley hit the upright on a 50-yard field goal try.

Will Lutz kicked a 36-yard field goal in O-T and cornerback Marshon Lattimore ended the game when he tackled Williams just shy of the first down marker.

The Saints head into the bye week with a 3-2 record and Payton says they have time to clean up some mistakes

cut 17 (14) “after the bye”

The Saints next game is October 25th versus the Panthers.

_________________________________________________________

LSU has five days before its next game to fix a defense that’s allowing nearly 500 yards a game. Coach Ed Orgeron has asked his defensive coaches to simplify the defense in the hopes of eliminating the big plays they gave up in their two losses

cut 18 (24) ” all that is” 

The Tigers are coming off a four-point loss to Missouri in a contest that saw the two teams combine to score 86 points. LSU is at Florida this Saturday. The Gators lost last Saturday at Texas A-and-M 41-38. A lot of points are being scored in the SEC this season, but Orgeron says that’s not an excuse for his defense…

cut 19 (22) “.missed assignments”‘

LSU has also struggled to get the running game going. They only rushed for 49 yards against Missouri. But Orgeron says they are still averaging 39 points a game…

cut 20 (25) “.run the football”