The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has donated over 1.6 million dollars in flood relief and plans to give even more. Michelle Southern has the story…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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An Ascension Parish lawmaker wants FEMA to move faster in providing manufactured homes for flood victims. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 2 (31)  “I’m Halen Doughty”

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The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has given over 1.6 million dollars to help those affected by the historic flooding that tore through south Louisiana. Director of Communications Mukul Verma says they’ve given dozens of grants to local nonprofits working in the field of flood relief. He says a lot of this money comes from online platforms where people from around the country donate money.

CUT 3 (10)  “million”

Verma says companies around the region have donated about a million dollars to BRAF. He says 600-thousand dollars have been distributed to schools and education organizations to assist with new classroom supplies and restoring water logged schools.

CUT 4 (09)  “on track”

Verma says donations aren’t coming in as quickly like after Hurricane Katrina, for which they raised 10 million dollars in the same amount of time. He says donations have slowed again but they are raising about 20-thousand dollars a day in online donations and a lot of other people are raising money too.

CUT 5 (10)  “relief fund”

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State lawmakers grilled a FEMA administrator today in the House Homeland Security Committee meeting, asking why it’s taking so long to get assistance to flood victims. FEMA Coordinating Officer Gerard Stolar says there are 23-hundred FEMA personnel working on this disaster.

CUT 6 (08) “this disaster”

Stolar says 131-thousand people have registered for federal aid, and $315 million has been approved for FEMA. He says over 111-thousand home inspections have been ordered, but only 56-thousand have been completed.

CUT 7 (09) “hundred”

Stolar says $289 million has been dispersed to flood victims. He says 2-thousand flood survivors are still in hotels, and more than 15-hundred are in shelters. Gonzales Representative Clay Schexnayder express frustration that FEMA is not moving fast enough to help flood victims return to a normal everyday life…

CUT 8 (08) “their homes” 

Stolar says 200 households have been approved for FEMA manufactured homes, but only one of the trailers has been set up in Louisiana. He says local ordinances are creating a road block to getting these homes set up. Schexnayder says he doesn’t care how it happens, but the process needs to be expedited.

CUT 9 (08) “at all”

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State Treasurer John Kennedy told lawmakers today that they should consider suspending the one cent sales tax increase for flood victims rebuilding their homes. He said the state should not reap a financial windfall from people’s tragedy, when they’ll have to pay an extra penny on items needed to rebuild their lives…:

cut 10 (09)  “the extra penny”

But New Orleans Senator JP Morrell, who chairs the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee, says this is not something that Kennedy should be proposing as feasible on the fly, because it’s not…:

Cut 11 (08) “we’re in session”

Kennedy says the increase in the sales tax should be revisited, even if it means calling a special session. He says Morrell is entitled to his opinion:

cut 12 (09) “more money”

Morrell says Kennedy has been in government for years, and he should know that the state’s tax code just doesn’t allow lawmakers to immediately suspend a tax for certain people…:

Cut 13 (12)  “sound bite”

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Mandeville police have arrested a former employee at an assistant living facility on a charge of first degree rape. Officer Beck White says 58-year-old Jerry Kan, who worked as cook at Beau Provence Memory Care, was booked after authorities received a call about inappropriate behavior between Kan and a 78-year-old resident.

cut 14 (03)  “the facility”

White says Kan has worked at Beau Provence since April of this year. She says the incident occurred on August 21 inside the resident’s room, and Kan resigned two days later.

cut 15 (04) “incident”

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The Governor’s Office announces 63-hundred people registered for the Shelter At Home Program during the first day of registration. Michelle Southern has more…

CUT 1 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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Two plane crash victims have been pulled from Lake Pontchartrain along with the aircraft’s wreckage. Emelie Gunn has more…

CUT 2 (31)  “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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According to the Governor’s Office, 63-hundred people applied for the Shelter At Home Program on the first day of registration. The Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Julie Baxter Payer, says the program awards up to $15-thousand for basic homes repairs, so people can get back into their homes as quickly as possible.

CUT 3 (11)  “taken care of”

Payer says people can apply at ShelterAtHome.la.gov or call 1-800-927-0216. She says the program will not repair someone’s home completely, but it will make it livable so families can come home while they continue making repairs.

CUT 4 (08)  “your rebuilding”

Payer says this program can be used with flood insurance, FEMA assistance, and SBA loans. She says the program is open to single-family owner-occupied homes. She says although this program will not work for everyone, she encourages all flood victims to apply.

CUT 5 (11)  “case basis”

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Tropical Depression 9 in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to become Tropical Storm Hermine by this evening. Alek Krautmann with the National Weather Service says right now the area of low pressure is not expected to have an impact on Louisiana, expect for high tides along the coast in southeast Louisiana.

CUT 6 (11) “Florida coast”

Krautmann says currently the tropical depression is moving at about 7 miles per hour to the north, northwest but later tonight we’ll see a gradual turn to the northeast. He says a ridge of high pressure is pushing it towards Florida.

CUT 7 (11) “Florida coast”

Krautmann says the current forecast anticipates this will remain a tropical storm as it moves toward Florida but the Hurricane Center brings it right up to 60 mile per hour strength before landfall on Thursday…

CUT 8 (07) “two days” 

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The state Department of Health has confirmed more mosquito-borne illnesses in Louisiana, including Zika and West Nile Virus. Louisiana Medical Director for the Center for Community Preparedness, Dr. Frank Welch, says there have been 14 cases of West Nile Virus so far this year. But he says these cases are not flood related.

CUT 9 (08) “recent flooding”

Welch says right after the flood we see a decrease in mosquito populations because they drowned. But he says we could see more West Nile cases soon, as mosquitoes will come back in higher numbers because of all the standing water from the flood.

cut 10 (08)  “this point”

Welch says there have been three more cases of Zika in Louisiana, bringing the total number of cases to 26, and all of them are travel-related. He says local transmission of Zika is more likely in the parishes around Lake Pontchartrain. But he encourages all Louisianans to tip and toss.

Cut 11 (07) “and enviornment”

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The bodies of two missing people along with the plane wreckage of a small sightseeing plane were pulled out of Lake Pontchartrain this morning. The Cessna went down Saturday night and the Director of Aviation at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport Ben Morris says a large crane brought the bodies and aircraft out of the water…

cut 12 (10) “the accident”

Authorities have yet to identify the victims. But media reports say a passenger Briana Davis escaped and was rescued that night, but the pilot and Davis’ boyfriend, Baton Rouge tattoo artist and rapper Reginald Hilliard Jr., died in the crash. Morris says the couple chartered the airplane to do a nighttime tour of New Orleans Saturday night. He says the plane hit a thunderstorm during its approach to the airport.

Cut 13 (07)  “the water”

Morris says the cause of the crash is still under investigation. He says the families were very worried about recovering the bodies.

cut 14 (10)  “closure”

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