Some education officials are miffed about a new Department of Education policy giving parents a say in whether their kids get quarantined for possible COVID exposure. Kevin Gallagher has more.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

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Louisiana ranks 5^th in the nation for most women murdered by men. Brooke Thorington has more on the rankings from the Violence Policy Center.

Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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A stop-gap funding bill that includes nearly 29-billion-dollars for nationwide disaster relief wins passage on Capitol Hill, Senator John Kennedy and Congressman Clay Higgins say the disaster funding is far from what the Bayou State needs.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 3 (32)  “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

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Some state education officials are unhappy with the idea of giving parents a say-so in whether their kid is quarantined after a possible COVID-19 exposure. State Education Superintendent Cade Brumley announced the voluntary policy this week, and New Orleans area BESE member Kira Orange Jones says she’s disappointed.

Cut 4 (11) “…important as this.”

Brumley’s directive states that school systems have a choice of whether or not they implement parental choice when dealing with possible virus exposure and quarantining kids. His concern was the huge number of kids missing school and classroom interaction with classmates. Ms. Jones, who represents District 2 on the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education says Brumley should have run his idea past her group first.

Cut 5 (06) “…its implications.”

Livingston, Ascension and West Baton Rouge school systems have decided to accept Brumley’s policy, and offer the parental choice of quarantine. East Baton Rouge, Caddo, and Bossier have already said they would pass and leave things as they are; making quarantine after possible COVID exposure mandatory. Jones says she’d like to talk with state health officials and medical experts about the policy.

Cut 6 (11) “…communities safe.”

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Louisiana ranks fifth in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men. The Violence Policy Center says the Bayou State has ranked in the top 10 consistently since 2009. VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand says a common thread among the southern states in the top ten is access to guns.

Cut 7 (11) “…domestic violence.”

Rand says the ranking states also have a lack of resources for domestic abuse victims in addition to not enough focus on assisting abuse victims.

Another frightening statistic for women in Louisiana is that they are twice as likely to be murdered during or right after pregnancy. Rand says these women are most likely to be killed by their intimate partners.

Cut 8 (08) “…about it.”

In 2016 and 2017 Louisiana ranked second among women murdered by men and the numbers used in the latest rankings are from 2019 and in 2018 ranked 5^th as well. However, Rand says moving from second to fifth is not necessarily an improvement.

Cut 9 (11)  “…real improvements.”

The complication of FBI statistics also shows that black women are twice as likely to be murdered by someone they know compared to white females.

Rand urges lawmakers to adopt laws to enhance the enforcement of federal legislation to remove guns from those guilty of domestic abuse and to give women more resources to protect themselves from their abusers.

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Congress has finally approved long-sought-after disaster recovery dollars. Louisiana and other states will share 28-billion dollars in disaster aid.  Senator John Kennedy says the money is contained in a bill that avoids a government shutdown…

Cut 10 (06)  “…just to Louisiana.” 

No word on the exact dollar amount that will be allocated to Louisiana itself that has suffered through nearly a half-dozen hurricanes since last year, including Laura, and more recently Ida.

Congressman Clay Higgins says while voting for the supplemental disaster relief, he says it falls short of what the state needs from Washington.

Cut 11 (07) “…Louisiana back up.”

Higgins says it took one of Louisiana’s major cities to be hit by a storm like Ida to get a federal disaster recovery funding bill passed.

Cut 12 (08) “…branch into action.”

Higgins says the disaster recovery bill doesn’t go far enough, and he plans to battle on.

Cut 13 (06) “…for enchancements.”

Meantime, Congressman Mike Johnson issued a statement says the disaster relief bill provides a down payment on disaster funding and the legislation was a “haphazard, last-minute attempt to keep the government funded.”

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State Climatologist Barry Keim says while we’re on the back end of hurricane season it’s no time to let your guard down.  If history is any indication, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Cut 14 (07)  “…month of October.”

As for the worst hurricane to hit the state during October, It claimed some two thousand lives

Cut 15 (09)  “…at landfall.”

Most of the deaths occurred near Grand Isle from the hurricane that produced a 16-foot storm surge.

Keim says It’s happened before and potentially could happen again where a hurricane waits until the end of October to hit Louisiana. Take, for example, Hurricane Juan.

Cut  16 (10) “…of the month.”

Keim says the state has never been hit by a hurricane in November.

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For the first time since January 2020, the Saints will play in front of a packed house inside the Superdome when they take on the New York Giants. New Orleans defensive end Cam Jordan doesn’t know what to expect because it’s been so long since they’ve played in front ten of thousands of Who Dats.

Cut 17 (13) “…used to that.” 

Saints Running back Alvin Kamara says it should be an electric atmosphere when they kick off on Sunday…

Cut 18 (15)”…just ready”

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The Ragin Cajuns are looking for their sixth straight road victory in the Sun Belt on Saturday when they visit South Alabama, who is off to a 3-0 start. The Jaguars have been stout on defense, allowing 55 rushing yards per game and the Jaguars are allowing only 15 points a game. U-L Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says South Alabama has always been a good defensive team

Cut 19 (19)  “…the tape.” 

South Alabama has wins over Southern Miss, Bowling Green and Alcorn State. They enter this Sun Belt contest coming off a bye week. Napier says having an open week this early in the season can be good or bad

Cut 20 (14)  “…team is.” 

Due to an overwhelming number of calls, DSNAP enrollment has been extended. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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Complaints about the work of insurance companies, particularly their adjusters, are keeping folks at the Louisiana Department of Insurance busy more than a month after Hurricane Ida.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 2 (34)…I’m Dave Brannen”  

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Extinction happens and Robert Dobbs with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the ivory-billed woodpecker is among nearly two dozen birds, fish and other species that have now been declared extinct.

Cut 3 (05) “…Louisiana since 1944.”

Dobbs says the last confirmed siting of the ivory-billed woodpecker was in the Tensas River area in northeastern Louisiana. The extinction designation this week comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Dobbs says bird lovers haven’t given up altogether on trying to find the ivory-billed woodpecker since its mid-1940s disappearance, but haven’t had any luck.

Cut 4 (09) “…have been confirmed.”

Dobbs says efforts need to be focused on making sure other species of birds and animals don’t disappear from the planet.

Cut 5 (08) “…to this point.”

The ivory-billed woodpecker was added to the endangered species list in the 1960s, before being declared extinct on Wednesday and joining a list of more than 900 extinct species worldwide.

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Due to extremely high call volume, Louisiana has received approval to extend DSNAP. Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says they understand the frustration among callers, and they are pleased they’ve received federal approval to extend call-in days.

Cut 6 (08) “…fourth week.” 

Phase three will end October 9^th and then those with the last names beginning with A-L can call in on October 11^th. Surnames M-Z on October 12^th and all names on October 13^th.

Of the 110-thousand calls so far seeking DSNAP assistance, almost 81-thousand have been approved.

Walters says DSNAP eligibility is a combination of one’s income and disaster-related expenses. She says the anxiety related to a mindset of “I lost all my food, I should be able to get DSNAP,” has frustrated many callers.

Cut 7 (11) “…simply not”  

Before when DSNAP applicants would visit an office in person Walters says candidates came in on assigned days, but since they moved to a virtual process they’ve been inundated with calls.

Cut 8 (08) “…any day”

Walters says for the extended days they will receive assistance from DSNAP operators in Texas and Oklahoma to assist with call volume. She says their ultimate goal is to assist those who are eligible and to keep people from going hungry.

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State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the number one complaint his office is getting is the often slow response of insurance adjusters assigned to assess property damage.

Cut 9 (08) “…did the inspection.” 

He says adjusters have up to 60 days to inspect a property, and that failures to initiate a loss adjustment within that time period or pay a claim within 30 days after proof of loss, can result in penalties against insurers, including fines of up to 100-thousand-dollars per violation.

Complaints about adjusters not responding quickly enough to policyholder complaints may seem puzzling when Donelon notes the number of them at work in the state.

Cut 10 (06)  “…to our market.” 

When opting to file a complaint with the Louisiana Department of Insurance, Donelon says you need to be able to relay what’s gone wrong with your attempt to get your property damage assessed and paid for.

Cut  11 (09)  “…keep detailed notes. ”  

Contact ldi.la.gov for further information.

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The Louisiana Health Department reported 872 new coronavirus cases today, it’s the lowest one-day total since early July. Ochsner Health Chief Medical Officer Doctor Robert Hart says the state is making good progress against COVID, but another surge is possible and vaccination rates will play a role…

Cut 12 (10) “..infected again.”  

State officials say nearly 52-percent of the state’s population is vaccinated and over 61-percent of the state’s eligible population has completed the vaccine series.

In another positive sign, COVID hospitalizations have fallen below 900 for the first time since July 21st. Hart says with just over half of the state’s population vaccinated, the possibility of another surge exists…

Cut 13 (09) “…woods yet.”

Hart says the fourth surge of COVID claimed thousands of lives and jammed their hospitals with COVID patients. It was the worst out of the four surges and Hart is hopeful the next surge is not as bad…

Cut 14 (08) “….winter months”