The House is expected to vote on the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill today. Brooke Thorington has more from two of the state’s congressional members.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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Sports betting in Louisiana is still on hold for now after an expected mid-September start-up.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

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Mandatory quarantine for school kids who may be exposed to COVID is getting a policy makeover. More from Kevin Gallagher…:

Cut 3 (32)  “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

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The U-S House is expected to vote on the $1-trillion Infrastructure Bill today. But when you look for support among Louisiana House members it appears as if Democrat Troy Carter will be the lone Congressman from the Bayou State casting a yay vote.

Cut 4 (07) “…Louisiana “

However Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow feels the bill does not do enough to help residents in Louisiana, especially the ones she represents.

Cut 5 (11) “…5th district.”

Carter feels the bill can assist with several needs in Louisiana like broadband infrastructure, road and bridge projects, and also upgrade the state’s power grid.

Cut 6 (10) “…a pretzels.

Carter believes the bill can help fund the placement of power lines underground, but Letlow says the appropriated funding won’t even come close to assisting the Bayou State.

Cut 7 (11) “…Louisiana alone.”

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was among the group of 22 senators, and one of five Republicans, that negotiated the bill in the Senate. Fellow party member Senator John Kennedy voted against the bill.

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Sports betting across the 55 parishes in Louisiana that approved it remains on hold after an expected mid-September start-up delayed by Hurricane Ida.  Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns:

Cut 8 (11) “…license applications reviewed.”

At last count 13 applications had been received of the 20 expected from casinos and racetracks around the state. Johns says he won’t venture a guess on the exact date when sports betting will be up and running in Louisiana.

Johns says troopers who had been assigned to Ida recovery from the State Police Gaming Division are back at full capacity to get help get sports betting rolling sooner rather than later.

Cut 9 (09)  “..final approval to.”

Gaming Control Board Chair Ronnie Johns says it’s important for sports betting in the Bayou State to be fully compliant with state law.

Cut 10 (10)  “…get it right.” 

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State Education officials say parents of public school kids who may have been exposed to COVID will now have the option of whether or not to quarantine them. Education Superintendent Cade Brumley says mandatory quarantine for those possibly exposed to the virus wasn’t in students’ best interests…:

Cut 11 (12) “…away from their friends.”

Brumley says too many students have missed too much classroom time due to mandatory evacuations, and the new option will be offered to school districts statewide who choose to implement it…:

Cut 12 (05) “…remain in school.”

(The state Health Department strongly recommends school districts follow public health guidance and parents quarantine unvaxxed kids who may have been exposed to the virus.)

Brumley says any students who ARE quarantined for possible COVID exposure will receive a free virus screening. He says engaging the parents in their child’s well-being is a good policy…:

Cut 13 (05) “…can consider

School systems are free to adopt the policy or not. If a child tests positive for COVID, or shows symptoms, they should still be isolated until they recover.

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In a surprise turn of events the mother of two-year Neveah Allen, who was reported missing Friday and later found in Mississippi, has been charged with second-degree murder. 24-year old Lanaya Cardwell of Baton Rouge was arrested Wednesday days after her boyfriend, 30-year old Philip Gardner was arrested for unlawful disposal of a body. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul…

Cut 14 (06)  “…into custody.”

An autopsy was performed on the child after her remains were located in a remote wooded area of Hancock County, Mississippi. Paul who remained tight-lipped about the ongoing investigation would only say the coroner’s ruling in the case.

Cut 15 (08)  “…coroner’s office.”

When the child was reported missing Cardwell told reporters that she last saw her child Friday morning before she left to go to work. It was originally reported that Gardner was watching the child and when he awoke from a nap she was discovered missing. Paul was asked when Cardwell became suspect in the investigation.

Cut  16 (08) “…the truth.”

Both Cardwell and Gardner are charged with second-degree murder. Garnder is also charged with unlawful disposal of human remains and obstruction of justice.

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Louisiana Tech is at 23rd ranked North Carolina State. It’s the final non-conference game for the Bulldogs and Coach Skip Holtz says playing a ranked team like N-C State can only make you better…

Cut 17 (14) “..every week.” 

Tech is coming off a 24-17 win over North Texas. Starting quarterback Austin Kendall did not play because of medical reasons. Holtz believes Kendall will be back, but another signal caller may miss this Saturday’s game…

Cut 18 (25)”…be out”

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The Saints are getting ready for their Dome opener when they host the New York Giants on Sunday. Quarterback Jameis Winston is expecting a very loud environment….

Cut 19 (25)  “…down here.” 

New York is still looking for its first win, but Winston says the Giants have a great secondary….

Cut 20 (18)  “…be ready.” 

Thirty days ago Ida made landfall and left just under a million Entergy customers in the dark. Brooke Thorington has more on restoration…

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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Terrebonne residents left homeless from the damage caused by Hurricane Ida are still waiting for viable temporary housing.  More from Dave Brannen:

Cut 2 (34)…I’m Dave Brannen”  

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Thirty days after Hurricane Ida, the Louisiana Public Service Commission reports nearly eight thousand customers are without power as a result of the Category 4 storm. Entergy Louisiana VP of Distribution Operations John Hawkins says some of their customers are still not able to accept power because of damage to their homes…

Cut 3 (09) “…their lives.”

Grand Isle and Port Fourchon are amongst the hardest-hit areas and Hawkins says for those coastal communities it is an entire rebuild versus a restoration.  He says crews are working 16-hour days in an effort to give them some normalcy as soon as possible.

Cut 4 (11) “…restored”

Hawkins says while work in those hardest-hit areas will remain ongoing throughout the year, he believes customers will have service long before however they will continue to harden the grid.

Hawkins says part of the restoration includes replacing equipment with more robust gear to withstand hurricane-strength winds of up to 150 miles per hour. A month out from landfall, Hawkins says they wouldn’t have been able to have the lights back on for as many customers as they do without the assistance of out-of-state crews.

Cut 5 (11) “…quicker.”

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Thousands of Terrebonne Parish residents are still having to resort to tents or storm debris as a shelter following the landfall of Hurricane Ida a month ago today.  Houma Representative Tanner Magee says his efforts to find decent temporary housing for his constituents have been frustrating.

Cut 6 (12) “…my entire life” 

He says the feds are making moves to get trailers sent to Terrebonne Parish, but the process is a red tape battle.

Magee is critical of FEMA for its failure to move quickly on the mobile home alternative to temporary housing, relying instead on apartments and hotel rooms.

Cut 7 (12) “…at temporary housing”  

On a positive note when it comes to temporary housing, Magee says FEMA has sent out a request for proposals for 10-thousand trailers to be located in Terrebonne Parish but says it’ll be a waiting game.

Cut 8 (08) “..actual real trailers”

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Gas prices usually decline in the fall, but that’s not the case this year. According to the Louisiana Triple-A, the statewide price for a regular gallon of gasoline is $2.90. About eight cents higher than a month ago. Triple-A fuel analyst Don Redman says the big culprit in keeping pump prices high is the price of crude oil…

Cut 9 (09) “…of the year” 

Redman says 16-percent of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico is still shut down because of Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas. He says uncertainty in the economy is also keeping oil prices elevated…

Cut 10 (12)  “..stubornerly high” 

Redman says most Louisiana refineries are running again, so hopefully, gas prices will stabilize and possibly decline as demand falls…

Cut  11 (10)  “…the reality ”  

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The latest trend for job seekers is to add their vaccination status to their resume and/or job application. According to an August Wall Street Journal survey of more than a thousand hiring managers, 70-percent prefer to hire vaccinated individuals. UNO Business Professor Mark Rosa says your vaccination status is almost like a credential now.

Cut 12 (07) “….about safety.”  

Rosa says he feels as if employers are going to rally around the vaccination movement and we will see more workplaces requiring workers to be fully inoculated.

Cut 13 (10) “…workforce.”

The survey also noted that a third of hiring managers say they are automatically eliminating resumes that do not address vaccination status. Rosa says legally an employer can’t ask if you are vaccinated but you can volunteer the information.

Cut 14 (11) “….about.” 

The vaccination status trend is also being observed on social media as jobseekers are adding their vaccination status to the top of their professional profiles on LinkedIn.

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Governor John Bel Edwards has extended Louisiana’s indoor mask mandate for another four weeks. Edwards says the states’ overall COVID-19 outlook is improving, but baseline numbers are still too high

Cut 15 (10) “…of that” 

The governor is encouraged the number of new cases and COVID hospitalizations have fallen below one-thousand from a high of three-thousand. But he says the state’s level of COVID 2.5 times what the CDC considers high. He says the state’s mask mandate includes K-through-12 schools and college campuses

Cut 16 (12) “..are masked.”