While in DC meeting with lawmakers about disaster relief for 2020 and 2021 Governor Edwards was asked about what’s being done to address immediate housing needs for those impacted by Ida. Brooke Thorington has more

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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The Louisiana National Guard is still busy at work helping those victimized by Hurricane Ida almost four weeks ago.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

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A federal grand jury indicts former Monroe area State Police trooper Jacob Brown for the May 2019 flashlight beating of a man during an arrest. More from Kevin Gallagher.

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

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Louisiana State Police are taking part in this Saturday’s national program to check child passenger seats. Sergeant James Anderson says the event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon.

Cut 4 (11) “…they’re installed properly.”

Officials say that 75-percent of children are in a safety seat that’s the wrong size or type or improperly installed.  The National Seat Check is being held in nine locations around the state.

Trooper Anderson says the focus will be on helping participants with the proper installation of a child seat.

Cut 5 (12) “…to be installed.”

Sergeant Anderson says that in many cases the child seats are not being correctly utilized.

Cut 6 (11) “…not being used”

Locations for the free car seat inspection can be found on the website, www.lsp.org.

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Hurricane Ida left an estimated eight thousand homes unlivable and some of those individuals are living in tents and rubble where their homes once stood. Thousands of others are displaced. Governor John Bel Edwards says his administration is pushing FEMA to speed up the decision-making on long-term housing for these individuals…

Cut 7 (09) “…available to that.”

Edwards says it’s not as if FEMA isn’t helping because the agency is currently assisting 25,000 with transitional shelter via hotel rooms and there’s also essential lodging for those in impacted areas. Edwards says FEMA will decide on the next phase and it could be a combination of structures.

Cut 8 (09) “…and barges?”

Edwards says FEMA is currently housing 25-thousand displaced Hurricane Ida survivors in hotels away from home. He understands many of those would like temporary housing set up on their property, but will be FEMA’s decision.

Cut 9 (11)  “…look like (x2).”

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Thousands of Louisiana National Guard members are still on the job helping victims of Ida in the southeast coastal communities. Spokesperson Noel Collins tells us what some of the citizen-soldiers are doing to assist in the recovery.

Cut 10 (09)  “…generator support missions.” 

Collins says many of the guard members have been working to get commodities to those in need.

Cut 11 (11) “…bags of ice.”

More than three weeks after Ida made landfall, the guard is still helping out in many ways, but the number of soldiers still on duty has diminished significantly according to Collins.

Cut 12 (11) “…thousand service members.”

She says the guard still has 12 points of distribution for meals, water, ice, and tarps operating in four parishes, down from 80 pods at the start statewide.

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A federal grand jury indicts a former Monroe area State Trooper for excessive force in the May 2019 roadside beating of arrestee Aaron Bowman. Jacob Brown’s bodycam footage shows his striking Bowman 18 or more times with his MagLite. Legal analyst Tim Meche says it’s important to remember a federal indictment is not for committing a violent crime.

Cut 13 (09) “…jurisdiction over that.”

Brown’s indictment is for “deprivation of rights under color of law”. Meche says the prosecutor will need little more than the video to convince a jury of Brown’s guilt, but there are avenues Brown’s legal counsel could take to clear him.

Cut 14 (10)  “…a mile long.”

If convicted of the deprivation of rights charge, Brown could face up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250-thousand. Meche says this is a great example of how cops wearing body cameras leads to more and better transparency. He says Brown’s defense has its work cut out for it.

Cut 15 (13)  “…gonna be the key.”

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LSU’s defense has spent this week getting ready for Mississippi State’s air raid offense. The Bulldogs threw for an SEC-record 623 yards against the Tigers in last year’s season opener. After missing the last two games with an injury, safety Jay Ward is expected to play. Defensive end BJ Ojulari says having Ward on the field means a lot for the Tigers…

Cut  16 (16) “…him back.”

Ojulari believes they are better on defense this year

Cut 17 (15) “…same page.” 

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Louisiana Tech looks to rebound from a tough loss last weekend when they host North Texas in the Conference USA opener. The Bulldogs fell to 1-and-2 on the season when SMU hit on a Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game to beat Tech last Saturday. Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz says it was a gut punch, but hopefully something they can learn from

Cut 18 (23)”…get better.”

Holtz says North Texas is an explosive team on offense…

Cut 19 (13)  “…corp.” 

Governor Edwards says there are two measures in the works in both chambers of Congress to fund disaster relief. Brooke Thorington has more from his DC trip.

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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Hurricane Ida delivered another devastating blow to the state’s seafood industry. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30)…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

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Governor John Bel Edwards has been in DC this week meeting with lawmakers in hopes of getting disaster relief funding for the state. He says he feels it’s been a productive week and measures have been introduced in both chambers for disaster relief for the nation as a whole for 2020 and 21.

Cut 3 (11) “…which state.”

Edwards says there’s significant help in the bills and not just in Community Development Block Grant dollars for housing needs. He says there’s also funding for the Corps of Engineers, emergency work on highways and bridges, fisheries, and money for crop and timber losses

Cut 4 (11) “…grant portion.”

The governor says the main focus of this trip is to secure funding for unmet housing needs after the 2020 hurricanes and while there he’s also laying the foundation for Ida needs as well.

Cut 5 (07) “…Louisiana.”

The governor has been meeting with decision-makers since Monday and today is his last day in DC

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Hurricane Ida delivered another blow to the state’s seafood industry, which annually produces millions of pounds of fish, shrimp, crabs, and oysters. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says Ida’s 150-mile per hour winds on the southeastern coast of Louisiana caused major damage to boats and docks

Cut 6 (12) “…damaged” 

Restaurants are reporting a lack of oysters as oyster beds are closed. Nungesser says the state health department needs to test the waters, so hopefully, they will open soon. He says shrimpers could face a longer recovery…

Cut 7 (06) “…were sunk”  

Nungesser says fishermen will need federal assistance in order to bounce back from this destructive hurricane.

Cut 8 (11) “..the most”

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The state department of transportation has re-opened the westbound lanes on the I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, but eastbound lanes remain closed as a result of an 18-wheeler catching on fire last night. DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson says it’s been a busy week of bridge inspections…

Cut 9 (12) “…as we speak” 

Wilson says the eastbound lanes of the bridge will remain closed until further notice to complete an inspection of the bridge.  Meanwhile, DOTD has temporarily opened two lanes to I-10 East to the East flyover ramp and two lanes to the I-210 eastbound to I-10 westbound flyover to help ease the severe traffic congestion.

The DOTD Secretary suspects that the damage was confined mostly to the deck of the bridge compared to an earlier fire near I-310 in southeast Louisiana.

Cut 10 (08)  “…burn as long” 

Wilson says fire damage to the I-10 Calcasieu Bridge is being checked out by inspectors.

Cut  11 (09)  “…it back up.”  

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Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell is taking the state’s GOP congressmen to task. He said they voted earlier this week against a continuing resolution to keep the government running with a higher debt ceiling even though the legislation included 28-billion-dollars in emergency relief for Louisiana and elsewhere.

Cut 12 (09) “….all against it”  

Campbell says the Republican members voted three times in favor of raising the debt ceiling when Trump was president, and he believes helping Louisiana recover from the state’s destructive hurricanes is more important than party loyalty.

Campbell says he doesn’t believe hurricane victims, including those in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes slammed by Ida, would tell you at this time that they care about party politics, they just want help

Cut 13 (09) “…the Republican Party.”

The spending bill containing billions for hurricane relief and other disasters around the nation passed the House on Tuesday night. Campbell lambasts the Louisiana GOP delegation for their “no” votes given the number of people hurting from hurricane devastation in the state.

Cut 14 (09) “….have to do” 

The Department of Children and Family Services is urging those calling in for DSNAP interviews to do so on their assigned day. Brooke Thorington explains.

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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AT&T has faced heavy criticism for its response to Hurricane Ida and today a PSC member tried to get answers. Jeff Palermo has the story

Cut 2 (32)…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

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Congressman Garret Graves is pulling no punches in his concern for the fate of much-needed federal dollars for hurricane recovery aid in Louisiana.  He says the amount proposed is less than two billion dollars and is earmarked for disasters across the nation.

Cut 3 (10) “…not a chance.”

And, Graves says a “poison pill” in the mix is that the funding is tied to legislation to increase the national debt without limit that’s being sought by the Biden Administration. The debt is currently more than 28-trillion and recent requests would push it to 45-trillion.

Garret minces no words with the move by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to intertwine disaster recovery with substantially increasing the debt limit on federal spending.

Cut 4  (10) “..pill in there.” 

Congressman Troy Carter is among those who voted Tuesday to approve the Extending Government Funding and Disaster Assistance Act.  He says the bill provides crucial funding for disaster recovery in Louisiana.

Cut 5 (10) “…across this nation.”

The bill is part of a larger package dealing with funding the government and increasing the debt ceiling.

Carter says there is funding in the continuing resolution to help with South Louisiana’s long-term recovery efforts.

Cut 6 (08) “…in the past.” 

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More than 26-thousand calls were taken during the first two days for DSNAP interviews. 25 parishes are eligible for disaster food stamps however interviews for the parishes are not held on the same weeks. In an effort to reduce hold times DCFS Assistant Secretary Shavana Howard urges callers to visit their webpage and only call on their designated day.

Cut 7 (10) “…the help.”  

To receive DSNAP the first step is to pre-register online, then call in on your specified day. Howard says she understands it’s frustrating to sit on hold for an hour only to be told to call back on your assigned day. Besides their webpage, another way to find your day to call is by…

Cut 8 (11) “…using.”

Howard also recommends downloading LA Wallet to reregister for DSNAP and you’ll need your social security number, proof of income, resources, and disaster expenses to preregister. Calling in on your assigned day is not pre-registration and if you miss your interview day, they are holding makeup days.

Cut 9 (10) “…the alphabet”(x2) 

Current SNAP recipients are not eligible for DSNAP.

For more information visit dcfs.louisiana.gov/dsnap and visit their FAQ page.

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An AT&T representative told the Public Service Commission today the company’s response was immediate and their restoration efforts were robust in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. But P-S-C Member Eric Skrmetta doesn’t believe the customer should be the ones requesting credits for the days without AT&T service

Cut 10 (12)  “…investigation” 

Skrmetta also expressed disappointment that AT&T could not provide information on how many contractors they brought in to restore service.

Cut  11 (11)  “…unacceptable answer”  

Skrmetta also believes AT&T should have an outage map that’s easily accessible to customers, similar to the one Entergy has for power outages.

But he says one of the biggest headaches for his office is that AT&T is failing to meet with its customers and his office has received numerous calls on this issue…

Cut 12 (12) “….your customers”  

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A Benton woman faces 16 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after a tip led Bossier Sheriff’s investigators to a horse training center behind Benton Intermediate School. Deputy Rod White says three horses were found dead inside a dump trailer, while 13 additional horses were found to be malnourished and lacking water.

Cut 13 (08) “…things were showing.”

White says the woman, 52-year-old Sandra Blackmon Driscoll, had her bond set at 100-thousand-dollars.

White says the surviving horses were living in deplorable conditions.

Cut 14 (05) “….stalls were unkept” 

White says the charges against Driscoll are all felonies.

Cut 15 (12) “…were taken away” 

Driscoll was booked into the Bossier Maximum Security Facility, while the surviving horses were transported to another local horse owner to be boarded.