LSU is preparing to host 22nd ranked Auburn tonight at 8 Pm. Auburn’s defense ranks fourth in the SEC in total defense allowing 284 yards a game. Tigers center Liam Shannahan hopes their up-tempo offense can keep them off balance…
cut 30 (26) “…for us so”
According to Sports Illustrated, LSU running back John Emery will remain ineligible over an academic issue. His appeal has been denied by the NCAA and Emery’s attorney is investigating other possible avenues to get Emery back on the field. Without Emery, the Tigers are averaging less than three yards a rush.
Author Archives: Jeff Palermo
8:30 LRN Newscast September 29
State health officials say they’ve seen an alarming increase in severe pregnancy outcomes since the Delta variant started circulating in mid-July. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter is once again urging expecting mothers to get vaccinated. Kanter says the data continues to show the vaccine is safe for pregnant women…
cut 9 (10) “….breastfeeding”
LSU says its overall enrollment is at an all-time high of 35,914 thanks to a record freshmen enrollment of just over seven-thousand. Vice President for Enrollment Management Jose Aviles says this freshman class is also the most accomplished…
cut 16 (11) “…to a 26”
Aviles says this is also the most diverse freshmen class in university history as 19-percent of the class is made up of Black students.
State lawmakers heard from school systems struggling with recovery from Hurricane Ida last month and Laura last year. Kevin Gallagher has more.
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”
Meanwhile, there are thousands of Hurricane Ida victims waiting on FEMA to bring travel trailers to their property, so they can live here, while repairs are done to their damaged home. Governor Edwards says he’s pushing FEMA to get this done, but certain things are required…
cut 6 (06) “….a sewer system”
7:30 LRN Newscast September 29
Governor Edwards is expressing optimism that FEMA will soon begin the effort of hauling in travel trailers for Hurricane Ida displaced homeowners to temporarily live in while they repair their property…
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”
And Governor Edwards has extended the state’s indoor mask mandate until October 27th. He says every community in Louisiana continues to have a high rate of COVID.
Despite LSU requiring its students to be vaccinated, overall enrollment for the state’s flagship university is at an all-time high, just below 36-thousand. Vice President of Enrollment Jose Aviles…
cut 15 (11) “…at LSU”
The school is also reporting a record freshman enrollment and the diversity of the class is at an all-time high, nearly 19-percent of the class is made up of Black students.
The state health department says amid the fourth COVID surge, there have been six maternal deaths and 10 fetal deaths and the cases involved mothers who were unvaccinated. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter says pregnant individuals and their children are vulnerable to this highly contagious illness…
cut 8 (11) “….unborn babies”
Kanter says expecting mothers should get the COVID vaccine.
6:45 LRN Sportscast September 29
LSU enters Saturday night’s showdown versus Auburn ranked next to last in the SEC in rush offense, averaging less than three yards a carry. Center Liam Shanahan says the o-line knows they need to do a better job of opening up holes for the running backs…
cut 18 (18) “….what they can do”
Meanwhile Auburn is averaging 257 yards on the ground. They have two talented running backs, Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter. Still no word on who will start at quarterback for Auburn. It will be either Bo Nix or former LSU Tiger TJ Finley.
The Saints get to practice at their own training facility today for the first time since they left for Texas because of Hurricane Ida. This Sunday is the Dome opener against the Giants.
ULM Quarterback Rhett Rodrigeuz is back home after spending a few days in the hospital due to a partially collapsed lung. Warhawks coach Terry Bowden says Rodriguez underwent a medical procedure following Saturday’s win over Troy…
cut 19 (13) “…the procedure”
There’s no word on how much time Rodriguez will miss.
Ragin Cajuns Coach Billy Napier says starting left tackle Carlos Rubio will likely miss most of the rest of the season after suffering an injury in last Saturday’s win over Georgia Southern.
Texas A-and-M Commerce is joining the Southland Conference. The school is located 65 miles northeast of Dallas and the Lions will become official members next July. Their football team won the Division Two national championship in 2017.
LSU men’s basketball will play an exhibition against Nicholls in Thibodaux on October 23rd and the proceeds will go towards Hurricane Ida relief.
6:30 LRN Newscast September 29
Thousands of Hurricane Ida victims continue to wait on FEMA to deliver trailer trailers that can be used on their property as they rebuild their homes. Governor John Bel Edwards says he’s pushing FEMA to get this done and says the wait time thus far hasn’t come close to matching the delay Laura victims endured…
cut 4 (12) “….after Hurricane Ida”
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says about 70-thousand students across southeast Louisiana are out of school because of damaged classrooms. St. Charles Parish Superintendent Kern Oertling says they will need federal help to put their schools back together…
cut 11 (13) “….20 million dollars”
Governor Edwards has extended the state’s indoor mask mandate until October 27th. And the state health department reports an alarming increase in severe pregnancy outcomes amid the fourth COVID surge.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
LSU says this year’s freshmen class is their largest and most accomplished and diverse. Vice President of Enrollment Jose Aviles says overall enrollment is also at an all-time high…
cut 14 (07) “…number”
4:45 LRN Sportscast September 28
LSU’s defense had a much better performance this time around against Mississippi State compared to last season when the Tigers allowed an SEC record 623 passing yards. But LSU’s “D” faded in the second half, giving up two fourth-quarter touchdowns to make it a close game. Coach Ed Orgeron says they needed to rotate their defensive players earlier in order to avoid fatigue…
cut 17 (17) “….bring em back”
LSU linebacker Damone Clark was SEC defensive player of the week after recording a career-high 15 tackles. The senior leads the SEC in tackles.
Nicholls Quarterback Lindsey Scott is the Southland Offensive Player of the Week. The former Zachary star accounted for more than 300 yards of offense in the Colonels win over North Alabama.
There’s been chatter that Pelicans All-Star Zion Williamson is not happy in New Orleans. But on Media Day, the former number one pick says he loves the city of New Orleans and does not want to be anywhere else. There have been reports of a riff between Williamson and David Griffen, the top basketball executive for the Pels and when the team was in the NBA bubble in the summer of 2020, Griffen tried to connect with Williamson by playing the piano for him at their hotel. Zion refutes the story…
cut 20 (16) “…(laughter)”
Williamson is recovering from a broken foot, but expects to be ready for the regular-season opener on October 20th.
The late Tony Robichaux will be inducted into the Ragin Cajuns athletics hall of fame at the end of October. Robichaux won 1,177 games during a 33-year coaching career that was cut short by his untimely death in 2019.
LRN PM Newscall September 28
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:
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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…
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.
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.
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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.
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…
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…
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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.
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.
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.
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
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
11:40 LRN Sportscast September 28
The LSU Tigers are getting ready for a physical game on Saturday night against the Auburn Tigers. Both defenses have shown the ability to get behind the line of scrimmage. Auburn leads the nation in tackles for a loss, with 43. Coach Ed Orgeron says his offensive line better be ready
Cut 16 (19) “…get ready.”
Orgeron says he expects left tackle Cam Wire to return after missing three games and backup offensive lineman Charles Turner could also return after missing a couple of games.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Saints left tackle Terron Armstead will miss multiple weeks after injuring his elbow in the first half of Sunday’s win against the Patriots. Armstead could reportedly miss three to six weeks.
The Pelicans begin training camp today but All-Star Forward Zion Williamson is recovering from offseason surgery to repair a broken foot. He’s expected to be ready when the regular season starts on October 20th. Williamson also addressed rumors he’d rather play somewhere else. Zion says he loves New Orleans and his relationship with the executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is good…
Cut 18 (18)”…building off that “
The Southland Conference is adding Texas A-and-M Commerce to the league and they will become an official member next July.
In the FCS rankings, Southeastern Louisiana is ranked 14th heading into its game against McNeese, and Northwestern State will host 23rd ranked UIW on Saturday night.
10:30 LRN Newscast
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has told krewe members to get vaccinated in order for Mardi Gras parades to roll in 2022. It’s a sign the city plans on hosting parades next year. Mardi Gras publisher Arthur Hardy…
cut 11 (10) “….bets are off”
Hardy says the more people who are vaccinated the more likely we are to have a safer Mardi Gras season.
At-risk adults who received Pfizer vaccine shots over six months ago can get a booster. What about those who received the Moderna vaccine? Tulane epidemiologist Doctor Susan Hassig says the majority of Moderna recipients in Louisiana are nursing home residents…
cut 15 (11) “…with Delta”
The deadline to request a blue tarp to cover up a damaged roof from Hurricane Ida is Thursday. Lt. Colonel Robert Green is with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers….
cut 6 (10) “…associated with that”
Green says they will install their 10-thousandth roof today. To have a blue tarp installed on your hurricane-damaged home call 888-ROOF-B-L-U.
The FBI says the nation’s murder rate climbed 30-percent in 2020, compared to the previous year. The single largest jump in the agency’s history of tracking crime stats. LSU School of Medicine Criminologist, Peter Scharf says don’t look for things to get any better until the criminal justice system, ranging from the cops on the beat to the courts, can be improved after events like George Floyd’s murder and growing distrust of police.
Cut 9 (10) “..a rough ride.”
8:30 LRN Newscast September 28
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is asking all Mardi Gras krewes to be fully vaccinated before the 2022 carnival season. Is this an indicator that the good times will roll once again after no parades this year? Mardi Gras Guide publisher Arthur Hardy says it’s a formidable carrot to dangle for some 40-thousand krewe members.
Cut 10 (10) “…a good one.”
Most businesses and venues in New Orleans already require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to enter their stores or establishments.
The Army Corps of Engineers says they’ve received 40-thousand validated requests to install a blue tarp to cover up roofs damaged by Hurricane Ida. Lt. Colonel Robert Warren Green says they will install their 10-thousandth roof today and the deadline for the Blue Roof Program is fast approaching…
cut 4 (09) “….by this Thursday”
The FDA and CDC have issued guidance for the Pfizer COVID vaccine booster but what if you received one of the other two vaccines???
cut 3 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
A flash fire at Westlake Chemical in southwest Louisiana injured five contract employees last night. State Police says two of the injured employees have been transferred to hospitals in Hammond and Lafayette. A plant spokesperson says the unit which produces ethylene was undergoing maintenance at the time of the explosion.