Entergy is facing a class-action lawsuit over extended outages from Hurricane Ida. Brooke Thorington has more

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The difficult times continue for those in Terrebonne Parish left without a roof over their head from destructive Hurricane Ida.  Dave Brannen reports it’s a situation upsetting to State Representative Tanner Magee.

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After extensive power outages from Hurricane Ida, Entergy is now facing a class-action lawsuit from customers. As many as 902-thousand lost power following the storm. Juan LaFonta is one of the attorneys’ representing plaintiffs in the case.

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La Fonta says the suit is seeking to recover damages for losses that include things like food that was spoiled due to lack of power and even electrical equipment that was harmed when power was restored.

Cut 4  (10) “…transmission lines.” 

As of Monday LaFonta says they have seventeen plaintiffs, but they expect the number to grow as more people join the class-action lawsuit.

LaFonta says Entergy has failed to upgrade lines in the past even when recommended to do so, thus making them more vulnerable during a storm.

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Entergy issued a statement that they will not comment on pending litigation.

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Two lawsuits are now making their way through state court that allege that mandates issued by Ochsner Lafayette General and Our Lady of the Lourdes Regional Medical Center violate the state constitution by forcing nurses and staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19.  Attorney Jimmy Faircloth.

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There are a total of 83 plaintiffs in the two cases that under the mandate issued by the hospitals could face termination if not vaccinated.

Faircloth says those suing, who he calls “frontline heroes” and being “vilified” for not getting the vaccine.

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Ochsner is not commenting on the lawsuit but they say data and science show the efficacy of safety of the vaccines. Lourdes says it believes it’s taken appropriate measures to mitigate risks associated with the pandemic.

Faircloth says the court filing is a first step in trying to halt the implementation of the vaccine mandate for the hospital workers named as plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed in the 15^th Judicial District Court.

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The post-Ida misery continues. State Representative Tanner Magee of Houma told a legislative committee Monday that 13-thousand homes in Terrebonne Parish have been destroyed or significantly damaged. He says 68-percent of residences along the dividing line of the parish are not habitable, and owners are working through the difficulty

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Magee says the situation was and remains critical with FEMA saying temporary structures could arrive within the next month and lashed out at apartment owners who gave renters just over a week to vacate damaged residences, offering no options of where they were to go.

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Magee says while FEMA has offered an alternative housing option for Ida victims in Terrebonne, he says that option doesn’t exist at the present.

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Magee criticized those who made a decision by September 3^rd, four days after Ida’s landfall, that people would have to vacate apartments hit by the storm regardless of the amount of damage.

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The mayors of Shreveport and Lake Charles have made a friendly wager that their city can get more residents vaccinated for COVID than the other. Mayors Adrian Perkins and Nic Hunter have set Halloween as the deadline to get the most first dose vaccinations. The two mayors posted an online video announcing the challenge. Perkins says both cities win if the vaccination rate increases.

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Despite the ongoing hurricane recovery in southwest Louisiana, Hunter feels Lake Charles residents are up to the challenge.

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Each Monday the mayors will update vaccination progress on their respective social media pages. Both Perkins and Hunter say the vaccine is the answer to ending the pandemic

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Mayor Hunter will serve up a captain’s seafood platter from Steamboat Bill’s in Lake Charles should Shreveport prove victorious, and Mayor Perkins will pony up stuffed shrimp from Orlandeaux’s Café in Shreveport if Lake Charles wins.

Terrebonne parish, among the hardest hit by Ida, is still working around the clock to return to a sense of normalcy, though that’s expected to take years to accomplish.  An update from Dave Brannen.

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There are concerns that Ida could impact the population in southeast Louisiana, similar to Katrina 16-years ago. Brooke Thorington has more.

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A lot of trees fell victim to Hurricane Ida’s wrath as way too many property owners know about it firsthand. But, Whitney Wallace, an LSU AgCenter Forestry and Wildlife agent, says the damaged and felled trees, particularly on the North Shore, have impacted landowners and agricultural and livestock producers.

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Wallace says the AgCenter, along with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, is continuing to assess the dollar damage with the biggest economic impact expected to be to the agricultural infrastructure and timber.

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Wallace says landowners are pretty familiar with having to deal with downed trees, the worst most recent example prior to Ida was all the timber that Katrina felled 16 years ago.

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The Pfizer vaccine trial for children ages five to eleven indicates promising results. Pfizer is expected to ask the FDA for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks. Tulane Epidemiologist Doctor Susan Hassig says there’s been a significant increase in COVID cases among that age group especially with school back in session.

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Hassig says the FDA asked Pfizer to extend the pediatric vaccine trial by two months so they would have more data to review, even though there is great anticipation to allow those ages five to eleven to be vaccinated.

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In the pediatric trial, children were given the same vaccine as adults, but at a lower dosage. Hassig says parents should be reassured that the FDA will review the data carefully before issuing any type of authorization.

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Since July pediatric cases in the United States have increased by 240-percent.

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Terrebonne Parish is continuing its recovery efforts more than three weeks after Hurricane Ida tore up the coastal area.  Parish spokesman, Mart Black, says while most of the power is back and water has been mostly restored, housing for storm victims is the biggest problem.

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Black says Ida left Terrebonne Parish completely in the dark, but today only 16-percent of utility customers don’t have electricity. He gives credit to the power companies…

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He says the hope is to have power restored to everyone whose home or business can safely receive it by September 29^th.

Black says one thing that’s getting back to normal in Terrebonne is residential garbage pickup, and he says a contractor is working to clear the curbs of storm debris stacked up by homeowners.

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There are growing concerns of permanent population loss in southeastern coastal parishes after Hurricane Ida. Demographer Greg Rigamer says Ida was a devastating blow and it will be very difficult for Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Charles, and St. John Parishes to recover.

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Since Katrina, the area has suffered devastating effects from Gustav, Isaac, and now Ida. Rigamer, who is a New Orleans resident, says right now he’d guess up to a hundred thousand could leave the coastal parishes permanently.

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The recent population shift however should not impact voting districts. Rigamer says the numbers for redistricting that will be discussed by lawmakers next year are based on the 2020 Census data.

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In New Orleans, more than half of the population left after Katrina close to 250 thousand. Rigamer says he believes the population in non-levee protected parishes will diminish after Ida.