During his monthly radio show, Ask the Governor, Governor John Bel Edwards said he has complete confidence in the Superintendent of State Police, Colonel Lamar Davis. Last Friday, Davis held a press conference and discussed policy reforms L-S-P has implemented to reduce excessive force encounters with the public. Edwards calls the policy changes appropriate…
cut 11 (11) “…people of Louisiana”
State Police has come under fire for multiple cases of white troopers beating up black motorists during traffic stops. Edwards called the 2019 violent arrest of Ronald Greene criminal. Greene died in police custody and federal investigations into the case are ongoing.

Baton Rouge native Hayley Arceneaux is in space. The 29-year-old Arceneaux and three other citizens blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral last night. The crew will conduct scientific experiments during a three-day mission.

LSU President William Tate met with President Biden and the COVID Response team Tuesday afternoon and briefed them on the school’s multi-tiered approach of COVID mitigation and vaccination requirement. LSU was the only university that attended the meeting and Tate says the President was interested in how the school’s approach changed vaccination rates.
Cut 7 (11) “…and staff.”
The university says there are 78 students who face expulsion for not following the school’s COVID vaccination policy.

AARP’s nursing home dashboard found that COVID cases and deaths in nursing homes shot up dramatically in the four weeks leading up to Hurricane Ida. Several nursing homes were evacuated as a result of Ida and AARP Louisiana Associate Director of Advocacy Andrew Muhl says fears the COVID numbers could worsen among nursing homes…
cut 15 (06) “….concerned about it”
AARP says they are hopeful more staff will be vaccinated once the national mandate for nursing home workers to be vaccinated goes into effect.

The state health department reported 121 more COVID-19 deaths yesterday, bringing the death toll to 13,241. Zondra Wright is Charbonnet Funeral Home Director in New Orleans and says unfortunately her business has been very busy since March 2020 and she fears the number of COVID deaths will not let up anytime soon…
cut 12 (09) “….Christmas 2021”
Wright says she’s seeing more people die in their 40s, 50s, and 60s from COVID than last year.

U-S Senator Bill Cassidy, who is also a doctor, continues to advise people to get the COVID vaccine. He says using the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin is not the answer…
cut 15 (07) “…and who died”

Nicholas is now a tropical depression but the flood threat still exists. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the slow movement of Nicholas allows the system to saturate the area…
cut 4 (09) “…the problem”
Numerous roads in Evangeline Parish are closed due to high water. Schools are closed in Avoyelles Parish due to flooding concerns. A flash flood warning is in effect for St. Tammany and Washington Parish until 11:15.

Entergy Louisiana says they’ve restored power to 90-percent of its customers who lost power as a result of Hurricane Ida. But John Hawkins with Entergy says they still have more work to do in the River Parishes and the Bayou Region of Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes…
cut 9 (09) “…work there”
Entergy Louisiana reports nearly 65-thousand customers without power.

Much of South and Central Louisiana are under a flash flood watch today as Tropical Depression Nicholas moves through the state. Rainfall totals are expected to range from five to ten inches and locally higher amounts are possible. A number of roads in Evangeline Parish are closed due to high waters.

As the COVID pandemic rages on, the funeral industry has seen families hold multiple funerals in a short period of time. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 3 (32) I’m Brooke Thorington.”

The Louisiana Public Service Commission reports 85-thousand customers are still without power due to Hurricane Ida. Most of the outages are in St. John, St. Charles, Lafourche, and Terrebonne Parishes. Entergy says they restored power to 90-percent of its customers that lost electricity due to Ida. John Hawkins, the utility’s Vice President of Distribution Operations, says lessons learned from previous storms helped in this restoration effort…
cut 8 (12) “…the next event”

There are many still taking the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to treat COVID. Senator Bill Cassidy, who is also a doctor, advises against it…
cut 13 (10) “…FDA approved vaccine”

Nicholas has been downgraded to a tropical depression, but the flood threat lingers. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 6 (06) “….of time”
That’s what happened in Avoyelles and Evangeline Parish early this morning, which led to flooded roads and school closures.

Over 13,000 have died from COVID in Louisiana and the pandemic has made it difficult for some families to plan a funeral for a loved one…
cut 10 911) “…will recover”
That’s Zondra Wright who is the director at the Charbonnet Funeral Home in New Orleans. Wright says before the pandemic they averaged nine to eleven funerals a week. She says they can easily do that many in a weekend now.

There is more progress to report on getting electricity flowing once again to Entergy customers in Louisiana following Hurricane Ida. Dave Brannen has an update.
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

The federal government has approved the use of disaster food stamps for residents in 25 parishes hit by Hurricane Ida. D-SNAP as it’s officially called provides financial assistance to households who need help buying groceries due to lost income or damages following a disaster. The virtual application process begins Monday. Got to the D-C-F-S website for more information.

Nicholas continues to move slowly to the east at three miles an hour. The center of the storm is 35 miles west of Lake Charles and it still has the potential to produce a lot of rain in Louisiana…
cut 1 (29) “….I’m Brooke Thorington”

Roads are flooded in Avoyelles and Evangeline Parishes this morning. So schools are closed there. Meanwhile in southeast Louisiana, the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning until 8:30 for St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes.

Entergy Louisiana announces 90-percent of its customers have had their power restored post- Hurricane Ida. John Hawkins, the utility’s Vice President of Distribution Operations, sums up the situation this way.
Cut 7 (05) “…is unprecedented.”
Entergy says they continue to work to restore power to the 72-thousand customers who are still without electricity. About 45-percent of the customers in St. John, St. Charles, Lafourche, and Terrebonne Parishes remain in the dark.

The state health department reported 22-hundred new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 121 additional COVID deaths, bringing the death toll to 13,241. Senator Bill Cassidy is urging Louisiana residents to get the vaccine and do not rely on the dewormer ivermectin to treat COVID symptoms…
cut 14 (09) “….its complications”
Cassidy says he has personal experience with people who refused the vaccine and took ivermectin, but died from the virus.