Soon to be tropical storm Claudette has her eye set on a trip to southeast Louisiana. Jeff Palermo has more on what the area should expect.
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Hunting and fishing licenses are set to go up in cost starting in July 2022 for both commercial and recreational sportsmen. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Soon-to-be Tropical Storm Claudette is expected to make landfall near Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes during the overnight and cross over the New Orleans area tomorrow morning. National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Schott says rain bands are already impacting southeast Louisiana…
A tropical storm warning is in effect East of Morgan City to the Okaloosa/Walton County line in Florida.
Schott says rainfall will extend west as far as Baton Rouge with the capital region seeing one to two inches of rain over the next day, but areas east of I-55 could see over a half-foot of rain…
Schott says basically everything east of I-55 from the coast up to the Mississippi state line is expected to be affected and if you live in that area you need to pay attention.
Rainfall amounts are the biggest threat with the storm however Schott says don’t discount tropical storm winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour and securing outside items should also be on your immediate to-do list.
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Governor Edwards takes issue with the label “decriminalization” as a way to describe legislation he signed that removes the possibility of jail time for possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Under the legislation, those found to have 14 grams or less of pot can’t be sent to jail and only can be given a 100 dollar fine. Edwards says don’t confuse that for full legalization.
Edwards says getting caught with 14 grams or less of marijuana will still cause you a real headache.
A bill to legalize recreational marijuana did not make it to the governor’s desk this year. But Governor Edwards expects that will happen before his term ends in 2023
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The forecast track of a potential tropical storm has been shifting east since the first one was posted by the National Hurricane Center on Thursday afternoon. Which has put Louisiana in better shape to handle this storm, but GOHSEP spokesperson Mike Steele says residents still need to be prepared.
As the system moves towards the shore it is projected to take a more easterly track which Steele says is good news for Louisiana.
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With a tropical storm warning in effect, St. Tammany Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Clarence Powe says they’ve opened up sandbagging stations and they closed a few bridges in anticipation of possible flooding. Powe encourages residents to make storm plans and check around their homes.
St. Bernard Parish Emergency Preparedness Director John Rahaim says some of their highways tend to flood if they receive a lot of rain in a short period of time and it’s hard for the pumps to catch up. Rahaim says they have been proactive.
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Governor Edwards signs legislation increasing the cost of annual recreational and commercial hunting and fishing licenses starting next July.
Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala says he had to bring this legislation because the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was running out of money and we hadn’t raised fees in decades.
The fee increases are expected to generate about 17 million dollars a year in the next fiscal year, rising to 19 million a year in future years.
The proposal was opposed by commercial fishermen who say they’ve already taken a beating from the pandemic, but Bacala says their fee increase will be phased in through 2024, and is not steep.
LDWF officials say two-thirds of recreational sportsmen will only see their yearly costs go up about ten dollars, and Bacala says with that increase in cost will come more consolidated licenses.
The yearly fishing fee will increase to 17 dollars from the current 9.50 and the cost of a license will go up to 20 bucks from the current 15.