A Retina Specialist explains the importance of protecting your eyes during Monday’s solar eclipse. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Today the flood recovery board will look at expanding the homeowner assistance program at the recommendation of Governor John Bel Edwards. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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The South Louisiana Economic Council finds the four-day Manning Passing Academy had an economic impact of more than $1.8 million for the Thibodeaux area. Emelie Gunn has more…
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While many people are excited to view the solar eclipse on Monday morning, it’s important not to forget to protect your eyes from the sun’s damaging rays. LSU Health New Orleans retina specialist Maria Reinoso says to look at the eclipse with your eyes, make sure you wear glasses that are ISO 12312-2 certified because regular sunglasses aren’t enough…
There have been recalls of certain glasses that claim to be certified to protect your eyes during the eclipse. Even library officials in Calcasieu had to warn the public to throw away the glasses they received from the parish branches. Reinoso says a good way to check if your glasses are ISO 12312-2, you should be able to see absolutely no light when you put them on.
For a list of approved vendors of solar eclipse glasses, visit the American Astronomical Association’s website. Reinoso says it’s important to double check your glasses for protection before looking at the eclipse on Monday.
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Governor John Bel Edwards has recommended expanding the homeowner assistance program to help more flood victims. The proposed changes include boosting grant amounts and including homeowners who had flood insurance. The recommendations go before the recovery board today for approval. Edwards says more people need assistance.
Edwards says the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has recognized the state for getting assistance to homeowners as quickly as possible. He says in terms of timing, Louisiana is ahead of any reimbursement program that has ever been undertaken by a state following a disaster.
Edwards encourages everyone impacted by the floods to complete the 10 minute survey at Restore.La.Gov. He says over 40,000 homeowners have already taken the survey, but that’s far short of the 90,000 homes with FEMA verified loss. He says flood victims cannot get assistance without completing the survey.
Cut 9 (08) “those individuals”
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After months of investigating, charges have been filed in the case of an obstacle that collapsed at a Warrior Dash in St. Francisville. Chief Deputy Brant Thompson with the state fire marshal’s office says twenty people were injured when the Diesel Dome collapsed.
Thompson adds event staff failed to follow proper protocol when monitoring the course. He says charges were levied against three employees with Red Frog Events, as well as the contractors hired to set up the obstacles. He notes the contractors were not licensed to practice in Louisiana.
Cut 11 (12) “negligent injuring”
The Red Frog employees face 13 counts of negligent injuring. A lengthy multi-agency investigation followed the October 2016 incident. Thompson says all five individuals charged in this case are from out of state.
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The four-day Manning Passing Academy had a $1.8 million economic impact for the Thibodaux area, according to the South Louisiana Economic Council. SLEC President and CEO Vic Lafont says the study looked into how much revenue the football camp generated for the region.
Lafont says about 13,000 kids from across country and abroad flocked to Nicholls State University for the camp in June. He says almost all the SEC quarterbacks turned out to assist with coaching. He says the event had a huge economic impact for Thibodaux.
Lafont says it meant a lot to have Peyton and Eli Manning on campus to supervise the camp. He says the city got a lot of publicity when ESPN aired interviews during the NFL draft promoting the region. He says you can’t buy that kind of coverage.