Longtime Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere says goodbye to the P-S-C during an emotional farewell speech. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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State Climatologist Barry Keim says December tornado outbreaks are becoming more common. He says there were twenty one reports of tornadoes in Louisiana over two days this week. Marsanne Golsby looks into what may be causing them.
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The United Way of Southeast Louisiana is encouraging donations to its Tornado Relief Fund to help families impacted by yesterday’s tornadoes. Michael Williamson is President and CEO of United Way of Southeast Louisiana.
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Heavy storm damage was reported in Marrero, and parts of St Bernard Parish, including Arabi. He says they are waiting to get an exact count of how many people lost their homes.
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Williamson says when tornadoes have hit in the past they have given out cash cards. He is hoping to raise enough money through the organization’s website to hand out cards again this year. He says they have already distributed some emergency supplies and need volunteers to help in the affected areas.
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To learn about all the ways to help and to donate, go to UnitedWaySELA.org/TornadoRelief
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State Climatologist Barry Keim says there were 62 reports of tornadoes across seven states over two days this week—21 in Louisiana, and he says the warm weather was the reason.
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But Keim says we don’t know exactly how many tornadoes there were because there were likely multiple reports of the same tornadoes. He says December tornado outbreaks are becoming more common
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That record was set in 2002. He says the usual winter combination of alternating cold and warm fronts increases the chances of tornadoes forming, especially when the warm air is warmer and more humid than usual.
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He says the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a warmer-than-normal winter.
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Outgoing District Three Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere presided over his final P-S-C meeting today as he was defeated by political newcomer Davante Lewis, a 30-year-old Baton Rouge man who works for the Louisiana Budget Project. An emotional Boissiere told the commission he’s proud of his work…
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Boissiere has served on the P-S-C for 17 years. One of the commission’s main responsibilities is regulating utility companies. He says one of his proudest achievements is the P-S-C’s work in restoring the electricity grid after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Boissiere lost by nearly 20 points in last Saturday’s election to Lewis, who is considered a progressive. Boissiere says third party groups told lies about his record
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Prior to the December 10th election, the Keep the Lights On PAC spent huge dollars blasting Boissiere for taking contributions from people and businesses that go before the P-S-C. Boissiere says he doesn’t blame the voters…
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The election came after a summer that saw record high utility bills and in 2021 customers in his district dealt with lengthy hurricane-related outages
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The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a helicopter crash about 30 miles offshore of Terrebonne Bay. The crash happened shortly before 10 this morning and Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom says an aircrew from New Orleans has been dispatched.
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Wisdom says the private aircraft with three persons onboard was en route to an oil platform when the crash occurred.
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This is an ongoing response and the Coast Guard is providing updates on their Twitter page.
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Governor John Bel Edwards and GOSHEP officials are doing flyovers of areas damaged by Wednesday’s tornados in southeast Louisiana. Edwards is asking those who received property damage to register online at DamageLA.gov.
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Edwards says the state is going to do what it can to quantify damage for Federal assistance and if eligible the state will make an application for aid.
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Edwards says they are going to compile as much information as possible and try to qualify for federal aid, if possible, but most likely the state and local governments will have to fund response efforts.