A missing two-year-old from Baton Rouge was found dead in Hancock County Mississippi on Sunday. The child’s live-in boyfriend, 30-year-old Phillip Gardner, has been arrested. And court records show the Shreveport mother accused of tossing two of her kids into Cross Lake on Friday has a lengthy criminal record. One of the children died, the other was rescued.

Booster shots for the Pfizer COVID vaccine are now available in Louisiana. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

The U.S. House could vote today on a Senate-approved one-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. Louisiana Secretary of Transportation Shawn Wilson says the bill will be a boon to Louisiana’s road & bridge needs and he’s encouraged it received bipartisan support in the Senate…:
Cut 4 (10) “…generations and decades.”
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may push back today’s scheduled vote of the infrastructure bill to later this week. House Republicans oppose the measure because it’s linked to a social spending bill.

Some schools in Lafourche Parish reopen today for the first time since Hurricane Ida. Lafourche school superintendent Jarod Martin says some schools are still not ready to re-open, so many students will attend classes at a different school…
cut 12 (12) “…Meadow Lower Elementary”

Shreveport police say a woman is accused of throwing two of her own children off the Cross Lake Bridge late Friday morning.  Eureka Black is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. Emergency responders found one of the children dead in the water, while a second was rescued and is expected to recover from non-life threatening injuries.  Black was arrested near Waskom after fleeing the scene.

LSU AgCenter experts say the state’s agriculture industry suffered at least 584-million dollars in damages as a result of Hurricane Ida. LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry says timber was hit the hardest as a total of 168-thousand acres of trees were affected costing the industry more than 300-million dollars

Cut 6 (09) “…to be salvaged” 

Guidry says about 50-percent of the total estimated volume of damaged timber is in Tangipahoa Parish.

There were several tense exchanges during a Joint Medicaid Oversite Committee meeting Friday where River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot questioned Louisiana Department of Health Attorney Stephen Russo about nursing home evacuation plans. The meeting came weeks after hundreds of nursing home residents were crammed into a Tangipahoa Parish warehouse resulting in several deaths

Committee members stated after the tragic evacuation to the ill-equipped warehouse in Independence will need to be addressed with legislation.

Abbeville Senator Bob Henssgens…

Cut 14 (03) “….the problem” 

Organizations including Schoolplies are working to help kids get back in school after Hurricane Ida’s devastation in parishes that include Terrebonne and Lafourche.  CEO Allie Casey says hundreds of school supply kits will be given away this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fletcher Technical Community College along LA-311. Casey says work to put the kits together with everything from pencils to notebooks and erasers for the first day of school has been made less easy without power to their office.

Cut  11 (10)  “…a crazy time.”  

A woman driving a van with Texas plates is in custody in northwest Louisiana after Shreveport police say Ureka Black threw two of her children off the Cross Lake bridge late Friday morning.  Rescue workers found one child dead in the water and the other was taken to the hospital and is said to have non-life-threatening injuries and will recover. Black’s charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

There were several tense exchanges during a Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee meeting Friday where lawmakers questioned LDH’s attorney about plans for nursing home evacuations.

Cut 2 (34)…I’m Brooke Thorington”  

State police have issued a Level II Endangered Missing Child Advisory after a 2-year-old girl, Nevaeh Allen, went missing from her residence in the Belaire neighborhood of Baton Rouge. The child was last seen by her stepfather yesterday afternoon when he took a nap at the residence around 1 p.m. When the siblings arrived home from school at approximately 4:15 p.m., the apartment door was open and the child was missing. She is believed to be in imminent danger. The black female with black hair and brown eyes was last seen wearing a yellow dress with pineapples and no shoes.

Organizations including Schoolplies are working to help kids get back in school after Hurricane Ida’s devastation in parishes that include Terrebonne and Lafourche.  CEO Allie Casey says hundreds of school supply kits will be given away this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fletcher Technical Community College along LA-311. After the giveaway, Casey says they will continue to work virtually to get more supplies into the hands of students.

Cut 10 (06)  “…the efforts going” 

The LSU AgCenter estimates Hurricane Ida produced 584-million dollars in damages to the state’s agriculture industry. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (33) “ …I’m Jeff Palermo” 

Shreveport police say a woman is facing charges. She’s accused of throwing two of her own children off the Cross Lake Bridge late Friday morning.  Eureka Black is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. Emergency responders found one of the children dead in the water, while a second was rescued and is expected to recover from non-life-threatening injuries.

A north Larose neighborhood that endured a ten-foot storm surge is dealing with almost a foot of sludge and standing water. Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson says the Industrial Park neighborhood was inundated with muck and mud from marsh waters that made it over the levees.

Cut 3 (06) “…in the back.”

Chaisson says the Corps of Engineers, municipal crews, and private contractors are working to help clear roads, drainage ditches in addition to resident’s yards. He expects it will take another three weeks.

Organizations including Schoolplies are working to help kids get back in school after Hurricane Ida’s devastation in parishes that include Terrebonne and Lafourche.  CEO Allie Casey says, that in partnership with the United Way of South Louisiana, hundreds of school supply kits will be given away tomorrow.

Cut 9 (12) “…back to school” 

Classes begin Monday and the weekend event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fletcher Technical Community College

There were several tense exchanges during a Joint Medicaid Oversite Committee meeting Friday where River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot questioned Louisiana Department of Health Attorney Stephen Russo about nursing home evacuation plans. The meeting came weeks after hundreds of nursing home residents were crammed into a Tangipahoa Parish warehouse resulting in several deaths

Cut 12 (12) “….anywhere there.”  

A north Larose neighborhood that endured a ten-foot storm surge is dealing with almost a foot of sludge and standing water. Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson says the Industrial Park neighborhood was inundated with muck and mud from marsh waters that made it over the levees.

Cut 3 (06) “…in the back.”

He says crews are working in the neighborhood to assist with the mud.

Organizations including Schoolplies are working to help kids get back in school after Hurricane Ida’s devastation in parishes that include Terrebonne and Lafourche.  CEO Allie Casey says, that in partnership with the United Way of South Louisiana, hundreds of school supply kits will be given away this Sunday

Cut 9 (12) “…back to school” 

The weekend event will take place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fletcher Technical Community College.

LSU AgCenter experts say the state’s agriculture industry suffered at least 584-million dollars in damages as a result of Hurricane Ida. Economist Kurt Guidry says about 139-thousand acres of sugarcane are projected to have somewhat lower yields due to storm damage. He says much of the affected sugarcane is recovering, but it will come at a price…

Cut 7 (07) “…35-million dollars”  

At the State Capitol Friday morning, tense exchanges during a Joint Medicaid Oversight committee meeting wherein lawmakers questioned LDH’s attorney about nursing home evacuations plans. Brooke Thorington has more…:

CUT 02             (34)      “…Thorington”

Shreveport Police arrest a Texas woman for allegedly tossing her three kids off a bridge into the city’s Cross Lake. An 18-month old baby is reported drowned, but two other siblings – ages 6 and 8 – are going to be OK. Fast police work and tips from witness led to an arrest before 2pm Friday. As of news time, the suspect’s name has not been released.

LSU AgCenter experts say the state’s agriculture industry suffered at least 584-million dollars in damages as a result of Hurricane Ida. LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry says timber was hit the hardest as a total of 168-thousand acres of trees were affected costing the industry more than 300-million dollars…:

CUT 06             (09)      “…to be salvaged”

You may be surprised to learn that only 22 livestock animals were killed by Ida, but still – many older ranchers say they’re getting out of the business.

Already approved by the U.S. Senate by a bipartisan vote, the $1-trillion infrastructure bill goes to a vote Monday in the U.S. House. Louisiana DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson hopes for final passage, as the bill will mean about $6-billion for road, bridge and other projects in our state. Wilson says that amount is about a billion dollars in federal funds more than we’d normally get over five years. Opponents of the bill says too much of it is social programs and pork.

Tough questions asked by state lawmakers today at the Capitol; wanting to get to the bottom of the deaths of nursing home residents from four parishes who were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish before Hurricane Ida. Committee members questioned why people were evac’ed to an area IN the storm’s path. Abbeville Senator Bob Henssgens says legislation or amended legislation is clearly needed to prevent a repeat…:

CUT 14(02)      “…solve the problem”

Bob Dean, a Baton Rouge businessman owns the nursing homes and the warehouse in Independence. He AND L.D.H. are being sued by residents and family members of the deceased.

Shreveport Police report an infant was found dead today in Cross Lake, and another child was rescued from the water and will be OK. He says his mother threw him and his siblings off a bridge into the water. The third child was found safe and alive. At this hour police report they have made an arrest – a Texas woman, but the suspect’s identity has not been revealed.

An organization called “Schoolplies” and others are working to help kids get back to school after Ida. CEO Allie Casey has a Sunday school supplies giveaway in Terrebonne and Lafourche. She says her group will keep working to get more supplies where they need to be..:

CUT 10(06)      “…the efforts going”

More information is online at “Schoolplies.com”

Still plenty of hurricane recovery problems in Lafourche Parish. The town of LaRose still has a foot of water & muck in places. Lafourche President Archie Chaisson says it’s frustrating for residents, but he asks for their continued hope…:

CUT 05(10)      “…and better”

He says clearing all roads and ditches could take another two or three weeks.

During a Joint Medicaid Oversite Committee meeting today at the Capitol, River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot questioned Attorney Stephen Russo, with the Department of Health, over who approves nursing home evacuation plans. This comes just after a mass evacuation to a Tangipahoa warehouse that’s resulted in several deaths. Talbot questioned Russo as to why patients from the Orleans, Jefferson, Terrebonne, and Lafourche were sent to Tangipahoa when storm models indicated it was in Hurricane Ida’s path…:

CUT 13(09)      “…advice of counsel”

Baton Rouge businessman Bob Dean owns the nursing homes AND the warehouse. He and LDH are being sued by residents and some surviving family members.

A District Court judge in Lafayette tosses out a lawsuit filed by employees of one of two Acadiana hospitals, who say being ordered to get a COVID vaccination or face firing is unconstitutional. The judge says employers are within their rights as a business to make COVID shots a condition of continued employment. A hearing for the other hospital is scheduled for Saturday.

In Shreveport … one child is dead and another injured – while crews search for a third missing child; all related to an incident at Cross Lake. It’s believed all three kids are siblings and one source says they were thrown off a bridge over part of the lake. Little else is known at this time. We’ll have updates as they become available.

Hurricane Ida’s negative fiscal impact on Louisiana agriculture is estimated at over a half-billion bucks. More from Jeff Palermo…:

CUT 01(31)      “…Palermo”