Louisiana’s temporary shelter assistance program for victims of Hurricane Ida continues to make progress. Frustrated with FEMA’s ability to get it done quickly, the state took charge; ordering almost 2100 travel trailers for folks whose homes were ravaged by the Labor Day Weekend storm. GOHSEP acting director Casey Tingle says the current pace of the trailers being newly occupied is about 40 a day…:

CUT 13(07)      “…into their units.”

Please drive safely if traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. AAA says they expect a hefty 13-percent increase in highway travel starting … well, now. State Police Trooper Ross Brannen reminds us that law men will be out in force, as part of the federal Click It or Ticket campaign…:

CUT 08(12)      “…that proper seatbelt.”

…and oh yes, they’ll be watching for speeders and impaired drivers as well. Last Thanksgiving holiday eight people died on Louisiana roadways.

Early voting opens Saturday for the Dec. 11 Louisiana open general election and runs through Saturday, December 4th. Polls are closed Sunday. Some areas of the state have literally NO ballot on which to vote. Others have important runoffs and local option votes.

Local Christmas tree farmers say this season is shaping up to be their busiest ever. Brooke Thorington explains…:

CUT 02(33)      “…Thorington.”

According to Triple-A, Thanksgiving travel is up 13-percent and law enforcement is concerned the increase in travel could lead to a large number of motor vehicle crashes. State Police Trooper Ross Brennan says during last year’s Thanksgiving holiday period nearly 800 people were injured and eight people killed in crashes in Louisiana…:

CUT 06(07)      “…these roadways.”

“Real tree, or not real tree … that is the question.” Christmas tree farmers say they’re already off to a busy start with more people decorating earlier this season. For those determined to have a certain type of tree, listen up. Kay Gersch of Yawn Station Christmas Tree Farm in Livingston Parish says Fraser fir trees are hard to come by…:

CUT 10(11)      “…eight foot.”

If you like to cut your own, there are a good supply of those, despite the impact of Hurricane Ida last summer.

The state-run Hurricane Ida temporary sheltering program continues to move ahead, though at a slower pace than many would like. Casey Tingle is acting director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who run the trailer program. He says they are making progress, 3 months after the storm…:

CUT 14(09)      “…to do that.”

When it comes to preparing your holiday meal, and then storing what’s left over …temperature and timing are everything. Meredith Caruthers is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture…:

CUT 04(14)      “…than two hours.”

The USDA notes that improper prep and leftover storage leads to about 48-million Americans getting sick from foodborne illness. Up to 3000 a year can actually die.

The state’s Hurricane Ida Sheltering Program is continuing to move forward with more than 13-hundred travel trailers already placed in the hardest-hit parishes for those affected by the storm.

CUT 12(05)      “…families leased in.”

That’s GOHSEP acting director, Casey Tingle, who says the state purchased nearly 2100 of the trailers under the program announced by Governor Edwards in early October, because FEMA’s temporary housing plan was taking too long.

A Kenner man pleads guilty to an airline baggage scam that netted him about a half-million bucks from 180 separate false claims. 31-year-old Pernell Jones Jr would fly under a fraudulent I.D., then claim his luggage was lost; collecting reimbursement settlements from five different airlines. Jones could face decades behind bars at sentencing in February.

We all want to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner this year, but without the proper food preparation steps, you could be cooking up a foodborne illness. More from Dave Brannen…:

CUT 01(34)      “…Brannen.”

The Louisiana Department of Insurance Senior Health Insurance Information Program said it is urging Medicare customers to ignore unsolicited calls offering to help them switch to a different Medicare plan during the ongoing Medicare Open Enrollment. The callers are scammers and often the insured ends up in a worse plan than what they had; often at higher cost. Just hang up.

Local Christmas tree farmers say this season is shaping up to be their busiest ever. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (33)…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Law enforcement is cracking down on drunk driving this Thanksgiving weekend. Trooper Ross Brennan says those caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be arrested…
cut 7 (09) “….out there”

Thousands of families are cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving tomorrow. To make sure your bird is properly cooked, USDA food safety expert Meredith Caruthers says poke a food thermometer in three different places of the turkey…
cut 5 (15) “…ready to eat”
For other advice call 1-888-MPHotline even on Thanksgiving day.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says 13-hundred travel trailers serving as a temporary housing solution have been deployed to the parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Ida. Families are occupying 820 of those units. GOHSEP Acting Director Casey Tingle says the current pace of trailers being newly occupied is about 40 a day…
cut 13 (07) “…their units”
Tingle says their goal is to have about two-thousand families housed by the first part of December and they are on pace to do that.

Christmas Tree Farmers say they’re already off to a busy start with more people decorating earlier this season. And to meet the demand Kevin Steele of Steele’s Christmas Tree Farm in Washington Parish says for the first time they opened the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Cut 9 (09) “…trees are available.”

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history Thursday as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism.

Cut 7 (09) “…this float.”

New Orleans native and Grammy 11 time Grammy-nominated Jon Batiste will be performing on the $1.3 million float.

All of us want to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner this year, but without the proper food preparation steps, you could be setting yourself up for a foodborne illness. More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction. 

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others.

Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”

That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history Thursday as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism.

Cut 7 (09) “…this float.”

Not only will it be the longest, but New Orleans native and the jazz artist to receive the most Grammy nominations ever at 11, Jon Batiste will be performing on the $1.3 million float.

With folks preparing to fix their Thanksgiving meals, the USDA’s Meredith Caruthers outlines some safety protocols to stick to during the process. Two of them deal with cleaning and separating.

Cut 3 (12) “…to eat food.”

She also advises to heed the cooking directions and then to properly chill any leftovers to additionally avoid the possibility of food poisoning.

If Lt Governor Billy Nungesser gets his wish, the state’s first float to appear in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will steal the show. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations – which is currently 16 and older. However, Baton Rouge area state Senator Bodi White says mandating shots for any age group is wrong…:

Cut 10 (07)  “…forced to opt out.”

The LDH proposal would allow parents to opt-out of their kids having the shots, by signing a statement of exemption.

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others. Triple-A’s Don Redman says for those traveling by air, there are bargains to be found for the flight itself, but you may face higher expenses elsewhere.

Cut 15 (09)  “…about four percent.”

As for gas prices, they are holding mostly steady in Louisiana right now, with the statewide average price of regular at around three-12 a gallon compared to a dollar-84 last year at this time.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest seasonal over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October. Cates says construction jobs in the state went up by 82-hundred in October.

Cut 5 (13) “…a great thing.”

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history tomorrow as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism. He says because Louisiana knows a thing or two about parades, he wanted to make sure Celebration Gator has that wow factor. And while in the Big Apple the float will make several media appearances promoting the Bayou State.

Cut 8 (09) “…been through.”

Thursday’s appearance in the parade is the first of a three-year commitment.

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations. However, Senator Bodi White who sits on the Senate Health & Welfare which will soon review the LDH COVID proposal and also chairs the Senate Finance Committee says if LDH insists on giving unproven shots to small kids, the committee can spend their budget elsewhere…:

Cut 12 (09) “…have to do that.”

Triple-A’s Don Redman says the Thanksgiving travel volume predicted this week is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. Redman advises those traveling by car to make sure they’re aware of what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place along their route and destination.

Cut 14 (09)  “…on your highway.”

He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share dinner with others.
Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”
That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the state added 34-thousand jobs from September to October as the Bayou State began to recover from Hurricane Ida. L-W-C Secretary Ava Cates says this also shows the state’s workforce is bouncing back from the pandemic too, but there are still a lot of vacant jobs…
cut 6 (10) “….for jobs there”

State Republican lawmakers are coming out against a Health Department proposal to require COVID shots for kids to attend schools. More from Kevin Gallagher…:
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says 13-hundred travel trailers have been deployed to the parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Ida. Families are occupying 820 of those units, including 284 in Terrebonne. Lafourche and Jefferson parishes have a total of 265 units occupied.