Louisiana
All of Louisiana at Risk for Excessive Rainfall Event Monday
There is an old joke whether you live in Boutte or Baton Rouge, Breaux Bridge or Bastrop if your driver’s license says “Louisiana” then you live in a low-lying area. And while it’s true that some parts of our state lie lower than others, it’s also true that no matter where you live in Louisiana over the next couple of days heavy rainfall is going to be a concern for you.
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The Weather Prediction Center is the department of the National Weather Service that develops forecasts with a particular focus on precipitation. The WPC is the department that forecasts heavy snow storms, flash flooding, and in the case of Louisiana over the next several days, the threat of an excessive rainfall event.
An Excessive Rainfall Event is defined this way. When precipitation falls at a rate greater than drainage systems can handle, that’s when you have an excessive rainfall event in the Lafayette, Louisiana area that is a rainfall rate of about two inches per hour for an hour or so. Some other municipal systems can handle more rain, some can’t handle that much.
Hurricane Sally Makes Landfall On Gulf Coast
The reason for all the rain is a trough of low pressure that extends southward into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The counter-clockwise circulation around this weather system is pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico over Louisiana. It is also providing lift in the atmosphere which creates instability and that’s when the showers and storms start to form.
Over the next several days mornings will find the greatest concentration of showers and storms along the coast. As the day progresses those showers will begin to move onshore or form over land with the daytime heating. General rainfall rates will be less than one-quarter of an inch but some areas could see torrential downpours in a short period of time, hence the “excessive rain advisory” that has been posted for the state.
wpc.ncep.noaa.gov
Meanwhile, don’t look for conditions or the forecast to change that much over the upcoming work week. Forecasters have listed rain chances well above average all the way through next Friday. Again the greatest threat of rain will be along the coast in the morning and onshore in the afternoon hours.
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Louisiana
Louisiana to redraw congressional map after court ruling
A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Louisiana
Neuty, the beloved Bucktown nutria rat that charmed Louisiana, has died
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
Louisiana
Louisiana State Police arrest 18-year-old in Vidalia crash t…
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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