Louisiana
Shoppers hurry for last-minute groceries, supplies before Louisiana’s winter storm
METAIRIE, La. (WVUE) — On the day before a forecasted winter storm is expected to hit Southeast Louisiana, the most dominant grocery chain in the region saw shoppers descending on its various locations.
Karah Smith was shopping at the Rouses Supermarket on Airline Highway in Metairie. It was her second visit to the store in recent days.
“I was picking up for a mix of things, like we would normally cook for dinner. But I also wanted to have some non-perishable food for backup, if we lose power,” she said.
For many in Louisiana, this week will be the first time they’ve seen snow in years, for some maybe ever. That’ll certainly be the case for Smith’s daughter. She’s only 2 months old.
“I’m excited for her,” Smith said. “We’ll have pictures of her in her little snowsuit, outside hopefully.”
Marc Ardoin manages the Rouses on Airline Highway. He said workers stayed busy keeping shelves full. It’s a drill they have down pat from similar years of hurricane preparations.
“There’s definitely the water and those kinds of items we buy during hurricane season, but people are looking for a lot more cold weather items,” Ardoin said. “So, you’re seeing stew meat, and that kind of stuff. People are getting what they need to make gumbo.”
Former actor and radio personality John “Spud” McConnell was one of the customers near the freezer aisle. He said he’s unsure what the winter storm will bring, but his household will be fed.
“I got a couple of big Boston butts and I’m going to put them in the oven tomorrow when it’s really cold,” he said. “I’m going to bake them bad boys all day and I’m going to be eating pig like the pig that I am.”
Preparing for wintry weather also requires warm gear.
“People have definitely been coming out and stocking up on gloves, hats for the kids, anything that’s going to keep them warm,” said Bubba Henry, a sales associate at Massey’s Outfitters in Mid-City.
The store on Carrollton Avenue had a shipment of gloves arriving a few hours before closing time Monday. Henry expected the gloves to move quickly. He advised anyone planning to be out in the winter conditions to dress in layers.
“If they have base layers, that would be great,” Henry said. “If they have athletic wear similar to when they go play soccer — that stretchy spandex — something like that.”
Even for customers who’ve spent time in cold climates, there’s no such thing as being overly prepared. Arturo Peal visited Massey’s Outfitters on Monday for one essential. After that, he felt ready for the forecasted freeze.
“Oh yeah, the only thing I needed was wool socks, because I have no idea where my wool socks are. I haven’t seen them. They’re buried somewhere in storage,” Peal said.
Most businesses, schools and government offices will be closed Tuesday.
While Southeast Louisiana is unfamiliar with winter storms, the region’s next collective step resembles what many communities take during hurricane season: Waiting for the storm to pass.
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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. “
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.
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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