Louisiana
Two-and-a-half Superdomes worth of sand create Louisiana’s newest land
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Work is wrapping up on one of the largest-ever marsh creation projects near Venice, La. – the Spanish Pass Increment of the Barataria Basin Ridge and Marsh Creation Project.
The $100 million project is building nearly seven miles of marsh and a ridge similar to a beach dune.
Like much of Louisiana’s recent coastal work, funding comes from fines and settlements associated with BP’s 2010 well blowout and spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
In this case, the money flows from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment associated with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a pot of money that, by law, must be spent on environmental restoration.
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Since late 2021, contractors have dredged nearly 11 million cubic yards of sediment from the nearby Mississippi River, or roughly two-and-a-half times the volume of the Superdome.
Spanish Pass is a natural historic distributary of the Mississippi River, extending into the lower parts of Barataria Bay. The area has experienced severe land loss in recent decades. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority sites a number of factors, including subsidence, sea level rise, lack of sediment nourishment, and a series of hurricanes.
At a dedication ceremony, Governor John Bel Edwards told an audience projects such as Spanish Pass bring hurricane protection to communities along the coast.
“I want you all to think about that with all the projections of sea level rise and the increasing severity of storms, we believe that if we pursue this plan, there will be less risk here in 50 years than there is today,” he said.
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Louisiana
Louisiana 2024-2025 hunting regulation pamphlet available online. Features ‘major changes’
4 indicted in illegal hunt of record-breaking 18-point buck in Ohio
Four individuals face charges for the illegal hunting of an 18-point buck in Ohio.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has released its 2024-25 hunting regulations pamphlet online at the LDWF website.
For the complete regulations, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/seasons-and-regulations.
The pamphlet contains hunting rules, regulations and season dates for the 2024-25 season, including hunting information on LDWF’s Wildlife Management Areas and Louisiana’s federal lands. Printed copies of the pamphlets will be available in August at LDWF offices throughout the state and at vendors where hunting and fishing licenses are sold. This season’s regulation pamphlet also has season schedules for the state’s 10 deer hunting areas and major changes for the 2024-25 season including:
- New federal duck stamp rules.
- Clarification on use of dogs for trailing and retrieval of deer
- Change in what turkeys are legal for harvest and associated bag limits
Louisiana
Louisiana police have July 4 flashing light show for impaired drivers
The following has been provided by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission:
Fireworks shows are a hallmark of Independence Day. But flashing police lights are the only show for impaired drivers as the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission begins its statewide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.
According to AAA, a record 60.6 million people will travel by car this 4th of July. Law enforcement officers across Louisiana will be looking specifically for impaired drivers this holiday weekend, and those who fail a sobriety test will be arrested, LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said.
“This is a Louisiana campaign to keep Louisiana citizens safe from the scourge of impaired driving,” Freeman said. “People should be able to celebrate without worrying about getting hit by a drunk driver.”
LHSC has made funds available to Louisiana law enforcement agencies to schedule extra troopers, officers, and deputies to patrol the roads and interstates through Sunday, July 7. These law enforcement officers have been trained to spot behaviors that indicate a driver is impaired.
“If a driver has a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, that driver is legally impaired and subject to arrest,” Freeman said. “Actual impairment can begin with just one alcoholic beverage. Bottom line: If you’re drinking, you shouldn’t be driving.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, just a small amount of alcohol can cause a decline in visual functions, an inability to perform two simultaneous tasks, reduced coordination, an inability to steer, and a reduced response to emergency driving situations.
Motor vehicle crashes involving drivers who have been drinking kill and injure hundreds of people every year in Louisiana. The statistics are generally worse during holiday periods. From 2018-2022, 12 people were killed and 254 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes during the Independence Day holiday period, according to the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU.
“We’ve made so much progress in making roads safer and making vehicles safer, but we continue to see these tragedies,” Freeman said. “Unfortunately, you can never make a road or a car safe enough for an impaired driver. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is an important tool for us to protect all road users.”
Besides refusing to drive impaired, avoiding distractions behind the wheel such as a cell phone, driving the speed limit, and wearing a seatbelt greatly reduce the risk of being injured or killed in a motor vehicle crash.
Copyright 2024 Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. All rights reserved.
Louisiana
Louisiana State Capitol emptied briefly after alarm went off
The Louisiana State Capitol was briefly evacuated Tuesday midday after a maintenance crew inadvertently triggered a fire alarm in the building.
Fire trucks could be seen en route to the Capitol as staffers were forced to leave and wait outside for nearly 10 minutes.
The building was emptied as temperatures reached triple digits Tuesday.
As staff members and visitors left the building, the cause of the alarm and whether or not it was a test was initially unclear.
After several minutes, security officers received an official “all clear” notification and people returned inside.
While working in the building’s basement, a maintenance crew inadvertently triggered a sensor that triggered the alarm, said Meg Casper Sunstrom, chief communications officer for the Legislature.
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