Latest news with #PlaqueminesParish
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Watch: 'Half an alligator' waddles across road, startles Louisiana drivers
PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. – Drivers in southern Louisiana were surprised to see a tailless alligator slowly waddling across a highway. The unusual encounter was captured on video Monday by Ashlyn Bartholomew while on Highway 23 in Plaquemines Parish. Bartholomew said she was driving home after dropping her kids off at baseball practice when she spotted the stubby reptile. Initially, she wasn't even sure if it was an alligator or a large dog. Barefoot Florida Man Wrangles Alligator From Side Of Busy Interstate In her video, Bartholomew can be heard saying, "What?" in astonishment as the gator awkwardly makes its way across the road. "Y'all be careful. There's half an alligator walking on the road," she wrote on Facebook. 9-Foot Alligator Causes Stir Outside Preschool According to Robert Mendyk, a reptile expert at the Audubon Zoo, the alligator likely lost its tail in a fight with another gator. He also said it's common for these resilient reptiles to survive such severe article source: Watch: 'Half an alligator' waddles across road, startles Louisiana drivers
Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Venture Global Announces $37,300 for Louisiana Coastal Restoration
METAIRIE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2025-- Today, Venture Global announced a donation of $37,300 to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) to support critical coastal restoration projects in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. This contribution is part of the company's multi-year partnership with the New Orleans Saints through the Catch for the Coast initiative, sponsored by Venture Global. The Venture Global team was pleased to be joined by members of the CRCL and the Saints for a check presentation of this donation at the New Orleans Saints Ochsner Sports Performance Center. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: Venture Global presents a check donation to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana at the New Orleans Saints Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Catch for the Coast was launched during the 2024 NFL season, where Venture Global committed to donating $10 for every receiving yard gained by the Saints towards coastal restoration efforts in Louisiana. The Saints accumulated a total of 3,730 receiving yards this season, resulting in the $37,300 donation from Venture Global. 'As a committed community partner in Plaquemines Parish, along the coast, and throughout the state, Venture Global is proud to support efforts that help protect and restore such vital parts of Louisiana. Initiatives like Catch for the Coast reflect our belief that supporting local programs to better our communities, such as coastal restoration, is key to ensuring a future of strength and growth in Louisiana. Venture Global is committed to being a good neighbor and a long-term partner in the restoration of Louisiana's coast, while providing the world with needed low-cost, reliable American LNG,' said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel. 'Protecting and restoring our coast is one of the most important challenges facing Louisiana today. I applaud Venture Global and the Saints for investing in real solutions that strengthen our communities and preserve our way of life,' said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. 'Our coast is deeply connected to the identity, culture, and future of our region,' said Gayle Benson, Owner of the New Orleans Saints. 'We are proud to partner with Venture Global on Catch for the Coast to support the important work being done by CRCL to protect and restore Louisiana's coastline for generations to come.' 'Louisiana is losing a football field of coastal wetlands every 100 minutes, jeopardizing the future of our communities, our industries and our culture, but we have science-based methods of fighting back,' said Kim Reyher, the executive director of CRCL. 'This is our goal-line stand, and we're so grateful to partner with the Saints and Venture Global to protect our future.' About Venture Global Venture Global is a long-term, low-cost provider of U.S. LNG sourced from resource rich North American natural gas basins. Venture Global's business includes assets across the LNG supply chain including LNG production, natural gas transport, shipping and regasification. Venture Global's first facility, Calcasieu Pass, commenced producing LNG in January 2022 and achieved commercial operations in April 2025. The company's second facility, Plaquemines LNG, achieved first production of LNG in December 2024. The company is currently constructing and developing over 100 MTPA of nameplate production capacity to provide clean, affordable energy to the world. Venture Global is developing Carbon Capture and Sequestration projects at each of its LNG facilities. About CRCL CRCL was the first statewide nonprofit dedicated to restoring Louisiana's coast, where more than 2,000 square miles of wetlands have vanished in less than a century. The organization is known for its Oyster Shell Recycling Program and Native Plants Program, as well as its education and professional development programs. CRCL's mission is to unite people in action to achieve a thriving, sustainable Louisiana coast for all. View source version on CONTACT: Media Contact Shaylyn Hynes [email protected] KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA LOUISIANA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SPORTS PHILANTHROPY OIL/GAS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SUSTAINABILITY ENERGY FOOTBALL ENVIRONMENT FUND RAISING FOUNDATION CLIMATE CHANGE OTHER PHILANTHROPY SOURCE: Venture Global Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 05/19/2025 10:12 AM/DISC: 05/19/2025 10:11 AM
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Plaquemines Parish crash leaves electric scooter rider dead
PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. (WGNO) — Troopers with the Louisiana State Police are investigating a crash that left an electric scooter rider dead in Plaquemines Parish on Sunday, May 18. The LSP reported that the crash happened on Louisiana 23 near L Street around 12:30 a.m. Search continues for escaped inmates following Orleans jailbreak LSP officials said an initial investigation shows that 25-year-old Herby Louis-Jeune was riding an electric scooter south on LA 23 when a Ford F250 also heading south reportedly hit the scooter. Louis-Jeune was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Ford was wearing a seatbelt and was uninjured. Suspect sought in New Orleans hit-and-run investigation LSP troopers said Louis-Jeune was wearing dark clothing, no helmet and did not have lights when the crash happened. According to the LSP, troopers 'observed no signs of impairment in the Ford driver and determined that the driver was not impaired.' The investigation is continues for escaped inmates following New Orleans jailbreak Are weight loss drugs safe? Learn some of the side effects Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer: What is it? WNBA investigating racial slurs by fans made at Angel Reese during Indiana game: AP Source Plaquemines Parish crash leaves electric scooter rider dead Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana might pay out overlapping business incentives for a decade or more
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, second from left, Gov. Jeff Landry, center, and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum walk with executives of Venture Global LNG during a March 6, 2025, tour of the company's export facility in Plaquemines Parish. Venture Global receives payroll rebate incentives through the state's Quality Jobs Program. (Governor's Office photo) Economic development officials in Louisiana want to place less emphasis on the number of new jobs major projects bring to the state and more on what they pay employees. Their strategy calls for a new business incentive program to replace a popular existing one, but it could be a decade or longer before the state stops doling out both perks – potentially costing the public hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Last month, the House Committee on Commerce approved House Bill 507, by Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, which would create the Louisiana High Impact Job Program. It hopes to entice companies that offer jobs with above-average pay in the parish where they intend to invest. In return, the state will award the business a grant that will cover a portion of that salary – the more the company pays new hires, the higher the grant. Companies providing jobs that pay 125% of the parish average will receive a grant to cover 18% of each salary. The award goes up to 22% for salaries at 150% of the local level. For what the bill deems 'distressed areas,' employers would have to clear lower hurdles. Their businesses would receive an 8% grant for salaries at 110% the average. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX There are no limits in the bill on the number of new jobs a company can add to claim the benefit, though the bill gives state officials the right to update the program's rules. There is a ceiling of $200,000 per year per job and $125 million in annual grant awards for the entire program. Employers must offer health insurance coverage to qualify for a High Impact Jobs grant, and the new hires have to be full-time direct employees or work for a subsidiary named in the grant contract with the state. The bill allows remote jobs to qualify for the incentive, though they must be Louisiana 'residents' as defined under state tax law. Money for the grants will come from state corporate income and franchise taxes, according to the bill, though lawmakers eliminated the franchise tax last year, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Legislative calculations attached to Emerson's proposal peg the High Impact Job Program's average cost to the state at $69.4 million annually over the next five years. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, who joined Emerson to present her bill to the committee, acknowledged the High Impact Job Program would overlap the incentive it's intended to replace – the Quality Jobs program – for years to come. The Quality Jobs incentive gives companies a 6% rebate on their payroll expenses for 10 years. It also comes with either a state sales tax break on money the business spends on its job-creating project or a 1.5% rebate for facility expenses. These project investment elements are not part of the High Impact incentive, which would be offered for a three-year period with an opportunity to renew for two more years. That would make it half the length of the 10-year Quality Jobs incentive. 'Quality Jobs was really more about the number of jobs, where this [High Impact] program is far more about the wages for the jobs,' Bourgeois said in an interview after the bill was approved. The secretary told lawmakers the High Impact Job Program will also be open to small local businesses, as long as they create jobs with salaries above the parish average. Emerson's bill, which gives the program a 10-year lifespan, goes next to the House Appropriations Committee for its financial impact on the state to be considered. As part of their tax and budget special session last fall, legislators agreed to let multiple business incentives lapse once their statutory life expires. That deadline is the end of next month for most of the programs eliminated. This was paired with a package of business tax reductions, including a lower, flat corporate income tax rate and the end of a state franchise tax that its detractors called an unwarranted fee to do business in Louisiana. All told, lawmakers agreed to end eight business incentive programs last year, effective June 30, which will remove $180 million to $225 million in state obligations from the state budget, according to Bourgeois. Jan Moller with Invest in Louisiana, a progressive fiscal policy watchdog group, told the Illuminator he expected the business-friendly legislature would eventually restore some of the incentives it targeted last year. 'I'm not surprised that it happened,' Moller said. 'I'm surprised that it's happening four months after the ink dried on that tax bill.' Although Quality Jobs was among the incentive programs lawmakers eliminated, the state will continue to accept applications until its June 30 sunset date. Its actual payroll rebates aren't issued until a qualifying company adds new jobs, and those hires can be made years after the incentive is approved. Only then does the 10-year clock on the incentive period start. For projects such as the Meta data center in northeast Louisiana, which isn't expected to start hiring for another five years, the state could still be making good on its Quality Jobs promises in 2040, Bourgeois confirmed. Quality Jobs recipients will be given the option to switch over to the High Impact program, but they won't be able to double up on incentives, the secretary said. 'If they have an existing [Quality Jobs] contract, then they can live out that contract,' Bourgeois said. 'They can also choose to look at it and see if they would rather do it differently.' Paperwork the Illuminator obtained through a public records request with Louisiana Economic Development shows 16 projects have applied for Quality Jobs rebates in 2025 as of the end of April. All told, they would create more than 1,500 direct jobs with a combined payroll of nearly $167 million once all new hires are made. Ileana Ledet, LED's chief economic competitiveness officer, told lawmakers the High Impact Job Program is modeled after similar incentive programs in Georgia, North Carolina and Texas that are considered successful. 'We're looking at best practices and making our recommendations based on what other states are doing well in incentivizing those higher-wage jobs,' Ledet said. Moller questions whether the High Impact Jobs Program will live up to its name. By linking the incentive to what's already a below-average parish salary, companies won't be required to move the needle significantly on living wages in his opinion, he said. 'We are underwriting payroll of companies that we like, and they don't even have to be particularly great jobs,' Moller said. 'They just have to pay a little bit above average.' The most recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show average weekly wages in Louisiana during the first quarter of 2024 were $1,195, ranking 39th in the nation. The rate was lower than the state average in 47 out of 64 parishes, with Catahoula at the bottom with an average weekly wage of $710. The legislation gives Louisiana Economic Development the authority to carve out areas within a parish and declare them 'distressed.' This is what's planned for the Hyundai steel mill in Donaldsonville, Bourgeois said, where salaries significantly trail the Ascension Parish average. The typical weekly pay in Donaldsonville is $836, while the parish rate is $1,449, according to federal data. Emma Wagner, LED's communications director, said rules are still being hammered out to define what makes an area distressed. She expects they will include criteria such as the unemployment rate and whether the area qualifies for federal tax breaks targeting low-income communities. Moller acknowledged his outlook for the High Impact Jobs Program is shaded by the efficacy of the Quality Jobs incentive, which the Legislative Auditor determined in a 2020 report was a net loss for the state. That review also determined only a third of Quality Jobs investment spending went to Louisiana companies, and that the majority of household income those jobs created would have likely happened without the rebate program. 'These kinds of subsidies end up becoming just lagniappe, but not the thing that brings a company into Louisiana,' Moller said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legal battle between oil companies and Louisiana parishes far from over
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The big win in court for Plaquemines Parish against Chevron may not be a win for the coast for a while. The jury found Chevron liable for causing coastal damage. The oil giant now must dole out $745 million. WGNO legal analyst Cliff Cardone says the verdict does not come as a surprise. 'This is a home-cooked jury, so you'd have to think that the verdict was going to be in favor of the plaintiff because it was all local people on that jury,' said Cardone. 'Whether they fairly interpreted the evidence or not is going to be, I guess, answered in a court of appeal.' Cardone explains because Chevron has options to delay the execution of the judgment or correct it, it could take years before Plaquemines Parish is paid. Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival returns for 21st year Mike Moncla, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, says the verdict was expected but worries about its implications on the industry. 'It just throws something out there against the industry that, you know, we're trying to make Louisiana a place that people want to come back and do business in,' said Moncla. 'Lawsuits like this against industry is just not a good message to send out.' The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is also weighing in. In a statement, they wrote: 'While we cannot comment on the merits of the case or the prospects of an appeal, this verdict could be extremely important to the future of south Louisiana. It could help our state implement more of the large-scale restoration projects in our Coastal Master Plan, saving more land and benefiting not just wildlife and individuals but also industry.' This lawsuit is one of dozens of other similar lawsuits that are still pending. 'So, it's time to negotiate now, or circle the wagons and fight all the way through the courts,' said Cardone. If the case is settled once and for all, state law requires that all proceeds go toward restoring the coast once the attorney fees are battle between oil companies and Louisiana parishes far from over St. Tammany Parish leaders break ground on Mandeville bypass road project Growing opposition from House conservatives threatens to derail Trump's agenda Tariffs hurting investment, income, salaries in Baja, customs broker says US withholding water from Mexico to address debt, official says Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
