AP-US-HOTEL-COLLAPSE-BODIES

New Orleans fire chief: Bodies out from collapsed hotel soon

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The two remaining bodies inside a New Orleans hotel that was under construction when it partially collapsed last October might be removed by the end of this week or the beginning of next. The city’s fire chief, Tim McConnell, briefed reporters Monday on the progress. He said officials have search and rescue dogs to assist in the effort as well as forensic anthropologists to ensure they collect all the remains. They’ll also be paying close attention to the still unstable building to make sure it’s not shifting while work continues. Three people died in the October 12 collapse.

NEW ORLEANS PORT-TECHNOLOGY

‘Smart port’ technology planned for Port of New Orleans

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana officials announced a new “smart port” project aimed at using technology to make dredging and operations decisions around New Orleans’s port. The Water Institute of the Gulf research organization will install data sensors on tugboats and other vessels navigating the Port of New Orleans’s district. The sensors will detect sediment levels in shallow parts of the Mississippi River that will inform dredging decisions. The port is putting up $125,000 for the work. Louisiana’s economic development department is seeking federal funds for a planned second phase that will digitally connect dock terminals, shipping lines, warehouses and cargo operators through a unified command.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LOUISIANA SCHOOLS

Talk of mask mandate for Louisiana schools causing friction

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s top school board is deciding whether to issue a face covering requirement for teachers and most students as schools reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley is proposing that all adults and students in grades 3 through 12 must wear some sort of mask while at school “to the greatest extent possible.” The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will determine Tuesday whether to adopt that proposal in its coronavirus regulations. Attorney General Jeff Landry says masks at school could be encouraged, but shouldn’t be required. A statewide mask mandate ordered by Gov. John Bel Edwards took effect Monday, but isn’t certain to extend to school reopenings.

BLACK SUBDIVISION-HISTORIC REGISTER

New Orleans’ 1st Black subdivision officially historic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The first subdivision built for middle- and upper-class Black residents of New Orleans — and one of the first in the nation — is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Pontchartrain Park opened in 1955. Although the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled a year earlier that segregated public schools were unconstitutional, segregation was still the law in Louisiana and other Southern states. The president of the Pontchartrain Park Neighborhood Association said it’s great to have national recognition of the neighborhood’s historical significance. Gretchen Bradford says that once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the group will hold a grand celebration.

BOATING FATALITY

Fatal accident: Boat sank; driver wasn’t wearing a life vest

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana authorities say a boater who wasn’t wearing a life vest died after his 15-foot boat went down. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Monday that the body of 59-year-old Leonard Williams of Baton Rouge, was recovered Saturday from Cross Bayou in Iberville Parish. Enforcement spokesman Adam Einck says in a news release that Williams’ two passengers were wearing life vests and were rescued by good Samaritans in another vessel when their boat sank on Saturday. He says Williams went down and never resurfaced. Iberville Parish sheriff’s deputies found his body.

MOONSHINE PLEA

Feds: Mississippi moonshiner owes $1.2M in US, state taxes

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man has pleaded guilty in a moonshining case, and federal prosecutors say he owes $1.2 million in federal and state taxes. The U.S. attorney for southern Mississippi says 77-year-old Willie Necaise Jr. of Hancock County bought enough sugar out of state to make 74,000 gallons of untaxed whiskey. Mike Hurst said Monday that Necaise pleaded guilty Friday in Gulfport to illegally making distilled spirits and traveling interstate for racketeering. Louisiana is the only state identified in the indictment as one where Necaise bought sugar.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ABORTION PILL

Judge: Women can get abortion pill without doctor visits

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A federal judge has agreed to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ruled Monday that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a “substantial obstacle” to abortion patients and are likely unconstitutional under the pandemic’s circumstances. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May to challenge the rule.

STATE TAX DEADLINE

Louisiana state tax deadline is Wednesday

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — If you haven’t filed your 2019 state income tax return, you have until Wednesday to do so. The Louisiana Department of Revenue reminds residents that the deadline to submit returns and payments is July 15. The department extended the original April and May due dates for individual, corporation, fiduciary and partnership income taxes because of the coronavirus pandemic. The state deadline coincides with the federal income tax deadline, which was also extended as a result of the pandemic.