Entergy is proud to support programing on LPB and Greener practices that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental and sustainability initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations can be left with a cleaner planet.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth Zigler Foundation and the Zigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.

We felt that this is a good way to help the effort to fundraise for these families.

Help for Ukraine.

While we work to fix this, maintain your ensure.

The fight for fair flood insurance.

They ought not have to pay for their cable services.

When their interrupted.

Cable reimbursement bill dies in the Senate.

I didn't realize how much that sort of affected me.

That instability, an overachiever and an artist.

Meet this week's Young Hero.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Kara St. Cyr And I'm Andre Moreau the president's chief medical advisor.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the US is out of a full blown explosive pandemic phase and into a transitional phase of the coronavirus.

However, he says the world is still in a pandemic that no one should misinterpret that.

Here in Louisiana we've recorded 340 new cases, 62 hospitalizations and four deaths.

These are some of the lowest numbers we've seen since the start of the outbreak, and they are continuing to trend downward.

And now let's take a look at some of the other news headlines from around the state.

There was first a loud boom, then more than 30 people in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi reported seeing an exceptionally bright meteor in the sky about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

It was first spotted 54 miles above Alcorn, Mississippi.

Scientists say it moved at the speed of 55,000 miles per hour, disintegrating closer to the Earth's atmosphere.

And breaking apart about 34 miles above Concordia Parish the Energy Department this week authorized additional exports of liquefied natural gas from terminals coming online in the next four years.

Magnolia LNG Terminal in Lake Charles expects to be operational in 2026 and Golden Pass near Port Arthur, Texas in 2024.

The orders allow the export to any country not prohibited by U.S. law or policy Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain talked global warming and carbon capture to the Baton Rouge Press Club this week and said farmers need an increase in domestic oil and gas production.

Strain believes carbon capture is the answer to taking carbon emissions out of the air, though a number of environmental groups say that's a false solution.

Decorated World War Two veteran and pioneering civil rights lawyer Johnny Jones senior passed away this past Saturday at the War.

Veterans Home in the East Louisiana town of Jackson.

Jones was wounded during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

The Purple Heart he was awarded was not given to him until a year ago.

He made his mark as a civil rights lawyer fresh out of Southern Law School, instrumental in the Baton Rouge bus boycott of 1953.

I had the honor of speaking with him about those days.

During an interview four years ago, former LSU basketball star Roman robe Sankoh has lived in his native Ukraine full time since 2014 running successful companies At present, though, he's hunkered down and spearheading an effort to raise money for the families of fallen soldiers.

It's been quite a journey for him at 17 while playing basketball in the US.

He defected from Russian rule.

LSU coach Dale Brown found out about him, brought him to Tiger Town to play ball.

And from that four seasons with the Tigers filled with great memories and life lessons learned.

We talked Wednesday with Roman from his safe house in Ukraine's countryside.

Since the bombing, since the war, since the assault has begun, what have you done with you?

A group of friends and your family.

So basically, I recently took a job for one of the Americans, American companies here in Ukraine.

And I was responsible for some people here.

So anticipating that the war would happen.

I preemptively left Kiev one week before that in order to make sure that I have the generator, the gasoline, the power, everything, the food in case the war started.

And so on Thursday, on the Thursday when the war started, I was supposed to go back to Kiev because I was done with the preparations.

And so I woke up to the news that we got bombed and then the war has started.

It hasn't started.

It started in 2014.

But Putin has escalated that low conflict, low slow conflict into an invasion, full out invasion.

So luckily we've discussed this before and a few friends of mine and their families exercise the plan that we prepared before and then they gather their belongings, whatever the little they needed.

And they all came here because this is a central area.

There is no strategic locations here.

No plans, no factories, no ammunition storage or anything like that.

It's just farmers land.

So we felt this was the safest place to be.

There was the early on, this is on the left bank.

So therefore whenever the Russians were advancing from the north, we started to get nervous because there is a river and you have the bridges, and if they blow up the bridges, then we're stuck here and we have the elderly with the women.

We had the kids to at some point it was 21 person residing in this location.

And then we at one point when we became nervous, we packed up and we drove on the opposite side of the river into my hometown, and we organized for the people to be evacuated to the western Ukraine or if it was elderly or women, they went all the way to Poland and Turkey, some of them that right now, according to the law, males, 18 or 60 to 60 cannot leave the country we're not allowed to.

Well, OK, OK. And that's but I wouldn't want to leave, but I wouldn't want to leave even if I could.

The beauty about Ukrainians is that we're like amount of aunts, every aunt or be let's do bees, every bees doing what they know to do best.

And all together it looks like it's a coordinated action, but it's not each bees doing their own part of this whole activity.

And so typically whenever the bear comes in and starts robbing that honey bees go nuts, you know, biting the bear until it's stinging the bear, a deal to bear goes away.

And essentially, this is what's happening right now.

It's not a centralized effort that we are defending against the Russian bear.

It's the each person does whatever they can democratically govern countries.

We're not concerned with this behavior with this outrageous behavior by Putin and Kremlin.

And they would not be helping us.

There is no way we could have survived.

There is no way we could have prevailed.

We are definitely getting a lot more help than we did in 2014.

The world has seen the true face of Russia and its intentions and they stole our resolve and they so our desire to defend ourselves.

We don't want to run we don't want to hide.

Just like the president did not want to leave when he was offered an opportunity to leave.

Most of Ukrainian people also do not want to leave.

We want to stay and we want to do our part in order to help us earn our freedom.

I have an 18 year old daughter who calls herself who who would come here every year in the summertime and she lives in America.

She's going to college there now.

And so like I would ask myself, what would I tell my daughter if I ran away?

Like, how is this?

My country is in need and why am I running away?

I have two hands.

I have two legs.

Granted, I don't know how to shoot and I'm not a military guy, but I'm a good organizer.

I can get processes going.

I know people I can fundraise.

I can spread the word to fight the misinformation.

It's remarkable.

She's she's a Georgia, by the way, isn't she?

Yes.

Yes, she is.

Yeah.

Dale was telling me that.

She chose the smaller mascot.

You know, I'm like the tiger eats four of those dogs fight.

When you go to Kiev right now, what do you see?

You know, the pictures we see, it makes it look like mass destruction.

Is it more segments that have been bombed and hit?

Because because Mr. Putin had a devious plan to waltz in and three days later have a parade in the center Central Street in Kiev.

The center of Kiev has been largely spared.

So you do not see any signs of the war if it wasn't for the checkpoints.

So the city is the destruction was on the outskirts of Kiev when it when it comes to Kiev.

And there are a couple of buildings that suffered from some of the rockets falling or some of the planes that were shot down, falling down.

Most of the city looks extremely fortified.

I've never seen it that way.

So when I pulled in and I saw how many people with weapons, how organized everything is, how well-fortified every little corner, every little turn of the streets, I feel sorry for any soldier that would have to be given an order to attack the city and to try to get it.

What else do we need to know what else can we do to help?

We felt that those soldiers that are heroically fighting for freedom would fight even harder and have a peace of mind if they knew that their families would be taken care of if they died defending their country and defending the democratic values for the whole world.

And so we felt that this is a good way to help the effort to fundraise for these families.

And we focusing on families that are more economically disadvantaged, like lower income and with more kids.

My fundraising effort is called Ukraine Dot Org, and it's spelled Y-O-U like you and then Crane dot org.

Roman, thank you so much for your time.

I appreciate it.

So, so much.

It's so good to see you.

Thank you.

Likewise.

Thank you.

Appreciate for the opportunity to share share the information and share my point of view.

This is that website, Ukraine dot org.

There is news, there's information and there's the ways to donate to help the families of those fallen soldiers.

In Greater New Orleans and has led the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance for almost a decade.

And they are again battling for that once again as insurance premiums are expected to have some big hikes on the horizon.

I talked with CEO Michael Hecht about insurance rate concerns.

There are a couple of challenges that we're dealing with right now.

The most basic one is just affordability for people who were paying 500, $550 for flood insurance.

For that to go up to potentially 23,000 or even higher.

That's going to do one of three things for some individuals on fixed income for example.

It might just be unaffordable.

It might it might put them out of their home when combined with their other payments and mortgage payments for other individuals who are in zones where they're not required to car but think you're doing so because it's a good idea and we're telling them to that $500, they'll carry it 20 $500, they probably drop it.

So you're going to have a program that starts losing even more participation.

And actually, according to FEMA's own numbers, they expect 20% of people to drop out of the program as a result of these changes, which doesn't make the program more sustainable.

And then there'll be some number of individuals for whom the insurance going from 502,500, it just won't change much, and they'll just continue to carry it because they're forced to.

But what it really means if you look at that in toto, is that it's a regressive policy that's really only going to favor those who are wealthy enough to do to bear these carrying costs.

Right.

You can see how if it becomes pervasive, how it could start to cascading effect the overall economy.

If people can't afford their homes, then again, what does it means?

It means a reduction in workforce in an area.

It means that homes might be foreclosed on, causing a banking crisis, particularly for our local banks or our smaller banks.

It overall just populates and makes the area less economically viable, not only for the companies that create wealth because they make widgets and sell them but those that exist as a consequence of wealth that the restaurants and the main street retailers.

So, you know, the challenge with this is that you've got a program in which the way it's rolling out right now doesn't make ethical sense because individuals who have done what they were told build as they were told, paid their taxes, shouldn't have suddenly their homes devalued or taken from them effectively.

It also doesn't make economic sense because the vast majority of the people in this country who live near water, which is 50% of the country, do so out of necessity.

There's a reason why cities are built near rivers and the seaside.

It's where commerce happens.

So it doesn't make economic sense to create a situation where it's no longer affordable, except for people who are wealthy beach homes to live and work near water.

So I think that just like with bigger waters, we need a more elegant and thoughtful and holistic solution that includes affordability measures, includes transparency.

So we understand how we can mitigate and frankly puts more money into mitigation at the individual and community level.

What can you tell people who are living in fear right now of what actually Juneau Inc is doing and has been doing all along to take a look at this problem and be on top of it?

Well, the first message and the most important one to get out is that individuals should keep their flood insurance because under the current rules, if you keep your flood insurance, it can go up every year, but at a maximum of 18%, that's still a lot but it's a lot less than 100%.

If you drop your insurance, then if you get insurance again or if you sell your home, it'll go right up to that full risk rate, which could be thousands of dollars.

So the first thing is, while we work to fix this, maintain your insurance.

That's my most important message.

But the second thing is I think, you know, just like ten years ago, ultimately this became a nonpartisan national pocketbook issue and that's where we were able to fix it.

We have what's called the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance that we lead, but it covers maybe 35 states now, about 250 organizations, all of whom have the same concern.

They want flood insurance that's affordable, that's transparent, and that's sustainable.

And I do think that once constituents not just in Louisiana, but the whole country start seeing their new rates, start getting their new bills, it's going to spread just like it did last time.

And it will not just be a South Louisiana issue.

It will be a New York issue, it will be a Colorado issue.

It'll certainly be a Florida issue.

It'll be a New Jersey issue.

A California issue.

Then at that point, the pressure on Congress just becomes, you know, something that they have to respond to.

And, you know, we'll fix this.

And we we'll talk with Hecht again soon to see how this is playing out.

What if after each storm you were reimbursed by your cable company for every day your power was out?

Senator Cleo Fields is trying to make that a reality with Senate Bill 352.

But he's been met with some opposition at the Capitol this session opposes say the bill is unnecessary and impossible to implement.

Power outages are almost an inevitable part of any major storm event.

Hurricane Ida knocked out power for over a million customers in Louisiana four days.

Senator Cleo Fields thinks cable companies should reimburse customers after weather events like that one.

When a person after a major hurricane lose their services they ought not have to pay for their cable services when they're interrupted in my view is is unjust.

In Richmond, and so this bill that we plan to debate on the floor of the Senate today is a pretty straightforward bill.

When you lose your services, you shouldn't have to pay for and that's the bill that I bring I will bring forward to the body today and hopefully the past.

As it stands now, you can request a refund from cable companies for all the days your power is out, but you have to request that refund yourself.

Senator Field's bill, SB 35 to shift the burden onto service providers instead.

If this bill were signed into law, you would automatically get the refund without contacting anyone.

These cable companies know when there is a disaster.

They know when there is an emergency.

They know when they have lost services to the home.

And and they ought not to charge customers when they are not providing the services.

It's just plain and simple.

You should not pay for something that you are not receiving.

And so that's what the bill does.

The bill was met with opposition from the Internet and Cable Association.

A spokesperson for the company said service providers already refund millions of dollars following big weather events.

They also said that it will be virtually impossible to tell who lost power from a storm and who just unplug their devices.

Field argues that this is a non-factor.

Well, I just think that's a bunch of hogwash.

I mean, first of all, it's a gubernatorial declared emergency.

So you have to cross certain hurdles in order for the bill to even in order for a consumer to even take advantage of the of the credit.

One, there must be a major disaster to the governor, must declare a make a declaration.

And three is not as simple as unplugging your cable.

But the Internet and Cable Association maintains that cable companies can't pinpoint outages the same way power companies can.

So there's no real way to assess the cause of the cable outage.

SB 352 did not get enough support in the Senate to advance it failed.

25 to 15.

Victoria Williams has been searching for stability her entire life, and she found it in school.

The Spanish High student has a GPA that will shock you and a long list of academic accomplishments.

I'm excited for you to meet this week's Young Hero.

In that simple statement is the key to science.

When you balance an equation, you have to put coefficients in the correct spot.

If it disagrees with experiment is wrong.

That's how you reach equilibrium.

Victoria Williams understands that more than anyone, she loves chemistry, but more importantly, she loves stability.

The first ten years of my life, we were always moving around, just because we couldn't pay the rent this time.

Or yes, we couldn't pay the rent.

And then one time we we stayed at a shelter for around a year it was fine, but like I didn't realize how much that sort of affected me, that instability.

So I tried so much to cultivate stability on my own.

Through what I do.

Williams mother raised her and her siblings alone.

They moved to houses all over the city, even if she didn't understand the severity of her situation.

Emotion always slipped through the cracks.

I focused on school so, so much a one time.

I remember I literally just broke down in the hallway in elementary school because I was like, my house just got broken into and I was just really just inconsolable.

So I didn't realize how much moving around was just affecting me.

But it's always just the build up for me.

So when things happen, it doesn't take just that one thing that build up was enough to shape what would be Williams future.

Her life became her schoolwork.

She was dedicated to succeeding.

It was the only way she could guarantee structure.

And her teachers noticed.

She's very focused and determined because she has so many different things going on.

And what I notice is that she's able to compartmentalize things in a way that she can be successful at all levels.

And she certainly showed that in the competition.

At the Quiz Bowl for the state championship.

Williams started a black history quiz ball club with a group of students at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, where she attends.

We get a study guide and we just go at it and we just make quizlet and it's kind of memorization, but it's OK because I feel like it's sort of like a tribute to the people who came before us that were taking the time to learn about them and how they have trailblazers so we can, like, sit in this school that we're in because we wouldn't have a long time ago or short time ago.

The quiz bowl isn't her only accomplishment.

She took the title of Student of the Year at the same school, which is a feat.

This is a great school.

It gives you so many opportunities and the kids really take advantage of them.

So everyone here is just so talented and they do something exceptional.

So the fact that I was chosen, like as someone who does exceptional things when there are so many exceptional people around me really made me proud of myself.

Every time I pass the kiosk and I see that picture, I'm like, Oh, wow, I know her.

So she knows.

And I've even told us that, hey, when you become famous, remember you knew instantly back in the day.

Williams partnered with Water Solutions to study the effects of nanoparticles on local water species.

And if that's not complicated enough, she also adds physical activity to her list of skills.

Williams runs track for her school, and she's got a 4.57 GPA with a 34 on her act to match.

But as with all chemical equations, she says life needs balance.

Everything is fine in this moment.

Like the only suffering we have comes from thinking about the future with the past.

So like right now, in this moment, everything is fine, but you're thinking about what's going to happen to you in a few minutes.

Like if we don't finish this, you're thinking about what you did a year ago that was embarrassing.

That's where all that suffering lies.

Not here.

Art is her release.

It's like this has an answer and this as an answer.

But with art, it's like there are no answers.

You can make the answers by putting whatever you want to put on the page.

And that's what I really love about art.

You can just do whatever your mind feels like doing and then expressing it through like conscious stuff.

The subconscious Williams future is surely a bright one.

She's made sure of it.

But what's next?

I'm going to go to Columbia University in New York City.

I'm so excited because it was such a beautiful campus and it was sort of like its own little community within the greater community of New York City.

So I get to learn about all these cultures and learn to ride the subway, which I'm the most excited about.

And her major is easy to guess.

I want to be a chemical engineer.

So that's the thing.

Williams has worked hard to build a life for herself.

She's an inspiration to classmates and teachers alike who all can't wait to see her win.

Toria Labs, Louisiana.

A Young Heroes program is presented this year with the generous support of a mayor health care toss.

Louisiana, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Community Coffee, the US Army, Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion DiMarco and Hotel Indigo.

A Thursday night, Friends of LSB hosted the annual Louisiana Legends Gala at the Old State Capitol.

This year's event was broadcast live on LPB and honored seven legends.

It certainly did.

Our congratulations once again to former LPB CEO President Beth Courtney.

Arthur Favre, Dr. Sandra Yancy McGuire.

Dr. Stephen McGuire, Paul Manieri, Valsin Marmillion, Thomas Whitehead.

Congratulations to all of this year's legends.

And everyone.

That is our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything, leave any time wherever you are with our LPB PBS app.

You can catch live news and public affairs shows as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please, like us on Facebook, Twitter, Tick-Tock and Instagram.

For everyone here at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Andre Moreau.

And I'm Kara St. Cyr Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Entergy is proud to support programing on LPB and greener practices that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental and sustainability initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations can be left with a cleaner planet.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B, Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum.

Located in Jennings City Hall, the museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana.

Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.