Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power lights.

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.

A new dairy product may be hitting the shelves in Louisiana, but is it safe?

Health experts weigh in.

Chandelier Island chain embarks on an ecosystem restoration effort to save threatened wildlife.

And what energy's plans for hurricane season?

I spoke with a Louisiana public service commissioner and our LPB colleagues shares his firsthand account of 80th day celebrations in Normandy.

You ready?

I'm ready.

Let's get started.

Right.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Kerosene Cyr, and I'm Karin LeBlanc.

Much more on those top stories in a moment on this week's edition of Louisiana, the state we're in.

But first, people in Louisiana may soon be able to buy a new dairy product that has a growing following nationwide.

Advocates say raw, unpasteurized milk has a range of medical benefits and could provide new revenue for small dairies.

But health officials warn the product carries a host of potential risks.

We dug into both sides of the issue.

We've been just super blessed with healthy animals, and I'm so thankful that I was able to have mentors that taught me, you know, how to use herbs to help the goats.

Amanda Hannigan enjoys a simple lifestyle, not just for the peace and quiet, but for the health benefits she gets.

She's been managing her own farm for four years, and says one of the best additions is her herd of goats.

I have my first three goats that give me half a gallon each, and then the last two give me that last half gallon.

Hannigan uses the raw milk from her goats to feed her livestock and her family.

She's milking by hand here, but she normally uses a machine that sanitizes and pumps the milk for her.

But this milk isn't pasteurized or heated to kill bacteria like E.coli or salmonella.

She filters and stores everything herself.

Hannigan is part of a raw milk movement growing in Louisiana and nationwide.

They believe the government shouldn't regulate access to unpasteurized milk.

There's people that want those healthy options, and if we regulate it and do it correctly and do it properly, we can.

We can have a grade A or better of unpasteurized raw milk for consumers to buy.

We like to ignore the reality that pasteurized milk also kills a variety of good bacteria.

Why not let people choose that they want to drink raw milk or pasteurized milk?

Do you know what I mean?

These testimonies are from committee hearings on House Bill 467.

The bill's original text authorize the sale of raw milk for human consumption.

It was a heavily debated topic on both sides of the aisle.

When you eat foods with healthy, beneficial microbes in them, you build up your gut system to be more resistant so that when you do, get exposed to low levels of pathogens, you just have the innate ability to, to prevent infection.

Those opposed to the legalization of raw milk say that it harbors infectious bacteria, ones that will lead to an increase in hospitalizations.

Mike Strain, the agriculture and Forestry commissioner, argued that potential risks could go beyond the individual drinking the milk.

It's about exposure.

It's about putting this in a commerce.

You live on a farm, you want to drink raw milk.

That's fine.

When you put these products into commerce, then you're outside of the silo and all these diseases we've talked about, and they can be pretty nasty.

The CDC lists raw milk as a public health concern.

From 1998 to 2018, the CDC reported 202 outbreaks associated with drinking it.

The outbreaks caused more than 2000 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations.

It's particularly high risk for people at extremes of age, so really young children, elderly people, pregnant women are high risk.

Anyone that's immunocompromised received an organ transplant or getting some sort of cancer treatment for them, it can.

The most common symptom is bloody diarrhea, but that can have very serious downstream consequences.

Things like Guillain-Barré syndrome and hemolytic uremic syndrome.

In very rare cases, for very immunosuppressed people, it can cause death, but that is not common.

But Hannigan doesn't agree with these studies.

In addition to owning her own farm, she's also the chapter president for the Weston A Price Foundation, an advocacy group that focuses on access to more organic foods.

She cites a study that says that pasteurization processes eliminate helpful bacteria that our bodies need.

It's a super health food.

I really believe that, the vitamin availability of it is far superior to pasteurized milk.

Louisiana is one of 36 states that prohibits the sale of raw milk.

But Hannigan says these regulations from state officials are an overreaction.

I believe the studies he's looking at are flawed, but the state's Department of Health doesn't agree with this.

When you try to study the relative nutritional difference between raw milk and pasteurized milk, we haven't been able to find substantial difference because pasteurization ultimately doesn't change the fundamental nature of milk.

The bill was ultimately tweaked to eliminate the legalization of human consumption because of associated costs that the state would have to take on.

We have a very limited staff that does dairy inspection of pasteurized milk.

So we have three people at the Office of Public Health that does all those inspections.

So to do the same level of inspections for a product that has higher rates of contamination, like raw milk, would take more staff.

So the fiscal calculation is based on our current dairy program.

If the bill was signed into law, raw milk can only be sold as food for animals.

Products will be required to have a label warning against human consumption.

But some lawmakers still believe the measure doesn't go far enough to protect people who do plan to consume raw milk from potential health risks.

From hashtag to headlines, here's what's trending this week.

Okay, if you're planning to go to the beach, be aware of shark attacks, especially in Florida.

And as someone who lived in Florida for 23 years, I can attest that it's literally the shark capital of the US.

You can you can go up to those high rise floors of condominiums, look out over the water and see the sharks swimming.

Have you ever seen one?

Yes, girl.

Quite a few.

So the reason why we're telling you this is because, you know, two teenagers and a woman, they were hurt in a pair of shark attacks that happened between Miramar Beach and Panama City Beach.

So the woman lost an arm and one of the teenagers lost a hand.

So it was a pretty serious attack.

So we're just warning you.

Just be safe if you want to go out there to these beaches this summer.

That's right.

Take precautions.

Be aware.

Well, on this some happier news, the Shane Ogg marching 100 band brought a little bit of Louisiana to France, right?

Yes, yes, yes.

So they did go out to Normandy for D-Day celebrations.

And we did say, you know, they practice, they learned historical music, but they also met up with another band that had a really interesting name.

I'll let Karen tell you about this one.

Voodoo orchestra and they are from Utah.

So we're like, what's the connection?

Voodoo, Utah.

But hey, they linked up and they performed together.

Yeah.

And it came out pretty well.

And it turns out that the Utah band will be coming to Louisiana to perform.

So we'll have a little crossover episode, and I'm excited to see what they'll do with a little, a little cross-cultural pollination and got all of that.

All right.

Well, speaking of culture and culinary culture, to be exact, we have some award winners to announce.

Yes, we do.

So James Beard winner.

So two restaurants in Louisiana won, but one was a West African eatery called Dakar, and Nola won best restaurants.

And you know, that's pretty exciting because they don't have a lot of West African restaurants in Louisiana specifically.

So it's really nice that they were recognized.

I love that.

And also there was a bar.

It's called Jewel of the South in the French Quarter that also won the James Beard Award.

So congrats.

And we need to go check them out.

Absolutely we do.

Well, on do some happier news in the coastal waters.

The Chandelier Island chain, located in the northern Gulf of Mexico, is a critical storm buffer and an essential wildlife habitat for Louisiana.

A large scale restoration project is underway to rebuild the island, which is experiencing rapid land loss.

Scientists project that the shrinking barrier islands will imperil 75 at risk species of wildlife.

Here's a look at efforts to restore the balance of Mother Nature in coastal waters.

You're watching a chandelier gold patch on Chandelier Island.

The species is unique to the island, and each hatchling is a huge victory for Mother Nature on this imperiled barrier island that serves as essential wildlife habitat and a storm buffer for Louisiana.

At one point was the largest concentration of colonial nesting birds in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Unfortunately, as the hours have deteriorated, that's not the case anymore.

But it's still immensely important in terms of bird nesting habitat or roosting habitat.

it hosts the most diverse assemblage of seagrasses in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

It's one of the only places in the state, Louisiana, that does grow seagrasses, which are really important not just for birds, ducks, and other wildlife, but, many, many fish and crabs, crustaceans, shrimp, you name it.

The Chandelier Islands are also home to Kemp's ridley sea turtles, the most endangered sea turtle on the planet.

Recent sea turtle crawls, documented to cross the island show promise that continued restoration efforts will help the population thrive.

We've been working on the central islands for decades.

This is our first opportunity to really reinvest in the complete restoration of the island skeleton, and try to put back the sand that's been lost over the years due to the storms by Katrina and others that have washed along the shore and redistributed that sand in the shallow waters.

As part of Louisiana's 50 year coastal master plan.

The Chandelier Islands are undergoing a large scale maintenance project to restore its ecosystem.

The project is in the engineering and design phase, with construction slated to start in 2026.

We will bring a large dredge out there.

You can almost think of it like a vacuum cleaner that'll suck up sand off the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and the sound, and they'll either pump it or barge it a short distance from where they're taking it, and put it right back on the island where it came from.

What is the, the approximate price tag of the restoration?

There's really no limit out here, right?

Because this is a very large island that deserves all the investment that we can find, that aligns with the needs of restoration that we have out there.

So, you know, it could be 300 and $500 million if if we wanted to do everything located 25 miles offshore.

The uninhabited islands link habitats between the eastern and western regions of the Gulf of Mexico.

So putting that back on there not only restores habitat for all the animals that live out there, but provides protection for all the communities inside the islands, like this one.

In the span of five years, the Chandelier Islands suffered a devastating double whammy, first from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and then from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.

Funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement will help pay for the project.

We've got multiple funding streams for Deepwater Horizon.

the largest is our negative Natural resource damage assessment dollars came in at $5 million, through CPRS for ecosystem restoration.

Those monies will have been going toward ecosystem restoration.

since about 2060. a large portion of the chandelier restoration dollars will cut from that selected part.

We're also looking at the Restore act funds.

the Restore act dollars per year.

We're requesting, a large sum of money through the next funding priority list.

We restore, that'll come out in about the middle of 2026.

Hopefully, that will supplement the other half of our large scale restoration.

In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt designated the Chandelier Islands chain as a National Wildlife Refuge.

Once home to fishing and farming communities.

Over the years, the refuge's footprint has shrunk 90%.

Restoration efforts aim to rebuild the island chain as a habitat for threatened wildlife and an important migratory stopover for thousands of birds.

Hurricane season comes with the double risk of severe storms and widespread power outages.

Entergy, Louisiana's largest electricity provider, is working on a plan to reduce the frequency of outages and strengthen our infrastructure.

I spoke with Public Service Commissioner DeVante Lewis about preparedness and whether Entergy's latest plans go far enough.

Well, first off, I want to say thank you so much for joining us, but I'm going to jump right into these questions.

So hurricane season is underway and it's expected to be especially active this year.

From your perspective as someone that's on the Public Service Commission.

How prepared is Louisiana for hurricane season and this hurricane season to be specific?

I mean, I think we're very prepared.

the commission requires utilities to submit an emergency preparedness plan that evaluates how they would handle hurricanes, specifically in Louisiana, and how much of those plans are being fine tuned and filed with the commission.

and I think there are decision points.

I mean, however, I do think the challenge that we face is that, as many of us have heard, our weather is rapidly changing and the storms are getting stronger, which means things that we thought were up to scale maybe five years ago would now be outdated and antiquated, to provide safety.

But one of my biggest priorities, is to ensure that the utilities have a structured plan, to get power back on as fast as it can.

If Louisiana does face the storm this season.

So the priority is really reducing power outages.

Correct?

Yes.

I think that is our my main focus.

I think a secondary focus is protecting our infrastructure to ensure, one of the challenges that we saw, especially in Hurricane Ida, is we lost a lot of transmission towers.

those are a lot harder to get right back on line because you have to get to built that infrastructure back up, reconnect the lines to the distributions, to the homes and businesses.

and so ensuring that our infrastructure is secure.

But also how do we reduce the amount of outages?

Are the duration of outages, I think is the primary focus that I will have this season.

And you mentioned Hurricane Ida and Laura and all of these different, name storms that are really severe.

I mean, it had a lot of impact in some areas.

And as a result of that, residents saw their utility bills skyrocket.

And given that this hurricane season is predicted to be especially active, like I said earlier, is it possible that people could see those utilities rise again?

Well, I'm hopeful they do.

I mean, one of the things that the commission allows is what we call securitization, that saves ratepayers significant amount of dollars when we allow the utility to bond out the recovery of repairs that they believe they are, owed, due to the loss of infrastructure.

I actually voted against the Hurricane Ida, securitization vote on my first meeting because I felt like we did not do a good enough job of reviewing the prudence, to ensure that the utilities were replacing their poles on time, that they had put in significant effects, and plans, that's going to be a real challenge.

and that's something that I'm going to be looking forward to, and I'm watching it utility over the time and making it very clear, that I want to see your operation and maintenance investments, making Louisiana stronger and more resilient now, and not just after a storm.

So is the commission currently looking at any utility increases or requests from Entergy at this moment?

Entergy does have a rate increase pending before the commission.

I am pushing very hard that we do a full rate case, which is I would call a full audit, where we look under the hood of everything that Entergy is doing.

Entergy is requesting what we call a formula rate plan, which is just a mitigated review that only really looks at the financial documents, and make some decisions.

there's some price discrepancies there.

I mean, I think Entergy filed, a $433 million increase.

If we do a rate case, however, they said they would lower it to 170, $373 million if we did a rate mitigation plan.

I think there's some discrepancies in there.

I think there's some, money that is owed to customers.

but this is part of the question about hurricanes.

I want to see what they are investing in, their operation and maintenance costs.

So this isn't the first time the entity has asked for more money to strengthen our infrastructure.

But what specific projects would this money go toward?

Yeah.

So the commission last month approved, $1.9 billion, spending.

This would be 2100 projects that are spread out across the state.

and the vast majority of them are in pole replacements, making interconnection stronger, wires.

I voted against it because I didn't think it took in a comprehensive approach to what we should be building a resilient system, looking at battery storage.

Looking at other options that could make the grid more resilient and reliable in, power outages.

but these 2100 projects are going to start over the next five years.

as what is projected now while we they are projected to be $1.9 billion.

the commission did not vote on a definite cap.

so these projects can go over.

Just can't be more than these 2100 projects that have been projected and picked by Entergy.

Well, I want to talk a little bit more about what's in this project.

So a part of that billion dollar project will focus on burying power lines underground.

But only about 100 miles of power lines will actually be buried.

I mean, why is why so little, you know, and they have other states that have buried power lines before, and it's proven to be effective.

So why aren't we focusing more time and energy on that?

I think that's a fair point.

And that's part of the reason why I voted no.

I asked, my colleagues in Entergy, why are we not being more comprehensive?

Why are we only looking, at, changing our poles?

One of the other issues that I have is that while we did add some steel, poles, we still had a significant amount of investment in wooden poles, which have proven to be less, sustainable when it comes to our changing climate and weather events.

and so I think the commission has to require Entergy and all of our utility companies, for that matter, to really look towards the future as we see that we're now hearing the National Hurricane Center talk about potential category six storms.

We have to also be innovative in the way that we regulate them.

And I wish that we would have required more.

but I think it is also a start.

But I would say that burying ground, lines underground is significant enough cost.

It does have.

it is a lot more costly.

But that's why I think we should have had a very much well thought out phase in program, rather than just kind of a drop in the bucket that I think this proposal does.

So throughout this interview, you've talked about how you've disagreed with a lot of things that have, you know, disagreed with Entergy on the price increases and some other projects that they want to work on.

But where do you stand now?

Yeah, I, I am willing and able to work with not only Entergy, but all of the utility companies in Louisiana to ensure that we have a safe, reliable, resilient and affordable utility structure in this state.

However, I take my job as a regulator very seriously.

I believe my job is to ask the tough questions, it is to examine all of the investments in infrastructure.

And it's also towards to look towards the future.

I think one of the challenges that we have faced ourselves with is we're often only looking at a one size fits all solution instead of all.

as we see businesses grow here in Louisiana, industry comes our answer.

Can't just be build more, build more, build more.

We have to look at how we reduce energy consumption.

we know Louisiana consumes some of the most energy across the country.

Our utility bills are some of the highest in the nation.

And so there's significant work that needs to be done.

And I'm trying to work with our utility companies.

But at the end of the day, they won't boss me around.

I will regulate them.

All right.

Well, thank you so much.

We are out of time, but we appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

We are going to flip this script by turning the camera on a team member often behind the camera.

Brandon Mayor, who recently returned from Normandy to participate in the 80th anniversary D-Day celebrations.

Right.

So Brandon has a passion for military history and a soft spot for war veterans, which is perfect because it goes together with D-Day, Normandy, all of those things.

So you recently went to Normandy and you're going to join us for a behind the scenes look, and I want to talk about this first picture that we've got.

So this pictures of a D-Day memorial in Normandy.

And this was a dream trip for you.

So tell us a little bit about it.

What was it like going?

Yeah, I mean, it was life changing really.

I had always wanted to go and it being the 80th anniversary, I mean, it was I knew I had to be there and just the atmosphere was going to be incredible.

And there was so much to see and so much to do.

I couldn't I couldn't pack it all in one day or even seven days.

So I had a great experience and for real, it like changed my life.

Just the perspective and the view of the French people there.

And so what was security like?

Was it real tight?

I mean, for the 80th, everyone from Tom Hanks to, Joe Biden was there and it was ridiculous.

the actual day, June 6th, was a nightmare to get anywhere.

And, you know, my trip was a little last minute plan.

So, getting anywhere on that day and the fifth was, almost impossible if you didn't have the proper clearance, the proper pass and proper tickets.

But like I said, just the atmosphere in the air being there was amazing.

So out of everything that you did, I mean, what were you the most excited to actually see?

I mean, honestly, the most exciting thing for me was when I right when I got off the plane, I met a World War Two vet.

I mean, not even a few steps off the plane.

I was able to meet a World War two vet, and that was kind of the goal I wanted when I went there.

And, you know, first thing, I met them and and also met some other people that were reenacting jumping out of the planes on June 6th.

So I was able to see them and, and see, you know, hundreds if not, a couple of the hundreds of people jumping out and reenacting the day when they would, when they were not just storming the beaches, but also jumping out of planes to prep for storming the beaches.

So what was the mood and the vibe?

Because as I understand from your Facebook post, because you did a great job with your travelog chronicling everything, there were the official celebrations, but there were a lot of spontaneous, like local celebrations, right?

Yeah.

I mean, every little city in the area had their own little history to what their story was for that day.

And, you know, I mean, I was in my, at my Airbnb and I was staying there for the day, and, and the Princess Anne was actually doing some type of ceremony, and I was going to see her walk and, bagpipes and everything like that.

So it was it was quite an experience.

And yet again, like, no, no matter where you were or where you went, there was some type of, remembrance or tribute or some type of, event that that was just breathtaking.

I want to bring it back to what you said earlier.

When you talking about, meeting a World War two, that.

What did this person have to say?

I know there's tons of wisdom to be had there.

I had a few moments with him, but he was spry as ever could be, and he had a joke that was kind of funny.

I said, you know, his name was Bob, Sergeant?

And I said, Bob, you know, have you been to to this place before?

And he's like, oh, yeah, yeah, I have in 1944.

So I thought that was kind of a he had a jokes to say.

And, you know, I just shook his hand and took a picture with him and told him, appreciative.

I was for everything that him and his generation have done for us.

Yeah, it must have been an honor to be able to sit and talk to someone like that, especially because we're losing a lot of our world war to that.

In ten more years, we won't have any left.

And that generation just means so much to me.

I'm kind of an old soul myself and, to be there and to see like the sacrifice and to see it firsthand with the beaches and everything like that.

It's just, you know, I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do that and be there.

So what's the final takeaway with the whole experience?

I mean, I think most Americans should try to experience it and go there and be a part of it in some way, shape or form.

And, you know, the 80s is a big deal, but, just make the time to go and be a part of it.

And the French people are more patriotic in some ways than we are in a lot of ways.

So, it was very much a great experience, and I think everyone should try to experience it.

And I love that you went, you know, off the beaten path, not only to Normandy, the headliner event, but some of the smaller communities as well, and really impressed yourself.

You were saying people were dressed in period clothing was there too?

Yeah, absolutely.

It was, you know, it was like Mardi Gras before World War two in a sense.

You know, there was just everyone was partaking in it.

Everyone's a part of it.

And, it was like traveling back into the 1940s.

And it was really, really cool.

Brandon, thank you so much for stepping out from behind the camera to share your experiences with us.

And I got to say, we're a little jealous.

We are, because we wanted to go as we did.

Yeah.

And cover the event.

Yeah.

Thank you for for having me.

And, I enjoy telling my story.

Thank you.

That's our show for this week.

Remember?

You can watch anything LPB anytime, wherever you are with our LPB app.

You can catch LPB 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 and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Karen LeBlanc and I'm Kara Sincere.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together, we power life.

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 by Visit Baton Rouge.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.