On site: The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is coming to Louisiana today to meet with state officials on the ongoing flooding there, The Associated Press reports. Craig Fugate will meet with Gov. John Bel Edwards to discuss the situation. The governor’s office says Fugate will travel to Louisiana to meet with the state’s Unified Command Group to discuss the federal assistance available and response efforts. The federal government declared a major disaster in the state, specifically in 12 parishes, including Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston in the first disaster declaration. Others added today include Acadia, Ascension, East Feliciana, Iberia, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry and Vermilion parishes.
Shelter from the storm: The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry has activated its mobile pet shelter to the Baton Rouge River Center which is now sheltering evacuees, The Associated Press reports. Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says in a news release the mobile pet shelter can hold approximately 50 pets. It’s a tractor trailer equipped with metal cages, generator, battery power and a cleaning station. It has an air ventilation system to provide proper air circulation and temperature for the pets. Strain says pets that arrived with patients at the LSU critical-needs shelter are being taken to Dixon Correctional Institute for safe sheltering.
Shelved: A downgrade of BancorpSouth’s Community Reinvestment Act rating means two mergers have been tabled for the time being, The Associated Press reports. BancorpSouth announced in January 2014 its intent to acquire Ouachita Bancshares Corp. of West Monroe, Louisiana, and Central Community Corp. of Temple, Texas. The merger agreements were valued at a combined $325 million in stock and cash at the time. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. notified BancorpSouth Thursday that it was lowering its CRA rating from “satisfactory” to “needs to improve.” The bank says it’s unlikely to have the mergers approved until its CRA rating returns to “satisfactory.”
