There’s a catch: The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it can provide funding to owners of multifamily dwellings in need of repairs if they are willing to lease to eligible FEMA applicants who are survivors of the August flooding. The Multi-Family Lease and Repair Program makes funds available for apartment owners to make their units habitable once again. The repairs made to multifamily dwellings do not have to be storm- or flood-related. The value of the work will be deducted from the value of the lease agreement, but may not exceed the total value of the lease, FEMA says in a news release. To qualify for the program, multifamily dwellings must have five or more units that were previously used as rental units. The dwelling also must be located in parishes declared as disaster areas. FEMA also says the property cannot be located in a flood-prone area and must be accessible to community services like schools and grocery stores. FEMA requires a lease of exclusive use of the property as temporary housing for a period of at least 18 months. Get more information.
Harder to find: Historic levels of rainwater draining through waterways in south Louisiana have made white shrimp usually caught closer to the shoreline tough to find, The Advertiser reports. The season for the coastline west of the Mississippi River officially started on Aug. 22. However, the rush of water has driven shrimp into deeper waters and fishermen further away from the coast. Thomas Hymel, an LSU AgCenter specialist, says the number of boats normally seen with shrimp this time of the year has drastically declined. The weak start to the fall season comes as Louisiana fishermen are facing growing competition from farm-raised, imported shrimp overtaking the U.S. market from countries like Thailand and Indonesia. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts 39.2 million pounds of seafood to be produced in the western Gulf. That includes 21.9 million caught off Louisiana and 17.3 million caught off Texas. Read the full story.
Recalled: Ford is expanding a recall to add 1.5 million more vehicles that need to be brought into dealers to fix doors that can fly open while the vehicle is being driven, USA Today reports. The automaker says it is taking the action at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. With the addition, almost 2.4 million vehicles will be under recall for the issue. The issue involves a potentially defective part in the doors called the pawl spring tab, which can break. If it does, the door will not properly close and “a door that opens while driving increases the risk of injury,” Ford says in a statement. Ford says it knows of one accident and three injuries from the faulty doors. Read the full story.
