Legal help: The Southern University Law Center on Monday will launch the Disaster Recovery Law Clinic on campus at 2 Roosevelt Steptoe Dr. The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Extended hours will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. Low-income residents and those financially impacted by the flooding can seek assistance from law students working under the supervision of SULC clinical faculty, volunteer attorneys and organizations. Clients can receive help registering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other governmental aid groups as well as receive counseling on their legal rights. Individuals seeking assistance from the Disaster Recovery Law Clinic should call 225-771-3333 or go to the clinic office.
Rising: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Aug. 20 increased from the previous week’s total, The Associated Press reports. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims rose to 4,984 from the previous week’s total of 2,704. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 2,414. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 3,337 from the previous week’s average of 2,811.Continued unemployment claims claimed for the week ending Aug. 20 decreased to 25,926 compared to 27,351 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 27,160 from the previous week’s average of 27,615.
One down: The number of active oil and gas rigs in Louisiana dropped by one this week to 42, according to the weekly tally out today by Houston-based oilfield services firm Baker Hughes. The state had 71 active rigs around this time last year. The U.S. rig count dropped by two this week to 489. One year ago, there were 877 rigs exploring for oil and gas in United States.
