The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for much of southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, warning that northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph could cause minor damage and travel difficulties. The advisory covers the Northshore, Metro Baton Rouge, River Parishes, Bayou Parishes, and southwest Mississippi. Forecasters say the gusty conditions may blow around unsecured items, down tree limbs and lead to a few power outages, and they urge drivers—especially those in high-profile vehicles—to use extra caution.
–Louisiana State Police are investigating a deadly two-vehicle crash that occurred Monday evening on LA Highway 25 near Sweet Olive Lane in St. Tammany Parish. According to Troop L, troopers responded around 6:25 p.m. on October 27, 2025, after a southbound Ford E250 van crossed the centerline and collided with a northbound Cadillac ATS. The driver of the Cadillac, identified as 39-year-old Rachel Bitter of Folsom, was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries. The van’s driver suffered minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene. Toxicology samples were taken from both drivers as part of the ongoing investigation, and authorities said charges are pending. State Police emphasized the importance of safe and sober driving and asked the public to report hazardous driving by calling *LSP (*577).
–ChillCo Inc., a Louisiana-based commercial and industrial cooling solutions provider headquartered in St. Tammany Parish, has announced a $4.37 million expansion of its Lacombe facility as part of an $8 million growth initiative across the state. Officials said the project will add manufacturing and warehouse capacity to support the company’s expanding rental and maintenance operations, creating 38 new direct jobs with average annual salaries of more than $73,000, while retaining 68 existing positions. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the expansion will generate an additional 46 indirect jobs, contributing to a total of 84 new employment opportunities in the region. State and parish leaders praised the company’s nearly three decades of local investment, noting that the project includes further development of remanufacturing operations in Baton Rouge and benefits from a state-backed incentives package that features LED FastStart workforce support and infrastructure funding.
–A St. Tammany Parish grand jury has returned indictments in three separate cases, District Attorney Collin Sims announced Wednesday. Seventeen-year-olds Lionel Mack and Traveon Elbert, both of Slidell, were indicted on charges including second-degree murder in the July 24 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Todd Anthony Grant Jr., with arraignment set for Oct. 29 before Judge William H. Burris. In another case, 58-year-old Michael Day of Vancleave, Miss., was indicted on first-degree rape of a child under 13 and failure to register as a sex offender for alleged offenses between February and April 2024, and is scheduled to appear Nov. 17 before Judge Richard Swartz. Additionally, 40-year-old Connie Estes of Slidell was indicted on hit-and-run driving resulting in death and obstruction of justice in the Aug. 13 death of 6-year-old Jeremiah Ramirez, with arraignment set for Nov. 5 before Judge Alan Black.
–Southeastern Louisiana University’s Linus A. Sims Memorial Library has been named Louisiana Academic Library of the Year by The Louisiana Library Network (LOUIS), recognizing its commitment to student support, community collaboration, and maintaining strong engagement despite recent disruptions. The nomination highlighted the library’s development of a welcoming “third space” environment and its partnership-driven approach to enhancing campus services. Sims Library is the fourth University of Louisiana System institution to receive the honor, following the University of New Orleans in 2023, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2020, and Nicholls State University in 2016. The award was presented earlier this month during the LOUIS Users Conference at the Pennington Center in Baton Rouge.
–Weather officials have confirmed four tornadoes touched down across southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi during the severe storms of Oct. 26, 2025, causing scattered damage across the region. A brief EF0 tornado first touched down near Maurepas early in the morning, followed by a stronger EF1 that moved through Hammond before sunrise, snapping trees and causing minor property damage. In coastal Mississippi, an EF1 tornado tracked through portions of Gautier mid-morning, damaging trees and several structures, while another short-lived EF0 formed near Pascagoula, producing minor damage as it crossed Highway 90. The National Weather Service reports all ratings are preliminary as survey teams continue to review additional data, including satellite imagery.
–The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) has released the first coast-wide synthesis report from the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS), covering land-change data from 2005–2021 across 390 monitoring sites. The analysis identified seven distinct land-change groups: about 15 % of sites, mainly saline marshes in the Barataria Basin, Terrebonne Basin and Breton Sound Basin, show continuous loss driven by marsh-erosion; approximately 66 % of sites, including swamps and inland freshwater marshes, remain stable; and a new emerging hotspot of land loss has been detected in the Calcasieu/Sabine Basin, where loss rates now rival those in Barataria and Terrebonne and appear tied to increased inundation stress.
–The City of Covington has unveiled a Louisiana State Historical Marker recognizing the historic Claiborne Courthouse, a landmark built in 1818 that played a key role in the development of St. Tammany Parish’s early government. The building, designed by architect Robert Layton, is celebrated as an enduring piece of local history, and city officials say the new marker will help preserve its story for generations to come. Located next to The Chimes restaurant, the site is open for visitors eager to explore Covington’s heritage.
–North Oaks Health System and the Tangipahoa Parish Library are partnering to host a “Level Up Your Career” event on Nov. 4 at the Ponchatoula Branch, offering attendees the chance to connect with top employers, receive interview tips, participate in one-on-one coaching sessions, and get help with resume development. The career-focused program runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will also include additional job-seeking resources. Organizers encourage anyone looking to boost their career prospects to register and join the event.
–The search for the next president of Louisiana State University (LSU) has reached a pivotal stage, with the university’s presidential search committee scheduled to interview four leading candidates Wednesday. The committee is tasked with selecting a successor to William F. Tate IV, who left this summer to assume the presidency of Rutgers University in New Jersey. According to the candidate list, those being formally interviewed include interim LSU President Matt Lee, Dr. Giovanni Piedimonte of the Tulane University School of Medicine, former University of Arizona President Dr. Robert Robbins and Wade Rousse, the president of McNeese State University. The interviews mark a key step in the process: from this group, the committee plans to select three finalists who will then each spend a day participating in campus-wide forums and stakeholder meetings including sessions with students, staff, faculty and athletics leadership. The move comes amid scrutiny over the transparency of the university’s hiring process—earlier in the month the search committee had invited six individuals to apply under the condition of public disclosure of their identities, following student protests triggered by concerns over a lack of openness. With the clock ticking and the university facing significant leadership transitions—both in the presidency and in athletics—LSU’s governing board aims to conclude the process swiftly, with a vote expected soon after the finalist days wrap up.
–Louisiana Department of Health employees who administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have been warned they could be furloughed without pay from Nov. 3 to Dec. 2 if the federal government shutdown continues, according to a notice sent Monday by LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein. The letter, reported by WWNO, states workers may be called back sooner if funding is restored, and staff will receive further updates once a layoff-avoidance plan is reviewed by the state’s civil service director.
