Hurricane Isaac

Two health care groups have filed a lawsuit against Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, over an insurance coverage change he made after Hurricane Isaac.

The lawsuit by the Louisiana State Medical Society and the Louisiana Hospital Association was filed in Baton Rouge district court late Monday, challenging an emergency rule Donelon issued on Sept. 4.

The emergency rule affected health insurance policies in 23 parishes.

Hurricane Isaac caused more than $7 million in damage to state parks in south Louisiana and forced some into months-long closures.

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, who oversees the state parks agency, told The Times-Picayune that the damage estimates are based on preliminary surveys.

Dardenne says Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville and Fairview-Riverside State Park in Madisonville bore much of Isaac's wrath. The two St. Tammany Parks account for more than $3 million of the damage.

The Louisiana State Animal Response Team has sent 360 bales of hay to St. Bernard Parish Animal Services to horses affected by Hurricane Isaac.

Parish officials said Monday the hay was divided between Poydras Arena and a farm where displaced horses from Plaquemines Parish were being housed. It was also distributed from those two locations to St. Bernard residents whose horses were affected by the storm, which hit the state last month.

Sen. Mary Landrieu has nominated a father and son credited with rescuing dozens of neighbors from Hurricane Isaac's floodwaters for an award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

The Louisiana Democrat said Friday that she nominated 53-year-old Jesse Shaffer III and his 25-year-old son, Jesse, for the Citizen Service Before Self Honors award because they showed "an extraordinary amount of courage, sacrifice and selfless service" during the storm.

State authorities are urging builders and homeowners to take steps to prevent the spread of termites as they rebuild after Hurricane Isaac.

Agriculture and Forestry Secretary Mike Strain said residents can contact the Department of Agriculture and Forestry at 225-925-4578 to be sure the pesticide company they hire is certified and licensed.

Treatments and annual inspections are recommended. Between inspections, Strain said property owners should periodically inspect their home or business for evidence of termites.

The number of West Nile virus infections in Louisiana has reached 215, with 39 new cases reported this past week.

No new deaths were added in the latest report. The death toll from the virus so far this year stands at 10.

Louisiana's health department says the state is experiencing its highest number of West Nile cases in years. And Hurricane Isaac is getting some of the blame. The storm left behind a lot of standing water, providing breeding areas for mosquitoes.

Humans are infected when they are bitten by infected mosquitoes.

St. Tammany Parish officials say fees will be waived for residential and commercial building permits obtained to repair damage from Hurricane Isaac.

Authorities said documentation will be required at the time of application, and includes such items as an insurance claim or photos of the damaged property.

More details on documentation required for permits can be obtained at the St. Tammany Parish Administrative Complex, 21454 Koop Drive, Suite 1B, Mandeville, phone 985-898-2574 or at the Towers Building, 520 Old Spanish Trail, Suite 2F, Slidell, phone 985-646-4166.

Much of Louisiana's citrus crop is rotting on the ground.

Navel oranges, satsumas, grapefruits — little was spared as Hurricane Isaac roared across southeast Louisiana, knocking fruit off tree limbs and flooding orchards in Plaquemines Parish just a month away from fall harvest.

The Saxon Becnel and Sons Citrus Nursery in Belle Chasse was spared flooding but lost about 90 percent of its oranges and half of its satsuma crop from two days of high winds that hovered over the region.

The two-lane stretch of Louisiana Highway 1 that cuts through the marshes of south Lafourche Parish is the only road to Port Fourchon, the oil and gas hub that serves 90 percent of deepwater petroleum operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

When the highway is closed because of high water, as it was for three days during Hurricane Isaac, the industry takes an economic hit.

But, as The Advocate reports, each new storm brings with it the fear that the highway may wash away.

Hurricane Isaac caused a spike in initial claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Sept. 8.

Figures released Friday show initial claims increased to 9,023 from 2,345. That's the most initial claims filed in one week since Hurricanes Gustav and Ike impacted Louisiana in September 2008, resulting in 10,264 first-time claims filed the week ending Sept. 27, 2008.