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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says he's considering skipping his speaking engagement at Republican National Convention because of Tropical Storm Isaac.

Jindal said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that he wouldn't leave his state while it's threatened by the storm. Around the time he spoke, a hurricane warning was issued for parts of the state east of Morgan City, which includes the New Orleans area.

He also called a state of emergency in Louisiana and suggested that people leave low-lying parts of coastal parishes.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots officials have declared a mandatory evacuation of its barn area in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac, which is expected to become a hurricane as it moves into the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The evacuation applies to about 700 horses currently stabled at Fair Grounds, as well as all workers.

St. Charles Parish has declared a state of emergency due to the approach of Tropical Storm Isaac.

Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. signed the order at 10:15 a.m., according to a press release from the parish, in advance of expected 105 mph winds, higher gusts, and storm surges between six and eight feet beginning Monday night and into Tuesday.

The federal government says oil and gas operators continue to evacuate offshore platforms and rigs in Tropical Storm Isaac's likely path through the Gulf of Mexico.

Isaac is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall Wednesday.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement says 39 production platforms and eight drilling rigs have been evacuated. That's about 6.5 percent of the 596 manned platforms and 10.5 percent of the 76 rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico.

Plaquemines Parish crews hustled to the levees that protect the low-lying New Orleans suburb and St. Charles Parish closed schools through Wednesday as Tropical Storm Isaac's path moved west.

It's expected to become a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall somewhere from east of Morgan City to the Florida Panhandle.

Plaquemines, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes all have declared a state of emergency. St. Charles Parish is stocking all sandbag locations; people will need to bring their own shovels to fill bags.

Note: The time of the tropical cyclone's center location at the bottom of the graphic will be 3 hours earlier than the time of the current advisory. The forecast cycle for each advisory begins 3 hours prior to the issuance of the advisory products.

A group of L.B. Landry High School alumni is taking the state to court over plans to merge the campus with another high school, O. Perry Walker.

The Times-Picayune reports the case could be the first test of a law that requires community input on any changes in the way state-controlled schools are governed.

This year's hot and humid weather could make this one of the worst lovebug seasons in years in south Louisiana, bug experts said.

Lovebugs, so called because of their tendency to fly attached to one another while mating, are a big problem for the exteriors of vehicles and structures, LSU AgCenter agent Barton Joffrion tells The Courier.

The insects' scientific name is Plecia nearctica, but they're also called march flies, lovebugs and united bugs.

Mayor David Camardelle has declared a state of emergency for the Town of Grand Isle, and has issued a mandatory evacuation order, according to a statement released by Grand Isle officials.

The statement, issued at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, was enacted due to the tropical storm watch — encompassing the entire eastern Gulf Coast — issued by the National Weather Service in advance of the approach of Tropical Storm Isaac.