Quick hits: Louisiana news briefs for Friday, April 9

Early voting for April 24 runoff begins Saturday

Early voting for the April 24 election, which includes a runoff between two New Orleans Democrats seeking a seat in Congress, begins Saturday.

State Sens. Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter are seeking to represent southeast Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District. Incumbent Cedric Richmond won reelection last year but stepped down to join President Joe Biden’s administration.

Some parishes are holding local races or ballot propositions, and 23 parishes have no elections, according to the secretary of state’s office. Voter information is available at voterportal.sos.la.gov and on the GeauxVote mobile app.

FEMA to open its first Louisiana mass vaccination site

Baton Rouge will be home to a federal COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center, the first such site in Louisiana, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome announced Friday.

The site is expected to open April 16 at the Bon Carre Business Center on Florida Boulevard in Mid City, with the “capacity to deliver several thousand vaccines a day,” according to the governor’s office.

The site will operate Tuesdays through Sundays. The site’s drive-through hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the site will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays, it will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On Mondays, teams from the Louisiana National Guard will conduct mobile vaccination clinics in underserved areas, the governor’s office said.

Appointments can be scheduled online here.

Governor’s session-opening State of the State speech to be delivered at Southern University

Gov. John Bel Edwards plans to give his session-opening State of the State address at 6 p.m. Monday at Southern University’s A.W. Mumford Stadium, rather than in the House Chamber of the state Capitol as usual.

Officials moved the speech because of COVID-19 safety precautions.

Members of the Louisiana Legislature and the governor’s cabinet were invited to attend, alongside special guests “including health care heroes and front line essential workers,” the governor’s office said. The COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s legislative agenda are expected to be the main topics.

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