Mississippi Today
Hurricane Francine, now a Category 2 storm, will bring destructive winds and flooding to Louisiana and Mississippi
MORGAN CITY, La. (AP) — Hurricane Francine barreled toward Louisiana on Wednesday strengthening to a Category 2 storm that could bring deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds to Louisiana and Mississippi.
The hurricane was expected to make landfall in the evening, crashing into a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.
Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, strengthening from a Category 1 to a Category 2 storm, with winds of 96 to 110 mph (155 to 175 kph), the National Hurricane Center.
A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from Cameron east to Grand Isle, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of New Orleans, according to the center. A storm surge warning stretched from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border. Such a warning means life-threatening flooding could occur.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it distributed more than 100,000 sandbags to the southern part of the state and the Department of Education reported a number of school district closures for Wednesday and Thursday.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain, with the possibility of 12 inches (30 centimeters) in some spots, Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.
The hurricane center said parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were at risk of “considerable” flash and urban flooding starting Wednesday. The lower Mississippi Valley and lower Tennessee Valley could experience flooding later in the week as the soggy remnants of Francine sweep inland.
“I know that we have been through a lot here in Louisiana, but I urge everyone to take the necessary preparations,” said Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who urged residents to “stay off the roads, stay home and stay put.”
Hurricane season typically peaks around this time of year and Louisiana residents have often faced threats from such storms. Since the mid-19th century 57 hurricanes have tracked over or made landfall in Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. Among them are some of the strongest, costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history.
Landry said the Louisiana National Guard was being sent to parishes that could be impacted by Francine. They have with food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including possible search-and-rescue operations.
Francine was centered Wednesday evening about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and was moving northeast at 17 mph (27 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph), the Miami-based hurricane center said.
President Joe Biden granted an emergency declaration that will help Louisiana secure federal money and logistical assistance from partners such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Both Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also declared states of emergency, authorizing them to quickly free up resources for disaster assistance.
Bands of heavy rain were hitting New Orleans Wednesday morning. The city’s historic streetcars that roll on South Carrollton Avenue had to ease past cars that motorists parked next to the tracks on the grassy median. The median is a few inches higher than the street and drivers sometimes park there to avoid street flooding.
Francine’s storm surge on the Louisiana coast could reach as much as 10 feet (3 meters) from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said.
Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this story.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Late and missed Medicaid rides triple the contractual limit in July
Six percent of rides provided by the company that coordinates Medicaid recipients’ transportation to medical appointments – or three times the allowable limit – were late or missed in July.
The company’s first report to the Division of Medicaid since assuming the contract for transportation services indicated that five percent of scheduled rides were late, and one percent was missed, said Medicaid spokesperson Matt Westerfield.
The company’s contract states that no more than two percent of scheduled rides should be late or missed each day.
For-profit, Denver-based Modivcare is working to lower the percentage of rides that are late or missed, said company spokesperson Melody Lai in an email.
“We utilize data and close partnerships with healthcare facilities, transportation providers, and members across the state to continuously improve service,” she said.
Modivcare, which began its three-year, $96.5 million contract with the state on June 8 of this year, scheduled over 52,000 trips with beneficiaries in July.
About 3,000 of the rides were late or missed.
Nearly 40,000 rides were completed after cancellations made by both Medicaid recipients and drivers in July. Thirty-seven trips took 45 minutes longer than average.
Modivcare’s contract mandates it submit monthly reports detailing late or missed trips, along with other information.
Despite filing a public records request, Mississippi Today did not obtain a copy of the company’s first monthly report. The Division of Medicaid indicated that the reports could contain proprietary, third-party trade secrets and that Modivcare had the right to obtain a protective order prohibiting the release of the records.
State Medicaid programs are required to provide rides to doctor appointments to health plan recipients. States can manage the benefit directly, provide the service through Medicaid managed care contracts or contract with a third-party broker, like Mississippi.
Modivcare subcontracts with local transportation companies to provide rides to beneficiaries. Late or missed trips are considered the fault of the transportation companies that provide rides to beneficiaries, Westerfield said.
Mississippi Today last month reported that a woman who uses a wheelchair missed four doctors appointments after Modivcare assumed responsibility for the service in June. She said drivers refused to give her a ride on two occasions because they did not feel comfortable securing her mobility device. On another occasion, Modivcare told her there were no available drivers with the capacity to transport a wheelchair. Another time, the driver did not show up to the location she indicated.
Modivcare’s contract with the Division of Medicaid requires that each wheelchair vehicle have a wheelchair securement device that meets American with Disabilities Act guidelines.
People with disabilities are some of the most frequent users of the service.
Modivcare has been penalized for a high volume of late or missed rides in other states.
The New Jersey Department of Human Services fined Modivcare $1.7 million between 2017 and 2022 for failing to meet its contractual obligations, including missing scheduled pickups, reported the Bergen Record. The New Jersey Legislature considered a bill in 2023 to establish performance and reporting standards for Medicaid transportation services, but the legislation died in committee.
This month, The Maine Monitor wrote that patients have reported missing appointments and being refused rides by the company, which provides transportation services to 16 counties in Maine.
In Georgia, Modivcare and Southeasttrans, another non-emergency medical transportation company, were fined over $1 million from 2018 to 2020 for picking up patients late, KFF reported.
Modivcare was the lowest bidder during the contract selection process in Mississippi. The agency chose it over Medical Transportation Management, Inc., the previous contractor, and Verida, Inc.
Westerfield said that when the number of late or missed trips exceeds the two percent threshold, the division works with the company to correct the issue. If the issue persists, the company will receive official warning letters and the division could choose to seek damages.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1968
Sept. 17, 1968
Diahann Carroll starred in the title role in “Julia” — the first Black actress to star in a non-stereotypical role in her own television series.
She grew up loving singing, dancing and performing in the theater, and she began modeling for Ebony magazine at 15. Three years later, she appeared on the TV show, “Chance of a Lifetime,” taking home the top prize for her performance of the song, “Why Was I Born?” That same year, she acted in the film, “Carmen Jones”, and appeared in the Broadway musical “House of Flowers”.
In her TV show “Julia”, her performance garnered an Emmy nomination for her, and she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series. Mattel even created a Barbie in her image.
After “Julia” ended, she returned to Broadway and Hollywood, earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 1974 film “Claudine”. She went on to portray Dominique Deveraux in the primetime soap opera “Dynasty”. In 1996, she became the first African American to play the role of Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Sunset Boulevard”.
Carroll devoted much of her time to the Celebrity Action Council, which works with women in rehabilitation from problems with drugs, alcohol or prostitution. Eight years before she died in 2019, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Favre loses another round in lawsuit agaisnt ex-talk show host
Former “Undisputed” host Shannon Sharpe remains undefeated in his defense of critical remarks toward fellow NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
On Monday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by Favre to resurrect a defamation lawsuit against Sharpe, who said on his Sept. 14, 2023, show that the former Southern Miss and Green Bay Packers quarterback stole funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families government program meant for those living in poverty.
Favre hasn’t been charged in the scandal in which six people have been convicted of state and federal charges involving $77 million in federal TANF funds.
In 2022, the state Department of Human Services sued Favre and many others to try and recoup the $77 million that was illegally diverted between 2016 and 2019. A year earlier, the department had sought to recover $1.1 million in TANF funds that Favre received for speeches he never delivered. (The speaking fees had come through the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center.)
After a Sept. 13, 2022, article appeared in Mississippi Today, Sharpe said on the Fox Sports show, “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” that “Bretty Favre is taking money from the underserved” and that he “stole money from people that really needed that money.”
Favre sent Sharpe a letter, demanding a retraction and asking him to stop making any “further defamatory falsehoods against Favre.”
Sharpe refused, and Favre sued for defamation, saying that Sharpe had falsely accused him of serious crimes and hurt his reputation. Sharpe responded that his remarks are “a classic example of the king of rhetorical hyperbole and loose, figurative language” protected by the First Amendment.
A federal judge ruled in Sharpe’s favor, and so did the 5th Circuit. “Nothing in life or our law guarantees a person immunity from occasional sharp criticism,” 5th Circuit District Judge Leslie H. Southwick wrote.
Favre has paid back the $1.1 million, but State Auditor Shad White said in February that Favre still owed more than $700,000 in interest.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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