Daylight Savings Time, the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that evenings have more daylight and mornings have less, has been observed since 1895. The practice is the source of much annual anticipation for individuals eager to benefit from longer days and more day lit hours. A study from the American Psychological Association, however, suggests “springing forward” from Standard Time to Daylight Savings Time may have some unintended consequences such as disrupted sleep patterns and an increased risk for workplace injury.  With the change, you have to go to bed earlier and get up earlier than usual. According to the study’s authors, the hour of sleep lost when Americans set their clocks an hour ahead each spring results in higher rates of workplace accidents caused by sleep loss. The study analyzed accident and time use data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration and Bureau of Labor Statistics, concluding that the average person sleeps about 40 minutes less the Sunday night of the time switch resulting in approximately 3.6 more work injuries the following Monday in hazardous occupations such as mining and construction.

A drunk driver killed two bicyclists Saturday night.  The drunk driver was reported to be a New Orleans Police Officer’s son.  Five others were taken to University Medical Center for treatment of their injuries.  The incident happened in the 3200 block of Esplanade Avenue, a few blocks away from the Endymion parade route.   Most of the victims were bicyclists.  Saturday is known to be the most active day for Car Accidents in the City of New Orleans during the Mardi Gras season.

New Orleans is famous for Mardi Gras.  Fat Tuesday is often seen as a time to celebrate and overindulge before the Lenten season.  Success of a New Orleans Mardi Gras is often measured by the amount of alcohol and food consumed and by the number of tons of trash collected during the parade season, 1,200 tons in 2018.   New Orleans Mardi Gras also helped set the  record breaking year for tourism in 2017 with visitors coming from across the United States but primarily from within Louisiana and from Texas, Mississippi, California, Florida and New York. Along with the increase in visitors to the City looking for a good time, comes an increase in the number of Car Accidents.    A 2019 study conducted using Accident Report data provided by the New Orleans Police Department, City of New Orleans shows an increase in traffic accidents in the two week period leading up to Mardi Gras of  17.8% (2018),  39.6% (2017) and 7.26% (2016) over the same two week period a year earlier (that does not including the two week period leading up to Mardi Gras).  The Saturday before Mardi Gras is the most active day for New Orleans Mardi Gras car accidents with 136 in 2017, the record setting year for tourism, and 126 in 2018.  Learn more about the locations and number of accidents each day by hovering your mouse (or on mobile, your finger) over the interactive maps and graphs below to explore the data.    Where Do Mardi Gras […]

What is  The Jones Act? The Jones Act governs transportation of merchandise between U.S. ports. To participate, a vessel must be built in the United States, flagged (or registered in the United States), be owned by a company with 75% U.S. ownership, and crewed by 75% American sailors. How Does The Jones Act Benefit Southeast Louisiana? Southeast Louisiana’s First Congressional District is number one for Jones Act jobs. • The district supports 33,590 jobs that generate an $8.97 billion economic impact for the state. • Between 2011 and 2016, 8,540 new Jones Act jobs were created in LA-01. • Louisiana overall has 70,780 Jones Act jobs with an $18.2 billion economic impact. • Nationally, the maritime industry supports 648,220 jobs and generates a $154.8 billion economic impact. How Does The Jones Act Benefit Injured Workers? The Jones Act is also helpful to injured Jones Act Seamen insofar as it allows an injured Jones Act Seaman to recover full compensation for his injuries. Most workers compensation systems such as the Louisiana Workers Compensation Act and Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act only provide for a limited recovery, including weekly or biweekly wage loss benefits and medical benefits and limited death benefits for certain people. However, the Jones Act permits the Jones Act Seaman to recover for the seaman’s related past and future loss of income, expenses of medical care, pain and suffering and disability (loss of enjoyment of activities of normal life). For death, the seaman’s representative can recover for certain […]