'I Voted' stickers returning for Louisiana fall elections

"I Voted" stickers are returning to every Louisiana polling place for the fall elections, created by a local Cajun artist and featuring a pelican wearing a crown centered in a rendition of the state seal.

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin unveiled the new sticker featuring Louisiana's state bird at an event Tuesday with the Lafayette artist who created it, Tony Bernard.

The stickers will be available for the Oct. 12 primary and Nov. 16 runoff elections, and during early voting, as voters choose Louisiana's governor, six other statewide leaders, 144 state lawmakers and an array of local officials.

"We're thrilled with this year's sticker, and even more excited to see pictures of voters across social media platforms on Election Day," Ardoin said in a statement after he revealed the sticker on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

More than 3 million stickers are being printed to distribute among polling places, at a cost of $18,500, said Tyler Brey, spokesman for the secretary of state.

Registrars of voters in some parishes have offered "I Voted" stickers for years. The secretary of state's office first introduced a statewide sticker during the 2016 presidential election, featuring Louisiana's famous "Blue Dog" by artist George Rodrigue.

That statewide sticker was supposed to be a one-election event.

But the absence of stickers in Louisiana's 2018 election provoked complaints when voters showed up to polling sites and found in some instances they weren't leaving with an "I Voted" sticker to post in selfies to social media accounts.

In addition to the voting sticker, Bernard has been commissioned to produce artwork for local and regional festivals, including the Washington D.C. Mardi Gras festivities, according to the secretary of state's office.

- The Associated Press

Trump OKs Hurricane Barry disaster declaration for Louisiana

President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration request for areas in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Barry.

Barry made landfall near Intracoastal City on July 13 as a Category 1 storm, however, some rain and wind started impacting coastal areas of the state as early as July 10. Gov. John Bel Edwards thanked the administration for supporting the state as it continues to make progress from flooding from Barry that hit southeast and southwest Louisiana to central Louisiana.

The declaration, announced Tuesday, will make federal funding available to the parishes of Allen, Iberia, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Mary, Terrebonne and Vermilion for all categories of public assistance.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, in a statement, said the declaration will help Louisiana residents recover and rebuild.

- The Associated Press

Louisiana bayou reopens after flood-blocking barge removed

A temporary barge sunk in a Louisiana bayou to prevent flooding has been removed, opening up the waterway to maritime traffic.

News outlets report the barge was acting as a temporary floodgate in Bayou Chene and was removed Tuesday after being submerged in June.

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority say the barge helped protect Assumption, lower St. Martin, and St. Mary parishes from backwater flooding and from a four-foot surge during Hurricane Barry.

The agency pledged $80 million in February to build a permanent floodgate and levee protection system from the swamps southeast of the bayou to Morgan City to the northwest.

Work is expected to start next month on the levee and floodgate system which should be finished by mid-2022.

- The Associated Press

Union, AT&T say 20,000 striking workers coming back to work

AT&T and the Communications Workers of America said that the 20,000 AT&T workers in the Southeast who went on strike over the weekend were coming back to work Wednesday.

The union said Wednesday that it had a "handshake deal" on a new agreement with AT&T and that negotiations were continuing after AT&T sent representatives with authority to bargain over a new contract to talk to union officials. The union had protested that AT&T was sending officials without the proper authority.

The workers who walked off are technicians and customer service representatives for AT&T's "wireline" home and business internet and phone division in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company's cellphone division was not affected.

AT&T is the country's No. 2 wireless carrier after Verizon and one of the biggest broadband providers.

- The Associated Press