La chooses design firm for $14M coastal research center at Nicholls State University
2 months 2 days 20 hours ago
Tuesday, February 09 2021
Feb 9, 2021
February 09, 2021 7:49 AM
February 09, 2021
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Source: Associated Press
Photo: Google
THIBODAUX, La. (AP) Louisiana has hired a firm to design a $14.5 million coastal research center at Nicholls State University.
Thibodaux-based Duplantis Design Group will design the project, and the building should be put out to bid by the end of the year, the school and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority said in a news release Monday.
“When Nicholls was founded in 1948, we were 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Gulf Coast. Today, we are 24 miles (39 kilometers) away,” university President Jay Clune said. “We are the closest Louisiana university to the Gulf, so we have more at stake in this fight to save our coast.”
1. COVID-19 pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic hit Terrebonne Parish in March, wreaking havoc on every facet of life. By year s end, the parish had recorded more than 5,900 COVID-19 infections and 148 deaths.
State orders aimed at curbing the virus s spread restricted business and social activity. Orders mandated face masks for anyone in public and encouraged residents to stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands regularly. Schools offered a mix of online-only and in-person classes and limited class sizes on campus.
Houma-Thibodaux lost 5,800 jobs in April, the first full month of the state’s COVID stay-at-home order. Business closures and layoffs helped elevate the area’s unemployment rate to 12.3%, its highest since the late-1980s oil bust. The area regained most of those jobs by year s end, but the November total was still down 2,000 from a year earlier. Long lines became common at area food banks.
1. COVID-19 pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic hit Lafourche Parish in March, wreaking havoc on every facet of life. By year s end, the parish had recorded more than 6,000 COVID infections and 160 deaths.
State orders aimed at curbing the virus s spread restricted business and social activity. Orders mandated face masks for anyone in public and encouraged residents to stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands regularly. Schools offered a mix of online-only and in-person classes and limited class sizes on campus.
Houma-Thibodaux lost 5,800 jobs in April, the first full month of the state’s COVID stay-at-home order. Business closures and layoffs helped elevate the area’s unemployment rate to 12.3%, its highest since the late-1980s oil bust. The area regained most of those jobs by year s end, but the November total was still down 2,000 from a year earlier. Long lines became common at area food banks.