UPDATE: Downtown businesses slowly reopening after electrical grid repairs
Portions of downtown Lake Charles will reopen to the public today while others will remain shuttered as Entergy continues to repair its electrical grid.
The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury facilities and services affected by the power grid repairs will reopen for normal business at 8 a.m. today. The 901 Lakeshore Drive building and the Old Calcasieu Courthouse have been closed since Wednesday.
Police Jury services such as in-person permits will also reopen. CPPJ departments including Planning and Development, Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Facility Management will also be open.
Lake Charles City Hall and the Lake Charles Civic Center, however, will remain closed today. City spokesperson Katie Harrington said Entergy informed their offices that the earliest their power will be restored is at noon today.
Harrington said events booked for this weekend at the Lake Charles Civic Center are scheduled to go on as planned. Civic Center personnel are contacting event organizers directly to address individual events.
Public Safety and Public Works Operations remain operational, and City Transit will continue to run its normal routes. The Water Billing Office, located inside the City Transit Building at 1155 Ryan St, remains open with its regular business hours.
The American Press offices will also remain closed with an estimated return to power also at noon today. The American Press print plant — which is located on U.S. 90 and will have no interruption with its utilities — will continue to produce the newspaper during the outage.