The Associated Press

Public housing residents near a 17-story hotel slated to be imploded Sunday in New Orleans are worried about dust blanketing their homes.

The Times-Picayune reports that the state decided not to move the 400 households in the Iberville housing complex before the hotel is imploded. Now, some residents are upset about not being told what precautions to take when the building is brought down.

Fifty-four-year-old Lanetter Dorsey said she was in poor health and doesn't feel comfortable staying inside her Iberville apartment during the implosion.

INTRACOASTAL CITY — A rupture in a south Louisiana natural gas pipeline erupted into a fire that led to an evacuation and road closures.

State police say the rupture and fire were reported around 4 a.m. Wednesday in southern Vermilion Parish.

The area is sparsely populated. State police said only one residence was evacuated and two businesses were prevented from opening until the pipeline was shut down and the fire went out around 6:30 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu says $1.4 million in grants has been set aside for Louisiana organizations to prevent homelessness among veterans.

Landrieu said Tuesday the money was awarded through the Supportive Services for Veterans Families Program, which is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' initiative to end homelessness among military veterans.

More than two years after the catastrophic BP oil spill, environmental groups say billions of dollars BP is expected to spend on restoration should go toward buying tens of thousands of acres of coastal land for conservation, rebuilding Louisiana's eroding wetlands and creating nearly 200 miles of oyster reefs.

The school bus company that transports most public school students in New Orleans has laid off its drivers in a dispute over $7.2 million in unpaid bills.

Blaine Krage, a spokesman for Warrenville, Ill.-based Durham School Services, told The Times-Picayune Tuesday that the company has sent termination letters to 142 drivers and 55 bus monitors telling them "we will not need their services this upcoming school year."

An Oct. 15 date has been set for arguments in a lawsuit by teacher unions and local school boards challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Bobby Jindal's statewide voucher program.

Judge Tim Kelley chose the hearing date Tuesday in a meeting with lawyers for both sides in the case.

Attorneys for two statewide teacher unions and dozens of local school boards say the voucher program that will use tax dollars to send children to private schools and other new education funding plans are unconstitutional.

Entergy Corp. said it expects its second-quarter earnings to be about $2.05 per share, down from $1.76 a share for the same period a year ago.

The New Orleans-based utility company plans to release its financial report for the quarter later in July.

The Louisiana Ballooning Foundation has canceled the Louisiana Hot Air Balloon Championship and Festival that had been scheduled for the first weekend in August in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The Advocate reports ( http://bit.ly/NCr4B2) officials in neighboring Ascension Parish say they will hold a festival and balloon race in October, though it won't be affiliated with the Louisiana Ballooning Foundation.

Linda Wunstel, president of the foundation's board, said the East Baton Rouge event was canceled because of funding problems.

A nonpartisan government watchdog group is asking Superintendent of Education John White to seek legislative guidance as he designs the accountability standards required of schools participating in Louisiana's new voucher program.

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana sent a letter Tuesday to White, urging him to present his draft accountability policies to the House and Senate education committees for the program that will use tax dollars to send students to private schools.

Louisiana's motor vehicles commissioner, Nick Gautreaux, is leaving the job in August.

Gautreaux told The Advocate that he is planning a career in corporate development and governmental work, a move that will keep him closer to home and his five children in Youngsville.

A former state senator, Gautreaux took the position as commissioner of the Office of Motor Vehicles in December 2010. His last day will be Aug. 5, according to a spokesman for the Louisiana State Police, which oversees the office.