| Good Morning, On the first day of a three-week application period, the state Department of Children and Family Services received 250 to 350 calls per second from people wanting to apply for disaster food stamps. The system can handle 1,500 calls at any one time, putting those lucky enough to get through on a long wait before a staffer can pick up to take the application. A lot of other callers are just sent off to phone perdition. The situation isn’t much better Tuesday morning, at least if angry commentators to the DCFS Facebook and on Twitter world are any indication. DCFS expects 185,000 Louisiana residents eventually will file for the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The federal government relaxed the qualification rules for receiving food stamps because of Hurricane Ida. By adding storm-related expenses to the calculation, D-SNAP temporarily opens the door to food stamps for some households who ordinarily make too much – up to $680 in groceries for a family of four – depending on how storm expenses they have. A good many of Louisiana residents also are having frustrating interactions with their insurance companies – a fairly frequent occurrence after any major storm when the small type of the policies required by financiers of home mortgages are scrutinized carefully. One of the latest hurdles for homeowners is the various definitions of "uninhabitable," which would open insurers to having to pay additional living expenses. Republican Pollock Rep. Gabe Firment, an insurance consultant, brought the legislation to correct what he called "bad behavior" among insurance companies after Hurricane Laura. House Bill 458, which was defeated in the last session, could find new life after Hurricane Ida. The proposal would have required insurance companies to pay for additional living expenses when a damaged dwelling doesn't have access to electricity, water, sewer, or natural gas for more than 24 hours. Eight casinos, so far, have applied to offer sports betting in Louisiana. The industry had hoped the roll-out the first part of sports betting – in person, in a casino – this month. But Hurricane Ida recovery slowed Louisiana State Police’s task of investigating and recommending to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board which applications to accept. As always, check throughout the day for the latest Louisiana political news at theadvocate.com/politics or NOLA.com/politics and on Twitter at @MarkBallardCNB, @tegbridges, @samkarlin, @blakepater, @WillSentell. Here are a dozen articles, commentaries and editorials that will catch you up for the week to come. One last item: Thank you to our subscribers. Your support means a great deal to us. If you're not yet a subscriber, we’ve got a special offer you can check out here. – Mark Ballard | 