Michael DeMocker / Times-PicayuneLionel Carey (L) helps his sister Evelyn Terrell clear the sidewalk in front of her Emily Street home of tree debris so pedestrians can get by. Jefferson Parish has yet to pick up storm debris in the neighborhood from Hurricane Gustav.

Jefferson Parish streets on Wednesday remained dotted with mounds of branches and leaves turned brown and crispy more than two weeks after Hurricane Gustav blew them down, and five days after Hurricane Ike added to the piles.

• View power outage map released by Gov's Office of Homeland Security.

STATEWIDE

-- About 828,982 of Entergy's customers in Louisiana were without power at some point. As of 5:30 pm Tuesday, power had been restored to about 680,000, or 82 percent of those who had lost electricity.

Susan Poag / The Times-PicayuneA line began to form around 2 a.m. at the Alario Center in Westwego Wednesday, as thousands showed up at the new site to apply for emergency food stamp relief. With the help of Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, National Guard, Jefferson Parish workers and Homeland Security, the was orderly and the line was flowing. Water, bathroom facilities, and emergency medical help was available.

The state secretary of Social Services took the blame this morning as confusion began to ease over getting emergency food stamps to tens of thousands of victims of Hurricane Gustav.

DISASTER FOOD STAMPS

Temporary food stamp benefits are now available based on income level and the size of the family. The following sites in the New Orleans area were confirmed as of 5 p.m. Monday, however many have been experiencing long lines and are telling people to return at another scheduled time.

Pleased with the school district's quick recovery after Hurricane Gustav, St. Tammany Parish Superintendent Gayle Sloan said school officials are using lessons learned from the storm to improve the district's emergency response plans.

The personal economic toll from the evacuation for Hurricane Gustav emerged in full force Tuesday as thousands of southeast Louisiana residents lined up for public and private relief, saying their treks to safety had pushed them to the financial brink.

BATON ROUGE -- Almost 1,000 Louisiana households have used a new benefit that pays hotel bills for certain people affected by Hurricane Gustav, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Tuesday.

Hurricane Gustav's winds had barely started blowing when the power went out at Kathleen Young's River Ridge home. The lights were out by 7 a.m. on the Monday morning the storm hit, and they didn't flicker back on until Saturday at 7 p.m.

St. John the Baptist Parish public school employees will be paid an extra $750 next week to help cover personal expenses caused by Hurricane Gustav.

If you noticed storm debris from Hurricane Gustav disappearing from your street faster than expected, you might have Hurricane Ike to thank.

Here is a list of scheduled school reopenings in the New Orleans area. The list will be updated as new information is received.

Applications for aid to those affected by Hurricane Gustav are being offered in St. Charles Parish in several ways.

Hurricane Gustav generated an estimated 250,000 cubic yards of debris in St. Bernard Parish, parish officials said.

Due to Hurricane Gustav, St. Bernard Parish has postponed demolition appeal hearings this week.

In the week since Hurricane Gustav struck, local utilities have restored power to all but about 5 percent of the 495,103 electricity customers in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

Almost all of the 23,402 customers still in the dark are in St. John the Baptist, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes.

The power picture is dire in St. John the Baptist Parish, where 20 percent of the parish's 19,591 electricity customers were about to spend another night in the dark Monday, according to an update from an Entergy spokesman at 8 p.m.