How does Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards plan to pay for Medicaid expansion? What does Majority Whip Steve Scalise really think of House Speaker Paul Ryan? And what will Gov. Bobby Jindal do after he leaves office next week?
These are just some of the questions answered in Business Report’s first-ever Interview Issue, which is on newsstands now. The magazine recently caught up with 14 newsmakers in a variety of sectors to get their take on meaningful issues in 2016.
Among them, Baton Rouge Area Foundation Executive Vice President John Spain discusses new medical school campus, newly elected Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Kathy Edmonston talks about her plans to fight Common Core, and Ruffino’s Restaurant executive chef and co-owner Peter Sclafani dishes on the Capital Region’s hottest food trends.
Edwards tells Business Report the greatest challenge facing the state is the budget. And as for his plan to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, Edwards lays out his funding plan as such: “We’ll end a portion of the $7 billion in annual tax giveaways that isn’t getting a good return on investment. Moreover, the Legislative Fiscal Office has calculated that Medicaid expansion would save $52 million in the first year alone. It will return $16 billion of our taxes to Louisiana over the next 10 years at the same time that DSH reductions leave our hospitals unable to continue operating.”
The outgoing governor, meanwhile, tells Business Report he’s looking forward to spending more time with his wife and three children.
“Taking the boys to soccer practice or taking Selia, our eldest daughter, to school every day,” Jindal says when asked what he’s looking forward to in the coming year. “I’ll be in the carpool line, and I’m looking forward to those 30 minutes in the morning just talking to her. So there are little things you don’t think about that I think are going to be exciting for us as a family.”
What’s next for Baton Rouge’s ever-evolving culinary scene?
“I think we’re going to see more growth in ethnic restaurants, in smaller restaurants and in fusion cuisine where you have a melding of ethnicities,” Sclafani says. “I think we’ll also see changes in restaurants closing at 2 p.m. What’s coming is staying open to accommodate millennials who want to eat when they want to eat. I think we’re also going to see smaller plates.”
Access the full Q&As from The Interview Issue, which also includes discussions with Capital Region Industry for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions Chairman Scott Kirkpatrick; Westaff President Lisa Coleman; HOPE Ministries CEO Janet Simmons; Rev. Cleo Milano; Knock Knock Children’s Museum Project Director Melissa Bell; Clay Young Enterprises owner Clay Young; and LSU Director of Student Media Steve Buttry and Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez, former editor-in-chief of The Daily Reveille.
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