Stalemate: A face-to-face meeting Thursday afternoon between Gov. Bobby Jindal and Education Superintendent John White didn’t break an impasse over standardized testing, leaving teachers and students in limbo with fewer than four weeks until public schools open. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education had directed White to seek a compromise with Jindal, in an attempt to keep the disagreement out of court. “We’re not in a better place from the policy perspective than we were two weeks ago,” White says. The Associated Press has the full story.
Top honors: Ronald Newsome, director of Baton Rouge-based Stonehenge Capital Co., has been named a Champion of Minority Business Development by the U.S Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency. He will be among 12 executives nationwide to be honored during a special ceremony at the annual National Minority Enterprise Development Week Conference in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1. “Newsome’s dedication in fundraising, deal sourcing, investment evaluations and closing negotiations for community service businesses, have greatly contributed to Stonehenge’s ability to help underserved markets that impacted minority job and wealth creation opportunities nationally,” says the Commerce Department in a news release. Get more details and see the full list of award winners.
Getting the green light: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG liquefaction-export project, granting the company its construction permit. The Lake Charles American Press reports FERC’s permit will allow Sempra to begin construction on Cameron LNG’s $10 billion plant expansion in Hackberry, Cameron Parish. The project will add three trains to the facility that will produce up to 12 million tons of LNG per year for export. Work on Cameron LNG’s expansion is expected to begin this fall. The trains will take about four years to build, creating about 3,000 construction jobs during peak times. When complete, the plant’s expansion will also create 140 permanent positions. Read the full story.
Today’s poll question: The Taxi Cab Control Board says ridesharing app company Uber has been operating illegally in Baton Rouge since it began operations a week ago, as it has not obtained necessary permits and approvals. What do you think?
