A Baton Rouge company hired by the City of New Orleans to remove several Confederate monuments is backing out of the job after its employees received death threats and other area businesses threatened to cancel existing contracts with the firm.
As first reported by Daily Report, Baton Rouge attorney Roy Maughan Jr. told the city in a letter that his client, H&O Investments, is “unable to perform the tasks originally assigned in association with the removal of the monuments for the City of New Orleans” because of numerous death threats and threatening calls to the couple’s residence.
At the State Capitol this week, freshman lawmakers learned first-hand that the state’s already dire finances could get even worse as the price of oil plummets. LSU economist Jim Richardson explained Wednesday how the state became so underfunded and what it will take in the short and long term to fix things.
Later in the day Thursday, three former Commissioners of Administration gave their takes on the state’s fiscal challenges from a historical perspective at a forum held by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
Also this week, the Metro Council appointed two new members to replace state Reps. Ronnie Edwards and C. Denise Marcelle, both of whom took the oath of office for the State House of Representatives on Monday. The new members are Erika Green and LaMont Cole.
The council also appointed former councilman Mike Walker to the board that oversees BREC, and saw a presentation from John Fregonese on how to overhaul downtown parking to make it more efficient and profitable for the city.
