Generous gift: Entergy Corp. has donated $300,000 to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Louisiana Flood Relief Fund, which will be used to help local nonprofits respond to the disaster. “Before the floodwaters had even begun to recede, our employees began asking what they could do to help,” Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, says in a statement. “We began leveraging community partnerships, identifying opportunities and taking actions that we know power lives in times of greatest need.” BRAF has already dished out $1.6 million in grants from the fund since flooding in mid-August damaged thousands of homes and businesses in the Capital Region. The foundation says it has raised more than $3.5 million for the fund since it was started earlier this year after flooding inundated north Louisiana in March.
Going nowhere: Louisiana’s economy lost more jobs in August, though the unemployment rate stayed flat because workers exited the economy just as quickly. Louisiana’s unemployment rate in August stayed at 6.3%, The Associated Press reports. But that separate survey of workers showed lower numbers of people seeking and holding jobs. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell slightly to 134,000 in August. Employer payrolls fell by 7,000 in August to 1.97 million after months of stability. Used by many economists as their top labor market indicator, payrolls were 19,000 below August 2015 levels. Louisiana retained the fourth-highest jobless rate among states, with Alaska worst at 6.8%. The nationwide jobless rate stayed flat at 4.9%. Both sets of figures, adjusted to cancel out seasonal changes, were released today by the U.S. Labor Department.
Help from far away: Toyota Forklifts has helped raise $30,000 for its local Baton Rouge distributor, the company says in a news release. Scott Equipment, located on Airline Highway, was affected by the mid-August flooding, as were thousands of homes and businesses. Toyota Material Handling USA Inc., Toyota Forklifts’ parent company, along with Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing and the Raymond Corporation, collected more than $30,000 to donate to The Scott Foundation, which will help Scott employees affected by the flooding. In addition, Toyota is also donating an end-controlled rider pallet jack to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, which was inundated by floodwaters. In addition, Toyota Forklifts has announced it’s providing rebates and special financing rates for flood-affected businesses that buy its equipment from Scott. The rebates will be applied to equipment purchases made between Aug. 22 and Nov. 30. Certain conditions will apply for the rebate and financing program. Contact Scott Equipment at 1-855-493-9399 or visit ToyotaForklift.com for full details.
