Talking it out: Louisiana state Sen. Regina Barrow will hold two community meetings in an effort to help residents recovering from the August flooding. The first meeting, which is being hosted in conjunction with District 63 State Rep. Barbara Carpenter, will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Foster Road Baptist Church, 11333 Foster Road. The second meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Sept. 17 at the Fairwood Branch Library, 12910 Old Hammond Highway. State Rep. Ted James will co-host that meeting. Representatives from state and federal agencies involved in flood relief and recovery efforts have been invited to attend.
Moving along: Construction is moving ahead on a stalled list of upgrades planned for Louisiana’s community college campuses, The Associated Press reports. Gov. John Bel Edwards is announcing the projects at events this week, restarting plans that he stymied earlier this year as he reworked state construction spending amid ongoing budget troubles. More than half the projects on the $280 million list for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System had been put on hold. Edwards says planned expansions are beginning on campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Alexandria. Also, Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says as of today the full project list is back on track. Dardenne says projects had been stalled because the governor first wanted to steer money to campuses’ deferred maintenance. A pot of money was earmarked for that effort earlier this year.
Digging deep: Shell has started production from the Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico, the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas project, UPI reports. The basin is 1.8 miles beneath sea level. By the end of next year, the company says, Stones should be producing around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 16% of the total oil and 4.5% of the total natural gas produced in the United States. The start of production at Stones follows a late August decision to sell off Shell’s holdings in part of a regional basin called Brutus/Glider. The deal included $425 million in cash. After unveiling a strategy that called for “significant and lasting” changes to its business model, Shell says the sale was in line with ongoing divestment efforts. Read the full story.
