Coming together: Mayor Sharon Weston Broome will deliver a keynote speech at the John Breaux Symposium taking place at LSU on Wednesday and Thursday. The two-day annual symposium will focus on racial inequalities in Louisiana, with a team of experts kicking off the first day by presenting the findings of the Manship School Community Resilience Study on race relations in Louisiana. Broome is scheduled to deliver her keynote on Wednesday from 3 to 4 p.m. And on the symposium’s second day, journalists and civic leaders will examine how media outlets cover community issues. Get more information and see the full schedule of events.
Up and down: February retail sales in Lafayette Parish dipped by 5.77%, the first year-over-year decline after five consecutive months of increases. The Advertiser reports the parish’s February retail sales were approximately $413 million, down from $438 million for the same month last year. Lafayette Economic Development Authority spokeswoman Stacey Zawacki says there’s no way to pinpoint exactly why sales dropped in February, adding LEDA will probably not issue an annual forecast for at least a couple of more months, when more data is available. Retail sales for 2017 so far are roughly $863 million, down 1.63% from 2016, when sales totaled $877 million for the year’s first two months. Read more.
Pen to paper: President Donald Trump is set to sign a double-barreled executive order today that will clamp down on guest worker visas, and require agencies to buy more goods and services from U.S. companies and workers. USA Today reports the president will sign the so-called “Buy American, Hire American” executive order during a visit to Snap-On Tools in Kenosha, Wisconsin. By combining aspects of immigration policy with federal procurement regulations, Trump is using executive action to advance his philosophy of economic nationalism without waiting for action from Congress. Read more.
