Spreading their wings: Beginning today, Southwest Airlines will be serving Baton Rouge-based Community Coffee on all of its flights, the companies have announced. In a news release, Southwest says Community Signature Blend was voted number one in a double-blind taste test it conducted. Along with the Signature Blend brew, other Community Coffee products being served on the flights include instant decaf sticks and hot tea bags. The companies say they will provide donations to the ECOM Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on providing a better life for coffee producers in Mexico, for every pound of Community Coffee products served on the flights. Financial details were not disclosed.
Opening soon: Sporting good retailer Kinnucan’s will open its first Louisiana location on Saturday at Perkins Rowe. Kinnucan’s is occupying a 10,400-square-foot space located between Anthropologie and Sur la Table in the mixed-use development at Perkins Road and Bluebonnet Boulevard. The Auburn, Alabama-based chain has 16 stores in five states across the southeast. Shades Sunglasses, Casual Apparel, Drybar and Hair Club also have also opened in Perkins Rowe in recent months.
Pinching pennies: During a special session where support for new revenue has been difficult, WWL-TV reports one proposal stands out. Lawmakers are poised to impose an 8% tax on Internet sales on companies that sell at least $50,000 of goods a year in Louisiana. Under current law, consumers and businesses are supposed to self-report their taxes on Internet purchases. State Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, authored the bill. “This is a mechanism to allow the Department of Revenue to pursue the collection of a tax that’s rightfully due, but unfortunately being evaded at this time,” Leger says. The Internet tax bill has the backing of Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana retailers—but it’s a tough sell for shoppers. Read the full story.
