Talking it out: Gov. John Bel Edwards will sit down with Attorney General Jeff Landry next week to try to hash out their latest budget dispute. The Associated Press reports that representatives of Edwards and Landry say a Sept. 30 meeting has been scheduled to discuss Landry’s budget requests that the Edwards administration stalled. The attorney general sought to boost spending in his budget on Medicaid fraud investigations and to take money from the health department to defend Louisiana abortion laws. The Edwards administration disagreed with both requests and refused to advance them to the Legislature’s joint budget committee for consideration. Landry sought intervention from lawmakers, who suggested they were tired of the bickering and told the officials to work it out themselves. Edwards and Landry have clashed repeatedly since taking office.
Temporary housing: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a $6.76 million contract to a Mississippi business to supply temporary housing for Louisiana flood victims, The Associated Press reports. U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran says in a news release that Lexington Homes was awarded the fixed-price contract to construct and deliver 155 manufactured homes, which will be used to support flood disaster recovery efforts in Louisiana. Severe storms and flooding in August led to a federal emergency designation for 22 parishes. Lexington Homes is one of seven builders to compete successfully for this indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, which includes four option years.
More than expected: The nation’s oil and gasoline stockpiles fell more than expected in the past week, bringing good news to the energy sector that the global glut of petroleum is continuing to shrink. FuelFix.com reports that commercial crude inventories fell by 6.2 million barrels for the third consecutive week. Gasoline stockpiles declined by 3.2 million barrels. Both, however, remain near historically high levels, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The only sizable buildup came in distillate fuel oil—used for diesel and heating oils—which grew by 2.2 million barrels. Total petroleum stockpiles shrank by 6 million barrels when all products, including propane and other oils, were counted. The news quickly boosted U.S. oil prices up to about $45 a barrel, up nearly $1 for Wednesday morning. Read the full story.
