On the ground: Federal Emergency Management Agency preliminary damage assessment teams are scheduled to begin work today in areas of southeast Louisiana impacted by strong storms and tornadoes, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says. The teams will determine what levels of federal assistance will be available. No deaths were reported from Tuesday’s storms, but GOHSEP says 28 injuries were reported in the New Orleans region, nine in the Baton Rouge region, and two injuries were in the North Shore region. Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency. The Associated Press has the full story.
Along for the ride: Car-sharing service Zipcar signed a deal to provide vehicles to ride-hailing app Uber, possibly portending additional future cooperation in the burgeoning field of mobility services. USA Today reports Zipcar parent Avis Budget Group announced the agreement this morning. Although the deal is limited to 20 sedans in Boston for now, it opens the door for similar collaboration in other cities. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Both Zipcar and Uber service the Baton Rouge market. Zipcar and city-parish officials unveiled a new pilot program in downtown last year. Uber competitor Lyft has recently entered the market. Read the full story.
On the bright side: U.S. solar-industry employment in 2016 grew at the fastest pace in at least seven years, Bloomberg reports. One out of every 50 new American jobs last year was in the solar industry, which now employs more than 260,000 workers, according to an annual report released Tuesday from The Solar Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit. That’s up 25% from 2015, and the biggest gain since the group first compiled the data in 2010. Read the full story.
