Gone too soon: Louisiana politicians from both sides of the aisle are mourning the loss of Rep. Alfred Williams, D-Baton Rouge, who died on Tuesday at the age of 64. Elected in 2011, Williams served on the House Civil Law Committee and was chairman of the Labor & Industrial Relations Committee during this year’s session. A graduate of Capitol High School in Baton Rouge, Southern University and Southern University Law School, Williams formerly served as assistant chief administration officer for Mayor Kip Holden and had served on the East Baton Rouge School Board. “Rep. Williams was the kind of leader we could all admire and look up to, and every day in the session he fought for his constituents and worked to uphold Louisiana family values,” says Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans and chairwoman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, in a prepared statement. “He will be deeply missed.”
On holiday: Louisiana’s annual sales tax holiday is Friday and Saturday, just in time for families preparing to send their children back to school. The holiday provides an exemption from state sales tax on the first $2,500 of the purchase price of most individual items of tangible personal property for nonbusiness use. The holiday applies only to the 4% state sales tax. It does not apply to sales taxes levied by parishes, municipalities, school boards, and other political subdivisions of the state. The sales tax exemption applies statewide to all purchases other than vehicles subject to license and title, and meals furnished for consumption on the premises where purchased, including to-go orders, or taxable services such as hotel occupancy. Get complete details on eligible and exempt purchases.
Investing in incubators: Three New Orleans business incubators—PowerMoves.NOLA, Propeller and The Idea Village—are among 80 incubators across 39 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico that have been announced as winners of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s second annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. Each of the winners will receive $50,000 from the SBA, which says it selected the winners from among 180 applicants. The winners will be required to report metrics such as jobs created, funds raised, startups launched and corporate sponsorships attained on a quarterly basis for the next year. Get more details and see the complete list of winners.
