In it together: Baton Rouge-based General Informatics and Shreveport-based Software & Services of Louisiana have signed an agreement to jointly develop and market software solutions for law enforcement and criminal justice applications. The Shreveport company is the leading provider of software solutions to sheriff’s offices, with its software being used in over 40 parishes for over 30 years. “Greg Teeters and his team have intimate knowledge of the processes that drive civil and criminal systems in the state of Louisiana,” says Mohit ‘Mo’ Vij, CEO of General Informatics, in a prepared statement. “We are very excited that we will get to work with such a brilliant and experienced team.” Read more.
Under consideration: Louisiana lawmakers are considering whether to shorten the wait for divorces when the couple has children under 18. The Associated Press reports that, currently, such couples have to live apart one year before they can get a divorce, unless there are special circumstances like domestic abuse. A proposal that advanced to the full House for debate today would shorten that wait period to six months. That would match the 180-day wait allowed for childless couples and couples with children 18 and older. Supporters of the longer wait period say it gives couples more time to reconsider. Those seeking to shorten the wait time say the extra six months, enacted a decade ago, hasn’t don’t anything except increase the time that couples bicker and boost the money paid to divorce lawyers.
New direction: President Donald Trump hopes to revive the economic populism that helped drive his election campaign, signing an order today in politically important Wisconsin to tighten rules on technology companies bringing in highly skilled foreign workers. The Associated Press reports the president is targeting the H-1B visa program, which the White House says undercuts U.S. workers by bringing in large numbers of cheaper, foreign workers, driving down wages. The tech industry has argued that the H-1B program is needed because it encourages students to stay in the U.S. after getting degrees in high-tech specialties—and companies can’t always find enough American workers with the skills they need. Read more.
