Keynote speaker: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School’s Ernest E. Arbuckle professor, will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 Statewide Economic Development Summit on Feb. 27, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber has announced. The keynote address of Kanter, a celebrated social scientist and author, is titled “Leadership to Reinvent Transportation and Infrastructure,” which draws on key points from her latest book MOVE: Putting America’s Infrastructure Back in the Lead. The Statewide Economic Development Summit is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel. Read more. Register and get more information.
Opioid crisis: Ochsner Health System is working with a Kentucky-based firm to better monitor prescription drug usage by patients in wake of the opioid crisis. Appriss develops a system—which is integrated into doctor’s electronic records—that uses data to track prescription drug patterns and identify substance abuse by patients. By using the firm’s technology, Ochsner says its clinicians will be able to directly access a patient’s full drug history and better mitigate risk to patients. Read more.
Backing off: The Trump administration is backing off a proposal that would allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says that after a brief meeting with Scott that drilling would be “off the table” when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. The change of course—just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan—highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the state’s 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate. Read more.
