An eye for design: Louisiana native and renowned interior designer Kenneth Brown will host guided tours and share personal design tips at 3116 Veranda View from 2-3 p.m. on May 21. The home is located in Veranda at University Club, a community developed by Bardwell Homes, and is a 2016 Parade of Homes honoree. Brown has been featured on TLC, HGTV, in Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine and was recognized as one of the Top 100 designers by House Beautiful and Western Interiors. His celebrity clients have included Zac Efron, Kristen Bell and Vanessa Hudgens. Brown, an LSU graduate, is currently working with Veranda homeowners to customize their homes, according to a news release.
Withdrawn: Louisiana’s health department has withdrawn a request for the ethics board to determine if donations helping to pay for the roll-out of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Medicaid expansion comply with state ethics laws. The Associated Press reports a private foundation is collecting donations from health providers to help cover the department’s administrative costs associated with the Medicaid expansion. Federal officials cleared the arrangement. When Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Rebekah Gee was asked about it during a recent House budget debate, she said no request was made. However, a Jan. 25 letter posted on the Board of Ethics website shows the health department asked for an opinion. The request was revoked in a Feb. 1 letter. Gee said “that was not a formal request because it had been pulled.”
For your health: Employers seeking to get workers to join wellness programs and provide medical information can set financial rewards—or penalties—of up to 30% of the cost for an individual in the company’s health insurance plan, according to controversial rules finalized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Monday. Governing magazine reports today that the commission considers the programs to be legal even though penalties or incentives could run into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The rules could go into effect next January. But some groups are concerned. Jennifer Mathis, a director for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, says that voluntary inquiries can now come with steep financial penalties, which sets a troubling precedent in the application of civil rights laws. Read the full story.
