Workingman’s blues: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending May 26 increased from the previous week’s total. The state labor department figures released Friday show the initial claims increased to 4,285 from the previous week’s total of 3,547. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 4,936 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 3,588 from the previous week’s total of 3,342. Continued unemployment claims filed for the week ending May 26 totaled 31,957, just short of the previous week’s total 31,959. The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 31,976 from 32,065.
The name game: Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed House Bill 414 into law, meaning the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau will henceforth officially be known as Visit Baton Rouge. The name has been used unofficially by the agency since 2006. Visit Baton Rouge says the name change reflects best practices in the tourism industry and gives the public a better understanding of what the agency does. “It’s a lot easier when we are answering the phones, and it’s a lot more direct-impact on what we are trying to do. And it tells more what we do: Visit Baton Rouge, the official source of travel and information,” says Visit Baton Rouge CEO Paul Arrigo.
Gone too soon: Former NBA standout and Bernice-native Orlando Woolridge has died at his parents’ home in Mansfield. He was 52. DeSoto Parish Chief Deputy Coroner Billy Locke says Woolridge died Thursday night. He had been under hospice care for a chronic heart condition. Woolridge was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls in 1981 and played in the NBA for 13 years. He was a star at Mansfield High School before going on to play for Notre Dame. He played for the Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Detroit; he also coached the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Read more about his life and career from The Associated Press here.
