Taking another look: Members of the political action committees operated by Louisiana Association of Business and Industry are pushing to get involved in the governor’s runoff election, LABI President Stephen Waguespack tells LaPolitics. “We’re polling our PAC members now that the primary is over to see if they want to revisit this,” says Waguespack, “and considering the stakes of this election it’s appropriate for us to circle back around to them.” Waguespack says the business organization’s PACs have not yet taken a firm stance on either Democrat John Bel Edwards or Republican David Vitter. Read the full story.
Opening day: The Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition should open to good weather and a full schedule, the first day of three for the 60-year-old show, The Advertiser reports. “There are still people calling to ask if they can get in,” says Steve Maley, LAGCOE 2015 chairman. Too late: 448 vendors have claimed every open spot inside the Cajundome and on the grounds. LAGCOE will open formally with an 8:45 a.m. ceremony and continue through Thursday. Six international delegations are participating in presentations, including Ukraine, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Read the full story.
Priming the pump: The thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations is raising prospects for new business opportunities for American companies in the island nation, among them energy, says veteran energy journalist and commentator Bill Loveless. “That was evident this past week in Havana, where more than 120 people from the U.S., Cuba and other countries gathered for a cutting-edge conference on offshore oil development,” Loveless writes in an op-ed for USA Today. “The Safe Seas Clean Seas Symposium was organized by the Houston consulting firm Hunt Petty LLC to promote cooperation in preventing and responding to spills in Cuban waters as Havana plans to resume drilling next year, following unsuccessful exploration in recent years.” Read the full op-ed.
