Supporting DeVos: The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is applauding a U.S. Senate committee’s vote approving billionaire Betsy DeVos as the nation’s education secretary. In a statement, LABI President and CEO Stephen Waguespack calls the vote a “tremendous step forward.” “Betsy DeVos has been a longtime supporter of efforts to provide a high-quality education for all children, regardless of ZIP code and income,” he adds. DeVos, an advocate of school choice, is one of President Donald Trump’s more controversial cabinet picks. Supporters view her as a much needed reformer for the American education system, while detractors say she’s unqualified for the position. With a 12-11 vote that fell along party lines, DeVos narrowly cleared the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. She will now go to the full Senate for the next step in the approval process, which Waguespack says he hopes will move quickly “so we can get to the business of improving the American education system as soon as possible.”
Going up: Entergy Louisiana has selected CB&I as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the St. Charles Power Station. According to a news release, CB&I will complete the project in conjunction with an Entergy management team. The launch of commercial operations for the new power plant is expected in June 2019. The Associated Press reports Entergy broke ground on the $869 million power plant on Tuesday. The company says the plant will be one of its cleanest, with carbon dioxide emissions 40% lower than those from its current gas-fired plants. Gov. John Bel Edwards was among speakers at a groundbreaking ceremony for the “combined-cycle” gas power plant in Montz. Such plants use waste heat from a gas turbine to power a steam turbine, which also generates power. Edwards said Louisiana’s economy depends on dependable, affordable electricity. Officials predict 700 construction jobs and 31 full-time jobs at the plant.
New base: Triton Stone Group of New Orleans has purchased the Triton Stone brand in a $40 million deal and is relocating the Triton Stone headquarters to the greater New Orleans region from Southaven, Mississippi and the Memphis, Tennessee, area. According to a news release, Triton Stone is a wholesale distributor of granite and natural stone products that expects to create 12 new direct jobs with the project, with an average yearly salaries of $75,800, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates it will create nine new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 20 new permanent jobs in southeast Louisiana. Triton Stone Group of New Orleans, which will now operate as Triton Stone Group, also plans to add a 22,500-square-foot distribution center at the Port of New Orleans to its operations. Construction is expected to begin by the second quarter of this year.
