It’s that time again: The sign-up period for presidential candidates for Louisiana’s March 5 primary ballot is starting, The Associated Press reports. Qualifying for the presidential primary runs from today through Friday. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says he doesn’t expect to see any presidential candidates show up in person to sign up for the race. He says they’ll likely send a representative to qualify them by proxy or they’ll mail in their paperwork. Presidential candidates must pay a $1,125 fee when submitting their paperwork, or file a nominating petition with signatures. As Daily Report reported Tuesday, presidential politics are starting to pick up in Louisiana, with several Republican candidates holding fundraisers here and selecting state advisers.
A good sign: American businesses stepped up hiring last month, led by strong gains in retail, finance and other service industries, a private survey found. Payroll processor ADP notes companies added 217,000 jobs last month—the most in five months, The Associated Press reports. Service sector firms added 204,000, while manufacturers hired just 6,000. The figures come just two days before the government issues its official jobs report for November. Economists forecast that it will indicate employers added 200,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate remained 5%. Steady consumer spending is supporting greater hiring in services, which includes higher-paying professional positions such as information technology and engineering jobs. The ADP survey covers only private businesses and frequently diverges from the official figures. Last month, ADP’s hiring tally was nearly 100,000 lower than the government’s.
More laurels: Open Table lists one Baton Rouge restaurant among the country’s Top 100 restaurants for 2015. The online restaurant reservation service included Ruth’s Chris Steak House on Constitution Avenue as the lone Baton Rouge representative on the list. The only other Louisiana eatery to make the list was Restaurant August in New Orleans. The ranking was compiled based on more than 5 million reviews posted to Open Table combined with each restaurant’s rating on the site and other factors. St. Francis Winery and Vineyards from Santa Rosa, California, took home the top spot for the second time in three years. See the full list.
