Back and forth: Louisiana’s Senate on Sunday approved its version of a bill that would close the state’s midyear deficit, rejecting a Shreveport senator’s proposal to make LSU foot part of the bill. The News-Star reports the Senate bill would make prisons and public schools whole by increasing the amount of Rainy Day Funds that could be used. The measure cleared the Senate 29-8 and is banking on the approval of one of two companion bills allowing a withdrawal from the Rainy Day Fund to match the proposed cuts. During the debate, Sen. John Milkovich, D-Shreveport, said LSU should be asked to help provide relief. Milkovich said he would prefer to see LSU put $30 million of its cash reserves toward the state’s deficit, saying the university has $930 million in total assets. Every senator except Milkovich voted against his amendment. Read the full story.
Expanding: Unum says it has expanded its dental provider network by nearly 15% and now has 100,000 in-network providers and more than 323,000 access points nationwide. According to a news release, the expansion was spearheaded by Baton Rouge-based Starmount, a member of the Unum Group family of licensed insurers. Unum acquired Starmount Life Insurance/AlwaysCare Benefits from the Sternberg family in a $127 million deal that closed in August, with Unum and Starmount launching Unum Dental and Unum Vision coverage to its clients around the country on Jan. 1. Read the full announcement.
Flying in style: Once seen as a luxury of the corporate world, private planes are becoming increasingly common at U.S. colleges and universities as schools try to attract athletes, raise money and reward coaches with jet-set vacations. The Associated Press requested documents from dozens of public universities and found that at least 20 own or share ownership of planes for school business, often employing a few full-time pilots to fly them. Many others charter private flights through outside companies. Some schools even spent millions each year flying their coaches and executives on scores of trips around the country, and often use planes for athletic recruiting, passing the cost on to students and taxpayers. Read the full story.
