Second thoughts: Celtics Studios Executive Director Patrick Mulhearn says he’s not going to pursue the Louisiana Senate District 2 seat formerly held by Troy Brown. In a statement posted on Facebook, Mulhearn says that after careful consideration he has decided to spend this session focusing on the health of Louisiana’s film industry and dedicating his time to the Purple and Gold Film Fund, which he started with Fable House’s Sam Claitor to bolster’s Baton Rouge’s film industry. He’s also encouraging State Rep. Edmond Jordan to seek the seat. “If he runs, I think Edmond would be a bridge builder in the Senate in more ways than one.” Brown resigned from the seat earlier this year amid mounting pressure following his no contest plea to domestic abuse charges. Read the full statement.
Going down: Weekly unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Mar. 4 decreased to 2,066 from the previous week’s total of 2,273, according to the latest data from the Louisiana Workforce Commission. For the comparable week a year ago, 2,950 initial claims were filed. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 2,175 from the previous week’s average of 2,248. Continued unemployment insurance weeks claimed for the week ending Mar. 4 decreased to 19,206 from the previous week’s total of 19,955. Continued weeks claimed were below the figure of 23,117 for the comparable week one year ago.
Take five: Louisiana gained five new active rigs this week, bringing its total tally of rigs exploring for oil and gas to 56, according to the latest count by Baker Hughes, a Houston-based oilfield services firm. Last week, Louisiana had 51 rigs. For the comparable week one year ago, 49 rigs were actively exploring for oil and gas in Louisiana. The nation’s rig count increased by 12 this week to 768 from 756 last week. One year ago, there 488 active oil and gas rigs in the U.S. Among major oil producing states, Colorado and Oklahoma gained three rigs while Alaska lost three. Wyoming and Ohio gained two rigs each. California added one, and New Mexico lost a rig.
