Take a number: The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles is extending its hours at one Baton Rouge office this week to accommodate the increased demand for services in the wake of last month’s disastrous flooding. The Associated Press reports the office at 7701 Independence Blvd. will be open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. today through Friday. Saturday hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. State police say the office is processing up to 600 cancelled plates a day from flooded vehicles, as well as duplicate driver’s licenses and IDs.
Cleaning up: The Coast Guard says a south Louisiana pipeline has been secured and authorities are investigating what caused roughly 5,300 gallons of crude oil to leak near Bay Long, south of New Orleans. The Associated Press reports the Coast Guard in New Orleans received a report Monday about the leak from a pipeline owned by Harvest Pipeline Co. The pipeline was struck by a Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. vessel that was doing excavation. An oil spill response organization, ECM Maritime Services, has been contracted to manage cleanup. About 3,000 feet of hard boom have been deployed, and sorbent material and skimmers are collecting the oil. The Coast Guard and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are also helping supervise the response.
Cutting child care: More and more companies have abandoned on-site day care centers for their employees even though other family-friendly benefits are on the rise, Bloomberg reports. Only 3% of companies offer on-site day care services, down from 9% in 1996, according to the Society of Human Resources 2016 benefits survey. On-site day care has a high return on employee retention and engagement. However, child care is highly regulated and each state sets its own rules about required staff member-to-child ratios. The cost of additional labor to staff a day care center can quickly get expensive for companies. Many companies have started to substitute on-site daycare for less complex benefits with similar appeal such as generous parental leave policies, Bloomberg reports. Read the full story.
