One thing leads to another: Six or seven years ago, at the height of the Haynesville Shale boom, office space in downtown Shreveport was hard to come by. Liz Swaine, Shreveport Downtown Development Authority executive director tells The Shreveport Times businesses couldn’t find places to rent because there were no vacancies to be had anywhere in the region. But with the downturn in the oil and gas industry, that’s no longer the case. Consolidation has run rampant in recent years, leaving plenty of office buildings in downtown Shreveport void of tenants. Read the full story.
Buckle up: Louisiana is ranked as the third most dangerous state for teen drivers, according to an analysis of federal data, safety and insurance costs by CarInsurance.com. Only North Dakota and Montana are ranked below Louisiana in the survey, which includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The website compiled the rankings based on a survey of 500 parents of teen drivers throughout the U.S. According to the results, 9% of Louisiana high school students age 16 and over have reported drinking and driving while 49% report having texting or emailing while driving. The state also has the fourth highest average insurance cost for teen drivers in the nation, at $6,171 per year. Only Delaware, Connecticut and Michigan have a higher average cost. See the full report.
Hot donuts: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will be acquired by JAB Beech, a subsidiary of investment firm JAB Holdings Company, in a deal valued at $1.35 billion, USA Today reports. JAB Beech will pay $21 a share in cash for the Winston-Salem based Krispy Kreme, a 25% premium over the company’s Friday closing stock price of $16.86. The company’s more than 1,100 stores across the world will continue to be operated independently. The deal will turn Krispy Kreme into a private company and is expected to close in the third quarter this year. Read the full story.
