One love: Baton Rouge-based Raising Cane’s says it opened its 150th restaurant on Thursday in San Antonio, its fourth in the city. The chicken finger chain crossed the 100th restaurant milestone in June 2011 and was ranked No. 8 on industry analyst Technomic’s list of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the 2012. Last week, Raising Cane’s was named the No. 1 quick-service restaurant chain in the United States in a study by Sandelman & Associates. Raising Cane’s has more info on planned celebrations for its 150th restaurant here.
The paper chase: According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ January 2013 Salary Survey, starting salaries for engineering majors increased 3.9% from 2011 to 2012. And LSU graduates fared among the best of them, the university says. LSU graduates with a chemical, mechanical, civil or computer science undergraduate degree all earned more than the national average, according to the survey. LSU has the complete details here.
The squeaky wheel: Republicans and other fiscal conservatives keep insisting on more federal austerity and a smaller government. Without much fanfare or acknowledgement, they’ve already gotten much of both. Spending by federal, state and local governments on payrolls, equipment, buildings, teachers, emergency workers, defense programs and other core governmental functions has been shrinking steadily since the deep 2007-2009 recession and the anemic recovery that has ensued. The Associated Press has the full story here.
