Now open: Registration is open for the third annual Statewide Economic Development Summit. Hosted by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, in collaboration with the state’s regional economic development organizations, the day-long event is Tuesday, Feb. 27, at L’Auberge Casino Hotel. A networking reception will take place the preceding evening on Monday, Feb. 26. The summit aims to strengthen the state’s economy through shared ideas and business practices. Get more information.
Cracking down: The Louisiana Workforce Commission is ramping up efforts to get employers with long-term, unpaid unemployment tax bills to settle their debts, including taking any federal income tax refunds due to the employer. The commission will send letters by the end of this month notifying roughly 8,000 employers that they have 60 days to pay delinquent balances, plus penalties and interest, a news release says. During that time, employers can request to review LWC documentation of unpaid taxes due or provide the state agency with bankruptcy documentation. Read more.
Influential voice: Rod Dreher is one of the most influential and prolific conservative writers in the nation. As The Washington Post details in a new feature, Dreher, a St. Francisville native who now calls Baton Rouge home, writes for the American Conservative, where his blog averages about 1.3 million page views per month. He’s credited with helping introduce J.D. Vance of Hillbilly Elegy to a larger audience and has authored several books himself. His latest, The Benedict Option, is a call to beleaguered Christians to divorce themselves from the increasingly secular American mainstream. Read more.
