Headliners: Presidential candidate and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer is joining disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff on Thursday in the nation’s capital to discuss the need for campaign finance reform. A group called the Committee for the Republic is hosting the event. Roemer—who began his presidential run in the GOP field but is now vying for an independent spot on the ballot—has made campaign finance reform a cornerstone of his platform. Abramoff released a book titled Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Corruption from America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist in November, less than a year after being released from prison. He served three years of a nearly six-year sentence for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion. More details on the event can be found at Roemer’s website here.
Taking their best shot: Two startup firms based in New Orleans are headed out-of-state to meet with some of the country’s top venture capitalists and make their pitch to angel investors. Kickboard by Drop the Chalk and adverCar won the trips at separate competitions during the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, which wrapped up last week. Kickboard founder Jen Medberry is headed to Silicon Valley to meet with top investors, while adverCar co-founder Neil Turner will travel to New York City to meet with the New York Angel Group. Baton Rouge’s entrepreneurship week is slated to take place this fall to coincide with National Entrepreneurship Week.
Facts and figures: As the state and federal government continue to work toward setting up a new health insurance exchange, the Louisiana Budget Project has released a fact sheet aimed at Louisiana legislators and other interested parties as key decisions in the process are being made. Louisiana became the first state to announce that it would not set up its own exchange, but would cede that responsibility to the federal government. “Even with the federal government in the lead, a successful exchange in Louisiana will require federal-state cooperation and public input,” LBP says. Check out the full fact sheet here.
Today’s poll question: Should Rep. Sam Jones apologize for saying the “process” being used by the governor’s office to attack opponents of its education reform plan “makes you think back to the brownshirts of the 1930s,” a reference to Nazi Party tactics during World War II?
