Congratulations: Joyce D. James of Baton Rouge has received the Women’s Business Center of Excellence Award from the Small Business Association of Louisiana. James is director of the Southeast Louisiana Women’s Business Center. The SBA Louisiana District office announced the award this week, also naming Alejandro Hernandez, president of Hernandez Consulting in New Orleans, as the 2017 Small Business Person of the Year. James, Hernandez and others will be honored at a special event, in collaboration with the Louisiana Economic Development, during National Small Business Week on May 3.
No deal: A proposed merger between the Margaritaville Resort Casino and an Alabama Native American tribe has ended, the company announced on Monday. The Shreveport Times reports the Bossier Casino Venture, which does business in the Bossier City as Margaritaville, and Wind Creek Hospitality, run by Poarch Band of Creek Indian in Alabama, reached a “mutual and amicable” decision to terminate the planned merger. The sticking point was Bossier Casino Venture’s contractual obligation to Margaritaville LLC to continue operating the Bossier City casino under the Margaritaville term for the remainder of a 40-year term, the company says. The merger would have required the casino to be rebranded as a Wind Creek Casino. With the merger off, the casino will continue to operate under the Margaritaville brand. Read more.
Cost and benefits: The U.S. government’s costs could increase by $2.3 billion in 2018 if Congress and President Donald Trump decide not to fund Obamacare-related payments to health insurers, a Kaiser Family Foundation study released today says. Reuters reports the payments amount to about $7 billion in fiscal year 2017 and help cover out-of-pocket medical costs for low-income Americans who purchase insurance on the individual insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. Trump has threatened to withhold the payments to force Democrats to the negotiating table on an Obamacare replacement bill. He has also says he will fund the subsidies if Democrats agree to funding his proposed border wall with Mexico as part of efforts to pass a government funding bill this week and avert a government shutdown. Read more.
