Special vote: A special election to fill the seat of Louisiana Rep. Ronnie Edwards, who died Wednesday after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, has been set for April 9, with a May 14 runoff if needed, House Speaker Taylor Barras announced today. Qualifying for the election will begin March 7 and end at 4:30 p.m. March 9. Voters elected Edwards to the District 29 seat in November over attorney Edmond Jordan. Edwards previously represented District 5 on the Baton Rouge Metro Council. She was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer in late 2013.
Back up: Louisiana gained two active oil and gas rigs since last week, bringing its total number of active rigs to 47, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. of Houston. It’s the same number of active rigs the state had two weeks ago before losing two in one week. Around this time a year ago, the state had 102 active rigs. Meanwhile, the number of active rigs exploring for oil and natural gas has declined nationally by 12 to 502. The Associated Press reports 400 rigs sought oil and 102 explored for natural gas amid depressed energy prices. In comparison, 1,267 rigs were active a year ago. Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas declined by five rigs, New Mexico dropped by three, Alaska and California each declined by two and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming each dropped by one. West Virginia gained one. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
Bootcamp: Disabled veterans from across the country will learn the basics of business ownership at the 5th annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) at LSU. The bootcamp starts today and lasts until March 5. The EBV helps post-9/11 veterans with service-connected disabilities develop the skills and tools they need to maintain successful businesses, a statement from LSU says. The veterans will network with local entrepreneurs, will receive entrepreneurial advice and gain insight into small business development. The bootcamp is hosted in partnership with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University and LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business. Read more about the bootcamp.
