For sale: Lemonade Day Louisiana sponsors and partners have officially kicked off the state’s Lemonade Day, which will take place April 30, during a news conference today. Before and after the news conference, dozens of volunteers stuffed more than 20,000 backpacks for Louisiana youths expected to participate in the program this year. Lemonade Day Louisiana is a free, community-wide program that encourages entrepreneurship and character development in youths ages 4-18 by helping them to establish and operate their own lemonade stands. The press conference to kickoff the program took place at LSU E. J. Ourso College Business Education Complex. Attendees include Lemonade Day Louisiana Co-Founder and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers CEO Todd Graves, Secretary of State Tom Schedler, Baton Rouge City Champion Chris Ferrari, Lafayette City Champion Richard Zuschlag and dozens of metro youth. According to a news release, 75,000 youths across Louisiana have participated in Lemonade Day Louisiana since 2010.
Refinanced: Louisiana’s top officials agreed today to refinance state debt to generate $82 million in quick cash to help close gaps in this year’s budget, The Associated Press reports. The State Bond Commission agreed to the financing maneuver over the objections of its chairman, Treasurer John Kennedy. Lawmakers assumed the additional cash in their budget rebalancing work during the recently ended special legislative session, so refusal to do the refinancing would have more than doubled a remaining $70 million shortfall for the budget year that ends June 30. Kennedy said he couldn’t vote for what he considers another budget gimmick, on top of years of short-term fixes that left Louisiana stumbling from one shortfall to another. Read the full story.
Claim game: The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says Louisiana residents already have received approximately $2.5 million in advance payments for flood insurance claims. The Associated Press reports FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate met with Gov. John Bel Edwards in Baton Rouge today for a briefing on the state’s response to recent record-setting flooding. Allen, Ascension, and Calcasieu parishes were added to a federal disaster declaration, bringing the number of parishes covered to 26. Fugate says residents whose damaged property wasn’t covered by flood insurance could be eligible for Small Business Administration loans or FEMA grants. He urged residents affected by flooding to register with FEMA. A FEMA spokesman says about 3,600 Louisiana residents, 300 Texas residents and 200 Mississippi residents had filed flood insurance claims as of this morning. Read the full story.
