On the sidelines: Baton Rouge architect Steve Maher has decided not to run for the Louisiana House District 69 seat and is instead endorsing Metro Councilman Ryan Heck in the race, Heck announced today. Heck, a Republican, officially kicked off his campaign for the seat last week. “I’ve known Ryan Heck since high school more than 20 years ago, and I’m very confident that he will represent the district very well,” says Maher in a prepared statement. House District 69 covers a diverse swath of Baton Rouge, stretching from Government Street and Jefferson Highway to Shenandoah. The seat has been left vacant by the resignation of Erich Ponti. The primary election is scheduled for Oct. 24, with a runoff, as needed, slated for Nov. 21.
At the helm: Dr. Lee Hamm, senior vice president and dean of Tulane University School of Medicine, has named Dr. Robert Kenney the regional dean, overseeing the Leadership Education Advocacy and Discovery Academy Baton Rouge satellite campus housed on Baton Rouge General’s Mid City campus. Kenney serves as Baton Rouge General’s vice president of medical operations and is a core faculty member in the hospital’s internal medicine residency program. He has nearly 30 years of nephrology practice experience and is an alumni of the Tulane School of Medicine. Since it was established in 2010, a total of 83 Tulane medical students have trained at the Baton Rouge campus, and to date, 44 students have graduated from the LEAD program. Overall, more than 100 medical students and residents train at Baton Rouge General’s campuses each year.
A current event: The Louisiana Community and Technical College System and CB&I are partnering to give students at Baton Rouge Community College an opportunity to showcase their welding skills by participating in the first LCTCS/CB&I Welding Competition. The competition will be held on Saturday, July 11, beginning at 11 a.m., at BRCC’s Acadian Campus at 2350 N. Acadian Thruway. The competition will feature 45 BRCC welding students from across the region and will test student knowledge, welding and workplace skill sets. The entire event will consist of a written exam, a workforce ready interview, workplace safety, and welding skills for beginner, intermediate and advanced welding students. The welding competition and awards ceremony are open to the public. LCTCS and CB&I are also hosting a competition at the SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles on July 17.
