Going shopping: Target has reopened the grocery department at its store located at 2001 Millerville Road. The store, which took on floodwaters in August, partially reopened to the public on Dec. 1. A company spokesman previously told Daily Report that after the flood Target opted to fast track renovations that the company planned to make to its stores nationwide. Like the rest of the Millerville store, the grocery department has been renovated with updated lighting, flooring, signage, and additional bins to enhance the store’s produce presentation, a news release says. Target also has added in-store sampling.
One among many: Louisiana’s insurance commissioner says six state higher education institutions will divide more than $2.7 million—the result of the dissolution of a failed health maintenance organization. As The Associated Press reports, Jim Donelon says Southern University, LSU-Shreveport, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, the University of New Orleans and Xavier University each will get about $460,000. The health maintenance organization AmCare was ordered into liquidation in 2011. Louisiana was among states that sued AmCare’s parent company and were awarded compensatory and punitive damages. The plan for distributing funds recently received final court approval.
Tiebreaker: With a historic tie-breaking vote, the U.S. Senate today confirmed school choice advocate Betsy DeVos as the Department of Education secretary by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-50 vote. The Associated Press reports Pence’s vote was the first by a vice president to break a tie on a Cabinet nomination. Two Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—joined Democrats in the unsuccessful effort to derail DeVos’ nomination. They fear that DeVos’ focus on charter schools will undermine remote public schools in their states. Democrats cited her lack of public school experience and financial interests in organizations pushing charter schools. DeVos has said she would divest herself from those organizations. Read more.
