Updated July 2, 2009
The
following linked articles and reports provide a summary of recent
activities in the New Orleans and Louisiana economy and the outlook in a
number of key sectors compiled by the WTC’s 1st Stop for
International Business Services.
For
additional information,
1st Stop's Category Index provides comprehensive news items,
websites and databases (updated daily) for 33
economic, business, and other categories
STATE
LEGISLATURE & GOVERNANCE
State budget year begins with cuts (7/1/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
A missed opportunity (6/28/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Jindal Steering with surer hand (6/27/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Jindal gets bill recasting movie industry incentives (6/25/09) New
Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
STATE & LOCAL
PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION
Firm sees risk, rewards at RTA (7/1/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Downtown Ruston to
receive face lift
(7/1/09) Monroe News Star
City Hall move just got costlier (6/27/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Bill for N.O. master plan killed (6/25/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Officials excited for new libraries (6/22/09) Monroe News Star
Southdowns residents fear zoning (6/21/09) New Orleans CityBusiness
City Council asks Nagin for more information about deal to buy Chevron
building (6/18/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Federal grants may help New Orleans streetcars expand to new lines
(6/7/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Future of bus station relocation clouded: Greyhound renews interest in Moss
Street station (6/4/09) The Acadian Advertiser
(Click here for more items)
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
GM Shreveport plant to close (6/24/09) Shreveport Times
Community shows excitement over new plant (6/21/09) Monroe News Star
GO Zone program lagging in New Orleans (6/21/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Wink selling part of its business (6/19/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
State reels in $362 million SNF chemical plant in Iberville Parish
(6/19/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Gov. Bobby Jindal announces new american car company will make history in
Louisiana (6/17/09) New Orleans Times Picayune
Guide plant to drive Monroe economy with 1,400 jobs (6/14/09) Monroe
News Star
Retail center financing backed (6/13/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
New Orleans City Council OKs economic development funds (6/5/09) New
Orleans Times-Picayune
St. Bernard officials excited about Wal-Mart, mall
(6/1/09) New Orleans CityBusiness
(Click here for more items)
HOUSING & REAL
ESTATE
Central city to get new apartments (7/1/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
HANO to purge waiting list of households that haven't sent in contact
information (6/29/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Home prices up in greater New Orleans (6/26/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Insurance report card gives Louisiana an "F" (6/16/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
BR-area home sales down 22% in May (6/16/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Liberty Bank to launch homeowners initiative this morning (6/11/09) New
Orleans Times-Picayune
Former Guide Corp. building in Monroe could house new project (6/4/09)
New Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
HURRICANE
PROTECTION, FLOOD CONTROL, & COASTAL RESTORATION
At a loss
(6/29/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Clock counts down on hurricane protection (6/28/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Extra months of work on corps schedule (6/27/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Group seeks to revitalize N.O. swamp (6/24/09)
The Baton Rouge Advocate
Slidell, St. Tammany seek to buy and elevate land for storm-surge protection
(6/23/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Dredged mud can save Louisiana coast, state says (6/13/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Madisonville copes with new reality on riverfront (6/13/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Corps spells out surge options (06/12/09) The New Orleans Times-Picayune
Dupre: Move coast zone (6/6/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Bayou dredging to begin soon (6/6/09) Houma Today
Hurricane levee meeting planned for east bank of St. Charles Parish
(6/4/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Lower 9th Ward rally focuses on lost wetlands (6/2/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Effort helps build coastline (6/1/09) The Acadian Advertiser
(Click here for more items)
INTERNATIONAL
TRADE & TRANSPORTATION
Federal programs can help small businesses to export goods (6/30/09) New
Orleans Times-Picayune
New flight could stimulate oil and gas ties between Louisiana, Mexico
(6/26/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Airport tackles backlog of site upgrades (6/25/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Canada to beef up La. trade ties (6/24/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Port trims budget (6/19/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Airport gets $140M bond for rental car facility (6/19/09) New Orleans
CityBusiness
Legal thicket grows on bad drywall (6/19/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
City announces road construction, detours (6/15/09) Shreveport Times
Proposal puts roadway, dock at spillway (6/15/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Council OKs airport contract over protest (6/13/09) Monroe News Star
A report by GNO, Inc. says New Orleans should concentrate on drawing trade
with Latin America (6/12/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Houma-Terrebonne Airport could be arrival site for foreign visitors
(6/8/09) Houma Today
Monroe accepts bid on new airport terminal (6/4/09) The Shreveport Times
State's future with Cuba explored (5/30/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
TOURISM &
CULTURE
New Orleans named top Fourth of July destination in U.S. (6/29/09) New
Orleans City Business
I-10 welcome center reopens near Slidell (6/29/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Essence ticket sales are looking hot (6/28/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Nonstop flight to Mexico touted (6/27/09)
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Wild Child: Sumatran orangutan born at Auduban Zoo
(6/27/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Convention Center business down (6/25/09)
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Louisiana Restaurant Association expo to attract 15,000 (6/25/09) New
Orleans CityBusiness
Hollywood veteran tapped to direct operations at film studio taking shape in
the lower Garden District (6/16/09) New
Orleans Times-Picayune
Tourism hopes are tied to Super Bowl (6/13/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Microsoft to host conference in New Orleans next month
(6/12/09) The New Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
ENERGY,
SHIPBUILDING & MANUFACTURING
GNO, Inc. wins some legislative victories to promote drilling in south
Louisiana (6/28/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Shaw Group wins engineering contract in Iraq (6/29/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Harvey marine transportation firm to spend $200M on new vessels
(6/29/09) New Orleans City Business
Pipeline possibilities (6/28/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Entergy to present plan for weatherizing homes (6/26/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
High temperatures taxing utilities in Acadiana (6/26/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Energy provider change possible (6/25/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Nuclear reactions (6/14/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Landrieu's oil plan hits snag (6/13/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
La.’s ‘clean energy’ reviewed (6/11/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Smaller energy companies are finding it difficult to compete in the
Haynesville Shale (6/11/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Providence doubles Louisiana production (6/8/09) Baton Rouge Post
Alternative energy blowing in the wind (6/8/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Entergy Louisiana completes $100M in power transmission projects
(6/4/09) New Orleans CityBusiness
Shell: No plans to cut N.O. jobs, leadership (06/2/09) New Orleans
CityBusiness
(Click here for more items)
AGRICULTURE,
FORESTRY, FISHING
Dry conditions hurting Louisiana farmers (6/30/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Cotton farmers in Louisiana, Mississippi plant smallest acreage on record
(6/30/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Shrimp season closing in eastern Louisiana (6/29/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
$44.5M set aside to help agriculture industry rebound from storms
(6/27/09) New Orleans CityBusiness
Economy, foreign competition pinch crab industry
(6/10/09) New Orleans CityBusiness
Program spells relief for hard-hit fishers (6/11/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
State unveils $30 million aid program for fishers hurt by Hurricanes Gustav,
Ike (6/10/09) New Orleans Times Picayune
Grant to fund oyster reef (6/8/09) The Acadian
Advertiser
Measure may boost area’s rice industry
(6/5/09) Lake Charles American Press
Grand Isle gets stimulus money for trees
(6/4/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
EDUCATION & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
New Orleans is the fastest-growing big city; population increases 8.2
percent in year (7/1/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Tulane to offer degree in disaster management (6/22/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Stuck on New Orleans (6/21/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Training for future: Workforce programs offer second chance; join the
conversation(6/17/09) The Acadian Advertiser
La. posts second-highest jump in jobless claims (6/11/09) The Lafayette
Town Talk
Lockheed Martin is implementing a loaned labor program that will keep
employees working until business rebuilds
(06/14/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Louisiana running in middle of pack for green jobs (6/10/09) New Orleans
CityBusiness
Legislators cite need for dual diploma plan (6/9/09) The Acadian
Advertiser
New Orleans area weighs in with lowest April unemployment rate in the nation
(06/4/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
HEALTHCARE
Bus in New Orleans area to give low-income patients access to prescription
medicines (6/30/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
State suggests making hospital independent of LSU
(6/29/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
Slidell Memorial Hospital moves forward with bond issue for new cancer
center (6/29/09) New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Map shows HIV rate highest in South (6/23/09)
The Baton Rouge Advocate
Hospitals face major funds loss (6/20/09)
Monroe News Star
Lane opening outpatient diagnostic center
(6/16/09) The Baton Rouge Advocate
Jindal: New clinic La.’s future (6/5/09) The
Baton Rouge Advocate
LHC Group enters joint venture with East Alabama Medical Center
(6/2/09) New Orleans Times-Picayune
(Click here for more items)
Useful local media websites for
current news and information:
BayouBuzz.com
Greater Baton Rouge Business Report
Baton Rouge Advocate
Alexandria Town Talk
Houma Courier
Lafayette Advertiser
Monroe News Star
Shreveport Times
New York Times
Associated Press