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A southwest Louisiana company, that links more than 500 Louisiana and Texas restaurants with drivers for home delivery, plans to add 100 jobs at a technology operations center in Lafayette. Waitr Inc. is based in Lake Charles. It has 129 employees there and at offices in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and the Houston area, where it also operates. They say the 100 new jobs for software engineers and restaurant operations professionals will average $55,000 a year.
ECONOMIST DR. JIM RICHARDSON SAYS SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA IS SEEING AN OUTSTANDING RETURN ON THEIR INVESTMENT IN SASOL’S ETHANE CRACKER AND DERIVATIVE’S PROJECT. RICHARDSON RELEASED HIS FINDINGS YESTERDAY. HE SAYS SASOL’S ECONOMIC EXPENDITURES WILL GENERATE 270 MILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUES FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PERIOD, OF WHICH 110 MILLION HAS ALREADY BEEN PAID. HE SAYS MORE THAN 35 HUNDRED CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE ON SITE AND HE EXPECTS THAT FIGURE TO GO UP TO FIVE THOUSAND BY NEXT YEAR, WHILE SASOL HAS ALREADY HIRED 350 FULL TIME WORKERS OUT OF THE 500 IT EXPECTS TO ADD FOR THE OPERATIONAL PHASE OF THE PROJECT.
Search and rescue crews from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard have recovered the body of a missing boater in Vermilion Parish. Crews retrieved the body of 79-year-old Ernest Hebert, of New Iberia around 5 p.m. Thursday, about a half mile from the Oaks Canal in Vermilion Bay. Authorities received a call around noon about the missing boater after learning that a boat, with two people aboard, had sunk in Vermilion Bay outside of Oaks Canal along the Northshore of Vermilion Parish. One of the boaters was rescued by a Good Samaritan shortly before noon.
Louisiana’s state senators Thursday backed a package of bills estimated to raise at least $400 million for next year’s budget, while the House has refused so far to budge beyond about half that amount. One week remains in the special legislative session, called by Gov. John Bel Edwards and aimed at raising $600 million for the financial year that begins July 1, to stave off what the Democratic governor says will be deep cuts to health and education programs. Republicans, particularly in the House, have balked at many of the governor’s proposals, saying they can’t support additional taxes after lawmakers passed an earlier round of tax hikes in March.
LAFAYETTE POLICE HAVE MADE AN ARREST IN CONNECTION WITH LAST WEEK’S HOMOCIDE ON HAZEL STREET. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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A LAKE CHARLES GRAND JURY HAS INDICTED THREE MEN FOR THE ARMED ROBBERY OF A TRUCK STOP CASINO. IT HAPPENED ON MARCH FIFTH AT THE CASH MAGIC ON L-A 397 WHEN THREE MEN ARMED WITH HANDGUNS DISARMED A SECURITY GUARD AND ORDERED NINE PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING TO LAY ON THE GROUND. ONE OF THE MEN ATTEMPTED TO GET INTO THE CASHIER’S OFFICE BY SHOOTING AT THE LOCKED CAGE DOOR AND THEN SMASHED A GLASS PANEL BEFORE DEMANDING MONEY FROM THE CASHIER. 36-YEAR-OLD QUINTON D. ADAMS, 25-YEAR-OLD JEREMY W. LANGHAM, AND 33-YEAR-OLD KWALAN RUBIN EACH FACE SEVERAL CHARGES INCLUDING ARMED ROBBERY AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT WITH A DANGEROUS WEAPON.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE JACK MONTOUCET OF CROWLEY RECEIVED A STANDING OVATION AS HE RETURNED TO THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE YESTERDAY. HE HAD SPENT THE NIGHT IN THE HOSPITAL FOR OBSERVATION AFTER EXPERIENCING CHEST PAINS. HE TOLD HIS COLLEAGUES THAT IT TURNED OUT NOT TO BE A HEART ATTACK, BUT HE DOES HAVE SOME ISSUES. AND IS SCHEDULING AN ANGIOGRAM. MONTOUCET EXPRESSED THANKS FOR ALL OF THE CALLS AND CONCERNS.
38 THOUSAND STATE GOVERNMENT WORKERS WILL NOT BE RECEIVING PAY RAISES NEXT YEAR. THE STATE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION VOTED 4-TO-1 YESTERDAY TO BLOCK THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ADJUSTMENTS FOR ALL CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR THAT BEGINS JULY FIRST. STATE WORKERS ARE USUALLY ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A FOUR PERCENT PAY RAISE IF THEY GET A POSITIVE JOB EVALUATION. THE GOVERNOR’S TOP BUDGET ADVISOR, JAY DARDENNE, TOLD THE COMMISSION THAT THE STATE CANNOT AFFORD THE PAY RAISES BECAUSE OF THE STATE’S REVENUE STRUGGLES.
