Within the next three months Entergy customers will see a five to seven dollar monthly increase in electric costs to pay for the St. Charles Power Plant, and to make up for decreasing energy tax credits from the feds. Entergy Spokesperson Lee Sabatini says these kinds of rate increases are necessary to pay for more efficient facilities, which will more than pay for themselves in the long-term.
The rate hikes will hit on July’s bill and for September.
The Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality action day today for the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas due to conditions being favorable for the production of ground-level ozone, or smog. DEQ spokesperson Greg Langley says the 4th of July fireworks contributed the ozone alert…
Higher levels of ozone can impact those with respiratory issues.
An Oxford Economics report says Louisiana is one of the states most vulnerable to losing a significant amount of jobs due to automation. The report noted that the rise of automation will “generate new employment opportunities at a pace comparable with the rate of job destruction” but result in higher income inequality. UNO Business Professor Mark Rosa adds the revolution will increase the demand for high-skill workers.
The report notes the coming robotic manufacturing revolution will destroy 20 million jobs worldwide, with 260,000 being lost in America since 2000.
This week 600 high school students from across the nation met in North Carolina to participate in the YMCA’s 52nd Annual Conference on National Affairs. One of the six presiding officers at the mock government program was LSU freshman Drake Brignac, who says the students tackled a range of difficult issues…
Students from 36 different states participated.