A new survey by the National Federation of Independent Business indicates a slight uptick in optimism among small businesses last month but inflation and labor quality are still a major concern. NFIB State Director Dawn McVea says owners are more optimistic about the future
Cut 13 (11) “…61 percent.”
But 42-percent of owners report job openings are hard to fill, which is a historically high percentage.

The lone announced candidate running for Insurance Commissioner, Tim Temple, an insurance professional who has a business in Baton Rouge, plans to launch a statewide media buy. Temple says there’s not enough insurance companies in Louisiana, and hence there is no competition to drive costs down…
cut 5 (11) “….business in Louisiana”
Current Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is not running for re-election.

Schools and athletic events in Louisiana are now required to have an automated external defibrillator, better known as an AED. Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields authored the legislation, and he says two lives have already been saved in those settings because an AED was readily available.
Cut 20 (12) “…talk about it”
The state legislature also appropriated funding for schools to purchase the A-E-Ds and schools are also required to have an action plan.

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith says the suspect in Monday’s hostage situation at a home on Crooked Creek Drive had an unusual amount of ammunition with him. Smith says the suspect eventually set fire to the home that result in his death…
cut 9 (03) “…of surrending”
Smith says three officers had to breach a window to get a 13-year-old girl out of the home, before the fire was set. The teen and a neighbor were treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening gunshot wounds.