The National Federation of Independent Business says 36-percent of small business owners reported openings they could not fill last month. Kace Kieschnick has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”
____________________________________________
It seems that there’s a certain tie that binds Governor Landry’s line-item vetoes. Andrew Greenstein explains.
Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
____________________________________________
The Big Beautiful Bill is back in the House, and opinions among Louisiana’s delegation are obviously mixed along party lines. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
____________________________________________
The National Federation of Independent Business’ June jobs report found that 36-percent of small business owners are having trouble filling job openings. NFIB State Director Leah Long says Louisiana’s new “One Door” policy will help consolidate public assistance and job training programs.
Cut 4 (11) “…qualified workforce.”
58-percent of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in June. 86-percent of those owners reported few or no qualified applicants for their vacancies. Long says House Bills 624 and 617 went into effect July 1st, but impacts may not be immediate.
Industries with the most openings were construction, manufacturing and transportation; while finance and agriculture sectors reported the fewest. Long says some of the increased numbers could be due to the time of year.
Cut 6 (11) “…those positions.”
________________________________________________________
Governor Jeff Landry issued 17 line-item vetoes on the budget, with 16 of them having something interesting in common. Tyler Bridges, the chief political reporter for The Advocate, notes that those 16 line items were projects by Republicans who voted “no” on Landry’s key legislation, House Bill 148, which grants the insurance commissioner the authority to reject excessive rate increases.
Cut 7 (13) “…sponsored by Republicans.”
Vetoed projects included a highway extension in Bossier City, a tennis court in Livingston Parish, and a bridge in Metairie. Bridges says it’s a surprise because Landry is a very partisan Republican.
Cut 8 (08) “…went after Republicans.”
Affected legislators, fearing retaliation, mostly stayed silent, although Shreveport Senator Alan Seabaugh criticized Landry’s tactics, saying the vetoes reflect Landry’s push to enforce party loyalty. Bridges says political suspicion in the Capitol was that this would be a way for Landry to use Temple as a scapegoat.
Cut 9 (08) “…insurance rates.”
________________________________________________________
The Big, Beautiful Bill is back in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is working to get his fellow Republicans on the same page to get it across the finish line and onto President Trump’s desk. Johnson says there are a lot of good things in the bill.
Cut 10 (07) “…around the world.”
But Democrat Cleo Fields doesn’t see it that way. He says there are a lot of bad things about the bill.
Cut 11 (08) “…left the house.”
Fields says he’s confident that Democrats can get enough Republicans to stick with them to torpedo the bill altogether.
Assuming that all 212 Democrats are present and vote no, that means Johnson can only lose three votes and pass the bill. He says he knows he has his work cut out for him.
Cut 13 (10) “…our personal preferences.”
________________________________________________________
Grambling State University launches the Grambling Research and Resource Foundation. University President Dr. Martin Lemelle (leh-MELL) says it’s a new non-profit designed to advance the university’s pursuit of Research 2 classification and deepen its research footprint.
Cut 14 (06) “…to that purpose.”
Dr. Lemelle says the foundation has several components to it.
Cut 15 (15) “…support faculty innovation.”
Lemelle says research has been core to Grambling’s foundations, since its early days as an agricultural institution. But he says the school has come a long way since then.
Cut 16 (11) “…iteration of technology.”
________________________________________________________
LSU has added three left-handed pitchers in the transfer portal since returning from Omaha. Oregon sophomore Santiago Garcia and North Dakota State freshman Danny Lachenmayer were both exceptional in relief last season while Tennessee freshman Ryler Smart spent the year as a redshirt. Tigers pitching coach Nate Yeskie says he felt like his staff needed some balance on the left side of the mound but as for their roles, that will be up to them.
Freshman pitcher William Schmidt was ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the MLB draft out of high school by MLB.com last year. Schmidt pitched 32-and-a-third innings for the Tigers this season with a 4.73 ERA. Yeskie says this offseason will determine if he can take the next step.
Cut 18 (20) “…into the spring.”
Tigers ace Kade Anderson made the leap to dominance his sophomore year after a freshman season behind pitching duo Luke Holman and Gage Jump. Yeskie says Schmidt roomed with Anderson on the road this season to see what it takes.