The U.S. Energy Information predicts crude oil prices will be, on average, about $52 a barrel this year, up $9 from last year – but will it be enough to help the oil and gas industry in Louisiana? Associate Director of the Tulane Energy Institute Eric Smith says it would probably put a stop to onshore job losses…:
CUT 7 (08) “type positions”
Smith says the offshore oil industry would need to see prices in the low 60s to commit to new projects.

A 27-year-old mother was killed after being shot multiple times while answering the door of her Scotlandville home last night. Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Sgt. L’Jean McKneely says Robyn Hale was not home alone…:
cut 12 (07) “has happened”
He says Hale died overnight and they are still searching for a suspect.

2017 is looking good for construction workers in Louisiana, as the Associated General Contractors of America finds 70-percent of Louisiana contractors anticipate hiring workers this year. But Chief Economist with AGC, Ken Simonson, says they might have a hard time finding qualified workers…:
cut 4 (10) “anytime soon”
Simonson says that’s why companies are investing more in training new employees who do not have construction experience.

In a conference before U.S. District Judge Lance Africk, the City of Slidell agreed not to enforce its requirement that panhandlers register with the police pending the court’s ruling on the ordinance’s constitutionality. Based on that promise, the ACLU of Louisiana has agreed that its request for a preliminary injunction can be dismissed as moot. The ALCU is representing panhandlers who in the city who say the ordinance violates the first amendment.