It’s March Madness time, and a survey conducted by a staffing firm found companies who hold bracket competitions have happier employees. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Former state lawmaker Elbert Guillory has been chosen by the Louisiana GOP to lead an outreach effort to bring more minorities to the Republican Party. Emelie Gunn has more….
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State lawmakers are putting together a bill for the regular session that would increase the state’s gasoline tax for the first time in decades. Halen Doughty has more…
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With March Madness officially kicking off today, a staffing firm finds that nearly one in four companies organize activities tied to sporting events and it actually boosts morale. Office Team District President Brandi Britton says managers who do things like hold a bracket competition tend to have happier employees…:
Britton said they found only 14 percent of employers felt the tournament was a distraction. She said incorporating fun activities surrounding March Madness can promote a healthy mix of work and play, but managers still need to be organized about it:
Britton says among those whose firms do get into the games, 37% report the top benefit is that friendly competitions help build camaraderie among colleagues. She says businesses should capitalize on major sporting events to bring teams together and have more fun at work…:
Britton says 66% percent of employees feel that celebrating sporting events can boost their overall happiness at work.
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Former state lawmaker Elbert Guillory has been chosen by the Louisiana Republican Party to lead an outreach effort to bring more minorities to the GOP. Guillory became the first black Republican state senator in 2013 when he switched from the Democratic Party. He says his hope is to convince African-American voters the Republican Party has their interest in mind.
Chairman of the Louisiana GOP, Roger Villere, approached Guillory for the position. Guillory says they want the Bayou State to become a leader in engaging and expanding the party. He believes the Democratic Party is leading minorities in the wrong direction.
Guillory says the Republican Party has demonstrated it’s more concerned about creating more jobs and tackling inner-city crime than the Democratic Party.
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During his monthly call-in radio show, Governor John Bel Edwards thanked State Police Col. Mike Edmonson for his more than three and a half decades of service. The governor accepted Edmonson’s retirement yesterday, effective March 24. He says he and the Colonel have been talking about the issue for the past few days.
The retirement announcement comes as multiple agencies are investigating LSP’s travel spending. Edwards says the Colonel was the longest serving Superintendent of State Police ever, heading the department for 9 years under two different administrations. The governor says from here, he will appoint an interim Superintendent.
Edwards says for a permanent Superintendent, he is looking for someone who is a good communicator with leadership skills and can manage a large operation. He says as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Services, Edmonson was also over the Office of Motor Vehicles, the Fire Marshal’s Office, and highway safety.
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With the legislative session approaching, lawmakers are still working on a bill that would seek to raise the state’s gasoline tax for the first time in 30 years. Democratic Representative Sam Jones of Franklin says lawmakers need to put something on the ballot to improve deteriorating roads and bridges. But he says it’s still unclear how many cents the tax would go up.
A 17-cent increase to the state’s gasoline tax would generate over 500-million dollars a year. Jones says there is at least some appetite at the Capitol to increase the gas tax, but how much remains to be seen. He believes the issue should go to the voters for them to decide, because there are unmet transportation needs around the state.
Republican Representative Steve Carter of Baton Rouge says the recommended gas tax hike from the Transportation Task Force is 23-cents a gallon, but he says it’s yet to be decided how much of an increase will go into a bill that would be debated when the session starts April 10th. He says his constituents are particularly concerned about traffic conditions.
Carter says the entire state would benefit from a gas tax increase. Officials say every penny the gasoline tax goes up, an additional 30-million dollars can be spent on transportation needs. He says traffic congestion and crumbling roads and bridges are not unique to the Capitol City.
Motorists currently pay 38-cents in federal and state gasoline taxes, and 20-cents is from the state. Any increase to the state gasoline tax would take a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
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Patriots restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler is set to meet with the Saints today at their headquarters in Metairie. There’s been a lot of talk that New Orleans would like to acquire the 27-year-old who intercepted four passes last season. NFL analyst Mike Detillier says Butler would be a good fit on the Black and Gold…
The Saints have an estimated 12.5 million dollars left in salary cap space and they have to sign their draft picks. Detillier anticipates the Saints will be creative if they are able to sign Butler to a longterm deal…
The Patriots can match any offer the Saints make. But Detillier believes the two teams will work out some sort of sign and trade deal to bring Butler to Big Easy. Detillier says Butler would give the Saints a quality starting cornerback to go along with Delvin Breaux