Manufacturing
Help wanted: Women needed for U.S. chips manufacturing plan to succeed
Natalie Bell was thinking about a career in art after college when a welding class and a delivery of four pizzas changed her career trajectory. “I was taking a delivery out to a construction site, and I met an ironworker who I was taking the delivery to,” said Bell, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. “I […]
Judge rules against coffee giant in tax exemption lawsuit
An Orleans Parish judge lifted an injunction in the Folgers Coffee Co. tax exemption lawsuit, allowing local taxing authorities to bill the company for an estimated $5.1 million. Prompted by a decision Gov. John Bel Edwards made Monday to reject the coffee giant’s final appeals for six Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) applications, Orleans Civil […]
Louisiana carbon capture project draws criticism from environmental advocates
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a decarbonization project Wednesday that he believes could be a prototype for industrial-scale carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), but some renewable energy advocates are skeptical of the project. The project is a collaboration between three companies to capture emissions from CF Industries’ manufacturing complex in Ascension Parish. It would transport […]
Industrial tax break reforms strengthened Louisiana business climate, study finds
A new analysis found that reforms to Louisiana’s popular industrial tax subsidy appear to have strengthened the state’s business climate. Advocates of the changes made six years ago say the results should allay fears that curtailing the incentive would kill jobs or drive investment out of town. The study, released Tuesday, focused on the state’s […]
‘Lip service’: Judge blasts DEQ for approving Formosa project in St. James
Environmental groups in Louisiana are celebrating a state judge’s decision Wednesday to revoke permits for a massive $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics facility planned in the middle of Louisiana’s so-called Cancer Alley. The ruling comes after nearly three years of litigation on behalf of a community of Black residents in St. James Parish. Judge Trudy White […]
Inflation Reduction Act would push Louisiana to forefront of clean energy sector
Some policy experts believe Louisiana is one of the better positioned states to take advantage of clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that Congress is expected to pass this week. With $485 billion in new spending offset by $790 billion in revenue and savings, the legislation includes the nation’s largest ever investment in […]
California company to build sustainable materials plant with 200 new jobs in Louisiana
A California company plans to spend $750 million to build a facility in Ascension Parish that will manufacture plant-based material for packaging, textiles and other uses.
Ineligible Louisiana state employees received over $6 million in unemployment assistance
Louisiana paid out about $6.1 million in unemployment assistance to more than 1,000 state employees “who did not appear to be eligible” from Feb. 20, 2020, to July 24, 2021, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor found. “While some of these employees may have been victims of identity theft, others appear to have received benefit payments for […]
Industry accounts for two-thirds of Louisiana’s carbon emissions, research shows
Louisiana’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent study by the LSU Center for Energy Studies, are “dominated by the industrial sector,” which accounts for about two-thirds of the state’s total carbon dioxide emissions. That’s nearly three times the national average share, according to the study. Emissions from all other sectors of Louisiana’s economy measured […]
Plastics company to build $13.3M expansion in North Louisiana
BATON ROUGE – Continental Structural Plastics is planning a $13.3 million expansion project, Gov. John Bel Edwards and CSP CEO Steve Rooney announced in a joint news release Wednesday. The expansion will take place at the company’s Sarepta facility. According to Louisiana Economic Development, the project is expected to support 200 construction jobs, create 65 […]
Science catches up to what residents of Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ have been saying about pollution | Jarvis DeBerry
If you’re ever inclined to describe how healthy you are, you’d do well to remember that the world is bigger than Louisiana and that you could simultaneously be better off than the average person here and worse than the average person in the U.S. Consider the debate about whether the communities along the Mississippi River […]
RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne wins Goldman Environmental Prize
Sharon Lavigne, a retired special needs teacher in St. James Parish and the founder of the faith based environmental justice group RISE St. James has been named the 2021 North American winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for fighting to keep multibillion dollar chemical plants out of her already polluted community in the heart of […]