Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. discussed at a press conference yesterday announcement of $20 billion to back a lending facility for the consumer asset backed securities market established by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The announcement is available via webcast here. The asset backed securities market provides liquidity to financial institutions that provide small business loans and consumer lending such as auto loans, student loans, and credit cards.
Home Sales
According to Marketwach, “Sales of new homes fell an estimated 5.3% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, the lowest level since 1991, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a result of 441,500. Sales fell 6% in the South, hitting the lowest level since 1992…. the past year, inventories have fallen 25.7%, the biggest drop since the government began tracking the data in 1963. The median sales price was $218,000, down 7% in the past year
The Louisiana Department of Education will embark on a new effort to build a world-class educational model in Louisiana, the Department announced today. The project aims to leverage the intellectual capital of successful models and best practices at the local, state, national and international levels in order for the Department to strategically determine how it can best support student and school needs across the state. Research and development costs will be underwritten in part through a commitment of up to $1.5 million made by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
"This project will allow us to take advantage of lessons learned to make schools work better for children across our state," said State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek. "By combining proven practices with the knowledge and resources of some of the world's most renowned education experts - and with financial backing from an extraordinary organization - we expect to create a plan to significantly forward public education across Louisiana in a relatively short timeframe."
The effort will include the design of a statewide model to attract, retain and support high quality educational professionals to work! in Loui siana and will be based on the experience of the Recovery School District (RSD) and successful strategies in the United States and around the world. In addition to the participation of local and state education leaders, experts from around the world will also contribute to the project.
"With Superintendent Pastorek and other exceptional leaders in place, the entire state of Louisiana is well positioned to make significant improvements for all students," said Kevin Hall, chief operating officer of The Broad Foundation, which also provided $8 million to help New Orleans schools provide students with a quality education post-Katrina. "We believe deeply in the work happening in Louisiana and look forward to continuing our partnerships with the state and local organizations driving the transformation of public schools across Louisiana."
McKinsey and Company, a management consulting firm, has been retained to support the project. In addition to the support of The Broad Foundation, the Department is securing local and national philanthropic support for the project. No state funds will be expended to directly support the project.
The Broad Foundation works to transform K-12 urban public education through better governance, management, labor relations and competition (www.broadfoundation.org).
Workforce Development
The Louisiana Workforce Commission will conduct orientation sessions and open a worker transition center to assist the 550 people who were laid off when International Paper closed its Bastrop mill.
Workers should attend orientation sessions at the mill's training center to learn about the full array of services available to them through the Workforce Commission and to learn from the company about their separation benefits.
The sessions will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 9, and Wednesday, Dec. 10. International Paper's Human Resources director will schedule employees based on their last name and work shift, and notify them by mail of which day and time their session will be held.
The Rapid Response Team within the Workforce Commission's Customized Workforce Solutions Group will open a worker transition center, also in the mill's training center, beginning Dec. 2. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and remain for as long as its services are required.
“The transition center will provide a supportive environment for employees to access comprehensive services in a single location,” said Workforce Development Director Stacy Bonnaffons, who oversees the Customized Workforce Solutions Group. “We also will survey these employees about their particular needs to ensure that we continue to offer them customized solutions as they transition back into the workforce.”
Services provided at the center include job placement assistance, job counseling, job search workshops, labor market information, résumé preparation assistance, interview preparation, online job search assistance, veterans’ assistance information, occupational retraining, trade adjustment assistance, debt counseling, out-of-area job search assistance, relocation assistance, on-the-job training, unemployment insurance and other supportive services as needed.
Workforce Commission services are offered at no cost to the employer or participating employees.
Insurance Commissioner Donelon announced today that the staff of the Department of Insurance donated 4,317 pounds of food to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. This food drive ran from October 31 through November 24. "I am very proud of our staff for such a large contribution to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and I am sure the food they have donated will make a difference to so many families in the Baton Rouge area this Thanksgiving," said Commissioner Donelon at an event announcing the total amount of food donated at the Poydras Building today. The Office of Financial Solvency gave 1,370 pounds of food, the largest amount, causing their staff to win one of the food drive campaign competitions.
Agriculture
Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said $16 million in USDA Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funds are available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to eligible Louisiana farmers and ranchers to repair farmland damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
The deadline to sign-up for the disaster aid in applicable ECP parishes is Jan. 15, 2009.
Strain said the program is available to eligible producers on a 75-25 cost-share basis for debris removal, repair conservation structures and fences that were damaged by the hurricanes.
“This is a much needed boost for Louisiana producers that suffered tremendous losses following sister storms Gustav and Ike,” Strain said. “No parish or commodity was spared by these storms.”
For land to be eligible, under USDA rules, the disaster must have created new conservation problems that:
if left untreated, will impair or endanger the land;
materially affect the land's productive capacity;
represent unusual damage that, except for wind erosion, is not likely to recur frequently in the same area; and
would be so costly to repair that federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use.
Producers located in the following parishes may be eligible for assistance through the USDA: Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Natchitoches, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles and St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
Conservation problems that were present before the storms are not eligible for the cost-share assistance.
“This is a step in the right direction,” Strain said. “There is still much work to be done to secure adequate disaster funds for Louisiana farmers and ranchers.
For additional information on eligibility requirements and applications, producers may visit their local FSA office or http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
New Orleans Economy
The City of New Orleans will host seven public meetings next week to discuss the planned public-private partnership for economic development.
The meetings will be held in each council district beginning Monday. Two meetings will be held in both District C and District E.
The initiative will be a partnership between city government and the local business community. All economic development functions will be consolidated under one umbrella and managed by the new partnership, which will be a non-profit corporation governed by a board of directors from the public and private sectors. The Public Private Partnership will work with City plans and priorities, and will be accountable for development goals. Mayor C. Ray Nagin has committed funding $2 million annually for the first three years of operations. Community meetings regarding the initiative begin Monday.
The public meeting schedule is as follows (weekday meetings 6pm-8pm):
Yeah, that's a sure way to make sure nothing gets done... Get a bunch of government and public folks together, give them taxpayer funds and ask them to get something done.... What a joke... Sounds like another CWPPRA day at the fair to me..... Written by
on 11/28/2008
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