Louisiana and SWLA: The Way it Was in 2008

By Bill Krull




Louisiana people moved their Vision for a New Louisiana closer to reality when they inaugurated Bobby Jindal as the state’s governor on January 14, 2008. Citizens voted to hammer another nail in the coffin of old school politics and the good ol’ boy paradigm way of doing business, electing by a clear majority in the November election the first ever Indian-American governor.

Getting the people’s message, the state Legislature jumped on board, passing ethics legislation that grabbed national attention and other legislation that eliminated the Stelly Tax, improved the state’s business environment while they revamped the Workforce Commission, and passed critical coastal restoration measures.

In response, the nation’s top three ratings agencies, Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor, raised the Louisiana bond ratings in recognition of the state’s progress. The three rating upgrades, like higher credit scores, typically mean better borrowing terms that can save the state millions of dollars.

“We got three turns at the plate, three chances to show the financial world that Louisiana is making wise fiscal decisions and is very much open for business, and we came away with three solid hits,” Jindal said. “These three ratings upgrades are great news, but we know we still have a lot of work to do to continue to improve our ratings and to foster more business investment and greater job creation so our kids don’t have to leave home to pursue their dreams.”

Just to make things interesting, the Ledge took close aim and shot itself square in the foot, winging Jindal in the shoulder with the same bullet by voting itself a massive pay raise. Jindal, who earlier promised not to veto a pay raise, reneged and vetoed it after being deafened by a 200-decibil cry of outrage from a very ticked-off public.

Voters also kept veterans Senator Mary Landrieu and Congressman Charles Boustany in office while John DeRosier retained his job as Calcasieu Parish District Attorney.

Building for the future

Although swamped in September by a hurricane with a storm surge bigger and more destructive than the infamous Audrey, Southwest Louisiana took a leading role in the state’s Vision through initiatives such as the $90 million bond project approved by Lake Charles voters the previous year and efforts by such groups as Vision Calcasieu, the local Blueprint Louisiana delegation and the Southwest Louisiana Alliance for Economic Development.

While the planting of a dozen palm trees at the Lake Charles Civic Center drew some criticism—too much money for trees and things aren’t moving fast enough, some said—they symbolized the commitment of the people to achieving the vision of a New Louisiana.

“Although the trees by themselves won’t create jobs or bring in investors, they symbolize the very high quality of our commitment to build a bright future for all of Southwest Louisiana,” said Lori Marinovich, head of the downtown and lakefront development initiatives. “We’re not undergoing a short-term renovation project, we’re truly building for the future to make the quality of life here the standard for the nation for generations to come.”

The cultural life of a region is vital to its quality of life, and groups such as the Du Lac Merchants Group and Poor Pony as well as McNeese Banners, the Louisiana Choral Foundation, Downtown at Sundown and Louisiana Crossroads at Central School contributed by hosting or sponsoring a wide range of events. The Southwest Louisiana community made these outstanding events possible by working together throughout the five-parish area.

Education

Education is vital to the Vision of a New Louisiana in terms of reducing poverty, providing a high quality workforce to match business and industry needs and attracting and retaining people. The area leads the state in the effort. Calcasieu’s dropout rate decreased from 3.2 percent in 2007 to 2.1 percent in 2008 while 2007-08 school performance scores show Calcasieu Parish high schools meeting and exceeding many of the goals set for 2014.

“That defies every dropout statistic across the nation,” said Pat Deaville, director of curriculum and instruction for high schools in the parish. “They say it can’t be done, but we’re doing that right now. Also, the number of high school students graduating with extra credentials rose from 41.3 percent in 2007 to 50.7 percent in 2008.”

Calcasieu, the largest of the top 10 districts, was in seventh place with an 80.4 percent graduation rate. Cameron had the highest at 88.7 percent; Beauregard was second, 87.3 percent; Allen third, 84.5 percent; and Jeff Davis ninth, 79.4 percent.

New jobs

The Lake Charles Port Authority was chosen for the $115 million Westinghouse nuclear reactor component plant to be built by the Shaw Group. The venture will bring an estimated 1,500 high-paying jobs in welding, process technology and design, and will create 2,000 more throughout the community. That project is in addition to the $1.6 billion cogeneration project currently underway at the port.

Northrop Grumman and Aeroframe are expanding at Chennault International Airport, thanks to a $1.5 million economic development grant from the state. The expansion will help retain about 500 existing jobs and add about 130 new ones. The Pinnacle Entertainment Group began construction on its proposed $350 million Sugarcane Bay resort to go along with its thriving L’Auberge du Lac.

Alliance’s capital campaign

In September, the Alliance launched its first capital campaign to raise $2.65 million with an eventual expected return on investment (ROI) of $270 million year. Before the launch, though, the Alliance did exhaustive research to found out what the community needed and wanted. They held focus groups and town-hall meetings to get a cross-section of community viewpoints—not just the big guys but also the average citizen—the Joe Sixpacks on Main Street. They pored over reams of spreadsheets and talked to leaders in other parts of the nation whose regions lead the nation in economic development.

“It was a massive effort—not just the work of just a few people with a narrow range of interests,” said Glenn Pumpelly, one of the campaign’s co-chairs. “We got the people’s ideas because this really isn’t about raising money or even economic development. It’s about people—making their lives better. It’s about people having good, secure jobs, good schools for their children, a quality of life that keeps our best and brightest at home and attracts the best to Southwest Louisiana because this is where the opportunity is. It’s about people, for people and it’s going to work because the people are going to make it work.”

Hurricanes Redux

Louisiana hosted two unwelcome guests, Gustav, with Ike hard on its heels—two hurricanes that fortunately didn’t take the human toll their 2005 predecessors took—but caused record damage. Six consecutive named storms — Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike — struck the U.S. mainland, something that had not been seen in recorded history. The cost of the two storms is still being calculated but will probably exceed $100 billion.

Still, the response in the state and Southwest Louisiana before, during and after the hurricanes, illustrated the progress Louisianans have made towards achieving their vision. The evacuation at the Civic Center during both hurricanes was incredible, with city, parish, state and volunteers from non-profits working around the clock for days on end.

“I’ve never been more proud of the people of our state, particularly here in Southwest Louisiana,” Jindal said. “I wish the national media could’ve been here to see how well we recovered after the storms. I want to thank the local Southwest Louisiana leadership; they’ve worked together, they’ve spoken as one voice, which makes it easier at the state level. We’ve got the mayors, the sheriffs, the police juries all working together; it makes it very, very easy for the state to work with the local community when we all speak with one voice. When people ask if Louisiana was prepared for Gustav, Ike or any future storm, the answer is ‘Yes,’ and the reason is our people. They’re strong; they’re resilient. We’ve proved we’re up to any challenge.”