News

The Jennings City Council held a special meeting this week to finalize the yearly budget and schedule of fees for the new fiscal year starting July 1. Mayor Henry Guinn and City Council President Stevie VanHook, along with council members Carolyn Simon, Wayne Ledbetter, Carl Benoit and Anthony LeBlanc, agreed on a comprehensive $17 million budget based on revenue for the new year.

(The Center Square) — Louisiana’s revenue department says it cannot estimate how much taxpayer money may be returned to companies developing data centers under a state tax incentive. In a statement to The Center Square, the department said that the incentive had no historical data from which to estimate future losses.

(The Center Square) — Louisiana revenues from oil and gas leases on locally administered public lands fell sharply in the latest fiscal year, reducing funding available for public schools, infrastructure projects and levee districts from Mooringsport to Port Sulphur.

(The Center Square) —Bipartisan legislation to boost housing supply and home ownership nationally cleared the U.S. Senate in an 85-5 vote Monday evening, the largest housing bill Congress has advanced in decades.

Calendar Guidelines Items for Community Calendar must be submitted during regular weekday business hours at least two weeks prior to the day of the event. Events run in the order of their posted dates and ONLY AS SPACE ALLOWS.

A Lake Charles foundation has recently committed $330,000 to support operations at the new Jeff Davis Parish Animal Shelter, providing what parish officials describe as an important boost as the facility moves closer to opening. The donation from Oak Crossing Foundation — a nonprofit organization affiliated with Oak Crossing Development that supports community initiatives throughout Southwest Louisiana — follows nearly two years of conversations between the organization and parish officials and will help fund startup expenses, equipment purchases and operational needs as the parish looks forward to the shelter’s eventual launch.