[StBernard] 100 Days

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends -

This week we reached the 100 day mark since the start of the oil spill
crisis. As we've always said, this disaster is a marathon for Louisiana and
it doesn't end for us when they cap the leak. Indeed, the Coast Guard's own
estimates say there are still tens of millions of gallons of oil in the
water that threaten Louisiana's fragile coastline. The crisis isn't over for
us until our coasts and wetlands are fully restored so we can get back to
our way of life.

That's why we've put together a four-part Agenda for Revitalizing Louisiana
that sets a pathway forward for restoring Louisiana's coast through four
priority initiatives: implementing a coastal restoration plan, certifying
Louisiana's seafood and getting fishermen back on the water, lifting the
moratorium so Louisiana can refuel America and holding BP accountable until
Louisiana's wildlife, air and marshes are completely restored.

 
<http://app7.publicaster.com/ImageLibrary/account848/images/jinfish7email729
.jpg> Yesterday, I joined coastal parish leaders to meet with officials from
the Coast Guard and BP to discuss the next steps for response efforts. The
meeting was productive and we think it's critical for these types of
discussions to continue so that our local leaders have a seat at the table
when it comes to making decisions about shifting resources. We also agreed
that instead of reviewing and rejecting a plan from the Coast Guard and BP,
it would be better for coastal parishes to develop their own plans. As I
told Fox 8
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c161%7c9390&digest
=AxMArwBzq7H8YcA0S%2fPQGw&sysid=1> , rather than just responding to and
rejecting a plan that comes to us from BP and the Coast Guard, they should
allow each parish to come up with their own detailed plan parish by parish
in the same way we came up with the original plans to defend our parishes.

Indeed, it's the same type of approach we took at the beginning of this
crisis when we worked with coastal leaders to develop plans in the absence
of detailed plans from the Coast Guard and BP. The reality is that our
coastal leaders know their land and water like the backs of their hands and
it doesn't make sense for us to accept or reject a one-size-fits-all
approach on how resources will be shifted. We're working with coastal
leaders to develop the plans and we will submit them to the Coast Guard and
BP next week. 

Good news came earlier this week when Louisiana was named as a finalist for
competitive grant program, "Race to the Top." As the New Orleans
Times-Picayune
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c162%7c9390&digest
=1Uw%2bsBSl32T%2fLeHpXf6eqQ&sysid=1>  reported, I said this announcement is
further evidence that Louisiana is on track in our efforts to implement
aggressive reform strategies to improve our schools. We passed new laws in
the recent legislative session that strengthened our position for the
competitive grant. Most importantly though, we passed new laws to move our
education system forward by increasing accountability, improving teacher
evaluations and helping our schools cut through red tape that impedes
academic growth. 

Finally, as the Baton Rouge Business Report
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c163%7c9390&digest
=m6ntT%2fwJcUpY%2f1QXkSRCmg&sysid=1>  noted, Louisiana FastStart has been
rated as the best state workforce training program in the country by
Business Facilities
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c164%7c9390&digest
=VIZYQ3RfePCBGmUN5hylAg&sysid=1>  magazine. According to the magazine,
"Louisiana has established the gold standard for workforce training
solutions with its innovative FastStart program." We launched FastStart in
2008 as part of our workforce development reforms to attract more business
expansion and investment, and ultimately, create more jobs for our people so
they can pursue their dreams right here at home. This is a sign of the
incredible progress we have made, but we are not stopping here. We will
continue to build on this momentum as we tell the world about the
opportunities for growth in Louisiana so we can create even more good jobs
for Louisianians. 

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal