[StBernard] Major Score for the State!

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends - 

This week we highlighted another economic win for the Greater New Orleans
area when we celebrated the official groundbreaking of Folgers' expansion of
two existing facilities in New Orleans and a distribution center in St.
Tammany Parish. Folgers, a subsidiary of the J.M. Smucker Company, announced
a $69 million capital investment project that the New Orleans Times-Picayune
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c134%7c9390&digest
=iYEP02tvlxRh8k1QmG7oFQ&sysid=1>  reported "will result in about 120
additional direct jobs and 381 indirect jobs." The expansion by Folgers is a
great win for Louisiana and when combined with other recent announcements in
2010 - including Globalstar, Blade Dynamics, and Nucor - it's further proof
that we're keeping our commitment to retain and grow business so that we can
create more opportunity for our people and build a better Louisiana for our
children.

Indeed, the Associated Press
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c145%7c9390&digest
=9mw4gpwDzF6lqr1qU090EA&sysid=1>  recently reported that the Nucor win we
announced last week "is a major score for the state" and "moves Louisiana
into another league."  The Associated Press went on to say that "at an
absolute minimum, the state has turned a corner in its economic development
efforts...", and indeed we have, but there is still much work to be done and
we will not stop until Louisiana is the best place in the world to raise a
family and start a new career.

In addition to bringing new companies to Louisiana, we must improve our
infrastructure to create an environment where business can succeed and
expand.  Last week we visited Colfax and we highlighted our recent
groundbreaking of the final segment of LA 28 which will be critical to our
men and women at Fort Polk to deploy troops, supplies and equipment abroad.
As the Alexandria Town Talk
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c146%7c9390&digest
=RCzd0EH0kmbOMy%2frt8iSVw&sysid=1>  reported, this improvement not only
assists our military but also businesses and the public. 

Over the weekend, we also learned the BP oil well in the Gulf has finally
been killed. This is certainly good news, but as I told the Associated Press
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c147%7c9390&digest
=AkeTF2NaDex5SpqREK8oJQ&sysid=1> , this crisis is not over until every
family and community in this state has been made whole again and our waters,
marshland, and ecosystem are restored to their pre-spill state. We will
continue to hold BP accountable to ensure our coast is restored and our
comprehensive seafood safety and marketing plan is approved so folks can get
back to their way of life. 

Sincerely,
Governor Bobby Jindal