[StBernard] Great Week For Louisiana

[Westley Annis]

This was a great week for Louisiana. For the second year in a row, Site
Selection magazine ranked Louisiana in the top 10 states for new and
expanded corporate facilities, and we ranked number three in country on a
per capita basis. Also this week, as the New Orleans Times-Picayune
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c9951%7c9390%7c791501&
digest=dCDT%2fA%2bnNgPbxuDdhSRE%2bA&sysid=1>  reported,  the Tax Foundation
released a study this week ranking Louisiana #2 in the nation, and #1 in the
South, for business tax competitiveness among new firms and top 10 in the
country for existing firms.

These rankings are proof that our efforts to enact reforms that encourage
economic growth are working.  Since day one, we've worked eliminate
burdensome business taxes that were hurting our state's ability to compete
for important economic projects and discouraged our existing Louisiana
companies from investing and expanding.  The rankings released this week are
further evidence that we are gaining economic momentum by creating a
pro-growth business climate that fosters new jobs and new opportunities for
our workers.

Louisiana also made big news at the Oscars this week.  As WVUE
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c9952%7c9390%7c791501&
digest=8Y4O%2fkeox%2fylet38B4trqA&sysid=1>  reported, Shreveport-based
Moonbot Studios won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for their
work creating "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore."  Their
big win is an excellent example of the high quality work being done every
day in Louisiana's digital and film industries that we've worked so hard to
grow. 

In fact, just this week, we announced that another Academy Award winning
firm is opening up shop in Louisiana.  As the Baton Rouge Advocate
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c9953%7c9390%7c791501&
digest=vpbqhRR97sM6GPNykwQt%2fQ&sysid=1>  reported,  Pixomondo, an
international visual effects studio that won an Oscar for their work in Hugo
is coming to Baton Rouge.  Their decision speaks volumes about how far our
state has come to improve our business climate and encourage growth in our
film, TV and entertainment industries. 

 
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c9954%7c9390%7c791501&
digest=J6%2fAM5Xca2yKuzwal8%2bh%2fw&sysid=1> Also this week we continued to
talk about our plans to reform our education system so that every Louisiana
child has the opportunity to receive a great education.  In St. Tammany and
Lafayette, we discussed important measures that will empower parents with
more choices, reward excellent teachers by paying them more, and give local
school leaders more flexibility to invest in programs that get results for
students.   

As I told the Times-Picayune
<http://cl.publicaster.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c9965%7c9390%7c791501&
digest=KjhvOIwOJ8Ksh90Bx%2bFsxQ&sysid=1> , whether it's lowering the
incarceration rate, growing our economy so there are more jobs for our
children and grandchildren, or shrinking the size of government - it all
comes back to education.  To improve our great state - to make it the very
place in the world to raise a family or pursue a rewarding career - we must
reform our education system so that our kids have the opportunity to
succeed.

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal