| |
Lafayette is one of the top cities for high-tech businesses (Entrepreneur, October 2004). http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,317132,00.html |
| |
Alexandria’s Union Tank Car project ranks No. 4 of the Top 25 U.S. Business Projects (Bizsites, September 2004). http://www.bizsites.com/2004/september/article.asp?id=711 |
| |
Louisiana’s Legislature ranks No. 3 in the country of the most technology-advanced legislatures (Center for Digital Government, June 2004). http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/highlightstory.php?docid=90659 |
| |
Shreveport’s
U.S. Support is No. 2 in The American South's 10-Largest
New And Expanded Manufacturing And Selected Non-Manufacturing
Announcements (Southern Business & Development, Spring 2004).
http://www.sb-d.com/issues/spring2004/topdeals/index.asp |
|
Hackberry’s Cameron LNG facility is No. 6 on the 2004 list of Top 100
investments in the south. New Sarpy’s Valero Refining is No. 11 and
Garyville’s Marathon Ashland Petro is No. 17. Several other Louisiana
companies expansions also made the list. (Southern Business & Development,
Spring 2004).
http://www.sbd.com/issues/spring2004/features/SBDInvestment100.asp
|
|
Louisiana
received special recognition for the 2004 SB&D listing of Top 100 Deals & Hot
Markets for turning 11 big job deals in 2003 (Southern Business & Development,
Spring 2004).
http://www.sb-d.com/issues/spring2004/features/SBD100TopDeals.asp
http://www.sb-d.com/issues/spring2004/features/SBD100StateSummary.asp
|
|
Louisiana
leaped from 47th to 7th in the nation in total
capital investment growth between 2001 and 2002. Louisiana came in 6th
in the number of business incubators per capita started in 2002. The state also
climbed from 34th to 9th in average yearly growth
of high-tech industries, and rose to 9th from 16th
in high-tech companies that outpace U.S. growth. And, LA climbed from 15th
to 10th in state spending on student aid (Milken Institute,
March 2004).
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/state_tech_sci_index04.pdf
|
|
Louisiana’s growth rate of 1.4% came in at No. 7 in the list of Top U.S.
Growth States with more than 20,000 families moving. Baton
Rouge ranks 19th in the list of Top U.S. Growth
Cities with 5,000 – 10,000 families moving with a 6.6% growth rate (U-Haul,
March 2004).
http://www.uhaul.com/pr/press_releases.html
|
|
Louisiana’s Legislators came in 2nd in the country in
percentage of legislators participating in “Back to School Week” with 67%. The
annual program put legislators in the classroom to share ideas, answer questions
and help students understand the legislative process (National Council of State
Legislators, January 2004).
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/pubs/04SLJan_LegTeachLearn.pdf |
|
The New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner region ranks 6th
in the list of Top 10 Metro’s by investment for 2003 (Site Selection Magazine,
March 2004).
http://www.siteselection.com/ |
|
Two
Louisiana companies made the list of 2003’s Biggest Capital Investments. Cameron
Liquified Natural Gas LLC of Hackberry came in at No. 11 and Valero
Refining-New Orleans, LLC of New Sarpy ranks
18th (Site Selection Magazine, March 2004).
http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2004/mar/p172/ss2004_03p176.pdf |
|
Three
Louisiana cities made the latest list of Top 25 Cities in America for Doing
Business. New Orleans came in at No. 18 in
the Large Metro Areas, Baton Rouge ranks 19th
for Medium Metro Areas, and Lake Charles made the
list of Small Metro Areas at No. 22 (Inc. Magazine, March 2004).
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040301/top25.html |
|
Baton Rouge
ranks No. 1 and New Orleans ranks No. 7
for least expensive day-care costs (Runzheimer International, February 2004).
http://www.runzheimer.com/corpc/news/scripts/012004.asp |
|
Lafayette
ranks 6th in the latest list of Best Mid-Sized Cities for
Entrepreneurs. Not far behind is Baton Rouge at No. 11 and
Shreveport/Bossier City made the list at No. 21.
New Orleans came in at No. 10 for Large Cities in the South
(Entrepreneur.com, January 2004).
http://www.entrepreneur.com/bestcities/region/0,5276,498-S-Mid,00.html |
|
Louisiana
topped the charts in another recent education study. Louisiana ranked 1st
in Accountability and Standards, 5th in Improving Teacher
Quality, and 16th in Equity of Funding (Education Week,
January 2004).
http://www.edweek.org/sreports/qc04/article.cfm?slug=17exec.h23 |
|
Louisiana
is 2nd in the South in increasing teacher pay since 1997
(Southern Regional Education Board, November 2003).
http://www.sreb.org/scripts/Focus/Reports/Teacher_Salaries_9_2003.pdf |
|
Louisiana
ranked 7th in the 2003 Generosity Index. The index is compiled
from 2001 tax return data, comparing how much residents have to how much they
give. Louisiana ranked 44th on the “have scale” and 12th
on the “giving scale” (Catalogue for Philanthropy, November 2003).
http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/cfp/db/generosity.php?year=2003 |
|
Three
Louisiana cities made the list of Top Midsize Cities for Entrepreneurs in the
South for 2003. Lafayette headlined the group at
No. 6, Baton Rouge came in at No. 11, and
Shreveport/Bossier City at No. 21. (Entrepreneur.com, November
2003).
http://www.entrepreneur.com/bestcities/region/0,5276,498-S-Mid,00.html |
|
New Orleans
was ranked No. 10 in the Top Large Cities for Entrepreneurs in the South
for 2003. The Crescent City came in at No. 32 overall (Entrepreneur.com,
November 2003).
http://www.entrepreneur.com/bestcities/region/0,5276,498-S-Large,00.html |
|
Louisiana
climbed to No. 17 in Site Selection magazine’s 2003 Business Climate
Report rankings. Louisiana ranked 24th in the 2002 ranking (Site
Selection, November 2003).
http://www.siteselection.com |
|
Several
Louisiana cities were named in Outlook Magazine’s 2003 Annual Quality of Life
rankings. Named among the Best Housing: Baton Rouge – No. 5, Lafayette – No. 6, Houma – No. 8, Monroe – No. 9, Lake Charles – No. 19, and New Orleans
– No. 24 (Outlook Magazine, October 2003).
http://www.bdomag.com/ |
|
Louisiana
has the 3rd most digitally advanced legislature in the country (Center
for Digital Government, October 2003).
http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/highlightstory.phtml?docid=73192 |
|
Louisiana
Film Commission nabbed 2nd place in the latest Best Government Agency
Website ranking (Center for Digital Government, October 2003).
http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/highlightstory.phtml?docid=71844 |
|
Eighty-two
percent of Louisiana legislators (118 members) participated in the National
Council of State Legislators’ Back to School Week last year, 2nd
in the country (National Council of State Legislators, September 2003).
http://www.ncsl.org/public/trust/03slmar_statestats.pdf |
|
Louisiana State University earns recognition as the “Most
Diverse University,” and largest producer of African American chemistry
Ph.D’s in the Kaplan/Newsweek Hot Colleges List (Newsweek, September 2003).
http://www.msnbc.com/news/955658.asp |
|
Houma came
in at No. 16 in the list of Top 100 Best Performing Cities. The ranking
is based on economic performance and job creation. On the Smallest Metro Area
list, Monroe held at No. 22, while Alexandria came in at No. 46 (Milken Institute,
June 2003).
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/research/research.taf?cat=indexes&function=detail&ID=24&type=BPC |
|
Louisiana
ranks No. 4 in Bloomberg’s annual rating of the “wealth-friendly” states.
The rankings are compiled by comparing taxes across the nation, including levies
on salaries, real estate and personal property (Bloomberg Wealth Manager
Magazine, June 2003).
http://wealth.bloomberg.com/wealth/0603/jun.ft.states.pdf |
|
New Orleans
has been named the 23rd Best City for Singles (Forbes
Magazine, June 2003).
http://www.forbes.com/2003/06/04/singleland.html |
|
Mobility
Depot, L.L.C of Baton Rouge has been named one of
America’s Top 100 fastest-growing businesses (Entrepreneur, June 2003).
http://www.entrepreneur.com/hot100/0,6524,,00.html |
|
The
Greater
Shreveport Chamber of Commerce has been named one
of the nation’s Top 10 Local Economic Development Groups (Site Selection
Magazine, May 2003).
http://www.siteselection.com/ |
|
Three
Louisiana cities rank in the Top 25 as places with the lowest costs of doing
business: Lafayette (No. 6),
Shreveport (No. 7), and Baton Rouge
(No. 25) (Forbes Magazine, May 2003).
http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/07/bestland.html |
|
The
Louisiana National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, a 17-month program targeting
high school dropouts, was selected for the third time as the Best Overall
Program in the nation. This award is presented by the United Services
Organization (USO) at an event each year in Washington,
D.C. (National Guard Bureau, May 2003).
http://www.daremightythings.com |
|
Louisiana’s school accountability program ranked in the Top 10 in the nation for
the second year in a row, based on the overall
character and effectiveness of the accountability system. The state climbed to
6th, up from last year’s ranking at No. 7 (Princeton Review,
May 2003).
http://www.princetonreview.com/footer/testingTesters.asp |
|
LSU’s
School of Business ranked among the Top 12 in the nation (Entrepreneur Magazine,
April 2003)
http://entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/results/1,6454,,00.html?mode=type&list=NT&tier=1 |
|
Louisiana
ranks 6th in Business Incubators per 10,000 businesses and
14th in Science & Engineering Bachelor of Science degrees granted
as a percentage of total Bachelor’s degrees granted (State Science & Technology
Indicators, April 2003).
http://www.ta.doc.gov/reports.htm |
|
Louisiana
ranked 11th in the country in manufacturing expansions over
the last two years (2000-02), 14th in overall corporate
facilities and expansions over the last two years, and 17th
for the number of overall corporate facilities and expansions during 2002 (Site
Selection Magazine, March 2003).
http://www.siteselection.com/ |
|
Louisiana’s percentage of uninsured children dropped from 20 percent to 14
percent over the last two years – the greatest improvement among all 50
states (Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, March 2003).
http://www.kff.org/content/2003/4070/ |
|
Deridder
and Plaquemine have been named among the Top 10 (7th & 9th,
respectively) U.S. Small Towns for New and Expanded Facilities over the last two
years. New Iberia ranked in the top 20, coming in 17th (Site Selection Magazine,
March 2003).
http://www.siteselection.com/ |
|
Lake Charles’
Citgo Petroleum Corp. has been recognized for making the 6th
largest capital investment in the country last year (Site Selection
Magazine, March 2003).
http://www.siteselection.com |
|
New Orleans
was named the 3rd best restaurant town in America (Bon
Appetit, March 2003).
http://eat.epicurious.com/bonappetit/feature/index.ssf?/bonappetit/feature/survey2003.html |
|
Louisiana
ranks 10th in imposing the lowest total tax burden (federal,
state, and local taxes included) (Tax Foundation, February 2003).
http://taxfoundation.org/press-bestworststates.html |
|
Higher
education in Louisiana continues to be among the most affordable. While
the national average increase of college tuition over the past two years was
nine percent, Louisiana tuition increased just four percent at its four-year
colleges (6th lowest). The study also noted that total state
appropriations for higher education in Louisiana increased six percent, ranking
it 5th (National Center for Public Policy and Higher
Education, Winter 2003).
http://www.highereducation.org/reports/affordability_supplement/affordability_supplement.pdf |
|
New Orleans
ranks 10th best for limiting sprawl in a metropolitan area
(Smart Growth America, January 2003).
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.com/sprawlindex/sprawlindex.html |
|
Louisiana
ranks 5th in the latest Generosity Index, despite ranking 44th
in the nation in earnings, according to IRS data. The Generosity Index notes
that Louisiana residents gave more than $1.2 billion in donations in 2002 (Ellis
L. Phillips Foundation, January 2003).
http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/cfp/db/generosity.php |
|
Growth in
spending and Louisiana’s willingness to make funding for higher education a
priority has once again been recognized. Louisiana is 2nd in
the nation in percentage increase over the last two years in funding for
postsecondary education, 6th over the past five years, and
6th over the past 10 years. For the current fiscal year,
Louisiana was ranked 8th for its effort to increase higher
education – while at the same time the state ranked 41st for its
capacity to fund the increase (Grapevine Center for Higher Education &
Educational Finance, January 2003).
http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/grapevine/Tables.htm |
|
Louisiana
is the top state in the South in electoral practices, receiving an
overall “B” average. Southern Exposure magazine, a publication of the
Institute for Southern Studies, evaluated 13 southern states for its survey.
Louisiana was the only state to receive a “B” overall and also received an
“A” in the categories of registration system – detailing the state’s
computerized list and election updates – and in the category of uncounted votes
with a 0.6% record on a national average of 2.0% (Southern Exposure, December
2002).
http://www.southernstudies.org/se/stateofvoting.pdf |
|
Again
Louisiana has ranked among the top states in the country for its efforts to
improve school and student performance. Quality Counts 2003 ranks Louisiana 5th
for accountability and standards efforts, 12th for its efforts
to improve teacher quality and 12th for equitable distribution
of resources (Education Week, January 2003).
www.edweek.com/sreports/qc03/ |
|
According
to the report, “Economic Importance of Hunting in America,” Louisiana is ranked
No. 10 in hunting-related retail sales for 2001 (International
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, December 2002).
www.iafwa.org/page2.htm |
|
Louisiana came in as the 8th most improved state
over the last decade in the United Way’s “State of Caring” Index. The index
measures the health and well-being of the country, analyzing 35 leading social,
economic and environmental indicators (United Way, November 2002).
http://national.unitedway.org/files/pdf/soc/2002/top_10_02.pdf |
|
Monroe-based CenturyTel recently earned the rank of the No. 1 U.S.-based
telecommunications company. The ranking also earned CenturyTel No. 16
among information technology companies in the world and No. 7
among the world’s telecommunications companies. The rankings are based on
Standard & Poor’s IT Scorecard (Business Week magazine, December 2002).
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/it100/index.asp?sector=Telecommunications |
|
According
to data released by the Bureau of Census in the Annual Survey of Manufacturers,
Louisiana manufacturing workers are 1st in productivity
measured by value of shipments per production worker, and are 4th
most productive in the United States in value added per production worker
(Bureau of Census, November 2002).
www.census.gov/econ/www/ma0300.html |
|
Louisiana
residents ranked 5th in the country in percentage of earnings
given to charity (Catalogue for Philanthropy, November 2002).
www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/print/cfp/db/generosity.php?print=1 |
|
In
harvested acres, Louisiana is ranked nationally: No. 1 in sugarcane,
No. 2 in sweet potatoes and all rice, and No. 7 in upland cotton and
sorghum for grain. In crop production, Louisiana is ranked nationally: No. 2
in sweet potatoes and sugarcane, No. 3 in all rice, No. 5 in
sorghum for grain, and No. 7 in upland cotton (2001 Louisiana
Agricultural Statistics, October 2002).
www.nass.usda.gov/la |
|
Louisiana
is ranked 3rd in the nation in percentage of
income growth over the last two years. The average Louisianian’s
income has grown 9.44% since 2000 (Bureau of Economic Analysis,
October 2002).
www.bea.doc.gov/ |
|
Inc.
Magazine ranked Turner Professional Services of Baton Rouge
No. 4 on its annual list of Top 500 list of fastest-growing privately
held companies in the country (Inc. Magazine, October 2002).
www.inc.com/inc500/ |
|
The 1088th
Engineer Battalion, headquartered in Plaquemine, was awarded the General Walter
T. Kerwin Jr. Readiness Award as the best battalion sized unit in the
entire National Guard. This is the second year in a row that the 1088th
has received the prestigious award (Association of the Unites States Army,
October 2002).
www.ausa.org/am2002.nsf/(AwardsListing)/106BDDFA24621B7985256C36004F157E?OpenDocument |
|
Louisiana
Business & Technology Center recently received the 2002 Federal and State
Technology Partnership (FAST) award thanks to the Small Business Innovation
Research program for its work in technology transfer from university research to
technology-based small business concerns (Small Business Administration, October
2002).
www.sba.gov/sbir/FAST/2002fastawards.pdf |
|
Louisiana’s START Program jumped to the head of its class in the latest
529 Plan Report, earning the highest rate of return of states during the first
half of 2002 with an annualized rate of 6.12 percent (The 529 Plan Report,
October 2002).
www.savingforcollege.com |
|
Louisiana’s LA 4 early childhood education program has been highlighted by the
National Association of State Boards of Education as a model initiative (NASBE,
September 2002).
www.nasbe.org/ |
|
The Center
for Public Integrity ranked Louisiana 15th for its political
parties financial disclosure system. Openness, accountability and public access
were the primary focus of the nationwide study (The Center for Public Integrity,
October 2002).
www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/drsearch.asp?L1=20&L2=9&L3=25&L4=10&L5=0&Display=DRNationwideNumbers |
|
Southern
Business and Development magazine named Shreveport
to the No. 10 spot on its list of Top 10 Southern Mid-Markets in the Last
10 Years (Southern Business and Development magazine, Summer 2002). The magazine
also named Shreveport
in its listing of The South's Best Automotive Supplier Locations.
www.sbd.com/issues/summer2002/topdeals/top10midmarkets.asp |
|
The Shaw
Group of Baton Rouge has been named the 22nd
fastest-growing public company in the country (Fortune magazine, September
2002).
www.fortune.com/lists/fastest/index.html |
|
Louisiana
led the nation last year in the percentage of African-American visitors
last year with 13.4 percent (Travel Industry Association of America, September
2002).
www.tia.org/home.asp |
|
The Center
for Digital Government ranked Louisiana 2nd in Digital
Democracy, based on access to laws, candidate information and electronic voting
technologies, in its 2002 Digital State Survey. Louisiana also climbed from 25th
to 17th for E-commerce and Business Regulation, which
evaluates the availability of business information, the ability to conduct
business online, and the status of portals and e-procurement systems (The Center
for Digital Government, August 2002).
www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/02top25states-pt2.phtml |
|
Louisiana
climbed to No. 18 in the Small Business Survival Index, which rates the
policy climate for small business in each state by calculating government costs
to business (Small Business Survival Committee, July 2002).
www.sbsc.org/Media/pdf/SBSI2002A.pdf |
|
Louisiana’s START program is in the Top 5 in 529 investment plans in the
country, after netting 6.33 percent interest last year (Saving for College, July
2002).
www.savingforcollege.com/compare/investment_results.php |
|
Seven
Louisiana businesses made the BE 100 – which annual ranks the nation’s
largest black-owned businesses (Black Enterprise Magazine, July 2002).
· Winnfield Life
Insurance Co. – Natchitoches
· Williams-Progressive Life & Accident Insurance Co. – Opelousas
· Reliable Life
Insurance Co. – Monroe
· Aeneas Williams
Dealership – Monroe
· Lundy Enterprises
L.L.C. – New Orleans
· Liberty Bank &
Trust Company – New Orleans
· Dryades Savings
Bank, F.S.B. – New Orleans
www.blackenterprise.com/PageOpen.asp?Source=BE100Tab/BE100home.htm
|
|
Louisiana
ranked 19th in the country in terms of high-tech job growth
for 2001. The state’s three-percent growth was higher than the national growth
rate of just one percent (American Electronics Association, July 2002).
www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/idmk_cs2002_Louisiana.asp |
|
Three
out of the four 2001
SAFE award winners were to companies whose offshore divisions are run out of
Louisiana. The best in the oil and natural gas industry are annually recognized
for safe operations, environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility. The
Louisiana operations sited were: Danos & Curole Marine Contractors, Inc. –
Larose; Dominion Exploration & Production, Inc. – New
Orleans; & Exxon Mobil Corporation – New Orleans (Minerals Management Services, July 2002).
www.mms.gov/awards/allSAFEwinners.htm |
|
Louisiana
ranked in the Top 10 in the nation (7th) in The Princeton
Review’s first Annual Ranking of State Accountability Systems. The ranking is
based on the state’s complete accountability system, including academic
alignment, test quality, openness to public scrutiny and education policy goals
of the state (The Princeton Review, June 2002).
www.review.com/stateStudymsg.cfm |
|
Plaquemine
was named the Hottest Small Market of the Year by Southern Business &
Development, based on its outstanding achievements in economic development
(Southern Business & Development, June 2002).
www.sb-d.com |
|
Louisiana
ranked 5th in the percentage of manufacturing establishments
with Internet Access in the Progressive Policy Institute’s 2002 New Economy
Index (Public Policy Institute, June 2002).
www.neweconomyindex.org/states/2002/louisiana.html |
|
All seven
of Louisiana’s metropolitan areas made it onto the Forbes/Milken Institute list
of Best Places for Business and Careers. In the large metro category, Houma came
in at No. 33, Lafayette No. 70,
Baton Rouge No. 110, Shreveport-Bossier
City No. 165, and New Orleans No. 168.
In the small metro category, Monroe was ranked No. 22 and Alexandria No. 66. The rankings are based on
government data for employment and wage growth, job momentum, and critical
shifts within the vast technology sector, weighing gross tech output, technology
as a percentage of the total metro economy and the diversity within tech
industries (Forbes Magazine, May 2002).
www.forbes.com/2002/05/09/bestplaces.html |
|
Louisiana
remains in the top 10 in the prestigious Bloomberg annual tax survey,
which cites assessment differences from state to state and then ranks them for
their tax friendliness (Bloomberg Personal Finance, May 2002).
www.bloomberg.com/personal/archives/may_2002.html
· A for tax
friendliness to retirees (4th nationally)
· B+ for tax
friendliness to families (9th nationally) |
|
Louisiana
has two cities ranked as among the nation’s top 20 Wealth Builders –
areas that despite population growth below the median, had real per-capita
income growth above the median – New Orleans is
ranked 4th and Baton Rouge
ranked 19th (The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and
Metropolitan Policy, February 2002).
www.brook.edu/dybdocroot/es/urban/publications/gottliebexsum.htm |
|
Two
Louisiana companies, SCP Pool Corp of Covington and Orthodontic Centers of
America of Metairie, were ranked among Business Week’s list of hot growth
companies in the country. SCP Pool Corp at No. 26 and Orthodontic Centers of
America at No. 62 (BusinessWeek, June 2002).
www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_23/b3786601.htm |
|
AmericanStyle magazine ranked New Orleans 11th
in their list of Top 25 art destinations (AmericanStyle, June 2002).
www.americanstyle.com/Travel/Top_25.html |
|
Amitech
America Ltd. of Baton Rouge was named among the
Top 25 of new business projects based on new jobs (Plants Sites & Parks,
May 2002).
http://www.bizsites.com/2002/may/article.asp?id=61 |
|
Forbes
magazine ranked New Orleans No. 18 in its
annual list of Best Cities for Singles (Forbes, May 2002).
www.forbes.com/2001/05/10/singles.html |
|
The U-Haul
national migration trend report, reflecting the nation’s top growth areas for
families ranked Lafayette 38th
and Baton Rouge 50th (U-Haul, May 2002).
www.uhaul.com/pr/pr2.html?pr_lancaster_growth |
|
Baton Rouge’s
Amitech America Ltd. Project ranked as one of the Top 25 business projects
based on new jobs (Plants Sites & Parks magazine, May 2002).
www.bizsites.com/2002/may/article.asp?id=61 |
|
Calcasieu
Parish has been named one of the 50 hottest regions for business expansion and
relocation – coming in at 44 (Expansion Management, January 2002).
www.ExpansionManagement.com |
|
Louisiana is ranked 4th-best state for e-commerce
based on how state laws, regulations, and administrative actions support
Internet use by Louisiana citizens (Progressive Policy Institute, March 2002)
www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=107&subsecid=294&contentid=250162 |
|
DeRidder
is among the Top 20 Small Towns for Corporate Facilities, ranking 16th
(Site Selection magazine, March 2002).
www.siteselection.com/issues/2002/mar/p170/ |
|
Natchitoches has been named among the country’s top tax havens for retirees
(Where to Retire magazine, March 2002).
http://www.wheretoretire.com/ |
|
New Orleans
has been named one of the Best Biotech Locations in the South (Southern Business
and Development, April
2002).
http://www.sb-d.com/issues/winter2002/index.asp |
|
Louisiana
has been recognized as one of the Top 10 states in the nation in overall
education reform, 4th in the nation in standards and
accountability, and 16th in improving teacher quality
(Education Week, January 2002).
http://www.edweek.com/sreports/qc02/ |
|
Louisiana
is ranked 3rd in the nation in the percentage of accessibility
to public and private institutions (Lumina Foundation, January 2002).
http://www.luminafoundation.org/monographs/states.shtml |
|
Louisiana
has climbed to 2nd in the nation in percentage increase over
the last year in funding for postsecondary education. Over the last five years,
since Governor Foster has been in office, Louisiana has attained a ranking of
fourth in the nation in percentage increase in postsecondary funding (Grapevine
Center for Higher Education and Educational Finance, January 2002).
http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/grapevine/ |
|
The
Louisiana National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, a 17-month program targeting
high school dropouts, has been selected as the top ChalleNGe program for
Responsible Citizen and Leadership/Followership (National Guard Bureau, February
2002).
www.daremightythings.com |
|
Louisiana
was one of 18 states to be awarded Renewal Community designations and the
only state in the south to earn four. As a result of the Renewal Community
designations, approved by Congress and administered by HUD, Louisiana will
receive regulatory relief and tax breaks to help existing and new businesses
provide more jobs and promote community revitalization. Louisiana businesses
will be eligible to share in $17 billion in tax incentives to stimulate job
growth, promote economic development and create affordable housing. The Renewal
Community designation tax incentives are good for 7 years (HUD, 2001).
www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/ezec/index.cfm |
|
The
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has been recognized by the
Commission on Accreditation for Corrections as one of only three in the
country that has achieved full accreditation of its system. (ACA, November 2001) |
|
Louisiana
is ranked 45th in per capita taxation (U.S. Census Bureau,
2001).
www.census.gov/govs/statetax/00staxrank.html |
|
Louisiana is among the most
improved states in the Milken Institute’s New Economy Index, leaping from 45th
to 39th (Milken Institute, November 2001).
www.milkeninstitute.org/ecoindex/press.html |
|
Louisiana has maintained its B- grade over the past three
years in the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs annual ranking of
state government performance. (Maxwell School, 2001).
http://governing.com/gpp/gp1la.htm |
|
Louisiana
is in the top 10 in Most New and Expanded Corporate Facilities (9th
nationally) and Capital Investment per million residents (3rd). (Site
Selection magazine, March 2001).
www.siteselection.com/issues/2001/mar/p152/ |
|
Baton Rouge
is ranked 3rd-best midsized city for entrepreneurs
(Entrepreneur.com, January 2002).
www.entrepreneur.com/bestcities/ |
|
Louisiana
ranked in the top 20 (19th) for small-business friendly
states. (Small business Survival Index, 2001).
www.bcentral.com/resource/articles/harper/115.asp?cobrand=msn |
|
Black-owned businesses are growing significantly in Louisiana, especially in
New Orleans, with an 86 percent increase (companies with paid
employees only). (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2001).
www.census.gov |
|
Baton Rouge
is ranked 10th best small metro area for growing businesses. Lafayette is 13th and
Shreveport is 48th. Baton Rouge is 3rd for best cities for
small business. (Inc. magazine, 2000)
www2.inc.com/search/20849.html |
|
Louisiana
climbed to 5th in the rankings for its increase in health care
coverage for children, thanks to the success of the LaCHIP Program (Children’s
Defense Fund, July 2000).
www.childrensdefense.org/pdf/cdfchip_report.pdf |
|
Louisiana
jumped from its traditional rankings of 1st or 2nd in the
EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory to 12th in 1999 (last available
report) while increasing productivity. The annual survey ranks states based on
their amount of toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities
reported by manufacturing facilities. The vast majority of these gains were
accomplished through Louisiana’s industry-based voluntary Responsible Care
Program.
www.epa.gov/tri/tri99/pdr/execsummary.pdf |
|
LaCHIP is
recognized as a national leader in programs of its type. (Families USA, a
national consumer watchdog organization, October 1999)
http://familiesusa.org/ |
|
Louisiana
is eighth in the nation for new manufacturing plants with 68. (Site
Selection magazine, 2000)
www.siteselection.com/issues/2001/mar/p152/ |
|
Louisiana’s ranking for its use of technology in government has climbed from
44th to 18th (Center for Digital Government, 2000).
www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/survey.phtml |
|
Through a
federal program, New Orleans cut its infant
mortality rate by 38 percent, and premature births are down nine percent.
(U.S. DHHS, study period was 1993 – 2001) |
|
Louisiana
is first in dollars spent for historic preservation. Louisiana spent more
than a third of a billion in FY 2000, creating more than 9,000 jobs (National
Park Service, 2000). |
|
Louisiana
was second in tourism growth in 2000. The state saw 2.2 million more
visitors in 2000 than in 1999, for an increase of 22 percent. (Travel Industry
Association of America, 2000). |
|
Louisiana
is the most improved state in the United Way State of Caring Index, which
measures the social and economic health of the nation. The index covers areas
such as health, education, civic engagement, safety and other quality-of-life
areas. Chief area of improvement was public school per pupil expenditure.
Louisiana increased K-12 funding to three times the national level (from 1988 to
1998). And Louisiana’s support to non-profit groups grew more than 70 percent,
almost double the national rate.
www.unitedway.org/stateofcaring/state/LA_soc.pdf |
|
Louisiana's Department of Social Services was one of only 11 states in
the country to receive enhanced funding from USDA, Food and Nutrition Services
for FFY 2000. This was based on the state's Food Stamp payment error rate of
5.66%--the national average was 8.91%. This low error rate is especially
notable since Louisiana ranks 10th in the nation in the amount of food stamp
benefits issued. (Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, April 2001)
www.cbpp.org/4-30-01fs2.htm |
|
The most
recent study undertaken by the Department of Health and Hospitals Office for
Addictive Disorders shows that Louisiana continues to meet the goal of keeping
illegal rate of retail tobacco sales below its goal of 10 percent, with a rate
of 8.5 percent, one of the lowest rates in the nation. (DHH/Office of Addictive
Disorders, November 2001) |
|
Louisiana
got straight A’s in the prestigious Bloomberg annual tax survey, which
cites assessment differences from state to state and then ranks them for their
tax friendliness. (May 2001)
www.bloomberg.com/personal/archives/may_2001.html
·
A- for overall
tax friendliness (8th nationally) |