stephanie riegel

If you're a certain age or a fan of British comedy, you might remember the standard introduction to any number of bizarre sketches on the 1970's TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus was, "And now for something completely different." On this edition of Out to Lunch we're taking a break from unrelenting weeks of disturbing or just downright bad economic news to look at three businesses who are continuing to exist in a parallel universe, beyond Covid 19.

Coffee

Coffee is the 2nd largest traded commodity in the world. Behind oil. After what’s been happening in the oil market over the last few weeks, it’s probably safe to say that, as of right now, coffee is the biggest commodity in international trade.

Drew Cambre is a professional coffee taster. It wouldn't be surprising if you didn't know "coffee taster" was an actual job. With the popularity of coffee drinking at a generational high and unemployment running at record levels, you might be thinking this is the kind of job you could do. Is it as fun and easy as it sounds?

Take a listen to this conversation and see what you think. Technically, Drew is Coffee Quality Manager at The Dupuy Group, a global logistics company headquartered in New Orleans.

Grass

Whenever somebody has a brilliant new idea for a business that’s going to make everybody rich, they pitch it as a version of another brilliant idea that is supposed to make everybody rich. Like, say, Uber.

The fact is, that even before this current economic downturn, Uber was losing billions of dollars a year. But that doesn’t stop entrepreneurs coming up with concepts based on Uber’s gig-economy model.

There’s Hampr, an app that’s “the Uber of laundry.” Bambino is “the Uber of baby sitting.” And now, from Baton Rouge, there’s Block Lawncare – the Uber of grass cutting.

The co-founder of Block Lawncare is Matthew Armstrong.

 What started out as “the Uber of grass cutting” is poised to be more than just a grass hook-up. Block Lawncare has its sights firmly set on world domestic services domination.

A Better You

Whatever you do, however successful you are, it seems to be human nature to want to do better. To have a better job, a better house, a better car…  

At the same time, even the most materialistic among us would probably say, we’d also like to be a better person.

To better ourselves in a non-material sense, we normally make a choice. We either go the secular route – go to therapy - or we go the spiritual route and join a church, or follow some other spiritual self-development philosophy.

Mary Margaret Camalo doesn’t believe you have to make that choice. Mary Margaret is a Transpersonal Psychotherapist who practices an approach to mental and spiritual health, called Psychosynthesis.

We typically think of mental health as having short term goals - like getting over depression – and spiritual growth as being a lifetime journey. Mary Margaret's Psychosynthesis balances these two seemingly opposed approaches to self-improvement.

As we look toward returning to some sort of normalcy, it’s good to remind ourselves that there’s life beyond the virus. And now for something completely different...

Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur, and more, are at our website.

If you're looking for more "And now for something completely different" business distractions from Covid 19, try this.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the US perspective, there are two predictable economic pillars we have always relied on: Oil and The Fed. We look at the price and supply of oil to calibrate our economic position in the global economy, and we rely on The Fed to insure our economic security. In the past 2 months we have had the pillar of oil completely yanked away from the foundation of our financial institution. Is another pillar, even more central to the US economy, The Fed really immutable? Starkly, is Doomsday possible?     

The Fed

Whenever we get into any kind of real serious financial trouble – like the recession in 2008, or the economic slow-down we’re in now – we’re confident that the world is not coming to an end. The reason we’re so certain that the financial system is not going to crash, is because we believe The Fed is not going to let it.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. It’s actually a series of 12 Federal Reserve banks. Here in Louisiana we’re in the Federal Reserve’s 6th District, anchored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The Vice President & Regional Executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is Adrienne Slack. In this conversation Peter Ricchiuti takes Adrienne back to a statement by the Chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell, on April 9th. Powell said, "The Fed will provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy. This funding will assist households and employers of all sizes, and bolster the ability of state and local governments to deliver critical services during the coronavirus pandemic.”

In other words, on April 9th The Fed gave the United States $2.3 trillion. The Fed is not actually printing money, but on April 9th it did in fact create $2.3 trillion that didn’t exist on April 8th. Adrienne explains how this works, and discusses the bigger question: could gthere be a day when it stops working?

Oil

Nothing sums up the strange and unprecedented economic times we’re living in more than a simple, three-letter word: Oil.

Maybe there’s a fiction writer somewhere who imagined the day oil became a worthless commodity that you had to pay someone to haul away, like garbage. But it's doubtful there is an economist on earth who saw that day coming. Or even the days we’re living in now, where we’re discussing what’s called “$20 oil.” That is, oil that sells for $20 a barrel.

What does it cost to produce a barrel of oil? In Louisiana the common wisdom has always been, around $60. Over the last couple of years though, the oil field seems to have been staying alive with prices of around $35 a barrel. Is $20 oil finally going to kill off the energy business in Louisiana? Keep in mind that the reason this matters is, the energy industry in Louisiana employs over a quarter of a million people. And it pays over $2billion in annual state taxes. So whatever happens to the oil business in Louisiana affects all of us.

One good thing about a business that is continually in a cycle of boom or bust, is predictability. A bust is always followed at some point by a boom. Or it has been. This time, though, it looks like we’re going to need a more robust survival strategy than “Wait for better times to come around.” Do we have that strategy?

Gifford Briggs is the lucky person who gets to answer that question. Gifford is President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

Crisis Leadership

No matter which part of Louisiana you live in, you’ve survived disasters. From catastrophic downturns in the oil business, to biblical floods, and storms. One of the most cataclysmic of these in our lifetime was Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans was brought to its knees in a way that, till it happened, had only existed as a theoretical “worst case scenario.”

Beyond the threat to life itself, hardship like that - and the crisis we’re going through now - creates enormous suffering. It also creates heroes. After Katrina, one of those New Orleans heroes was Blake Haney.

Blake is the owner of a business called Dirty Coast. Dirty Coast makes hip T-shirts with a New Orleans flavor. After Katrina, they also made a sticker. The sticker said, “Be A New Orleanian wherever you are.” Dirty Coast was then a small store. But demand was so great for those stickers that Blake gave away around one million of them. That slogan united a far-flung diaspora of New Orleanians and captured the resilience that directly led to the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Today, Dirty Coast has 4 outlets and a significant e-commerce component. Blake Haney still runs the company. He’s also the co-founder of locally.com, a nationwide e-commerce site that drives consumers to brick and mortar stores, and Bayou Brands, an e-commerce and product development consultancy. 

There are very few thought-leaders who have actually been on the front-line of rebuilding a shattered economy. Blake is one of them. Can the lessons he learned  last time be applied now to rebuild the local, state and national economy?

Photos by Jill Lafleur and more info is at our website. More examination of the current Louisiana economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the US perspective, there are two predictable economic pillars we have always relied on: Oil and The Fed. We look at the price and supply of oil to calibrate our economic position in the global economy, and we rely on The Fed to insure our economic security. In the past 2 months we have had the pillar of oil completely yanked away from the foundation of our financial institution. Is another pillar, even more central to the US economy, The Fed really immutable? Starkly, is Doomsday possible?     

The Fed

Whenever we get into any kind of real serious financial trouble – like the recession in 2008, or the economic slow-down we’re in now – we’re confident that the world is not coming to an end. The reason we’re so certain that the financial system is not going to crash, is because we believe The Fed is not going to let it.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. It’s actually a series of 12 Federal Reserve banks. Here in Louisiana we’re in the Federal Reserve’s 6th District, anchored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The Vice President & Regional Executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is Adrienne Slack. In this conversation Peter Ricchiuti takes Adrienne back to a statement by the Chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell, on April 9th. Powell said, "The Fed will provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy. This funding will assist households and employers of all sizes, and bolster the ability of state and local governments to deliver critical services during the coronavirus pandemic.”

In other words, on April 9th The Fed gave the United States $2.3 trillion. The Fed is not actually printing money, but on April 9th it did in fact create $2.3 trillion that didn’t exist on April 8th. Adrienne explains how this works, and discusses the bigger question: could gthere be a day when it stops working?

Oil

Nothing sums up the strange and unprecedented economic times we’re living in more than a simple, three-letter word: Oil.

Maybe there’s a fiction writer somewhere who imagined the day oil became a worthless commodity that you had to pay someone to haul away, like garbage. But it's doubtful there is an economist on earth who saw that day coming. Or even the days we’re living in now, where we’re discussing what’s called “$20 oil.” That is, oil that sells for $20 a barrel.

What does it cost to produce a barrel of oil? In Louisiana the common wisdom has always been, around $60. Over the last couple of years though, the oil field seems to have been staying alive with prices of around $35 a barrel. Is $20 oil finally going to kill off the energy business in Louisiana? Keep in mind that the reason this matters is, the energy industry in Louisiana employs over a quarter of a million people. And it pays over $2billion in annual state taxes. So whatever happens to the oil business in Louisiana affects all of us.

One good thing about a business that is continually in a cycle of boom or bust, is predictability. A bust is always followed at some point by a boom. Or it has been. This time, though, it looks like we’re going to need a more robust survival strategy than “Wait for better times to come around.” Do we have that strategy?

Gifford Briggs is the lucky person who gets to answer that question. Gifford is President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

Crisis Leadership

No matter which part of Louisiana you live in, you’ve survived disasters. From catastrophic downturns in the oil business, to biblical floods, and storms. One of the most cataclysmic of these in our lifetime was Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans was brought to its knees in a way that, till it happened, had only existed as a theoretical “worst case scenario.”

Beyond the threat to life itself, hardship like that - and the crisis we’re going through now - creates enormous suffering. It also creates heroes. After Katrina, one of those New Orleans heroes was Blake Haney.

Blake is the owner of a business called Dirty Coast. Dirty Coast makes hip T-shirts with a New Orleans flavor. After Katrina, they also made a sticker. The sticker said, “Be A New Orleanian wherever you are.” Dirty Coast was then a small store. But demand was so great for those stickers that Blake gave away around one million of them. That slogan united a far-flung diaspora of New Orleanians and captured the resilience that directly led to the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Today, Dirty Coast has 4 outlets and a significant e-commerce component. Blake Haney still runs the company. He’s also the co-founder of locally.com, a nationwide e-commerce site that drives consumers to brick and mortar stores, and Bayou Brands, an e-commerce and product development consultancy. 

There are very few thought-leaders who have actually been on the front-line of rebuilding a shattered economy. Blake is one of them. Can the lessons he learned  last time be applied now to rebuild the local, state and national economy?

Photos by Jill Lafleur and more info is at our website. More examination of the current Louisiana economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the US perspective, there are two predictable economic pillars we have always relied on: Oil and The Fed. We look at the price and supply of oil to calibrate our economic position in the global economy, and we rely on The Fed to insure our economic security. In the past 2 months we have had the pillar of oil completely yanked away from the foundation of our financial institution. Is another pillar, even more central to the US economy, The Fed really immutable? Starkly, is Doomsday possible?     

The Fed

Whenever we get into any kind of real serious financial trouble – like the recession in 2008, or the economic slow-down we’re in now – we’re confident that the world is not coming to an end. The reason we’re so certain that the financial system is not going to crash, is because we believe The Fed is not going to let it.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. It’s actually a series of 12 Federal Reserve banks. Here in Louisiana we’re in the Federal Reserve’s 6th District, anchored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The Vice President & Regional Executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is Adrienne Slack. In this conversation Peter Ricchiuti takes Adrienne back to a statement by the Chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell, on April 9th. Powell said, "The Fed will provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy. This funding will assist households and employers of all sizes, and bolster the ability of state and local governments to deliver critical services during the coronavirus pandemic.”

In other words, on April 9th The Fed gave the United States $2.3 trillion. The Fed is not actually printing money, but on April 9th it did in fact create $2.3 trillion that didn’t exist on April 8th. Adrienne explains how this works, and discusses the bigger question: could gthere be a day when it stops working?

Oil

Nothing sums up the strange and unprecedented economic times we’re living in more than a simple, three-letter word: Oil.

Maybe there’s a fiction writer somewhere who imagined the day oil became a worthless commodity that you had to pay someone to haul away, like garbage. But it's doubtful there is an economist on earth who saw that day coming. Or even the days we’re living in now, where we’re discussing what’s called “$20 oil.” That is, oil that sells for $20 a barrel.

What does it cost to produce a barrel of oil? In Louisiana the common wisdom has always been, around $60. Over the last couple of years though, the oil field seems to have been staying alive with prices of around $35 a barrel. Is $20 oil finally going to kill off the energy business in Louisiana? Keep in mind that the reason this matters is, the energy industry in Louisiana employs over a quarter of a million people. And it pays over $2billion in annual state taxes. So whatever happens to the oil business in Louisiana affects all of us.

One good thing about a business that is continually in a cycle of boom or bust, is predictability. A bust is always followed at some point by a boom. Or it has been. This time, though, it looks like we’re going to need a more robust survival strategy than “Wait for better times to come around.” Do we have that strategy?

Gifford Briggs is the lucky person who gets to answer that question. Gifford is President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

Crisis Leadership

No matter which part of Louisiana you live in, you’ve survived disasters. From catastrophic downturns in the oil business, to biblical floods, and storms. One of the most cataclysmic of these in our lifetime was Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans was brought to its knees in a way that, till it happened, had only existed as a theoretical “worst case scenario.”

Beyond the threat to life itself, hardship like that - and the crisis we’re going through now - creates enormous suffering. It also creates heroes. After Katrina, one of those New Orleans heroes was Blake Haney.

Blake is the owner of a business called Dirty Coast. Dirty Coast makes hip T-shirts with a New Orleans flavor. After Katrina, they also made a sticker. The sticker said, “Be A New Orleanian wherever you are.” Dirty Coast was then a small store. But demand was so great for those stickers that Blake gave away around one million of them. That slogan united a far-flung diaspora of New Orleanians and captured the resilience that directly led to the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Today, Dirty Coast has 4 outlets and a significant e-commerce component. Blake Haney still runs the company. He’s also the co-founder of locally.com, a nationwide e-commerce site that drives consumers to brick and mortar stores, and Bayou Brands, an e-commerce and product development consultancy. 

There are very few thought-leaders who have actually been on the front-line of rebuilding a shattered economy. Blake is one of them. Can the lessons he learned  last time be applied now to rebuild the local, state and national economy?

Photos by Jill Lafleur and more info is at our website. More examination of the current Louisiana economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Louisiana and parts of the rest of the country begin to re-open, there's a question about the economy that everyone is asking: What's going to happen to education, real estate, and retail? On this edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana we're asking local experts in each of these areas to tell us.

Retail

With apologies for the medical metaphor, retail was already on life support before Covid-19 shut down practically every store in the country. If you weren’t an online shopper before all of this, you probably are now. So, now that we’ve all discovered how easy it is to order online and have everything show up at our door two days later, what happens to our mom and pop stores, our art galleries, and everything else that has typically relied on foot traffic?

In Lafayette, we’re in the process of finding out the answer to this question, as stores are beginning to re-open.

Anita Begnaud is CEO of the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority. Anita, with Lafayette being one of the earliest parts of the state and the country to open back up, you’re a witness to history. What are you seeing in Downtown Lafayette?

Real Estate

One of the changes that has come with this health crisis, is the discovery many of us have made about working from home. At first it was something of a novelty. It felt like a long weekend. But now that we’ve mastered video meetings and found strategies for balancing work and family, we’ve discovered that not commuting has distinct advantages.

As businesses open up, many people who have unshackled themselves from the office are looking to continue the work-from-home habit. And from the employer side, if productivity stays the same and you don’t need office space, well, that’s a significant saving.

This might all sound great, but if even just 20% of us stayed home, and office space and everything that goes with it shrinks by 20% – like attendance at the food court and the nearby gym – what does that knock-on effect do to the economy? Let’s start with what it might do to the commercial real estate market...

Matthew Laborde, commercial real estate broker at Elifin Realty in Baton Rouge, looks into the future of working from home and has some insightful, evidence-based predictions.

Education

If you’re in college or you have kids in school, over the past couple of months you’ve learned a new word. And a new skill. The word is, “Zoom.” And the skill is, “Distance Learning.”

Up until sometime in March 2020, if you wanted to get an education you had to get out of your house and go to a classroom. Now you just have to go to your computer - or even your phone – and click on “Join Zoom Meeting.” And there you are, with the same teacher, the same lesson, even the same kids in your class. And it’s all going on in the comfort of your own home. Why would you ever go back to a classroom again?

Peter Ricchiuti puts this question to Tania Tetlow, President of Loyola University in New Orleans. Is the Zoom classroom revolution going to have a permanent effect on education? Or is it just a Covid convenience?

Find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at our website.

More analysis of the future of the Louisiana economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Louisiana and parts of the rest of the country begin to re-open, there's a question about the economy that everyone is asking: What's going to happen to education, real estate, and retail? On this edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana we're asking local experts in each of these areas to tell us.

Retail

With apologies for the medical metaphor, retail was already on life support before Covid-19 shut down practically every store in the country. If you weren’t an online shopper before all of this, you probably are now. So, now that we’ve all discovered how easy it is to order online and have everything show up at our door two days later, what happens to our mom and pop stores, our art galleries, and everything else that has typically relied on foot traffic?

In Lafayette, we’re in the process of finding out the answer to this question, as stores are beginning to re-open.

Anita Begnaud is CEO of the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority. Anita, with Lafayette being one of the earliest parts of the state and the country to open back up, you’re a witness to history. What are you seeing in Downtown Lafayette?

Real Estate

One of the changes that has come with this health crisis, is the discovery many of us have made about working from home. At first it was something of a novelty. It felt like a long weekend. But now that we’ve mastered video meetings and found strategies for balancing work and family, we’ve discovered that not commuting has distinct advantages.

As businesses open up, many people who have unshackled themselves from the office are looking to continue the work-from-home habit. And from the employer side, if productivity stays the same and you don’t need office space, well, that’s a significant saving.

This might all sound great, but if even just 20% of us stayed home, and office space and everything that goes with it shrinks by 20% – like attendance at the food court and the nearby gym – what does that knock-on effect do to the economy? Let’s start with what it might do to the commercial real estate market...

Matthew Laborde, commercial real estate broker at Elifin Realty in Baton Rouge, looks into the future of working from home and has some insightful, evidence-based predictions.

Education

If you’re in college or you have kids in school, over the past couple of months you’ve learned a new word. And a new skill. The word is, “Zoom.” And the skill is, “Distance Learning.”

Up until sometime in March 2020, if you wanted to get an education you had to get out of your house and go to a classroom. Now you just have to go to your computer - or even your phone – and click on “Join Zoom Meeting.” And there you are, with the same teacher, the same lesson, even the same kids in your class. And it’s all going on in the comfort of your own home. Why would you ever go back to a classroom again?

Peter Ricchiuti puts this question to Tania Tetlow, President of Loyola University in New Orleans. Is the Zoom classroom revolution going to have a permanent effect on education? Or is it just a Covid convenience?

Find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at our website 

More analysis of the future of the Louisiana economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Louisiana and parts of the rest of the country begin to re-open, there's a question about the economy that everyone is asking: What's going to happen to education, real estate, and retail? On this edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana we're asking local experts in each of these areas to tell us.

Retail

With apologies for the medical metaphor, retail was already on life support before Covid-19 shut down practically every store in the country. If you weren’t an online shopper before all of this, you probably are now. So, now that we’ve all discovered how easy it is to order online and have everything show up at our door two days later, what happens to our mom and pop stores, our art galleries, and everything else that has typically relied on foot traffic?

In Lafayette, we’re in the process of finding out the answer to this question, as stores are beginning to re-open.

Anita Begnaud is CEO of the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority. Anita, with Lafayette being one of the earliest parts of the state and the country to open back up, you’re a witness to history. What are you seeing in Downtown Lafayette?

Real Estate

One of the changes that has come with this health crisis, is the discovery many of us have made about working from home. At first it was something of a novelty. It felt like a long weekend. But now that we’ve mastered video meetings and found strategies for balancing work and family, we’ve discovered that not commuting has distinct advantages.

As businesses open up, many people who have unshackled themselves from the office are looking to continue the work-from-home habit. And from the employer side, if productivity stays the same and you don’t need office space, well, that’s a significant saving.

This might all sound great, but if even just 20% of us stayed home, and office space and everything that goes with it shrinks by 20% – like attendance at the food court and the nearby gym – what does that knock-on effect do to the economy? Let’s start with what it might do to the commercial real estate market...

Matthew Laborde, commercial real estate broker at Elifin Realty in Baton Rouge, looks into the future of working from home and has some insightful, evidence-based predictions.

Education

If you’re in college or you have kids in school, over the past couple of months you’ve learned a new word. And a new skill. The word is, “Zoom.” And the skill is, “Distance Learning.”

Up until sometime in March 2020, if you wanted to get an education you had to get out of your house and go to a classroom. Now you just have to go to your computer - or even your phone – and click on “Join Zoom Meeting.” And there you are, with the same teacher, the same lesson, even the same kids in your class. And it’s all going on in the comfort of your own home. Why would you ever go back to a classroom again?

Peter Ricchiuti puts this question to Tania Tetlow, President of Loyola University in New Orleans. Is the Zoom classroom revolution going to have a permanent effect on education? Or is it just a Covid convenience?

Find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at our website 

More analysis of the future of the Louisiana economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The journey we are on is leading us down a path that none of us have been on before. As individuals, as family members, as bosses or as employees, none of us know with any certainty what we're doing or where we're going. As a state we're in the same position. On this edition of out to Lunch, we're asking, Where To Now, Louisiana?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed so much about our lives, it’s hard to think of a part of our life that it hasn’t affected. But of all the changes, the biggest casualty - other than health - is employment. Currently, the number of unemployed people in the United Sates is hovering around a staggering 22 million.

Although this is a nationwide problem, the stop-gap solution to unemployment – the payment of unemployment compensation – is left to the states.

Unemployment compensation is structured like insurance. It works on the assumption that only a relatively small number of people will be unemployed at any one time. So, when 20 million people suddenly lose their job on the same day, how do states keep funding unemployment insurance and paying compensation?

Here in Louisiana, there’s a division of the Department of Labor that handles all aspects of unemployment. It’s the Louisiana Workforce Commission. 

The Assistant Secretary of Unemployment Insurance at the Louisiana Workforce Commission is Robert Wooley.

It’s possible that the massive number of people who found themselves out of a job can get re-hired just as quickly when things open up. But what happens if it doesn’t work out that way? What if the economy comes back slowly? How does the state keep paying unemployment benefits to tens of thousands more people than it budgeted for?

A Rare Opportunity For Self Reflection

Just a few weeks ago, the idea that we’d all stop our lives on the same day and be self-imprisoned in our homes might have seemed like the implausible plot of a dystopian series you’d see on Netflix.

But now that it’s really happening, it’s providing us with an un-imagined opportunity. Self-reflection. When things start back up, do you want to jump back into the exact same life you were living? Or could you use this period of suspended animation to reassess, and make some changes?

These are questions Dr Stephen Barnes is asking. Except he’s asking them about the State of Louisiana.

Dr. Barnes is Director of The Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. And he’s a member of a select group of economists and advisers on the Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference – a government panel that determines income projections that create the state budget.

Now that we’ve been forced to stop every non-essential business in the state, when we start up again, Dr Barnes is thinking we could do a few things differently.

There Are Still Job Opportunities out There

Even though there are more than 20 million people in the US right now who are not working, and that is an extremely high number, it’s not everybody. The total size of the US workforce is over 157 million.

Companies who remain open through this crisis, are hiring. Reportedly, Amazon is still looking after already hiring 100,000 people, and WalMart is aiming to hire 150,000. Here in Louisiana, workforce recruiters are actively looking for people to fill positions. One of those recruiters is Henry Shurlds.

Henry is Partner and Vice President of One Source Professional Search. On the company’s website there’s a home page message that says, “We’ve weathered multiple economic and natural disasters during our 17 years in business, each time emerging stronger, and are confident our trusted client partners and candidates will do the same.”

We’re all looking for good employment news about now. Believe it or not, Henry sees local companies in Louisiana emerging stronger from this crisis.

See photos from this show by Jill Lafleur on our website https://itsbatonrouge.la/2020/04/21/where-to-now-louisiana/

Last week's Louisiana economic analysis of Louisiana and the global economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The journey we are on is leading us down a path that none of us have been on before. As individuals, as family members, as bosses or as employees, none of us know with any certainty what we're doing or where we're going. As a state we're in the same position. On this edition of out to Lunch, we're asking, Where To Now, Louisiana?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed so much about our lives, it’s hard to think of a part of our life that it hasn’t affected. But of all the changes, the biggest casualty - other than health - is employment. Currently, the number of unemployed people in the United Sates is hovering around a staggering 22 million.

Although this is a nationwide problem, the stop-gap solution to unemployment – the payment of unemployment compensation – is left to the states.

Unemployment compensation is structured like insurance. It works on the assumption that only a relatively small number of people will be unemployed at any one time. So, when 20 million people suddenly lose their job on the same day, how do states keep funding unemployment insurance and paying compensation?

Here in Louisiana, there’s a division of the Department of Labor that handles all aspects of unemployment. It’s the Louisiana Workforce Commission. 

The Assistant Secretary of Unemployment Insurance at the Louisiana Workforce Commission is Robert Wooley.

It’s possible that the massive number of people who found themselves out of a job can get re-hired just as quickly when things open up. But what happens if it doesn’t work out that way? What if the economy comes back slowly? How does the state keep paying unemployment benefits to tens of thousands more people than it budgeted for?

A Rare Opportunity For Self Reflection

Just a few weeks ago, the idea that we’d all stop our lives on the same day and be self-imprisoned in our homes might have seemed like the implausible plot of a dystopian series you’d see on Netflix.

But now that it’s really happening, it’s providing us with an un-imagined opportunity. Self-reflection. When things start back up, do you want to jump back into the exact same life you were living? Or could you use this period of suspended animation to reassess, and make some changes?

These are questions Dr Stephen Barnes is asking. Except he’s asking them about the State of Louisiana.

Dr. Barnes is Director of The Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. And he’s a member of a select group of economists and advisers on the Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference – a government panel that determines income projections that create the state budget.

Now that we’ve been forced to stop every non-essential business in the state, when we start up again, Dr Barnes is thinking we could do a few things differently.

There Are Still Job Opportunities out There

Even though there are more than 20 million people in the US right now who are not working, and that is an extremely high number, it’s not everybody. The total size of the US workforce is over 157 million.

Companies who remain open through this crisis, are hiring. Reportedly, Amazon is still looking after already hiring 100,000 people, and WalMart is aiming to hire 150,000. Here in Louisiana, workforce recruiters are actively looking for people to fill positions. One of those recruiters is Henry Shurlds.

Henry is Partner and Vice President of One Source Professional Search. On the company’s website there’s a home page message that says, “We’ve weathered multiple economic and natural disasters during our 17 years in business, each time emerging stronger, and are confident our trusted client partners and candidates will do the same.”

We’re all looking for good employment news about now. Believe it or not, Henry sees local companies in Louisiana emerging stronger from this crisis.

See photos from this show by Jill Lafleur on our website https://itsneworleans.com/2020/04/21/where-to-now-louisiana/

Last week's Louisiana economic analysis of Louisiana and the global economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The journey we are on is leading us down a path that none of us have been on before. As individuals, as family members, as bosses or as employees, none of us know with any certainty what we're doing or where we're going. As a state we're in the same position. On this edition of out to Lunch, we're asking, Where To Now, Louisiana?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed so much about our lives, it’s hard to think of a part of our life that it hasn’t affected. But of all the changes, the biggest casualty - other than health - is employment. Currently, the number of unemployed people in the United Sates is hovering around a staggering 22 million.

Although this is a nationwide problem, the stop-gap solution to unemployment – the payment of unemployment compensation – is left to the states.

Unemployment compensation is structured like insurance. It works on the assumption that only a relatively small number of people will be unemployed at any one time. So, when 20 million people suddenly lose their job on the same day, how do states keep funding unemployment insurance and paying compensation?

Here in Louisiana, there’s a division of the Department of Labor that handles all aspects of unemployment. It’s the Louisiana Workforce Commission. 

The Assistant Secretary of Unemployment Insurance at the Louisiana Workforce Commission is Robert Wooley.

It’s possible that the massive number of people who found themselves out of a job can get re-hired just as quickly when things open up. But what happens if it doesn’t work out that way? What if the economy comes back slowly? How does the state keep paying unemployment benefits to tens of thousands more people than it budgeted for?

A Rare Opportunity For Self Reflection

Just a few weeks ago, the idea that we’d all stop our lives on the same day and be self-imprisoned in our homes might have seemed like the implausible plot of a dystopian series you’d see on Netflix.

But now that it’s really happening, it’s providing us with an un-imagined opportunity. Self-reflection. When things start back up, do you want to jump back into the exact same life you were living? Or could you use this period of suspended animation to reassess, and make some changes?

These are questions Dr Stephen Barnes is asking. Except he’s asking them about the State of Louisiana.

Dr. Barnes is Director of The Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. And he’s a member of a select group of economists and advisers on the Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference – a government panel that determines income projections that create the state budget.

Now that we’ve been forced to stop every non-essential business in the state, when we start up again, Dr Barnes is thinking we could do a few things differently.

There Are Still Job Opportunities out There

Even though there are more than 20 million people in the US right now who are not working, and that is an extremely high number, it’s not everybody. The total size of the US workforce is over 157 million.

Companies who remain open through this crisis, are hiring. Reportedly, Amazon is still looking after already hiring 100,000 people, and WalMart is aiming to hire 150,000. Here in Louisiana, workforce recruiters are actively looking for people to fill positions. One of those recruiters is Henry Shurlds.

Henry is Partner and Vice President of One Source Professional Search. On the company’s website there’s a home page message that says, “We’ve weathered multiple economic and natural disasters during our 17 years in business, each time emerging stronger, and are confident our trusted client partners and candidates will do the same.”

We’re all looking for good employment news about now. Believe it or not, Henry sees local companies in Louisiana emerging stronger from this crisis.

See photos from this show by Jill Lafleur on our website https://itsacadiana.com/2020/04/21/where-to-now-louisiana/

Last week's Louisiana economic analysis of Louisiana and the global economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As this pandemic unfolds, we’re hearing about how it’s affecting the global economy here at home. Although that might sound like an oxymoron, and “the global economy” might feel far removed from your daily life, for all three guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana, the global economy here at home is an integral part of their lives.

As the state’s second-highest ranking elected official, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is responsible for our connection to the rest of the world through the offices of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism.

Louisiana's Tourist Global Economy

The reason people visit Louisiana is primarily to experience what for us is everyday life. Our food. Our music. Our outdoors. Our Southern Hospitality. And so, it’s fitting that in this state these elements of our life, grouped together in the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, under the leadership of the state's second highest ranking elected official.

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser may well have thought that when he was President of beleaguered Plaquemines Parish in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he was fighting the biggest economic battle of your life. Now he's in the position of leading the State in what is going to be an even more daunting recovery, of unprecedented and monumental importance.

Louisiana's Fashion Global Economy

Ellie Schwing has a foot in two Coronavirus hotspots. New Orleans and Italy. Originally a New Orleanian, Ellie moved to Rome, in 2014. That’s where she founded and has grown a successful fashion business, BENE Handbags and Scarves.

BENE manufactures high end leather handbags and silk scarves that are Italian in style and quality, but retain a New Orleans sensibility, as a result both of Ellie’s background and her continued design collaboration with New Orleans artists.

Louisiana's Oil Global Economy

In Acadiana, Ragen Borel has an oil and gas engineering and manufacturing business called MAP Oil Tools. MAP does business with oil producers around the world, and has more employees in China and Dubai than here in the U.S. Since Ragen was last a guest on Out to Lunch Acadiana, only a few short months ago, everything about the oil business and her business, has changed.

See photos from this show by Jill Lafleur, and more, on our website https://itsbatonrouge.la/2020/04/14/the-global-economy-here-at-home/

Previous coverage of the Covid Economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As this pandemic unfolds, we’re hearing about how it’s affecting the global economy here at home. Although that might sound like an oxymoron, and “the global economy” might feel far removed from your daily life, for all three guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana, the global economy here at home is an integral part of their lives.

As the state’s second-highest ranking elected official, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is responsible for our connection to the rest of the world through the offices of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism.

Louisiana's Tourist Global Economy

The reason people visit Louisiana is primarily to experience what for us is everyday life. Our food. Our music. Our outdoors. Our Southern Hospitality. And so, it’s fitting that in this state these elements of our life, grouped together in the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, under the leadership of the state's second highest ranking elected official.

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser may well have thought that when he was President of beleaguered Plaquemines Parish in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he was fighting the biggest economic battle of your life. Now he's in the position of leading the State in what is going to be an even more daunting recovery, of unprecedented and monumental importance.

Louisiana's Fashion Global Economy

Ellie Schwing has a foot in two Coronavirus hotspots. New Orleans and Italy. Originally a New Orleanian, Ellie moved to Rome, in 2014. That’s where she founded and has grown a successful fashion business, BENE Handbags and Scarves.

BENE manufactures high end leather handbags and silk scarves that are Italian in style and quality, but retain a New Orleans sensibility, as a result both of Ellie’s background and her continued design collaboration with New Orleans artists.

Louisiana's Oil Global Economy

In Acadiana, Ragen Borel has an oil and gas engineering and manufacturing business called MAP Oil Tools. MAP does business with oil producers around the world, and has more employees in China and Dubai than here in the U.S. Since Ragen was last a guest on Out to Lunch Acadiana, only a few short months ago, everything about the oil business and her business, has changed.

See photos from this show by Jill Lafleur, and more, on our website https://itsneworleans.com/2020/04/14/the-global-economy-here-at-home/

Previous coverage of the Covid Economy is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Orleans might not have invented the concept of partying, but the city has certainly perfected it. Before the onset of this Covid Economy and before it became an alleged virus incubator, Mardi Gras in New Orleans was one of the most celebrated parties on earth. There are free parties every single night on Bourbon Street, and Frenchmen Street.

Even in the business world, New Orleans is known for socializing. Although conventions are meant to be places for doing business, there’s a reason Las Vegas and New Orleans are the country’s biggest convention destinations.

In New Orleans the worlds of tourism and conventions meet in the offices of an organization called New Orleans & Company - a city body that was formed by the recent combination of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of New Orleans & Company is Mark Romig. Mark has been a guest on Out to Lunch before, under happier circumstances. Back then we would never have imagined that we would be discussing the details of turning the New Orleans Convention Center into a hospital.

The Dr Is In: Will the Virus Cure Also Cure the Ailing Economy?

Among the long list of questions that nobody seems to know the answer to in this public health crisis, one of the most pressing is, When we finally get the spread of the virus under control and stop losing lives, will we also cure the Covid Economy?

There are not many people qualified to answer this question. Meet Steve Ceulemans.

Steve is originally from Belgium, where he got a degree in international business and management. After that, he got a Doctor of Science degree from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

You might well imagine that when Steve pursued these two very disparate avenues of academic study – business and tropical medicine – there were people who wondered if one would ever be able to use those two skillsets at the same time. Well, that time has arrived. As Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Health District, Steve Ceulemans is uniquely qualified to understand how this pandemic is undermining our economy.

Festival Fun Is Most Definitely Over

Remember the days before the Covid Economy? When you could go out to a restaurant? Or a bar? Or a music festival?

In Louisiana, we have over 400 festivals every year. From the internationally renowned – like Jazz Fest in New Orleans and Festival International here in Lafayette – to unique local favorites like the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, or the Rice festival in Crowley.

And then there’s the literally thousands of bars and restaurants across the state, with regional specialties like smoked meat in Ville Platte, boudin in Broussard, or the muffuletta in New Orleans.

For now though, our Louisiana way of life has come to a grinding halt.

It’s tough times for all of us, but especially for folks in businesses that rely on social gathering. Not just because they’re closed down, but also because of the uncertainty of what their businesses will look like when we get back to normal.

Gus Rezende owns seven food and drink establishments in Acadiana, including Tula Tacos and Central Pizza, and through his company, Social Entertainment, he’s the promoter of a handful of festivals, among them the Acadiana Poboy Festival. How is Gus positioning his businesses for re-opening, and is he getting and Federal help through the Cares Act?

Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur and more info is on our website https://itsneworleans.com/2020/04/07/the-covid-economy-april-7th-13th/

Last week's Covid Economy update is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Among the long list of questions that nobody seems to know the answer to in this public health crisis, one of the most pressing is, When we finally get the spread of the virus under control and stop losing lives, will we also cure the Covid Economy?

There are not many people qualified to answer this question. Meet Steve Ceulemans.

Steve is originally from Belgium, where he got a degree in international business and management. After that, he got a Doctor of Science degree from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

You might well imagine that when Steve pursued these two very disparate avenues of academic study – business and tropical medicine – there were people who wondered if one would ever be able to use those two skillsets at the same time. Well, that time has arrived. As Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Health District, Steve Ceulemans is uniquely qualified to understand how this pandemic is undermining our economy.

Festival Fun Is Most Definitely Over

Remember the days before the Covid Economy? When you could go out to a restaurant? Or a bar? Or a music festival?

In Louisiana, we have over 400 festivals every year. From the internationally renowned – like Jazz Fest in New Orleans and Festival International here in Lafayette – to unique local favorites like the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, or the Rice festival in Crowley.

And then there’s the literally thousands of bars and restaurants across the state, with regional specialties like smoked meat in Ville Platte, boudin in Broussard, or the muffuletta in New Orleans.

For now though, our Louisiana way of life has come to a grinding halt.

It’s tough times for all of us, but especially for folks in businesses that rely on social gathering. Not just because they’re closed down, but also because of the uncertainty of what their businesses will look like when we get back to normal.

Gus Rezende owns seven food and drink establishments in Acadiana, including Tula Tacos and Central Pizza, and through his company, Social Entertainment, he’s the promoter of a handful of festivals, among them the Acadiana Poboy Festival. How is Gus positioning his businesses for re-opening, and is he getting and Federal help through the Cares Act?

In New Orleans the Party Is On Pause

New Orleans might not have invented the concept of partying, but the city has certainly perfected it.

Before it became an alleged virus incubator, Mardi Gras in New Orleans was one of the most celebrated parties on earth. There are free parties every single night on Bourbon Street, and Frenchmen Street.

Even in the business world, New Orleans is known for socializing. Although conventions are meant to be places for doing business, there’s a reason Las Vegas and New Orleans are the country’s biggest convention destinations.

In New Orleans the worlds of tourism and conventions meet in the offices of an organization called New Orleans & Company - a city body that was formed by the recent combination of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of New Orleans & Company is Mark Romig. Mark has been a guest on Out to Lunch before, under happier circumstances. Back then we would never have imagined that we would be discussing the details of turning the New Orleans Convention Center into a hospital.

Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur and more info is on our website https://itsbatonrouge.la/2020/04/07/the-covid-economy-april-7th-13th/

Last week's Covid Economy update is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember the days before the Covid Economy? When you could go out to a restaurant? Or a bar? Or a music festival?

In Louisiana, we have over 400 festivals every year. From the internationally renowned – like Jazz Fest in New Orleans and Festival International here in Lafayette – to unique local favorites like the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City, or the Rice festival in Crowley.

And then there’s the literally thousands of bars and restaurants across the state, with regional specialties like smoked meat in Ville Platte, boudin in Broussard, or the muffuletta in New Orleans.

For now though, our Louisiana way of life has come to a grinding halt.

It’s tough times for all of us, but especially for folks in businesses that rely on social gathering. Not just because they’re closed down, but also because of the uncertainty of what their businesses will look like when we get back to normal.

Gus Rezende owns seven food and drink establishments in Acadiana, including Tula Tacos and Central Pizza, and through his company, Social Entertainment, he’s the promoter of a handful of festivals, among them the Acadiana Poboy Festival. How is Gus positioning his businesses for re-opening, and is he getting and Federal help through the Cares Act?

In New Orleans the Party Is On Pause

New Orleans might not have invented the concept of partying, but the city has certainly perfected it.

Before it became an alleged virus incubator, Mardi Gras in New Orleans was one of the most celebrated parties on earth. There are free parties every single night on Bourbon Street, and Frenchmen Street.

Even in the business world, New Orleans is known for socializing. Although conventions are meant to be places for doing business, there’s a reason Las Vegas and New Orleans are the country’s biggest convention destinations.

In New Orleans the worlds of tourism and conventions meet in the offices of an organization called New Orleans & Company - a city body that was formed by the recent combination of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of New Orleans & Company is Mark Romig. Mark has been a guest on Out to Lunch before, under happier circumstances. Back then we would never have imagined that we would be discussing the details of turning the New Orleans Convention Center into a hospital.

The Dr is In: Will Curing The Public Health Crisis Cure The Economic Crisis?

Meet Steve Ceulemans. Steve is originally from Belgium, where he got a degree in international business and management. After that, he got a Doctor of Science degree from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

You might well imagine that when Steve pursued these two very disparate avenues of academic study – business and tropical medicine – there were people who wondered if one would ever be able to use those two skillsets at the same time. Well, that time has arrived. As Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Health District, Steve Ceulemans is uniquely qualified to understand how this pandemic is undermining our economy.

Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur and more info is on our website https://itsacadiana.com/2020/04/07/the-covid-economy-april-7th-13th/https://itsacadiana.com/show/out-to-lunch/

Last week's Covid Economy update is here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the second week of Out to Lunch Baton Rouge's host Stephanie Riegel's link-up with Out to Lunch Acadiana host Christiaan Mader and New Orleans Out to Lunch host Peter Ricchiuti for a statewide look at our business and financial life in Louisiana in what has become this unprecedented Covid Economy.

If you live outside of Baton Rouge, and everything you know about the city comes from what you hear or see on the news, you’d be forgiven for thinking that nothing goes on here but politics.

That’s far from the truth. And it’s the reason the slogan of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber is, “There’s more to Baton Rouge than you might think.”

For starters, there are over 1,500 businesses and organizations that are members of the Chamber.

The function of the Chamber is to support those member-businesses, help them grow, and to make Baton Rouge such a great place to do business that other people will be attracted to start or move companies here.

But, what does a Chamber of Commerce do when there is no commerce?

Stephanie puts that question to the President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Adam Knapp.

Covid Economy Acadiana

In Acadiana, Lafayette is often referred to as “Hub City.” The reason for that is, Lafayette is the economic hub of the region.

The population of Acadania residents who shop in Lafayette, or go there to do business, is about 600,000. Once you figure in the oil and gas industry that pays $800m annually in local wages alone, plus the tech sector, the medical sector, and manufacturing – including one of the biggest jewelry manufacturers in the country - the economic impact of shutting down Lafayette rivals New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Lafayette's version of a Chamber of Commerce is the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, more often referred to by its acronym, LEDA.

The President and CEO of LEDA is Gregg Gothreaux.

Out to Lunch Acadiana host Christiaan Mader spends a good part of his day reporting on the impacts of Covid 19 in his role as publisher of the local independent news organization The Current. As a result, this conversation between Mader and Gothreaux is particularly insightful and illuminating.

New Orleans Unique Covid Economy

New Orleans' last total economic collapse wasn’t all that long ago. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina brought the city to a standstill. A large part of New Orleans’ economic recovery from that shutdown was driven by a Louisiana State initiative, called the Katrina Small Business Recovery Program. That program was headed up by Michael Hecht.

Michael is now President and CEO of an organization called Greater New Orleans Inc, a kind of super-charged Chamber of Commerce. Hecht is typically self-deprecating about his role in saving New Orleans after Katrina, but a lot of people credit him personally with saving small business in the city. Once again, we’re all looking for someone to tell us what to do to save small business in Louisiana, and beyond. Hecht's advice may, once again, turn out to be invaluable.

You can find further discussion about Louisiana's Covid Economy here.

Find photos by Jill Lafleur from this show and more information at our website itsbatonrouge.la

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the second week of Out to Lunch host Peter Ricchiuti linking up with Out to Lunch Acadiana host Christiaan Mader and Out to Lunch Baton Rouge host Stephanie Riegel for a statewide look at our business and financial life in Louisiana in what has become this unprecedented Covid Economy.

New Orleans' last total economic collapse wasn’t all that long ago. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina brought the city to a standstill. A large part of New Orleans’ economic recovery from that shutdown was driven by a Louisiana State initiative, called the Katrina Small Business Recovery Program. That program was headed up by Michael Hecht.

Michael is now President and CEO of an organization called Greater New Orleans Inc, a kind of super-charged Chamber of Commerce. Hecht is typically self-deprecating about his role in saving New Orleans after Katrina, but a lot of people credit him personally with saving small business in the city. Once again, we’re all looking for someone to tell us what to do to save small business in Louisiana, and beyond. Hecht's advice may agin turn out to be, literally, invaluable.

Baton Rouge's Unique Covid Economy

If you live outside of Baton Rouge, and everything you know about the city comes from what you hear or see on the news, you’d be forgiven for thinking that nothing goes on here but politics.

That’s far from the truth. And it’s the reason the slogan of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber is, “There’s more to Baton Rouge than you might think.”

For starters, there are over 1,500 businesses and organizations that are members of the Chamber.

The function of the Chamber is to support those member-businesses, help them grow, and to make Baton Rouge such a great place to do business that other people will be attracted to start or move companies here.

But, what does a Chamber of Commerce do when there is no commerce?

Stephanie puts that question to the President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Adam Knapp.

Covid Economy Acadiana

In Acadiana, Lafayette is often referred to as “Hub City.” The reason for that is, Lafayette is the economic hub of the region.

The population of Acadania residents who shop in Lafayette, or go there to do business, is about 600,000. Once you figure in the oil and gas industry that pays $800m annually in local wages alone, plus the tech sector, the medical sector, and manufacturing – including one of the biggest jewelry manufacturers in the country - the economic impact of shutting down Lafayette rivals New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Lafayette's version of a Chamber of Commerce is the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, more often referred to by its acronym, LEDA.

The President and CEO of LEDA is Gregg Gothreaux.

Out to Lunch Acadiana host Christiaan Mader spends a good part of his day reporting on the impacts of Covid 19 in his role as publisher of the local independent news organization The Current. As a result, this conversation between Mader and Gothreaux is particularly insightful and illuminating.

You can find further discussion about Louisiana's Covid Economy here.

Find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur and more information at our website https://itsneworleans.com/show/out-to-lunch/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the second week of Out to Lunch Acadiana's host Christiaan Mader's link-up with Out to Lunch New Olreans host Peter Ricchiuti and Out to Lunch Baton Rouge host Stephanie Riegel for a state-wide look at our business and financial life in Louisiana, in what has become this unprecedented Covid Economy.

In Acadiana, Lafayette is often referred to as “Hub City.” The reason for that is, Lafayette is the economic hub of the region.

The population of Acadania residents who shop in Lafayette, or come here to do business, is about 600,000. Once you figure in the oil and gas industry that pays $800m annually in local wages alone, plus the tech sector, the medical sector, and manufacturing – including one of the biggest jewelry manufacturers in the country - the economic impact of shutting down Lafayette rivals New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Lafayette's version of a Chamber of Commerce is the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, more often referred to by its acronym, LEDA.

The President and CEO of LEDA is Gregg Gothreaux.

Out to Lunch Acadiana host Christiaan Mader spends a good part of his day reporting on the impacts of Covid 19 in his role as publisher of the local independent news organization The Current. As a result, this conversation between Mader and Gothreaux is particularly insightful and illuminating.

New Orleans Troubled Past & Current Covid Economy

New Orleans' last total economic collapse wasn’t all that long ago. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina brought the city to a standstill. A large part of New Orleans’ economic recovery from that shutdown was driven by a Louisiana State initiative, called the Katrina Small Business Recovery Program. That program was headed up by Michael Hecht.

Michael is now President and CEO of an organization called Greater New Orleans Inc, a kind of super-charged Chamber of Commerce. Hecht is typically self-deprecating about his role in saving New Orleans after Katrina, but a lot of people credit him personally with saving small business in the city. Once again, we’re all looking for someone to tell us what to do to save small business in Louisiana, and beyond. Hecht's advice may agin turn out to be, literally, invaluable.

Baton Rouge's Unique Covid Economy

If you live outside of Baton Rouge, and everything you know about the city comes from what you hear or see on the news, you’d be forgiven for thinking that nothing goes on here but politics.

That’s far from the truth. And it’s the reason the slogan of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber is, “There’s more to Baton Rouge than you might think.”

For starters, there are over 1,500 businesses and organizations that are members of the Chamber.

The function of the Chamber is to support those member-businesses, help them grow, and to make Baton Rouge such a great place to do business that other people will be attracted to start or move companies here.

But, what does a Chamber of Commerce do when there is no commerce?

Stephanie puts that question to the President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Adam Knapp.

You can find further discussion about Louisiana's Covid Economy here.

Find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur and more information at our website https://itsacadiana.com/show/out-to-lunch/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Out to Lunch is  linking up with Out to Lunch Acadiana and Out to Lunch Baton Rouge for a statewide examination of our businesses and personal finances as we deal with the national public health crisis that is Coronavirus in Louisiana and life in the Covid Economy. 

Isolated in their respective homes, Peter Ricchiuti co-hosts the show along with New Acadiana host Christiaan Mader and Baton Rouge host Stephanie Riegel. 

On this inaugural edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana, Peter examines what the the slowdown of business and collapse of the stock market means to the future of stocks with veteran financial consultant, Ricardo Thomas. Is this like every other market turn down that will eventually correct itself and then some? Or are we really in uncharted waters here and therefore looking at a bigger change that we haven't seen before?

Christiaan Mader discusses the extent to which Acadiana has begun to feel the effects of the onset of the virus, from the oil field to Jefferson Street, with veteran local political insider and current CEO & President of United Way of Acadiana, Carlee Alm-LaBarr.

Stephanie Riegel introduces Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana's healthcare economist, Mike Bertaut, who reveals the scope of the current crisis for the healthcare company, for healthcare nationwide, and for the 1.6million Louisiana residents who are signed up with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Out to Lunch Louisiana will continue as a statewide program for the duration of the Coronavirus public health crisis.

Photos from the Zoom recording of the program by Jill Lafleur and more information at our website https://itsacadiana.com/show/out-to-lunch/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is linking up with Out to Lunch New Orleans and Out to Lunch Acadiana for a statewide examination of our businesses, and personal finances as we deal with the national public health crisis that is Coronavirus in Louisiana and life in the Covid Economy.

Isolated in their respective homes, Stephanie Riegel co-hosts the show along with New Orleans host Peter Ricchiuti and Acadiana host Christiaan Mader.  

On this inaugural edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana, Stephanie introduces Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana's healthcare economist, Mike Bertaut, who reveals the scope of the current crisis for the healthcare company, for healthcare nationwide, and for the 1.6million Louisiana residents who are signed up with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Christiaan Mader discusses the extent to which Acadiana has begun to feel the effects of the onset of the virus, from the oil field to Jefferson Street, with veteran local political insider and current CEO and President of United Way of Acadiana, Carlee Alm-LaBarr.

Peter Ricchiuti examines what the the slowdown of business and collapse of the stock market means to the future of stocks with veteran financial consultant, Ricardo Thomas. Is this like every other market turn down that will eventually correct itself and then some? Or are we really in uncharted waters here and therefore looking at a bigger change that we haven't seen before?

Out to Lunch Louisiana will continue as a statewide program for the duration of the public health crisis of Coronavirus in Louisiana.

Photos from the Zoom recording of the program by Jill Lafleur and more information at our website https://itsacadiana.com/show/out-to-lunch/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.