Working with General Motors

August 19th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,
Governor Jindal at a Town Hall in Ball

Working with General Motors

Last Friday I traveled to Detroit to meet with the president of General Motors (GM) North America to reiterate the state’s support for their Shreveport facility. As reported by the New Orleans Times Picayune, we left the meeting assured that GM will play a vital role in Northwest Louisiana’s economy for years to come with a door still open for expansion in the future.

As GM continues to revamp their business model, we stand ready to assist them to ensure that the Shreveport plant can adapt to changing market conditions, such as converting equipment at the plant to make more fuel efficient vehicles. I am very pleased that we were able to have an open and honest discussion with GM, and I am looking forward to staying in close contact with GM on a monthly basis as the process continues.

 

Investing in our Coast

As we are now in the middle of hurricane season, we are constantly reminded of how important our hurricane and flood protection systems are. Last week, I announced more than $1 billion in funding for hurricane protection and coastal restoration, the largest single investment in these areas in our state’s history. As the New Orleans Times-Picayune wrote, “there are hardly more important goals for Louisiana’s long-term future than rebuilding our coast and improving hurricane protection.”

 

As I have said before, the time for studies and research has long passed. It is time to start breaking ground and digging dirt on these projects, and with this announcement we are ready to do just that. The money will go towards building stronger and safer levees, reinforcing existing levees, and helping rebuild our coast. While our levee systems are generally the focus of news coverage, rebuilding our coast is just as important to our state’s future. One study estimates that for every two miles of coastline we reduce storm surges by one foot, vastly improving the safety of our coastal cities and habitats.

 

As environmental groups said in the Thibodaux Daily Comet , “Louisiana’s spending plan is good news… [as] the plan includes a healthy balance of hurricane-protection and wetlands-restoration work.” These projects, along with nearly $15 billion in ongoing coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects in New Orleans and other areas of the state, represent one of the largest public works efforts in the world, showing our commitment to ensuring the safety of our gulf coast communities.

 

Expanding the Federal City Project

We also announced last week that the state and the United States Navy will soon be signing a 75 year lease agreement for the 149-acre Naval Support Activity New Orleans site, also known as the Federal City Project, on the West Bank of New Orleans. This lease shows the commitment of the United States Navy to investing in the complex, and opens the door for future development on the site.

 

The state has also strongly invested in the project, which will help retain an estimated 1,660 jobs in the New Orleans area and add roughly 300 new positions. Additionally, as retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Mize, who is spearheading the project’s development, said in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “when the lease is signed next month, planners anticipate more federal agencies will express interest in federal city.” Some local officials have envisioned thousands of new jobs at the site.

 

Our state has had a great working relationship with the military and our federal government, from Barksdale Air Force Base and NASA operations at Michoud, to Camp Minden and Fort Polk. The New Orleans area has plenty to offer federal agencies, and we will continue working with the Navy and other agencies to bring more jobs to Louisiana through the Federal City Project.

 

Sex Offenders

As the father of three young children, I am fully aware of the dangers faced by our kids everyday. It is important that we do everything we can to keep them safe, and we are getting ready to introduce a state-of-the-art registration system for sex offenders. As reported by the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, “an advanced database soon will be unveiled by State Police to replace an outdated system that relies on nearly 70 individually maintained databases at departments throughout Louisiana” and is part of a “continuing effort by law- enforcement agencies to deal with sex offenders.”

 

I have been a strong proponent of strengthening our laws against sex offenders since we took office, and this new database will be of great help for local and state law enforcement agencies by linking State Police, the Department of Corrections, and every sheriff in the state to keep track of those who would harm our children.  As the New Orleans Times-Picayune wrote, “The system, which enters a testing phase next week, will allow residents to more reliably identify offenders living in their neighborhoods and allow residents to be notified when one moves nearby. It also will provide law enforcement with detailed information about the offenders, including their address, vehicles and fingerprints.”

 

We have sent a strong signal that we will not stand down to those who seek to harm our children, and that Louisiana will fight back.
Governor Jindal takes questions at a Town Hall in Jeanerette.

Holding Town Halls

Over the past week I have visited Jeanerette, Napoleonville, and Ball to hear about your concerns and ideas for our state. Since we began these Town Halls last month, I have had the opportunity to speak with hundreds of people across Louisiana. One young girl named Emily in Ball handed me a hand-colored picture that she had made for the occasion. Emily, and children across our state, are the reason we must continue to create a New Louisiana, so she and others like her can pursue their dreams here in Louisiana. I look forward to traveling to Oak Grove later today, as well as Jonesville and Pollock later in the week.

 

Today, Tuesday, August 19

3:30 p.m. – West Carroll Parish, American Legion Hut, 400 North Johnson, Oak Grove

Thursday, August 21

Noon – Catahoula Parish, Catahoula-LaSalle Bank‎, 301 Mound St., Jonesville

2:45 p.m. – Grant Parish, Pollock Community Center, 3812 Pine Street, Pollock

 

Sincerely,

 

 Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

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