Houma ranks #442 in U.S. cities with the lowest average student debt balances

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Houma ranked #442 in LendEDU’s newest report detailing the cities throughout the U.S. with the lowest average student debt balances.

The rankings for this report were developed by licensing Experian’s most recent financial data. More than 10,000 cities throughout the U.S. were analyzed for their average student debt balance. And, Houma ranked as having one of the lowest average student debt balances!

The full report and methodology can be found here:

https://lendedu.com/blog/u-s-cities-highest-lowest-student-debt-balances/

 


 

Your Pie: Craft pizza and beer eatery coming to Houma

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A new casual craft pizza and beer restaurant will open in Houma late this summer offering pizza and panini, as well as gelato and craft beer.

Your Pie is set to open Aug. 1 at 1378 W. Tunnel Blvd. Aug. 1, across from the Plantation Inn, but Ricky Reaves, the owner and local entrepreneur, said he’s aiming to open a bit sooner.

How does Louisiana rate among the other 50 states on property taxes?

Where Does Your State Stand?

Louisiana is #38

Effective Tax Rate: 0.71%

Average Home Value: $183,591

Average Property Tax: $1,302

Highest Average Metro Property Tax: New Orleans, $1,864

Total Single-Family Homes: 1,303,899

Total Property Taxes: $1,698,204,632

American homeowners paid property taxes totaling nearly $278 billion in 2016, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, the nation's largest property database. That means that each of the country's 84 million single-family homeowners paid an average of $3,296 in property taxes, which amounts to an average 1.15% effective tax rate.

 

Houma Ranked #171 in LendEDU's Best Cities for Staying in Shape Report

Not only is staying in shape entirely up to you, but choosing what city to live in is also in your control. LendEDU’s Best Cities for Staying in Shape report will help you make the right decision by blending those two choices together.

Mr. Kerry Chauvin completes his term on TEDA's Board of Directors

                         KERRY CHAUVIN               &…

                         KERRY CHAUVIN

                   BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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TEDA's Board President, Mr. Chad Hebert, shows appreciation to Mr. Kerry Chauvin for his time served as President on the Board of Directors.  Thank you Kerry for your generous commitment of time, support and inspiration to TEDA. 

Houma company, Marine CFO, teamed up with Lloyd's Register on new software product

Partnerships Drive SubChapter M Solutions

Unless you’ve been lost at sea for the last few years, you know about Subchapter M. You know the June publication of the U.S. Coast Guard’s regulations for ensuring minimum safety standards on tows and tugs, which will extend inspection requirements to the majority of these vessels for the first time, moved the long-awaited, and in some cases, dreaded program from the haze of eventually out into the cold light of day.

New vessel being built for Houma-based Seacor Marine

Seacor Marine LLC is set to take delivery of the 194’x32’x15′ aluminum fast support vessel Liam J. McCall from Franklin, La.-based Gulf Craft LLC. Designed by Incat Crowther, the new FSV is part of what Seacor calls its Express Plus-Plus Class FSVs. The Liam J. McCall has a 9.08′ draft and is designed to carry a crew of 16 and have passenger capacity for up to 58 offshore workers. Its mission is high-speed passenger and cargo transport and emergency evacuation.

Business Dreams become reality for mom

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For Nicole Reding, a native of Cut Off, opening a vintage re-sale clothing store in downtown Houma had been a dream she had been working toward for more than two years as she collected inventory at her home and struggled to find a location for her business.

Tulane to honor Buquet and Gleason as Entrepreneurs of the Year

Freeman News

Business executive J.J. Buquet, left, and ALS activist Steve Gleason, right, will be honored as Tulane University’s 2017 Entrepreneurs of the Year at the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards Gala on April 20 at the Audubon Tea Room. . (Buquet photo courtesy of the Buquet family; Gleason photo by Jackson Hill)

 

SBDC Success Story - Martial Art Studio

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Nathan Parfait, owner of Martial Art Studio, came to the SBDC to seek assistance with his loan package. Nathan worked with the SBDC to do the financial projections and loan packaging that resulted in capital formation of $145,135 ($130,135 Loan and $15,000 Owner Investment). Since Martial Arts Studio has received funding, they have expanded their program to an After School and Summer Camp program, and increased their sales by $96,000. The business has also added a program for when kids are out of school (School Year camps). Overall Martial Arts Studio has impacted the local economy by adding 1 Full Time and 6 Part Time employees. During the summer Martial Arts Studio employed 20 Part Time employees for the summer camp.

This year they are opening their 2nd location in Thibodaux. The company is looking to hire another Full Time and 4 Part Time Employees. Parfait says, "When this location gets moving and we have a solid growth like the Houma location, we will open a third location in either Raceland or Morgan City."

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Martial Art Studio
130 Alliance Court, Houma
www.martialartstudio.net
985-772-1861

February’s monthly job growth shows significant gains throughout Louisiana

BATON ROUGE – Job creation in Louisiana is showing considerable gains in key areas for the first time in more than a year, according to the most recent released data by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) for February 2017.   See complete article below. 

LA oil and gas struggles to bounce back with 1,800 jobs lost in January

TERREBONNE PARISH, LA (WVUE) - The latest job numbers for Louisiana's oil and gas show the industry is not bouncing back as quickly as expected. 

The industry lost 1,800 jobs in January, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.  

To see more of this article and video, please click below.  Thank you!

Copyright 2017 WVUE. All rights reserved.

Village East to get Community Center and Splash Park

By Dan Boudreaux Staff Writer of the Houma Courier

Plans are underway to build a new community center and splash pad in Terrebonne's Village East neighborhood.

The project will cost around $875,000, and the money has already been allocated in parish government's 2017 operating budget.

The Parish Council voted tonight to move forward with the project.

Councilman John Navy said the project will give kids in and around east Houma who can't travel to other parts of the city something to do and allow them to stay active and out of trouble.

"We budgeted this thing for the community centers to try to have things for kids in all areas of the parish, especially for kids who can't go to other areas to enjoy those things," Navy said. "Bayou Black has a splash pad, so what we did was try to have something like that for all those kids out in the Village East area and surrounding areas that have nothing to do."

Navy said measures to give children something constructive to do are a major focus for him as a councilman and he hopes they will benefit the entire parish.

"We want to be able to provide some kind of quality-of-life project for our kids, not just the 'field of dreams' off on (La.) 311, but different things down the bayou, in the inner city, all different areas," Navy said.

The parish expects to take bids on construction of the community center next month.

The council has scheduled a public hearing and final vote on the splash pad for 6:30 p.m. March 22 at the Government Tower, Main and Gabasse streets in Houma.

$3 Million in Healthcare Investment comes to Houma

Global healthcare company Grifols opens Biomat USA Inc. plasma donation center in Houma on Feb. 14, investing $3 million into the local community. The new facility, at 1750 MLK Blvd, will provide as many as 50 local jobs once fully operational.

"We are so excited to be opening in Houma," said Chad Parr, center manager. "I expect this facility to be a benefit to our local economy while also helping to save the lives of thousands of patients around the world."

Plasma donated at Grifols plasma donor centers is used to produce important medicines for people with rare and serious conditions, such as immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders, a rare neurological disorder, a genetic form of emphysema and to treat shock, trauma and burns. Grifols operates the largest network of plasma donor centers in the world that includes over 160 centers in the United States.

Grifols expects the facility will ultimately contribute more than $3.6 million annually to the local economy through payroll, donor fees and other operating expenses. TEDA expects it will generate approximately $1.6 million in new taxes for the parish over the next 10 years.

"TEDA is pleased that Grifols chose Houma for its newest plasma donation center," said Matt Rookard,  CEO for TEDA.  "The new facility represents a sizeable capital investment and good job opportunities for local health care professionals. Additionally, it will allow more dollars to flow into the local economy. We are looking forward to adding another new business to our great community." 

Fletcher Nursing Program ranks number 8 in the state

Fletcher Technical Community College's Associate of Science in Nursing program was ranked number 8 in the top 10 best RN programs in Louisiana by RegisteredNursing.org.  The ranking was based on the number of students who pass the NCLEX-RN exam.