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This post is part of a five-part series called Relief to Recovery, an analysis done by Joseph Parilla and Sifan Liu of Brookings Institute.  With vaccine rates increasing and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) delivering flexible resources to localities and states, small business support remains a key priority for local leaders as theyRead more

Update: Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin has moved the date of the Fall 2021 form October 9 to November 13 due to Hurricane Ida.  In just a few weeks, residents around the state will vote on a few proposed amendments to our Constitution. On the October 9th ballot will be certain proposed amendments that willRead more

Original article written by Bhaskar Chakravorti for Harvard Business Review.  Finally, America appears to be taking bold action on fixing its fraying infrastructure. President Biden’s proposed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act–despite being negotiated down in a bipartisan deal–is a significant step in addressing one of the country’s most pressing, deeply rooted, and often overlooked problems:Read more

On Thursday, August 12, the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest round of information from the 2020 Census. The date shows changes to the demographic makeup of the country over the past decade, which states will now use to decide congressional redistricting procedures. The results are a snapshot of everyone living in the U.S. onRead more

In April, we posted a review of President Biden’s infrastructure plan done by Transportation for America. At the time, the plan was just recently announced; now it is a full fledged bill that is currently making its way through Congress. After some haggling between the Biden administration and a Congressional committee on the language ofRead more

Published on July 14, 2021 by Kristi Eaton for Smartcities Dive. Lucinda’s, a retail shop in downtown Wichita, Kansas, closed its doors for three months during the height of the pandemic last year. Closing a business that depends on foot traffic can be devastating for a business, said the store’s owner, Valerie Reimers. “It wasRead more

New portal will streamline applications for loans $150,000 or less for over 6.5 million businesses.  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is launching a streamlined application portal to allow borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA. “The SBA’s new streamlined applicationRead more

Governments can appropriate American Rescue Plan dollars to help the travel and hospitality industries rebound from economic devastation brought by the pandemic.  Article written by Andrea Noble, June 16, 2021; for Route Fifty.  States are restarting their economic engines this summer and several are planning to use federal stimulus dollars to help bring back tourists.Read more

The American Rescue Plan is delivering an unprecedented $350 billion in direct aid to state and local governments across the country and the sheer size of their share has many leaders overwhelmed. Acadia Parish has received $12.1 million in funding, and the seven municipalities in the parish have between them another $10.7 million, the amounts variedRead more

On June 30, 2021, Governor John Bel Edwards announced more then $315 million in federal coronavirus relief aid will be allocated to 290 Louisiana towns and cities under the American Rescue Plan to help them respond to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and support economic recovery. “The American Rescue Plan provided vital aid for communities largeRead more