Low grades: A new report gives Louisiana poor grades for child welfare. The nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book ranked Louisiana 42nd in education, 48th in overall child well-being and family and community, and 49th in economic well-being and health categories. Read more from The Center Square.
New leadership: Karen Profita is the new executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Baton Rouge. Profita, who has a background in real estate, previously has served in several prominent leadership positions in Louisiana, including CEO of the Capital Area United Way, vice president and executive director of the Audubon Society/Audubon Louisiana, and executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Marketing and Promotion Board.
Guilty: A former bank manager has pleaded guilty in Baton Rouge federal court to embezzling from a local Regions Bank. Eric Jason Schouest, 53, of Plaquemine, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to embezzlement and bank fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Schouest was a branch manager at the Regions Bank Plank Road branch from 2010 to 2021 and is accused of misappropriating more than $250,000. Read the announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
