Downsizing: Walgreens on Tuesday announced it plans to close roughly 1,200 of its stores over the next three years, including 500 in fiscal 2025. The closures come as the retail drugstore chain continues to cut costs as it grapples with soft consumer spending and pharmacy reimbursement pressure. Read more from CNBC.
Lights, camera, action: Louisiana’s motion picture tax credit program has issued over $500 million in tax credits to various projects since 2018. The Motion Picture Production Program offers up to a 40% tax credit on qualified in-state expenditures, making it one of the most generous incentives for film producers in the country. However, as the state grapples with the financial strain of its looming $1.5 billion budget shortfall, critics argue the program’s benefits do not justify its high cost. Read more from The Center Square.
National leader: The numbers suggest New Orleans is leading a national decline in reported violence. While the FBI ‘s quarterly data reveals a 10% decrease in violent crime nationwide, and a 23% decrease in murder, New Orleans’ slide has been steeper than that—39% for murders and 46% for non-fatal shootings. The decrease is in part thanks to technological investments made by the police department across the French Quarter and stretches across the city—an expanding array of powerful lenses, police drones and a few hundred vehicle license-plate readers—which has facilitated an increase in arrests large and small. Read more from Governing.
