By Eileen Fleming
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wwno/local-wwno-965844.mp3
New Orleans, La. – Governor Jindal says he hopes viewers of sporting events in Louisiana pay attention to more than the games.
"It's also a great opportunity to tell the country, to tell the world, we're coming back . You can't buy the kind of publicity and attention we're going to get over these next several days."
Jindal told business and political leaders at the tournament that he's standing by his policy of no tax increases and setting up a business-friendly environment.
"For the first time in nearly three decades, for the last three years we've had more people move into Louisiana rather than leave our state. We've outpaced the national records, the national average by 40 percent when it comes to growing our state. What that means is our kids are beginning to come back. What that means is we're finally beginning to reverse that brain drain."
Jindal also defended his education policies, but did not mention the proposed merger of the University of New Orleans and Southern University of New Orleans. Critics say the move would hurt the historically black Southern University. The legislature is considering the proposal in the current session.
For WWNO, I'm Eileen Fleming.