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JESICA KINCAID, USA RICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, one potential opportunity for change in foreign policy is the U.S. relationship with Cuba.
So close yet still so far
The Trump Administration had curtailed Obama-era diplomatic and commercial improvements with Cuba, however, those tensions may once again start to thaw, though the level of engagement President Biden will undertake remains to be seen. An open trade relationship with Cuba would benefit many U.S. industries, especially the U.S. rice industry.
“Cuban per capita rice consumption is more than seven times that of Americans and with the capacity to grow less than half of the island’s needs, the country imports roughly 500,000 MT of rice per year,” said Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice director of international promotion in the Western Hemisphere. “For a brief period in the early 2000s, the U.S. was permitted to sell and ship to Cuba and consumers there were excited to have access again to our high-quality rice.”
In 2004, at the peak of the commercial relationship, 176,000 MT of long grain rice was purchased, making Cuba the sixth largest export destination that year.
“During challenging years, like 2020, with tough economic conditions and a sufficient long grain supply, the U.S. could have greatly benefited from an export market just 100 miles from our shores, and potentially outperform some of our export competitors like Vietnam and Brazil,” said Grigsby.
In support of a renewed relationship with Cuba, USA Rice joined with more than 20 other national agriculture trade associations in signing a letter from the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC) encouraging the new administration to resume efforts to normalize relations with Cuba.
The group urged restoration of regulations to those in place on January 20, 2017, suspension of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, and resumption of full operation of the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
Despite support from many in the agriculture community, there remain significant challenges to overcome before a gainful relationship with Cuba can resume. While the Biden Administration has indicated it intends to engage with Cuba, the extent to which they are willing and able to do so remains unknown. Many simultaneous problems, including the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing economic crisis, will likely take priority.
Grigsby added, “In addition to the changes requested in the letter, USA Rice also supports lifting of the U.S. trade embargo and removal of third-party financing restrictions for agricultural trade with Cuba, both of which require Congressional action in addition to Administration-driven regulatory changes.”

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Main Street Program was one of nine projects nationwide to receive grant funding through the Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program (HRSP).
The National Park Service, which oversees the HRSP grants, awarded Louisiana Main Street $662,000 for the rehabilitation and revitalization of commercial buildings around the state. Grant awards in the amount of $55,000 each will be given to owners or tenants of historic buildings located within officially designated Louisiana Main Street districts. Grants are available for either interior or exterior building rehabilitation projects.
To be eligible for the HRSP funds, a building must be located within a Louisiana Main Street district in a community with less than 50,000 population. The building must also be either individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a contributing element in a National Register Historic District. In addition, buildings that are eligible for either of these National Register designations but not currently designated can qualify. All proposed rehabilitation work must comply with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Deadline: Grant applications must be submitted online through the Submittable platform no later than for the grant cycle no later than March 31, 3021. Paper applications will not be accepted. Matching Funds: This grant requires a $5,000
monetary match toward hard costs. Matching dollars must be used for actual construction/restoration hard costs only. Contributions of design work or other sweat equity, equipment, etc., are encouraged, but are regarded as in-kind and cannot be used as fulfillment of the match requirement for the purpose of this grant.
This is a reimbursement grant: The grant award will be paid only upon completion of the work described in the approved scope of work that will be outlined in the grant agreement to be executed upon selection of the grant recipients. All grant-funded work must comply with:  The scope of work outlined in the grant agreement  The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation
Issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) by your local historic district commission does not guarantee that the proposed scope of work meets The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Louisiana Main Street may amend the proposed scope of work to ensure compliance with the Standards. Project Review Prior to Start of Construction: Grant recipients must meet with Louisiana Main Street staff or its designated representatives at the building site to discuss the Scope of Work and any design needs prior to beginning of construction.
Please contact, Charlene Beckett, Abbeville Main Street Manager, for more information: 337-652-2239 or email: abbevillemainstreet@cox-internet.com.
This project is supported through a grant from the Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program as administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior.

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Edward Freeland of Abbeville, Louisiana are pleased to announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Miss Whitney Renée Freeland to John Peter Hensgens of Gueydan, Louisiana. John Peter is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Landry Hensgens.
Whitney is the daughter of Patrick and Andrée Freeland and the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Alcee Freeland of Gueydan and Michael Pierre Broussard and the late Connie Minvielle Broussard of Abbeville.
Whitney is a 2014 graduate of Vermilion Catholic High School in Abbeville and a 2018 graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She is employed at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Paternal grandparents of the prospective groom are the late Nicholas and Doris Hensgens of Crowley, Louisiana. The maternal grandparents are the late Glady and Mary Trahan of Crowley.
John Peter is a 2013 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Crowley. He is presently a local rice and crawfish farmer.
The couple will be united in Holy Matrimony on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at six o’clock in the evening at Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville.
After the wedding, the couple will reside in Abbeville.

For those who travel on South Hospital Drive and have to take detours due to a bridge being out, it looks like ya’ll will continue to take that same detour for at least the next five to six months.
The bridge on South Hospital Drive has been closed for just over six weeks, and traffic has detoured three to five miles.
On Monday night, the Vermilion Parish Police Jury prioritized a list of bridges that needed to be repaired. There are 17 bridges on the list. The total cost to repair the 17 bridges is estimated to be $1.4 million.
The bridges are ranked, and the bridge on South Hospital is ranked No. 2 on the list. The estimated cost to repair the concrete bridge is around $90,000.
According to the list turned in to the police jury, South Hospital Drive Bridge is the most traveled bridge out of the 17 bridges. An average of 730 vehicles travels over the bridge each day.
The bridge that made the top of the list is the concrete bridge on Jude Road, which is located south of Erath. There is an average of 490 vehicles that travel on the bridge per day.
It is estimated to cost $150,000 to repair the cement bridge. Out of the 17 bridges on the list, $150,000 is the highest cost.
There are eight out of the 17 bridges that will cost $45,000 to repair.
The bridge on Moneaux Road, which ranks No. 12 on the list, will cost the police jury $145,000 because it is a combination of cement and timber.
The state closed the 17 bridges because of safety reasons. Some have been closed for more than a year.