For this weekend edition of New Orleans in the News, we have a Mary Landrieu op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that looks at the weight on the backs of small businesses in dealing with health care costs, the governor's decision to fire a state employee who had criticized him the day before, and some backlash to the president's upcoming trip to New Orleans.

WSJ: Landrieu: Health Costs Are Crushing Small Businesses

Sen. Mary Landrieu penned an editorial Thursday in the Wall Street Journal that calls for an increased focus on small businesses in The Capitol Hill's quest for health-care reform.

"Too much of [small business'] money is going toward high health premiums that are increasing faster than the prices of the products and services they provide--four times faster than the rate of inflation since 2001, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation," Landrieu writes.

The column's goal doesn't seem to be to ignite debate about specific policy decisions, since it doesn't point out concrete solutions; instead, Landrieu hopes to raise awareness of the burden on small businesses.

"Unless something is done, annual health-care costs for small firms over the next 10 years are expected to more than double to reach $339 billion in 2018," Landrieu writes. "As those costs increase, the burden will get heavier and force many of them to lay off workers. The Small Business Majority, an advocacy group, estimates that over the next decade about 943,000 small business jobs will be lost.

There is one telling statement, though, that Landrieu makes at the very end: "Small businesses--and all Americans--can't go another pay check without meaningful reform."

Landrieu has been non-committal on voicing support for a health-care bill, even saying she wouldn't vote against a filibuster if one came to pass. That last sentence, though, signals Landrieu is hoping for some kind of health-care bill, so long as it cuts costs for small businesses.

Landrieu, by the way, has already stated she "probably" wouldn't vote for a health-care bill that has a public option. If a health-care bill is put to the Senate floor without clear cost-cutting initiatives for businesses and includes a public option, there's a solid chance Landrieu would be one of the few Democrats to vote against it.

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Advocate: State worker's firing blamed on Katrina

A Baton Rouge Advocate story that details how Gov. Bobby Jindal fired state employee Melody Teague a day after she criticized state privatizing efforts is making waves on the blogosphere.

The Huffington Post and Think Progress picked up the story Friday, among many other blogs.

Jindal said the reason for the firing dates back to Hurricane Katrina and the Department of Social Services troubles in dispersing food stamps. Jindal told the Advocate an investigation had been ongoing for several months, and her remarks at the Commission for Streamlining Government forum in Jefferson Parish were "secondary" to the firing.

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Sun Herald: Group wants Obama to visit Coast

As you may have heard last week, President Barack Obama will make his first trip as president to New Orleans on Thursday. While the news thrilled many locals, it has some of the Gulf Coast feeling dejected and ignored, according to the Mobile Sun Herald.

The South Mississippi Gulf Coast Recovery Coalition, or STEPS, in Mobile goes as far as to protest Obama's trip, saying that the damages of Hurricane Katrina extend far beyond just the confines of the Crescent City.

"The impact has devastated the lives of many of the Mississippi Gulf Coast residents as it did New Orleans," the STEPS Coalition told the Sun Herald. "We are asking for the same opportunity to allow President Obama and his administration to witness our recovery as well."

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