St. Mary Parish officials are hopeful about the future of the area’s economy after a substantial increase in parish sales and use tax collections in February compared to February 2017. However, the latest employment statistics in January showed an increase in the unemployment rate and decrease in the number of jobs from December 2017. February collections showed “a robust increase in revenue over last February,” Parish Sales and Use Tax Director Jeff LaGrange said in an email. Two compliance audits “netted a healthy collection to make February one of the most positive in quite some time,” LaGrange said. Officials collected ...