Cajun buys land for WBR facility
Cajun Constructors recently closed the purchase of about 50 acres in West Baton Rouge Parish, but president Todd Grigsby says the company has not yet decided what to do with it. Options for the site near the Intracoastal Canal and Interstate 10 include building a facility to expand the company’s marine division, currently based in Abbeville, or relocating the trucking division to the site. The state bond commission says Cajun's new multipurpose facility planned for Port Allen and an expansion of the company’s Airline Highway headquarters are expected to create about 75 construction jobs and about 25 new permanent jobs. Bond funding for the project has yet to be approved. --David Jacobs
Scandal hasn't hurt Vitter, survey says
U.S. Sen. David Vitter is still popular with Louisiana voters, despite being caught in a prostitution scandal earlier this summer. According to a poll by Southern Media & Opinion Research, 66.7% of voters say they either strongly approve or somewhat approve of Vitter's job performance. Politico.com, an online newsletter, notes that Southern Media hadn't polled voters before on Vitter's job approval, so there was nothing with which to compare the numbers. The survey was taken earlier this month as part of a larger poll on the governor's race. In a news release, Southern Media notes that Vitter's image of not being "one of the good old boys of Louisiana politics" is more important to voters than revelations that his phone number turned up in the black book of the "D.C. Madam."
LSU prof says grass can fight termites, levee leaks
The Wall Street Journal has a front-page profile of Gregg Henderson, an entomologist at the LSU AgCenter, who is touting a cure for two issues that plague New Orleans -- levee leaks and termites. Henderson says vetiver grass, a tall grass with a massive root structure, could reinforce levees and discourage the Formosan termites gobbling up the Crescent City. Vetiver grass repels termites and other bugs. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is skeptical of Henderson's claims and concerned about introducing a non-native plant, which could be a problem if vetiver is invasive. Read the article here.
National health group lobbying against settlement sale
As Gov. Kathleen Blanco continues with her plan to sell of the remaining portion of the state’s 1998 tobacco settlement for potentially billions of upfront dollars, the American Heart Association is launching a grassroots campaign to convince lawmakers to block the deal. Terri R. Broussard, AHA’s regional advocacy director, says roughly 5,000 postcards have been mailed to volunteers to help organize the drive. The mailer includes an image of a broken piggy bank and asks the reader to keep the “current tobacco settlement payments in the dedicated trust funds, and use the interest to fund programs that improve the health of Louisianians.” Letters to various newspapers have also been penned and media interviews are being lined up. “Right now we’re taking it slow and starting on a grassroots level,” Broussard says. “We’re monitoring what the governor is doing and deciding how to act next. We don’t want to apply too much pressure if we don’t need to.” Largely opposed by Republicans and fiscal conservatives, the settlement sale would benefit education, health care and coastal restoration, as outlined by the state Constitution. Opponents argued during the recent regular session that the timing was off and Louisiana stood to lose money due to market conditions -- thus killing the proposal, some thought. Through Jim Baronet, a spokesperson for the Division of Administration, Blanco said last week that she is still proceeding with the sale and would rely on a mail ballot of the state Legislature for approval. --Jeremy Alford
Capital Chefs' Showcase set
Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge will hold its 25th annual Capital Chefs' Showcase at 7 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the Holiday Inn Select. More than 25 local chefs and caterers will participate in the event, and proceeds will be used to for medical supplies, wigs, transportation and support for area cancer patients. For more information, go to cancerservices.org or call 927-2273.
News roundup: Blanco named inspiring woman by 'Self' magazine; Number of Realtors drops
She's an inspiration: Gov. Kathleen Blanco has been named one of Self magazine's "10 Most Inspiring Women." Blanco was included in a group with the nation's eight other female governors, who were applauded for showing that women were ready to lead. Also on the list: Maya Angelou, Jessica Simpson, Oprah Winfrey and Aimee Mullins, a double amputee who competed against able-bodied athletes. The new issue of Self is on newsstands. Slump in market hits agents: The National Association of Realtors says it expects membership to drop for the first time in a decade, reports The Associated Press. The organization ended 2006 with nearly 1.4 million members but expects a 4% this year, to end with 1.3 million. Realtors associations in California and Florida also forecast declining membership this year. The slumping real estate market is being blamed for the shrinking number of agents.
