This Morning's Headlines / Tue, Sept. 25, 2007
News Alert: Road Home expected to run out of money, without more aid
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The head of the Louisiana Recovery Authority says the cash-short Road Home program for homeowners with hurricane damage will run out of money by the end of the year without additional help from Congress. That would leave 76,000 eligible homeowners without aid. For the full story, click here .
Survey: EBR voters want say on Pinnacle project
Nearly 95% of East Baton Rouge Parish voters say they want to go to the polls to decide if Pinnacle Entertainment can build a casino resort on River Road and not have the Metro Council decide the issue. The poll, conducted by Survey Communications Inc. on behalf of Pinnacle, involved dialing nearly 102,000 households in the past month and a half. Results were broken down by Metro Council districts, but there was little variety--at least 93% of the respondents in every district wanted a vote. Pinnacle is asking the Metro Council to hold a local option vote for its Riviere resort in February.
Physicians say B.R. university hospital is long overdue
A group of local doctors is imploring the LSU Board of Supervisors, the chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center and the president of the LSU System to "press forward urgently" in building a university hospital in Baton Rouge to replace Earl K. Long Medical Center, which is dilapidated and facing loss of accreditation. The process has become mired in what seems to be a "politically generated, stagnant, backward-looking paralysis," according to a letter signed by six physicians and endorsed by the presidents of the East Baton Rouge Medical Society and the East Baton Rouge Medical Association. Dr. Benton Dupont, one of the signers, says the shift in physician-training to Baton Rouge from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina increased the pressure on Earl K. Long, private hospitals and physicians groups, making the case for a new university hospital more obvious than ever. LSU officials say finding land suitable for a new Baton Rouge hospital has been difficult. Dupont thinks LSU is distracted by the debate over a New Orleans hospital and reinventing its health care system post-Katrina. Baton Rouge's rank-and-file doctors community, meanwhile, is frustrated and hasn't had a voice until now, he says. "Were having a hard time getting heard here," Dupont says. --Steve Clark
Baker shopping center sold for $3.53 million
A shopping center on Plank Road in Baker has been sold to a group of local investors for $3.53 million in a deal that was filed Monday. Plank Crossing Shopping Center bought the 138,000-square-foot building, which is located across from the Wal-Mart Supercenter. Collier Thornton, one of the partners in Plank Crossing, says the plans are to overhaul the center in order to attract more national tenants who want to be near Wal-Mart and the Lowe's store that's rumored for nearby. "We've got a slew of tenants we want to work with," says Thornton, who co-brokered the deal with Chris Dozier. About half of the center is leased by the Cerberus group, which about a year ago closed the Albertsons store that served as an anchor. Thornton says Cerberus has a lease for the next 3 1/2 years. "Our long-term goal is to fill up the rest of the center," he says. --Timothy Boone
State wants Corps office in Baton Rouge
State officials have been meeting with the feds in recent weeks in an effort to change the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the inside out. For starters, the state wants the feds to integrate coastal restoration, hurricane protection and flood control. By forming the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Legislature brought it all under one umbrella on the state level. Sidney Coffee, the governor’s advisor on coastal issues and chair of the CPRA, says that would mean, for instance, the design of a levee alignment would take into account a nearby restoration project. More importantly, though, state officials are lobbying to have the corps set up a Baton Rouge office. Presently, district operations are run out of New Orleans. With recovery starting to truly pick up, Coffee and others argue that a “permanent presence” needs to be established in the heart of state government. “I’ve been seeing some movement in all of these talks,” Coffee says. “I see progress, and we’re continuing to meet with federal agencies.” --Jeremy Alford
Movie Gallery plans to close 520 stores
Movie Gallery announced today it plans to close about 520 underperforming video stores, including two in Louisiana. The chain will close locations in Donaldsonville and Shreveport. A company spokeswoman says no date has been set for those locations to close, but clearance sales will start in the next few days. The shutdowns will leave Movie Gallery with nearly 4,000 stores across the U.S.
Baker pushes rail reform
U.S. Rep. Richard Baker is co-sponsoring a measure at increasing competition in the freight rail industry. Since 1980, after Congress passed the Staggers Act (which deregulated the railroad industry to a significant extent), Baker says the number of railroads has dropped from 40 to seven, with four companies controlling 95% of business. "Our national policies have thwarted healthy market competition and held captive industries that rely on freight rail," Baker says. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is discussing the measure in hearings this morning.
Board of Regents study finds space travel makes germs stronger
A study supported by the Louisiana Board of Regents found that strains of salmonella sent into space came back to earth stronger. Mice that were fed the germs that took a ride on the space shuttle were three times more likely to get sick and died faster than those fed identical germs that stayed on Earth, reports The Associated Press. Scientists at Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at Arizona State University are now looking at what makes the germ become stronger and think it has to do with microgravity.
Portland post card: A shameful past and big salaries
Business ReportExecutive Editor JR Ball wraps up the highlights of the second day of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber's canvas to Portland. Local leaders heard about Portland's past of racism and political corruption (sound familiar?) and how the city moved on, the agency that makes Portland one of the most livable cities in the U.S. and about the amazing salaries offered by Intel, a major employer in the area. Read his column here.
'Real Estate Weekly' has news on downtown property
Real Estate Weekly is out with news about what people want to see happen to a lot at Florida and Third streets, a new gated subdivision, racial splits on the subprime mortgage crisis and the latest columns from Tom Cook and Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.
News roundup: Women voters set candidate forum; Shaw receives contract for Ohio plant; Pinnacle proposes Kansas City casino
District 69 hopefuls to speak: The League of Women Voters of Baton Rouge will hold a forum at 7 p.m. today with candidates for the House District 69 seat. The discussion will be held in the Louisiana Building at Baton Rouge Community College. Candidates Bill Benedetto, Brian P. McNabb, Erich Ponti and Joseph R. "Bob" Thibodeaux are scheduled to attend. Shaw to expand nuke storage: The Shaw Group has been awarded a contract to expand the nuclear fuel storage system at an Ohio power plant. The value of the contract with FirstEnergy was not disclosed. Work on the plant in northeast Ohio is expected to start in the spring and completed in 2010. Another project for gaming company: Pinnacle Entertainment says it has submitted a proposal for a casino resort in Kansas City, Kan. The project would include a 100,000-square-foot casino, a 100,000-square-foot convention center and a 500-room hotel. Pinnacle is currently seeking approval for its Riviere casino resort in Baton Rouge.
'Forty under 40' nominations wanted
Business Report is looking to honor young men and women who are making the Capital Region a better place with its annual “Forty Under 40” awards. You can nominate someone or submit your own application. Nominations/applications will be accepted through Oct. 5. All nominations must be made online here .
