Dardenne opts out of U.S. Senate race

Following months of speculation, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne has finally ruled out running the U.S. Senate this fall. The Baton Rouge Republican has played it coy, choosing to tiptoe around the race and blush at the urging of supporters. This morning, however, he’s off the fence. “I am grateful for the encouragement and support of so many people across the state, but my family and I believe this is not the right time for another statewide race,” Dardenne says in a prepared statement released to Daily Report this morning. “Therefore, I have decided not to be a candidate in the upcoming race for the United States Senate.”

While Dardenne’s reluctance to come through with an answer surely boosted his own fundraising in recent months, it did little to ease the nerves of the race’s two major contenders: incumbent Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and GOP Treasurer John Kennedy. As for which politico gets his support, Dardenne says he’s sitting this one out. But it’s not because he doesn’t like the candidates; state law prohibits the secretary of state from picking a horse in a Louisiana election.

Without a doubt, the decision settles the political conjecture—at least for now. Just look ahead to 2010, when embattled Sen. David Vitter, a fellow Republican, faces re-election. Vitter continues to take his lumps for being linked to a D.C. madam, and conservatives are looking for an alternative. Could Dardenne be the guy they’re seeking, or will he fulfill long-held prophesies of becoming governor one day? “I doubt he’s even thinking of that,” spokesperson Jacques Berry says.-- Jeremy Alford

Camellia Grill coming to Perkins Rowe

Camellia Grill, a landmark New Orleans restaurant, plans to open its first Baton Rouge location in the Perkins Rowe development. No opening date has been announced for the restaurant, which specializes in burgers, omelets and pecan waffles, but officials say construction should begin soon. Camellia Grill owner Hicham Khodr told New Orleans CityBusiness last year that Baton Rouge and Florida locations were in the works. The original location at South Carrollton and St. Charles avenues reopened in April 2007, almost two years after Hurricane Katrina. The restaurant had no damage from the storm, but was in desperate need of updating, which delayed its reopening. While closed, hundreds of people left Post-It love notes on the restaurant’s white wooden front doors.

La. Politics by John Maginnis: Grigsby to launch ads against Cazayoux

Baton Rouge contractor Lane Grigsby, who has made third-party expenditures before, says he will launch a media campaign next week to defeat congressional candidate Don Cazayoux. Grigsby’s reason is "where he gets his money from," referring to national labor unions that have given to the Democrat. The ads will be produced by consultant George Kennedy. The Cazayoux campaign released an internal poll this week showing him leading Republican Woody Jenkins, 49% to 42%. (To read last year's Business Report cover story about Grigsby, click here )

--It was a roller-coaster ride in the polls for Sen. Mary Landrieu this week, ending with an independent survey showing her leading Treasurer John Kennedy, 50% to 38%. On Monday, the Landrieu campaign touted a poll done for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showing the incumbent opening a 55% to 39% lead on Kennedy, her Republican challenger. An aide called back to report there had been a mistake by which another poll's results were reported for the Louisiana survey. The correct Rasmussen Reports poll showed Landrieu leading only 47% to 46%. Fortunately for Landrieu, later that day Southern Media released its results of a Senate question asked in a poll for a business client, showing Landrieu's 12% lead. Meanwhile, Kennedy focused on fundraising. President Bush is coming to Baton Rouge on Tuesday to raise money for Kennedy.

--Public Service Commissioner Jay Blossman, hit with an ethics complaint as he prepares for his re-election campaign in the fall, could yet be saved by the strict new ethics environment. Several trucking companies, which are regulated by the PSC, complained about a letter from Blossman on official stationery asking them to meet with a salesman friend who is selling tracking devices. But in an odd ethics twist, former Sen. Ken Hollis, R-Metairie, who has been considering challenging Blossman, now says that the new financial disclosure law is discouraging him from running. Hollis, the owner of an insurance management company, says he would have to disclose the commissions of $1,000 or more he receives from over 150 clients. "My CPA told me you'll have to hire three CPAs full-time to keep up with this." he said. "I don't know if it's worth it."

John Maginnis publishes the Louisiana Political Fax Weekly and Lapolitics.com.

Deal opens door for Howell Place SpringHill suites

A Dallas-based hotel operator has closed on a $2.1 million deal that allows construction to start soon on a 119-room hotel in the Howell Place development. Raleigh Prism One, doing business as Viking Fund Baton Rouge, purchased the land and plans from High Desert Investors in a deal that closed Thursday. Richard Preis, who is developing Howell Place, says the deal allows construction to start soon on a Marriott SpringHill Suites. Four other mid-priced hotels are either under construction or in the works for Howell Place—a Holiday Inn Express, Microtel Inn, Hampton Inn and Candlewood Suites.--Timothy Boone

Iron Mountain moving into Baton Rouge West

Iron Mountain, a leading information protection and storage company, is set to expand its Baton Rouge operations. The company has signed a lease for 50,000 square feet in the Baton Rouge West distribution center, under construction off Interstate 10 in Port Allen. This goes along with a similar sized operation in the nearby Westport Commercial Park, says Marc Barker, of NAI/Latter & Blum, who represented Iron Mountain. Brent Garrett of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate, who represents Baton Rouge West, says the 495,000-square-foot center will open in about a month.

Local ad agency gets share of cigar company

The Rockit Science Agency has acquired an interest in Florida-based Molina Cigar Co. “Molina Cigar Company has a long tradition of the finest quality cigars produced in the Dominican Republic,” said Brent A. Sims, vice president of marketing for the Baton Rouge-based ad agency. Sims says the agency recently created a marketing campaign for Molina Cigar’s controversially named cigar line “Devil’s Weed.” The Spanish Inquisition coined the term "devil's weed" for tobacco to deter its use. The line will be unveiled in July at the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Annual Conference and International Convention.

St. Elizabeth honored for quality improvement

St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales has won the Gold Level 2007 Louisiana Hospital Quality award from Louisiana Health Care Review, Louisiana's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization. The award recognizes St. Elizabeth's improvement in quality of care treating heart attacks and heart failure, pneumonia and in surgical care. West Feliciana Parish Hospital in St. Francisville won a platinum-level hospital quality award.

Poll: Readers split on spending

Daily Report readers are almost evenly split on consumer spending. Thirty-four percent of the people who responded to an online survey say they are spending more than they did a year ago, while 33% say they are spending less. Thirty-two percent say they are spending about the same and 1% don't know. Nearly 1,500 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: Early voting for the 6th Congressional district race starts Saturday. Do you plan on voting early?

News roundup: Lamar in tussle over Pittsburgh billboard; LSU student aces auditing test; tallying up 'The Office'

Ad controversy: Lamar Advertising will reapply for a permit to install a digital billboard in downtown Pittsburgh after controversy erupted over a zoning waiver. Pittsburgh media reports says that five city council members challenged plans for the 1,200-foot billboard, after it was revealed that a city official improperly gave Lamar a permit in exchange for the company agreeing to take down six vinyl billboards downtown. The official who negotiated the deal is on paid leave, and he's being investigated by ethics officials. Read the story here. Best and brightest: LSU accounting major Trista Sanders earned the highest student score on the international Certified Internal Auditor Exam administered in November. Sanders, the 16th LSU internal auditing students to win this distinction, has accepted a job with Ernst & Young in San Francisco. That’s what she said: Julie Elgar, an employment lawyer in Atlanta, has taken it upon herself to determine how much Michael Scott's clueless behavior is costing Dunder Mifflin. Elgar blogs about the hit sitcom The Office and tallies up the potential liability racked up by the paper company. For example, on Thursday's episode, Dunder Mifflin was open to about $6,000 to $10,000 in legal bills after Scott ordered his staff to find him a soulmate. Check out her blog here.