Skyring recall effort falls short

The effort to recall District 12 Metro Councilman Mickey Skyring has failed, but the attorney who led the effort says some good might have come of it. “I think that we have an inspired electorate out there who may be paying attention a little bit more to what happens and who their next representative is going to be,” says Alex St. Amant, who expressed hope for a candidate in the next election that recall supporters can get behind. St. Amant sought to recall Skyring over his vote in favor of the controversial Rouzan TND. To get a recall election, supporters needed to collect signatures from a third of the district’s 22,631 registered voters within 180 days of filing paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office on Oct. 29; the recall effort netted just under half the votes it needed. Skyring’s term ends in December. To read a Business Report story about the recall effort, click here.--David Jacobs

LSU sees fewer low-income students

LSU is ranked 22nd among the nation's wealthiest colleges and universities (those with endowments of $500 million or more) in the percentage of its enrollment made up of needy students, according to a survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The study is based on the proportion of Pell Grant recipients at each institution, using figures from the U.S. Department of Education. Mirroring a national decline in the number of low-income students enrolling in college, LSU's proportion of Pell Grant recipients dropped from 19.2% in 2005-05 to 16.7% in 2006-07. LSU had an undergraduate enrollment of 24,583 in fall 2006.--Steve Clark

Gas hits $3.60 a gallon; crude nears $120 on supply outages

Gas prices hit $3.60 a gallon and oil futures rose to their own new record near $120 a barrel as labor actions overseas threatened crude supplies. Oil prices later retreated to alternate between gains and losses as the dollar stabilized against foreign currencies. At the pump, the national average price Americans pay to gas up rose 0.4 cent overnight to a record $3.603 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. While prices are 66 cents higher than a year ago, their rate of increase has slowed some since last week, when prices jumped more than 2 cents a day several times.

According to Gasbuddy.com, Louisiana is 15th with an average price of $3.504. Wyoming is the cheapest at $3.345, and Alaska is the costliest at $4.363. Among cities, Tucson, Ariz., is the cheapest at $3.357, and San Francisco is the costliest at $4.004. Baton Rouge is not listed in the city averages.

Shaw receives environmental cleanup contract from the Navy

The Shaw Group's Environmental & Infrastructure division has been awarded a contract to provide environmental remediation at Navy and Marine bases across the West. The contract is good for one year, but has four one-year options. Shaw will share the contract with five other companies, which could be worth as much as $100 million if all options are exercised.

Legislature questioning prosthetic sales

As crude as it sounds, a lawmaker from Terrebonne Parish contends prosthetic products are being sold by unsavory characters all around Louisiana, sometimes from the back of a truck, which is why he wants the state to limit its dealings to only accredited facilities. Prosthetics generally refers to artificial limbs that are used to replace body parts lost by injury or disease. Hundreds of companies and health care providers sell prosthetics or offer orthotic services in Louisiana, and some of them are acting out in fraudulent ways, Rep. Damon Baldone, a Houma Democrat, told the House last week.

The situation got attention in Florida a few years ago when 48 medical equipment suppliers were busted billing Medicare for 21,000 artificial limbs that were neither medically necessary nor provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The cost to taxpayers was estimated at some $122 million. Moreover, none of the 48 medical equipment suppliers were accredited, according to the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists. The same thing is happening in Louisiana, Baldone says, often at the hands of out-of-state, fly-by-night companies.

Baldone's House Bill 799 would require the state agencies to only deal with accredited facilities, which he says would start to bring an end to the abuse. The legislation would also establish penalties at $2,500 per violation and force the unaccredited company to reimburse the state. The full House unanimously agreed with the legislation, sending it to the Senate for further consideration.

Health care issues involving prosthetics have proven to be a hot issue in the Legislature this year. The House recently passed legislation that would call for insurance companies to wholly cover the costs of purchasing and servicing artificial limbs. House Bill 318 by GOP Rep. Chuck Kleckley of Lake Charles produced a volatile 69-32 vote in the lower chamber and is pending another hearing alongside Baldone’s bill in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Kleckley’s measure would set a maximum cost of $50,000 per limb, which opponents like the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry contend is a government mandate for health insurance companies. -- Jeremy Alford

Clinton leading fundraiser in Louisiana

She may have finished a distant second in the state Democratic Primary, but U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has received the most money from Louisiana political contributors. Clinton has raised nearly $750,000 as of March 31, reports Louisiana Gannett News, citing figures from the Center for Responsive Politics. Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, raised about $308,000 from Louisiana residents. Obama trounced Clinton in February's primary. One political analyst credited Clinton's success with getting Louisiana donations to her years as first lady of neighboring Arkansas. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the expected Republican presidential nominee, raised about $456,000 as of March 31. That figure does not include the tally from a fundraiser hosted by former Gov. Buddy Roemer last week, held just before McCain's speech at the Business Report and Junior Achievement’s 25th annual Business Awards & Hall of Fame banquet. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the leading Republican fundraiser with about $542,000 from state donors. Giuliani dropped out of the presidential race in January.

CNN survey: Majority to put rebate checks in bank or pay bills

Americans have started to receive the tax rebates that are designed to stimulate the economy. But the majority of people who responded to a CNN poll last month say they will save the money or use it for bills, not buy more items. Forty-one percent of the people who responded to the survey say they will use the rebate to pay bills and 32% say they plan to save the money. Twenty-one percent polled say they plan to spend the money and 3% will give it to charity.

Poll: Most plan to watch Jindal

Most Daily Report readers say they plan to watch Gov. Bobby Jindal's appearance tonight on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Fifty-four percent of the people who responded to an online survey say they want to see the governor on Leno's couch. Thirty-seven percent say they don't plan on watching and 9% aren’t sure. Nearly 1,150 people participated in the survey. The Tonight Show airs at 10:35 p.m. on WVLA-TV.

Today's question: What do you plan to do with your tax rebate?

Executive spotlight: Clyde P. Roy Sr.

Clyde P. Roy Sr., the chief operating officer of LUBA Workers' Comp, is a native of the small Avoyelles Parish community of Hessmer. Roy says his job gives him a terrific feeling because he's providing dependable service at a good price to help businesses improve their bottom line. He hopes Baton Rouge officials are successful in bringing in more quality businesses into the city. To read the full Q&A, click here. Two of our favorites follow:

Question: Who would play you in a movie?

Al Pacino.

Q: What do you do to unwind?

Traveling around the country in our motor coach with my wife, Phyllis.

News roundup: Empty houses bringing in bees; Saints receive C+ on Kiper’s draft report card; United, US Airways in 'very advanced' combo talks

Another bad effect of the national housing bust: Foreclosed houses in Florida are attracting a new kind of tenant: bees. According to The New York Times thousands of bees are building nests in garages, rafters and furniture left behind. A professor at the University of Florida say that abandoned homes are a natural lure for bees, who just want a sheltered place to build colonies and make honey. Read the story here. Passing grade: The New Orleans Saints received a C+ for their performance in the NFL Draft from ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Kiper, the network's draft guru, said the Saints made good moves in picking up Southern California defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and Michigan wide receiver Adrian Arrington. But he said North Carolina State defensive tackle DeMario Pressley and Nebraska tackle Carl Nicks were underachievers in college. Kiper had former LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey rated as the top prospect in the draft, and says former Tigers safety Craig Steltz could end up starting for the Chicago Bears. Read Kiper's analysis here. Deal would compete with Delta-Northwest merger: United Airlines and US Airways are in very advanced talks with the expectation of announcing within two weeks that they are combining, a person close to the negotiations told The Associated Press today. The two carriers stepped up their talks after Continental Airlines Inc. caught United off guard Sunday by deciding not to pursue a deal with the UAL Corp.-owned carrier. The timing of any agreement remains hard to predict, and either side also could pursue an alliance instead or simply walk away from a deal, as Continental did.