News Alert: Capital Region under tornado watch until 10 p.m.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., has issued a tornado watch for southeast Louisiana—including all parishes of the Capital Region—southern Mississippi, southwestern Alabama and the far western Florida Panhandle until 10 p.m. today. Tornadoes, hail to one inch in diameter, thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 mph and dangerous lightning are possible in the watch area. A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area, and persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. For more information, go to the Storm Prediction Center Web site here or the National Weather Service’s New Orleans-Baton Rouge office Web site here.

DDD unanimously backs bond issue

The Downtown Development District Commission unanimously endorsed Mayor Kip Holden's $989 million bond issue at its monthly meeting this morning. The initiative goes to the voters Nov. 4. Commissioners passed the endorsement without discussion. Downtown would be one of the big winners of the bond issue. The plan would fund several major downtown projects, including the Audubon Alive tourist attraction, an expansion of the River Center and City Hall consolidation. Also at today's meeting, DDD executive director Davis Rhorer announced the district's new Web site, downtownbatonrouge.org is now online. The site includes news and information about downtown, including a parking map.—David Jacobs

Lane Regional opens cardiovascular center

Zachary's Lane Regional Medical Center has opened the doors on a $4 million, 9,250-square-foot cardiovascular center featuring state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment with help from the Cardiovascular Institute of the South and Baton Rouge Cardiology Center. The center performs all cardiovascular procedures except open-heart surgery, and offers rapid response and treatment to patients who previously would have had to travel to Baton Rouge. "Our partnership with the physicians of Cardiovascular Institute of the South and the opening of a satellite office on Lane’s campus for the physicians of Baton Rouge Cardiology Center clearly demonstrates our continued investment in the region," Lane CEO Randy Olson. A community open house to celebrate the new cardiovascular center will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 25 from 4 to 6 p.m. The entrance is located behind the hospital on McHugh Road.

Olson was one of five CEOs from East Baton Rouge Parish hospitals—including Teri Fontenot of Woman’s Hospital, Bill Holman of Baton Rouge General, Mitch Wasden of Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge and Scott Wester of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center—to participate in a recent Business Report roundtable on health care issues. To read the roundtable, click here.

BRAC 2009 leadership class announced

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today announced its Baton Rouge Area Leadership class of 2009. In its 24th year, the program aims to develop leaders of tomorrow through innovative problem-solving and teamwork training. For a list of the more than 40 people in the class, click here.

First Bank and Trust plans Siegen Lane location

New Orleans-based First Bank and Trust has bought property for a new branch on Siegen Lane, says Fred Beebe, the bank’s Baton Rouge president. Beebe declined to specify the location until it receives FDIC approval for the expansion. The community bank has one branch open on Jefferson Highway and two additional locations under construction in Lafayette.

Accounting firm to open B.R. office

Daylight Forensic & Advisory, an international accounting firm that specializes in financial investigations and anti-money laundering consulting, is opening an office in Baton Rouge. Joseph Spinelli, Daylight's COO, says the company is opening the local office to better serve clients in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Before, they had been handling those customers out of the firm's Miami office. Daylight is looking at several locations in Baton Rouge, but has not picked a site. The company has one managing director for the office and is in the process of hiring additional staff.

National home values post record year-to-year drop

U.S. home values dropped nearly 10% in the second quarter when compared to the same period a year ago, according to a report from an online real estate community. Zillow.com says the plunge means 29% of people who bought a home in the past five years now owe more than the property is worth. Home values in metro New Orleans dropped by 1.4% in the quarter to $150,000. Out of the 165 U.S. housing markets on which the company reports, only 25 reported an increase in home values or stayed at 2007 levels. Baton Rouge is not included in the Zillow.com reports. A company official says most markets will remain in negative territory for the next few quarters, as home prices continue to drop in some areas. To look at a map on home prices by city, click here.

GOP embraces social networking with new Web site

If MySpace and Facebook don’t lean enough to the right for you, there’s always LaGOP.net. It’s the new social networking site for Republican activists to interact and dish on the latest political issues. Members can connect with likeminded Republicans by creating their own profile, starting their own blog and commenting on other’s blogs. The site is the mastermind of Charlie Davis, recently hired by the Louisiana Republican Party as director of Victory 2008, the state party’s federal campaign arm. So far, there are 144 members, ranging from Michael Eby of Plaquemine, an aide to former Congressman Richard Baker, to Matt Parker, executive director of the state party. There’s a public forum (no real activity yet) and discussion groups based solely around Republican candidates (John McCain for President has the most members with 25; John Kennedy for U.S. Senate has 24). Also on the site is a section for pictures (nameless faces posing with famous GOP dignitaries) and videos (mostly campaign commercials). It’s one of the many technological upgrades the party is expected to enjoy thanks to Davis, who likewise serves as president of Liquid Ventures, a business incubation and consulting firm that houses Prodigy Sports Group, FanTheFire.com, Varsity Vests and GatorWorks Web Design. Davis previously served as finance director and political director for the Louisiana Republican Party during the 1990's.—Jeremy Alford

Real Estate Weekly: Smart growth summit scheduled

Real Estate Weekly is out with a preview of the Center for Planning Excellence's annual smart growth seminar and how the event has changed over the past three years. Also, a look at the changing antiques market, an upcoming seminar on home remodeling for elderly adults, a land sale on South Harrell's Ferry Road and the latest columns from Tom Cook and Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.

Olympics: Phelps wins third gold medal

Phelps avenges 2004 loss: Swimmer Michael Phelps etched his name with Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis among the winningest Olympians ever with his third gold medal and third world record in as many days. In winning the 200-meter freestyle today, Phelps ran his career Olympic total to nine golds and avenged his only individual loss in Athens four years ago. Phelps touched in 1 minute, 42.96 seconds, breaking the mark of 1:43.86 he set at last year's world championships. Americans Aaron Piersol and Matt Grevers finished 1-2 in the men’s 100-meter backstroke, and American Natalie Coughlin became the first woman to defend her title in the 100-meter backstroke. … U.S. wins bronze in men’s gymnastics: The U.S. men’s gymnastics team won the bronze medal with a roster patched together at the last minute after both Hamm brothers were knocked out with injuries. Host China won the gold with 286.125 points, more than seven points ahead of second-place Japan. That's such a blowout the Chinese could have brought three fans in for the last event and still won. The Americans had 275.850. … Another blowout for Team USA: Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, Dwight Howard 14 and LeBron James 12 as the U.S. men’s basketball team wrapped up the easy portion of its schedule with a 97-76 victory over Angola. The Americans (2-0) moved on to face Greece, the team that stunned them two years ago in the semifinals of the world championship.

News roundup: Warner Bros. predicts ‘Dark Knight’ won’t sink ‘Titanic’ … Local attraction named the nation's top haunted house … Report says half of all Americans have poor eyesight

The iceberg cometh? Will Titanic ever lose its berth as the biggest movie of all time? The Dark Knight is racing up the ranks, but the Batman sequel will stall at No. 2 with about $510 million to $520 million, Warner Bros. Pictures predicts. That's less than $100 million shy of Titanic, which debuted in December 1997 on the way to earning $601 million. The Dark Knight has grossed almost $442 million in four weeks. Star Wars is currently No. 2 on the all-time list, earning $461 million. Boo! The 13th Gate has been named the nation's top professional haunted house by Hauntworld, the industry's leading trade publication. Last year, the downtown haunted house was ranked second on the list. Click here for Hauntworld's profile of the 13th Gate and an interview with owner Dwayne Sanburn. Invest in eyeglasses, contact lenses and LASIK: Half of all Americans over the age of 20 have some sort of vision problem, mostly nearsightedness or astigmatism, according to Reuters. The study by the National Eye Institute matches findings in other countries that show about half of the population needs glasses, contact lenses or corrective surgery. The National Eye Institute says Americans spend up to $7.2 billion a year improving their vision.