Robertson fined $12,600 for ethics violations

East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member Darryl Robertson, who already faces suspension from the practice of law, also faces $12,600 in ethics fines. The Louisiana Ethics Board assessed $6,000 in fines against him in February 2007, and then obtained a state court judgment against him five months later. Those still-unpaid fees have now been referred to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Collection Division. The board fined him another $6,600 in September, but has not yet obtained a court judgment for that one. Alesia Ardoin, an attorney for the Ethics Board, says Robertson failed to file required campaign finance reports in 2006 and 2007 for his Metro Council campaign in 2000 and his School Board campaigns in 2002 and 2006. “He owed supplemental reports for each of those elections,” she says. “We never received those reports, so the board at the public hearing assessed the maximum late fee of $2,000 per report, plus an additional civil penalty of $2,000.” Once the Ethics Board issues its order, candidates are barred from using any contributions to run for office, although he can use them to pay the fines. Since there’s a court judgment against Robertson, the board can also formally object to his candidacy within seven days after he qualifies, which it typically does. Calls to Robertson’s home this morning were not answered.—Penny Brown Font

B.R. malls say sales slightly better than last year

Officials with the Mall of Louisiana and the Mall at Cortana say sales during the first holiday shopping weekend were slightly better than expected. “We had a very good Black Friday, as well as a very good weekend combined,” says Todd Denton, general manager of Mall of Louisiana. “We thought we’d still have an increase, but was surprised it was as strong as it was and that it lasted through the weekend.” Denton and Marketing Director Monique Hester at Mall at Cortana report steady traffic at the malls through the holiday weekend. “We were very happy with Black Friday,” Hester says. “The turnout was just fantastic.” Denton and Hester declined to provide figures.

Despite the national trend of high-end retailers reporting down sales, Denton says stores like Williams-Sonoma and Lee Michaels did well. Denton says top-selling items included boots, shoes, apparel, books and video games, while Hester says jewelry, apparel and accessories sold well. ShopperTrak RCT says the South experienced the biggest gain in foot traffic of any region, with a 3.4% rise over last year. According to the National Retail Federation, 172 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites over the weekend (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) compared to 147 million last year.—Anna Thibodeaux

OLOL buys office building for $8.37 million

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has purchased an office building on Perkins Road for $8.37 million. The hospital plans to use the nearly 43,400-square-foot building near Kenilworth Parkway to centralize its IT functions, says Catherine Harrell, an OLOL spokeswoman. "This department handles IT for four hospitals, and we've got them sprinkled all over the place," she says. "This is a great way to get the team together." There's no date set for when OLOL will move into the building. WAM Holdings, which built the office building in 2005, sold the property. WAM, which is made up of Mark Washauer and Michael S. Albritton, was represented by Will Adams and Bobby Box of ASA Commercial Real Estate.—Timothy Boone

Nominations open for Business Awards and Hall of Fame

It's time to submit your nominations for the 27th annual Business Awards and Hall of Fame banquet, which will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009. The event is presented annually by Business Report and Junior Achievement. The categories include: Business Hall of Fame Laureate (for a lifetime of achievement), Company of the Year (under 100 employees), Company of the Year (100 or more employees), Young Business Person of the Year (40 or under) and Business Person of the Year. To nominate your company, a client, vendor or friend, go to batonrouge.ja.org or call 928-7008. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 31.

Real Estate Weekly: Old South B.R. building receives makeover

Real Estate Weekly has news about an Old South Baton Rouge building receiving a makeover in order to comply with the overlay district. Also: the latest figures on Capital Region home prices, a former LSU football player buys a home in Willow Grove and columns from Brian Andrews and Tom Cook. To read the newsletter, click here.

The branding of ‘America’s Energy Coast’

As a way to secure support for coastal restoration and hurricane protection, state officials have argued for more than a generation that Louisiana’s strategic location in the nation’s energy supply chain was too important to ignore. Now that message is growing, thanks to a regional approach orchestrated by America’s Wetland Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group that originated in the Bayou State. The new accord for bolstering the Gulf region is called “America’s Energy Coast,” or AEC, and includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, which collectively contribute 90% of the nation’s offshore energy production, 30% of its energy supplies and 30% of its seafood. The group was formed earlier this year and promoted in a special section in Forbes magazine over the summer.

This morning, AEC held a policy forum on Capitol Hill, which was also aired during a live Webcast. To watch a replay of the Webcast, click here. Participating were H. Dale Hall, director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife; Mark Hurley, president of Shell Pipeline; Don Young, president of Ducks Unlimited; and R. King Milling, chairman of America's Wetland. More than anything else, the forum represented the next stage of evolution for the America’s Wetland Foundation. In short, the regional push could soon go national, says the foundation’s managing director Val Marmillion of Houma. Recent successes and the rapid formation of AEC “suggests a future for a growing national foundation based in Louisiana that will continue driving the national dialogue about saving coastal Louisiana while, at the same time broadening the mission to serve as a voice for the entire region of Gulf energy producing states,” Marmillion says. For a longer version of this story, click here.—Jeremy Alford

Two arrested in Southern hazing incident

Two 19-year-old Georgia men have been arrested in connection with a hazing incident that left two members of the Southern University marching band in the hospital. Harvey Harrison of Augusta, Ga., and Carlo-Andres Carter of Stone Mountain, Ga., were charged with aggravated battery and ritualistic acts, says the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. According to court documents, three members of the band were taken to a residence on McClure Road to be initiated into an unsanctioned fraternity, known as Mellow Phi Fellow, for the French horn section of the band. As part of the ritual, the three subjects were blindfolded and hit with open hands by senior members. The victims were then told to bend over at the waist, and were hit with a 2x4 piece of lumber. One victim asked to stop the ritual after he was hit more than 50 times with the board. That victim identified seven members of the French horn section present. The two students injured have not been identified, but sheriff's officials say they are in intensive care at a local hospital and face organ failure. Both Harrison and Carter denied having any knowledge of the incident. Southern officials and the Baton Rouge Police are also involved in the investigation.

Financial roundup: Gas prices fall 76th consecutive day … Big Three bailout plan hits Congressional desks

National average now $1.812 per gallon: Gas prices fell for the 76th consecutive day and sold below $2 a gallon in all but three states and the District of Columbia, according to a daily survey of credit-card swipes at gas stations released today. The national average gas price slipped 0.8 cents to $1.812 a gallon, more than a dollar lower than the $3.061 average price seen a year ago, according to motorist group AAA. Gas prices have fallen nearly 56% since hitting a record high of $4.114 a gallon on July 17. Today's price was the lowest since January 2005, according to AAA. Meanwhile, oil fell below $49 a barrel today, after reversing early losses in response to a rally in U.S. and European shares. It had earlier fallen to a new 3 1/2-year low below $48, weighed down by gloom over the ailing world economy and its impact on fuel demand.

GM could drop brands as part of bailout: U.S. automakers started to submit plans demanded by Congress as the Big Three's CEOs and lawmakers gird for debate over a $25 billion bailout the industry says it needs to survive. Ford Motor Co became the first to release its plan, which asks for $9 billion of loans, cancels global executive bonuses and all U.S. bonuses for 2009, proposes to cut dealers and initiates plans for electric cars. General Motors Corp's board began to review the top U.S. automaker's revamped business plan on Sunday and has been asked to endorse steps that include consideration of dropping or selling the Pontiac, Saab and Saturn brands. Chrysler LLC, controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, said its board was meeting to review its plan. Chrysler needs to spell out a plan that would allow it to take a share of the federal funding even as it seeks a partnership with other automakers, analysts said.

News roundup: General Growth receives another loan extension … Lafayette health care company moving into Oklahoma … Raising Cane's opens Zachary location

More time to make good: General Growth Properties Inc., the parent company of the Mall of Louisiana, says it reached an interim agreement to extend the maturity of $58 million in notes. The agreement extends the maturity of the notes from a subsidiary, The Rouse Company, to Dec. 11. The $58 million in corporate debt was scheduled to mature Monday. General Growth, the country's second-biggest mall owner, has been negotiating loan extensions with creditors in order to hold off filing for bankruptcy.

LHC gets bigger: LHC Group, a Lafayette-based home health company, has purchased an Oklahoma nursing company, extending its reach to 16 states. LHC bought all of the outstanding stock of Whispering Pines Health Services, which serves 47 counties in Oklahoma. The sale price was not disclosed, but Whispering Pines had about $172,000 in net revenues in the past year. LHC also closed on a previously announced deal to buy HomeCall, which operates in Maryland.

One love: Raising Cane's has opened a location on Main Street in Zachary. The chicken tenders chain now has more than 75 restaurants in 13 states.

Correction

Dakshaben and Anilkumar Desai purchased the Super 8 Motel on Rieger Road last week for $3.6 million. An item in Monday's Daily Report incorrectly identified the hotel they bought. Daily Report regrets the error.