Legislator says Jindal should pay ethics fine

At least one lawmaker thinks Gov. Bobby Jindal should pony up personal dollars to pay for his campaign finance violation. Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard of Thibodaux, who has no party affiliation, says he already has legislation ready for the upcoming special session that would force public officials to pay for ethics violations, including campaign infractions, out of their own pockets. Under current law, legislators and others are allowed to pay for fines with campaign funds. Changing that law would make the system more personal, he argues. “That’s the way it should be,” Richard says. Jindal added the issue to his special session call on Monday after Rolfe McCollister Jr., chairman and publisher of the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, announced that he would pay Jindal’s $2,500 fine pending with the state Ethics Board. The fine is due because Jindal’s campaign failed to timely report $118,000 in campaign aid. Richard says he actually sent a letter to Jindal on Jan. 15 (a full 10 days before news of the governor’s violation broke) urging him to include such a bill in his special session package. No one from the administration ever contacted him back, Richard says. While it’s now clear that the issue will be debated during the special session, it’s unclear whether McCollister, who served as Jindal’s campaign treasurer, can actually take on the fine. C.B. Forgotston, a Hammond attorney and fellow of Loyola University’s Institute of Politics, says there must first be a hearing and an adjudication before the Ethics Board can determine who is actually responsible for the fine. --Jeremy Alford

Strike against O'Keefe was asset in the beginning

According to a document released by LSU System officials listing possible reasons for Sean O'Keefe's departure as chancellor of LSU, the amount of time he spent with various boards and commissions was identified as a cause for concern. There is some irony here, considering that the former NASA administrator was hired partly on the strength of his connections in the private sector and in national government. Bill Jenkins, former LSU System president, particularly touted O'Keefe's connections in government, business and industry as making him the ideal choice for the job of chancellor for the positive things it might do for LSU. O'Keefe's extracurricular board activities were vetted and approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors before his hiring in December 2004. Jenkins was an enthusiastic supporter of O'Keefe's hire, though the relationship between the two men eventually deteriorated, according to several sources. --Steve Clark

LSU business dean confident donations will come

Bill Lane, interim dean of LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business, says Sean O'Keefe's departure as chancellor won't impede the college's efforts to raise $30 million in private donations to match state funding for a new business building. At least two donors planning gifts to the university, the Bollinger family of Bollinger Shipyards Inc., and David Voelker of Frantzen/Voelker Investments, have said those donations are on hold, at least temporarily. "Does this mean that (we) won't be able to raise the $30 million in private money?" Lane wrote in an e-mail. "The answer is an emphatic 'no.' We will be successful and we will be on time.'" At the same time, Lane says he understands donors concern about the stewardship of their contributions now that O'Keefe is out. "From their perspective, the college already is being run by an interim dean and now there will be an interim chancellor," Lane wrote. "But donors are also aware that their gifts will long outlive any of us." Lane says a new business building is essential for the college to be able to compete on the national level for faculty and students. --Steve Clark

Throw me some votes mister

It's finally here: Super Tuesday. After the smoke clears from 43 presidential nominating contests in 23 states and 3,156 delegate allocations, with a little luck, the country should know which two contenders will wind up in the ultimate presidential cage match come November. The first polls, in Georgia, close at 6 p.m. Central time. The latest polls in the biggest prize, California, close at 10 p.m. For a better understanding of what's going on, check out stories from the New York Times or CNN.

Sawyer launches media campaign

Paul Sawyer, a candidate for the 6th Congressional District is rolling out a major media campaign that started Monday. His message emphasizes he is the candidate with extensive congressional experience. Sawyer, a Republican, worked with former U.S. Rep. Richard Baker on such projects as the Comite River diversion canal and a second Prairieville exit off Interstate 10. “I have the experience to get the job done from Day One,” Sawyer says. “Having worked directly on many of Congressman Baker’s projects for the entire 6th District, I can keep projects rolling without losing time or having a massive learning curve. I have been in the room and helped move things along working for the people for years.” The election is set for March 8, 2008.

National Signing Day activities planned Wednesday

LSU football coach Les Miles will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the Tigers’ 2008 recruiting class, which currently ranks No. 9 by Rivals.com. The Web site says “the national champions have been on a roll and still have a shot at finishing somewhere in the top five if the dominoes all fall right for them down the stretch. The Tigers did a tremendous job of securing an early class and now Les Miles and recruiting coordinator Josh Henson has been targeting key players that could truly help push this class higher.” To check out Rivals.com team rankings, click here.

Meanwhile, the 13th annual Tiger Gridiron Club Bayou Bash recruiting party begins at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the River Center. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com and at the River Center box office. The admission price includes breakfast served from 8:30-10 a.m., jambalaya served all day starting at 10 a.m., a food court opening at 11:30 a.m., beverages and highlight videos of 2008 LSU signees. Miles will discuss the Tigers' recruiting class at 5:30 p.m.

Golf Digest bestows honor on The Bluffs

As director of Arnold Palmer’s course-design company for nearly 30 years, Ed Seay knew a big part of his job was to make sure Palmer’s courses looked good. Seay, who died last August at 69 of complications from lung cancer, paid special attention to details, such as a well-positioned tree, a variety of depths in bunked and little humps behind greens. Golf Digest paid tribute to Seay in its February issue, listing his top 10 of his courses available for public play. No. 1 was The Bluffs Country Club and Resort, a picturesque course located on a high bluff overlooking the sandy banks of Thompson Creek. Since the article was written, however, The Bluffs has become a private country club. “We always believed that our golf course was a jewel in Mr. Palmer’s and Mr. Seay’s portfolio,” said Landon Petty, spokesperson for The Bluffs. “This is a tremendous honor of which our members can be truly proud.”

Real Estate Weekly has news on downtown landmark

Real Estate Weekly is out with news about a downtown landmark that's on the market, groundbreaking planned for a TND in Central, new members for the Capital Region Builders Association hall of fame, a big apartment sale, real-life trading spaces and columns from Tom Cook and Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.

News roundup: Airline delays 2nd worst ever last year; U.S. service sector contracts in January

More than 26% of flights were late: Domestic airline delays in 2007 were the second worst on record, the Transportation Department said today. Flights in the U.S. were late more than 26% of the time last year, a slightly better performance than in 2000, when airlines were tardy 27.4% of the time. The federal government began collecting airlines on-time data in 1995. Report fuels recession worries: For the first time in almost five years, the nation's services sector—including restaurants, travel, banking, construction and retail—contracted in January, stoking rising worries of a recession. The Institute for Supply Management's report, released today, showed that its index of service sector business activity declined to 44.6 in January from a revised reading of 54.4 in December. Economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR had expected a slight slowdown but had still forecast growth, with a median estimate for the index of 53. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction. It was the first time the service sector reading has contracted since March 2003.