Sawyer fires back at blogger over charges

Paul Sawyer, a candidate for the Sixth Congressional district race, has responded to allegations on a political Web site that he took trips with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Sawyer, who worked as retired U.S. Rep. Richard Baker's chief of staff, says he did go to the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean as part of a Congressional investigation, but Abramoff didn't pay for the trip, as reported Wednesday on lanewslink.com. Abramoff worked as a lobbyist for the former governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, which was under pressure for operating sweatshops.

Sawyer's campaign struck back at Pat Bergeron, a political consultant who publishes lanewslink.com, a roundup of news items from around the state, along with original reporting and commentary. Sawyer says Bergeron approached Lee Fletcher, his campaign consultant and asked about doing business with the campaign. Sawyer says he refused to work with Bergeron and alleged the Abramoff story was produced by one of the campaigns that hired him. Sawyer asked any campaign to disclose their financial dealings with Bergeron. "Louisiana voters are completely fed up with 'slash and burn' politics like the political filth we see on this Web site," he says. Bergeron denies approaching Sawyer or Fletcher for consulting work. "Those allegations are insane," he says. He defended the reporting in the lanewslink.com item, saying Sawyer took trips with Abramoff. "There's going to be more to come," Bergeron says. --Timothy Boone

McCain seals GOP bid as Romney suspends campaign

John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination this morning as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney prepared to tell conservatives. McCain prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination. Overall, McCain led with 707 delegates, to 294 for Romney and 195 for Huckabee. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at this summer's convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Annual revenue down at Hollywood Casino

Annual revenues at Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge dropped by 5.6% in 2007, despite a slight uptick in fourth-quarter business. The downtown casino brought in nearly $135.9 million in 2007, compared with $144 million in 2006, according to a report released this morning by Penn National Gaming, Hollywood's parent company. In the fourth quarter, the casino had $32.7 million in revenue, compared with $32.1 million for the last three months of 2006.

Canvass trip to visit Virginia’s capital city

The site of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber's annual canvass trip has been selected: Richmond, Va. A delegation of business, community and political leaders will spend three days and two nights in the area, like they did on the previous trips to Portland, Ore., Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn., and Austin, Texas. Officials say they selected Richmond because of the area's regional economic development program, transportation system, higher education research and development and downtown revitalization. The dates for the trip will be released in the upcoming weeks. Business Report president and 225 publisher Julio Melara will chair the visit.

D'Agostino named to Chamber board

Charlie D'Agostino, the executive director of LSU's Business & Technology Center, has been named to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber's board of directors. D'Agostino will be involved in efforts to advance BRAC's 2008 agenda.

Blueprint Louisiana meeting set for later this month

Local representatives of the Blueprint Louisiana campaign will hold a meeting at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Residence Inn in Towne Center. The meeting will allow Blueprint supporters to meet each other and ethics reform. Blueprint was founded last fall by a group of business leaders from across the state, with the goal of reforming Louisiana's political system. For more information, contact wes@blueprintlouisiana.org.

St. James serving Lenten gumbo

St. James Episcopal Church will once again serve its Lenten gumbo, beginning Friday at 11 a.m. Dine in and take out bowls of shrimp or chicken and sausage gumbo will be sold at the downtown church. A meal, which also includes, salad, bread, tea and dessert, costs $8. To arrange take-out and drive-thru orders, call 387-5141. Gumbo will be sold every Friday through March 14.

Poll: Readers back Pinnacle plans

Daily Report readers say they support Pinnacle Entertainment's plans to build its Riviere casino resort on Nicholson Drive. Sixty-one percent of the people who responded to an online survey say they plan to vote Saturday in favor of the project. Thirty-five percent say they will vote against a third casino in East Baton Rouge Parish and 4% say they don't plan to vote. Nearly 1,400 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: Who will be the next president?

News roundup: Gas prices expected to drop by spring; LSU receives 'B' from campus safety study

When $2.50-a-gallon gas is cause for celebration: Drivers could see gas prices drop by as much as 50 cents by the spring, according to a report by Reuters. Analysts say consumers have been conserving gas because of the high price and the threat of a recession. Annual gasoline demand has increased by about 1% a week for the last four weeks, a comedown from the average of 1.5% to 2%. Safe schools: A report by Reader's Digest into campus safety assigned B grades to LSU and Tulane University and an A to Loyola University New Orleans. The study, which was done in the wake of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech, graded campuses on a variety of factors, including security at dorms, the number of university police and orientation programs warning students about binge drinking and rape. No other Louisiana schools were included on the list, which can be viewed here.