Panel to discuss educational leadership

Perspectives on educational leadership will be the subject of a panel discussion this week co-hosted by Redesigning Lessons, Re-envisioning Principals, an alternative certification program for principals meant to cultivate "social entrepreneurialism" in public school leadership in order to improve student achievement. The panel will feature representatives from BESE, Recovery School District, magnet and lab schools, LABI and CABL. The panel's other hosts are the LSU College of Education, LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute and Wilson Foundation. The discussion will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the LSU College of Education in Peabody Hall.—Steve Clark

Baton Rouge firm scores defense contract

Learning Sciences Corporation, a Baton Rouge-based e-learning development company, has a signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman Ship Systems to develop a series of safety and health courses. The courses will be used to train more than 5,000 Northrup Grumman employees in compliance and safety at the company's shipyards in Avondale, Gulfport, Miss., and Pascagoula, Miss.

Here comes the judge, there goes the judge

Louisiana’s judges are now required to step aside in civil lawsuit cases if there is a potential conflict of interest. Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the bill shortly before the July 4th holiday. Under previous law, judges could remain on the bench even if they were obviously biased toward a witness or somehow connected to the proceeding’s success or failure. The approved legislation by Baton Rouge Rep. Erich Ponti, a Republican, brings that to an end. Act 663 also forces judges to step down if an immediate family member is involved with the case or if they’ve worked on the case previously in practically any capacity. It is one of the many bills Jindal has signed into law since the regular session ended that impacts local courts.

In a related action, the governor has also ratified legislation by Gonzales Rep. Eddie Lambert, a Republican, which carves up the local district of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. The court hears appeals from surrounding parishes. Officials in Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes have long argued they were unable to obtain local representation in the district’s four at-large judgeships because Terrebonne, St. Mary and Lafourche parishes have a traditionally strong voter turnout to capture the positions. In search of a compromise, Act 369 will replace the local district’s four at-large judgeships with two at-large seats for the whole district beginning in 2012. The two remaining seats in the local district will be split to cover the northern and southern portions.—Jeremy Alford

Sale of Krotz Springs refinery completed

Valero Energy has completed the sale of its Krotz Springs refinery to Alon USA Energy. Valero received $333 million plus $143 million as part of an initial payment toward working capital. Valero also received an earn-out provision, which the company has hedged to lock in a value of about $200 million. Dallas-based Alon said the acquisition would boost its crude refining capacity by 50% to 250,000 barrels per day.

Bertha becomes season’s first hurricane

Hurricane Bertha continues to strengthen as it moves over the central Atlantic Ocean. At 10 a.m. CDT today, the Atlantic season's first hurricane was centered about 775 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. National Hurricane Center forecasters say Bertha, which became a hurricane at 4 a.m. today, is expected to turn in the general direction of Bermuda. Maximum sustained winds have increased to speeds of 90 mph with higher gusts. Some strengthening is expected during the next 24 hours, and forecasters say Bertha could become a Category 2 hurricane later today. Bertha is headed west-northwest at about 15 mph and is expected to slow down in the next couple of days.

Executive spotlight: William E. Balhoff

William E. Balhoff was recently named managing director and CEO of Postlethwaite & Netterville, the largest Louisiana-based accounting firm. "Mr. Postlethwaite taught me that by focusing on delivering quality service to clients, all other goals would take care of themselves," he says. To read the full Q&A with Balhoff, click here. Here's a sample.

What is the most expensive purchase you've made for yourself?

With three daughters, I don't make expensive purchases for myself.

Poll: Most say gas prices affected holiday plans

A majority of Daily Report readers say high gas prices affected their Fourth of July weekend plans. Sixty-one percent of the people who responded to an online survey say they stayed closer to home. Thirty-three percent say they traveled as much as ever, despite the gas prices, while 4% don't know if they changed their plans or not. Nearly 1,900 people participated in the survey. The price of gas hit another record locally on Sunday according to AAA, coming in at $3.978 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

Today's question: How has your business done in the first half of 2008 when compared to the first half of 2007?

News roundup: Jindal to address press club today; employment trends index drops again; Fed, SEC complete information-sharing pact

Governor taking questions: Gov. Bobby Jindal will speak to the Press Club of Baton Rouge at noon today at De La Ronde Hall on Third Street. The public is invited at no charge, although lunch is $12 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Only working journalists and Press Club members are allowed to ask questions. Falling jobs: The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index fell again in June, continuing a decline that started in July 2007. The index fell by 0.6% in June and is down 8% since July 2007. An economist says the labor market should get worse in the months ahead because job weakness is spread across all sectors. Share the news: Financial regulators announced an information-sharing agreement aimed at better detecting potential risks to the U.S. financial system. The pact between the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission should enhance regulatory cooperation between the two agencies, allowing them to better carry out their regulatory duties. Under the agreement, the two agencies will share information and cooperate across a number of important areas of common interest, including anti-money laundering efforts, bank brokerage activities as well as on clearing and settling financial transactions conducted by both banks and investment firms.