News Alert: RiverCenter expansion part of $989 million bond proposition

City-parish officials this afternoon unveiled their plans to spend $143 million of a proposed $989 million bond proposition to renovate and expand the RiverCenter. The project will boost Baton Rouge to a Tier II convention city, putting it on par with Shreveport; Huntsville, Ala.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C. and Biloxi, Miss. The centerpiece of the project is a 1,300-space garage at Government and St. Louis streets, with a sky bridge to the RiverCenter. That will trigger construction of two new hotels by Virginia-based developer Armada Hoffler: a $68 million 300-room, major-flag hotel between the RiverCenter and the theater, and a $31 million 140-room, select-service hotel atop the East Garage, which also will be expanded by 750 spaces. Meanwhile, the cash also pays for the wrecking ball to take down the West Garage and the Attorney’s Building. Also planned: 13,000 additional square feet of Exhibition Hall space and 25 new meeting/breakout rooms, and the two-laning of St. Louis Street for new retail stores. Chief Administrative Officer Walter Monsour says the RiverCenter project will bring $250 million in economic impact over the next decade, including the creation of 1,900 construction jobs and 250 permanent jobs. A second news conference is planned for Tuesday afternoon, with the full Capital Improvements Program headed for the Metro Council on Wednesday. If approved, the measure is expected to come before voters Nov. 4. To view renderings for the project, click here. —Penny Brown

Belle parent company seeks state OK for loan

Tropicana Entertainment, parent company of the Belle of Baton Rouge casino, will ask the Louisiana Gaming Control Board on Tuesday to approve a $67 million loan. The proposed credit agreement with Silver Point Finance of Connecticut is intended to supplement Tropicana's working capital until the company emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Tropicana spokesman said. The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Senate Room A of the State Capitol. While other state boards have seen mass defections in the wake of new financial disclosure requirements, the gaming board, which has long had stringent requirements, currently has six voting members, according to a spokeswoman. Five are needed for a quorum.—David Jacobs

Two local Starbucks targeted for closure

Starbucks locations at Siegen Lane near Interstate 10 and Coursey Boulevard at Market Street have been identified as some of the first to close as part of the coffee chain's plans to shut down 600 stores. Starbucks posted a list of 50 locations that will shut down by the end of the month on its Web site; the two Baton Rouge locations were the only Louisiana stores targeted for closing. There could be more area locations set to close; the Seattle coffee giant has said 70% of the stores it will shut down will have opened in the past three years.

Anheuser-Busch being sold to InBev for $52 billion

Anheuser Busch Cos. said this morning it has agreed to a sweetened $52 billion takeover bid from InBev, creating the world's largest brewer and heading off what was shaping up as an acrimonious fight for the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beers. Inbev brands include Stella Artois, Beck's and Bass. The deal, which would also create the third-largest consumer product company, will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. The Anheuser-Busch board accepted the higher takeover offer Sunday night from Belgian-based brewer InBev SA, according to a joint press release. The deal is expected to close by year end. "What consumers care is that their Bud will always be their Bud, and that's what we're committed to, not only the product, the quality, the beer ... but also the heritage, the breweries, who brews the beers, and everything that's connected to the breweries," InBev CEO Carlos Brito said in a media conference call. For InBev, the deal gives an aggressive company an iconic beer brand—Budweiser—to sell into emerging markets such as China and Brazil where it has already established a wide network. Attempts to get a comment on the deal from Mockler Beverage, the local Budweiser distributor, were unsuccessful.

How Jindal vetoed his vote

As a freshman congressman three years ago, Bobby Jindal voted in favor of the Real ID Act. Riding a wave of paranoia and grief created by terrorist attacks on home soil, federal lawmakers handed down new state requirements for identification cards. The intent was to create a single, universal card stocked with private and personal information that citizens would be required to use to board airplanes, enter sensitive sites, even to drive a vehicle. But Jindal signed legislation into law last week that prohibits Louisiana from participating in the very same Real ID Act he voted for. It’s unarguably a flip-flop, albeit a policy twist that Jindal is more than happy to make. Since the act was passed by Congress in 2005, the unfunded mandate has grown into a $14 billion initiative to make driver’s licenses more secure and collect personal data. Over time, the nation’s governors felt burned by the price tag and directives, but they didn’t the pain for long. In June, following the action of other states, Arizona turned its back on the act. When Louisiana did the same last week, it became the 11th state to join the pushback. Another six states have passed nonbinding resolutions. Back home, no one is cheering louder for Jindal than privacy advocates. If anything, it’s a political dichotomy that is rarely seen on the state or federal level, with liberals and conservatives commingling on both sides of the table. “The ACLU of Louisiana commends both Gov. Jindal and the Legislature for standing up to the Bush administration in a nationwide movement against Real ID,” Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, said in a news release. “The residents of Louisiana should be proud that our state officials honor our privacy and have chosen to protect it in spite of the demands of the federal government for greater surveillance.”—Jeremy Alford

SLU makes 'Great Place to Work' list

Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond gets high marks in 11 of 27 categories in the Chronicle of Higher Education "2008 Great Colleges to Work For" ranking. SLU made the grade in the medium-sized institution category (500 to 2,499 employees) for collaborative governance involving faculty; innovative and high-quality teaching environment; job satisfaction; confidence in senior leadership; internal communications; clarity of tenure requirements and process; supervisor/department chair relationships with faculty; confidence and fair treatment regarding compensation and performance; policies, resources and efficiency; and career development, research and scholarships. No other Louisiana college or university made the list. The survey was based on responses from more than 15,000 administrators, faculty and staff members at 89 colleges and universities. The assessment was done by ModernThink LLC, a human resources consulting firm that conducts "Best Places to Work" surveys for various groups.—Steve Clark

Louisiana has highest auto delinquency rate

Louisiana residents are the worst in the U.S. about paying off car loans. A report from TransUnion found that 1.19% of all the people with vehicle loans in the state were at least 60 days late on their notes during the first quarter. The Times-Picayune says that's a drop from the end of 2007, when 1.44% of borrowers were delinquent on their vehicle notes. The national average is .65% of auto loans are overdue. Along with having the highest delinquency rate, Louisiana residents owe the most money on their vehicles, with the average resident having $14,705 in outstanding auto debt. Economists told The Times-Picayune that might be caused by all the people who bought new vehicles after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Deadline approaching for Clean Business nominations

Nominations are now open for the 10th annual Clean Business of the Year Awards program sponsored by Keep Baton Rouge Beautiful and Business Report. Businesses and organizations in nine categories (including retail, services, industrial, center of worship, medical, public facility and school) from the Greater Baton Rouge area can be nominated. Awards recognize those organizations that contribute to the community with an aesthetically appealing appearance. Nomination forms and details can be found at kbrb.org. The deadline to submit nominations is Saturday.

Poll: Most say they're spending less

Fifty-five percent of the people who responded to a Daily Report poll say they've cut their household spending in the past six months. Thirty-two percent of survey respondents say they're spending the same, while 12% say they are spending more. More than 1,000 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: What best sums up your reaction to InBev's purchase of Anheuser-Busch?

News roundup: Minnesota city tops Best Places list; Jindal makes 'Parade'; states scrambling to pay bills

The winner: Plymouth, Minn., a Twin Cities suburb, tops CNNMoney.com's list of the best places to live. Plymouth, which has a population of more than 70,000 people, won the honor because of affordable housing, good schools and numerous lakes. Fort Collins, Colo., ranked second and Naperville, Ill., was third. No Louisiana cities made the list. Click here for the full list. More national exposure: Parade magazine had a short Q&A with Gov. Bobby Jindal in its Sunday edition. The brief interview naturally covers Jindal's vice presidential prospects. He says the talk is "very flattering," but "I have the job that I want." Click here for the interview. A problem that isn't happening in Louisiana: Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia are dealing with a combined budget shortfall of nearly $50 billion, Kiplinger's Personal Finance reports. States are steering clear of election year tax hikes, relying instead on spending cuts and rainy-day funds to make up for the shortfalls. Kiplinger warns that the budget problems could linger for a while: The eight-month recession in 2001 caused states to run shortfalls for three years. Louisiana is one of the states that has avoided budget problems because of oil and gas taxes. Alaska, Iowa, North Dakota and Wyoming are also doing well.