Pay raise redux: Did Jindal break promise?

In August 2007, at least through his campaign materials, then-Congressman Bobby Jindal promised voters that he would, as governor, “prohibit Legislators from giving themselves pay raises that take effect before the subsequent election.” Despite the pledge of less than a year ago, the Republican governor now says he won't veto a bill that increases lawmakers' salaries to $37,500, from $16,800. The Senate on Monday approved the House-backed compromise bill, and while Jindal has spoken out against the increase he's also vowed not to veto the largest legislative boost in nearly 30 years. “I will keep my pledge to let them govern themselves and make their own decisions as a separate branch of government,” Jindal said in a news release.

Jindal's action—or inaction—stands in stark contrast to the vow he made voters on page 5 of his 2007 spending platform, entitled “Government Reform: Controlling Runaway State Spending.” In it, Jindal states, “Any increase in salary approved by the Legislature should take effect after the next election so the public can decide who deserves that compensation.” Asked if the campaign promise mirrors the governor’s current stance, press secretary Melissa Sellers responded in the affirmative, saying the governor still maintains the same position. “(Jindal) said this again at a press conference last week after the House's vote and continues to point out that not only is the Legislature's move to double their pay completely unreasonable, but it should not take effect until after the next election," Sellers says.

But legislative independence may not be the only reason Jindal is avoiding a veto. The House came within two votes last week of overriding the new governor’s veto on a retirement bill. If the political will amongst lawmakers is strong enough for that, and a self-initiated pay increase, it’s indeed there for an override, which would only weaken Jindal’s already-rocky standing with legislators. For the full story, click here.—Jeremy Alford

Two Perkins Rowe restaurants opening in August

The Grillroom, a Chicago-based chophouse and wine bar, is scheduled to open in Perkins Rowe at the beginning of August. Paul Carlson, Perkins Rowe general manager, says the exterior is finished and construction is about 30% complete. The upscale steakhouse takes up 7,000 square feet and shares a building behind Barnes and Noble with California Pizza Kitchen, which is also opening in August.

Teen fashion retailer to open two-story Mall of Louisiana store

Forever 21, one of the top teen fashion retailers in the U.S., will open a nearly 27,000-square-foot store in the Mall of Louisiana. Plans are to open the two-level store by Nov. 1 in the Macy's wing of the shopping center. AT&T and Aveda are moving to make room for Forever 21. Because of its size, the store will basically serve as another anchor retailer for the mall. This is the first Baton Rouge location for Forever 21, which sells casual clothes and accessories, with just about every item under $30.

Baton Rouge ranks 47th for traffic

A survey of traffic congestion in the 100 largest cities in the U.S. has Baton Rouge ranked 47th. The INRIX National Traffic Scorecard shows that traffic has increased locally by 2.9% since 2006. It's no great surprise the report says Baton Rouge traffic is the worst from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, and the worst local bottleneck is Interstate 12 eastbound at Millerville Road. Los Angeles was ranked as having the worst traffic in the country, and New Orleans was 42nd. Read the report here.

'Hip Hop Doc' fights disease villains in comics

Dr. Rani G. Whitfield, "The Hip Hop Doc," has launched a new comic-book series to promote good health habits among children and college students. The Hip Hop Doc follows The Legion of Health, superheroes who represent different aspects of healthy living, such as nutrition, research and fitness. Like any team of superheroes, they have villains, in this case the Dungeon of Disease, which represent life-threatening illness and poor behavior. For Whitfield, a family practice and sports medicine physician in Baton Rouge, the comic books are another way to get out his message about positive health values, including positive eating habits. "Comic books are used in the classroom as an adjunct to education," Whitfield says. "There are a lot of kids who don't want to read long pages." Greg Nichols, a comic book artist and writer who grew up in Baton Rouge, helped create The Hip Hop Doc comics, which are currently available through Whitfield's Web site h2doc.com. Plans are in the works for more widespread distribution. "No kid should pay for a comic book," Whitfield says. "We're going to give copies away to address disparities in health care."—Timothy Boone

Real Estate Report: Homewood Suites planned for Reiger Road

Real Estate Report has news about a 100-room Homewood Suites by Hilton planned for Reiger Road, the third new hotel for Interstate 10 and Siegen Lane. Also: the River Park development goes before the Planning Commission, two stores are scheduled to open in the Acadian-Perkins shopping center, Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves purchases a new home and the latest column from Tom Cook. To read the newsletter, click here.

Poll: Most remain opposed to legislative pay raise

Daily Report readers are still overwhelmingly opposed to a legislative pay raise despite a compromise that doubled legislators salaries instead of tripling them. Forty-three percent of respondents to an online survey say the Senate shouldn't have approved the raises because Legislators knew what their salaries would be before they ran for office. Forty-percent say they are against the raises because they are still too big. Sixteen percent of respondents say the compromise passed by the House and Senate that brings pay from $16,800 a year to $37,500 is fair and 1% were unsure. Nearly 1,450 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: Would you be willing to pay for toll roads to alleviate Baton Rouge’s traffic problems?

News roundup: Employees more likely to promote workers who wear professional clothes; Forum 35 goes green; not too late to sign up for summer camps

Dress for success: A survey of employers shows that 41% of companies say that people who dress better or more professionally tend to be promoted more than others. The CareerBuilder.com report says the financial service industry puts the most emphasis on professional dress, with 55% stating that the better clad are promoted more. Thirty-five percent of the employers surveyed say they have had to send workers home to change clothes because of inappropriate dress. All about the trees: Diane Losavio, executive director of Baton Rouge Green, will address the monthly lunch meeting of Forum 35 at noon Friday. Losavio will talk about BRG and what it has accomplished over the past 15 years for Baton Rouge's trees and forests. The lunch will be held at Juban's; admission is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. To RSVP, click here. Get the kids out of the house: Did your summer plans change suddenly? Did you not plan ahead of time what to do with the kids this summer? No biggie. Plenty of places are still accepting registration for unique summer camps. Click here for 225 magazine's list of camps.