This Morning's Headlines / Wed, June 18, 2008
News Alert: Two cotton spinning plants planned for Louisiana
A Mexican textile firm plans to build two cotton spinning plants in Louisiana, a $75 million investment that will create 160 new full-time jobs. The first of the Zagis USA plants could open in Jennings by the end of the year, says Stephen Moret, Louisiana Economic Development secretary. Zagis will use Louisiana cotton to make yarn, so the plant will provide a market for farmers. "Once they get to full capacity, those plants may use 15% to 20% of the state's cotton crop," Moret says. Zagis will announce the second location in the next few months; Moret says the second plant should be slightly bigger than the Jennings location. The plants will have an average annual wage of $31,000 plus benefits. "This moves us up a step in the chain of making value-added products," Moret says. Zagis is a division of Grupo Zaga, which manufactures textiles, clothes and operates retail stores. Zagis was interested in opening Louisiana plants because of the access to raw materials and the transportation infrastructure. The company had been talking with LED and Department of Agriculture officials for a couple of years, Moret says. LED is giving about $2 million in incentives to Zagis, including a water tower for the plant.—Timothy Boone
Chamber backs loop plans
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber gave its official blessing to the proposed loop this morning—but with a few conditions. BRAC President/CEO Adam Knapp says the organization has been busy in the past couple of months reviewing the project and getting input from leadership in the five affected parishes. At a morning news conference, he said the loop will be “tremendous for our region’s economic development and growth,” but cautioned that it “must be coupled with excellent regional land-use planning” to enable smarter growth. The chamber wants the planning process to remain open and public, and for it to move forward with plans to utilize private funding sources. The endorsement also calls for the loop to be a component in a broader long-term regional transportation strategy, and for regional planning to prepare for the accompanying growth.—Penny Brown
Trahan downtown art event today
An art event at 202 Lafayette St., featuring motionless dancers from Of Moving Colors and a desk designed by architect Trey Trahan will be happening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. Chartreuse on Lafayette: A Tableau Vivant is Trahan’s way of sharing his firm’s newest furniture design—a retail counter, desk and check-out area for NK Boutique—with the community before it’s shipped to the Corporate Boulevard store. For a look at the desk, click here. For more about the tableau, click here.
New locally owned pharmacy in the works for Zachary
Jock Baker has applied for a permit to open a pharmacy in Zachary. Pending approval from the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, Baker has leased a location of about 2,000 square feet on La. Highway 19 from Brad Chaney and his father, John. Baker’s wife, Pierre, who will own the business, says a late summer opening is likely with initial plans to sell mainly pharmaceuticals. Baker has been a pharmacist at Sullivan’s Pharmacy in Zachary for nearly 15 years. Sullivan’s has been purchased by Walgreens. Although a definite date has not been provided, Pierre Baker says the transition could occur in late July. She also says her husband is bringing a strong customer base with him based on personal service to their new location.—Anna Thibodeaux
Woods to have season-ending knee surgery
Tiger Woods has decided to have surgery on his left knee, ending his 2008 season. Woods said this morning on his Web site that he will have surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. He also wrote he needs time to rehabilitate a double stress fracture of his left tibia, which he said was discovered just before the Memorial Tournament in late May. Woods skipped that event, but played 91 holes in winning the U.S. Open last weekend in a playoff against Rocco Mediate. Woods said no date has been determined for the surgery. "I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time. I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open," Woods said on his Web site. "Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery, and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee."
Is the bloom off the Baton Rouge real estate market?
Slowing home sales. Dozens of empty spec houses. Hundreds of undeveloped lots. Those are some of the things found in the Baton Rouge housing market nearly three years after a boom triggered by Hurricane Katrina. But that boom has slowed because of overbuilding and tight credit. “Developments that had a chance to get started before we had this slowdown have continued to build on that, but the guys that are just coming out with lots, they’re struggling," one local developer says. Read the Business Report cover story here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.
Louisiana sex trafficking targeted
A new reports finds girls and boys are being sold for sex in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, even though no one yet has been charged in Louisiana under federal or state sex-trafficking laws. The report says the problem intensified in the days after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with relief workers soliciting the services of the enslaved children. The report, conducted by the nonprofit Shared Hope International, says state and nonprofit agencies have served at least 100 victims of sex trafficking in the area since 2006. Staff members at Youth Oasis, a Baton Rouge shelter, say in the report that 57% of the 157 minors they served in 2006 qualified as sex-trafficking victims. To view the report, click here.
Bush supports increased offshore drilling
With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, President Bush urged Congress today to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the United States needs to increase its energy production. "There is no excuse for delay," the president said in a statement in the Rose Garden. With the presidential election on the horizon, Bush blamed Democratic lawmakers for opposing his energy policies and for high gasoline costs. His proposal echoed a call by Republican presidential candidate John McCain to open the Continental Shelf for exploration. There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order. Bush is not lifting the executive order, saying he wants Congress to take the first step. Bush said he will lift the executive ban once Congress lifts its moratorium. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, announced his support for drilling off the shores of his state Tuesday, reversing his longstanding opposition.
News roundup: LSU professor receives honor from Arbor Day Foundation; credit card debt and loan delinquencies post quarterly drop
Abbey gets honor: Buck Abbey, an associate professor at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at LSU, has been honored by the Arbor Day Foundation. Abbey was presented with the Frederick Law Olmsted Award, which is named after the designer of Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. Abbey received the honor for his tree planting, conservation work and efforts in drafting landscaping standards for communities across the U.S. Getting out of the hole: The amount of money consumers owed on their credit cards dropped 1.25% from the end of 2007. TransUnion.com says the number of people who are more than three months past due on credit cards fell by 12.5% during the first three months of the year, when compared with the fourth quarter of 2007. The changes are a sign that consumers are taking stock of how much they owe. The average debt per credit card borrower was $1,673 in the first quarter, 5.6% more than the $1,584 in debt that was carried a year earlier.
