State government receives "B" for performance

State-by-state report cards were issued this morning for government performance—and Louisiana received a "B.” The report, from the Pew Center on the States, evaluates states on a variety of factors, including budgeting, infrastructure and work-force planning. The state scored well on worker training and development and the services and information offered online. Pew noted that Louisiana's management structures weathered hurricanes Katrina and Rita "surprisingly well" by making sure that government employees got paid on time and giving managers flexibility to pay workers for extra duty. But the study gave the state poor marks for infrastructure and says the most pressing capital planning problem hasn't been fixed: the Legislature's habit of approving "a laundry list of projects many times longer than the state could ever fund or accomplish." Read the full report here.

Columbia Sussex confirms riverboat swap

A spokesman for Columbia Sussex/Tropicana Casinos & Resorts, the owners of the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, says they intend to switch the downtown gambling boat with the Amelia Belle, which is docked in St. Mary Parish, although the necessary paperwork to do so had not been filed with the Louisiana Gaming Control Board as of this morning. The spokesman could not say when the official petition would be filed, but said the companies are in the process of gathering information to supply to the board. St. Mary Parish officials have already given their blessing; Parish President Paul Naquin says the casino's ownership feels the larger Amelia Belle would be better able to take advantage of the larger Baton Rouge market.--David Jacobs

Central signs deal for government services

Central's City Council unanimously approved a three-year contract with CH2M HILL Sunday to provide basic government services for the next three years. The contract is worth $3.5 million a year, plus $800,000 in start-up costs for the first year and the possibility to renegotiate for about an extra 3% in subsequent years to account for inflation, says David Barrow, executive assistant to Central Mayor Shelton Watts. City officials had spent the better part of last week in negotiations; East Baton Rouge Parish was scheduled to stop providing services on Saturday, and Central wanted to have an agreement in place in time to open for business today. The City Council had already given preliminary approval for the agreement, which gave CH2M HILL the opportunity to go ahead and hire about 17 employees, Barrow says. The number to reach the company for building permits and all other services in Central is 262-5000.--David Jacobs

Pennington plays host to international obesity research conference

Scientists from around the world are visiting Pennington Biomedical Research Center today and Tuesday to chew the fat, so to speak, on key discoveries in the field of obesity research. The conference, part of the events marking Pennington’s 20th anniversary, is being billed as the “20 Most Significant Achievements in Obesity Research, Prevention and Treatment.” It has attracted scientists from the United and States and Australia, England, France, Japan, New Zealand and Sweden, to share their findings.

Shaw announces lobbying expenditures

The Shaw Group spent $460,000 in 2007 to lobby the Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy on a variety of issues, including nuclear energy, military housing and hurricane rebuilding, according to The Associated Press. Baton Rouge-based Shaw disclosed the lobbying expenses in a filing with the U.S. Senate.

Dardenne still eyeing Senate run

No other candidate garnered more favor among voters during the 2007 primary election season than Secretary of State Jay Dardenne. He even received 57,000 more votes than fellow Republican Bobby Jindal. Dardenne is a charming counterpart to the hard-edged GOP prototype, and he polls well among women and crossover voters. That’s why many Louisiana Republicans continue urging him to jump into the upcoming U.S. Senate race. “I’m still thinking about it and plan on making a decision fairly soon,” Dardenne says. “But honestly, other people are thinking more about it for me than I am.” While Dardenne’s supporters argue that the former state senator from Baton Rouge would be better suited to become governor one day, many also wonder whether the only announced GOP candidate in the Senate race—State Treasurer John Kennedy—has truly changed his stripes. Kennedy was a registered Democrat until last year, and he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 as the avowed liberal in the contest with David Vitter. Some GOP faithful are looking for backup candidates to take on U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat. That Dardenne’s name is still active may reveal the trepidation some Louisiana Republicans have about coalescing around Kennedy, who was drafted more by the national party than local GOP leaders.--Jeremy Alford

Southern small business center schedules conference

Southern University's center for Rural and Small Business Development will host the “Connecting Businesses with Contracts” conference, which starts at 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 18, in the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union Cotillion Ballroom. The purpose of this conference is to provide training and assistance to Louisiana’s small business. The school hopes to link various small businesses with federal and state procurement agents and prime contractors. More than 30 exhibitors will be at the conference, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Capital One Bank and Louisiana Department of Economic Development. For more information, e-mail Gloria_london@suagcenter.com.

Poll: Reading most popular activity

Most Daily Report readers like to spend their free time curled up with a good book. Twenty-seven percent of the people who responded to an online survey say reading is their favorite leisure activity. Seventeen percent of respondents say they would rather watch television in their free time, while 16% like to go hunting and fishing when they get a chance. Golfing was selected by 14% of readers, seven votes ahead of gardening, which also got 14%. Nearly 1,050 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: Have you made up your mind on who you will vote for in Saturday's Sixth District congressional election?

Executive spotlight: David Briggs

David Briggs, the executive director of the Shaw Center for the Arts, says he enjoys his job because he believes the arts in general provide depth and insight and joy into our society and our personal life. The Columbus, Ohio, native says he wants to see Baton Rouge realize its potential as a leading capital city. To read our question- and-answer session with Briggs, click here. We've pulled a few of our favorites below:

Who would play you in a movie?

Someone short, probably Richard Dreyfuss.

What do you do to unwind?

Read, play golf, enjoy an ice-cold beer and a good cigar.

News roundup: Study says daylight saving time might waste energy; Southern students win math and science education scholarship; Falcons cut Dunn

Spring forward, fall back, use more power: The recent move by Indiana to switch entirely to daylight saving time is costing households $8.6 million in electric bills, according to a recent study. The study, by an economist at the University of California-Santa Barbara looked at monthly electric meter readings since the state went to daylight saving time in 2006, The Wall Street Journal reports. The study showed that while an extra hour of daylight in the evenings may mean less electricity is spent on lights, it also means that houses are warmer in the summer when people come home from work. During daylight saving time's cooler months, people crank up the thermostats more in the morning. Making more teachers: Yancey Dawson and Kenie Moses, students at Southern University, won Siemens Teacher Scholarships. The program, set up by the Siemens Foundation, the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, is aimed at encouraging students at historically black colleges to pursue careers in teaching math and science. Dawson and Moses weren't the only participants with a tie to Southern; Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, vice president of the Siemens Foundation, is a graduate of the university. Former Catholic High School standout released: The Atlanta Falcons have released starting running back Warrick Dunn after six seasons with the NFL team, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports this morning. Dunn, who played collegiately at Florida State, became expendable after the Falcons signed free agent Michael Turner. Several teams could be in the running for Dunn, who is known for his community service work, including the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos.