O'Keefe lands on his feet with D.C. job

Sean O'Keefe has a landed a new job. Effective June 2, the former LSU chancellor will take over GE Aviation's Washington D.C. operations, replacing Thomas Cooper, who's held the job for 21 years. GE Aviation is the world's top supplier of aircraft engines. O'Keefe submitted his letter of resignation from LSU on Jan. 16. He succeeded Mark Emmert as chancellor in February 2005 and launched the public phase of the Forever LSU fundraising campaign in July 2006. GE Aviation president and CEO Scott Donnelly says O'Keefe brings "a wealth of experience involving complex public policy issues as well as advanced technology." O'Keefe served as administrator of NASA from 2001-05, deputy director and deputy assistant to the president at the Office of Management and Budget in 2001, and Secretary of the Navy from 1992-93.

O'Keefe said in email this morning that he's looking forward to working with old friends in D.C. and that a new administration in Washington will mean "new opportunities and challenges, but always exciting issues." O'Keefe said he'll depart in June "with fond memories, no regrets and secure in the knowledge that I did my best every day to move LSU to the next level." O'Keefe will commute between Baton Rouge and Washington over the next year while his youngest son completes high school.--Steve Clark

BRAF assets increase by 5%

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation says its assets grew by 5.2% in 2007 to an estimated $568 million. The assets grew because of donations and an increase in the investment portfolio, foundation officials said at their annual meeting Wednesday night. BRAF made more than 2,800 grants last year, with a total value of $18.8 million. Copper Alvarez of BREADA, which runs the Farmers Market and the Red Stick Market; Christopher Geske of the Livingston Youth and Family Counseling Center; and Barry Meyer, executive director of ARC in Baton Rouge were named winners of the John W. Barton Sr. Excellence in Nonprofit Management Awards. Each was presented $10,000. The foundation elected new directors: Donald H. Daigle, vice president of Exxon Engineering; G. Lee Griffin, retired chairman of Bank One Louisiana; C. Kris Kirkpatrick, founder of Long Law Firm; Leonard S. Wyatt, Whitney Bank retail manager for Baton Rouge market; and Matthew G. McKay, co-owner of All Star Automotive.

First loans awarded for B.R. small business program

The first four loan recipients of the Baton Rouge Small Business Loan Fund will be presented checks totaling $167,500 at a ceremony at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation atrium at 1:30 p.m. today. The recipients are:

--Bobby Crockett, Crockett's Security Guard Service, $5,000.

--Noble Enime, Covenant General Contractors, $95,000.

--Sam Kenerson, S&S Enterprises, $16,500.

--Yancy McGuffery, YD's Trucking, $51,000.

The fund, managed by Seedco Financial, provides below-market-rate loans to small businesses with flexible repayment terms and especially targets women and minority entrepreneurs who have had trouble getting loans from traditional sources. The fund was created with $1.5 million from Seedco, nearly $1 million from the seven members of the Baton Rouge Bankers Round Table and $500,000 from the city-parish. Entergy has contributed $50,000, and the fund is seeking an additional $2 million to reach its goal of financing 100 businesses in three years.--David Jacobs

Louisiana foreclosure rate drops

Louisiana was one of five states to post a decrease in the foreclosure rate in February, when compared with the year before. According to RealtyTrac, an online service that tracks real estate data, there was one foreclosure for every 2,985 households in Louisiana last month. That was a 15.25% drop from the year before, compared to the national average, which saw foreclosure filings increase by nearly 60% from February 2007. The only other states to record a drop were Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas. Maine reported the biggest increase at 2,156%, but RealtyTrac says the surge in foreclosure filings might be from improved coverage in the state. Louisiana had the 40th highest foreclosure rate out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Nevada had the worst rate, with one foreclosure filing for every 165 households.

More restaurants coming to Mall of Louisiana

Two more restaurants have recently applied for building permits to go inside the Mall of Louisiana. Wasabi Jane's Rice & Teriyaki is set to go in the old Little Tokyo location. The Asian restaurant should open by mid-April or early May. Around the same time, Salad Creations will open its first Louisiana location. Salad Creations is one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the country, according to RestaurantChains.net, specializing in fresh, made-to-order salads and wraps. Several other restaurants are set to open in the mall and its new expansion, The Boulevard, as part of a major tenant reshuffling. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Sake Café and Bravo! Cucina Italiana Restaurant are scheduled to open during the summer.

Publisher: Praises arts, lower taxes; questions The Advocate, Rep. Peterson

The arts don't just improve our quality of life and enrich the learning experience for school children, they also are a recruitment tool for businesses, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says. "Executives who are looking for a new location want to know what is available in terms of culture and entertainment for themselves, their employees and their families," McCollister says. Please help the Community Fund for the Arts during their annual campaign drive. Plus: Special session targets business and education; The Advocate explains its education coverage; citizens make the difference in ethics reform; Stephen Moret deserves his Louisiana Economic Development salary; BRAF tracking the city’s progress; and the Metro Council does a good job with its recent appointments. Read the column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

Shortage in HD boxes causes rationing at Cox

Cox Communications has been forced to limit the number of high-definition cable boxes it leases to each household because of a temporary shortage in supply. Motorola, which manufactures the HD boxes and the combo digital video recorder/HD boxes, has not been able to keep up with the surge in households with high-definition sets, says Ann Ruble, a spokeswoman for Cox. "We would love to be able to send out more," she says. "But with more and more households buying HD sets, this is an issue with every cable company." The rationing has been in effect off and on for much of the past year. "We're going to have to do this until we get to a place where we can fill everybody's needs and wants," she says. Motorola says there should be some help at the end of April, when more combo DVR/HD boxes come into Baton Rouge. "We're keeping up with this from week to week," Ruble says.--Timothy Boone

March Madness begins for Tigers

LSU (13-17) opens play in the Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament against South Carolina (13-17) at noon today in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. The game will be televised by WAFB-TV and broadcast on WTGE-FM (98.1). The winner advances to the quarterfinals against regular-season champion and No. 4-ranked Tennessee (28-3) at noon Friday. South Carolina Coach Dave Odom has announced his retirement effective at the end of this season. LSU Interim Coach Butch Pierre is one of the candidates to replace John Brady, who was fired Feb. 8.

News roundup: Heart center opens at Earl K. Long; soft drink sales drop; National Academy of Engineering head to speak at LSU

Heart help: The Heart and Vascular Center will open this afternoon at Earl K. Long Medical Center. Patients will be able to get quick diagnosis on chest pain and coronary artery disease, along with getting positive stress tests to determine what care they need. Lacking fizz: U.S. soft drink sales volumes dropped by 2.3% in 2007 as Coke and Pepsi failed to overcome flagging consumer interest and rising commodity prices pushed drink costs higher, The Wall Street Journal reports. Coke and Pepsi saw their sales volumes drop 2.7% from the previous year, according to the report from Beverage Digest. Per capita, Americans drank 789 8-ounce glasses of carbonated beverages in 2007, compared with 849 8-ounce servings in 2000. Vest to speak on 21st century education: Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak at LSU at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 31 as part of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Lectureship Series. Vest's lecture, "Teaching, Research and Learning in the 21st Century” will be held in the Energy, Coast and Environment Building. The event is free and open to the public.