News Alert: Fed cuts key interest rates by three quarters of a point
(From The Wall Street Journal) WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed its key interest rate to a three-year low and signaled more reductions are likely, unloading heavy artillery in its effort to keep the credit crunch from triggering a prolonged recession.
The three-quarter-percentage-point rate cut, though extremely aggressive by any historical measure, will disappoint many on Wall Street who thought a full percentage point was needed -- a sign of the severity of the crisis that already claimed Bear Stearns and forced Fed officials to use Depression-era tools to create new lending facilities for brokers.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 8-2 to cut the fed funds rate at which banks lend to each other from 3% to 2.25%, its lowest level since December 2004. The Fed also eased by that amount in a rare intermeeting move two months ago, which was the largest reduction since officials started targeting fed funds in the early 1980s.
Flournoy headed to RAND policy institute
Melissa Flournoy is leaving the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations, the network she founded 11 years ago, to become head of the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute, a group committed to the long term rebuilding and development of the Gulf Coast. Flournoy, who was a state representative from 1992-96, will leave LANO at the end of April. "There is never a good time to leave an organization that you love and respect, but I believe that LANO is well positioned to continue to serve the nonprofit sector," she said in a statement. The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute is a collaboration between the nonprofit think tank and seven universities, including Tulane, University of New Orleans, Xavier and Southern Mississippi. "We believe that Melissa Flournoy’s experience in the nonprofit sector and government will help the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute to continue to expand the contribution it’s making to the Gulf States region in the years to come," RAND President/CEO James Thomson says.
Meanwhile, former LANO board chair Donna Saurage will lead a search committee for Flournoy’s replacement. The committee includes former board member Barry Meyer, the executive director of the Arc of Baton Rouge, and current board members Jim Kelly of Catholic Charities of New Orleans, Ann Polak of Calcasieu Women’s Shelter, Greg Cotter of Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation, Allen Guadet of Accenture and community volunteer Pat Robinson.
Soderbergh to enter U-High Alumni Hall of Distinction
Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh will return to Baton Rouge to be inducted into the U-High Alumni Hall of Distinction on Saturday night. Soderbergh, who has directed more than a dozen films, including Traffic, Ocean's Eleven and Erin Brockovich, graduated from U-High in 1980. Kathryn Grigsby, CEO of the Hospice of Greater Baton Rouge, who graduated in 1965, will also be inducted into the hall of distinction. Paul Spaht, a local attorney who graduated in 1964, and retired U-High swimming and cross country coach Jeanne Jendrzejewski will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. at the Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center for the Arts. Tickets are $50 per person and can be obtained through manshiptheatre.org.
Law and order in the Legislature
The Legislature's regular session will commence at month’s end and, as usual, there's a confluence of lawmakers ready to throw the book and kitchen sink at crime-related issues – due chiefly to tough promises made on the campaign trail last year. There’s the "Pay-Your-Way Bill" by Rep. Damon Baldone, a Houma Democrat, which promises to generate hours of gab on talk radio. It would require inmates in work-release programs to use their wages to pay for their entire incarceration, from meals to boarding. Big Tobacco, meanwhile, will hire top-dollar lobbyists for another measure by Rep. Walker Hines, a New Orleans Democrat, which would make it a criminal act to sell cigarettes to anyone under 21. Creating new crimes, in fact, is sort of a pasttime for the Legislature, and the hobby will only gain momentum in the session. There are hordes of bills that create the crimes of battery of an adult protective services worker, criminal damage to rental property, home invasion, harboring an illegal alien, creating fake IDs, vandalism by graffiti, forged insurance documents and much more. There are also other bills that would raise the minimum mandatory sentences for felons possessing firearms and those convicted of armed robbery. It’s an annual debate in the Legislature—that is, how to be tough on crime without overcrowding jails. To that end, there are likewise broad-based bills being pushed by Rep. Elbert Guillory, an Opelousas Democrat, which would prohibit sentence suspensions from the bench from being applied to a long list of crimes. And as a part of that delicate balancing act, Rep. Rickey Hardy, a Democrat from Lafayette, is also proposing legislation that would allow certain drug offenders to swap jail time for military time. The session is scheduled to begin March 31 and must end no later than June 23.--Jeremy Alford
Portico receives $1 million in funding
Baton Rouge-based Portico Learning Solutions has received $1 million in capital to further develop its custom "e-Learning" products for the market. New Orleans-based Advantage Capital Partners, a venture capital and small-business finance firm, Enhanced Capital Partners, Louisiana Fund I and the Louisiana Technology Fund announced today they would provide the funding. Advantage earlier invested in Portico in 2006. "This second round of financing underscores our commitment to the company and to fostering entrepreneurship in the Baton Rouge area," Justin Obletz, an associate at Advantage Capital who serves on the Portico board of directors. Portico (formerly Flying Fish Creative Services) offers Internet-based learning systems for corporate, academic and government clients. The company provides online "e-learning" to more than 100,000 users at mid-sized companies and organizations worldwide.
Alabama columnist: LSU fans have "Nick Envy"
LSU football fans are still hung up on former coach Nick Saban, and the whopping raise given to Coach Les Miles is the latest example, says Paul Finebaum, who hosts a radio talk show in Alabama and writes columns for the Mobile Register. Finebaum says the fact that Miles will be making $1,000 a year more than Saban, now coach at Alabama, makes LSU look petty "which shouldn't really be that surprising considering the history of the school." Finebaum says LSU fans still want Saban back, even though Miles is fresh off a BCS title. "Nick Saban has been gone nearly four years. When will LSU fans get a life?" he says. Read the column here.
LRCE launches charter leaders academy
The Louisiana Resource Center for Educators is establishing a new training program for prospective Louisiana charter school leaders. The LRCE's Charter School Incubator is officially accepting applications from "education entrepreneurs" who want to lead an innovative charter school for historically underserved students. Deadline for application is 5 p.m. on Friday, April 4. "We are very excited about the incubator and grateful to the community leaders who have stepped up to fund an effort to recruit and support energetic and dedicated leaders who will tackle this complex application and subsequently open innovative schools," LRCE executive director Nancy Roberts says. For more information or to download an application go to lrce.org or call 924-7600.
Clegg's newest cookbook to focus on Gulf Coast
Holly Clegg has joined up with the America's WETLAND Foundation on her newest cookbook, Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific America's Gulf Coast Favorites, to raise national awareness of Louisiana's coastal loss. Part of the proceeds from book sales will go to the foundation. Clegg says preserving Gulf Coast culture means protecting the coast, and hopes her book makes Americans realize that "without coastal culture, great things like our unique cuisine would not exist." The new cookbook contains over 300 recipes indigenous to the Gulf Coast region and incorporates Clegg's trademark Trim & Terrific cooking tips. Sidebars relate tidbits about America's WETLAND and the Gulf Coast region. Healthy and time-saving cooking tips are also featured throughout the book.--Steve Clark
Real Estate Weekly: Home remodeling not slowing down
Real Estate Weekly is out with news about the local market for home remodeling, how a local nonprofit that deals with affordable housing is handling the credit crunch and the latest columns from Tom Cook and Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.
Political roundup: Holden kicks off re-election bid; D.A.'s race heating up; Calongne calls Hillary
Let the campaign begin: Mayor-President Kip Holden will formally launch his re-election campaign at noon Wednesday in the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center. Holden, a Democrat who is completing his first term as mayor-president, has already received the endorsement of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber's political action committee. The race is on: Attorney Dan Claitor will hold a fundraiser early next month for his campaign for district attorney. Claitor and Hillar Moore III have been campaigning for the office for more than a year, ever since Doug Moreau announced he might leave the D.A.'s office before his term ends. Moore had a heavy presence this weekend at the St. Patrick's Day parade. It's 3 a.m. Do you know where your candidate is? Laurinda Calongne, a candidate for the 6th Congressional District seat, has made a commercial spoofing Sen. Hillary Clinton's "3 a.m." ad. In the spot, which premiered online and is set to debut on local television, Calongne calls Clinton in the White House at 3 a.m. to berate her for wasteful spending. The commercial has attracted national attention from The New York Times and MSNBC. See the spot here. Calongne faces former state Rep. Woody Jenkins in the Republican runoff election April 5.
News roundup: B.R. teen finishes second at international computer programming event; Woods buys $65 million estate
Improves on last year's finish: Neal Wu, a student at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, finished second at the TopCoder global programming tournament, held recently at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Neal competed against some of the top young computer programmers from around the world. He earned $10,000 in scholarships for his second place finish. Last year, Neal finished third at the TopCoder tournament. Tiger's new lair: Golf champ Tiger Woods has purchased a $65 million seaside estate in the Hamptons on Long Island, The New York Post reports. The property features a 13,200-square-foot home, a 7,500-square-foot guesthouse and sits on nearly six acres. Woods already owns a $40 million mansion in Florida, and he's building a luxury home in Dubai.
