Friday, August 29, 2008
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A 73-year-old Metairie construction company owner has claimed a $97 million Powerball jackpot, the largest in state history. Carl Hunter claimed the prize at the Louisiana Lottery offices this morning. The winning numbers were drawn Jan. 16; Hunter bought the ticket at the West Metairie Shell station on West Metairie Avenue. Lottery officials say Hunter plans to retire with his winnings.
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The third and final community meeting for the Baton Rouge CityStats project is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at BREC headquarters on Florida Boulevard. The project, led by Ben Warner of Jacksonville Community Council Inc. and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, seeks to define a vision for Baton Rouge and select indicators to measure the progress toward that vision. The indicators could be anything that reflects quality of life, from the murder rate to art gallery attendance. The first meeting, BRAF spokesman Mukul Verma said, was attended by about 100 people and was primarily an introduction to the process. The second, attended by more than 70, was about creating the vision and beginning to pick the indicators. Tuesday’s meeting should result in the creation of about 60 indicators that will be researched by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber over the summer. BRAF will release a report and a Web site early next year, and continue to revisit those same factors each year to guide its projects; they expect other community organizations will do the same. To download the draft vision statements from the last meeting, click here. To read a Business Report story about the CityStats effort, click here.--David Jacobs
Baton Rouge ranked ninth on a list of the 10 fastest-growing real estate markets, according to Money Magazine and CNNMoney.com. The report says Capital Region home prices are expected to rise by 2.8% this year and 2.1% in 2009. In comparison, home prices are expected to drop in 75 of the 100 biggest U.S. cities. Some markets are expected to keep on dropping until 2010. See the story here.
H&E Equipment Services posted lower-than-expected first-quarter results, hurt by higher interest expenses and rises in rental depreciation. Net income for the Baton Rouge-based company—which sells and rents new and used cranes, earthmoving equipment and industrial lift trucks—fell to $10.2 million, or 28 cents a share, from $12.1 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue, however, rose 17.2% to $245.8 million, helped by the company's recent acquisition in the Mid-Atlantic region. Analysts on average expected the company to earn 29 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $255.1 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Baton Rouge ranks 42nd on a list of the best cities for relocating families. The survey, which was prepared for Worldwide ERC and Primary Relocation, companies that specialize in employee relocation, looked at factors such as job growth, the number of pediatricians per capita and environmental incentives. Baton Rouge was one of 50 cities in the mid-size metro area list, which covered places with populations between 600,000 and 1.3 million people. Omaha, Neb., topped the list, while New Orleans ranked No. 41 and Stockton, Calif., ranked last. In the small metro area category, which covered places with populations between 360,000 and 600,000, Rockingham County, N.H., led the list and Shreveport-Bossier City was 16th. Pittsburgh was named the best large metro area for a relocating family.
The news that Albemarle Corporation is moving its corporate headquarters to Baton Rouge is the type of thing you dream of announcing, Business ReportPublisher Rolfe McCollister says. The move is not only a big win for the city, but for Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret and Mayor Kip Holden. "My bet is this won’t be the last announcement of this kind," McCollister says. "Jindal and Moret are just getting started, and Moret’s salary is an investment that will pay big dividends for the state." Also: the library site receives more complaints, a St. Gabriel “racino” should be rejected, Louisiana could be the model for national reforms, grass-cutting is a good step toward privatization, Jindal puts himself and the state in the national spotlight and congratulations to new Baton Rouge Area Chamber head Adam Knapp. To read the column, click here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.
Alon USA Energy has struck a deal with Valero Energy to buy its Krotz Springs refinery for $333 million. The deal is expected to close in July, pending regulatory approval. Alon, an independent fuel marketer based in Dallas, has four refineries in Texas, California and Oregon. Valero put the Krotz Springs refinery on the market earlier this year. The facility produces 85,000 barrels of fuel a day.
A variety of special events and promotions are planned for the Mississippi State-LSU baseball games this weekend, when the Tigers play their final regular-season series in 70-year-old Alex Box Stadium. LSU (32-16-1 overall, 12-11-1 SEC) is first in the SEC Western Division and ranked No. 22 in the Baseball America and ESPN/USA Today polls. Events for Friday’s 7 p.m. game include a pregame appearance by Mike VI, Mississippi State Coach Ron Polk’s participation in the stadium countdown and the announcement of the All-Alex Box Team Omaha Era outfielders and postgame fireworks. Events for Saturday’s 3 p.m. game include a Senior Day pregame ceremony, postgame distribution of a commemorative panoramic poster of the stadium, LSU Coach Paul Mainieri’s participation in the stadium countdown, recognition of the Tigers’ 1961 SEC championship team and the announcement of the All-Alex Box Team Omaha Era catchers and infielders. Events for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game include former LSU Coach Skip Bertman’s participation in the stadium countdown, the announcement of the All-Alex Box Team Omaha Era pitchers and a postgame stadium tribute ceremony.
Sort of puts things in perspective: A survey of gas prices in 155 countries found that the U.S. had the 45th lowest fuel costs, despite the steady upswing in prices, CNNMoney reports. Gas cost more than $8 a gallon across most of Europe, $12.03 in Aruba and $18.42 in Sierra Leone, according to AIRINC, a firm that tracks cost of living data. On the other end are fuel costs in nations that are major oil producers, like Venezuela, where gas is 12 cents a gallon, and Saudi Arabia, where it is 45 cents a gallon. Read the story and see how other nations rank here. Battle of the sexes: Over the past five months, American women gained nearly 300,000 jobs and American men lost 700,000 jobs, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The disparity is due to the sectors that have been hardest hit by the slumping economy, BusinessWeek reports. Men are more likely to work in construction and manufacturing, while women are concentrated in growing fields, such as education and health care. Who plays the Lotto? Nearly half of all Louisiana Lottery players make other purchases when buying their tickets, spending an average of $19 on gas, cold drinks and snacks, according to a survey released by the lottery corporation. The survey, which was based on 700 responses, showed that 70% of players always or frequently visited the same retailer to buy tickets and that convenience stores that sell gas are the most popular places to get the tickets.
If the mayor’s election was held today, for whom would you vote?
