Planning commission to look at downtown demolition, mixed-use project

The City-Parish Planning Commission is set to vote on a concept plan for a mixed-use development on Joor Road at its meeting this evening. Joor Crossings, near the intersection of Mickens Road, would have 249 low-, medium- and high-density housing units, along with 65,000 square feet of office space. A development group from Fort Myers, Fla., is planning the project, which is recommended by commission staff members. The commission will also consider the demolition of a building at 438 Main Street and all but the front façade of 442 Main Street, also known as the Saltz building. The two buildings are structurally unsound. Plans are to put up a new building, with the Saltz façade, that would serve as the offices for Commercial Properties Realty Trust. Planning commission staff members have recommended the demolition.

'Black Friday' sales information popping up online

Worried retailers, who typically keep their "Black Friday" sales specials secret until the day after Thanksgiving, have apparently leaked the information early to jump-start lagging holiday sales. Dozens of ad circulars from major retailers like Sears, Target, and KB Toys are now on Web sites, such as blackfriday.info, black-friday.net and blackfridayonline.com. Some of the sites even let visitors make shopping lists in advance so they can finish up the turkey and hit the hot sales. According to National Retail Federation survey, this year’s financial crisis has crushed consumer confidence. Seventy-two percent of shoppers say they have completed less than 10% of holiday gift-buying. When they do buy presents, 41.5% of buyers say they will primarily use debit cards instead of credit card. That compares with 40.1% of shoppers who paid for presents in 2007 with their debit cards. Credit card use is expected to drop, from 32.3% of shoppers mainly putting gifts on plastic last year, to 31.5% in 2008.—Anna Thibodeaux

10/12 Corridor Coalition introduces marketing campaign

The 10/12 Corridor Coalition this morning began rolling out its proposed marketing campaign in hopes of gathering needed financial support. About 30 people attended a session at the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau as the Austin, Texas-based marketing firm GSD&M presented the campaign, "Louisiana to the rescue.” The concept is a creative twist on the imagery of Louisiana's on rooftops after the hurricanes, instead portraying the state swooping in to save Americans from their mundane lives in other places. Other sessions are planned for 2 p.m. today in Covington, 8 a.m. Tuesday in Baton Rouge, 9 a.m. Wednesday in Lafayette and 2 p.m. Wednesday in Lake Charles. For more information about the campaign, read the 10/12 story here.—Penny Brown Font

Capital Region executives can test physical powers in Business Report competition

Are you more fit than your peers? Business Report launches its first Fittest Execs competition, where the Capital Region’s most efficient and effective business executives go head to head in a health and wellness contest. The competition will highlight leaders who are truly setting an example while focusing some deserved attention on those who take fitness to the highest level. The Capital Region’s fittest executives will compete in four categories (men under 50, men over 50, women under 50 and women over 50). The competition is limited to C-level, president, vice president, owner, partner, executive director or retired executives of companies or corporations with more than five employees. Fitness appraisals will take place at Bally Total Fitness Baton Rouge through Friday, Dec. 19, with the results to be announced in the Jan. 13 issue of Business Report. The deadline to enter is Monday, Dec. 15. Click here to register.

Feds charge Mark Cuban with insider trading

Federal regulators have charged Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading for allegedly using confidential information on a stock sale to avoid more than $750,000 in losses. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Cuban this morning in federal court in Dallas. The agency says that in June 2004, Cuban was invited to get in on the coming stock offering by Mamma.com Inc. after he agreed to keep the information private. The SEC says Cuban knew the shares would be sold below the current market price, and a few hours after receiving the information, told his broker to sell all shares in the search engine company. According to the SEC, the complaint seeks to permanently enjoin Cuban from future violations of the federal securities laws, disgorgement (with prejudgment interest), and a financial penalty. To read the full complaint, click here.

Executive spotlight: Crissie Head

Crissie Head is a partner with LaPorte Sehrt Romig Hand, a New Orleans-based accounting firm that entered the Baton Rouge market last year. She joined the firm last year, when LSRH purchased local accounting company The Gautreau Group. Becoming a partner was a major accomplishment for Head. " When I graduated from college, women were a minority in accounting, especially in leadership positions. That is no longer the case," she says. "There is a tremendous amount of opportunity for women in accounting right now." To read the full Q&A with Head, click here. Here is a sample question.

What was your first job?

Very first job? A cashier at McDonald’s (I was not good on the grill…..)

Poll: Most support spending cuts

Sixty-nine percent of the people who responded to a Daily Report poll say the state should make deep spending cuts in order to cope with a potential loss of $1.3 billion in revenues. Twenty-two percent say the best move is a combination of cuts and tax hikes to make up the difference caused by declining oil and gas revenues, 7% were unsure and 2% recommended tax hikes. Nearly 1,050 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: At what point in LSU’s football game Saturday night against Troy did you leave the stadium, stop watching it on TV or stop listening to it on the radio?

News roundup: Mayors offers Obama advice … Bank of America top mortgage lender...Washington wonders where will the Obama girls go to school

Suggestions for the president-elect: Lafayette city-parish President Joey Durel and Covington Mayor Candace Watkins are among 200 mayors who participated in an MSNBC.com survey about what city leaders want from President-elect Barack Obama. Durel says his main wishes from the Obama administration are to complete Interstate 49 from Interstate 10 to New Orleans and to encourage cities to install their own fiber optic systems. Watkins says she wants to see the administration do something to reduce coastal erosion and facilitate more affordable housing. See the interactive survey here.

Volume off by 42%: Bank of America was the leading mortgage lender during the third quarter, with $58 billion in loan originations, MortgageDaily.com says. The company jumped to the top of the list after it acquired Countrywide Financial Corp., which had been the biggest lender for the past five years. Wells Fargo, which was the top lender during the second quarter while Countrywide was winding down operations, was second with $51 billion in loans. MortgageDaily.com says Wells Fargo’s planned acquisition of Wachovia Corp. could propel it to the top. Overall, industrywide mortgage production was down 42% in the third quarter when compared to the same period in 2007.

It will make for interesting parent-teacher meetings: Washington power parents are abuzz with speculation on which school President-elect Barack Obama's two daughters will attend, The New York Times reports. Michelle Obama visited two prestigious private schools last week, Sidwell Friends School and Georgetown Day School. The Maret School reportedly also remains in the running for Malia and Sasha Obama. Read the story here.