Today's Headlines / Wed, Oct. 01, 2008
Congressional leaders optimistic on revived bailout
Congressional leaders from both parties said they are hopeful that a $700 billion financial industry bailout that derailed in the House is back on track for quick passage, thanks partly to a provision increasing insurance for people's deposits. President Bush planned to call lawmakers asking for their support ahead of a crucial Senate vote tonight. "I think the Senate thinks it has the votes and I think it probably will pass," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri agreed that prospects for passage have improved, and he said he was heartened by indications the legislation has become more appealing to constituents back home. The plan for Wednesday night's vote was set after leaders there agreed to add tax breaks for businesses and the middle class and increase deposit insurance in an attempt to revive the legislation rejected by the House. Scrambling to revive a package that met with bitter derision among constituents who viewed it as a giveaway to Wall Street, the Senate added a number of sweeteners designed to please rural lawmakers, including disaster aid for hurricane-battered states and money for rural schools.
Raising Cane's hires Dallas-based CFO
Raising Cane’s announced today the hiring of a new chief financial officer, one of three recently hired Dallas-based executives who hope to elevate the chicken fingers chain from a $125 million company to $500 million and beyond. Carey Carrington Jr. has been a C-level restaurant executive for 15 years, most recently with Fired Up, operator and franchisor of Johnny Carino’s Italian Grill, and is the former CFO of California Pizza Kitchen. He also has 14 years of investment banking experience. He joins new president Clay Dover, with 17 years of experience, and new vice president of purchasing Shawn Jenkins, with 15 years. Cane’s is moving its day-to-day operations to Dallas, but Baton Rouge will continue to host the chain’s official headquarters, founder Todd Graves says. Graves says the new executives likely could not have been hired had Cane’s continued to operate from Baton Rouge.—David Jacobs
Belle once again leasing parking spots from Witter
The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino is once again leasing downtown parking from Phil Witter. The casino has a long-term lease for about 250 spaces between its parking garage and South Boulevard, says Bubba Willis, Belle general manager. "That's always been a favorite spot for our guests," he says. "Many of them prefer to self-park instead of going inside the structure." Witter took away the casino's parking privileges in May 2007 after he says the Belle failed to pay rent on the site and canceled two rent checks. Witter says he signed a long-term lease with the Belle after the casino's parent company, Tropicana Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy in May. "I've seen quite a difference," he says. "They're a lot more civic-minded." Willis says the bankruptcy filing gave the Belle more control over its local operations and took things away from the corporate level. "Not to throw anyone under a bus, but now we're able to handle these issues without too many high-level people and attorneys and such," he says.—Timothy Boone
Houston couple donates $2 million to LSU
LSU and the Forever LSU campaign announced a gift of $2 million from Nancy and Jerry Dumas of Houston. The money will provide support to the LSU College of Arts & Sciences, LSU College of Basic Sciences, Tiger Athletic Foundation and Aerospace Studies/Air Force ROTC. The gift is one of the largest in the history of the LSU College of Arts & Sciences, and the largest gift to the college since the start of the Forever LSU campaign. The donation, to be matched by $800,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund, will include $1.2 million toward an endowed chair in political science. The gift will also include $360,000 contribution for an endowed chemistry professorship (with an anticipated $240,000 match); a $250,000 scholarship fund for student athletes to be administered by TAF; a $100,000 Aerospace Studies/Air Force ROTC scholarship; and $90,000 in support of the College of Arts & Sciences as a whole, through the dean’s Excellence Fund. The anticipated matches for the original $2 million gift should create a total impact of $3 million for LSU.
Report says B.R. at 'minimal' risk of home price declines
A report on real estate trends in 381 U.S. markets finds that Baton Rouge and all of Louisiana's metro areas are at minimal risk for seeing home prices fall in the next two years. According to the quarterly study from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., not one MSA in Louisiana was seen to have a greater than 1% chance of seeing home prices fall. In contrast, all of the metro areas in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada were seen to have a greater than 60% chance of seeing a drop in home prices, with Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., ranking the highest at 99.5%. Download the full report here.
First Green Light project will open Thursday
City officials will host a ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the new Veterans Memorial Boulevard extension at 10 a.m. Thursday. The four-lane boulevard from Harriet Quimby Avenue to Blount Road is the first Green Light Plan project to be completed, and will improve access to Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, the city-parish says. The project by contractor Denton James took just under a year and cost $4.5 million, which is less than the original budget of $5.4 million listed on the Green Light Plan Web site. For a Business Report cover story about the Green Light program, click here.
Gustav causes at least 33 oil spills, drenches pelicans
Hurricane Gustav caused at least 33 oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, ranging in size from simple sheens to 8,000 gallons. While the damage was far short of the 8 million gallons spilled by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the storm did drench brown pelicans. About 20 birds were located in an oil spill about 25 miles northwest of Breton National Wildlife Refuge. The U.S. Coast Guard called in Buddy Goatcher, an environmental contaminants specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ecological services office in Lafayette, to assist earlier this month. Goatcher and pilot Reggie Fontenot applied a technique they developed to scoop up 10 birds and bring them to a rehab center in Houma, which also was hard hit by Gustav. Of the birds rescued, one died from starvation, one was placed in long-term care and the rest cleaned and released the next day.
News roundup: Hot Christmas toys revealed … B.R. native makes All-American student-athlete team … Home Bank to begin trading Friday
Santa, stock up on these things: Christmas might be nearly two months away, but Toys R Us is out with its list of the toys expected to top wish lists. The list includes 36 gifts, including the Wii Fit video game, the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker, a remote-controlled Wall-E and the Hannah Montana Malibu Beach House. Tara graduate receives national honor: Brian Duncan, a Baton Rouge native who plays football at Texas Tech, has made the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Duncan, a sophomore linebacker for the Red Raiders who graduated from Tara High School, was one of 22 players selected for the team, which honors players for their off-the-field achievements. Banking on the market: Home Bancorp, the parent company of Home Bank, expects to begin trading shares on the NASDAQ Global Market Friday under the symbol HBCP. The Lafayette-based bank recently offered 8.9 million shares of stock for $10 each, and the conversion to stock ownership is set to take place Thursday.
