Bush lobbies Congress to pass bailout bill

President Bush said this morning "a lot of people are watching" to see if Congress will enact the $700 billion financial rescue plan that he called the best chance to restore calm to the financial industry. As both Democratic and Republican House party leaders worked the offices and halls of congressional office buildings to find enough votes for passage in a floor showdown scheduled for Friday, Bush spoke with more urgency than previously as he lobbied furiously for the measure. Bush, speaking to reporters in connection with a White House meeting on the problem, said increasingly tight credit is not only stopping small business expansion, but in some respects is threatening the very ability of small businesses to exist. He said lawmakers "must listen" to those arguing for passage of the bill, derided by many on Capitol Hill and within the general public as a handout to a risk-taking Wall Street. The Senate resuscitated the measure on a 74-25 vote late Wednesday, sending it to the House, where it was rejected on a 228-205 vote Monday. In doing so, senators added billions of dollars worth of tax cuts and other sweeteners aimed at luring the dozen or so votes necessary to get the bill to the White House for Bush's signature.

Financial crisis not affecting city-parish, BREC or EBR school projects

A recent New York Times article talked about the current financial turmoil had shut off the bond market to cities, states and local governments across the U.S. This has led to some projects, such as airport expansions, being shelved and governments scrambling to pay for road construction projects. But officials with the city-parish government, BREC and the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board say they aren’t feeling the impact.

Walter Monsour, chief administrative officer, says the vast majority of city parish projects are paid for with revenue bonds. That puts a dedicated stream of tax dollars behind the project, instead of general obligation bonds, which are backed by government. The problem with general obligation bonds is that if a government gets in a financial bind, they could decide not to make bond payments. "We can't do this with revenue bonds," he says. "Only the money we collect goes for those projects."

Chris Trahan, a spokesman for East Baton Rouge Parish public schools, says all of the construction projects are funded on a pay-as-you go basis from tax revenues. Kristi Williams, a spokeswoman for BREC, says the department does not anticipate any future bond sales. Monsour says once the markets settle, he expects there will be an appetite for strong municipal revenue bonds, such as the $989 million issue going before parish voters next month.—Timothy Boone

Change in plans for Perkins Road Hardware redevelopment

Construction is set to start in the next few weeks on the redevelopment of the Perkins Road Hardware site, but two potential restaurant tenants for the mixed-use development have dropped out. A pizza parlor run by Neal Hendrick, who owns Zippy's, will no longer be part of the development, says Chad Ortte, an agent with Donnie Jarreau Companies, which is redeveloping the site. Ortte says the owners felt the size and dimensions of the space wouldn't work for their plans. The other tenant, a fine dining restaurant, dropped out because the unnamed owner recently opened a property in New Orleans and didn't want to concentrate on two new places at once. The plans for the hardware store have been changed to allow for just one restaurant and smaller spaces for retail tenants. Ortte says a number of potential tenants are talking about moving into the old Perkins Road Hardware, including a men's clothing store, a women's boutique, an architectural office and a sushi restaurant. "We think this is a better plan than what we had before," he says. There will be slightly little less than 8,000 square feet of retail space in what was the hardware store, along with 2,000 square feet in a warehouse. Four two-bedroom condominiums will be on top of the development; two already have been sold. Along with the commercial space and the housing, there will be 118 secure parking spots behind the building. For a look at the development, click here. —Timothy Boone

Amedisys buys Washington hospice, closes Mid-Atlantic deal

Amedisys has purchased Okanogan Regional Home Health and Hospice in Omak, Wash., allowing the Baton Rouge-based company to expand its presence in the Pacific Northwest. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Okanogan had annual revenues of $1.7 million; the deal is not expected to significantly impact Amedisys' earnings.

The company also completed the previously announced purchase of six home health agencies in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. The unnamed agencies posted annual revenues of about $23 million. The deal expands Amedisys' operations in Pennsylvania and Maryland and gives it statewide coverage in Delaware.

Watchdog says state lags in health-care quality, reporting

The 2008 report from the National Committee for Quality Assurance shows Louisiana lagging far behind much of the country in terms of overall quality of health care delivered. According to an analysis of NCDA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, which measures health-care quality based on reporting from commercial health plans, Louisiana (and the seven other states comprising the U.S. Census South Central region) score an average of 4 percentage points below the national average in health-care quality. In contrast, the HEDIS rate for New England and Mid-Atlantic states averages 4.7 points higher than the national average—indicating far better quality of care. Louisiana also lags in the percentage of health plans providing HEDIS data. Between 10% and 20% of commercial health plans in Louisiana report the data, compared with 50% or more in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and a few other states around the country. In terms of health plans reporting quality data, Louisiana is in a league with Mississippi and Arkansas, behind Texas but ahead of Alabama. See the NCQA report here. —Steve Clark

New look for Stroube's Chophouse

A new rendering for the Stroube’s Chophouse project next to the Shaw Center for the Arts has been released. The original concept included a second floor, but that idea was ultimately rejected, as it would have nearly doubled the cost of construction, according to a spokesman for Commercial Properties Realty Trust. The restaurant should open in January. For a rendering of Stroube’s new look, click here.

B.R. man receives posthumous award for heroism

Dominique Chatman of Baton Rouge and his father, Gregory Carson of Slidell, have received posthumous awards from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for civilian heroism. Chatman, 24, and Carson, 43, were at Miramar Beach, Fla., on Sept. 11, 2007, when they heard two women calling for help. The women were on a small surfboard about 300 feet out in the water and struggling to return to the beach. Chatman, Carson and another man swam out to the women and towed their board back to the shore. Chatman and Carson drowned during the rescue, but the two women were saved. The Carnegie Hero Fund honors people who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save others.

Poll: Nearly half don't want a financial bailout

Forty-eight percent of Daily Report readers say Congress shouldn't approve a financial bailout plan. Thirty-seven percent of respondents to an online survey say Congress should pass a slightly cheaper plan that gives a little less power to the treasury secretary. Nine percent don't know what action should be taken, and 6% say a vote should be taken again on the plan that was defeated by the House on Monday. Nearly 1,450 people participated in the survey. Out of Louisiana's Congressional delegation, only Reps. Jim McCrery and Charlie Melancon have voted in favor of the bailout. Reps. Rodney Alexander and Charles Boustany told The Times-Picayune they might change their votes to support the plan when it goes before the House again on Friday.

Today's question: Have you started Christmas shopping?

News roundup: As many as 3,800 auto dealers could close in 2009 … Business-owner pessimism hits all-time high in survey … Middendorf's to reopen next week

One out of five dealerships at risk: A new study says up to 3,800 car dealerships are at risk of shutting down during 2009 because of dramatically declining vehicle sales and tighter credit, Reuters reports. The big three American automakers have all seen sales drops of 16% or more this year, and a study by Grant Thornton projects sales will remain flat next year. Cutting the number of dealerships could help automakers, because it would drive more business through remaining locations and free up money for advertising and new investment. Read the full story here. … Bad feelings: Twenty-nine percent of business owners surveyed say they are pessimistic about their own company's prospects over the next six months, according to the PNC Economic Outlook survey. That's an all-time record for the survey, which started in 2003. Forty-three percent of the nearly 1,000 businesses polled say they expect sales to increase in the next six months, while 26% expect profits to drop. Higher energy prices, the possibility of a recession and the possibility of inflation were rated as the three biggest concerns of business owners. … Fried catfish junkies rejoice: Middendorf's, the Manchac seafood restaurant that was flooded by Hurricane Ike, will reopen Oct. 8 using its annex. Owners Karen and Horst Pfeifer are still determining what to do with the 74-year-old main building. Both buildings took on four feet of floodwaters generated by Ike. In an e-mail to customers, Karen Pfeifer says the goal is to rebuild the main restaurant to continue the tradition of Middendorf's.