Holden says Hicks behind opponents’ campaigns

Mayor Kip Holden says Baker developer Ted Hicks was behind the campaign of the three challengers he easily defeated in Saturday's election. During an interview this morning on WRKF-FM's The Jim Engster Show Holden said Hicks got Wayne Carter, Dan Kyle and Ron Johnson to enter the race in an attempt to divide the vote along racial lines. Holden and Johnson are black, and Carter and Kyle are white. "The people of Baton Rouge are very intelligent, so this little plan backfired," Holden said. Holden says Hicks has a grudge against him going back to the early days of his term, when there was a proposal to move the Baton Rouge Zoo to a piece of property near Interstate 12 and O'Neal Lane. Hicks had an option to buy land on the proposed zoo site, and he wanted tax increment financing for an eco-friendly tourist destination that would have been next to the zoo. Holden opposed both moves. After that, Holden says he heard Hicks would do "whatever it takes" to keep him from being re-elected. "I will testify under oath about that," Holden says. Attempts to contact Hicks for comment were unsuccessful. To listen to Holden's comments, click here.

Louisiana's largest business show opens Wednesday in River Center

Business Report’s 26th annual BizTech Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the River Center. About 200 companies will be displaying the latest products, technology and services for owners and executives at the largest business show in the state. Business Report has targeted owners, managers, entrepreneurs and professionals who want to conveniently gather information, compare prices, see new technology and ask questions of vendors—all in one location. To see the BizTech video, click here. Admission is $15. There will also be a variety of free business seminars. The topics and schedule can be seen by clicking here.

Parking information: In addition to the River Center’s east and west garages, free shuttles will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday from the Pastime Restaurant to the front door of the River Center; there is free parking in the new parking garage next to the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino (compliments of the Belle), across the street from the River Center.

The BizTech Expo is sponsored by Hancock Bank, Superior Office Products/XEROX, Verizon Wireless and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.

Attendees must be at least 18 years old, and student field trips are not allowed. For information, call (225) 928-1700.

New 10/12 corridor magazine Web site debuts

Could the Crescent City spell trouble for the 10/12 corridor? Is now a good time to get a million-dollar mansion cheap? And is it true you can’t get a hospital bed during flu season? Read all about these and other burning issues in the linear city we call home on Louisiana Business Inc.’s new 10/12 magazine Web site. The site, which launches today, contains all the latest news about the people and companies along the Interstate 10/Interstate 12 corridor from Lake Charles to Slidell and New Orleans. Past issues of the magazine, launched earlier this year, also are now available online. Louisiana Business Inc., was founded in 1982 and publishes the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, 225 magazine, BusinessReport.com, the Daily Report e-newsletter, The Louisiana Gulf Opportunity Zone Business Guide, The Official Guide to Doing Business in Louisiana and produces the BizTech Expo, the state's largest business-to-business trade show. To visit the new 10/12 Web site and sign up for a weekly e-newsletter, click here.

Editor: Plenty of blame to go around for financial crisis

The current fiscal crisis was brought on by a combination of bad government policy that encouraged people who couldn't afford homes to buy houses and Wall Street greed which gladly funded subprime mortgages and exotic loans, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. "The coup de grâce was a slowing economy, prompting the Federal Reserve to encourage all of us to follow the Bush doctrine of spend, spend, spend—deficits be damned," he says. Read the column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

Real Estate Weekly: Work under way on Burbank-West Lee development

Real Estate Weekly is out with news about work starting on a large retail development at Burbank and West Lee drives. Also, a local architecture firm moves into its new home, a high-profile property up for sale in Prairieville and the latest columns from Tom Cook and Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.

Grigsby plans series of anti-union mailers against Cazayoux

The anti-union mailers showing up over the past few weeks are the beginning of a sustained campaign against labor-supported politicians in general and incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Cazayoux in particular. “The first three or four are informative pieces to try to let people under 50 understand the threat of organized labor,” says Lane Grigsby, a prominent political activist and the founder of Cajun Constructors and LaPlainTalk.com, the site promoted by the flyers. One flyer compares Louisiana’s establishment as a “right-to-work” state in 1976 to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Others are more ominous, referencing “our dark union past” and using words like “violent” and “corruption” to describe unions. Grigsby plans a total of 10 flyers; later editions will target Cazayoux, a New Roads Democrat, whom Grigsby claims is “bought and owned by the labor unions.” Grigsby supports Cazayoux’s challengers: state Rep. Michael Jackson, a former Democrat who is running as an independent, and Republican state Sen. Bill Cassidy. Cazayoux could not be reached for comment, but Louisiana AFL-CIO president Louis Reine brushed off the anti-union rhetoric. “I got more important things to worry about,” Reine says. “Maybe it’s not about us. Maybe it’s about, he wasn’t too successful with his last candidate for Congress [Woody Jenkins], and this is his strategy.”—David Jacobs

Fed to buy massive amounts of short-term debts

The Federal Reserve announced today a radical plan to buy massive amounts of short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy. The Federal Reserve will buy "commercial paper," a short-term financing mechanism that many companies rely on to finance their day-to-day operations, such as purchasing supplies or making payrolls. The $99.4 billion daily market for this crucial financing, which relies on investors rather than banks, has virtually dried up. That has made it increasingly difficult and expensive for companies to raise money to fund their operations. Commercial paper is a way of borrowing money for short periods, typically ranging from overnight to less than a week. The unstable situation has left many companies vulnerable. The notion under the plan is for the government to provide a "backstop" that would give companies a new place to get cash, the Fed said. The action makes the Fed a source of credit for nonfinancial businesses in addition to commercial banks and investment firms. The Fed said it is creating a new entity to buy three-month unsecured and asset-backed commercial paper directly from eligible companies.

Task forces, special session might be needed

Louisiana’s leading economists are predicting a potential economic downturn in the state during the next two years because of a number of factors, including the nation’s credit woes, unstable oil prices, hurricanes and the loss of residents. Gustav and Ike left behind at least $8 billion in physical damage, and the cost to the state could already be $20 billion. Louisiana being saddled with covering 25% of this sum remains a top concern for the Legislature’s money panels, says Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, and a member of the budget-drafting House Appropriations Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. In particular, Harrison wonders why President Bush’s home state was taken care of before Louisiana. “The only thing that concerns me is after (Ike) blew through, the president stepped up and covered 100% of Texas,” Harrison says. “But we’re still waiting to see if Louisiana gets covered.” The situation has state officials acting “very apprehensive,” he says, and even parish presidents are beginning to fret, especially with the expected bite coming out of available credit markets. Harrison says the state’s budget committees will soon form individual task forces to look at restructuring government, possibly reducing state employment rolls and other “measures to cut back.” “It’s a big project to take on in short period of time," Harrison says. "But once the storm numbers come in, I think we’re going to have to address all of this, maybe in a special session.”—Jeremy Alford

BREC Foundation hires agency to promote parks

The BREC Foundation board of directors is initiating a marketing campaign to increase awareness on conservation and expanded opportunities in the park system. The foundation has hired the Rockit Science Agency, a Baton Rouge based ad agency, to handle the campaign that will include creating a new identity and interactive Web site. Carl Stages, executive director of the BREC Foundation, says Rockit Science was selected for its past campaigns, including work for the Navy and Rave Motion Pictures.

News roundup: Dean set to sell Alexandria hotel … Beer sales on the upswing … Airport liquids rules likely to be eased

Sale could happen next month: The sale of a historic Alexandria property—the now-shuttered, century-old Hotel Bentley—is expected to be completed next month. The hotel's owner, Bob Dean, has signed a purchase agreement with Dudley Ventures Development. The closing is set for November, according to John Schneider, president of Baton Rouge-based firm, Cyntreniks, which also is part of the deal. However, the purchase is contingent on an agreement, now in the works, for financial incentives from the city. Schneider's Cyntreniks and Dudley Ventures Development are both part of Second Century Bentley, a group interested in partnering with the city of Alexandria to reopen the Bentley. Dudley is a majority partner, while Cyntreniks holds a minor stake. … Drinking your troubles away? Despite the national economic downturn, overall beer sales increased by 1.2%, while light and imported beers posted an even larger increase. According to the Beverage Information Group, there were 2.9 billion cases of beer sold in the U.S. last year. Imported beer sales rose 2.8% to 408.3 million cases. This is the second consecutive year U.S. beer consumption has gone up. … You can soon travel with a bottle of shampoo: The Transportation Security Administration says it will likely relax the restrictions on bringing liquids through airport security checkpoints within a year, The Wall Street Journal reports. TSA Administrator Kip Hawley says software has been developed that enables X-ray machines to tell the difference between liquids used in bomb making and harmless liquids. About 600 of the upgraded machines will be in airport checkpoints by the end of the year.