Healthcare consultant opens B.R. office
The Health & Wellness Institute, a Blue Cross spin-off that works as a consultant with companies and healthcare plans, has opened an office in Baton Rouge. HWI is temporarily staffing the office with two workers from its Rhode Island location, but plans to recruit locally and hire two full-time employees in the next few months. Jason Alberti, a spokesman for HWI, says the company chose to put its third location in Baton Rouge because it works with a number of Blue Cross plans in the South. "This is a good, good area for us," he says. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana's Baton Rouge campus was also a factor. "We see a good opportunity to work with them," Alberti says. HWI works with companies, such as CVS Pharmacy, to help with health management and employee wellness.—Timothy Boone
Shaw, Entergy renew nuclear station deal
Entergy Nuclear has renewed a maintenance contract with the Shaw Group's power division. Financial details of the six-year contract were not disclosed. The deal calls for Shaw to handle routine maintenance and modifications at nine nuclear power stations, including River Bend Station in St. Francisville. Shaw has had a maintenance contract with Entergy since 1995, through its Stone & Webster subsidiary.
Is Claitor victory a defeat for Jindal?
Even with a round of recorded phone calls Saturday from Gov. Bobby Jindal blanketing Senate District 16, businessman Lee Domingue managed to carry only a dozen precincts, making way for fellow Republican and Baton Rouge attorney Dan Claitor to become the region's newest state senator. Claitor won over about 11,700 voters, or 66% of the district, to Domingue’s roughly 6,100-vote count, or 34%, which was practically the same percentage of the electorate Domingue carried in the March primary, minus four points.
Considering how negligible Domingue’s progress was, Claitor clearly shares his 91-precinct victory in part with local consultant Laurinda Calongne, who came in third in the March primary but later endorsed Claitor’s campaign. But it’s Jindal’s seal of approval that will likely be remembered. Despite Jindal’s promise to stay clear of legislative races, Domingue was his first legislative endorsement. Domingue had previously donated more than $118,000 in support of the governor and is close friends with a few of Jindal’s top advisors, helping make some sense of the decision.
While the move certainly helps Jindal further secure his position among conservative Christian groups, it is yet another race in which the governor picked the wrong horse -- there was the Woody Jenkins’ nod during Baton Rouge’s congressional race last year, as well as an endorsement of state Treasurer John Kennedy’s bid for the U.S. Senate. For the full version of the story, click here.—Jeremy Alford
La. ranks as fifth happiest state
A new survey of economic well-being ranks Louisiana as the fifth happiest state in the nation because of its low unemployment and foreclosure rate. MainStreet.com, a financial media Web site, introduced the "happiness index" today as a counterbalance to the "misery index" that became popular in the 1970s. Nebraska topped the initial survey, followed by Iowa. Oregon finished last, behind Florida and California. To see the full report, click here.
Poll: Most companies still contributing to 401(k) plans
Seventy-three percent of the people who responded to a Daily Report poll say their company hasn't cut contributions to employee 401(k) plans over the past year. Nineteen percent say their firms have reduced the amount they put in employee retirement plans, and 8% say cuts will happen in the next year. Nearly 700 people participated in the survey.
Today's question: Who's going to win tonight's NCAA men's basketball championship game?
News roundup: Unemployed workers losing fallback options ... Big Biloxi casino on the market
Tough to trade down: The national recession has caused a scarcity of job openings in traditional fallback sectors, such as retail, restaurants and customer service, the Wall Street Journal reports. Monster.com reports the listings for jobs such as food preparation and sales have dropped by more than 25% from the year before.
Wanna buy the Beau? MGM Mirage has hired Morgan Stanley to handle the potential sale of its Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi, Miss., according to the Wall Street Journal. The company is looking at selling Beau Rivage and its MGM Grand Detroit casino in order to raise cash and cope with the slumping Las Vegas gambling market. According to the newspaper, MGM doesn't want to sell the casinos at a discount price.
Nominations open for Influential Women in Business
Business Report is looking for nominees for its annual salute to Influential Women in Business. The awards go to women businesses owners or managers who are making a difference in the Capital Region. Winners will be spotlighted in an upcoming issue of Business Report. All nominations must be made online here. The deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. on Friday, April 24.
