Bensabat leaving Chase's B.R. operations

Mark Bensabat, president of Chase Bank's Baton Rouge operations for the past 15 years, has been promoted to lead the company's commercial banking in Florida. "This is a great opportunity," says Bensabat, who will serve as CEO of Chase's Middle Market Banking in Florida. While Chase has a major retail presence in Florida, thanks to its acquisition of Washington Mutual, there was very little commercial banking going on in those branches. "We want to leverage all those locations and become a force in the marketplace," Bensabat says.

Kevin Kelty, who currently works in Dallas as head of Chase's Technology Corporate Banking Group and its South Corporate Banking Group, will take over as Baton Rouge president. Kelty, who has 25 years of experience in banking, is a DeRidder native and LSU graduate who earned a bachelor's in finance in 1982 and an MBA in 1983. "I'm looking forward to putting deep roots down in a community and becoming active in Baton Rouge," he says.

While Kelty will start working in Baton Rouge next week, Bensabat will maintain a local office through midsummer, in order to ensure a smooth transition. "The hardest part is leaving here," Bensabat says. "But this is something I felt like I had to do."—Timothy Boone

Federal Reserve: B.R. took 'glancing shots' from recession

A business magazine published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta says Baton Rouge is "standing firm" in the face of the national recession. "If much of the nation suffered economic body blows in 2008 and early 2009, it appears that Baton Rouge took only glancing shots," says the article in EconSouth. The article reiterates familiar reasons for this: The solid economic foundation of government, education and petrochemical jobs and the post-Katrina boom. But James Richardson, an LSU economics professor, brings up a couple of interesting points. For one, housing accounts for only a small part of the state's economy, so the impact of the national real estate downturn has been lessened. The other is that the Capital Region is not a financial center, so the ongoing banking crisis hasn't been as damaging here as in cities such as Charlotte, N.C., or Atlanta. Read the article here.

Gordon says cuts will 'destroy the fabric' of the arts community

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed $4.1 million cut in state arts funding is “draconian,” Derek Gordon, CEO of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, told the Baton Rouge Press Club today. “It would destroy the fabric of the arts community,” Gordon says. With legislative approval, funding could fall from $7.3 million to $3.2 million in the 2009-10 budget.

Arts supporters have sent state legislators more than 70,000 e-mails in protest of the move. Gordon says they’re pushing for a more equitable distribution of the cuts.

The cuts could imperil the state’s “cultural economy” with an estimated six-to-one rollover impact of $14.8 million, he says. Gordon also questions state officials focusing on potential job creators like the Farmerville chicken processing plant while jeopardizing more than 18,000 existing jobs in state-subsidized tourism and arts programs.

President Barack Obama’s stimulus package includes $50 million to protect cultural workers. But Gordon estimates by the time it reaches the state level, it will amount to $30,000 to each of the state’s nine regions and support one or two jobs per region.—Anna Thibodeaux

LSU researcher says sweetened drinks are diet busters

A study from an LSU researcher suggests that liquid calorie intake has a bigger impact on weight than solid calorie intake. Dr. Liwei Chen, an epidemiologist with the LSU School of Public Health, says her research suggests policy recommendations and public health efforts to reduce consumption of soft drinks, fruit punch and other high-calorie beverages. According to the results, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who cut back on one sweetened drink a day lost 1.1 pounds in six months and 1.5 pounds over 18 months.

Poll shows low approval ratings for Nagin

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's approval ratings have sunk to their lowest levels since he took office in 2002, but residents' overall satisfaction with the city has matched pre-Hurricane Katrina levels, according to a poll released today.

Twenty-four percent of voters surveyed last month by the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center said they approve or strongly approve of Nagin's performance, down from 31% in 2008. His average approval rating during his first term was 60%, but it dropped to 29% for his second term, which started in 2007 and ends next year.

The poll results released today also found that the City Council's approval ratings dropped from 70% in 2008 to 48% this year. UNO's study cites the council's "sour relations" with the mayor and "internal problems" as possible reasons for the steep drop in its approval ratings.

The results are based on a telephone survey of 602 registered voters in Orleans and Jefferson parishes during the last week of March. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

The poll also found stark racial divisions in how voters evaluated city officials' performance. Five percent of white voters said they approve or strongly approve of Nagin's performance, compared with 36% of black voters. The poll also found that 73% of white voters said they approve or strongly approve of the New Orleans City Council, compared to 36% of blacks. Four of the council's seven members are white.

Executive Spotlight: David Bondy

Standing amidst scaffolding of the building whose organization was founded nearly 20 years ago, David Bondy’s hopes surpass their highest peak. It is symbolic to the journey that has brought him to this point. Bondy was part of transforming a company that once faced an unstable future. But there was no easy elevator lift that brought LUBA high above ground. For Bondy, a smooth ride brings no challenges. And that’s no fun. To read the full Q&A, click here.

Here's a sample:

If you started over, what would you do differently?

I’ve enjoyed the journey. The tough times teach lessons. I’m not sure I’d change anything.

Business Report weekly planner: Foil holds town meetings ... LABI head speaks to ACG ... Sales seminar scheduled

Monday: State Rep. Franklin Foil will host a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Bluebonnet Library. This is one of a pair of meetings Foil is holding in advance of the upcoming legislative session, which starts April 27. For more information, call Foil's office at 342-6777.

Tuesday: Dan Juneau, LABI president, will be the guest speaker at the ACG Louisiana's monthly luncheon. The event starts at 11:30 a.m. at LSU's Lod Cook Alumni Center. Admission is free for members and $50 per guest. For more information, click here.

Thursday: SME and the Business Report are sponsoring a sales seminar with Jack Daly, a speaker and trainer. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Admission is $75. For more information, click here.

For a list of more upcoming events, click here.

Record low temperature possible tonight

The National Weather Service’s New Orleans-Baton Rouge forecast office has issued a freeze watch tonight for all parishes of the Capital Region except Ascension and Iberville. A freeze watch means sub-freezing temperatures are possible—conditions that could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation. Precautions should be taken to protect freshly planted spring gardens, and tropical and sensitive potted plants should be brought indoors. Lows in the watch area could fall to around freezing for one to three hours before sunrise. A low of 34 degrees is forecast for Baton Rouge. To monitor this weather situation, click here for the New Orleans-Baton Rouge forecast office Web site.

News roundup: Dow Louisiana joins AppOne ... U.S. airlines improve performance in 2008 ... Downtown restaurant closes

First credit union to enter platform: Dow Louisiana Federal Credit Union is the first lender to join AppOne's credit union platform, allowing the company to finance vehicle sales with independent auto dealers. AppOne says this is an important deal because getting financing for vehicle sales has been an issue in recent months. Officials with Dow Louisiana say the agreement allows it to increase its member base.

Fly the friendly skies: U.S. air carriers, led by Hawaiian Airlines, took some of the hassle out of flying last year. The airline industry had its best performance in four years in 2008, private researchers said today in their annual study of airline quality, based on government statistics. Right behind Hawaiian in the overall ratings of 17 airlines were AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways. The legacy airlines—American, Continental, Delta and United—were clustered in the middle, while regional air carriers filled out the bottom rungs. The study found consumer complaints dipped from 1.42 per 100,000 passengers in 2007 to 1.15 in 2008.

It was a fiesta while it lasted: Acapulco Mexican Grill closed a couple of weeks ago, just before reaching its six-week anniversary. The lights were out and doors locked on the North Boulevard eatery, formerly the Grape Leaf.