HPC rescinds preliminary finding against Preis

The city’s Historic Preservation Commission at its meeting today rescinded its preliminary finding that property owner Richard Preis is “demolishing by neglect” seven run-down homes he owns in historic Spanish Town. The move settles for now a controversy that has raged since last summer, when Preis first announced plans to try to tear down the homes to make way for the Capitol Lofts apartment complex, which was opposed by the neighborhood and has since been shelved. While the issue is temporarily resolved, several questions remain unanswered—like the future of Preis’ houses and his plans for them. Preis says he would consider selling them but “only if the numbers are right,” adding he is going back to the drawing board to decide how to proceed. He also says he doesn’t intend to make repairs to the properties.

“I’m not going to be discriminated against,” he says. “You can look at my houses and see they aren’t any worse than any other houses in Spanish Town.” For the full version of the story, click here.—Stephanie Riegel

Dire predictions for commercial mortgage lending

Nationally, about $3.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans is outstanding, and some experts predict a wave of defaults in the next few years that could make the mortgage meltdown look like a strong wind before a hurricane. While some call for government intervention to head off the next financial crisis, others say the magnitude is too great. The debt crisis facing Dubai, with its custom-island extravagances, could be a global foretaste.

With a largely jobless recovery from the “Great Recession,” the root of the problem seems deep. Millions of office and industrial workers have been laid off this year alone, meaning a diminished need for physical job sites and a rise in commercial vacancies. Although Baton Rouge seems relatively resilient economically, commercial lending trouble has appeared. Mall of Louisiana owner General Growth Properties filed for bankruptcy in the spring, and banks that financed Tommy Spinosa’s Perkins Rowe development foreclosed on the project in the summer.

“I’m sure there are some loans out there that might be an issue for local banks,” says Larry Dietz, managing broker for Sealy & Falgoust Real Estate. “We’ve already seen major properties have issues in this community. Those are few and far between. How far it’s going to go in terms of smaller properties or smaller investors, I couldn’t begin to speculate.” Read the full story here. Read the rest of Real Estate Weekly here.—Todd R. Brown

Maginnis: State government mirrors worst excesses of big business

Like their counterparts in the private sector, the top managers in state government have been insulated from layoffs and salary freezes, says John Maginnis. "While the numbers of lower-paid employees shrink, those of highly paid political appointees and their salaries grow," he says. This is a result of a larger problem, the imbalance of power between the full-time executive branch of state government and part-time legislators. "It's taken awhile, but more and more legislators recognize the need to exercise greater oversight of departmental spending," Maginnis says. Read the full column here.

(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)

Jindal asks for disaster declaration in north Louisiana

Gov. Bobby Jindal is asking President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster in Louisiana because of October and November storms, tornadoes and flooding. Jindal's office released a letter sent today with the request. In the letter, the governor says the storms from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 caused damage to roads, bridges, buildings, homes and government structures, and destroyed crops. He says the storms, in north and west Louisiana, dropped up to six inches of rain in some areas and spawned 12 tornadoes. Jindal asked for a presidential disaster declaration to allow public assistance—like debris removal—from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 11 parishes. Those parishes are Beauregard, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, De Soto, Jefferson Davis, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Union and Webster. He also asked for housing, unemployment, crisis counseling and business assistance for Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Union and Webster parishes.

Lenders want Louisiana’s only NASCAR track seized

Owners of Louisiana's only NASCAR track are trying to stave off possible confiscation for late payments to lenders. The financial group—BizCapital BIDCO II, Inc. of New Orleans—has asked the 4th District Court in Monroe to authorize the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office to seize and sell Monroe Motor Speedway. BizCapital lent North Louisiana Motor Speedway, which owns the track, $4.5 million. The petition filed last week says it is owed nearly all of the principal, plus almost $29,000 in interest and late charges. The U.S. Department of Agriculture guaranteed up to 70% of the loan. But BizCapital must first get back as much as possible from the track. Board members Stu Bashner and Gus Campbell say they're doing all they can to save the speedway.

Sports roundup: LSU uniform auctioned for Capital Area United Way ... FSU coach Bobby Bowden to retire after bowl game

A bit of Tiger history: A replica of the special football uniform that LSU wore in Saturday's 33-30 overtime victory over Arkansas is for sale on eBay to benefit the Capital Area United Way. All proceeds from the auction of the Nike Pro Combat uniform will go to the CAUW. Several schools wore the new lightweight uniforms over the weekend, including Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio State, and similar auctions are taking place to help local charities. The minimum bid for the replica is $1,200. To see the auction, click here. The auction ends Dec. 10.

Fisher to take over Seminoles: Florida State coach Bobby Bowden will end his 44-year coaching career after the Seminoles play in a bowl game. Bowden will retire as the second winningest coach in major-college football behind Penn State's Joe Paterno. The 80-year-old Bowden has won 388 games in his career at Samford, West Virginia and Florida State, where he spent the last 34 seasons. "We've got one more game and I look forward to enjoying these next few weeks as the head football coach," Bowden says in a statement released by the school. Florida State's bowl game has not been determined. They are bowl eligible with a 6-6 record. Bowden won two national titles with Florida State, in 1993 and 1999. FSU officials announced after the 2007 season that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher would succeed Bowden. Fisher was LSU's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2000-06, a period when the Tigers won a BCS Championship. He helped develop six Tiger quarterbacks who played in the NFL, including JaMarcus Russell, Matt Flynn, Matt Mauck and Rohan Davey.

News roundup: Recession postponing marriages, births ... CIOs discuss hiring plans

Reshaping families: About 15% of adults under the age of 35 say they have postponed getting married because of recession. The report, by the Pew Research Center, also finds that 14% of young adults say they have postponed having a baby because of the economic slowdown. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says 46.1% of people between the ages of 16 and 24 currently have a job -- the lowest percentage since the government started collecting such data in 1948. Read the full report here.

More hiring: A survey of chief information officers finds that 7% plan to hire IT staff in the first quarter of 2010. Of the CIOs polled by Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report, 4% plan to reduce staff. The net 3-percentage point gain is the biggest hiring increase since the first quarter of 2009. The biggest hiring gainers are projected to be wholesalers, health service companies and retailers.