Jindal’s budget-cut plans include layoffs

Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to close a $341 million budget deficit will cost at least 335 state employees their jobs—mainly in the state Department of Corrections. Seventy people hired for a new skilled nursing unit for prisoners will be let go because the facility at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel won't be expanded as planned. Corrections also plans to sell a rehabilitation center in Tallulah to a private company and to lay off those 151 employees. Another 102 positions will be cut throughout the department. Meanwhile, the veterans affairs department will lay off 12 people. And the tally doesn't include any layoffs that statewide elected officials might make to meet their required budget cuts.

Our Lady of the Lake buys two buildings for $4.7 million

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has purchased two office buildings on Brittany Drive for $4.7 million. OLOL bought the buildings from Surgi-Center Limited Partnerships in a deal that was filed last week. One of the buildings is 21,000 square feet; the other is 11,000 square feet. Outpatient surgery centers used to work out of the buildings, but there are no plans to continue those operations, says Catherine Harrell, an OLOL spokeswoman. "We bought this as part of our long-term strategy," she says. The buildings are close to OLOL's college buildings. This is the second big deal in a month for the hospital; in early December it purchased an office building on Perkins Road for $8.37 million.—Timothy Boone

Shaw awarded contract for Florida nuclear plant

The Shaw Group's nuclear division has been awarded a contract to build two generating units for a Florida power plant. Westinghouse Electric, which is partnering with Shaw on the deal with Progress Energy, says the contract is worth $7.65 billion. Progress plans to build a plant in Levy County, Fla., in the Big Bend area of the Gulf Coast. The first generating unit would be operational in 2016, and the second would go on online in 2017. Progress has started the regulatory process for building the plant and expects a decision from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by 2012. Shaw would build the AP1000 units at its Lake Charles nuclear construction plant. The company has teamed up with Westinghouse Electric to build nuclear generators across the world, including units in China and South Africa. The partnership also has similar deals for plants in Georgia and South Carolina.

Locals prepping for Obama extravaganza

If you’re among the 240,000 people who are holding tickets to view the inauguration of Barack Obama, then it’s possible that you’re secretly wishing for an assigned seat among the 30,000 at the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where the next president will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts. And if you’re among that chosen elite, you’re probably dreaming of something closer up, in the first few aisles. But fret not—to be certain, you’re lucky.

It seems like everyone wants tickets. Members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation have been swamped with thousands of requests, a precedent. The House and Senate press offices are experiencing a tenfold increase in credential requests from as far away as Ethiopia and Antarctica. Reporters are being turned down in droves, as are average citizens. But people are still planning to go, just to be near the excitement and history. In fact, most major airlines are presently in the process of adding flights to Washington, D.C.

In order to personally use her own inauguration ticket, Dawn D. Collins of Baton Rouge, a graduate student at Southern University, held a personal fundraiser through her MySpace page. She raised enough dough and will also be taking part in the University Presidential Inaugural Conference. “The most exciting part, some might say, is the inauguration, and I’m glad to be going,” she says, “but I’m more energized about what happens after Obama becomes president.” Just for the opportunity to be there at the beginning, Collins has cobbled together $3,500 from friends and family. For the full story, click here.—Jeremy Alford

2008 was busy year for LED

Louisiana Economic Development had a big 2008, getting major companies to expand their operations as well as luring corporations such as Albemarle and Bercen to relocate their headquarters. Much of the credit goes to LED Secretary Stephen Moret. “I have never been so excited with where the state is going,” says Woody Oge, a veteran workforce development advocate and site director of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Avondale. Read the Business Report story about LED's successes here. To see a timeline of events that shaped 2008 in the Capital Region, click here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

225 lists the people who will have an impact this year

Each January, 225 magazine turns its gaze on a select group of people to watch. This year's class is another diverse collection of innovators, emerging newsmakers and behind-the-scenes playmakers certain to impact Baton Rouge in 2009. 225's People to Watch includes state Rep. Michael Jackson, talent agent Brenda Netzberger, architect Dyke Nelson and doctors Stacy Stephens Levy and Vicky Poston Roy. Find out why they are worth watching, and who else joins them on the list here.

Health care market overview a mixed bag

A new overview of the Capital City's health care market concludes that heavy employment in higher education, health care and government, combined with a "sprawling petrochemical industry" and a post-Katrina influx of population and reconstruction money, make the Baton Rouge metro area well positioned to ride out the global economic recession. Among the many findings of the 2008 HealthLeaders InterStudy are metro Baton Rouge has a surplus of physicians, particularly specialists, though the situation doesn't appear to be hampering growth or putting downward pressure on earnings. While the local economy is in better shape than in many areas, the Capital Region and the rest of the state suffer from a high level of uninsured residents, "increasingly unstable funding for a large Medicaid population and an unwieldy charity care system," which the Jindal administration is trying to fix. The study forecasts a neutral outlook for employers, as insurance premium increases are expected to remain stable over the coming year. Employers in 2009 are expected to continue adopting higher deductible "consumer-driven" health plans to help offset higher premium costs, despite concerns that such plans might offer only temporary savings. Click here to read the report.—Steve Clark

LHC signs deal for Alabama venture

LHC Group has purchased a majority share of Southeast Alabama Medical Center's home nursing service business. The agreement will put the Lafayette-based company in a 16-county area. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the combined net revenue for the home nursing business was about $1.4 million in the past year. LHC also closed a previously announced deal to buy Washington based-Northwest Healthcare Alliance.

Business Report weekly planner: LABI annual meeting set

Thursday: A limited number of tickets remain for LABI’s annual meeting at the Crowne Plaza (formerly Holiday Inn Select Executive Center) on Constitution Avenue. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Events include a 10:30 a.m. discussion of priorities and goals for 2009 by officials from Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration and a noon luncheon featuring political pundits Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas, who write the “Common Ground” column for USA Today. Call 928-5388 ext. 227 to register; tickets are $130.

—The second community meeting for Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two, the downtown master plan, has been rescheduled from Jan. 12. The meeting is now planned for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Louisiana State Museum. For more information, visit downtownbatonrouge.org.

Items for the Business Report Weekly Planner must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Fridays. E-mail tboone@businessreport.com with information. The planner is open to events of general interest to the local business community.

Poll: Losing weight most popular resolution

Thirty-five percent of the people who responded to a Daily Report poll say they plan to lose weight and/or eat right in 2009. Seventy-two percent of the respondents say they made a New Year's resolution, while 28% say they don't. Sixteen percent of readers say they want to manage debt and/or save more money this year, while 8% want to reduce stress. Nearly 750 people participated in the survey.

Today's question: How would you grade Gov. Bobby Jindal on his first year in office?

Financial roundup: Construction spending falls less than expected … Mideast, Russia issues send oil above $47

Nonresidential activity increases: The Commerce Department reported today that construction spending dropped by 0.6% in November, less than half of the 1.3% decline economists expected. A 4.2% fall in housing construction was partially offset by a surprisingly strong 0.7% rise in nonresidential activity. The 0.6% decline in total construction followed a 0.4% drop in October. The October performance was revised upward from an original estimate that construction had dropped 1.2% that month. Economists expect housing, which has been in a slump for two years, to continue to struggle in the months ahead. They also are concerned that nonresidential projects will falter as developers deal with a severe financial crisis making it hard to get financing amid a yearlong recession that has curbed the appetite for new shopping centers and office buildings.

Gas prices climb 1.4 cents overnight: Israel's ground offensive in Gaza and a dispute between Ukraine and Russia over gas imports pushed oil prices above $47 a barrel this morning, but some analysts say there's more than just unrest in the Middle East behind the rally. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 92 cents to $47.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after jumping $1.74 on Friday to settle at $46.34. Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago, said there seems to be a mood change in the market and a belief that the economic doom and gloom has hit bottom. The national retail average price for a gallon of regular gas rose 1.4 cents to $1.672 a gallon overnight, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. That is about 8 cents a gallon below what it was a month ago and about $2.43 below where it was in July when prices peaked at $4.11 per gallon.

News roundup: Companies cutting 401(k) matches … Apple's Jobs explains reason for weight loss … Local ecologist helps write global warming textbook

Move will hurt employee retirements: Major employers such as FedEx, General Motors and Motorola have eliminated matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans, The New York Times reports. Retirement policy specialists say the move comes at a bad time because traditional pensions are disappearing, and there's no guarantee the Social Security trust fund will remain solvent as more baby boomers leave the workforce. The cuts will have a permanent effect since workers won't get the years of compound interest on the missed contributions.

Hormone imbalance to blame for gaunt appearance: Apple Inc. founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, says a hormone imbalance is to blame for the weight loss that has prompted worries about his health. Jobs, 53, said he will undergo a "relatively simple" treatment and will remain in charge of Apple. "A hormone imbalance … has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy," Jobs says in a public letter. "Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis." Speculation about his health percolated in 2008 as Jobs appeared gaunt at public events. Those worries intensified after Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said in December that Jobs would not be making his annual keynote address Tuesday in San Francisco at the Macworld conference.

Spreading the word: Juanita Constible, a coastal Louisiana outreach coordinator with the local offices of the National Wildlife Federation, is one of the authors of a new textbook on climate change. Climate Change From Pole to Pole, which was written along with an Ohio high school biology teacher and a zoology professor at Miami (Ohio) University, is published by the National Science Teachers Association Press and aimed at high school and college students. The NSTA is the largest professional group of science teachers, with more than 60,000 instructors, supervisors, administrators and business representatives.