Pinnacle says River Road casino resort project still on

A spokeswoman for Pinnacle Entertainment says the company is going ahead with plans to build its Riviere casino resort on River Road. "We're continuing to work on the design and with planning and zoning," says Pauline Yoshihashi, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas-based casino company. Over the weekend, WAFB-TV reported that plans for the $250 million resort appeared to have stopped. In October, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board accepted Pinnacle's blueprints and construction schematics for its Riviere casino and set a Feb. 18 deadline for the company to negotiate and submit construction contracts. Officials with the gaming control board say they have heard no news of Pinnacle halting work on the casino. Riviere is scheduled to open in late 2010 or early 2011. Pinnacle is building a second casino in Lake Charles, Sugarcane Bay, but in recent months the company has halted plans to manage a casino in Kansas and build a resort in Atlantic City, N.J.—Timothy Boone

Baton Rouge makes list of hottest real estate markets

Housing Predictor ranks Baton Rouge in its top 10 markets for homebuyers. The city ranked No. 9 on the annual list of places where buyers are most likely to see an investment from buying a house. Housing Predictor looks as factors such as prospects for growth and strong employment. McAllen, Texas, topped the list, and two other cities from the Lone Star State—Austin and Corpus Christi—were among the top 10. See the full list here.

Board of Ethics set to fill administrator post

The newly reconstituted state Board of Ethics is close to hiring a new administrator, filling the last of the posts vacated six months ago amid turmoil over ethics law changes pushed through the Legislature during Gov. Bobby Jindal's first months in office. Board chairman Frank Simoneaux said he will recommend that Lafayette attorney Louis Simon be hired as the board's ethics administrator when the board meets Tuesday in Baton Rouge. The appointment, he said, will be temporary while the board looks at a possible reorganization of administrative duties. The previous administrator, Richard Sherburne, resigned in June along with a majority of board members.

Departing board members complained about laws they said diminished their responsibilities and made it tougher to prove ethics cases against public officials. Under the new setup, board members will continue to oversee investigations of alleged ethics law violations, but the decision on whether a violation has occurred moves to panels of administrative law judges, civil service judges chosen by an appointee of the governor.

LSU's Johnson buys home for $1.015 million

LSU men's basketball coach Trent Johnson has purchased a home in Lexington Estates for $1.015 million. According to sales records, Johnson and his wife, Jackie, bought the home from builder Greg Flores in a deal that was filed Friday. The nearly 6,000-square-foot home was featured in the 2008 Parade of Homes. It has six bedrooms, five baths and an enclosed side courtyard. Johnson has led LSU to a 15-4 record in his first season as the Tigers' coach.

SU political scientist says Obama will benefit Louisiana

Frank Ransburg, a longtime professor of political science at Southern University, says President Barack Obama's communication and organization skills acquired during his time as a community organizer in Chicago helped him win the White House, as did a capacity for keeping a cool head. Ransburg spoke today at the Baton Rouge Press Club. By contrast, Obama's opponent, U.S. Sen. John McCain missed opportunities to undercut the Democratic nominee while Republicans "had to spend too much time explaining why they selected Sarah Palin," he says. McCain's plan to make an issue of what kind of appointments Obama would make to the Supreme Court was upended by the financial meltdown, Ransburg says. Meanwhile, the issues McCain and other Republicans tried to bring down Obama with—Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, for instance—didn't gain sufficient traction. "It looks like everything (Obama) did in the campaign turned out perfect despite the criticism," Ransburg says.

Obama wasn't able to win Louisiana mainly because the state is a Republican stronghold, though race might have played a part, too, he says. Still, Ransburg thinks Obama's presidency will benefit Louisiana because of his inclination to "look beyond race and party."—Steve Clark

Home sales increase nationally in December

A decline in home prices boosted national housing sales in December. Existing home sales rose 6.5% in December to an annual rate of 4.74 million units, as the median home sales price plunged 15.3% to $175,400 from $207,000 a year ago. The decline is the largest year-over-year drop in records going back to 1968. The report, from the National Association of Realtors stirred hopes that lower prices and falling interest rates are helping eat away at a glut of homes with "for sale" signs. "Buyers will continue to have an edge over sellers for the foreseeable future," NAR economist Lawrence Yun says.

Business Report weekly planner: BREC talks trails ... Opportunity knocks

Monday: A presentation on trail development will be at 6 p.m. in the BREC Ballroom. The event, sponsored by the BREC Foundation, features an appearance by world-renowned trail planner Gil Penalosa. There will also be an update on BREC’s Capital Area Pathways Project. To RSVP, e-mail cselleck@brec.org.

Wednesday: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Forum 35 are sponsoring "An Opportunity Affair" at 5:30 p.m. at the foundation's downtown offices. The event is design to let young professionals know about job openings, internships, volunteer opportunities and cultural events going on across the city. For more information, e-mail rnoecker@braf.org.

Thursday: The annual Forum Fever volunteer rally will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Women's Club. The event will provide Forum 35 members the opportunity to preview and participate in the projects and development activities the organization will engage in during the upcoming year. Jeff Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter Farms and Dairy will be the guest speaker.

Saturday: The Baton Rouge Black Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a community town hall meeting from 9 a.m. to noon. The event, which will be at the Living Faith Christian Center on Winbourne Avenue, will help to create an actionable plan and policy agenda to guide the BRBCC's efforts for 2009. For more information, click here.

For a list of more upcoming business events, click here.

News roundup: LSU professor, students take part in Facebook study ... Brits look at Pennington researchers' work

What Web sites can tell you: An LSU professor has found that social networking Web sites such as Facebook and MySpace provide a useful look at a person's intelligence and personality, reports the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press. Donald H. Kluemper, an assistant professor of management at LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business, conducted the study along with Peter Rosen of the University of Evansville and some of their students. LSU students were given access to the Facebook pages of students who were tested, then asked to guess how the subjects did on I.Q. and personality tests, and how high their GPAs were. In many cases, what students guessed corresponded equally well with how the test subjects did. Rosen and Kluemper say the Web sites provide useful insight into a potential employee, but urged students to be careful. “You now have a four-year history of your life from freshman to senior year in photo form,” Rosen says.

More recognition for one of the 'Best and Brightest': Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, is making British media rounds this week. Dhurandhar, who has a theory that obesity is spread by a common virus, will be on a BBC program tonight. The Daily Express, a tabloid, reported on his theory today. Dhurandhar has been honored by Esquire as one of the best and brightest people around. Read the story about his work here.

Sports roundup: Gottfried reportedly to be fired as Alabama basketball coach … LSU’s Thornton receives SEC honor

Assistant expected to take over: Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried will be relieved of his duties this week, ending a run of nearly 11 years as the Crimson Tide’s head basketball coach, The Tuscaloosa News reported today. Gottfried, 45, is not expected to coach the team in its remaining games. Although no announcement has been made concerning an interim coach, assistant coach Phillip Pearson is expected to take over the team until the end of the season. Gottfried has two years remaining on a contract that is worth some $900,000 annually in terms of the University’s liability for buyout. In his 11 seasons, he is 210-131 overall and one game above the .500 mark, 83-82, in Southeastern Conference play. Including three years as the head coach at Murray State, Gottfried’s overall coaching record is 278-155.

The week's best: LSU’s Marcus Thornton was named the SEC Player of the Week today for his performances against Mississippi State and Xavier. Thornton averaged 30.5 points on 55.5% (20-of-36) shooting from the field and 53.3% (8-of-15) shooting from 3-point range. He led the Tigers with 31 points against Mississippi State and followed that with a 30-point outing against nationally ranked Xavier. Thornton became the first LSU player to have back-to-back, 30-point games since Ronnie Henderson in 1995. He has reached the 30-point mark four times this season and seven times in his two-year career at LSU. Thornton scored 17 points, a stretch that included scoring three straight 3-pointers, during a 3:40 period in the second half against Mississippi State to help the Tigers take control of the game.