Perkins Rowe lenders file for foreclosure

A consortium of lenders led by Cleveland-based Keybank National Association filed foreclosure proceedings in federal court Tuesday against Perkins Rowe. The suit, filed in Baton Rouge, says the development hasn't made payments on its $170 million loan since October and that it owes $165 million. The filing is not expected to affect day-to-day operations at the mixed-use development, Perkins Rowe officials say. "Over the past few months we have worked diligently with our lenders to address issues and work through them. Unfortunately the tight economic market has made refinancing difficult," officials say in a statement. Perkins Rowe will seek new financing and will continue working with lenders in the hopes of reaching a settlement. To see the lawsuit, click here. For a recent Business Report cover story about Perkins Rowe's troubles, click here.

Hearing set to revoke Stanford receiver’s clawback authority

Less than 24 hours after Stanford Receiver Ralph Janvey filed almost $1 billion in clawbacks against investors and advisers, a federal judge set a hearing to consider the Securities and Exchange Commission’s emergency motion to strip the receiver of his authority to take money back from investors. John Little, the Stanford court-appointed examiner, says the hearing will be 5 p.m. Friday in Dallas before U.S. District Court Judge David Godbey. Also on the docket are two motions filed by Janvey on Tuesday, including one to re-extend the freeze on investor assets held at Pershing and other clearing brokers, and a second seeking to establish a process for settling clawback claims.

Mike Wampold, from whom Janvey wants to claw back more than $39 million tied to his II City Plaza project, says he supports the SEC’s attempt to disarm the receiver. “It probably cost several million for him to cast this net,” he says. “He’s wasting what precious little assets there are left.” But Wampold also feels the law is heavily on the side of the investors. “And any money that came back to me, came back because of the [Certificates of Deposit] expiring,” he says. “Obviously, if I’d thought it was about to crater, I would have pulled more money out.” Wampold says Janvey’s clawbacks, which also include numerous other prominent Baton Rouge-area investors, still is unnerving. “It sends a chill up your spine. But do I think it’s realistic? No.”

To read more about the clawback lawsuits, click here. To read more about the battle between Janvey and the SEC, click here.—Olivia Watkins

Vitter to hold Stanford committee hearing in B.R.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, says he will hold a committee hearing for the Senate Banking Committee in Baton Rouge on Aug. 17 to investigate the Stanford Financial Group. Vitter says the committee has an obligation to investors to determine how the alleged Ponzi scheme occurred, “where the regulators failed and how we can try to mitigate any losses for the victims.”

Some of the topics to be included in the discussion are the timeline of the Stanford investigation and the roles of the Securities & Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI. The hearing is tentatively set for 2 p.m. at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy auditorium building at 7901 Independence Blvd.

B.R. one of few cities adding jobs

Baton Rouge is one of only about a dozen cities that added jobs in June when compared to a year ago, according to figures for 372 metro areas. There were 500 more people working in Baton Rouge when compared to June 2008, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics, bringing the total to 375,800. No other Louisiana cities added jobs, the biggest drop was in Lake Charles, which had 92,800 people working, a 2.8% decrease. The biggest employment gain nationally was in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., which added 1,400 jobs. In contrast, metro Los Angeles lost 259,100 jobs.

Judge weighs bid to block limits on lawyer ads

A group of Louisiana attorneys is asking a federal judge in New Orleans to block the state's highest court from enforcing its new restrictions on lawyers' advertisements. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman didn't immediately rule today after hearing arguments in a pair of lawsuits that several attorneys filed against the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. The board is asking Feldman to throw out the cases. It says the new rules are designed to curb deceptive ads. The suits claim they impose unconstitutional restrictions on freedom of expression. The Louisiana Supreme Court adopted the new rules and said they will take effect on Oct. 1. The new rules limit use of mottos, celebrity endorsements, re-enactments, client testimonials and other advertising methods.

Report details federal spending on corridor

The federal government spent a whopping $2.8 trillion on domestic expenses in 2008, and Louisiana got nearly $44.5 billion of it, ranking it 15th in the nation. So which corridor parishes got the biggest slices of that pie? According to newly released U.S. Census reports, New Orleans alone got more than $7.8 billion, followed closely by East Baton Rouge, with more than $7.2 billion. Also in the billion-dollar club were Jefferson, $2.9 billion; St. Tammany, nearly $1.2 billion; Calcasieu, $1.2 billion; and Lafayette, $1.1 billion. Of the remaining corridor parishes, Tangipahoa got nearly $797 million; Livingston, $465 million; Acadia, $417 million; Ascension, $388 million; West Baton Rouge, $293 million; St. Martin, $280 million; Iberville, $267 million; St. John the Baptist, $260 million; St. Charles, $249 million; and Jefferson Davis, $212 million. St. James Parish got the least amount of aid on the corridor, just $151 million. The numbers include expenses like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, procurement contracts, direct and guaranteed loans, housing assistance and veterans’ benefits. To see the full report, click here. For the rest of 10/12 Corridor Weekly, click here.—Penny Font

Lightning inside hurricane could predict intensity

They're deceptively simple-looking detectors: one has an antenna with built-in GPS, the other electronic sensors inside a large, upside-down metal salad bowl. The sensors are the basis of a Los Alamos National Laboratory project studying lightning inside a hurricane to improve the accuracy and timeliness of forecasts for people in a storm's path.

The effort is in the second of three years of research. The team is gearing up for the Atlantic hurricane season that peaks in August and September. Hurricane watchers use satellite images and computer simulations to forecast a storm's trajectory, but it's a challenge to predict how a hurricane will strengthen or weaken as it approaches land, says lightning and radio scientist Xuan-Min Shao.

Predictions of where a hurricane will hit have improved by 50% in the past two decades, says Robert Atlas, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory near Miami. But, he says, NOAA and its partners have not made the same leap in forecasting storm strength, "largely because you're dealing with ... what's going on within the hurricane itself." The team found a close correlation between lightning and hurricane intensification in a study of sensor data gathered in 2005 during hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

News roundup: Hornets sign Diogu ... Stormy Daniels arrested

They like Ike: The New Orleans Hornets bolstered their frontcourt Wednesday by signing free-agent forward Ike Diogu. Diogu, 25, appeared in 29 games last season for the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.2 minutes in 10 games with the Kings.

This could hurt the campaign: It's been a tough week for porn star and U.S. senator wannabe Stormy Daniels, a Baton Rouge native. Daniels, listed on a police report under her real name, Stephanie Gregory Clifford, was arrested Saturday on a domestic violence battery charge after she allegedly struck her husband at their home in Tampa, Fla. Her arrest came two days after her political adviser in Louisiana said his car was blown up outside his apartment in an upscale area of New Orleans. For a look at Daniels' mug shot, click here.