Lobbying group buys Spanish Town office building

The Southern Strategy Group has purchased an office building on Spanish Town Road for $1.05 million. Southern Strategy, a lobbying firm, bought the partially occupied, 7,000-square-foot building from a group called 543 Spanish Town Road in a deal that closed Monday. Liz Mangham, managing partner for Southern Strategy, says the firm plans to eventually move from its current offices in Beauregard Town to the new building, just a short distance from the Capitol. "It was a nice opportunity," Mangham says. The building has 20 parking spots on the ground floor. Mangham says there's no timetable for when Southern Strategy will move to the other side of downtown. "We're in the middle of the legislative session, so we're swamped right now," she says. "And I haven't discussed it yet with the three other partners."—Timothy Boone

WJBO's drive time shuffles guest hosts

Regular listeners of news talk station WJBO AM may be wondering what’s going on with the station, particularly during afternoon drive time. Since the high-profile Bill Profita was let go in late April during a round of corporate layoffs, there’s no telling who will be manning the mike for the popular 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. show. For the first couple of weeks after Profita’s departure it was Richard Condon, the afternoon drive-time host from sister sports-talk station The Score, 1210-AM. Then it was John Osterlind, whose program was simulcast from New Orleans sister station WRNO FM.

This week, former insurance commissioner-turned-pundit and blogger Jim Brown has been filling in, sending out Tweets to promote his evening topic. He’s a regular substitute on the station and has his own weekend talk show on WRNO. While the constant turnover may be disconcerting to loyal listeners, local GM Dick Lewis says station brass is working to find a permanent replacement for Profita. “We’re still trying to find the right fit,” he says, adding that he’s had lots of interest in the position and isn’t worried about losing audience share.—Stephanie Riegel

Wampold, Fetzer buy Bluebonnet property

Developers John Fetzer III and Mike Wampold have purchased 350 acres off Bluebonnet Boulevard Extension for $5 million in a deal that closed Monday. The land is between University Club and a 550-acre tract that Wampold bought in 2005 for $11.8 million. Wampold bought the earlier tract with plans for a master planned community; he and Fetzer were out of town and unavailable for comment. The sale price was for $14,285 an acre, less than the $21,455 an acre, which Wampold paid in the earlier deal and reflects the fact the land doesn't have frontage along Bluebonnet.

River Park to break ground on underpass

River Park Development and Hollywood Casino will break ground June 9 on an underpass that will connect downtown Baton Rouge to a 36-acre tract of land to be used in a mixed-use development. Pete Clements, manager of River Park Development LLC, says several national businesses have been interested in starting projects in the area but most will hold off until the underpass construction has been completed. “It makes no sense to really start development before the access is complete,” Clements says.

The four-lane underpass will run beneath a Canadian National Railroad track. The River Park development adjoins the Hollywood Casino site to the north side of downtown. Clements says the permit process took three years to complete.

Davis Rhorer of the Downtown Development District says the project will open the door to a potential $600 million in economic development for the area, including parks, hotels and entertainment along the riverfront. “There are a myriad of things that can be done. It’s 36 acres,” Rhorer says. “It dovetails so well with our riverfront development and there are any number of possibilities.”

Rhorer says the site is unique because while the majority of the property is on the river, there is no levee to limit development. “I can’t think of another site in the nation like this,” he says. “It’s very exciting for us.”—Emma James

John Maginnis: Jindal risks damaging state higher education

Gov. Bobby Jindal clearly isn't aspiring to be the higher education governor, says John Maginnis. Jindal's tough luck, tough love response to the plight of state universities and colleges falls short of responsible leadership. "What sets Jindal apart from his predecessors is that past governors, when faced with fiscal downturns, would do all they could, look for money where they could find it -- recurring or one-time -- to help colleges through bad times," Maginnis writes. Read his column here.

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

New Orleans again nation's murder capital, B.R. 7th

New Orleans is once again the nation's murder capital after briefly losing the title. Fresh FBI statistics show that with 64 killings per 100,000 people in 2008, New Orleans had the highest per capita murder rate in the nation, well ahead of second-place St. Louis, which had 47 murders per 100,000 people. Baton Rouge, which gained population after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, came in No. 7 with 30 murders per 100,000.

The FBI's report bases its per capita number on a New Orleans population of 281,440 for July 1, 2008. The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center put the city's population for the first half of 2008 at 324,357. But even using the higher estimate, the city recorded 55 murders per 100,000 to still lead the nation.

City buys Beauregard Town land for parking garage

The city-parish has purchased 0.6 acres of land at the corner of Government and St. Louis streets for a multi-level parking garage. The city-parish bought the land for $820,000 from Penn National Gaming, the parent company of Hollywood Casino. The land would be used for a parking garage that would be part of a proposed River Center expansion. Mayor Kip Holden wants to hold an election for a bond issue to pay for the River Center expansion on Nov. 14.

Hummer would stay in Shreveport for now

Production of Hummer vehicles would continue at the General Motors Corp. plant in Shreveport through at least 2010 under a tentative deal announced today by GM to sell the brand to a Chinese manufacturer. GM did not identify the buyer or a sale price, but a person briefed on the deal said the company was Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. GM said it expected to close the sale during the third quarter. "Hummer is a strong brand," says Troy Clarke, president of GM North America. "I'm confident that Hummer will thrive globally under its new ownership."

GM said Hummer would contract vehicle manufacturing and business services from GM during a defined transitional time period. Under the proposed agreement, the Shreveport plant would continue to assemble the H3 and H3T pickup truck through at least 2010.

On Monday, the Shreveport plant, which has about 800 workers, escaped GM's plant closure list as the automaker filed for bankruptcy. The plant also produces pickups under the Chevrolet and GMC brands, both of which GM is keeping under its reorganization plan.

Morgan Johnson, head of the United Auto Workers local at the plant, said GM indicated to the union that pickup assembly would continue in Shreveport through 2012.

Saints sell out entire season again

The New Orleans Saints have sold out the 70,000-seat Louisiana Superdome on a season-ticket basis for a fourth straight year. Saints vice president of ticket and suite sales Mike Stanfield says team officials weren't sure what to expect because of the national recession, but found no lack of demand. Stanfield says the waiting list for Saints season tickets continues to grow and is now more than 50,000. Stanfield says a few of the Superdome's 137 private suites remain available. He says the team hopes to find enough businesses or individuals to sell those out as they did last season. Earlier this spring, the Saints and Gov. Bobby Jindal agreed on a Superdome lease extension through 2025.

'Real Estate Weekly' has news on housing prices, mortgage delinquencies

Real Estate Weekly is out with a report on how the number of late mortgage payments is high in Louisiana, how Baton Rouge home prices are holding up in the wake of the national recession, a new real estate agency targeting a niche market and the latest columns from Tom Cook and Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.

Boo-hoo for Yoo-hoo

The 28 remaining employees at Opelousas' Yoo-hoo plant have been told their facility is closing. Chris Barnes, manager of corporate communications for the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which owns the facility, says the Opelousas plant will cease operations at the end of July.

The Yoo-hoo plant has produced the distinctive chocolate-flavored soft drink for the past 25 years. Barnes says it was a tough but necessary decision to improve and simplify Dr Pepper's manufacturing capabilities. The Opelousas manufacturing facility is one of two in the United States. Barnes said consolidating the brand's production at its facility in Carlstadt, N.J., will more effectively serve their customer base.