This Morning's Headlines / Wed, June 17, 2009
News Alert: 'Green' automaker chooses Monroe for first plant
A new American company that plans to make environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient cars has selected Monroe as the site of its first plant. The V-Vehicle Company will take over the old Guide Corp. headlight plant off Interstate 20 and spend $250 million on expanding the facility. Within 12-15 months, more than 1,400 people will be working at the plant, says Stephen Moret, Louisiana Economic Development secretary. The jobs will have an average annual salary of $40,000 as well as benefits. "This is an exciting opportunity for our state, and it's going to be transformational for the Monroe area," he says. Economists estimate the plant will pump $19.6 billion into the economy over the next 15 years, including about $131 million in new tax revenues. To attract the plant, the state is putting up $67 million in performance-based grants, while local governments and Monroe-area economic development agencies are putting up an additional $15 million.
While details of the V-Vehicle line will be rolled out over the next 6-12 months, the project already has some impressive names attached to it. The lead investor is Kleiner Perkins, the California venture capital firm that was an early backer of Google, Amazon.com and Compaq, Moret says. The combination of high-profile business leaders working on a hot concept like an environmentally friendly car will attract national attention to Louisiana, Moret says. Read the full story here. For a link to a video LED made about the V-Vehicle, featuring interviews with some of the principals, click here.—Timothy Boone
Conflict of interest alleged in Stanford receivership
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Robert Allen Stanford’s attorneys suggested in court that Baker Botts, the law firm representing Stanford receiver Ralph Janvey, should be disqualified. Bloomberg News reported that Stanford’s attorneys claimed James Baker of Baker Botts, the former Secretary of State, represented Robert Allen Stanford and his father in the mid-1980s when Stanford created Guardian International Bank—the institution that, after leaving headquarters in Montserrat, set up shop in Antigua and became Stanford International Bank.
Bloomberg reported that representatives from Baker Botts have denied any involvement with Stanford International Bank or Guardian International Bank in the past. To read the full story click here.
While drama surrounding the receivership continues, the breakup of the Stanford estate has continued. Reuters reported Tuesday that Janvey has released five of Stanford’s luxury aircrafts back to the leasing agent. The jets, which were appraised for fair market value at more than $62 million, were returned in exchange for $4.8 million. To read the full report from Reuters, click here.
The receivership also announced Tuesday that the Stanford Group Suisse office building in Zurich was sold for roughly $22 million. Stanford AG was still operating in the management of client investments, but was at risk of a liquidity crisis as clients rushed to pull funds from the investment management firm. To read the statement from the receivership, click here.—Olivia Watkins
Inside the Stanford scandal
The Stanford Group used eye-catching returns, bold promises and small-town relationships to convince the rich and the not-so-rich of Baton Rouge to invest in what's now being called an $8 billion Ponzi scheme. Estimates are that South Louisiana investors may have accounted for $1 billion of the total. Read the Business Report cover story about Stanford's rise here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.
Kyle resigns from Jindal for President group
Dan Kyle, one of the founders of a group that was laying the groundwork for a presidential run for Gov. Bobby Jindal, has resigned. In a letter to Bobby Yarborough, the treasurer of Jindal's re-election campaign, Kyle says he was stepping down from the Jindal for President Draft Council. "I believe the last thing anyone in this group would want to be is a 'distraction' to the governor in achieving his goals," says Kyle, a former legislative auditor. Kyle also has asked Rama C. Mohanty, a Southern University physics professor, to disband the council until after the 2011 governor's election. Yarborough asked Kyle to discontinue the campaign Tuesday in order to keep from confusing the voters with two messages: a Jindal re-election bid in 2011 and a potential Jindal presidential bid in 2012.
Shaw awarded contract for EPA work
The Shaw Group's environmental and infrastructure division has been awarded a contract from the EPA to help with research in a variety of areas, from drinking water evaluation to addressing climate change. The value of the five-year contract was not disclosed. Under the deal, Shaw will provide operations support and research services for test and research facilities. This is the fifth consecutive operations support contract the EPA has awarded Shaw, continuing a relationship that goes back to October 1989.
Siegen improvements begin Thursday
The city-parish will hold a groundbreaking Thursday to mark the start of a Siegen Lane widening project, the 16th Green Light Plan road project to start construction. Builders will replace the two-lane road with a four-lane road with a raised median and sidewalks on both sides. The project will also include an intersection realignment with signals at North Oak Hills Parkway and Briar Hollow Drive, officials say. The project will cost about $17.6 million, the Green Light Plan web site says, and a spokesman says the project is scheduled for completion in June 2011.
Preservation commission asks for deferral on development
The East Baton Rouge Historic Preservation Commission has asked the Planning and Zoning Commission to defer a vote on the controversial Capitol Lofts development. The commission says more information needs to be known about the Spanish Town project. Developer David Slaughter is meeting with neighbors to address concerns about the complex. Capitol Lofts is scheduled to go before the planning commission on Monday. Since the 115-unit project at the end of Sixth Street overlooking Arsenal Park is in a historic district, the commission is required to sign off on it before the project can get a building permit.—David Jacobs
Poll: Most say Letterman needed to apologize for joke
Fifty-eight percent of people who responded to a Daily Report poll say that David Letterman needed to apologize for a joke he made last week about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter. Thirty-nine percent of respondents to the online survey say the talk show host didn't need to apologize, and 3% were undecided. More than 1,900 people participated in the survey. Letterman made a joke last week about New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez getting Palin's daughter pregnant. Palin charged the joke referred to her 14-year-old daughter Willow, who went to a Yankees game with her.
Today's question: Should organizers stop an effort to get Gov. Bobby Jindal to run for president?
News roundup: B.R. man finalist for national deaf honor ... Alexandria hospital expansion to open in October ... Consumers value high-speed Internet over cable, cell phones
Trailblazer: Tate Tullier, a local photographer, is one of 10 national finalists for the Dream Bigger award, which honors deaf and hard-of-hearing trailblazers. Tullier was selected for the honor for his work in developing his photography business through online and "word of hand" marketing with other deaf individuals. Tullier will be honored at a gala in Washington, D.C., in October, when the 2009 Dream Bigger winner will be announced.
Getting bigger: The $75 million expansion at Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria is on schedule. Hospital officials say the 194,000-square-foot expansion is expected to be complete by early October. The four-story structure includes a new women's and children's hospital and expanded emergency departments, as well as physician offices and extra parking. Christus Health Central Louisiana President/CEO Stephen F. Wright says relocating those departments to the new facility will free up beds in the existing hospital to expand medical and surgical services.
Broadband is the best: While the recession is causing people to cut back or eliminate their cable TV and cell phone service, it's not having much of an effect on high-speed Internet service. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project report, 9% of people have cut back on their high-speed Internet service in the past 12 months, while 22% have trimmed back cable TV or cell phone service. Nationwide, 63% of Americans surveyed have high-speed Internet in their home, a 15% increase during 2009.
