French firm to bring 500 jobs to Plaquemine

SNF, a specialty chemical manufacturer based in France, will build a $362 million water-soluble polymers plant on an 800-acre site just south of Plaquemine, state and company officials announced today. The plant will be built in phases over the next five years with an average of 250 construction workers over that time. Once fully ramped up, the plant will employ more than 500 permanent workers with an average salary of $57,000 and more than 100 contract employees, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret says.

An LSU analysis estimates the project’s economic impact at $3.7 billion over the next 15 years, including $107 million in new state tax revenue and nearly $30 million in local taxes, not counting property and corporate income taxes, and predicts 900 jobs will be created indirectly. The company will receive $39.4 million from the state megafund, about $18.8 million over the next 10 years from the state’s quality jobs program, and $1 million from Iberville Parish, assuming SNF hits all of its performance targets, Moret says. SNF will also utilize $100 million in GO Zone bonds. For the full version of this story, click here.—David Jacobs

Stanford indicted; La. officials speak out on fraud

Louisiana congressional representatives gathered in the State Capitol this afternoon to discuss the recent indictment of Robert Allen Stanford and five other individuals. Rep. Bodi White, R-Denham Springs, spoke in support of the letter sent to the Securities & Exchange Commission by the Louisiana Congressional Delegation, authored by Rep. Bill Cassidy. Representatives from the Louisiana Stanford Victims Group were also present to voice their support for the political measures taken in recent days in support of the thousands of Stanford investors defrauded by the alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

David Caldwell, head of the public corruption and special prosecutions unit with the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, urged victims not to assume the federal prosecution would stop the statewide investigation into local brokers and advisers. “The feds may be going after the whales,” he said, “but we’re going after the sharks.”

Stanford was indicted today on charges his international banking empire was really just a Ponzi scheme built on lies, bluster and bribery. Also indicted from Stanford Financial Group are chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, global controller Mark Kuhrt, chief accounting officer Gilberto Lopez and a former administrator Leroy King. A former administrator of Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission was also charged.

If convicted on all counts, Stanford could face up to 250 years in prison.—Olivia Watkins

Madonna to be dismissed from film investor's suit

A local movie investor has agreed to dismiss pop singer Madonna from a lawsuit that accuses a film production company she founded of failing to repay his loans. Madonna's dismissal from the federal suit is part of a settlement agreement outlined in court papers filed Thursday. Financial terms of the settlement aren't disclosed in the filing. Madonna's lawyers have said she wasn't involved in any of the contracts that Baton Rouge investor Jay Dykes Jr. allegedly signed with Maverick Films. Dykes' suit claims Maverick Films failed to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans or give him producer credits for movies he says he helped finance. Madonna and her manager, Guy Oseary, founded Maverick Films in 2001, but she later divested her stake in the company. Oseary, who also was named as a defendant in the suit, has argued that the Baton Rouge court doesn't have jurisdiction over the case. A federal judge hasn't signed off on the settlement agreement yet. Lawyers for Dykes and the defendants didn't immediately respond to calls for comment today. Dykes' suit claims he was promised a co-producer credit for the film Material Girls, which starred Hilary Duff and Anjelica Huston, and an executive producer credit plus a share of profits for The Stanford Prison Experiment. Dykes also claims producers used Madonna and Oseary's names to entice him into investing in Maverick's films.

Weekly state unemployment claims drop

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says initial claims for unemployment insurance in the state fell to 5,139 for the week ending June 13. That compares with 5,978 initial claims for the week ending June 6. The figure compares with 3,177 claims for the comparable week of 2008. The number of people receiving continued unemployment benefits increased from 56,614 to 52,411 during the last week in May. For the comparable week of 2008, there were 22,984 continuing claims.

April sales tax revenue down slightly

Retail and business sales in East Baton Rouge Parish were less than 1% lower in April than they were a year ago. According to figures released today by the city-parish Department of Finance, $12.6 million in sales tax was collected in April, compared with $12.7 million in April 2008. That figure does not include vehicle tax collections, which dropped by 23.5% when compared with the year before. Sales outside the city limits once again posted a significant increase over the year before, with nearly $5.8 million being collected. That compares with the $5.3 million in sales tax collected outside the city in April 2008. Sales inside the city limits were down nearly 8%, from $7.4 million in April 2008 to $6.8 million in April. Through the first four months of the year, nearly $50.5 million in sales tax revenues have been collected in the parish, 1.6% more than the $49.7 million though April 2008.

Spanish Town apartments to go before Planning Commission

The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to discuss the controversial Capital Lofts high-rise apartment development at its meeting Monday afternoon. Planning Commission staffers are recommending the commission defer action on the rezoning request because the property at the end of Sixth Street doesn't meet the lot and yard requirements for a high-rise apartment complex. The commission staffers also note that the project hasn't gotten a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission, which would be needed in order to get a building permit in the Historic Spanish Town District. Developer David Slaughter wants to build a 115-unit complex overlooking Arsenal Park, but many Spanish Town residents oppose the project. The Historic Preservation Commission voted Wednesday to defer taking action on the project, saying more information about the Capital Lofts is needed.

Prescott Middle receives community gift

Prescott Middle School has seen more than its share of struggles, but less than its share of progress. Advance Baton Rouge led a team of fast-working volunteers to give the teachers a surprise: an “extreme makeover” of the teacher’s lounge, once a foreboding room of mismatched furniture and disrepair that only reinforced the school’s long-standing hopelessness. “The only reason we go in there is to get a Coke. It’s not a relaxing place,” says seventh-grade teacher Jamson Rochelle. The ABR team worked 12-hour shifts during spring break to install fresh floors, better lighting, new appliances and furniture, as well as set up new computers and a private consultation room. Read the full 225 story about the community and local businesses coming together to lift teachers’ spirits by clicking here.

News roundup: LSU-Arkansas to start at 3:38 p.m. ... Manship Theatre screening A Clockwork Orange ... Weir off to flying start at U.S. Open

Rain delay: Thunderstorms delayed the start of the LSU-Arkansas College World Series game by more than 2 1/2 hours today. The NCAA says the first pitch will be thrown at 3:38 p.m., the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald reports. If LSU wins today, its plays the winner of the Arizona State-Texas series in the best-of-three CWS championship, starting Monday. If the Tigers lose to the Razorbacks today, then the teams play again Saturday, and the winner of that game advances to the championship series.

Ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence? A special screening of A Clockwork Orange will be at the Manship Theatre at 10 p.m. tonight. Stanley Kubrick's 1971 classic the first in a series of cult movies that will be shown at the Shaw Center this summer. Admission is $8, or $20 to see the other movies, which include Purple Rain on July 17 and The Road Warrior on Aug. 14. For more information, click here.

En fuego: When the sun finally came out Friday afternoon, Bethpage Black was there for the taking. No one took advantage like Mike Weir. Taking a swing at becoming only the fifth player to ever shoot 63 at a U.S. Open—or the first to go even lower—Weir was at 6 under through 14 holes in his opening round of the rain-delayed second major of the year. Only four players have ever shot 63 at the U.S. Open: Vijay Singh in 2003, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf on the same day in 1980 and Johnny Miller in 1973. No one, man or woman, has ever shot better than 63 in one of golf's major championships. Weir, who simply kept firing at pins on Bethpage's receptive, spongy greens, had six birdies without a bogey through 14 holes. At that point, he was three shots ahead of Sean O'Hair and Peter Hanson, and an eye-popping 10 shots in front of Tiger Woods, who struggled late in his morning round and shot 74.