Red Lion Hotel rebranding as a Radisson
The Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center at South Acadian Thruway and Interstate 10 is switching flags, effective Wednesday. The hotel will now be the Radisson Baton Rouge Hotel and Conference Center. The owners of the hotel, Cajun Lodging, say it was a business decision to switch the brand to the better-known Radisson. The Baton Rouge location was the only Red Lion east of the Rocky Mountains. The hotel previously underwent a two-year renovation that wrapped up in June 2008 to bring it up to Red Lion standards; the main overhaul this time was bringing in new beds and 32-inch flat-screen TVs for the rooms. The hotel has 132 rooms, a bistro and a bar. The Radisson chain had a Baton Rouge location until July 2004, when the current Crowne Plaza Hotel on Constitution Avenue was rebranded as a Holiday Inn Select. The hotel became a Crowne Plaza in December 2008.—Timothy Boone
LaPolitics by John Maginnis: Cuts eased at session's end
With no great surprise but at the 11th hour nonetheless, both houses agreed to restore about half of the proposed cuts to higher education, and also put back money for healthcare, agriculture, the arts and local projects. About $210 million was added to the already-passed $28 billion budget, with most of the new money coming from the so-called rainy day fund and an unused insurance fund. Higher education gets about $100 million restored from the initially proposed $219 million reduction. Healthcare and nursing homes got another $45 million, and can draw four times that in federal Medicaid match. Though relieved, lawmakers ended their budget work with a shared recognition, stated by Sen. Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport, of the challenge going forward. "This state will look different in three years," she said. "This is the first stage toward a smaller, leaner, more efficient government."
—Even before Congressman Charlie Melancon announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, the line already is forming to take his place in the 3rd District. Rep. Gary Smith, D-Norco, says he will get around the district after the session to gauge his potential support. He is serving his last term in the House. Last week, former House Speaker and National Guard Brig. Gen. Hunt Downer, a Houma Republican, said he is thinking about running. One intriguing name mentioned is Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle, a Breaux Bridge Democrat who also serves as Gov. Bobby Jindal's legislative liaison. Rep. Nickie Monica, R-LaPlace, has been preparing for a challenge to Melancon for months, but now figures to have more competition.
—Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu told LaPolitics that he will take 30 to 45 days after legislative adjournment to decide whether or not to run for mayor of New Orleans next year. Should he run and win (the primary is February), a special election would be called in the fall for a new lieutenant governor. Republicans and Democrats would make a fierce play for that office, given the unknowns of Jindal's political future.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. He is going on summer vacation, his column will return July 17.)
West Feliciana forms policy advisory panel
Inspired by Baton Rouge's A6, a group of West Feliciana Parish residents has founded a policy advisory panel so new it doesn't even have a name yet. But it does have a mission: to serve as an advisor to residents and governmental entities in the parish on issues such as housing, industry, education and health care, while also helping form a vision of what West Feliciana wants to be. Owen Kemp, a Realtor and the group's facilitator, says the panel is open to anyone who wants to participate. Members are encouraged to pursue any issues "that spark passion in their hearts," she says.
The advisory council met for the second time Wednesday, when the 30 or so people who showed up were divided into committees to tackle individual issues. Kemp says the idea for the group came from the West Feliciana Police Jury, which had sought input on policy issues. Kemp says it's a critical juncture for West Feliciana, with the new John James Audubon Bridge getting nearer to completion and tax income from the Entergy nuclear plants ratcheting down. An advisory panel makes sense to make sure the parish sticks with the comprehensive plan it already has, and to find out what types of economic development opportunities the parish should pursue, she says. "That's the point: We don't know, but we'd like to know," Kemp says. "What are the options? What is the best thing for the parish, and what do citizens want?"—Steve Clark
May incomes surge, but savings outpace spending
Households pushed their savings rate to the highest level in more than 15 years in May as a big boost in incomes from the government's stimulus program was devoted more to bolstering nest eggs than increased spending. The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose 0.3% in May, in line with expectations. But incomes jumped 1.4%, the biggest gain in a year and easily outpacing the 0.3% increase that economists expected. The savings rate, which was hovering near zero in early 2008, surged to 6.9%, the highest level since December 1993.
B.R. duo to be featured on Food Network Canada
LSU fraternity brothers Michael Buchert and Kelly Ponder went on a wild vacation to Jamaica some 10 years ago. Hungover one afternoon and feeling pretty rough, they noticed a man on a dirt road with a 55-gallon barrel, grilling fish over pimento wood. It was the best-tasting fish these Catholic High graduates ever had—and it led to a business plan they unveiled this week in New Orleans. The Rum House, a Caribbean-themed restaurant along New Orleans’ popular Magazine Street, opened its doors—with the help of restaurant consultant and renowned Chef David Adjey. The first-time restaurant owners will be featured on an episode of Adjey’s boot camp TV show on Food Network Canada. Read the full story here.
225 Dine this week has news on a new late-night eatery for health nuts, a burrito-eating competition, the Capital Area United Way’s jambalaya cook-off and Eric Morrow, the familiar farmer at the Main Street Market. And what dish is Teach For America’s Michael Tipton obsessed with? Find out by reading the newsletter here.
Poll: Mainieri gets the nod
It's a reaction to winning the College World Series championship on Wednesday, but 60% of respondents to a Daily Report poll say LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri is the better coach. Forty percent say LSU football coach Les Miles, who led the Tigers to a BCS championship in 2008, is the better coach. Nearly 900 people participated in the survey.
Today's question: What grade do you give the Legislature for the recently concluded session?
News roundup: B.R. native named White House fellow ... Legislature lifts limit on charter schools
Honor for Sternberg: Marc Sternberg, a Baton Rouge native who opened an innovative lab school in the Bronx, has been named one of 15 White House fellows for 2009-10 by President Barack Obama. Sternberg, 36, is the son of Hans and Donna Sternberg. He opened the Bronx Lab School in 2004, an independent public school that has won praise from the New York Times, The Economist and the Gates Foundation. Sternberg follows a distinguished list of White House fellows: graduates include former Secretary of State Colin Powell, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
Raise the ceiling: A limit on the number of charter schools that can operate in Louisiana has been lifted by the state Legislature. In the session that ended Thursday, legislation by Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, was amended to remove the current limit of 70 charter schools. Louisiana's education department says the action could help the state as it seeks more federal education money. A news release says U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has indicated states that end the limits on charter schools will be viewed more favorably when the federal agency doles out money from the $4 billion Race to the Top program.
