Despite rumors, no furlough plan in place at LSU

Against a backdrop of controversy over LSU Chancellor Mike Martin's push to gain authority to furlough faculty without having to declare "financial exigency," rumors are flying among LSU faculty and staff that plans have already been implemented. Not so, says the chancellor's office. No decision on furloughs has been made and won't be until the budget numbers are in. Martin, along with every other higher education leader in Louisiana, is hoping the ultimate funding reduction will be far less severe than the worst-case scenario set out in Gov. Bobby Jindal's preliminary budget. That said, "everything is on the table" in dealing with whatever cuts come down, Martin says.

LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope backs the chancellor's story. There are many competing furlough proposals floating around, but nothing set in stone yet. "I can say with certainty there is no particular plan in force yet," he says. "I know for a fact no plan has been adopted." While Cope expresses confidence in Martin and his leadership, faculty and administration disagree on the issue of seeking furlough power without a declaration of financial exigency. It's not so much Martin he's worried about as the potential abuse of a less stringent furlough policy by future chancellors.—Steve Clark

Livingston Parish dismisses nearly 2,500 tickets from speed van

The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office has ordered the contractor that operates the parish's speed van to dismiss 2,488 speeding tickets issued to drivers on Interstate 12, says Perry Rushing, chief operations officer for the sheriff's office.

All of the tickets were issued in late January and early February near mile marker 15, Rushing said, where the speed limit drops from 70 mph to 60 mph. After receiving several complaints from ticketed drivers, the sheriff's office reviewed all of the tickets issued during the first nine days the van was in service and determined the van operator had set up too close to the speed-zone change.

"There was some confusion out there," Rushing says, referring to the exact point at which the speed limit changes. Drivers who already paid their tickets will get refunds, he says.

The parish's speed van is owned by Redflex Traffic Systems of Arizona, part of the Australian company Redflex Holdings. Redflex has photo enforcement contracts in more than 230 U.S. cities in 20 states.

The Livingston Parish van began issuing tickets Jan. 26. A Redflex employee, not a law enforcement officer, operates the van. According to sheriff's office records, as of Sunday, the company issued 4,111 speeding tickets in Livingston Parish.—Chuck Hustmyre

Tech Park posts loss

The Research Park Corporation, which runs the Louisiana Technology Park on Florida Boulevard, posted an operating loss of nearly $472,000 in 2008, largely because it no longer receives state appropriations. However, the corporation has a little more than $2.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, which board member and former Tech Park president Eddie Ashworth says should be enough to run the park for the next four to five years without dipping into the investment portfolio. Which is a good thing, since the value of those investments dipped more than 26% in 2008 to about $13.6 million. The Tech Park has nearly $17.3 million in total assets, according to a statement presented to the board today.

In 2008, the Tech Park incubator hosted 13 companies with 83 employees and about $4.6 million in payroll, an average of about $55,400 per worker, interim president Stephen Loy says. There are 10 companies in the Tech Park now; Loy says he’s talking to four companies that are interested in possibly moving in. Loy says 89% of companies that have come into the Tech Park since it opened in 2001 are still in business.—David Jacobs

United Way working on strategic plan

Capital Area United Way leaders want to create the organization's first broad strategic plan with the goal of coordinating nonprofits, government agencies and businesses to address specific issues in the community, CEO Karen Profita and chair elect Van Mayhall Jr. say. Star 2012, as the concept has been dubbed, will be presented to the United Way board next month. “For years, the United Way raised money by saying, ‘Here’s our list of agencies, the need is great,’” Profita says. “Now we’ll be able to actually talk about how we’re making a difference in people’s lives in a more direct way.” Mayhall says the United Way has attempted strategic planning in the past without success. Specific issues haven’t been selected yet.

The United Way raised $11,230,735 in their recently completed annual campaign, which is down about $500,000 from last year but strong considering the economy and the interruption caused by Hurricane Gustav, Profita says.—David Jacobs

New census data finds corridor still 'smoking'

Parts of the 10/12 corridor continue to grow faster than the nation as a whole, new population estimates from the U.S. Census show.

Numbers released today indicate five parishes – Livingston, Ascension, Lafayette, Tangipahoa and St. Tammany – all had growth that exceeded state and national averages.

On top of that, Livingston and Ascension again made the list of 100 fastest-growing counties in the country, and beat the Southern average.

Estimates indicate both Louisiana and the nation as a whole grew by .9% between July 1, 2007 and July 1, 2008. Growth in the South was slightly better at 1.3%. By comparison, though, Livingston grew by 3.3%; Ascension, 2.7%; Lafayette, 1.1%; Tangipahoa, 1.3%; and St. Tammany, 1%. Although Orleans grew by 8.2% and St. Bernard by 12.8%, much of that is attributed to displaced residents returning home.

Demographer and political analyst Elliott Stonecipher calls the five corridor parishes “relative growth rockets.” “In comparison to anything else in the state except Bossier [up 1.4%],” he says, “it’s relatively ‘smoking.’” For the full 10/12 report on the census, click here.—Penny Brown Font

Shaw to provide engineering design for Saudi plant

The Shaw Group's energy and chemicals division has been awarded a contract for a front end engineering design for a Saudi Arabian polymer plant. The value of the company's contract with Arabian Petrochemical Company was not disclosed. The plant, which will be built in Al-Jubail, will produce 200 kilo tons per year of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which is used to make products such as pipes, clarinets, Lego bricks and tattoo inks.

House to vote on 90% tax for AIG bonuses

The House is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would levy a 90% tax on bonuses paid to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money. "We figured that the local and state governments would take care of the other 10%," said Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Rangel said the bill would apply to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, among others, while excluding community banks and other smaller companies that have received less bailout money. House Democratic leaders unveiled the bill as the head of embattled American International Group Inc., which has received $182 billion in bailout money, testified about $165 million in bonuses paid out in the past week to about 400 employees in its Financial Products unit.

Poll: Most expect Tigers to be out of tournament by Saturday

Sixty-eight percent of the people who responded to a Daily Report survey say they expect the LSU men's basketball team to be out of the NCAA Tournament by Saturday. Forty-three percent of the respondents say LSU will lose in the second round Saturday, a game the Tigers will likely play against North Carolina. Twenty-five percent say the Tigers will lose their opening-round game today against Butler. Five percent predict the Tigers will win the NCAA Championship. More than 1,300 people participated in the survey. LSU tips off against Butler at 11:20 a.m. today in the opening game of the tournament.

Today's question: Should Congress take back $165 million in bonuses from AIG employees?

News roundup: Recession reducing jury pools … Jaguar, Buick dethrone Lexus in reliability study

Times are tough: More people are citing financial hardships as an excuse for jury duty, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Judges and legal experts from across the United States say more potential jurors are expressing fear that taking time away from work for a trial could cost them their job. This could lead to increased court costs and shorter court days, they say. Read the story here.

Best in class: Jaguar surged to the top of J.D. Power and Associates' closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying with Buick for the No. 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey. Lexus, Toyota's luxury brand, took the next spot in the study released today, followed by Toyota's namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura. The annual study measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Suzuki owners reported the most problems among the 37 brands assessed by J.D. Power.