Chelsea’s gets its liquor license back

Chelsea's Café will get its liquor license back after a district court judge found that the owner of the Perkins Road establishment was deprived due process. District Judge Trudy White says that the state office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control had no right to take away owner David Remmetter's liquor license two weeks ago, before a hearing could be held. The move means Chelsea's will have its license back within 72 hours. The establishment will hold on to the license until a trial can be held. The date for a trial will be set after Remmetter's attorney Brandon Brown turns in a copy of White's judgment; he has 72 hours. There has been a dispute between the ATC and Chelsea's over the zoning status. The ATC says Remmetter is illegally operating a bar because he sells more alcohol than food. Remmetter charges that food sales account for 61% of his business.—Rebecca Breeden

Landrieu suggests 'time out' on tax cut

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu says Gov. Bobby Jindal and legislature should consider suspending enactment of income tax cuts passed last year for at least three years to deal with the budget shortfalls the state will face over that time. Those cuts are expected to cost the state $359 million in tax money during the next budget year and at least $250 million each year thereafter, the Public Affairs Research Council says. Landrieu told Baton Rouge Press Club today the state should be open to using all the tools is has to balance the budget, including federal stimulus money, the economic development megafund, the “rainy-day” fund [which needs more flexible rules], spending cuts and targeted tax increases. “Right now, I just believe that we have two hands tied behind our backs, because of the way this year’s budget is approaching how to solve these problems,” Landrieu says. “There are other governors that have [conservative] credentials that are very similar to Gov. Jindal’s that have used very targeted tax increases to balance off the intense amount of cuts.” Landrieu said the governor needs broader authority to cut the budget. He said he supports changing the funding formula for higher education, but says the process should be phased in over three to four years. Landrieu says he wait until after the legislative session before deciding whether to run again for mayor of New Orleans. He unsuccessfully ran for the job in 1994 and 2006.—David Jacobs

LASERS stops new investment activity with Aldus

The Louisiana State Employees Retirement System has stopped making new investments with a firm that is under investigation in several states for an alleged kickback scheme. LASERS currently has about $125 million invested with Aldus Equity Partners, says Robyn Ekings, a spokeswoman for the system. Aldus founder Saul Meyer faces criminal and civil charges in New York for reportedly paying to get access to invest public retirement funds. Law enforcement officials in several states are investigating Aldus, and the state of New Mexico has taken away its investments, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ekings says LASERS hasn't decided if it will go as far as New Mexico officials. “We're still working on it,” she says. LASERS trustees are set to meet on May 22.—Timothy Boone

Louisiana lawmakers debate homestead exemption

Gov. Bobby Jindal says he looks favorably on a change to homeowners' property tax exemption. Louisiana lawmakers debated various proposals that would raise the exemption that waives property tax on the first $75,000 of a home's assessed value. One proposal is to double the exemption to $150,000. But the governor said the most sensible idea is not a sudden increase. Jindal says he prefers proposals to gradually increase the exemption—an annual increase tied to the inflation rate.

Action delayed on ‘conscience in health care’ bill

State lawmakers have delayed action on a proposal that would protect doctors and pharmacists from civil and criminal penalties if they refuse to provide health care services because of religious or moral objections. Members of the House Civil Law Committee say they support the intention of allowing health care providers to refuse to perform abortions or hand out emergency contraception. But they say the first draft of the bill was far too broad and could limit patients’ access to blood transfusions and an array of medications far beyond the so-called “morning-after pill.” Rep. Bernard LeBas, a Ville Platte Democrat, agreed to a weeklong delay on a committee vote to limit its reach. Gov. Bobby Jindal supports the bill.

Wells Fargo asked to raise money after stress test

Regulators have told Wells Fargo & Co. to shore up its finances after government “stress tests” showed the bank would have trouble surviving a deeper recession, the Associated Press reported. Wells Fargo is one of several banks that regulators will force to hold larger buffers to protect them against possible future losses, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the process. Representatives from San Francisco-based Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to requests for comment this morning. The stress tests of the 19 largest financial firms are a centerpiece of the Obama administration's plan to stabilize the banks. The tests estimate losses the banks would face in a "what-if" scenario that includes 10.3% unemployment and a 22% drop in home prices during the next two years.

Wells Fargo holds billions of dollars in mortgage, construction and credit card loans. The stress test treated those loans as especially vulnerable since borrowers would face trouble repaying their debts in a much worse economy. Analysts expect regional banks that were stress-tested also could be asked to raise capital, since their holdings are similarly tilted toward loans. Cleveland-based KeyCorp and Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Financial Corp. are among the banks in this situation Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. also will be asked to raise money, sources have told the Associated Press.

La. want ads drop less than national average

The total number of online classified ads that Louisiana businesses was down 15% in April, when compared to the year before. That's better than the 28% drop that happened nationwide, reports The Conference Board. The board says there were 41,600 classified ads that ran last month from Louisiana employers, down from the 48,900 that ran in April 2008. New ads post an even bigger drop, falling by 22%, from 32,100 in 2008 to 25,000 last month. National new help-wanted ads fell by 39%, to 1.8 million.

Three hurt in St. Martin Parish tornado

A tornado injured three people and damaged nearly two-dozen homes this morning in southern Louisiana. A woman was treated for a broken leg after the twister ripped through part of the rural community of Catahoula around 6 a.m., said Major Ginny Higgins of the St. Martin Parish sheriff's department. The woman, in her early 30s, was struck by flying debris as she ran from her mobile home to her mother's home, according to Higgins. Higgins said two other people had minor injuries. The National Weather Service said the tornado was 50 to 100 yards wide when it tore through the area, which is south of Henderson and northeast of St. Martinville.

Executive spotlight: Thomas Livesay

Thomas Livesay has come a long way from his first job in the art world as the director of the Longview Museum & Art Center in Texas. As the executive director of the LSU Museum of Art, Livesay still is sculpting the art community, only now in Baton Rouge. And he’s doing it by bringing in the best and the brightest. The best business advice he’s received is to “Always hire people smarter than you,” he says. “I always do exactly that. Just ask our employees.” With any luck—and the intellectual power of his staff—he’ll fulfill his greatest hope for the city, making the arts a crucial part of its soul. Read the full Q&A with Livesay here. Here is a sample:

If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be?

Authors Sarah Vowell, Jill Lepore and artist Cindy Sherman.

Business Report weekly planner: Pinnacle to get public discussion

Tuesday: A town hall meeting on Pinnacle Entertainment's plans to rezone property on River Road will be held at 7 p.m. at the Bluebonnet Library. Representative from the casino company have been invited to attend the meeting, organized by Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe.

See the full list of upcoming events here.

Sports roundup: LSU baseball team moves up in polls … LSU pitcher Coleman honored … Landrieu supports Super Bowl bid

Two threes and a four: The LSU baseball team climbed in three polls released today. The Tigers (36-13) ranked No. 3 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls and No. 4 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll. LSU ranked No. 4 last week in the Collegiate Baseball poll and No. 5 last week in the Baseball America and USA Today/ESPN poll. The Tigers (16-8) share the Western Division lead with Ole Miss and are tied with Florida (34-14, 16-8) for the SEC lead. LSU and the Gators play a three-game series beginning Friday in Alex Box Stadium.

LSU senior right-hander Louis Coleman was named SEC pitcher of the week. Coleman turned in a dominant outing Saturday in a 5-0 victory over Arkansas, the first shutout by an LSU pitcher since 2005. He allowed only three baserunners, two hits and one walk in nine innings. He struck out six. After giving up a single to start the second inning, Coleman retired 19 consecutive Arkansas batters before the Razorbacks recorded their second hit, with one out in the eighth inning. Coleman (9-2) leads the SEC in victories.

See you in 2013? U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a New Orleans Democrat, is urging the NFL to consider the Crescent City as host for Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013. In a letter to NFL Senior Vice President of Events Frank Supovitz, Landrieu says, “New Orleans is a center of culture and tourism that has hosted nine Super Bowls since 1970. With its world-renowned restaurants, hotels and cultural attractions, New Orleans is the ideal location for the National Football League to present one of the largest events is sports.” Click here to read a full copy of Landrieu’s letter.

News roundup: BlackBerry Curve overtakes iPhone in smartphone sales … Construction spending, pending home sales rise

Discount bolsters numbers: The BlackBerry Curve was the best-selling smartphone during the first quarter, outstripping sales of Apple's iPhone 3G, according to a market research organization. The NPD Group says several factors cave the Curve a popularity surge, including its $99 price tag and that it is available for all major wireless network—the iPhone is strictly designed to work with AT&T. Smartphones make up 23% of all wireless sales, compared with 17% during the first quarter of 2008.

Is it over? Hopes that the recession is easing got a boost from reports that construction spending and pending home sales both fared better than expected in March. The Commerce Department says construction spending increased 0.3% in March, the best showing since a similar rise last September. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected spending to drop 1.5% for a sixth straight monthly decline. Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales rose 3.2% to 84.6 in March, the second monthly increase after it hit a record low in January. The pending sales index also is 1.1% above last year's levels. Economists called the new data faint glimmers of hope that construction activity could be stabilizing, although at very low levels.