Pelican State Credit Union expands into Shreveport

Pelican State Credit Union has opened up a location in Shreveport, its ninth branch in Louisiana. This is the northernmost location for Pelican State, which was established in 1956 as a credit union for the state Department of Hospitals. "We've always had a concentration of members in Shreveport because of the charity hospital," says CEO Jeff Conrad. Pelican State paid $190,000 earlier this month to take over a credit union service center outlet, which allowed members of any Louisiana credit union to make deposits, withdrawals or use the ATM. While the storefront location will be rebranded as a Pelican State branch, it will still remain as a service outlet. Baton Rouge-based Pelican State says it has more than 28,000 members and $152 million in assets.—Timothy Boone

Bill disclosing political appointments, contributions resurfaces

Legislation that would force Gov. Bobby Jindal and other elected officials to publicly disclose all campaign contributors they appoint to boards and commissions could be brought back up for debate this week, according to the bill’s author. New Orleans Rep. Neil Abramson, a Democrat, says members of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee are prepared to hear the proposal again after temporarily shelving it late last month.

That’s when Jimmy Faircloth, Jindal’s chief counsel, raised objections to House Bill 243 -- as well as every other piece of legislation the committee was hearing in regard to increased transparency in Jindal’s office. Abramson says the Republican administration had promised to work with him to improve the disclosure legislation, but he eventually had to approach them to get the exchange started. “I have approached them with some ideas and they are reviewing it, I’m told, and I am waiting to hear back from them,” he says.

Faircloth wants to place the burden of public disclosure on campaign donors rather than elected officials, but it’s a compromise Abramson isn’t willing to make.

Last year, Abramson succeeded in passing similar legislation through the House and Senate. Jindal’s legislative teamed helped tweak the legislation then as well, but the governor vetoed the bill based on a technicality when it reached his desk. Since then, a Business Report review of Jindal’s 2007 and 2008 election finance reports has uncovered more than 200 political appointees that have donated in excess of $750,000 to the governor’s campaign account. Read the article here.—Jeremy Alford

Kleinpeter spotlighted in national farming magazine

Jeff Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter Dairy has been featured in a cover story in Progressive Farmer magazine. The publication, which has a circulation of more than 600,000, is one of the leading trade journals for the agribusiness industry. Kleinpeter is part of a feature in the May issue, dealing with the challenges faced by the livestock industry. The company has managed to hold its ground in the dairy industry by promoting its hormone-free milk and offering new items such as ice cream. "It's tough," Kleinpeter told Progressive Farmer. "Twelve or 13 years ago, there were about 1,500 dairies in Louisiana. Now there may be 180." This is the second time in a year Kleinpeter has been featured in a national magazine; he was included in a Vanity Fair article about Monsanto Corp. in May 2008.

Apple to provide Dunham students with computers

The Dunham School and Apple are set to announce a new program Tuesday, in which every student and faculty member will get a fully configured MacBook. At the start of the 2009-10 school year, Apple will provide between 750 to 800 computers. Students will be assesed a technology fee to cover part of the costs. Phyllis Alexander, a spokeswoman for Dunham, says the move came from negotiations between Bobby Welch, the school's headmaster, and Apple officials. "Students today are so tech savvy because of computers and the Internet that they're learning differently," Alexander says. "We need to shift and change to address the way they learn." Beginning next school year, classes at Dunham will adapt to every student having a computer.

White House: Budget deficit to top $1.8 trillion

With the economy performing worse than hoped, revised White House figures point to deepening budget deficits, with the government borrowing almost 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year. The deficit for the current budget year will rise by $89 billion to above $1.8 trillion -- about four times the record set just last year. The unprecedented red ink flows from the deep recession, the Wall Street bailout, the cost of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill, as well as a structural imbalance between what the government spends and what it takes in. As the economy performs worse than expected, the deficit for the 2010 budget year beginning in October will worsen by $87 billion to $1.3 trillion, the White House says. The deterioration reflects lower tax revenues and higher costs for bank failures, unemployment benefits and food stamps.

For the current year, the government would borrow 46 cents for every dollar it takes to run the government under the administration's plan. In one of the few positive signs, the actual 2009 deficit is likely to be $250 billion less than predicted because Congress is unlikely to provide another $250 billion in financial bailout money.

Poll: Most spent about the same on Mother's Day

Looks like the national recession didn't have much of an impact on Mother's Day spending, according to a Daily Report poll. Fifty-three percent of the people who responded to an online survey say they spent as much on gifts for Mom this year as in previous years. Twenty-nine percent say they spent less, while 13% spent more on presents and 5% were unsure. More than 550 people participated in the survey. National estimates forecast a 10.6% drop in Mother's Day spending.

Today's question: Do you support a bill to keep school board members out of the day-to-day management of public schools?

News roundup: Wells Fargo biggest mortgage lender ... First-class stamps rise 2 cents

Business perks up in early 2009: Mortgage lenders saw production increase 73% in the first quarter, when compared with the end of 2008. But despite the jump in lending, the volume of loans was down 9% when compared with the first three months of 2008, according to a MortgageDaily.com analysis. Wells Fargo was the biggest lender in the first quarter, posting a 22% increase over the first three months of 2008. Bank of America was ranked second, down 20% from the year before.

More to mail: The price of a first-class stamp for mailing a letter -- or paying a bill -- climbed to 44 cents today, though folks who planned ahead and stocked up on Forever stamps will still be paying the lower rate. It's the third straight year rates have gone up in May under a new system that allows annual increases as long as they don't exceed the rate of inflation for the year before. While the increase will bring in added income, the post office continues to struggle financially as more and more lucrative first-class mail is diverted to the Internet, and the recession discourages businesses from sending their usual volume of advertising. The Postal Service, which does not get a taxpayer subsidy for its operations, lost $2.8 billion last year and is already $2.3 billion in the hole just halfway through this year.