Spinosa's company at center of St. Tammany suits

Tommy Spinosa's construction company, Echelon Construction Services, is at the center of numerous liens and lawsuits in St. Tammany Parish for failure to pay its subcontractors for work done on a multi-family residential and retail complex in Mandeville known as the Chenier Apartments and Shops. In a series of suits that—on the surface at least—have a striking resemblance to Spinosa's legal problems at Perkins Rowe, nearly 20 subcontractors filed lawsuits and liens between January and October of this year claiming Echelon owes them at least $2.2 million.

In various answers to the suits, Echelon claims that among the reasons it hasn't paid is because the project's owner, Chenier Property Partners, has withheld $3.14 million from Echelon, the final draw of a $30 million contract the construction company entered into in January 2007 with the Metairie-based partnership that owns the project. Court documents say Chenier withheld the final payment because Echelon did not complete the punch list and repeatedly refused to submit a completed list of its actual costs, which was both required in its contract with Chenier and by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which insured the mortgage on the project.

Spinosa's attorney, Brian McCullough, did not return calls for comment, nor did New Orleans attorney Lloyd Shields, who represents Chenier. Spinosa and his representatives did not return repeated calls for comment. Attorneys for the various subcontractors, however, say their clients have been hit hard. For a longer version of the story, click here.—Stephanie Riegel

This story has been changed since it was originally published

Planning Commission to look at Rouzan, Richards Honda

The Planning Commission is set to vote on the first two phases of the controversial Rouzan TND along with an expansion at Richards Honda at its meeting this afternoon. Planning staff members have recommended approving the Rouzan items, which include the East Baton Rouge Parish Library branch that will serve as a focal point for the Perkins Road development, and a 25-unit apartment complex. Staffers have also recommended approving a new building for Richards Honda. The 53,729-square-foot building would be built on the auto dealership's current site on Florida Boulevard. Joe Johnson, general manager of Richards Honda, says the dealership is in the beginning stages of planning the new building. No construction timetable has been set yet. "It's a little bit premature," he says.—Timothy Boone

Dow hits highest mark in more than a year

The Dow Jones industrial average stormed to its highest level in more than a year today as a falling dollar boosted prices for commodities including gold and oil. Stocks also jumped as investors grew more confident that governments around the world will keep interest rates low to help the global economy. Energy and materials stocks led the market higher. Major indexes rose 2% , including the Dow, which jumped 200 points for the second time in three days, to its highest level in 13 months. News that the Group of 20 countries will keep their economic stimulus measures in place signaled to investors that rates will remain low. With U.S. rates near zero, the G-20 news lessened demand for the dollar. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 203.52, or 2%, to 10,226.94, its highest finish since Oct. 3, 2008. The index rose as high as 10,228.23, topping its previous 12-month trading high of 10,119.46 set last month.

Dardenne: 30% turnout expected for bond issue election

Voter turnout predictions for Mayor Kip Holden's $901 million bond issue based on early voting numbers might be a little optimistic, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne says. The East Baton Rouge Parish registrar of voters' office predicts the turnout Saturday to be between 42% and 45%, but Dardenne says he does not believe turnout will top 30%. "Predicting voter turnout based on early voters is certainly not an exact science," he says. "As someone who wants to see as many people included in the process as possible, I hope the registrar of voters' numbers are more accurate than mine."

In the early voting period from Oct. 31 to Saturday, 5, 959 out of 6,362 total early voters cast ballots in person. Of the total, 47% were Republicans and 17% of voters were black. "Republicans are traditionally strong early voters in East Baton Rouge Parish," Dardenne says. "There's no way to tell whether or not they are for or against it."

A higher voter turnout likely will spell trouble for the proposal, political consultant Roy Fletcher says. The media campaign seems to be geared toward a low turnout, so the more presence at the polls, the better it looks for the opposition. Racial breakdowns also give a sense as to how the campaign is resonating with key demographics. "If there is a high black voter turnout, that means that Kip and his campaign are doing the job," Fletcher says. "If it's low, then I'd be optimistic if I were the opposition."—Emma James

Northshore po-boy restaurant opens West Lee location

Bear's Grill and Spirits has opened its first Baton Rouge restaurant on West Lee Drive. Matt Watson, one of the owners of Bear's, says the restaurant has taken over the kitchen side of Sangria Bar & Grill. Sangria's owners will continue to run the restaurant's bar, Watson says. Bear's, which is known for its roast beef po-boys, had been looking to open a Baton Rouge location for a couple of years, Watson says. "This was a friend of a friend-type deal," he says. The chain has locations in Covington, Mandeville and Slidell. The new restaurant opened today with a limited menu of po-boys and hamburgers; Watson says the full menu will be implemented soon. "We've only been in here for a week and a half. That's not long to set up a full menu," he says. "We want to get the staff acclimated to things before they get too busy."—Timothy Boone

Zehnder head: Hire explorers, not experts

Tom Martin, president of Zehnder Communications, has written a column for Advertising Age, arguing that companies should look for explorers to help them with marketing, instead of going with experts. "By definition experts are always looking backwards," Martin writes. "You only become an expert by doing something repeatedly and to a point where you've learned all there is to learn, and thus are crowned an expert." Read the column here.

La. educators turn to trades to cut dropout rate

Beginning next year, many Louisiana high school classrooms could look like Wes Sebren's: equipped with welding gear, safety goggles and circular saws. Sebren, a teacher at West Ouachita High School near West Monroe, is at the forefront of public schools' response to a 2009 law passed by the Legislature that encourages teaching skills that students will need in the work force. The law created a "career diploma" that—in an effort to reduce the dropout rate—will go to students who opt for lower academic standards in math and English, while taking classes such as welding, woodworking and small engine repair. Statewide, the new curriculum hasn't been fully formed, and only 12 of the state's 68 public school districts have offered freshmen the option of taking the career track. Most high school administrators said they would begin offering the track next school year. Educators said they expect skills classes will be popular with parents and students who aren't academically inclined and expect to attend community or technical college after high school, rather than four-year colleges. One group of students will be most affected: those who, under the old rules, couldn't pass standardized tests to advance from the eighth to ninth grades. Critics warn the new system will encourage those students to avoid improving their English and math skills. Instead, the critics argue, they'll simply choose the career diploma path—a move that makes it far easier to pass the mandatory standardized tests.

Business Report planner: Networkers plan meeting ... Intellectual property seminar set ... FHL talks tax credits ... Fontenot to speak at LSU event

Today: The Society for Emerging Networkers and Student Entrepreneurs will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. the Louisiana Technology Park. To register, click here.

Thursday-Friday: LSU Executive Education, in conjunction with LSU Continuing Legal Education, will hold a seminar on the Business and Law of Intellectual Property at LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center. For more information, go to lsucle.org.

Thursday: The Foundation for Historical Louisiana will hold a brown bag seminar on historic preservation tax incentives at noon at the Old Governor's Mansion. Admission is free for historical foundation members and $10 for non-members. To register, e-mail erinbrush@fhl.org.

Nov. 17: Teri Fontenot, the president and CEO of Woman's Hospital, will be the guest speaker at LSU Executive Education's "Breakfast to Business" meeting at 7:30 a.m. at Café Americain. Fontenot will discuss Woman's expansion and the implications of national health care reform. Admission is $25. For more details or to register, go to bus.lsu.edu.

For the full list of upcoming events, click here.

Sports roundup: SEC won't have public statement on non-interception ... SI's King says Saints best in NFL ... CBS chooses LSU-Ole Miss game

Keeping mum: SEC officials won't make a public statement on the controversial non-interception call in Saturday's LSU-Alabama football game, reports the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register. Instead, the league will communicate directly with LSU about the play. Officials ruled that LSU's Patrick Peterson did not intercept an Alabama pass midway through the fourth quarter, when the Tigers were trailing by six points. Despite replays that indicated Peterson was in bounds when he caught the ball, the ruling of an incomplete pass stood. Alabama retained possession, and then kicked a field goal in the drive to win 24-15. For a photo of Peterson's noninterception, click here. David Parry, the national coordinator of College Football Officiating, called Peterson's play "a humdinger." Parry told the Birmingham (Ala.) News "It was extremely tight, as I remember it. I saw that play and thought, 'Boy, whoever is upstairs has to make a tough, tough decision.'"

Top of the heap: Sports Illustrated's highest-profile pro football writer says the New Orleans Saints are the best team in the NFL right now. Peter King says not only have the Saints blown out three playoff contenders—the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and New York Giants—but they've shown mettle lately. "I like what the 8-0 Saints have shown the past three weeks, rebounding from a 24-3 deficit in Miami and a 14-0 deficit against Carolina, sandwiching a back-and-forth Monday-nighter with Atlanta," King says. He also praises the pickups of Drew Brees and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The Saints "can beat you too many ways" he says. Read the column here.

Set for 2:30 p.m. kickoff: LSU's Nov. 21 football game at Ole Miss will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and be televised nationally by CBS. The game has postseason implications for the Tigers (7-2, 4-2), who could be headed to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., with victories in their last three games, including Saturday at home against Louisiana Tech and Nov. 28 at home against Arkansas. The Rebels (6-3, 2-3), who were picked in the preseason to challenge Alabama and LSU for the Western Division championship, could also attract attention from New Year's bowl games with victories Saturday at home against Tennessee and Nov. 28 at Mississippi State. This will be LSU's fourth appearance on CBS this season: the network aired the Tigers' games with Georgia, Florida and Alabama earlier this year. LSU's homecoming game against Louisiana Tech will be broadcast by ESPNU, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m.

Correction

An item in today's Daily Report AM incorrectly identified Tim Griffin, a Congressional candidate from Arkansas. Griffin never lived in Baton Rouge and never worked for former U.S. Rep. Richard Baker. Daily Report regrets the error.