EBR sales tax collections drop in October

Sales tax collections in East Baton Rouge Parish were down for the sixth consecutive month in September. According to the city-parish Department of Finance, nearly $12.1 million in sales tax revenue was collected in September, down 3.3% from the nearly $12.5 million that came in during September 2008, a month that saw sales boosted by Hurricane Gustav rebuilding. Sales outside the incorporated areas of the parish were down slightly, from $5.32 million in September 2008 to $5.3 million in September. There was a 5.3% drop in sales tax collections inside the city limits, going from $7.1 million to nearly $6.8 million. Vehicle tax collections broke a string of declines from the previous year, although the comparison was easier since Gustav cut into September 2008 car and truck sales. There was just under $1 million collected in September, while vehicle tax revenues the year before were under $800,000. Through the first nine months of the year, city-parish sales tax collections are down 1.4%, from $114.2 million to $112.7 million.

Land sold for LSU apartment development

A 58-acre tract at Ben Hur Road and Nicholson Drive has been sold for nearly $4 million. Capstone Development of Birmingham, Ala., bought the land from UPUD in a deal that was filed Friday. Capstone has already started work on The Cottages of Baton Rouge, and opened a sales office for the luxury apartment complex. The first phase of the 382-unit, student-housing development is set to open in August. Capstone developed the Fieldhouse, a condominium development near Tiger Stadium, catering to the LSU game-day crowd. Edward Rotenberg of Sealy & Falgoust represented Capstone and Beau Box of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate represented the seller. Capstone plans to do $6 million in site improvements to the property, along with spending millions on constructing The Cottages.

Shaw expected to get U.K. nuclear contract

The Shaw Group is expected to receive a contract to build modules for nuclear reactors in the United Kingdom. According to The Guardian, Shaw beat out Fluor as lead contractor for the nearly $17 billion contract. Westinghouse Electric has the deal to build four nuclear reactors across the U.K., Shaw owns a 20% stake of Westinghouse and the firms have partnered to build nuclear plants across the world. The deal could lead to a shift in jobs from the U.K. to the U.S., potentially to Lake Charles, where Shaw plans to build advanced modules for the next generation of nuclear power plants.

Jobless claims squeeze unemployment fund, but things could be worse

Business owners already have plenty of headaches, but another aspirin-sales catalyst is on the horizon. The state’s Unemployment Trust Fund is being drawn down by rising numbers of jobless claimants, forcing Louisiana to raise the employer tax on wages per employee from the first $7,000 to $7,700. At the same time, maximum weekly benefits will drop from $284 to $247, both starting Jan. 1. Once the fund goes below $1.4 billion, state law requires that such adjustments be made at certain intervals. Tara Lachney, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Workforce Commission, says the fund balance last week was about $1.197 billion and is on track to fall to $1.083 billion by August, as previously reported. On Friday, the LWC said continuing jobless claims the week of Nov. 14 increased slightly from the week before to 61,389. Still, things could be much worse. In California, 740,000 people are collecting benefits. That state’s Employment Development Department says its jobless fund is on track to end the year $7.4 billion in debt; California is borrowing from the federal government to issue unemployment checks. “Louisiana has not had to borrow from the feds to pay claims or bolster our fund,” Lachney says.—Todd R. Brown

Off-site adoptions helping BR dogs find loving homes

Almost 50 healthy dogs were adopted through the Yelp Baton Rouge initiative in just six weeks according statement from group’s founders at Commercial Properties Realty Trust. Yelp is hosting another adoption day Dec. 5 at three locations in Baton Rouge at Main and Fifth streets, Perkins Road and Acadian Thruway and Coursey Boulevard at Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

East Baton Rouge Parish Animal & Rescue Center Director Hilton Cole says the Yelp Baton Rouge Initiative is a big part of how they are trying to increase the number of animal adoptions each year. Cole says they are also working with “six other major animal control groups in the area by allowing them to take animals out of the shelter and do remote adoptions.” That’s a big help, he says, because location of their facility can be a deterrent when families consider adopting an animal. “We’re up at the airport and people don’t like to drive up here with all the traffic,” he says.

Cole says the planned Animal Control Adoption and Education Center on donated land at Old Hammond Highway and Millerville Road will help increase the numbers of adopted animals in the parish in the future. Cole says that between 998 and 1,200 health cats and dogs are adopted through their current facility.

For more information on the Dec. 5 Yelp Baton Rouge adoption day, visit YelpBR.com.—Olivia Watkins

Sports roundup: Miles roasted nationally for Ole Miss game ... Thomas finalist for public service award

Taking heat: LSU football coach Les Miles is being criticized nationally for the Tigers' late meltdown against Ole Miss. Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated notes that a lot of LSU fans were critical of Miles' coaching ability—despite his leading the Tigers to a BCS Championship in 2007. "LSU's final possession gave them even more ammunition," he says. Read the column here. Stewart Mandel, also of Sports Illustrated says Miles and Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez are in the same boat in terms of fan criticism. Rodriguez got the Michigan job two years ago after Miles decided to stay at LSU. " Miles, like Rodriguez, isn't in danger of losing his job any time soon, but the fact that it's even become a point of discussion shows just how rapidly a coach's stock can deteriorate," says Mandel. Read the column here. Chris Low of ESPN.com, who follows the SEC, says the Tigers butchered the end of Saturday's game. "Even in the postgame press conference after all the chaos had ended, Miles seemed as lost in trying to explain it all as he did when it was all melting down around him on the sideline. The truth is there isn’t any explaining this one," he says. Read the full story here.

B.R. native does good: Former LSU basketball star Tyrus Thomas is one of 10 athletes named as a finalist for the Jefferson Award for Public Service. Thomas, a native of Baton Rouge and McKinley High graduate who plays for the Chicago Bulls, will be honored at a luncheon in New York next month. Thomas was selected for his work in establishing the Tyrus Thomas Foundation, which, in cooperation with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, provides educational and recreational programs to children. This year, he launched Tyrus Thomas, Inc., to fund a program called C.A.T.C.H. (Caring and Actively Teaching Children Hope), which targets at-risk children. Other Jefferson Award winners include Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, tennis star Venus Williams and Nnamdi Asomugha, a defensive back with the Oakland Raiders and a native of Lafayette.

New look: LSU will be one of 10 college football teams wearing new superlight uniforms from Nike for Saturday's games. The new uniforms, which feature a dark gold helmet, are 37% lighter than the standard gear. They're made of a special material that doesn't hold sweat or water. For a gallery of the new uniforms, click here. LSU plays Arkansas in a game that kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be televised by ESPN.

Tech Park company, Community make New York Times

Community Coffee and obdEdge, a company in the Louisiana Technology Park, garnered a mention in the New York Times on Sunday in a story about technological fixes that keep drivers from using cell phones while they're behind the wheel. Baton Rouge’s obdEdge makes Cell Control, which prevents a driver from sending or receiving phone calls, text messages or e-mails while their vehicle is in motion. Community started testing the device in its fleet of trucks in August. According to the Times, for several years Community has banned using cell phones while driving its 400 trucks. In that time, the accident rate dropped 30%. Jamey LeBlanc, the risk manager for Community, told the newspaper that the company went to obdEdge as a way of going beyond education and policy. “If we could control ourselves, we wouldn’t need any of this technology,” Donald Powers, a managing partner at obdEdge, told the newspaper. “We know it’s such a bad habit, but we crave being connected.” Read the full story here.

Feds find association between Chinese drywall, corrosion

The federal government says it has found a "strong association" between problematic imported Chinese drywall, and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year. In its second report on the potentially defective building materials, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said its investigation also has found a "possible" link between health problems reported by homeowners and hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses. The agency, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continues to study the potential health effects, and the long-term implications of the corrosion. The commission says it can now move forward with additional studies to identify effective remediation of the problem and potential assistance from the federal government in fixing it. The agency has spent $3.5 million on the studies, and has received more than 2,000 homeowner complaints from 32 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, in one of its largest consumer product investigations in U.S. history. The commission released its first report on the drywall last month, noting further studies were needed before it could consider a recall, ban or other action. During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. The use was heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida, and areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.

Business Report planner: Turkey Trot happening Thanksgiving ... Fregonese to speak to growth coalition

Thursday: The March of Dimes will hold its 23rd annual Turkey Trot downtown to raise money to combat birth defects. Registration for the fun run and walk starts at 6:30 a.m. at Galvez Plaza. Registration is $22 until Wednesday and $25 the day of the event. For more information or to sign up, go to marchofdimes.com/louisiana.

Dec. 3: John Fregonese, whose company is preparing the new comprehensive growth plan for East Baton Rouge Parish, will speak at a Baton Rouge Growth Coalition lunch. The lunch will be held 11:30 a.m. at Juban's Restaurant. Admission is $25, to register, e-mail office@growthcoalition.com.

For the full list of upcoming events, click here.

News roundup: Costs of a Thanksgiving dinner drops ... Number of children with food allergies rises

Something to really be thankful for: The price of items for a basic family Thanksgiving dinner is down about 9% from 2008. According to LSU AgCenter family economists, the items to feed 10 people cost an average of $37.52 in Baton Rouge grocery stores, compared with $41.30 in 2008. Turkey prices have dropped 15 cents, to 84 cents per pound, the biggest single contributor to the price drop. Other items that cost less than previous years include sweet potatoes, stuffing mix, fresh cranberries and milk.

Report: 4% of children allergic to food items: An analysis of four national surveys finds that 4% of U.S. children have food allergies. The report, published today in the journal Pediatrics says that the number of Americans under the age of 18 with food allergies has gone up by 18% from 1997 to 2007. The number of medical visits for food allergies tripled during that time. Doctors have several theories about why more children have food allergies, says the Los Angeles Times; the most prominent is that children are less exposed to germs and other disease-causing substances, preventing their immune systems from developing.