This Afternoon's Headlines / Wed, Nov. 25, 2009
Maxwell's opens location in Mandeville Walmart
Maxwell's Market has opened a meat and seafood counter inside the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Mandeville. Ron Lewis, who owns Maxwell's, says Walmart officials approached him about locating in the store. Walmart has launched a pilot program of partnering with local grocery stores as a way of customizing its smaller Neighborhood Market stores, Lewis says. "We figured it would be a good opportunity for us," he says. "Mandeville is a market we're trying to reach." The counter sells fresh premium products. The Neighborhood Market opened last week, but Lewis says he's gotten some good responses so far. "There were a couple of customers that I recognized in there, and their eyes kind of lit up when they saw our sign," Lewis says. The counter could lead to a full-size Maxwell's store in Mandeville, or smaller locations in other Neighborhood Markets, Lewis says. Maxwell's is scheduled to open its third Baton Rouge location in early December on Highland Road.—Timothy Boone
Local staffing company forced to pay back wages
General Structors Contractors Inc. paid $126,745 in back wages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the company had not paid overtime as required, the department announced today. The investigation found 254 cooks and laborers were paid straight time for working more than 40 hours in a week. Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the department's Wage and Hour Division, says some employees worked as many as 112 hours in a week without receiving overtime pay. According to the department, General Structors Contractors, based in Baton Rouge, provides laborers in various industries, such as construction, welding and food services.
Shreveport pizza restaurant coming to Baton Rouge
PieWorks Pizza By Design is scheduled to take over the two buildings recently occupied by Schlotzsky's Deli. The Shreveport-based chain says on its Web site it is going into the former Schlotzsky's locations on Jefferson Highway and South Sherwood Forest Boulevard. PieWorks has been open since 1990, offering pizzas with a variety of toppings, including shrimp scampi and roast beef, in addition to classic pies. The company, which has four locations in Shreveport and Monroe and one in North Carolina, has recently started franchising and is set to open a restaurant soon near Jackson, Miss.
Cabela's continues to fight rumors
Cabela’s has no plans to close its Gonzales retail store, despite persistent rumors to the contrary. In a response aimed at quelling erroneous information, Cabela’s CEO Tommy Millner issued a statement earlier this week, insisting the company remains committed to the Gonzales store and the community as a whole. "The Gonzales store is a valuable part of our retail operation and its hard-working employees are cherished members of our family," Millner says. "There is absolutely no truth to the rumors Cabela’s plans to close the store. We’re proud to be able to serve our loyal Louisiana customers, as well as the many visitors to the state, and plan to do so well into the future." Since opening in October 2007, millions of customers from Louisiana and surrounding states have visited and shopped at the Gonzales store. More than 200 people are employed at the store, located at Interstate 10 and La. Highway 30. To read the rest of 10/12 Corridor Weekly, click here.
Phillips named first assistant AG
Trey Phillips has been appointed by Attorney General Buddy Caldwell as first assistant attorney general. Phillips replaces John Sinquefield, who retired in October. Sinquefield, a longtime prosecutor in the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's office, now is Caldwell's senior counsel. Phillips worked as an assistant to former Attorneys General William J. Guste and Richard P. Ieyoub from 1991-93. From 1993-2002, he was among Caldwell's assistant district attorneys in Tallulah. He worked for several years for the Tennessee Department of Safety, and rejoined the attorney general's office under Caldwell in February 2008 as director of the public protection division. Sanettria Glasper Pleasant of Baton Rouge will replace Phillips as the director of public protection.
Cortana adds eight retailers
Just in time for Black Friday, Cortana Mall has added eight new retailers. Three new stores are Take A Break, which sells convenience items, Elegant Jewelers and City Gear, which sells street wear. New kiosks and carts are All About Scents, which sells candles; Dead Sea Spa, which sells cosmetic creams; Perfect Brow Bar, which sells hair removal products; Love It!, a handbag cart and Mini Copter, which sells flying toys.
Check out LSU’s uniform for the Arkansas game
Do you want to know more about the Nike Pro Combat uniform LSU will wear during Saturday’s regular-season finale against Arkansas? The Tigers are one of 10 college football teams—the others are Florida, Florida State, Miami, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Christian and Virginia Tech—that will be outfitted in the uniforms, which Nike says are 37% lighter (23.7 ounces vs. 37.4 ounces) than its traditional uniforms. Nike also says the Pro Combat line doesn’t hold moisture, so its lighter than traditional uniforms when wet. LSU will wear white jerseys and pants with purple numbers outlined in gold, horizontal purple stripes outlined in old gold and an old-gold helmet with the Tigers’ traditional logo. Each team has a theme for its game. The Tigers’ theme is “Cochon de lait,” which plays off its 6 p.m. contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The game will be televised by ESPN. For more about LSU’s Pro Combat garb, click here.
Jobless claims dip, spending up in sign of rebound
In a hopeful sign for the economy, the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first time since January. Consumer spending also picked up in October, and new-home sales hit their highest point in more than a year. Combined, the news suggested that the economy should be able to sustain at least a modest rebound. Some economists have worried that the economy was at risk of slipping back into recession. The number of people filing first-time claims for jobless aid fell by 35,000 to 466,000, the Labor Department says. That was the fewest since September of last year. And it was far better than the 500,000 economists had expected. Still, analysts noted that jobless claims would have to drop to near 400,000 for several weeks to signal actual growth in employment. Economists estimate the economy will lose a net 145,000 jobs this month. It would have to add 125,000 jobs a month just to keep the unemployment rate from rising.
Judge blasts bad bank, erases couple’s $525,000 debt
A New York couple is home free after an outraged judge gave them an amazing Thanksgiving present—canceling their debt to ruthless bankers trying to toss them out on the street, the New York Post reports. Suffolk Judge Jeffrey Spinner wiped out $525,000 in mortgage payments demanded by a California bank, blasting its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts. The bombshell decision leaves Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, owing absolutely no money on their ranch house. Spinner pulled no punches as he smacked down the bankers at OneWest—who took an $814.2 million federal bailout but have a record of cold-bloodedly foreclosing on any homeowner owing money. The bank is owned by a private equity group that purchased the failed IndyMac bank. The judge’s ruling erased up to $291,000 in principal and $235,000 in interest and penalties. Horoski, who had begged the bankers to let him restructure the loan, said, "I think the judge felt it was almost a personal vendetta." Dealing with the bank, he said, was "like dealing with organized crime." OneWest said, "We respectfully disagree with the lower court's unprecedented ruling and we expect that it will be overturned on appeal."
A few places also serving weekend entertainment
Thanksgiving means that it’s a slow week on the Baton Rouge entertainment scene, but there are still a few places serving up a side of arts and entertainment with our weekend of turkey and stuffing. If Thanksgiving has you spending the weekend with relatives in New Orleans, get out of the house Friday night and get to S. Peters Street to hear Generationals—led by former Baton Rougeans and Eames Era founders Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer—play their new batch of retro-pop savvy songs at Republic. Or, you could celebrate the stellar songbook of composer Irving Berlin with I Love a Piano, a thrilling new musical whirlwind through the decades brought to life and set to 64 of Berlin's classic 20th Century tunes at the Manship Theatre on Sunday. For more to do in and around Baton Rouge, read 225 Select by clicking here.
No Daily Report PM Thursday, Friday
Daily Report PM will not be published Thursday or Friday in observance of Thanksgiving. The newsletter will resume Monday. Happy Thanksgiving.
