Holden: Alive project still will happen

Mayor-President Kip Holden stood in front of a friendly Forum 35 crowd this afternoon in what he called “confession mode.” The subject? His $901 million bond proposal, which came under fire this week as it has become apparent the site of the $225 million Alive project is embroiled in a legal dispute between the state and the Illinois Central Railroad. That dispute includes an injunction barring construction work from being done on the land.

Holden says the dispute between the railroad and the state can be resolved and that the bond issue will move forward. “This is not insurmountable,” Holden says. “The way I view it, this is not going to stop Alive from happening.”

Holden says he will address the Capital Area Legislative Delegation in October concerning over $40 million in mitigation fees required to build up the site to the level of the levee. “We’re not going to put them in a situation where their priorities in capital outlay or our priorities in capital outlay are knocking heads,” he says. “It’s not going to happen.” If the project does not move forward, the $225 million in bonds cannot be appropriated for any other purpose, reducing the total of the bond issue to under $700 million. The controversy surrounding Alive has not eroded public support for the project, Holden says. “Everywhere I go, there are people saying, hang in there, we’re pushing for you,” he says. “We’re pushing for this bond issue. We’re going to make a difference.”

Holden will hold a news conference about Alive on 2 p.m. Monday in the Metro Council chambers.—Emma James

Editor: Questions Holden needs to answer

Mayor Kip Holden is working to drum up support for his $901 million bond issue. But Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball says the mayor needs to provide more concrete details and people need to press Holden for specifics. "Considering that should the proposal pass, owners of residential and commercial property will pony up an additional 9.9 mils of property tax and all of us who purchase goods subject to sales taxes in the parish will fork over an extra 50 cents for every $100 we spend, you’d think people would ask some hard financial questions before making the decision to vote yea or nay," Ball says. Read the questions he says Holden needs to address here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.

Education achievement gap not closing, expert says

Despite a national report stating that the “achievement gap” between black and white students is getting smaller, the gap isn’t closing in Louisiana, education consultant Rhea Kiper told a meeting of the Louisiana NAACP today. Among 4th graders, 62% of black students and 82% of white students scored “basic” or higher in English language arts on the Spring 2009 LEAP test, while 50% of blacks and 80% of whites scored basic or higher in math. Among 8th graders, 48% of blacks scored at least basic compared to 77% of whites in ELA, while 42% of blacks scored basic or higher compared to 75% for whites. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandated high-stakes testing, in part, supporters said, to close the achievement gap. Kiper says the controversial law may be altered somewhat in the near future, but it’s not going away. The state NAACP conference, which started Thursday and concludes Saturday, is being held at the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel.—David Jacobs

Loop river crossings altered

One potential crossing for the Baton Rouge Loop over the Mississippi River has been eliminated and a new crossing has been added. Loop officials say the proposed crossing five miles north of the U.S. 190 bridge corridor is no longer being considered, following discussions with federal and state agencies, as well as a meeting last month at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge with representatives from the maritime industry. The Coast Guard and marine industry suggested a new crossing, south of Addis. Potential river crossings now include the U.S. 190 bridge corridor, one north of Addis, one south of Addis and one between Plaquemine and St. Gabriel. To view an interactive map of potential loop corridors, click here. Loop supporters are still trying to find money for the project, including $15 million for the second phase of environmental impact study. Work is also being done to narrow the design down to a single corridor.

Business Report receives ethics in business award

Business Report has been named a business ethics award winner by the Better Business Bureau of South Central Louisiana. The company will receive the 2009 Douglas Manship Sr. Torch Award for Ethics in Business in the category of companies with 11 to 99 employees. The Manship Awards are presented to businesses that exhibit the highest ethical standards of behavior toward customers, suppliers, users, shareholders, employees and the community. An independent panel of judges selected Business Report from a field of outstanding businesses. Other winners this year are: Ashco Exteriors Inc., in the category of 10 employees or less; Wright & Percy Insurance, in the category of 100 to 300 employees; and Capital One Bank, in the category of more than 300 employees. The awards will be presented during a banquet Oct. 27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Time running out for Forty Under 40 nominations

All applications/nominations for Business Report's annual Forty Under 40 awards must be submitted by 5 p.m. today. The awards honor the young men and women who are making the Capital Region a better place to live, work and play. The winners will be recognized in the Nov. 17 issue of Business Report and honored at a special ceremony Dec. 3. You can nominate someone or submit your own application. Nominations must be made online here.

Shaw Group extends credit line to October 2012

Engineering and construction company Shaw Group says it extended a $1 billion credit line to October 2012 by pledging its tangible and intangible assets. The credit agreement also lets Shaw to seek additional secured commitments of up to $400 million under this facility and other supplemental credit facilities. Furthermore, Shaw may pledge up to $300 million of its unrestricted cash to secure additional letters of credit. The credit agreement will become unsecured once Standard & Poor's and Moody's rating services designate the facility as investment grade.

Initial state unemployment claims rise

First-time claims for unemployment rose to 4,767 for the week ending Saturday. That's up from the 4,280 claims that were reported for the week ending Sept. 12, says the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Construction and retail saw increases in the number of unemployment claims. The number of people who continued to receive unemployment was 60,797, above the 35,542 who were receiving unemployment during the week ending Sept. 20, 2008.

River Road Creative becomes more creative

Richie Adams, one of 225’s 2007 People to Watch, officially became an auteur this summer when the movie titles designer (Babel, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) shot his passion project, a feature length semi-autobiographical comedy he wrote and directed, called Inventing Adam. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” Adams said on the eve of a breakneck 16-day shoot that covered ground from downtown Baton Rouge to False River and from St. Francisville to New Orleans to tell the story of a man who leaves the big city for the town he grew up in to celebrate his 30th birthday with the friends he left behind. Adam’s journey home in the narrative closely mirrors that of Adams, who spent time working for giant ad agencies in San Francisco and Los Angeles before moving back to Baton Rouge three years ago to launch River Road Creative. Despite steady, high-profile editing and credits work in film and television, Adams admits he returned specifically to become a director. “I thought, realistically, the only way for me to pursue directing was to get a company off the ground, and that became River Road Creative,” he says. To learn more about this local film innovator and his new movie, read the article in this month's 225 magazine by clicking here.