Dingo's moving into Southern Oaks club
Dingo's, an Australia-themed restaurant, has closed its Coursey Boulevard location and is setting up shop in the Southern Oaks Athletic Club. The restaurant plans to open for dinner Friday, says Lisa Williams, manager and membership director for Southern Oaks, the former Shenandoah Country Club. Williams says Dingo's menu won't change and the restaurant will be open to both the public and club members seven days a week. In addition, Dingo's will cater events and fundraisers at Southern Oaks. —Timothy Boone
CABL issues recommendations for higher ed
The Council for a Better Louisiana has come out with a list of recommendations to make the state's higher education system more efficient in the wake of recent budget cuts. CABL says the state faces structural and systemic issues—including graduation rates well below the South’s regional average, a funding imbalance between LSU and peer research universities, and low tuition. The 10 reforms suggested by the nonpartisan, good government group include raising admission standards, reducing duplication between colleges, letting LSU establish a "flagship fee" and making changes to TOPS. See the full list here.
Soggy spring may follow drenched December
The LSU AgCenter's climatologist says Louisiana's rainy December may be followed by a soggy spring, especially in south Louisiana. Jay Grymes says the record-setting December rainfall is a red flag for the next few months’ forecast.
Grymes says January was a bit drier than usual, but the pattern of lows moving out of the Gulf of Mexico and into Louisiana is returning, with rain forecast today. El Nino years, such as this one, bring wetter-than-normal winters and springs about 60% to 70% of the time. Grymes says that in spite of the relatively dry January, the ground is wetter than usual. And that condition, he says, increases the risk of river and bayou flooding.
U.S. government investigating Prius brakes
The Transportation Department has opened an investigation into brake problems in the 2010 model year Toyota Prius after the Japanese automaker acknowledged design problems with the brakes in its prized gas-electric hybrid. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told The Associated Press it has received 124 reports related to these problems from consumers, four of which involved crashes. The investigation will look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over uneven road surfaces, potholes or bumps. The Japanese government has ordered Toyota to investigate the brake problems. The automaker says it corrected problems with the antilock brake system in Prius models sold since late last month, including those shipped overseas. Fixing the flaw reportedly requires a software programming change.
Poll: Lift military gay ban
Fifty-two percent of people who responded to a Daily Report poll say the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military should be lifted. Forty-two percent of people who took the online survey say the policy should remain in place, and 6% were undecided. Nearly 1,400 people participated in the poll. Earlier this week, top-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified the ban on allowing gay troops to serve should be lifted.
Today's question: Who will win the Super Bowl?
First-time jobless claims in U.S. rise unexpectedly
The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, evidence that layoffs are continuing and jobs remain scarce. The rise is the fourth in the past five weeks. Most economists hoped that claims would resume a downward trend that was evident in the fall and early winter. The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 480,000. Wall Street economists had expected a drop to 460,000, according to Thomson Reuters. The four-week average, which smoothes fluctuations, rose for the third straight week to 468,750.
The figure is the highest in the past two months. Initial claims dropped sharply in late December, raising hopes among economists that layoffs were tapering off and the economy would soon start generating net gains in jobs The figures come a day before the Labor Department is scheduled to report the January employment figures, which are expected to show a tiny gain in jobs. The unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 10.1%.
News roundup: Parkview Baptist player wins national honor ... Annual revenues down 6% at Hollywood Casino ... Shaw gets Corps award
An inspiration: Calob Leindecker, who returned to play football at Parkview Baptist after losing a leg in a car accident, has been named the nation's most inspirational high school football player. Leindecker was named the winner of the 2009 High School Football Rudy Award, named after former Notre Dame player Daniel ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger. Leindecker was selected by a panel of judges including former New Orleans Saints coach Jim Mora Sr., sportscaster Andrea Kremer and former NFL star Shaun Alexander. He will receive a $10,000 college scholarship, and Ruettiger will honor him later this month at a ceremony in Baton Rouge.
Weak fourth quarter adds to drop: Net revenues at Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge dropped by 6% in 2009, compared to the year before. The downtown riverboat posted nearly $123 million in net revenue for the year, compared with $131 million the year before, according to earnings figures released today by its parent company, Penn National Gaming. A weak fourth quarter hurt Hollywood; casino net revenues were 19% lower in the last three months of the year than in 2008, dropping from $33.5 million to $27.1 million. Overall earnings for Penn National's casinos were down 2.2% in 2009, from $2.42 billion to $2.37 billion.
A job well done: The Shaw Group has been awarded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2009 Contractor Superior Safe Performance Award. This is the second time Shaw received the honor for its work in the Corps St. Louis district; the Baton Rouge–based company was honored in 2007. Shaw earned the recent honor in the large business category for its seven years of work, without accident, cleaning up radioactive and chemical contamination in St. Louis.
