Southern to launch awareness campaign

Southern University is preparing to launch a statewide campaign aimed at raising awareness of the school's current accomplishments. "SU ... Today, Always" is a privately funded campaign that will involve TV, print, radio, Internet and billboard spots. Kassie Freeman, interim Southern president, says while people across the state are aware of the university and its history, they may not be familiar with what is currently going on at the school. Southern's signature degree programs—nursing, computer science, education—are aligned with the state's workforce needs, Freeman says; graduates in those programs are thus positioned well for job placement, possessing work skills high in demand in the state. "SU ... Today, Always" is being undertaken at a time when there's talk about changing the governing structure for Louisiana's higher education programs. "Our goal is to stay in our current form with the board intact as it is," says Freeman. About one-third of Louisiana's black college graduates earn degrees from schools in the Southern system. "We're doing our part for underrepresented students," Freeman says. —Timothy Boone

Stanford receiver goes after political contributions

The court-appointed receiver in the Stanford Financial Group case has filed suit in federal court, seeking to regain $1.6 million in political contributions made by accused fraudster Allen Stanford and other top company executives. Ralph Janvey filed the suit, charging that some of the proceeds from the $7 billion Ponzi scheme were used to make contributions to the Democratic and Republican parties, reports The Houston Business Journal. Janvey says individuals have no right to keep the money. Some elected officials who received contributions from Stanford have turned around and donated the same amount to charity. Read the full story here.

LaPolitics by John Maginnis: Hospitals set for budget battle

The pending federal budget, which extends the favorable Medicaid match for states for six months, could set off heated competition for possible new revenue in the state budget that the Legislature will write in coming months. The state's private and community hospitals hope to persuade legislators to use potential extra federal dollars to give back some of the 18% cut in provider rates that has happened since 2008. But the hospitals will meet resistance from the Jindal administration, which wants to sock away any new available funds for allocation in the 2011-12 fiscal year, when all stimulus funding ends and the state faces the so-called cliff: a $1.7 billion shortfall in the general fund. Hospitals will appeal to legislators for a compromise. Says one hospital official, "We've already hit the cliff, and we've been going down ever since."

—State Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere Jr. has talked about running for lieutenant governor this year, according to a knowledgeable source. Villere could not be reached for comment. Villere, a Metairie resident who has not held elected office before, recently won a new four-year term as state chairman. Two other Republicans, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, have stated they plan to run and finish the term of New Orleans Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu.

They said it: "I'm tired of watching the clock watchers." —Interim Jefferson Parish President Steve Theriot on streamlining plans, in the Times-Picayune.

(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)

Bergeron named top local chef

Don Bergeron has been named 2009 Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation's Greater Baton Rouge chapter. Bergeron operates a pair of culinary businesses: Chef Don Bergeron Enterprises, a catering and event-planning business; and Mid-City Market, a retail market offering prepared meals as well as hot-plate lunches and dinners. "I've been cooking since I was five years old," says Bergeron, 45. After working for John Folse for several years, he worked in the Baton Rouge restaurant business, then opened his own catering company 10 years ago. "People wanted my food. I started doing a few dinner parties here and there, and next thing I knew I had a full-fledged catering business," he says. He opened Mid-City Market on Jefferson Highway shortly after Hurricane Gustav, offering “home-cooking, stick-to-your-ribs kind of foods.” “The highest compliment I can ever receive is when someone says, ‘This tastes like what my grandmother made,’ ” says Bergeron. Get the rest of the local foodie news in 225 Dine by clicking here.

Brisk U.S. economic growth will likely fade

The economy rocketed ahead at a 5.9% pace in the final quarter of 2009, stronger than initially estimated. But the growth spurt isn't expected to carry over into this year. The fresh reading on the nation's economic standing at the end of 2009, released by the Commerce Department today, was better than the government's initial estimate a month ago of 5.7% growth. It would mark the strongest showing in six years. Even so, it didn't change the expectation of much slower economic activity in the current January-to-March quarter. Roughly two-thirds of last quarter's growth came from a burst of manufacturing rather than from consumer demand. In fact, consumer spending weakened at the end of the year, even more than the government officials first thought. Instead, factories were churning out goods for businesses that had let their stockpiles dwindle to save cash. If consumer spending remains lackluster as expected, that burst of manufacturing—and its contribution to economic activity—will fade. The signs aren't auspicious. Consumer confidence took an unexpected dive in February. Unemployment stands at 9.7%. Home foreclosures are at record highs. And many Americans are still having trouble getting loans.

January U.S. home sales fall 7.2%

Sales of previously occupied homes took a large drop for the second consecutive month in January, falling to the lowest level since summer. It is understood as another sign the housing market's recovery is faltering. The National Association of Realtors said sales fell 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million from a downwardly revised pace of 5.44 million in December. The results, the weakest since June, were far worse than forecast. Economists expected a slight increase, to a rate of 5.5 million.

Sales declined throughout the country, falling the most—nearly 11%—in the Northeast. Sales fell by about 7% in the South and the Midwest and by more than 5% in the West.

Poll: Tulane-General deal will have most impact

Fifty-two percent of people who responded to a Daily Report poll say a proposed Tulane University satellite medical campus at Baton Rouge General will have the biggest impact on the quality of health care locally. Forty percent say LSU's plans to train medical students at Our Lady of the Lake will have the most impact, and 8% were undecided. More than 1,650 people participated in the poll.

Today's question: Have you been forced to adjust your driving routes because of I-10/I-12 widening work?

News roundup: Holden to be honored at Hornets game ... I-10, I-12 lanes scheduled to close

Gets game ball: Mayor Kip Holden will be honored at tonight's New Orleans Hornets-Orlando Magic basketball game. Holden will receive the team's Black History Legacy Award and be presented with a game ball. This is part of a month-long program introduced by the Hornets aimed at honoring black leaders who have made history for their service to Louisiana and New Orleans.

The price of progress: Several lanes on Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 will be closed beginning this weekend as part of the ongoing widening work. Beginning at 8 p.m. today, one lane on I-12 east will be closed from the O'Neal Lane onramp to the end of the Amite River. That lane is expected to reopen at 5 a.m. Saturday, weather permitting. Beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday, both directions I-10 from Pecue Lane to the I-10/I-12 split will be reduced to one lane, along with both directions of Siegen Lane, Bluebonnet Boulevard and Essen Lane under I-10. Those lanes are set to reopen at 5 a.m. Thursday, weather permitting.