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A license in limbo?

A decision by New Jersey gaming regulators not to renew a casino license could have an impact on the Belle of Baton Rouge.

Last month, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission rejected Columbia Sussex’s bid to renew its operating license for the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. According to The Press of Atlantic City, this was only the second time in 29 years the commission turned down a renewal request.

Commissioners cited a variety of reasons for not renewing the license, including a poor record of complying with regulatory requirements⎯the casino went six months without having an independent audit committee⎯and a decision by Columbia Sussex to slash the casino staff by about 25%, or 900 workers. During hearings before the commission, there were reports of bedbugs, roaches and dirty rooms at the Tropicana.

Columbia Sussex is appealing the commission's move. But if the company can't get a license, it will be forced to sell the Tropicana and some of its other casinos. Columbia Sussex, based in Fort Mitchell, Ky., owns 10 other casinos, including the Belle and Amelia Belle Casino, and a host of hotels, including the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center and Baton Rouge Marriott. State gaming law says a company that loses a gaming license in another state can lose its license to operate a riverboat in Louisiana.

Paul West, an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford who specializes in gaming law, says that issue hasn't come up in Louisiana—yet. But he says gaming regulators might not be willing to take away a casino license or deny a renewal over issues of mismanagement at a property in another state.

"If you violated laws, that's a different thing," says Kelly Simoneaux, a former member of the Gaming Control Board.

Columbia Sussex officials spent the few days before Christmas meeting with gaming regulators in various states, including Louisiana, giving their side of the New Jersey dispute. One factor that could also be an issue in the company's Louisiana operations is its financial status. Officials have said if they can't get the New Jersey license, they might be forced to declare bankruptcy.

All of these issues might come into play in the next few weeks, as Pinnacle Entertainment ramps up its campaign to win a local option vote for its Riviere casino⎯a resort that Columbia Sussex says will hurt the Belle financially. Columbia Sussex has talked about building a new riverboat for the Belle, but has delayed unveiling the plans. A new parking garage for the casino is under construction. —Timothy Boone

Absinthe-minded

Another sign things are going to hell in a hand basket: Absinthe is again legal to make and sell in the United States. It was just a matter of time. European countries in the 1990s began relaxing rules against the distinctively green, anise-flavored liqueur, while determined Yanks have long been able to order it—perhaps legally—through online retailers like Liqueurs de France.

Absinthe, also called the Green Fairy, was outlawed in Europe and the United States nearly a century ago after an aggressive temperance painted it as a dangerous psychoactive substance that caused hallucinations, madness and murder. Thujone—a chemical in wormwood, a key ingredient of absinthe—was the principal villain.

It turned out to be fiction, and 95 years later the Green Fairy rides again, stoked to the gills on thujone with the FDA’s blessing. Traditionally, the liqueur is diluted with cold water dribbled over sugar cubes suspended by an absinthe “spoon” over a special glass. Pince-nez and top hat are optional.

Brandt Hart, general manager of Cork & Bottle Fine Wines, which began carrying the French absinthe Lucid about a month ago, says it’s been extremely popular. A fifth costs $62.99 sans glass and spoon, though vision-seekers be warned: Lucid contains a tiny amount of wormwood—same as its notorious predecessors.

“It’s just a different form of drunk,” Hart says. “It really doesn’t make you hallucinate.” —Steve Clark

Familiar face

While it wasn’t a foregone conclusion, neither was it a complete surprise when WBRZ-TV named 5 p.m. co-anchor Sylvia Weatherspoon to replace 6 and 10 p.m. anchor Andrea Clesi, who retired last month after 30 years at the local ABC affiliate. Weatherspoon is a veteran of the station, having joined in 1993 and worked her way through as a reporter, health reporter, weekend anchor and noon anchor. As important, she is a Baton Rouge native, understands the area and is a known commodity in a market that doesn’t like newcomers delivering the news.

“It’s a smart choice because she is credible and familiar in the market,” notes Andrea Miller, an associate professor of broadcast news at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. “Baton Rouge—and Louisiana markets in general—don’t like change. They like familiar faces.”

Her impact in helping her perennially second-ranked station close the ratings gap that market-leader WAFB-TV has enjoyed for years remains to be seen. Station brass denies it was looking at the numbers when it made the decision to promote from within rather than going with one of the dozens of out-of-state applicants. But they do say her experience and credentials should do nothing but help the station.

“I hire everybody on the assumption they will help our ratings go up,” News Director Chuck Bark says. “Like with everything, you hire people you think will take you to the next level.” —Stephanie Riegel

Leftover laughs

The holidays have come and gone, but chances are you still have fruitcake. It’s too late to order any of the fictitious goods from The Great North American Fruitcake Company, but there’s still time to laugh at Object 9’s holiday creation. The marketing, public relations and creative firm’s Christmas card comes in the form of a tongue-in-cheek fruitcake catalog. If you’re lucky, you even get a “sample” in the form of Fruitkick, an exercise system.

The third installment of the catalog (the first came in 1994 and took a hiatus until 2005) features items like: the iCAKE, an MP3 player, cell phone, PDA, camera, pill-splitter, emergency flare gun and port-a-potty; Cakie, a 14-inch weatherproof garden gnome; and Fruitcake HD, a TV with crystal-clear picture and a Candied Cherry Color Technology converter.

“The one that was for the HDTV is still on top of the TV,” says Andy Gutowski, Object 9’s creative director. “Until it starts to mold, we’ll leave it up there.”

With a run of 1,000, the catalog took “plugging away a little bit every day” for two and a half weeks, he says. The creation and gifting process used 50 pounds of fruitcake from Georgia-based Claxton Fruit Cake.

The all-voluntary catalog models are Object 9 staff save the stock art of the woman in the bathtub.

“Everyone else was proud to take part in it,” he says. “Slightly grossed out, but proud.” —Marissa Frayer

BUSINESS of POLITICS

More Election Changes?

Although poll workers received a pay increase during the 2007 regular session, some are still stirring about the long, sometimes unproductive hours they have to work. Some are even taking their grievances directly to the top, requesting Secretary of State Jay Dardenne make a push for fewer hours in the 2008 regular session.

Mick McIlwain, a poll commissioner in New Orleans, contends that even though the polls are open 14 hours (from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.), commissioners are on duty for at least 15 hours setting up machines and performing other duties. “My experience is that there is very little voter turnout during the first and last hours of voting, and those voting at those times could easily vote during the reduced voting hours,” he says. “In my opinion, the long hours required are the main problem in recruiting new commissioners. A change is long overdue.”

Earlier this year, commissioners-in-charge saw their pay jump from $150 to $250 per day, while other workers either saw their pay of $50 or $100 double. —Jeremy Alford

Rollin’ ads

Calling it “a unique idea in an old industry,” Paul Tauchar says the Admobile gives advertisers a fresh way to get the word out.

Tauchar and partner Bert Rubinsky have two Admobiles [trucks] in Baton Rouge and another two in Jackson, Miss., where they live. Although not a new concept⎯it was called AIM [Advertising in Motion] in 1998 when co-owner Phillip Brocato had his moving van rolling about on area streets⎯Tauchar hopes to keep it rolling this time. They saw potential in the concept when they bought their first Admobile in 2002 near Mobile, Ala.

You rent time and space just like a billboard, choose the front, side or back panels or go with multi-panels on one or both trucks. They can help design the art work and then your ad hits the road on a 24-foot, black box truck. Each side has three revolving billboards (Tauchar calls it tri-vision) that revolve every eight seconds and are lit at night.

Routes are chosen based on traffic counts and run 10 hours a day Monday through Friday, including rush hours.

Chuck Sanchez, owner of PrintedBig.com, tried the Admobile and says it generated a lot of attention. “Everybody saw it,” Sanchez says. “I saw it every morning when I went to work.”

“The old methods aren’t as effective as they used to be with TiVo and Sirius [satellite] radio now,” Tauchar says. “It’s got a lot of motion to it and it captures attention.” —Anna Thibodeaux

Food need

Food banks across the country are in crisis mode as they try to deal with falling supply and rising demand. The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank has already weathered its own crisis following Hurricane Katrina, but that doesn’t mean its cupboard is full.

“It’s kind of a mixed bag,” says Mike Manning, the food bank’s president and CEO. He says the food bank just received a big donation of MREs from FEMA, but they plan to save those for a full-scale emergency. In the meantime, they have a 65% increase in demand to deal with that has largely held steady since the storm, he says.

While the demand for food never goes away, donations from the public tend to peak this time of year, before dropping again until Lent. Food drives can be hit or miss, but donations from grocery stores of food that is past its premium sell-by date, but still good, provide a more steady supply.

“This is the time of year we try to get as much as we can to tide us over,” Manning says. —David Jacobs

ONLINE

Shaw scrutiny

Two high-profile stock analysts have different takes on the recent moves by Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard to sell off 988,000 shares of company stock. The Motley Fool called Shaw’s stock “the worst in the world.” But CNBC’s Jim Cramer says he likes Shaw and that Bernhard’s moves are nothing more than profit-taking, because the company’s stock shot up so much this year. Shaw officials have said Bernhard sold off the stock as part of an effort to diversify his portfolio. As of Dec. 26, 2007, Shaw Group’s common stock was at $60.55 with 52-week highs and lows of $77.30 and $28.60, respectively. —T.B.

UTeach, they teach

LSU is one of 12 universities in the country to receive a $2.4 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, funded by ExxonMobil, to relieve a shortage of qualified math and science high school teachers. The money will go to copy UTeach, an unusual but acclaimed program from the University of Texas that Congress and the National Academy of Sciences have identified as effective in increasing the number of qualified math and science teachers. UTeach has won acclaim for its ability to attract math and science teachers by integrating their majors closely with the curriculum. It’s unusual in that it gives students a chance to teach, guided by former teachers, as early as their freshman year. UTeach has doubled the number of Austin’s undergraduates certified to teach math and science. Plans are to expand the program to Southern University and Southeastern Louisiana University. —S.C.

ONTHEBEAT

Top dog: Scott Woodward, a Baton Rouge native, is now the interim athletic director at the University of Washington. Woodward, 44, a Catholic High School and LSU graduate, has been Washington’s vice president for external affairs since 2004.

On the Koerner: John E. Koerner III has joined Lamar Advertising’s board of directors. Koerner is the managing member of the private investment company Koerner Capital and a former president and co-owner of Barq’s.

A6 stance: Officials with the community activist group A6 plan to take a stand on the proposed Riviere casino resort project. They are looking for volunteers to study the south Baton Rouge project and develop a position. A local option vote on Pinnacle Entertainment is scheduled for Feb. 9.

Academic honors: University High School, Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Holden High School and West Feliciana High School have made U.S. News & World Report’s first list of the nation’s best high schools. The list is based student performance on state testing with various adjustments.

Crime fighting signs: Lamar Advertising’s high-tech billboards are being used for more than letting people know about goods and services. A partnership between the Mobile, Ala., police and the Baton Rouge-based ad agency allows law enforcement to post names and photos of criminals or missing people on the billboards within minutes of receiving a report.

Lactic expansion: Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, Louisiana’s largest family dairy, is expanding into the Acadiana market. Last month, seven Lafayette grocery chains began carrying Kleinpeter milk and cheese. Plans are to expand into Henderson and Breaux Bridge stores.

More money: Congress passed a budget bill for the U.S. Department of State and foreign operations that includes more than $20 million in funding for Baton Rouge area projects, U.S. Rep. Richard Baker says. The biggest project is $7.8 million for the Comite River Diversion Canal, while LSU and Pennington Biomedical Research Center will receive $7.3 million for research projects.

REAL ESTATE

Home on the Rowe

The demand for apartment and condominium units in Perkins Rowe has picked up since mid-November, beginning around the time the first big retail tenants started to open. “We’ve started to sell a unit every two days,” says Tommy Spinosa Jr. of JTS Interests, which is developing the mixed-use center at Bluebonnet Boulevard and Perkins Road.

As of late December, just under half of the 87 condo units had been presold. The units are located above the Barnes & Noble/la Madeleine building. The first condo tenants should start moving in early this month. Spinosa said there’s been a mix of demand for the units, which are selling for between $199,000 to $300,000 for a one-bedroom unit and $300,000 and $600,000 for two bedrooms.

About half of the buyers are active seniors, 55 and older, including a few doctors. “The rest are real mixed in, including some young professionals,” he says.

The first group of apartments in Perkins Rowe should open this spring. So far, about a third of the units have been leased, with rents ranging from $785 to $1,075 a month for a studio and from $1,030 to $2,600 for two bedrooms. Sixty-nine apartments should be open by May. By the end of 2008, Spinosa says 226 apartments will be open. —T.B.

From milk to movies

Plans are in the works to turn the old Louisiana Creamery building on South Choctaw Drive into a movie studio. Skinny Giraffe Films has already shot parts of two movies in the 120,000-square-foot dairy: The Way of War, which stars Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr., and Trance, a horror movie that’s headed to the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Local rapper Lil’ Boosie also shot a music video in the dairy, which closed in the late 1980s.

Skinny Giraffe CEO Roy Harris says the small, independent movies that are being shot around Baton Rouge need another studio beside the Celtic Group’s facility off Airline Highway. “The Celtic Studios are brand new, and that comes with a premium,” Harris says. “We’re looking to do quality products here for the best value as well.”

Skinny Giraffe hopes to purchase the building next month and get it certified as a film studio with the state. “There are a whole bunch of projects shooting in Baton Rouge and around the state we hope to support as best as we can,” he says. Jon Claitor, whose family owns the dairy, says the asking price on the building is $3.2 million. —T.B.