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Momentum Group Fitness opened at Highland Road and Staring Lane. The facility, which is dedicated solely to group fitness, offers spinning, Body Pump, Body Attack, yoga, Pilates and other classes led by trained instructors.

Waste Management’s Woodside Landfill in Walker was granted two permits from the Department of Environmental Quality to continue providing waste disposal services to the Livingston Parish area. The Solid Waste Type I/II disposal permit was renewed for 10 years, following more than one year of study, public hearings and public comments. An air permit was issued for a five-year period. Waste Management is among the largest private employers in Livingston Parish.

Dow Louisiana Federal Credit Union opened a 5,000-square-foot financial resource center on Walker South Road in Walker. The new branch offers full teller and lending services and a drive-up ATM. DLFCU, which was founded in 1972, also has locations in Baton Rouge, Gonzales and Plaquemine.

E Federal Credit Union and television stations WVLA-TV, WGMB-TV, WBRL-CA and KZUP-CA are launching a search for participants for The Biggest Loser: Financial Edition, an eight-month competition in which four Capital Region families will be challenged to improve their financial situation by saving money and reducing debt. The application deadline is Jan. 16, 2009. To learn more about the contest or to download an application, go to efedcu.org.

AWARDS/HONORS

Incisive Media, publisher of Corporate Counsel magazine, has named Jones Walker a “Go-To Law Firm for the Top 500 Companies” as well as a “Go-To Law Firm for Leading Financial Services Companies.” Firms were selected based on a national survey of general counsel of Fortune 500 companies and leading financial services companies, as well as on research and analysis of various public filings and resources.

LSU’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture has been ranked among the top five schools in the nation for the fifth consecutive year by DesignIntelligence journal. According to the 2009 survey, the school has the No. 2 undergraduate program in the country and the third-ranked graduate program. Rankings are based on statistical information, academic surveys and professional surveys completed by practitioners at leading U.S. landscape architecture firms.

LSU researchers Mark Batzer and Brent Christner were recognized in Discover magazine’s “Top 100 Stories of 2008.” Batzer, Boyd Professor and Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite Distinguished Professor in biological sciences, is featured at No. 90 for his involvement in sequencing and analysis of the platypus genome. Christner, an assistant professor of biological sciences, came in at No. 88 for his research on rain-making bacteria.

Paul H. Spaht of Kantrow, Spaht, Weaver & Blitzer has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship is extended by invitation only to trial lawyers with a minimum of 15 years’ experience and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest ethical standards.

Zehnder Communications is a recipient of an international Davey Award for Campaign for Your Cause, a Web-based competition in which Louisiana residents determined how a $200,000 donation from local Burger King restaurants could be divided among Baton Rouge and New Orleans nonprofits. The award is given to small advertising agencies for past work.

Jo Emmert of Jo Emmert Interior Design received the Gold Residential Award from the American Institute of Interior Designers South Central Chapter, which includes Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. Emmert was honored for her work on a local house.

Jacqui Vines, senior vice president and general manager for Cox Greater Louisiana, has been named by CableFAX: The Magazine as one of the Most Powerful Women in Cable. After a nomination process, the top women in cable operations, programming, sales and technology are ranked and honored on the annual list.

Object 9 received two Summit Emerging Media Awards, an Innovator award and a Leader award for its design of Fire & Flavor and Wild Goose Brewery’s Web sites. The 2008 Summit EMA received 700 entries, only 12% of which earned recognition. The Summit Awards recognize the accomplishments of strategic communications through online initiatives.

IEM Founder/President/CEO Madhu Beriwal has been appointed by the Secretary of the Army to a three-year term on the Army Science Board, the senior scientific advisory body to Army leaders in critical national security challenges. The ASB consists of world-class leaders who volunteer their expertise and time to address scientific and technological challenges for the Army’s leadership.

Darian Chustz, president of Coca-Cola’s Gulf Coast region, has been selected as the honorary chairman of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Greater Baton Rouge. The race is scheduled for May 31, 2009 at the BREC State Fair Grounds on Airline Highway.

LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor has been selected as the honorary chairman of the American Cancer Society’s Amedisys Fore A Cure Corporate Golf Classic. The tournament is scheduled for May 8, 2009 at The Bluffs in St. Francisville.

PHILANTHROPY

The Capital Region Legislative Delegation and Wal-Mart Foundation presented the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank with a $50,000 contribution.

Winn-Dixie donated more than 43,000 pounds of food totaling $36,000 to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Tanger Outlet Center donated $13,165 to the American Cancer Society’s Mid-South Division. The money was raised through the annual Stanley K. Tanger breast cancer fundraiser held from Sept. 17-Oct. 19.