The shortened holiday week got off to rocky start for Baton Rouge on Monday when NBC announced it would not be airing the Miss USA pageant live from the city on Sunday, July 12, as scheduled.
The network made the announcement in response to disparaging comments that pageant co-owner and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump made about Mexican immigrants when announcing his candidacy recently. Virtually every pageant host, judge and guest artists followed suit by backing out of the pageant in turn.
The announcement left many wondering if Baton Rouge and other state agencies—who collectively pledged some $545,000 to pageant operators to lure the event back to Baton Rouge for a second straight year—could recoup any money. Metro Councilman John Delgado formally asked city-parish officials to suspend any payments to the pageant in the letter.
As Daily Report first reported on Tuesday, the contract Baton Rouge officials inked with the Miss USA pageant to provide $280,000 in city-parish funds never specifically required a global broadcast by NBC. But supporting documents provided to the Metro Council when they approved the allocation in April show the estimated value of the broadcast at $20 million.
Last year’s event took place before a sold-out Baton Rouge River Center crowd. About 70 countries saw the NBC broadcast, which included many flattering shots of the Capital City.
This morning, independent cable and satellite channel Reelz announced it has acquired the broadcast rights and will air the event live. However, the channel’s reach is much less extensive than NBC’s, leaving the question open as to whether or not Baton Rouge and Louisiana will see an adequate return on its investment in the pageant.
Also this morning, Daily Report was the first to report that opponents of the St. George incorporation effort have jumped into the legal fight over the signature count on the petition to get the issue on a ballot.
Residents Against The Breakaway has filed a petition for intervention in the lawsuit filed last week by organizers of the City of St. George incorporation effort against the East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Voters, which determined in June that their petition drive had fallen 71 signatures short of the number required to bring a public vote on the matter.
The St. George opponents’ legal filing contends that the registrar’s job is complete and a Baton Rouge judge—who is scheduled to take up the matter in a hearing at 9 a.m. Monday—should reject the St. George proponents’ suit, which would allow for additional signatures to be included on their petition.
Here’s a rundown of other top local stories making headlines in Daily Report this week:
- Commuters in the Capital Region spend more time getting to work than many other people across the country, and nearly all of them are driving alone, a nationwide traffic analysis by The Associated Press shows.
- Promising a campaign rooted in conservative principles, Metro Councilman Ryan Heck officially jump-started his bid for House District 69 this week.
- Both WAFB and Downtown Development District Executive Director Davis Rhorer are sticking to their guns over what caused the quiet cancellation of a ribbon-cutting ceremony for IBM’s new downtown services center, after the TV station reported that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s executive order in support of religious legislation triggered the move.
- Plans for The Greens at Millerville mixed-use development at Interstate 12 and Millerville Road continue to grow. Developers have drafted a final development plan for a 320-unit apartment complex that would be located on a 16.9-acre tract in the development and would consist of 10 separate three-story buildings.
- The Northeast Plaza Shopping Center at 14485 Greenwell Springs Road, which includes 89,244 square feet of space, has been bought for $4 million by the co-owner of one of its anchor tenants, Oak Point Fresh Market.
- The newest food truck to hit Baton Rouge, gourmet french fry vendor Frybaby, is completing the last few steps before it starts its fryers to serve up cheesy, salty creations in Tigerland.
- A new national housing report released by Nationwide insurance company shows Baton Rouge is “clearly the best” market in Louisiana right now, says Nationwide Senior Vice President and Chief Economist David Berson.
- City Pork co-owner Trey Williams plans to open a new restaurant concept in the roughly 4,800-square-foot space at 6721 Exchequer Drive that is currently home to The Exchequer restaurant.
- After three years of development, Hydra-Guard inventor and CEO Joseph Tucker is taking his new specially designed hydrating mouthguard out on the road to meet with athletes and coaches while revving up for the product’s official launch toward the end of July.
- With a Movie Tavern and Alamo Drafthouse coming to town, the Manship Theatre has come up with a dining and film experience of its own that’s designed for serious film buffs.
- Award-winning chef Jeremy Langlois is bringing his “Nouvelle Louisiane” style of cooking, which focuses on fresh Louisiana ingredients, to the Ruffino’s kitchen. Langlois, who most recently was executive chef of Latil’s Landing Restaurant at Houmas House Plantation, has been named corporate chef at Ruffino’s.
- Greater Baton Rouge Business Report was named “Best of Show: Most Improved Business Publication” by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers at its national Editorial Excellence Awards last weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Additionally, the magazine won gold recognition for its investigative reporting and feature writing and was noted for having the best business magazine design in the nation.
—Steve Sanoski
