Insider

While some have begun to speculate whether Congress will be able to reach a deal for another coronavirus relief package, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves was optimistic this morning that something could be enacted soon.

The Louisiana District Attorneys Association Inc. sold the 6,500-square-foot building to Ruemidland Holdings LLC, whose officer and agent is listed as Sergio Aviles.

Baton Rouge gained 8,900 jobs from June to July, but lost 27,700 jobs from July 2019,  according to preliminary July 2020 data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, which shows Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 9.4%.

The Metro Council has deferred for 60 days its vote on whether a property at the corner of Old Hammond and Airline highways should be rezoned to make way for a proposed Murphy Oil gas station. The gas station has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks, with members of the Sharpstowne and Sherwood Forest homeowners associations flooding Wednesday’s council meeting with 100-plus letters opposing its construction.

b1BANK over the past 14 years has grown from de novo launched in Baton Rouge to Louisiana’s second-largest community institution.

After a three-week shutdown due to a positive COVID-19 case, Nino’s Italian Restaurant on Bluebonnet Boulevard quietly reopened earlier this month and has been doing a surprisingly brisk business, all things considered, says owner and executive chef Elton Hyndman. But while Nino’s enjoys a loyal following of patrons, operating under current conditions is far from easy and not sustainable in the long term, Hyndman fears.

With hotel occupancy down locally, the tax dollars that help offset some bonded costs are also down, meaning developers are having to use more of their own money to pay debt obligations.

Hugg & Hall Equipment Company, of Little Rock, Arkansas, bought an industrial facility near the corner of S. Choctaw and N. Airway drives, off Airline Highway. 

Baton Rouge-area residents have been flocking outdoors in record numbers, delivering a major boon to local custom pool builders, who are seeing their sales rise as more homebound clients funnel more dollars into their backyards. However, the unexpected demand has led to supply chain issues, workforce shortages and project backlogs that, in some cases, stretch back several months.

As some of Baton Rouge’s private and independent schools fully reopen their campuses, Louisiana’s child care providers are trying to follow suit, despite a series of setbacks. Back in March, when Louisiana’s stay-at-home order went into effect, some 70% of the state’s licensed early learning centers shut down. To date, that number has flipped, with about 70% having reopened.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again postponed oral arguments that had been scheduled for late July in the class-action suit filed locally on behalf of some 900 mostly Baton Rouge-based victims of the Stanford Group. No date has yet been set for the hearing, which was originally scheduled for May then moved because of the pandemic. But it’s the latest setback in a nearly decade-long case that at times has seemed promising for the victims and at other times hopeless.  

In response to the severe dip in commercial real estate activity triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, @Highland has reconfigured 17,860 square feet of third-floor office space into flex space for remote workers and local businesses. The mixed-use office park, developed by General Informatics CEO Mo Vij, is located on 9 acres at the intersection of Highland Road and Bluebonnet Boulevard. Having not yet secured a third and final tenant for its 52,000-square-foot office building, Vij decided to repurpose the vacant suite about two weeks ago, hoping to capitalize on a trending demand for smaller, more flexible office spaces in a time when business confidence is low nationally. 

Incoming freshmen at LSU will move into their dorms starting Wednesday and many are concerned the university’s measures for preventing COVID-19 outbreaks are not strict enough to contain the virus, possibly causing LSU to shut down early again. New policies for residents include no guests, mandatory mask use outside of dorms and showers, increased cleaning for shared spaces and procedures for infected residents and their roommates to quarantine.

Telemedicine isn’t new but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed virtual visits over the edge, forever changing the health care delivery system.

Business Lunch: Eliza Restaurant, on Jefferson Highway, features a Modern Creole cuisine, highlighting seasonal and local ingredients.

While the coronavirus pandemic has done damage to many sectors of the economy, it hasn’t had a negative effect on residential real estate, at least not yet. On the contrary, home sale activity in East Baton Rouge Parish through July is slightly higher than it was for the same period in 2019 or 2018, according to an analysis of MLS data compiled by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors and provided by local real estate agents.

A 5-acre parcel at the Lane Regional Medical Center campus has been sold to be the site of a nursing home. As part of the deal, the nursing home company will manage the hospital’s current nursing home facility inside the hospital and construct and operate a new nursing home.

3 things to know: Domoine Rutledge is the vice president and general counsel for CSRS, joining the company after working decades for the EBR school system.

Struggling businesses near LSU are hoping the university offers a financial lifeline this fall by opening the campus to students … and football fans.

Steve Carter's surprise entry into the mayor's race instantly made him the most serious threat to Sharon Weston Broome’s reelection chances.