Going green: Several companies and projects with Capital Region ties received Responsible Care Energy Efficiency Awards from the American Chemistry Council. ExxonMobil earned five honors for improvements it made at its Baton Rouge chemical plant, BASF received two honors for improvements it made at its Geismar plant, and Baton Rouge-based Albemarle was honored for work at a Pasadena, Texas, plant. The awards are presented to companies for implementing energy-efficient improvements. The chemistry council notes the projects they honored this year saved enough combined energy to power all of the homes in Akron, Ohio, for one year.
President is filing last-minute, too: President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are reporting income of $1.728 million for last year, much of it from the sale of the president’s books. They paid federal taxes of $453,770. The Obamas, joining the flocks of Americans filing their taxes near the end of the federal filing period, were entitled to a refund of $12,334 after federal withholding and other payments totaling $466,104. The president and first lady reported donating $245,075—about 14.2% of their adjusted gross income—to 36 different charities. Their adjusted gross income for 2010 was below the $5.5 million they reported for the year before, also mostly from book sales.
