Refurbished ReStore: Steve Thomas, former host of PBS’s This Old House and national spokesman for Habitat for Humanity, will join local officials to help reopen Habitat’s ReStore at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on-site at 9:30 a.m., May 19. The ReStore, located at 4301 Airline Hwy., closed Sunday for a month-long renovation and redesign. A reception will follow the ribbon cutting with Thomas. Donations are still being taken while the store is under redevelopment, but must be arranged by phone at 335-1895.
A whole lot of spending money: Cheniere Energy Partners says it has engaged eight financial institutions to raise up to $4 billion to help finance the construction of a gas-liquefaction plant in Sabine Pass for export markets, Reuters reports. The financers include the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.; Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank; Credit Suisse Securities (USA); HSBC; J.P. Morgan Securities; Morgan Stanley; RBC Capital Markets; and SG Americas Securities. Private equity firm Blackstone Group said in February it would invest $2 billion in Cheniere Energy Partners to help fund the plant’s construction.
Eating it: A basket of meats, cheese and other goodies from the grocery store cost 6.9% more in the first quarter of 2012 than it did a year earlier, according to a report from the American Farm Bureau Federation. As reported by The Los Angeles Times, a group of 16 items—including cheddar cheese, sirloin-tip roast, salad, orange juice and eggs—cost consumers $52.47 during the first three months of the year. During the same period last year, the price was $49.07. In the fourth quarter of 2011, it cost $49.23. Meat, flour, russet potatoes, apples and toasted oat cereal have all become pricier for consumers, according to the report, while just three items in the basket have gotten cheaper: whole milk, white bread and boneless chicken breasts.
