Ground breaking: Alumni and current members of LSU’s Kappa Sigma Fraternity gathered to break ground on the fraternity’s new Dalrymple Drive house. According to a news release, the fraternity’s 1930s-era house was demolished in March after inspectors had previously deemed it uninhabitable. Milton J. Womack Contractors and the architectural firm of Bani, Carville & Brown were selected to construct the new 22,000-square-foot house, with a capacity to house 52 men. Construction is expected to take 10 months to complete. The current members of Kappa Sigma are leasing the Acacia house on West Lakeshore Drive, which was vacated when Acacia was suspended by LSU until 2018 over reports of hazing.
Hot doughnuts: Shaquille O’Neal is now the owner of a historic Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop in Atlanta and also has signed a partnership deal with the donut chain, CBS News reports. O’Neal also will serve as the brand’s official spokesman. O’Neal, an NBA Hall of Famer and LSU basketball star, tweeted news of the deal today. “Krispy Kreme prides itself on spreading joy and supporting local communities, and that’s a cause that I am thrilled to be a part of,” O’Neal says in a statement. “Our goal is to help people find their happy place, and what better way than with a box of delicious Krispy Kreme doughnuts.” Read the full story.
Taking a side: U.S. oil and gas industry workers have contributed only slightly more money to the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton than to Republican Donald Trump since the two clinched their parties’ nominations for the White House, according to Reuters’ review of federal disclosures. Employees in the industry gave Clinton $114,141 and Trump $99,302 since July 1, Reuters found in reviewing individual campaign contributions exceeding $200 and donations funneled through their joint fundraising committees. Both were officially nominated by their parties in mid-July. The nearly even support suggests ambivalence in the industry between two rivals who have put forward wildly different energy visions. Trump calls for a drastic reduction in regulations to bolster drilling, while Clinton advocates tougher environmental protections and more renewables. Read the full story.
