Pastures of plenty: Roughly 200 Kleinpeter Farms Dairy employees who took a 2.5% pay cut in October have now had their salaries restored, says Kleinpeter President Jeff Kleinpeter. A hiring freeze that accompanied the pay cuts at Kleinpeter was lifted this spring. In April, the company announced that if economic improvements continued, the pay cuts would be reversed. Kleinpeter says workers began seeing the restored income on their checks at the beginning of July.
Ramblin’ round: New Orleans-based VooDoo BBQ & Grill, the nation’s fastest-growing barbecue franchise, has staked its first claim in Texas with this week’s opening of the first of five planned restaurants in Austin. It’s only the second location VooDoo BBQ has opened outside of Louisiana. The restaurant chain, which launched on Mardi Gras Day of 2002, has since expanded to include 13 locations, several of which are in the Capital Region.
Gypsy’s fortune: A federal judge has struck down an Alexandria ordinance banning fortune-telling, palm reading, astrology and similar activities in the city. U.S. District Judge Dee Drell’s ruling concurs with a magistrate’s conclusion that the ordinance is unconstitutional. “We also note with interest that the ‘art’ of fortune-telling proliferates in front of St. Louis Cathedral, in the City of New Orleans, apparently without incident,” Drell wrote. The city of Alexandria argued the business of fortune-telling commits fraud and is inherently deceptive, but U.S. Magistrate James Kirk concluded it is free speech protected by the First Amendment. The (Alexandria) Town Talk has the full story here.
Editor’s note: John Maginnis is on vacation this week. His LaPolitics column will return next week.
