No more: A coastal Louisiana parish on Thursday voted to drop its lawsuits against oil and gas companies over damages officials had said the oil industry caused to wetlands by digging numerous canals.The Plaquemines Parish Council voted to dismiss 21 suits it had pending against 68 oil companies, officials and a lawyer said. The council’s move was a blow to environmentalists and others who have argued for years that the oil and gas industry should be forced to pay for damage to wetlands. Business groups and oil field workers, meanwhile, hailed the vote as a victory.The suits have been the subject of intense debate in a state with deep ties to the oil industry but which is also grappling with catastrophic coastal land loss — an estimated 1,900 square miles of coast since the 1930s. The Associated Press has the full story.
New ownership: A convenience store and food mart at the corner of South Flannery Road and Old Hammond Highway has been sold for $1.1 million. Brothers Baton Rouge, LLC, whose sole member is Imad Hamdan of Harvey, bought the 2,800-square-foot Exxon gas station and Brother’s Food Mart at 13289 Old Hammond Highway from Chestnut Group Partnership, whose sole member is Robert Abbasi from Gardena, California, according to sale documents filed with the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s Office. The convenience store also has a physical address of 1224 S. Flannery Road. The Chestnut Group Partnership purchased the property in October 2004 from Cresnet 1 LLC for $1.08 million, according to property records. The property measures in at just less than 1 acre. Attempts to reach the buyer before this morning’s deadline were unsuccessful.
Early holiday spending: Americans ramped up their online shopping and restaurant spending in October, but barely-there inflation kept overall retail sales growth muted. The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, after being unchanged in September and August. Over the past 12 months, sales have risen 1.7%. Lower gasoline costs and meager inflation have downplayed the extent of consumer spending, as the retail sales report is not adjusted for price changes. The U.S. economy has increasingly relied on consumers to propel growth. Consumer spending has been crucial for offsetting the drags caused by a global economic slowdown and cheaper oil prices and a stronger dollar hurting U.S. manufacturers. The Associated Press has the full story.
