Westward expansion: Baton Rouge-based education materials retailer School Aids, which distributes a catalog and has brick-and-mortar stores in Jacksonville, Fla., Jackson, Miss., Shreveport, Alexandria, Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, says it is expanding into Texas with a new store opening this week in Beaumont. The store, due to welcome its first customers Saturday, will measure about 10,000 square feet, similar to other School Aids retail locations. The company also distributes more than 80,000 catalogs annually throughout the South. Jamey Firnberg, School Aids president and CEO, says the business plans to add as many as five more stores in the coming years.
The 10th frame: The 151-day run of the 2012 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships will conclude Tuesday at the Baton Rouge River Center as the last of more than 60,000 bowlers take to the lanes. The final doubles and singles squads will begin rolling at 4:50 p.m. and are expected to conclude between 7:15 and 7:45 p.m., at which time champions will be officially announced. The public is invited to attend and cheer on the final competitors. Only the 2009 USBC tournament in Las Vegas,at 154 days, was longer than the current one in Baton Rouge.
Ready to grow: WellPoint Inc. will spend about $4.46 billion for Medicaid coverage provider Amerigroup Corp. in a deal that more than doubles the health insurer’s enrollment in a market segment poised for expansion. WellPoint, the nation’s second-largest insurer, announced this morning that it will pay $92 in cash for each share of Virginia Beach, Va.-based Amerigroup, which runs Medicaid coverage in 13 states, including Texas, Florida and New York. That price represents a 43% premium to Amerigroup’s closing price Friday of $64.34. The Associated Press has the full story here.
