In need of repairs: A new state audit finds Southern University’s leaky roofs, moldy walls, sewage backups and broken smoke detectors and sprinkler systems plague many of the buildings that thousands of students and faculty inhabit every day. As The Associated Press reports, the report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor finds many of the deficiencies were documented years ago, but the vast majority of problems continue to go unresolved. It’s not for lack of effort. Southern officials say over the years they have asked the state for millions of dollars to make repairs at the Baton Rouge campus. Just in the past two years, Southern has requested $22 million for repairs and maintenance to address 41 projects. It only received money for seven projects, totaling $4.8 million. Southern has more than $111 million in deferred maintenance projects in its backlog. See the complete audit.
Time to vote: Whether Cleco Corp. is sold or not will finally be decided Wednesday. The Town Talk reports the Louisiana Public Service Commission is expected to vote on whether to approve or reject the proposed sale at its meeting in Baton Rouge, capping a 16-month process. Pineville-based Cleco agreed in October 2014 to a sale proposal for nearly $5 billion from an investment group led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, together with John Hancock Financial. The deal was approved by Cleco shareholders and has received other regulatory clearance, leaving the final decision in the hands of the Public Service Commission. If approved, Central Louisiana’s only publicly traded company would be in private hands. Read the full story.
Missing the mark: Plummeting oil prices are taking a toll on Lafayette-based Stone Energy Co., which says in a fourth quarter report that its adjusted net income fell to $2.1 million, or $0.04 per share, not counting a write down of its oil and gas assets by $351.1 million. Counting the write down, net loss on the quarter was $318.7 million, or $5.76 per share. That’s up from a fourth quarter 2014 net loss of $190.5 million, or $3.47 per share. Net loss for 2015 climbed to roughly $1.1 billion, or $19.75 per share, up from a net loss of $189.5 million, or $3.60 per share, in 2014. See the complete fourth quarter and year end earnings report.
