Moving up: Thomas Farrell has been named CEO of St. James Place, a Baton Rouge retirement community. According to a news release, Farrell will shape, direct and manage St. James Place’s sales and operating divisions. He is also responsible for assuring that the services delivered by St. James Place are consistent with its mission and core values.
Speaking out: The Alliance for Affordable Energy, a consumer advocacy group, has come out in opposition of the Cleco’s request for the Louisiana Public Service Commission to hold a new hearing on the proposed sale of the Pineville-based utility to a group of foreign investors. In a statement, the alliance says it has filed its own motion with the PSC opposing any reconsideration of the rejected sale. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors wanted to purchase Cleco for $4.9 billion. The LPSC ruled 3-2 last month to reject the sale, saying it was not in the public’s interest.
Celebrating: U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is traveling to northeast Louisiana today “to celebrate a successful conservation partnership to protect and recover the Louisiana black bear from the brink of extinction,” the department says. The Associated Press reports Jewell has scheduled an announcement this morning at the Tallulah office of the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, about 350 miles north of Baton Rouge. The refuge is the heart of Louisiana’s black bear populations. Federal and state officials said last May that the subspecies has recovered and should be taken off the Endangered Species Act list of threatened species. Read the full announcement.
