Good Growth winners: The Baton Rouge Growth Coalition honored the commercial and residential development projects that are improving the Capital Region at its annual Good Growth Awards last week. Distinguished service awards were presented to Tom Cook, the former growth coalition president; Walter Monsour, the former city-parish chief administrative officer; and Michael McDuff, the former executive director of the coalition. The annual Quality of Life award was presented to the Planning Commission staff for their work in developing a storm-water management program.
Late payments: Louisiana ranked seventh in a report on fourth-quarter mortgage delinquencies, a sign that the national recession is starting to creep into the state. According to the figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association, 10.13% of all mortgages in Louisiana were past due during the final three months of 2008. That’s ahead of the national average of 8.63% and behind only Mississippi (13.11%), Nevada (11.12%), Michigan (11.08%), Florida (11.09%), Georgia (10.73%) and Indiana (10.59%).
Back in business: The Lincoln Theater, a civil rights landmark in Old South Baton Rouge, has been sold to the Louisiana Black History Hall of Fame, which plans to renovate it and turn it into a historical center and a tourist attraction. The Hall of Fame paid $345,000 for the building, money that it got from the state as part of the capital outlay program. Brenda Perry of the Hall of Fame says the next step will be to raise $100,000 to renovate the building.
