New Orleans CityBusiness articles from December 2004

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from December 2004

Tending bar in New Orleans can be a harrowing albeit profitable experience.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor Dealing with drunks, violence, lewdness and potential stalkers combine to make pouring drinks a harrowing albeit profitable experience for those who do it in New Orleans. Nowhere is the job more intense than on...

Miracle operation by surgeons at Tulane Univ. Hospital removes monstrous brain tumor.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster Linda Pol noticed something wrong with her husband of 28 years shortly after they retired. The once energetic 59-year-old Thomas Pol did little but sit on the couch. After a few months he moved from the couch to...

No slowdown in New Orleans' residential real estate sales.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts Metro area real estate companies have already surpassed the number of homes sold and sales dollar value of 2003. Real estate professionals on the north and south shores of Lake Pontchartrain say they are amazed at...

Lower Garden, New Orleans ranks No. 11 on U.S. list of top neighborhoods.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based community improvement organization, has released its first top 20 list of neighborhoods and districts in North America. New Orleans' Lower Garden District ranked No. 11. Granville...

Lake Charles soldier survives head shot.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Staff Sgt. Chad Chapman of Lake Charles has worn many hats in his 10-year Army career as a sniper, squad leader and gun truck commander. One of those hats is the reason he's still alive. His brother, Spc. Daniel Chapman,...

La.'s Community Coffee celebrates 85th birthday, redesigns packaging, introduces new blends.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Community Coffee has redesigned its product packaging for the first time in more than three decades and introduced two new blends to its signature coffee line. Community introduced the new packaging Thursday in...

New Orleans-area taxi drivers face potential dangers of picking up strangers and the inebriated.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Chris Price The meter reads $22.50 and is climbing as the cab makes its way around the same block for the third time searching the Warehouse District for the hotel of the incoherent passenger in the back seat. The rearview...

Inner-city teachers work to remedy bleak situations in New Orleans.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts Inside classroom No. 319 at Lafayette Elementary, Ava Lee teaches a group of fourth-graders who failed Louisiana's standardized test. All fourth- and eighth-graders must pass the Louisiana Educational Assessment...

Strong residential sales market in New Orleans should hold through next year.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Greg LaRose and Tommy Santora Favorable interest rates, innovate mortgage products and a steady supply of first-time homebuyers fueled a healthy local housing market in 2004, according to real estate professionals. Realtors say...

New Orleans-area agents vie for varied segments of minority real estate market.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Greg LaRose Minority-owned real estate firms report brisk business in New Orleans, a city with a minority population of more than 72 percent, according to the last U.S. Census Bureau count. These real estate agents employ...

Hometime LLC architect introduces modular shotgun designs to inner city New Orleans.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Tommy Santora Modular homes are constructed off site, shipped to a property and put together on site like pieces of a puzzle. Hometime LLC is trying to solve the puzzle of New Orleans' blighted lot and affordable housing...

Commentary: Publisher's Notes: BGR report takes Big Easy to task for sleeping at the wheel.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Mark Singletary It's reporting time again for one of the city's highest regarded think tanks. The Bureau of Governmental Research has issued a report on how and from whom our city gets the money to spend on capital programs and...

New Orleans loses out on physician's company for lack of venture capital funds.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts A Tulane University Hospital adjunct professor expects to receive $6 million in venture capital this week to continue developing a brain implant to treat neurological diseases. That's the good news. ...

Culinary institute is New Orleans developer's latest project in Central City.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky Carondelet Street in Central City is known more for rundown rental buildings and the wailing sirens of squad cars then five-star French cuisine, 19th century decor and fine art. But it is exactly where New...

Audit squabble leaves bidders unhappy after loss of Jefferson Parish contract.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Greg LaRose The contract to audit Jefferson Parish government finances was handed out nearly two months ago, but some in the accounting community are still grumbling about the way it was awarded. The Jefferson Parish Council...

Commentary: Hornets disastrous season start has shown strength of character.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor There's been little to crow about on court for the hobbled New Orleans Hornets. It's hard to shoot for the playoffs when most of your offense is in street clothes. Losing Jamal Mashburn for the season was...

Editor's Notes: Retail sales story incomplete until Christmas is much closer.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor Retail number stories whirl at us from every direction this time of year with outlets such as Stein Mart and Conn's claiming nifty business boosts and giant Wal-Mart bemoaning miniscule increases. Most analysts...

New Orleans-area Lowe's unveils plan to deal with traffic tangles near new store in lower Gentilly.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Chris Price The new Lowe's home improvement center in lower Gentilly is expected to double traffic on the already heavily traversed section of Elysian Fields between interstates 10 and 610. But as part of the agreement to...

Oil, gas firms predict technology to drive more drilling in Gulf of Mexico.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky The best years for oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico could still lie ahead. That was the message presented at last week's fourth annual Louisiana Energy Conference at the Windsor Court Hotel. Nearly...

New Orleans City Council delays vote on new hotel in Quarter.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff The New Orleans City Council will wait until at least Dec. 16 to decide whether to allow an exception to a 35-year-old moratorium on new hotels in the French Quarter. A Council vote would determine the fate of a proposed...

La. governor urges coastal states to join coalition seeking oil and gas royalty relief.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco wants governors in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Alaska to join a coalition of states seeking a "fair share" of the billions of dollars in royalties that flow to the federal...

New Orleans ranks No. 4 for tips among major U.S. cities.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Zagat's 2005 America's Top Restaurant Guide ranks New Orleans fourth in the tip category among major U.S. cities with an average of 18.8 percent. The top tipping city is Philadelphia at 19.2 percent. The national tipping...

New Orleans pays below U.S. financial jobs median, says national financial staffing firm.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff A national financial staffing and consulting firm says controllers, senior internal auditors and credit managers are in demand in the region that includes New Orleans. But those jobs pay less in the Crescent City than they do...

New Orleans-based Global Technical Resources nearly ready for NRG Energy deal.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff New Orleans-based Global Technical Resources will implement the company's proprietary Internet-based software suite at the Australian facilities of Minneapolis-based NRG Energy this month, company officials said. The rollout...

New Orleans Public Schools' programs help disadvantaged students gain college acceptance.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Greg LaRose Anthony Berryhill recalls seeking refuge from the "inner-city war" taking place around him growing up in the Desire housing development. A student at Edwards Elementary, he found an escape through the Summerbridge...

Interview with George Fowler, chairman of Tulane Latin American Law Institute conference.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster As a child, George Fowler saw the pain inflicted on the Cuban people during the early years of Fidel Castro's reign. Since then he has devoted much of his life to ending the spread of dictatorships throughout...

Orleans Capital Management named advisor for Strategic Dividend Fund by Trustmark.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff A Crescent City investment firm has been assigned an advisory role in the introduction of a new $40 billion fund. Orleans Capital Management has been named a "sub-adviser" for the Strategic Dividend Fund, a product...

Louisiana's October unemployment rate increases to 5.6 percent in September.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Louisiana's October unemployment rate increased to 5.6 percent from 5.3 percent in September. Secretary of Labor John Warner Smith said the state labor force is still at the second-highest level of the year at 2,061,800, an...

Louisiana eighth in the number of teachers receiving National Board Certification in 2004.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Louisiana is among the top states in the country in one education ranking and Orleans Parish is at the head of the class. Louisiana was eighth in the number of teachers receiving National Board Certification in 2004 with...

New Orleans had 33rd highest rate of cars stolen among metropolitan areas in 2003.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff New Orleans had the 33rd highest rate of cars stolen among metropolitan areas in 2003, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Nearly 9,000 cars were stolen in New Orleans last year, a rate of 670 automobiles stolen...

3 New Orleans-area banks scheduled for FDIC's Community Reinvestment Act examination.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. listed the institutions scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act examination during the first quarter of 2005, which includes three area banks. Omni Bank of Metairie,First Guaranty...

Mortgage Bankers Assn. reports slowing of mortgage activity during week ending Nov. 26.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff The Mortgage Bankers Association of Washington, D.C., said mortgage activity slowed during the week ending Nov. 26. The association's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was down by 5.8...

New Orleans and three other Louisiana cities get poor safety grade from annual Safest City Award.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff New Orleans and three other Louisiana cities grade poorly when it comes to safety. In the 11th annual Morgan Quitno Press Safest City Award, the private research and publishing company in Lawrence, Kan., ranked 348 U.S....

Global Industries subsidiary to install pipelines for Mexican state-owned PEMEX.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Global Industries Ltd. announced its subsidiary, Global Offshore Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., has received letters of intent from the Mexican state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos Exploration & Production, or PEMEX, for two separate...

Houma-based Gulf Island Fabrication subsidiary to make drilling platforms for Mexican co.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Houma-based Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. announced its subsidiary, Gulf Island LLC, has signed a contract to make two drilling platforms for Pemex Exploracion y Produccion, a subsidiary of Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico's...

Congressional bill allows federal regulators to have final say on location of natural gas terminals.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff Federal regulators can overrule state and local officials in deciding where liquefied natural gas terminals can be built under a clarification tacked onto a congressional appropriations bill before its passage last month. ...

La. state treasurer warns about unclaimed property scam in Southern states.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Staff A scam making the rounds in Southern states led to a warning from State Treasurer John Kennedy. He said con artists are offering to return unclaimed property at a cost, a service his office provides for free. The same warning...

Commentary: Tauzin-Melancon campaign sets new low for Louisiana politics.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor The 3rd District congressional race between Charlie Melancon and Billy Tauzin III was disgraceful. The candidates rarely paused from their mudslinging to debate the many substantive issues facing Louisiana....

Most Stressful Jobs: Rx for trouble.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster It's a full moon on Halloween weekend and 50,000 bikers are in town for the Steel Pony Express and Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. The French Quarter is boiling with action with more than 500,000 tourists and locals in...

Business park asks N.O. to release $3 million of available bond money for improvements.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts City ledgers show more than $3 million in bond money is available to improve an eastern New Orleans business park. It would be a nice chunk of change for the New Orleans Regional Business Park, formerly known as...

Louisiana Gov. seeks fair method of distribution of royalties from oil and gas production.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is seeking ways to address what many in Louisiana have long considered an unfair method of distributing royalties from state oil and gas production. Blanco's options include suing...

Most Stressful Jobs: Thunderstorms create problems for New Orleans air traffic controllers.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Chris Price Lloyd Bridges' portrayal of Steve McCroskey, the air traffic controller who picked the wrong week to quit smoking and drinking in the movie "Airplane," provided a lot of laughs. But controllers at Louis Armstrong...

Most Stressful Jobs: Treacherous Mississippi River currents make pilots earn pay.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Chris Price New Orleanians remember the Dec. 14, 1996, crash of the Chinese freighter Bright Field as the most infamous disaster on the Mississippi River in recent history. The ship lost power as it sailed under the Crescent City...

Cost of 12 Days of Christmas up nearly 2 percent from last year.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff The cost of true love has gone up by $1,070 this year. Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc. tallies how much the drummers drumming, pipers piping, golden rings and turtle doves would cost in today's prices....

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Landrieu returns to theater.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff The voice of Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu is headed for Mississippi. As narrator for the Jefferson Performing Arts Society's production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," Landrieu's recorded narration will follow the arts...

Health savings accounts spark consumer interest in first year.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Tommy Santora HSAs, HRAs and FSAs are making CDHPs effective solutions for rising health insurance costs. The acronym alphabet soup of the managed care industry has employers and employees inquiring more about consumer-driven...

Commentary: Publisher's Notes: Keeping Saints here a top priority to remain a big-league city.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Mark Singletary I want the Saints to stay in New Orleans. If it means we make concessions to the owner, to the league, to the players, as long as it's not ridiculous, then we must, because that's the cost of being a major-league...

Central City area of New Orleans revitalization efforts marred by suspicion.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster Community leaders and city officials celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking Dec. 6 of a $6 million renovation of the former Handelman's department store. Audrey Browder, a member of the executive committee...

Business incentive programs in Louisiana threatened by TIF lawsuits.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts Louisiana economic development officials are tracking two state lawsuits they say could devastate business incentive programs. Cases involving the New Orleans World Trade Center and a Bass Pro Shop sporting goods...

Editor's Notes: Holiday celebrations can offer deadly potential in N.O.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor Sobering campaign: The greater New Orleans area leads the state in the number of alcohol-related crashes, injuries and fatalities, according to the National Safety Council, which Friday launched a three-word...

Falling dollar boosts Louisiana export totals to record high.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Chris Price Louisiana exports were worth $14 billion during the first nine months of 2004, an increase of 10.8 percent over the same period in 2003, according to the World Trade Center of New Orleans. "The globalization of the...

Tourism surge expected to carry into 2005 convention business for New Orleans.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Chris Price New Orleans enjoyed one of its most successful years as a convention and business meeting destination in 2004. But convention and meeting planners say 2005 could be a much stronger convention year overall in terms of...

New Orleans-based Times-Pic employees filling in for striking staff in Ohio.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff Two nonunion newspapers including The Times-Picayune have been soliciting volunteers from their staffs to go to Ohio and replace striking members of the Youngstown Newspaper Guild. Management of the family-owned paper The...

Environmental firm asks to move treated sewage sludge to New Orleans landfill.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff FTM & Associates Inc., an environmental engineering firm in Madisonville, is seeking to put treated sewage sludge from Kenner at the Greater New Orleans Landfill. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality made the...

Study shows need for expansion of N.O.'s Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff An outside consulting firm gave the city of New Orleans thumbs up to the expansion of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The Minneapolis consulting firm Conventions, Sports & Leisure Inc. released an updated study on...

New sales tax refund center in New Orleans targets international tourists.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff Louisiana Tax Free Shopping opened a new refund center at the Riverwalk Marketplace last Saturday in hopes that the city's increasing popularity as a cruise destination will lure more international tourists. Louisiana...

N.O.-based Superior Wireless meets demand with Internet kiosks for convenient e-mail access.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky If Superior Wireless owner Joe Laura has his way, Internet kiosks in New Orleans will soon be as common as ATMs or video poker machines. The New Orleans Internet service provider has installed 10 kiosks in the...

Look Who's Talking... Jay Weigel, composer, to unveil his latest work in New Orleans.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster When composer Jay Weigel first heard the soundtrack to the documentary, "Woodstock," about the 1969 music and arts festival, he was hooked. Though only 10 years old at the time, Weigel determined his musical...

N.O. and Baton Rouge receive $14.5 million from U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff The U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted $28.1 million to Louisiana and $14.5 million in additional urban area grants to New Orleans and Baton Rouge to support state and local efforts to prevent, respond and recover...

Louisiana Fund I raises $17.8 million for hi-tech.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff Officials with Louisiana Fund I, a new venture capital fund for start-up technology companies in Louisiana, have raised $17.8 million. Joseph Lovett, managing director of the fund, said the money will be used mainly for...

Briefs filed in U.S. Court of Appeals opposing funding of Lower Garden District in New Orleans.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff Smart Growth for Louisiana, a New Orleans nonprofit, said five out-of-state organizations filed briefs in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opposing redevelopment of the former St. Thomas site now known as River Garden....

Economist's studies show Superdome has contributed to N.O. economy but the Saints have not.
December 13, 2004... Byline: New Orleans CityBusiness Staff Economist Robert A. Baade, who has written extensively on the economic impact of professional sports, said New Orleans and Louisiana gain little to no economic return from building a new stadium for...

$1.4 million 2004 Christmas New Orleans Style campaign designed to drive holiday tourism.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. announced its $1.4 million 2004 Christmas New Orleans Style advertising and publicity campaign designed to drive leisure travel to New Orleans during the traditionally slow holiday...

City of N.O. receives funds to begin first phase of downtown bike rack installation project.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff The Louisiana Department of Transportation awarded New Orleans $125,000 to implement the first phase of the New Orleans Downtown Bike Rack Installation Project. Phase 1 of the project involves installing 288 bike racks for...

LA Board of Regents announces plan to help state's colleges partner with under-performing schools.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff Louisiana Board of Regents officials announced a plan to provide at least $1 million during the next three years to help the state's colleges of education partner with under-performing schools. The plan will target failing...

Lafayette-based Stone Energy Corp. will drill 39 new wells in 2005.
December 13, 2004... Byline: New Orleans CityBusiness Staff Lafayette-based Stone Energy Corp. announced its 2005 capital spending budget of $315 million, before acquisitions and capitalized overhead costs, will help drill 39 new wells. The company expects...

N.O.-based Entergy Nuclear was fined $85,000 in Vermont for failure to seek permit.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Staff Entergy Nuclear, a subsidiary of Entergy Corp. was fined $85,000 last week by the Vermont Public Service Commission for starting construction on a large building near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt.,...

N.O. theatre to accommodate the needs of disabled people after investigation by U.S. Atty's Office.
December 13, 2004... Byline: New Orleans CityBusiness Staff The Grand Theatre in eastern New Orleans resolved a complaint brought against it under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The person who filed the complaint has cerebral palsy and travels each...

Most Stressful Jobs: New Orleans firefighters face dangerous situations on a regular basis.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky The sight of the World Trade Center towers collapsing following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is an image seared into the American memory. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, including 343 New York...

Most Stressful Jobs: For Coast Guard, patrolling Gulf Coast is a strain.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts In late summer, Lt. Louie Parks of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans was in a helicopter searching for a woman reportedly ready to jump off of the Huey P. Long Bridge. It was night and the helicopter...

Legacy lawsuits chill Louisiana's oil production.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky In Texas, the average number of rigs drilling for oil and gas increased 89 percent from 293 in December 1999 to 553 this December, according to Houston-based oilfield services company Baker-Hughes. In Oklahoma,...

Prison guards must learn to overcome confinement shock.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster Rebecca Duran, 24, spends eight to 16 hours a day surrounded by murderers, rapists and the occasional pedophile. She can handle the murderers and rapists; it's the pedophiles who get to her, she says. The...

$40M CG Railway deal to create 600 N.O. jobs.
December 20, 2004... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco announced Thursday that New Orleans-based CG Railway, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Shipbuilding Corp., will relocate a rail car cargo facility from the Port of Mobile...

Santa Claus is coming to N.O's Gert Town Tuesday.
December 20, 2004... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association will help Santa Claus find his way to Gert Town at 11 a.m. Tuesday to spread Christmas cheer to impoverished children. The NOBRA River Pilots will...

Booming DVD market forcing VHS off shelves, both in La., and across the country.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Tommy Santora "Be kind, please rewind." No need to with DVDs. The once-catchy reminder signs for videotape renters in the 1990s are history. Today, the only signs surrounding VHS tapes are marked "clearance sale." The...

Commentary: Influential teachers instill indelible lifelong learning lessons.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Mark Singletary I've been sanctimonious for years about the conjugation of the verb dive. Ask my close friends and family; it's almost a sickness. I'm sanctimonious about other things, too, but not this week. I've long been...

NCAA official: Sparse crowds not a threat to N.O. Bowl.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Chris Price Postseason college football and New Orleans have a rich history together with the Sugar Bowl entering its 71st year. A few recent chapters have been added through the 4-year-old New Orleans Bowl, which may become...

N.O. Regional Biz Park pushes for city release from $3M pool of bond funding.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts At a truck stop in eastern New Orleans last week, irate business owners sipped coffee as city officials explained why grass is not cut along public roads and abandoned cars sit on the side of streets for weeks. ...

U of NO officials want challenge of 2nd school takeover.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts Fixing one failing school isn't enough for the University of New Orleans. It's been only six months since UNO took over Pierre A. Capdau Middle School, which had fallen below state academic performance standards...

Undeclared hotel operators pose real French Quarter risk.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor The inflamed rhetoric in the tug-of-war between two hotel developers and French Quarter residents did not help resolve the central problem, which neither side is talking about. At issue is the use of the...

Commentary: Battered Beaches of S. Walton rebounding from blowhard Ivan.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Terry O'Connor Many were saddened after a great deal of Orange Beach was blown away Sept. 16 by Hurricane Ivan, which dealt a serious blow to a prime investment spot and favored playground for New Orleanians. Damages sustained...

Frosty weather, inventory dip helps reverse oil, gas price slide.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Richard Slawsky A cold snap in New Orleans last week prompted many to turn their heaters on for the first time this year. Forecasts for continued temperatures in the 30s came just as oil and natural gas prices are reversing a...

Hotel on N.O.'s St. Charles in limbo as developer hits money crunch.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Richard A. Webster When the City Club of New Orleans took over the former Hyde Park Grill location on lower St. Charles Avenue two years ago, it seemed the timing was perfect as the once depressed location was in the midst of a...

La. attorney general's probe clears condo group of any wrongdoing.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Deon Roberts The Louisiana Attorney General's office has closed its investigation of a 74-unit condo association in eastern New Orleans and given the group a clean bill of health. The probe began after some residents accused...