New Orleans CityBusiness articles from February 2009

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from February 2009

Former N.O. gas station site to become bank.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A vacant gas station at the Uptown intersection of St. Charles and Louisiana avenues is being demolished to make room for a new bank. First Bank and Trust has purchased the property, which once housed an Exxon...

N.O. CityBusiness Question of the Week results: Raise homestead exemption to $170,000.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Louisiana homestead exemption should be increased from $75,000 to $170,000, according to most voters to CityBusiness' Question of the Week. In a week, 425 votes were cast to the question "What should happen...

Coping with Carnival in N.O.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr When the parades are over and the crowds have cleared, Herbert Halpern returns to his store at 1520 St. Charles Ave., eager to get back to business. But first, there are the yields of drunken revelry with which to...

Crime alert system in N.O. uses cell texting.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster Imagine if crime victims had the ability to send a mass text message to thousands of people moments after they were attacked, warning the community of the exact location where the crime occurred and a description...

Oscar buzz for 'Button' big for N.O.: Critical success of movie adds to city's industry appeal.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet For The Curious Case of Benjamin Button production team, 13 Academy Award nominations -- and any corresponding Oscar wins -- represent a singular artistic vision successfully realized among peers on a global stage....

Downtown Development District in N.O. shares frustration over lack of city cleaning.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Deon Roberts The Downtown Development District has not had mechanical street sweeping for almost a year, and it doesn't look like the service will be returning any time soon. On Jan. 26, Mayor C. Ray Nagin called for a scaling back...

Recession golden for pawn: N.O. shop owners report increase in sales.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Stephen Maloney As banks topple and multi-national corporations plea for government bailouts, consumers looking for a quick buck or cheap prices are beginning to turn to pawnshops. BJ's Pawn Shop owner Bill Johnson said he has...

Commentary: Business travel reveals the not-so-friendly skies.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Mark Singletary It's the guy in 4F. It's all his fault. The guy in 4F doesn't know, or probably just doesn't care, how things are supposed to work. The guy in 4F drives me crazy. Chaos, disorder and ulcers follow in the wake left...

Feb. 3-9.
February 2, 2009... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Feb. 3 The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce will hold its President's Roundtable at Benedict's Plantation, 1144 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. Paul Pastorek,...

Carver High athletics director in N.O. pitches 'Field of Dreams' at Super Bowl.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Brian Bordainick was looking for a spotlight at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., but he wasn't one of the athletes on the field Sunday or a celebrity. Bordainick, athletics director at George Washington Carver...

Developer moves studio plan from Algiers to Elmwood.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A New Orleans developer's plan for building a 200,000-square-foot film studio in Algiers is no more. Wayne Read has redirected his project into the heart of Jefferson Parish's burgeoning film industry: Elmwood....

Diagnosis Unknown: Health care officials in N.O. prepare for changes with Obama administration.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster Change has supposedly arrived at the White House in the form of President Obama, and the New Orleans health care community is bracing for its impact. Warner Thomas, Ochsner Health System president and chief...

New Orleans CityBusiness names 5th class of Leadership in Law.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff New Orleans CityBusiness has announced its Leadership in Law Class of 2009. A selection committee selected this year's 50 honorees based on their legal, professional and community contributions. Honorees will be...

New Orleans Health Care Briefs: February 2, 2009.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Tulane-Lakeside Behavioral Health Unit closed in December because of a lack of qualified mental health professionals who could provide the needed services. The 10-bed unit opened in June because the city...

N.O.-based Whitney sees 4Q boost, earnings down for 2008.(Financial report)
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Fourth-quarter earnings for the parent company of Whitney National Bank were down 73 percent from the same period in 2007, but they climbed slightly from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31 last year. Whitney Holding Corp....

In Other Words: How much further do we have to go to meet N.O.s mental health care needs?
February 2, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Nall Dr. James Barbee Medical director LSU Behavioral Sciences Center In my experience, every well-designed survey of the state of mental health in the city and the region has shown a marked increase in psychiatric...

Off the Clock: Q&A with Dr. Deryk Jones, Ochsner Health System section head of sports medicine.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Christian Moises Age: 44 Family: wife, Kina Wilusz; children Meshya, Cameryon and Deryk Jr. Education: bachelor's degrees in philosophy and biology, Emory University; doctor of medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine;...

State charter school in La. movement earns 'C'.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Stephen Maloney With the highest concentration in the country, Orleans Parish is at the vanguard of the nation's charter school movement. But an education watchdog group says Louisiana is still a long way from earning top marks....

Tips trickle in as spenders cut back, business slows in N.O.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr There was a time not long ago, bellman Albee Hendrix says, when $125 was the standard tip yield of an easy day of work at the Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street. These days, he said he's lucky to earn $400 in a week. I...

Commentary: FQ trash dispute smells rotten.
February 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Bet I know where you got your shoes. In a couple months, they'll be in the garbage after walking through the French Quarter if the latest idea from the mayor's office takes hold. For some reason that escapes...

Maternity leave policy lacking for U.S. moms.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Autumn C. Giusti A case of baby mama drama has been playing out in France in recent weeks. French Justice Minister Rachida Dati, a senior member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet, sparked a nationwide debate last month when...

Commentary: Vitter gains GOP footing with anti-Clinton stance.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Jeff Crouere Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, was the only member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote against the confirmation of fellow Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as secretary of state. Vitter raised objections...

Commentary: Acme Oyster House keeps hooks in locals, tourists.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Tom Fitzmorris Acme Oyster House $$ Seafood 724 Iberville, French Quarter 522-5973 3000 Veterans Blvd., Metairie 309-4056 1202 U.S. Highway 190, Covington (985) 246-6155 Price ratings are what one person should expect to spend on a...

Torres ready and waiting as N.O. hashes out trash talk.
February 3, 2009... Byline: Deon Roberts Like the rest of New Orleans, the owner of SDT Waste and Debris is waiting to hear from City Hall about whether he can fire up his mechanical street and sidewalk sweepers in the French Quarter again. Sidney Torres this...

Class A office occupancy continues to rise in Central Business District of N.O.
February 3, 2009... Byline: Christian Moises News Editor Despite an increase in leased Class A office space, Chevron Corp.'s move to its new Covington headquarters in the fourth quarter of 2008 has left a gaping hole in the Central Business District's...

Louisiana Bancorp income grows 3.8 percent in first year public.(Financial report)
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Fourth-quarter earnings were down for the parent company of Bank of New Orleans, but 2008 still ended on a high note with net income up 3.8 percent. It marked the first full fiscal year for Louisiana Bancorp...

Cost concerns keep N.O.-based Bayou Bend Petroleum away from Smoothie Prospect well.
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Bayou Bend Petroleum today announced that it did not participate in the sidetrack well on the Smoothie Prospect, a deep-shelf prospect operated by Houston-based Mariner Energy Inc., because of concerns over cost...

Minerals Management Service names senior staff geophysicist.
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Ron Brinkman has been appointed senior staff geophysicist in the resource evaluation office of the Minerals Management Service. Brinkman will oversee seismic compliance and policy issues for the Alaska, Gulf of...

Levees.org opposes calls to remove Corps of Engineers chief.
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Levees.org, a grass-roots group that has often criticized the Corps of Engineers, says it is opposed to efforts in Washington, D.C., to remove corps leader John Paul Woodley Jr. Eleven Senators are asking...

New shuttle service arrives in 9th Ward of N.O.
February 3, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr Residents of the Lower 9th Ward should be seeing public transit vehicles passing through their neighborhood with greater frequency these days. A new Regional Transit Authority shuttle service dubbed The Lil' Easy began...

Touro Infirmary in N.O. to join forces with Children's Hospital.
February 3, 2009... Byline: Greg LaRose Touro Infirmary is joining the Children's Hospital family. The deal announced this morning will pump $100 million into Touro over the next five years. Touro will become an affiliate of Children's parent co., Louisiana...

Chalmette-based SDT hopeful French Quarter cleaning announcement to come Wednesday.
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff SDT Waste and Debris Services "had a very productive meeting" with Mayor C. Ray Nagin and his staff this afternoon and is hopeful the city will make an announcement Wednesday regarding French Quarter and Downtown...

504ward plans 'Dine Around' event Thursday in N.O.
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Networking in New Orleans usually revolves around a social setting, food and drink, but the 504ward initiative to keep young professionals in the city is putting its own twist on the pastime. On Thursday, 300...

N.O. airport issues $144.4M in bonds.
February 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The New Orleans Aviation Board today said it has sold $144.4 million in bonds for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The general airport revenue bonds, which were sold in mid-January, will refund...

Interim IG in N.O. promises 'full court press'.
February 4, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet Interim Inspector General Leonard Odom promises he will be accessible to the media and public but not nearly as much as former Inspector General Robert Cerasoli because he will be busy getting the job done. Odom...

City of N.O. breaks ground on first roadway project of '09.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The city today marked the start of construction on the first roadway project of 2009. Major reconstruction is planned for Desire Street from North Roman to North Dorgenois streets. The approximately $4.7 million...

Huey P. Long eastbound lanes near Elmwood to close for 6 hours Saturday.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The eastbound lanes of the Huey P. Long Bridge will be closed from 6 a.m. until noon Saturday for construction to widen the bridge. The widening project is scheduled to be complete by 2013.

Budding entrepreneurs to tour N.O.'s economic hot spots.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Urban League of Greater New Orleans and Greater New Orleans Inc. will host a tour of the city Thursday for young professionals interested in exploring entrepreneurial opportunities. The Young Ambassadors of...

New Orleans City Council to consider take-home vehicles legislation.
February 4, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet New Orleans City Council members will have an opportunity to vote on two pieces of legislation addressing the city's take-home vehicle fleet during Thursday's regular council meeting. District A Councilwoman Shelley...

Bureau of Governmental Research pushes city to change economic development fund policy in N.O.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A government watchdog group wants the City Council to change the law dealing with the way money from an economic development fund is allocated. It's this money that is being used to pay for enhanced street...

N.O. Mayor Nagin: Enhanced cleaning to return to Quarter.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff An agreement appears to have been reached in City Hall to restore enhanced cleaning services - mechanical street sweeping and street flushing - in the French Quarter. Mayor C. Ray Nagin said he spoke today with...

Summit to discuss nursing faculty shortage in La.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Officials representing the nursing industry in Louisiana are meeting here today to discuss the shortage of qualified personnel in their field and what they call a dire lack of nursing school faculty. According to...

N.O. Mayor Nagin orders cleanup of FQ, DDD garbage.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Mayor C. Ray Nagin says he has asked the city's in-house sanitation crews to remove piles of garbage that have been collecting in the French Quarter and Downtown Development District. Bags of garbage had been...

Gentilly library to be razed, rebuilt.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A Gentilly landmark will be torn down and rebuilt after being destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Durr Heavy Construction, in an approximately $70,000 contract, will carry out demolition of the Norman Mayer library...

Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, named to three congressional subcommittees.
February 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Rep. Anh Joseph Cao, R-New Orleans, has been named to three congressional subcommittees: Water Resources and Environment; Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials; and Economic Development, Public Buildings...

Krewe of Orpheus axes Mencia from N.O. Carnival celebrity lineup over Katrina remarks.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Krewe of Orpheus said it has cut comedian Carlos Mencia from its 2009 celebrity lineup, citing comments he made after Hurricane Katrina. In late 2005, Katrina and its aftermath provided ample material for...

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, gets subcommittee assignments.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, today said he has received subcommittee assignments on the Energy and Commerce Committee. He will serve on the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment and the Subcommittee on...

N.O. City Council Council votes to cap take-home vehicles at 60.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet City Hall's administrative fleet of take-home cars will be limited to the city code's mandated 60 vehicles, following a 7-0 City Council vote today to force the Nagin administration into compliance by March 13. The...

N.O. City Council votes for sunshine in city contracting process.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet The City Council voted unanimously in favor of 100 percent transparency in city contracting, approving council Vice President Arnie Fielkow's ordinance to open the city's professional services contract selection...

Louisiana launches workers' compensation fraud program.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Louisiana Workforce Commission is launching a workers' compensation fraud program to find businesses not covering employees. A news conference to announce the program will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at LWC's...

Floating residential community to call on N.O. for first time.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A 644-foot boat that is home to people from 18 countries is slowly going around the globe. Its next stop: New Orleans. The World, which visits about 100 ports every year and stays from two to five days at each,...

Port of New Orleans gets new chairman.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A new chairman was elected to the Port of New Orleans board today. The port's board chose A.J. Gibbs to succeed James Campbell, whose term as chairman expired. Campbell will continue to serve as a commissioner....

N.O. average gas price rises overnight.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff City gas prices ticked up overnight, rising from an average $1.821 per gallon of regular grade Wednesday to $1.825 today, according to AAA. A month ago, the average price stood at $1.554. A year ago, it was...

$149K General DeGaulle Drive rehab begins in N.O.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The city has begun rehabilitating a 0.2-mile portion of General DeGaulle Drive, a project that is slated to be complete before the first West Bank Mardi Gras parade of this year. The $149,000 project runs from...

Corps publishes alternatives for N.O. lakefront projects.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District has released a document with proposed alternatives for New Orleans lakefront projects. The corps released Individual Environmental Report 4, New Orleans Lakefront...

Zurich Classic Pro-Am headed to Baton Rouge.
February 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The first-ever Zurich Classic PGA Pro-Am event is planned for Baton Rouge April 22 at the University Club of Baton Rouge. To announce the event, the Fore!Kids Foundation plans a media luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Feb....

LSU system budget cuts would not impact N.O. hospital plans.
February 6, 2009... Byline: Deon Roberts Budget cuts being considered by the Jindal administration would have no effect on LSU's plans to build a teaching hospital in New Orleans, LSU System spokesman Charles Zewe said. According to a story by The Associated...

New Orleans City Councilwoman Shelley Midura comments on Nagin's ABC26 interview.
February 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports City Councilwoman Shelley Midura today issued a statement in response to an interview that aired Thursday on the ABC26 television news show. Nagin was interviewed about the council's vote Thursday to...

Marigny coffeehouse caters to young musicians.
February 6, 2009... Byline: Stephen Maloney Blocks away from the smoky, music-filled barrooms of Frenchman Street and miles away from the tourist-themed cover bands dominating Bourbon Street, a trio of young musicians are honing their craft amid the sounds of...

'Trash Fair' planned for downtown New Orleans, French Quarter.
February 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Help is being offered for downtown and French Quarter businesses and residents whose garbage will no longer be picked up by the city's contractor come March 15. The Downtown Development District, the...

Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise follows up with Obama on N.O. visit.
February 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise has again invited President Barack Obama to visit New Orleans and review the recovery work that remains to be done. After a meeting last week between House Republicans...

La.'s citrus growers can ship product again.
February 8, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantine on the Asian citrus psyllid has been expanded to include all of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain told Plaquemines...

City of N.O. sets community meetings for streetscape enhancement projects.
February 8, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The city of New Orleans is holding several community meetings this week of streetscape enhancement projects to take place throughout the area. The first meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Delgado...

Commentary: Technology's lure often a trap.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Technology, by and large, is a good thing. It's given us breakthroughs such as the internal combustion engine, X-rays and the Internet. And dare we forget, the Clapper? The point is that tech-based innovation is...

Commentary: Funky meters right under City Hall's nose.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Deon Roberts On Jan. 22, I was on my way to interview someone for a story. My meeting was in the high-rise known as 1340 Poydras, across the street from City Hall. I arrived downtown about 3 p.m. to give myself plenty of time to...

Commentary: Cao braces for Democratic attacks on stimulus vote.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jeff Crouere The initial version of President Obama's $819 billion stimulus package was opposed by all Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Congressman Joseph Cao, R-New Orleans. Cao is one of the most vulnerable...

Entergy New Orleans Inc. calls on Congress to help customers offset high energy costs.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Entergy New Orleans Inc. employees will join nationwide advocates for low-income residents in a trip to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to urge Congress to increase federal funding for elderly, disabled and...

New state museum director to be named in Louisiana.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and the Louisiana state museum board are expected to announce a new state museum director at 1:30 p.m. today in New Orleans at the Presbytere. The state museum involves national landmarks...

Corps to hand over control of St. Bernard pump stations.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Army Corps of Engineers today will transfer control of three repaired St. Bernard Parish pump stations to the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District. The transfer of control of station No. 2, also known as...

FEMA releases digital floods maps for N.O.-area parishes.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Federal Emergency Management Agency today released preliminary digital flood insurance rate maps for Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes. FEMA, in a news release, said the...

Zatarain's floats petition to make Mardi Gras in N.O. a national holiday.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Zatarain's thinks the Big Easy should not be the only place in the U.S. to pass a good time on Fat Tuesday. The food maker, which sells boxed jambalaya and other Louisiana foods, is gathering signatures in an...

N.O. CityBusiness Question of the Week results: Cerasoli departure means weaker IG office.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The resignation of Robert Cerasoli, New Orleans' first inspector general, will make the inspector general's office weaker, according to most voters to CityBusiness' Question of the Week. Since being posted a week...

N.O. area posts state's highest average weekly wage in 2Q 2008.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Christian Moises The New Orleans area posted the state's highest average weekly wage in the second quarter of 2008 at $833 and the highest average employment with 512,934, according to the Louisiana Department of Labor's Second...

Businesses, unions ready for battle over 'Free Choice'.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr Faced with a Democrat-controlled Congress and a new president who has made no secret of his labor-friendly leanings, business interests nationally and regionally have embarked on a major campaign designed to pull the...

AT&T boss hosts soiree to benefit Louisiana Public Service Commissioner.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet A high-priced fundraiser for recently elected Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta is within the letter of the law, but consumer advocacy groups decry these activities as pay-to-play politics, which...

Green Monsters: Card-reading parking meters in N.O. should report malfunctions but don't always.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster Robert Mendoza, director of the city's Office of Public Works, didn't hesitate when asked about the four-year track record of the green parking meters that have the capability to read credit cars in addition to...

Investors eye N.O.-based EPL even as stock hits $1.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr Representatives of independent petroleum producer Energy Partners Ltd. say they are studying demands by a major shareholder for a company shakeup that includes the firing of top management. EPL shares reached a 52-week...

Feb. 9-14.
February 9, 2009... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Feb. 9 Galatoire's Restaurant will host its 2009 Mardi Gras Auction with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and the auction at 6:30 p.m. at 209 Bourbon St. The auction is for tables on Feb. 20, the Friday...

Filling the Void: Sublease market in N.O. growing as companies merge, move.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Deon Roberts As the nation tries to climb out of a recession, the New Orleans commercial real estate industry is keeping a close eye on sublease space in the metro area. A commercial tenant, such as a company in a New Orleans...

N.O. Real Estate Briefs: February 9, 2009.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A vacant gas station at the Uptown intersection of St. Charles and Louisiana avenues is being demolished to make room for a new bank. First Bank and Trust has purchased the property, which once housed an Exxon...

In Other Words: With tighter lending standards, how are Realtors getting people into homes?
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Nall Mary Ann Casey broker and owner Re/Max N.O. Properties The public has to realize that all of the traditional mortgage products are still available meaning conventional, VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) and...

Touro Infirmary joins Children's Hospital family in La. for $100M infusion.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Touro Infirmary and Children's Hospital will become part of the same family. According to a deal announced Tuesday, Children's will pump $100 million over the next five years into Touro, which will become an...

Lil' Easy rolls through Lower 9th Ward in N.O.
February 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Lower 9th Ward residents should be seeing public transit vehicles passing through their neighborhood with greater frequency these days. A new Regional Transit Authority shuttle service dubbed The Lil' Easy began...

Study: Gulf Coast levees give false sense of security.
February 9, 2009... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Policymakers should not rely on levees as the sole means to hurricane protection in the Gulf Coast, a study released Jan. 29 says. The study is from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University....