New Orleans CityBusiness articles from January 2005

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from January 2005

Le Grand Executif: Eugene Green, pres. of New Orleans Regional Business Park, Part I.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora When Eugene Green was former Mayor Marc Morial's executive assistant in economic development, he was assigned to monitor the development of the New Orleans Business and Industrial District. The 7,000-acre...

Le Grand Executif: New Orleans mayor opened doors to city for Green, Part II.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora Eugene Green can thank the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity for involving him in economic development. Green, president of his own real estate management firm in the mid-1990s, was approached by former New Orleans Mayor...

Le Grand Executif: Green's family, church, music at center of his personal life, Part III.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora During her 2003 campaign for the District 2 state Senate seat, Ann Duplessis and her staff were handing out pamphlets on the street. But Duplessis said her campaign manager, Eugene Green, vanished. "His...

Le Grand Executif: Green started early on career, Part IV.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora Most Tulane University business students study for master's degrees to learn to become successful entrepreneurs. Eugene Green was one well before graduation. After working his first job in New Orleans as a...

Le Grand Executif: Duplessis campaign launched political career for Green, Part V.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora When Ann Duplessis ran for the District 2 state Senate seat against then-incumbent Jon Johnson, she didn't receive much support from local political organizations. But her campaign manager found a group to endorse...

Tulane's RiverSphere development project requires $60M over five years.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts Tulane University is looking for funding to build an ambitious $60 million Mississippi River research and education center. The university will kick off a capital campaign in three months to raise money needed to...

New Orleans-based Advantage Capital loses co-founder in Christmas Eve accident.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff David Bergmann, senior managing director and a co-founder of the New Orleans-based Advantage Capital Partners, was killed in a Christmas Eve accident. Bergmann, 52, fell through the ice on a pond near his home in...

Madisonville-based FTM drops New Orleans landfill sludge project one day before deadline.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff One day before Jefferson Parish was to consider allowing a Madisonville company to place treated sewage sludge at the Greater New Orleans Landfill, the company dropped its controversial request. FTM & Associates Inc., an...

Female majority at Tulane mirrors national enrollment trend.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Single guys might want to note a Tulane University statistic that is attracting national attention. Tulane's ratio of women to men this year is 51.61-to-48.39. Of the 13,214 students enrolled, 6,820 are women compared...

2005 New Year's resolutions indicate improving economy.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff If New Year's resolutions are an indicator, Americans will be fit in 2005, according to myGoals.com. The Web site indicates 26 percent of people polled resolved to have a renewed commitment to health and fitness, a 4...

The specter of steroids among professional and high school athletes.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds will be followed by the specter of steroid use as he chases major-league baseball's home run record. Bonds, the third player to hit 700 homers, ended the 2004 season with...

Cost, side effects accompany options for medical weight loss.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Greg LaRose Losing weight is a frequent New Year's resolution but for many people it involves more than pledging to skip snacks to drop an unwanted 15 pounds. Nearly one-third of Louisianians and 37.5 percent of New Orleans...

Commentary: Publisher's Notes: Orange Bowl snub of Auburn good news for Dad, local economy.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Mark Singletary I'm doing my best to stimulate the economy. This morning I'll be waking up with 10 houseguests here for tonight's Nokia Sugar Bowl. The visitors are all college students from Auburn University. My twin...

New Orleans retailers buy into trend for holiday gift card presents.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Chris Price U.S. retailers sold an estimated $20 billion in gift cards this holiday season, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. National retailers have offered gift cards for nearly a decade, but many...

Louisiana banks, FDIC expect continued growth in 2005.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Greg LaRose The Louisiana banking community expects continued growth in 2005 and so does the FDIC. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently released its review of regional economic conditions affecting the banking industry....

Rising interest rates will not slow New Orleans-area property sales in 2005.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts In 2005, Belle Chasse homebuilder Mark Treadaway wants business to slow down and interest rates to go up. Coming from a homebuilder, that seems like a strange wish at the start of the year. But low interest rates...

Commentary: Amato, Drennen, Nagin need to achieve results in New Year.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Terry O'Connor The first CityBusiness editorial of 2004 identified Mayor C. Ray Nagin and New Orleans Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Amato as the keys to what could be a remarkable year for the New Orleans economy. This...

Commentary: Editor's Notes: New Year's predictions offer optimistic 2005 expectations.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Terry O'Connor Predictions: New Year's predictions are as easy to make as resolutions and just as easy to break. Who remembers them anyway? Thus protected, here are my expectations for 2005: * New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin...

Retailers tighten gift return procedures to stop swap scams.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Chris Price Returning the sweater that fit too tight and fighting after-Christmas sale crowds weren't the only aggravations for consumers returning goods to retail stores this post-holiday season. Many returned items had to be...

Louisiana's governor urges Rumsfeld to save New Orleans bases.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is reaching out to senior Washington, D.C., officials to prevent the Naval Support Activity base in Algiers from being shut down. NSA, like all U.S. military operations, is involved in the...

Northrop Grumman nets $166M for Navy ships.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff The U.S. Navy has awarded an additional $166 million to Northrop Grumman Corp. for materials to build landing platform dock ships San Diego (LPD 22) and Anchorage (LPD 23), the sixth and seventh San Antonio class amphibious...

Ridership still soaring for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff The 1.7 percent increase in passengers boarding flights at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in November continued a yearlong trend of increased ridership. A total of 424,896 passengers boarded planes...

La. Dept. of Natural Resources' Christmas Tree Fence Program helps deter coastal erosion.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff With presents all unwrapped, Christmas trees now have another duty. In the marshes of south Louisiana, specially designed fences are lined with recycled trees to help deter coastal erosion. This year is the 15th for the...

Interview with Adam Shipley, music director for Tipitina's, a mid-sized music venue in New Orleans.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Richard A. Webster Adam Shipley once worked for the House of Blues in Orlando, Fla., where he discovered he was not made for the corporate world. Six years ago, he landed a job as music director for Tipitina's, an organization that...

Lafayette-based Stone Energy to acquire acreage in the Williston Basin of N. Dakota/Montana.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Lafayette-based Stone Energy Corp., which has offices in New Orleans, will acquire approximately 35,000 net exploration acres in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana from a small independent company for $85...

Biloxi Marsh Lands Corp. of Metairie declares cash dividend.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Biloxi Marsh Lands Corp. of Metairie declared a cash dividend of $1.50 per share of common stock payable Jan. 17 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 31. The dividend was the fourth declared in 2004, bringing the total amount...

CFO of New Orleans law firm charged with mail fraud, income tax invasion.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Delbert Lee, chief financial officer of New Orleans law firm Hoffman, Siegel, Seydel, Bienvenu and Centola LPC, was charged with directing more than $772,000 from the firm's account for his personal use. Federal...

Federal grand jury indicts employee of Whitney National Bank for bank fraud.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff A federal grand jury indicted an employee of Whitney National Bank for allegedly creating and signing checks to withdraw money from bank customer accounts. Adam Fitch of New Orleans, who worked as a personal banker at...

New Orleans Mayor Nagin declines to veto two controversial City Council ordinances.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin opted last week not to veto two controversial ordinances adopted Dec. 16 by a 5-2 City Council vote. The ordinances clear the way for a 66-room boutique hotel to be built on Iberville Street...

Tulane University leases office space at 1555 Poydras St. for classrooms and faculty offices.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Tulane University leased office space at 1555 Poydras St. and will move about 1,000 students and faculty to the building this year. Tulane University's School of Medicine will move into floors seven through 14 in the...

La. governor appoints Donald Pierson Jr. as assistant secretary for economic development.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco appointed Donald Pierson Jr. of Bossier City as assistant secretary for Louisiana Economic Development beginning in mid-January. Pierson was executive director of the Greater Bossier Economic...

Rubenstein's men's clothing store and its denim store honored by American magazines.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Rubenstein's men's clothing store was named one of Harper's Bazaar's 2005 Style Leaders, a group of top 100 U.S. specialty stores. Rubenstein's, 621 Canal St., is the only Louisiana store on the list. MR Magazine, the...

Director for gay and lesbian advocacy group to run for La. House District 96.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Christopher Daigle, director of government and community affairs for the gay and lesbian advocacy group Equality Louisiana, will run in the special election for House District 96. Daigle served 10 years as the organization's...

Houston-based ENGlobal buys assets of Baton Rouge-based InfoTech Engineering.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Houston-based ENGlobal Corp., which provides engineering services, bought assets of Baton Rouge-based InfoTech Engineering Co. through its wholly owned subsidiary, ENGlobal Systems Inc., for less than $1 million. InfoTech...

Four Louisiana-based life insurance companies receive lowest rating short of failure.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Staff Four Louisiana-based life insurance companies are flirting with failure, according to the latest review from a national insurance rating service. Using information from the National Association of Insurance...

New 2005 line of Global Electric Motorcars now available in New Orleans.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Chris Price They don't run on gasoline, don't have doors and have been called glorified golf carts. The new 2005 line of Global Electric Motorcars - fully electric, with zero emissions and a top speed of 25 mph - are now among...

Record high oil and natural gas prices finally spur increased drilling activity in U.S.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Richard Slawsky Record high oil and natural gas prices are finally spurring increased drilling activity in the United States. Exploration and production companies have been increasing capital expenditure budgets, which fund new...

New Orleans' Central Business District up next for new condos.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts Converting Warehouse District apartments to condominiums has been a much talked about real estate trend. Much of the district's rental property - experts estimate 25 percent - was taken off the market the past 12...

LaPlace-based Bayou Steel Corp. emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Less than a year after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, LaPlace-based Bayou Steel Corp. is making money again. Bayou Steel, which filed for Chapter 11 status Jan. 22, 2003, reported net income of $29.8...

New Orleans modeling schools offers self-esteem scholarships to reality show hopefuls.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff When Wendy Solomon heard there was going to be an open casting call in New Orleans for Fox Television's hit plastic surgery reality show, "The Swan," she went to the casting call where hundreds of women waited in line for...

Moonlighting musician drops accordion during performance to give CPR to fan.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff An accordionist at an Acadiana dance hall leapt from the stage last month to save the life of a big fan. Jamie Bergeron was performing on stage at Tony's Dance Hall in Gueydan with his band the Kickin' Cajuns when he...

Kenner Police Dept. collects goods for its officers in military.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff The Kenner Police Department wants five of its officers to feel the comforts of home while they serve military duty in the Middle East. The department is asking the community to donate baby wipes, snacks, CDs, newspapers...

Orleans Parish School Board purchases JRL Enterprises of New Orleans' I CAN Learn program.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Greg LaRose Keeping students focused and on task is an everyday challenge for Allen Ellender Middle School math teacher Theresa Repak. Some grasp the subject matter more quickly than others so it is just as easy to lose the...

College newspapers subscribe to real-world business pressure.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora Fledgling journalists at college student newspapers often struggle with university administrators over the First Amendment. The newspapers, although extensions of the university as a student organization, often try to...

Commentary: Publisher's Notes: Transportation advantages remain critical N.O. economic edge.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Mark Singletary Sometimes I wonder about things. My latest musings are about adaptation, evolution and natural law. I'm pondering the laws of nature that encourage species selection and prosperity and wonder if they also apply to...

Helping traded pro players get to where they are going becomes a business in itself.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Chris Price Trades send pro players to different cities and different franchises every year. How players get to where they are going has become a business in itself. "Once a deal is made, we are responsible for getting the...

Angel network helps new Louisiana businesses.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts After relocating to New Orleans from Boston, sales software developer VanillaSoft is hoping to make it big in a city starved for tech companies. Headquartered at 1820 St. Charles Ave., 2-year-old VanillaSoft is...

New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits stops work on St. Charles hotel project.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Richard A. Webster The New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits issued a stop work order last Wednesday on construction of a four-story hotel and restaurant on lower St. Charles Avenue. The city order officially sidetracked...

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau expects to set tourism record.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Terry O'Connor Nimble response time has been a key to a record year in the New Orleans tourism industry. The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau reports it expects to set an all-time tourism record. In just...

Tax incentives lead to new business in economically depressed area of New Orleans.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts As the Orleans/Jefferson Renewal Community celebrates its third anniversary this month, businesses are showing more interest than ever in the program's economically struggling areas. The program, which has had only...

Jefferson Parish officials expect W. Napoleon to ease traffic, boost business.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Chris Price Jefferson Parish officials hope opening two new stretches of West Napoleon Avenue and completion of an additional four-lane east-west corridor will ease traffic through east Jefferson. The three-year, $46.8 million...

Torch Offshore Inc. may seek bankruptcy protection after US marshals seized three of its vessels.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Shares of Torch Offshore Inc. fell 24 percent to $1.20 on Dec. 30 after the company announced three of its vessels were seized by U.S. marshals after the company defaulted on various credit agreements. The stock was off 77...

SCP Pool of Covington acquires 3 service centers.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff SCP Pool Corp. of Covington, the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and equipment, acquired three service centers in Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 3. The Covington-based company also acquired...

Shell gasoline to meet a new fuel standard meant to ensure engine parts are kept clean.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Shell gasoline is the latest to meet a new fuel standard meant to ensure engine parts are kept clean. The voluntary standard called Top Tier is being pushed by automakers BMW, Honda, Toyota and General Motors over...

Award places Ochsner Clinic Foundation among top U.S. hospitals.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Ochsner Clinic Foundation earned a rare award in 2004 that places it among only 1 percent of hospitals in the nation. The Herman Group, a strategic business firm based in Greensboro, N.C., named Ochsner an Employer of...

Funds cut for New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, endangering its ability to continue its mission.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Richard A. Webster For years Antoinette K-Doe tried to convince her husband, legendary New Orleans musician Ernie K-Doe, to see a doctor. He always came back with the same answer: "No." Like most musicians, K-Doe was tough...

Acme Oyster House to open new restaurant on Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Richard A. Webster The Acme Oyster House is expanding upward and outward. This month, a new Acme Oyster House will open on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie while a second floor of dining at its French Quarter location...

Interview with Phil Hoffman, pres. of Home Builders Assn.'s board of directors.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts Phil Hoffman served on the Home Builders Association's board of directors for about five years before taking over as president this year. His term will be one year. The owner of LaPlace-based Hoffman Custom Built...

Sizeler Property Investors Inc. in Kenner sells apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Sizeler Property Investors Inc., headquartered in Kenner, announced it has sold a 443-unit apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for $43.8 million. Lakeview Club Apartments, which Sizeler acquired in 1994, was sold to...

New Orleans civil rights leaders call for investigation into man's death outside nightclub.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Civil rights leaders called for an investigation into the death of a young man outside a Bourbon Street nightclub on Christmas Eve. The New Orleans branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held...

Sanders likely to be elected pres. of Orleans Parish School Board, predicts board member.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Torin Sanders will likely be elected president of the Orleans Parish School Board today, predicts District 3 Board Member Jimmy Fahrenholtz. The Board will elect its president and vice president at 5 p.m. at the Mahalia...

New Orleans attorney sues to stop the Orleans School Board from finalizing budget.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Tracie Washington, a New Orleans attorney, sued to stop the Orleans School Board from finalizing a budget she claims is too low. Washington sought an injunction from Civil District Judge Madeline Landrieu to halt the alleged...

Report from Education Week says La.'s efforts to improve teacher quality best in country.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Louisiana's efforts to improve teacher quality are the best in the country, according to a report from Education Week. Additionally, the state's efforts to improve school and student performance rank No. 2 among the 50 states...

Louisiana Dept. of Labor releases its 2004 second-quarter employment and wage report.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff The Louisiana Department of Labor released its 2004 second-quarter employment and wage report, announcing both average state employment and wages remained above 2003 levels. The average quarterly employment was 1,878,526,...

Tenet Health Care Corp. completes sale of five acute care hospitals.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Tenet Health Care Corp. reported it has completed the sale of five acute care hospitals in California, Massachusetts and Louisiana, including St. Charles General Hospital in New Orleans. St. Charles General was sold to...

Delta Air Lines cuts its most expensive fares, eliminates other restrictions.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-biggest carrier, is cutting its most expensive fares by as much as 50 percent nationwide and is eliminating other restrictions in an effort to woo business travelers and other...

Norwegian and Japanese firms jointly win contract to build LNG terminal near Lake Charles.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff Aker Kvaerner, a Norwegian engineering and construction firm and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries of Japan have jointly won a $500 million contract to build a liquefied natural gas terminal near Lake Charles. San...

La. receives federal grant for electronic medical record systems in 10 critical access hospitals.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Staff The Louisiana Rural Information Technology Partnership received a $1.1 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Health Care Research and Quality to implement an electronic medical record...

St. Bernard parish officials try to spur increase in Carnival activities.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Richard Slawsky During its heyday in the 1970s and '80s, St. Bernard Parish had as many as 15 parades during Carnival. By last year, the number had fallen to just two. With two new krewes forming in St. Bernard, parish...

Educational software maker sues energy industry chief executive for $16M in damages.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Greg LaRose A maker of educational software is suing an energy industry chief executive for $16 million in damages claiming his former mentor caused him to lose millions and control of his company. John Lee founded JRL...

North Shore fee inspires late 2004 run on building.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts For years, Rosemary Marks was in no rush to build on vacant properties she owned in Slidell. But she sped into action in late December to buy a building permit before 2005 rolled around. Marks paid about $466...

Host of TV redecorating show helps Tulane raise $700M in capital campaign.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Staff Rarely does Tulane University refer to a graduate as a heartthrob. But Evan Farmer, a communications alum helping the university raise $700 million in a capital campaign, fits the billing. Farmer, 32, who graduated from...

Luling man sentenced for illegally accessing bank account of New Orleans software co.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Staff A Luling man has been sentenced for illegally accessing the bank account of a New Orleans digital software and design company. David Avgikos, 42, will serve six months of home detention for accessing an account at Whitney...

Louisiana business climate earns lukewarm rankings.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Staff Louisiana ranks near the middle of the pack compared with other states in a variety of business climate rankings, according to the Public Policy Institute of the Business Council of New York State. PPI's rankings measured...

Software enhancements turn accountants into consultants.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Tommy Santora Philip Rebowe, managing partner of Metairie accounting firm Rebowe & Co., said his staff used to make quarterly visits to small business clients to pick up their financial books. His accountants then returned to the...

Standardized business language cuts operating jargon confusion.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Greg LaRose He might say "to-MAY-to" while she says "to-MAH-to," but chances are both will come home from the grocery store with the same ripe red fruit. Things are not as simple for financial data reporting. Words used to...

Commentary: Publisher's Notes: Efforts to land automakers reflect economic development drive.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Mark Singletary I read a really interesting story this week in the Detroit Free Press about the migration of new automobile manufacturing facilities away from Detroit toward the South. Historically, when you think about cars and...

New All-Star game in New Orleans to offer black athletes big opportunity.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Chris Price The overlooked football players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities will be in the spotlight as the first HBCU All-Star Classic kicks off at 4 p.m. today in New Orleans. The game at Tad Gormley Stadium...

Sluggish fuel injector woes spur research into clean gas.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Richard Slawsky Last September, auto mechanics in Milwaukee began seeing a surge in the number of cars with clogged fuel injectors. By the time the flood of complaints from drivers slowed, more than 700 reports of injector problems...

New Orleans-area officials support governor's plan to renegotiate the state's deal with the Saints.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Chris Price New Orleans-area officials are solidly behind Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's plan to renegotiate the state's $186 million inducement deal with the Saints. "I believe that we need to do everything we can to keep...

Commentary: Nagin making big mistake by ignoring New Orleans Regional Business Park request.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Terry O'Connor City ledgers show more than $3 million in bond money is available to improve conditions at the New Orleans Regional Business Park. Yet city officials won't release the money for the use it was intended. It's...

Tech companies working to deliver services via home wiring.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Richard Slawsky Within the next few years, connecting to the Internet may be as simple as plugging into a wall socket. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance, a coalition of companies from business sectors including hardware,...

Excess apartment inventory in New Orleans metro area to freeze 2005 building activity.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts Unlike last year, few new apartment projects are expected in the metro area in 2005, according to a recently released study. Increases in building material costs, interest rates, flat occupancy rates and rent...

Rising cost of building materials to squeeze homebuyers.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Deon Roberts Sheetrock prices doubled over the past 12 months, said Lloyd Bourgoyne of Jake & Sons Plaster/Sheetrock of Metairie. The same sheet of gypsum wallboard that sold for about $4.59 a year ago now costs 47 percent more...