New Orleans CityBusiness articles from January 2007

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from January 2007

Sweet Return: Allstate Sugar Bowl major win for New Orleans.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Craig Guillot Regardless of the outcome Wednesday when the LSU Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish do battle in the Superdome, tourism officials say the Allstate Sugar Bowl will be a major win for the city of New Orleans. After an...

Home values to level off in New Orleans metro area, experts say.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts After 15 months of escalating home values in the New Orleans metro area, experts predict appreciation will cool off in 2007. Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, housing values have skyrocketed. In the past year,...

Group: Report doesn't solve Mississippi River Gulf Outlet flooding.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet Eminent coastal scientists say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' recent recommendation to close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet because of costs to taxpayers -- not because of significant flooding to New Orleans --...

Touro Infirmary's Easy Street rehabilitation therapy helps New Orleanians to recover.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Tommy Santora Getting in and out of a car, taking groceries off the shelf, shopping for clothes, placing an order for food -- all simple everyday routines. They were second nature to New Orleans residents William Holmes, Jamie...

New Orleans Health Care Briefs: January 1, 2007.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Smoke-Free Air Act begins today The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act 815 begins today giving restaurant and bar owners a new benchmark for doing business. To comply with the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act,...

Look Who's Talking: Interview with Tavis Piattoly, Elmwood Fitness Center's asst. GM.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Craig Guillot Tavis Piattoly is the assistant general manager and director of health and fitness programs at Elmwood Fitness Center, a division of Ochsner Health System. The fitness center has 19,000 members between the three...

Commentary: Warm-blooded Saints could face tough Chicago winter.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Mark Singletary The CityBusiness interactive reader poll this week asks the question: "Which team will provide the toughest playoff challenge to the Saints?" The choices we list are: Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia...

Jam cams keep motorists out of traffic snares.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet Cold temperatures iced over a wet portion of Interstate 10 the morning of Dec. 15, between Bonnabel Boulevard and the 17th Street Canal, resulting in a multi-car pile up before rush hour. Motorists stuck in the...

University of Phoenix's Metairie campus fits post-K schedules.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Stephen Maloney Violet native Veronica Price has been facing a long commute for the past 15 months. Hurricane Katrina's near-total devastation of her hometown forced her into a temporary home in Pensacola, Fla., but that couldn't...

Why Stay? Blake VonderHaar restores paintings and photos for Katrina victims.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Kathryn Jezer-Morton For many people whose homes flooded, the only salvageable objects from their pre-Katrina lives are the paintings and photographs that hung on their walls. Blake VonderHaar, 44, is president of the New Orleans...

Louisiana Bond Commission backs Jefferson high-rise development.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts The Louisiana Bond Commission gave New Orleans developer Jim St. Raymond preliminary approval Dec. 21 for $200 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds to build a $350-million residential development in Jefferson. St....

KB Home contract for West Bank land expires.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A year ago this month, Los Angeles-based KB Home wooed the West Bank with an announcement that it would build thousands of homes near Avondale. But Wednesday, a lawyer involved in the deal said that KB...

Louisiana motorists can get road info by dialing '511'.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Louisiana motorists can receive 24-hour traffic and road conditions with a phone call through the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's new 511 Traveler Information System. Real-time...

Pan-American building in downtown New Orleans sold to California company.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Pan-American Life Insurance Co. has sold its headquarters building, the Pan-American Life Center, at 601 Poydras St. to Equastone, a La Jolla, Calif., real estate company. Equastone spent "in the range of...

Baton Rouge firm to build up to $74M in hurricane housing.
January 1, 2007... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Cypress Cottage Partners of Baton Rouge was selected to receive up to $74.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build housing for Louisiana residents displaced by hurricanes...

Mayor C.Ray Nagin: State bureaucrats are blocking New Orleans' recovery.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Mayor C. Ray Nagin said $900 million in federal funds are tied up in red tape, stalling the city from repairing its sewage system, roads, buildings and other hurricane-related damages. The city is seeking...

Atmos Energy Corp. asks customers to 'Share the Warmth'.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Atmos Energy Corp. hopes make it easier for its customers to help less fortunate customers pay their natural gas bills this winter. Atmos Energy Chairman President and CEO Robert Best said customers can...

Nonprofit spotlight: Republic owners pair new venue with charitable events.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Stephen Maloney In the world of charity fundraising, bigger is usually better. The higher the cost for a seat at a fundraising dinner, the more money the charity gets from its benefactors. While situations like this can translate...

Commentary: New Orleans restaurants perform admirably in '06.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Tom Fitzmorris On the first day of 2006, Galatoire's reopened. It was the 418th restaurant to do so since the hurricane, and the perfect first restaurant opening of the new year. It was fervently welcomed. The absence of that...

New Year's Prediction: True recovery begins in '07 with tangible progress.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The New Orleans metropolitan community continues to recover 16 months post-Katrina at a pace slowed by a leadership vacuum and a failure to recognize the effects of the new demographics. Since 2002,...

Commentary: New Year's resolutions wreak havoc with New Orleans temptations.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Terry O'Connor For the past five years I've found fewer and fewer people believe in making New Year's resolutions. It's hard work to resolve to improve. It's so much easier just to go with the flow. I've blown my share of...

Louisiana receives slice of $55M tobacco settlement.
January 1, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Louisiana will receive $1.2 million from a $55.4-million settlement reached with House of Prince A/S and Scandinavian tobacco connected to the 1998 Master Settle Agreement. The MSA requires tobacco...

Louisiana Recovery Authority seeks comments on school, hospital rebuilding plans.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Louisiana Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development is seeking public comment on its action plans for repairs to private schools and construction of Medical Center of Louisiana-New...

Credit Manager's Index shows slowing economy.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A monthly survey of commercial credit and collections shows a slowing U.S. economy. The seasonally adjusted Credit Manager's Index fell for the fifth consecutive month in December, and now stands at its...

Louisiana, national rig counts drop to end 2006.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The number of rigs actively searching for oil and natural gas in Louisiana dropped three to 189 this week, mirroring a nationwide slump of 13 to 1,710. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico...

New Orleans Expressway Commission official urges evacuation improvements.
January 2, 2007... Byline: Matthew Penix Imagine what 870 billion pounds of water bearing on the city's infrastructure for 89 days could do. That's only one of the challenges Robert J. Lambert, general manager of the Greater New Orleans Expressway...

Atlanta firm acquires Shoney's restaurants.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Royal Hospitality Corp., a company affiliate of Atlanta-based Royal Capital Corp., announced today that it is acquiring Shoney's Restaurants from Shoney's LLC. Shoney's owns, operates and franchises 282...

Unified New Orleans Plan meeting moved to Jan. 20.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Unified New Orleans Plan is changing the date for its third and final citywide planning meeting, Community Congress III, from Jan. 13 to Jan. 20. UNOP and city leaders agreed to the change so the...

The Road Home offers top $2B but closings barely surpass 100.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Road Home program administered by ICF International of Fairfax, Va., is figuring out a lot more award money is due but the payouts remain slow. Road Home officials report interviews have been held or...

Year in Review: No. 5, Nagin stil struggles to regain high approval rating.
January 2, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts Before Hurricane Katrina, it was a foregone conclusion Mayor C. Ray Nagin would be re-elected. But after Katrina breached levees and floodwalls, which led to the flooding of 80 percent of the city and the death of...

New Orleans-based Pan-American Life Insurance Company reorganizes under new name.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report On Monday, New Orleans-based Pan-American Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries started operating under a new parent holding company, the Pan-American Life Insurance Group. The move will not cause...

Jefferson Chamber's 10th Jubilation Gala set for Jan. 12.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Jefferson Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its 10 anniversary Jan. 12 at its annual Jubilation Gala presented by Ochsner Health System. The gala will be held at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner with...

CityBusiness readers: Chicago Bears biggest playoff obstacle to New Orleans Saints.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Chicago Bears are the main team standing in the way of the New Orleans Saints first trip to the Super Bowl, according to the latest NewOrleansCityBusiness.com poll. Of the 172 readers who participated,...

IPA small business study: Manufacturers' confidence declines 1.8 points.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Small and medium-sized manufacturers are slightly less confident for their business prospects over the next year, according to the results of an International Profit Associates Small Business Research...

New Year marks Louisiana's switch to consolidated levee boards.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco moved forward with the new consolidated levee boards after announcing the appointed members for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. Constitutional...

Notre Dame alumni and students beautify Gentilly park in New Orleans.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu addressed about 250 Notre Dame alumni and students who are visiting New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl but have volunteered to work on community service projects while in town for the...

Year in Review: 3, N.O. Saints become beacon of recovery.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Tommy Santora NEW ORLEANS -- Give outgoing National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue credit for an early season prediction. In April, Tagliabue joined Rita Benson LeBlanc, New Orleans Saints owner and executive vice...

Year in Review: No. 4, Critics claim The Road Home meanders too much.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Terry O'Connor While payouts were still painfully few as the first quarter of The Road Home program draws to a close, officials report interviews have been held or scheduled with 60,344 eligible homeowners affected by hurricanes...

Commentary: True recovery begins in '07 with tangible progress.
January 3, 2007... Byline: N. O. CityBusiness Staff The New Orleans metropolitan community continues to recover 16 months post-Katrina at a pace slowed by a leadership vacuum and a failure to recognize the effects of the new demographics. Since 2002,...

Plastic bag manufacturer moves from Metairie to Sugar Land, Texas.
January 3, 2007... Byline: N.O. CityBusiness Staff Advance Polybag Incorporated, one of the world's largest plastic bag manufacturers, will permanently move its headquarters from Metairie to Sugar Land, Texas, the company said. Advance Polybags, operating in...

Baton Rouge-based The Shaw Group secures contract for Thailand production plant.
January 3, 2007... Byline: N.O. CityBusiness Staff Baton Rouge-based engineering firm The Shaw Group Inc. secured a contract to build a massive propylene production plant in Thailand, the company announced today. Financial logistics were not disclosed. Shaw...

Landowner has big plans for 4,000-acre Avondale tract.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts Landowner Joseph Marcello suddenly needed a new developer when Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home recently backed away from buying 3,000 acres in Avondale. Marcello, president of Churchill Farms Inc., has been...

Stone Pigman acquires Baton Rouge firm.
January 3, 2007... Byline: N.O. CityBusiness Staff Responding to growing business opportunities along the I-10 and I-12 corridors, Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann L.L.C. has acquired the McKay, Lutgring and Cochran law firm in Baton Rouge. Michael W. McKay,...

New Orleans Fine Hotels projects high occupany rates in 1Q 2007.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Richard Webster New Orleans Fine Hotels, a collection of nine area hotels, forecasts that hotel occupancy rates will be on the rise from now through the first quarter 2007. Astor Crowne Plaza General Manager Bruce Perone said that...

Palace Cafe in N.O. brings sidewalk dining to Canal Street.
January 3, 2007... Byline: N.O. CityBusiness Staff Inspired by the outdoor cafes of Paris, Palace Cafe officially opened its sidewalk dining on New Year's Day, serving light fare selections. The outdoor cafes in Europe serve as meeting places where...

Unified New Orleans Plan meeting changed to Jan. 20.
January 3, 2007... Byline: N.O. CityBusiness Staff The Unified New Orleans Plan announced today that the date for the third and final citywide planning meeting, called Community Congress III, has been changed from Jan. 13 to Jan. 20. The initial date was...

Covington builder announces partnership with national management firm.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts A Charlotte, N.C.-based company that acts as general manager for custom homebuilders has announced a partnership with Covington homebuilders John and Ellie Schroder. The partnership between HouseRaising Inc. and the...

Vitter asks Congress to forgive N.O.'s disaster loans.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, wants Congress to honor precedents set after previous natural disasters and has authored legislation to forgive New Orleans' $120 million in federal disaster loans that it...

Delgado Community College's spring registration starts next week.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Delgado Community College will begin registration for the spring 2007 semester Jan. 10 for classes beginning Jan. 13 at its City Park, West Bank, Northshore and Charity School of Nursing locations. First...

Kenner to award $1M in home rehab funds.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The city of Kenner was recently awarded $1 million in housing rehabilitation money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that can be used to help rehab about 20 owner-occupied,...

Year in Review: 2, Teaching hospital provides New Orleans health care lifeline.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster The New Orleans health care system exited 2006 much the way it entered -- broken. But the Louisiana Recovery Authority provided hope when it approved $74 million in funding Dec. 14 for a new teaching hospital in...

Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center program provides housing accessibility info.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center will present a free one-day training program to ensure architects, homebuildings and other housing officials are up to speed with disability laws. The...

Woodlands apartment complex tenants have until Monday to leave.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts Roughly 16 families still living at The Woodlands apartment complex in Algiers have until Monday to vacate the property, officials said this morning. Today was supposed to be the deadline for tenants to leave the site,...

New Orleans district of Corps of Engineers awards $150M consulting contract to joint venture.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Bioengineering Group and Arcadis has been awarded a contract worth up to $150 million to provide design, consulting and construction management services to the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps...

Louisiana to honor Martin Luther King Jr. with year-long volunteer effort.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced Louisiana will be the first state to kick off a year-long statewide Justice Sunday service initiative honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. "I urge...

Levees.org wants Congress to form '8-29 Commission'.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Levees.org has launched a petition drive calling on Congress to begin an investigation into the failure of the levees in metro New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, similar to the probe following the 2001...

Microsoft tour making New Orleans stop Jan. 16.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Microsoft Across America tour will stop at the New Orleans Marriott from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan 16 to give business representatives their first look at Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and...

Louisiana SPCA sees jump in suspected dogfighting.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Louisiana SPCA's animal cruelty investigations team is seeing a surge in suspected dogfighting activity across the metro area. Since November 2006 the non-profit animal welfare agency that investigates...

New Orleans Police Department investigates Treme murder.
January 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Members of the New Orleans Police Department are investigating the murder of a 36-year old woman and the shooting of a 35-year-old man. The crime occurred shortly after 5:30 a.m., at 2444 N. Rampart St....

Louisiana firm's sewage treatment system approved for Wyoming.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report HB Rentals, a Superior Energy Services company based in Broussard, has received a permit from the state of Wyoming to use its sewer system on all public and private land governed by Wyoming's Bureau of Land...

Mayor Muniz: Kenner can't control Cox cable fees, content.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report In response to inquiries from Kenner residents and businesses subscribing to cable services from Cox Communications, Mayor Ed Muniz said the city's franchise agreement with Cox does not allow the city to...

Commentary: Wal-Mart's eco-friendly bulbs a bright idea for all.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Mark Singletary Wal-Mart is going green and maybe we all ought to pay attention. In an announcement last week, the world's largest retailer committed to sell more than 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs in the next two...

Kenner to open temporary storm shelter.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report With whirling tornados a possibility tonight, a continuation of Thursday's torrential storm system in the New Iberia area that spawned two tornados that killed two and injured 15, Kenner will open a...

Monarch Gulf Exploration hires investment firm to plot expansion.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Oil and gas company Monarch Gulf Exploration Inc. has hired ForeRunner Financial as the company's investment banker to raise capital and expand its properties in 2007. Monarch's current expansion efforts...

Sewell Cadillac Chevrolet closing Baronne Street showroom.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet Sewell Cadillac Chevrolet, the car dealership that made national news after Hurricane Katrina when police officers commandeered its inventory, will close its Baronne Street doors March 6. Carl Sewell, chairman and...

Rep. Jindal touts hurricane aid, wildlife preserve among congressional bills.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner, announced a slew of congressional bills that range from tax breaks for married couples to a 3,000-acre expansion of a local wildlife preserve and increased tax incentives and...

BlueLinx vows to reopen N.O. lumber facility.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts BlueLinx Corp., a publicly traded distributor of building materials, vows to reopen its eastern New Orleans facility, which employed 18 people, by the end of the first quarter, company spokesman Jim Storey said. The...

Historic grocery store slated for condo development.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts The site of the former Puglia's grocery store in the French Quarter is slated to become 10 condominiums now that a New Orleans company has bought the site for $1.85 million. PLR Investments Inc., headquartered on...

N.O. Council votes in favor of congressional commission.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The New Orleans City Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday supporting the creation of a congressional "8-29 Commission" to investigate the failure of the levees in New Orleans during Hurricane...

Police name two suspects in Parasol's armed robbery.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The New Orleans Police Department is requesting the public's assistance in locating 19-year-old Marvin McCants and 18-year-old Rodney Williams, wanted in connection with the armed robbery of Parasol's Bar,...

Expert panel begins work on higher ed master plan.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and the Louisiana Board of Regents opened the inaugural meeting of the state's new Master Plan National Advisory Panel, kicking off a process that will yield a new five-year...

Former Orleans School Board HQ among damaged buildings for sale.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Orleans Parish School Board is offering several hurricane-damaged properties for sale, including the Board's former headquarters building on the West Bank. These are the first properties the School...

Landrieu legislation aims to reverse Road Home tax.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, today introduced legislation in the Senate to protect homeowners from federal taxation on rebuilding grants received under Louisiana's Road Home program. Homeowners who...

Area dealerships buy Sewell's two franchises.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet The local investors who bought the franchises of Sewell Cadillac-Chevrolet of New Orleans on Baronne Street will have cleared some competition out of the New Orleans-area come March 6. On Thursday, Carl Sewell,...

Final UNOP District 1 meeting set for Saturday.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Unified New Orleans Plan will host the final District Meeting for planning District 1, which encompasses the French Quarter and Downtown, from 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Chateau Sonesta, 800...

LSU AgCenter set to help residents navigate Road Home.
January 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Louisiana residents have another source of information on the Louisiana Road Home program - their parish LSU AgCenter Extension offices. LSU AgCenter Extension agents around the state participated in an...

Imported steel executive, Port president to discuss effects of steel tariffs.
January 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness staff report Increased steel imports played a critical role in the recovery of the Port of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Another strong year for imported steel in 2006 saw general cargo tonnage at the Port's...

Commentary: Time is now to shape future of New Orleans.
January 8, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff It's coming down to the wire for one of the most comprehensive and cohesive strategic recovery approaches attempted since Katrina. Too often, New Orleanians wait until a decision has been made to protest the...

Commentary: Danziger Bridge shooting pits D.A. Jordan against police.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Jeff Crouere An Orleans Parish grand jury indicted seven police officers Dec. 29 in the Sept. 4, 2005, Danziger Bridge shooting days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The charges range from murder to attempted second-degree...

Jan. 8-14.
January 8, 2007... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports The following calendar of business meetings and events is for Jan. 8-14. The deadline for submissions to the business calendar is 10 days prior to publication date. Jan. 9 New Orleans Cooking...

Casino in Bossier City subject of lawsuit pitting former partners against each other.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster The Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Bossier City is the subject of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit pitting August "Duke" Robin, founder of New Orleans restaurant August, against Jack Binion, one of the creators of...

New Orleans developer, public housing advocate engage in e-battle.
January 8, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A New Orleans developer and a Loyola University faculty member spent much of last week debating public housing in a flurry of e-mail exchanges. The contention apparently began when Loyola law professor...

Slow market curbs KB Home development in Louisiana.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Deon Roberts Three months after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, national homebuilder KB Home pledged to rebuild Louisiana with 20,000 homes. State officials hailed KB Home's plans as good news for a state still reeling from the...

N.O. firms to administer $750M in storm reimbursement loans.
January 8, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A pair of New Orleans investment firms will administer $750 million in storm expense reimbursement loans for cash-strapped governments and nonprofits that have emptied their own pockets since 2005's...