New Orleans CityBusiness articles from March 2009

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from March 2009

Hydrogen provider completes Lake Pontchartrain pipeline extension.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Hydrogen provider Air Products today said it has completed a 37-mile pipeline extension, most of which was placed in the bed of Lake Pontchartrain. The new portion of the hydrogen network links Air...

Reservations still being taken for Leadership in Law event at New Orleans Museum of Art.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Reservations are still being taken for CityBusiness' 2009 Leadership in Law cocktail reception to be held from 5-8 p.m. Thursday at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Groups of 10 can register for $750. To...

Louisiana's Whitney National Bank earnings down despite asset, deposit growth.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Assets, loans and deposits all increased for the parent company of Whitney National Bank in 2008, but the company still saw its earnings drop 61 percent for the year. Whitney Holding Corp.'s annual report...

Mach 3-8.
March 2, 2009... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports March 3 The Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting on the 100-year hurricane protection plan from 6-9 p.m. at the Lindy Boggs International Conference Center, 2045 Lakeshore Drive. The...

N.O. business bankers say their customers worry about the recession but aren't suffering its effects.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Greg LaRose Mardi Gras was weeks away when Guy Williams saw fit to give some Lenten advice to his business clients during a group meeting last month. The president and CEO of Gulf Coast Bank and Trust said he was not surprised to...

Small Business Association: Stimulus act spawns new 'phishing' scheme.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Small business owners are encouraged to be wary of any e-mails or letters asking for bank account information to qualify for tax rebates. The Small Business Association has caught wind of a scam in which the...

In Other Words: With historically low rates, what more will it take to stimulate home buying?
March 2, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Nall Mike Anderson president Essential Mortgage Co. Eliminating the adverse Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fees borrowers are charged today. This is in the works with the efforts of the National Association of Mortgage...

Off the Clock: Q&A with Chuck Loescher, Chalmette-based Automatic Card Inc. president.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Christian Moises Age: 45 Family: wife, Lisa; children, Brooke, 13, Medlyn, 9, Chandler, 3 Education: attended Southeastern Louisiana University Hometown: Arabi If you've ever used an ATM at a restaurant, bar or somewhere else...

Commentary: Government has to be efficient like small business.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Mark Singletary Maybe the new year starts this week. While the nation's economy has gone from bad to worse, our local and state economies have performed from fair to middling. If oil and gas prices don't start rebounding soon,...

Businesses offering specials although New Orleans still billed as 'recession-proof'.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr New Orleans has been heralded lately as a recession-proof city, one insulated at least from the most serious effects of the deepest economic downturn in decades because of factors such as post-storm investment and a...

Mix of factors cause rising number of empty storefronts on Jefferson Parish's main business artery.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Stephen Maloney Marring the length of Veterans Boulevard like chipped teeth in a once-brilliant smile, empty storefronts and going out of business sales have become commonplace along Jefferson Parish's main commercial artery. With...

Locals in N.O. to gain full control of Peoples Health.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Peoples Health will be a 100 percent locally owned company as of early April. The company signed an agreement with Tenet Healthcare Corp. that will put Tenet's half-share of the company in the hands of a group of...

'Buy American' provision raises fear of retaliatory actions from other countries.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet The jury is still out on the nation's newest Buy American provision as President Obama has yet to provide greater detail on this aspect of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, leaving the potential impact to...

$2B gasification plant in La. blazes new trail for industry.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr Construction is slated to begin this year on a $2 billion gasification plant at the Port of Lake Charles. Investors have secured land, $1 billion in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds and a wetlands permit from the U.S. Army...

Congressman Ahn "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, recall effort may be paper tiger.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A group of New Orleans ministers are circulating a petition to remove Congressman Ahn Joseph Cao, R-New Orleans, from office, but it's not certain if their effort will result in the ouster of the freshman...

'Trashanova' omnipresent on Mardi Gras in N.O.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff If Carnival costumes are any measure of a person's visibility, Sidney Torres IV stands among the ranks of President Barack Obama, Mayor C. Ray Nagin and Heath Ledger's Joker. A number of Mardi Gras revelers chose...

Bayou Bend sells assets for $18M, N.O. employees to lose jobs.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Bayou Bend Petroleum Ltd. has agreed to sell its assets to a private Houston company for $18 million. The two-year-old company, which has offices in New Orleans and Vancouver, British Columbia, focuses on the...

Commentary: 7 on Fulton in N.O. undiscovered despite dependable quality.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Tom Fitzmorris 7 On Fulton $$$$$ Contemporary American 700 Fulton St. in the Wyndham Riverside Hotel, Warehouse District 681-1034 Breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days www.7onfulton.com Price ratings are what one person should...

Lumber company upgrades facility at St. Bernard port.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff An $8 million project is under way to move a local lumber company into a new port facility in St. Bernard Parish. F.H. Myers Construction of Harahan is building a new facility for New Orleans-based Lisco at the...

Commentary: Party politics still dominant.
March 2, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Just about everyone has had their say on the respective speeches of President Barack Obama and Gov. Bobby Jindal. And while there is disagreement over who best represents the viewpoint of the American people or...

Commentary: Burying utility lines shouldn't be all or nothing.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Autumn C. Giusti Another Carnival season is behind us, and with its passage comes a little souvenir of the party -- block after block of colored beads draped over power lines. Admittedly it's a funky, fun reminder of the...

Rancor among artists in heart of Vieux Carre in N.O. carries over to election.
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster Jack Wittenbrink opened the first meeting of the Jackson Square Artists Committee since Hurricane Katrina with a plea for peace. Our worst bane at this point is the mutual rancor and bitterness between...

New Orleans Hotel Monteleone to celebrate clock's 100th birthday.
March 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A grandfather clock at the Hotel Monteleone turns 100 this year, and the hotel plans to commemorate the birthday with a celebration and lecture. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be...

$8.6M from stimulus released for Louisiana health centers.
March 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A total of $8.6 million from the federal stimulus package has been released to support seven health centers in Louisiana. The expansion and construction of the community clinics will help 48,870 residents...

Albertsons to open in Mandeville.
March 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Albertsons will open a store in the former home of A&P Sav-A-Center in Mandeville's Premier Centre, Covington-based Stirling Properties said today. The 59,000-square-foot store will also feature a...

Jackson Square artists in New Orleans upset over committee elections.
March 3, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster Jennifer Marrus arrived Monday night at the Jackson Square Artists Committee elections excited about the possibility of taking the art colony in a new direction. As a nominee for one of the seven open seats,...

Income changes made to N.O. homeownership program.
March 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports More people will be eligible for homebuyers assistance from the Finance Authority of New Orleans. The state has raised income limits from 80 percent to 120 percent of the metropolitan area median income...

Global Green to spotlight New Orleans Holy Cross project progress.
March 3, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Global Green USA will highlight the progress of the Holy Cross Project, a "green" community being built in the Lower 9th Ward, at 1 p.m. Wednesday at 409 Andry St. The first model home was completed in...

Baton Rouge-based Public Affairs Research Council: Louisiana highways need more funding.
March 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness staff reports Louisiana will have to find a "significant" source of funding to maintain its highways, bridges and intermodal transportation system, Baton Rouge-based Public Affairs Research Council says in a report...

AG rules against Cao recall, ministers in La. to file suit.
March 4, 2009... Byline: Greg LaRose Undeterred by Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's ruling that a congressman cannot be recalled by petition, a group of ministers who want to remove Rep. Ahn Joseph Cao from office are taking their case to court. The...

Save-A-Lot invests $6M in new N.O. stores.
March 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff National grocery chain Save-A-Lot will celebrate the opening of three Orleans Parish stores next week. The event will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 12 at one of the stores, 1841 Almonaster Ave. The other...

Arabi riverboat pilot and former president of N.O. Baton Rouge Pilots Assn. sentenced.
March 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff An Arabi riverboat pilot and former president of the New Orleans Baton Rouge Pilots Association was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for failure to file tax returns, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said. Clifford...

Metairie woman pleads guilty to Road Home fraud.
March 4, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A Metairie woman has pleaded guilty to lying to the Louisiana Road Home program to receive a $148,078 grant, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said today. Jacqueline Foreman-Pottinger, 44, is accused of submitting a...

Louisiana oil industry leader predicts doom from Obama's energy policy.
March 5, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr The head of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association says provisions included in President Obama's proposed 2010 budget will spell disaster for the energy industry and, consequently, for the state economy. The proposal...

Two sentenced in Orleans school board probe.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A federal judge today sentenced two people as part of an investigation into the Orleans Parish School board, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said. Charles Swanson, a New Orleans resident and 66-year-old former...

N.O. civil sheriff to hold seminar on public auctions.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff Paul R. Valteau plans to hold a free event to explain the ins and outs of buying property at public auctions. The event, which is open to the public, will run from 7 to 9 p.m....

U of New Orleans counts Carnival crowds using bird's-eye view.
March 5, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster Unofficial estimates project that more than a million people attended Mardi Gras. But who really knows? There is no scientific test to gauge the exact number of attendees. Before Hurricane Katrina the city based...

Corps submits report on Louisiana coast to national science group.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports The Corps of Engineers said it delivered on Tuesday the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Draft Final Technical Report to the National Academies of Science for an independent external peer...

Mayor Nagin's office spends $657,000 in public money; expenses included flowers, cufflinks.
March 5, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet A review of 2008 purchase invoices in Mayor C. Ray Nagin's office reveals public money spent for flowers, catering and lunches, executive car or limousine services, gifts and housing for mayoral staff in Baton Rouge...

N.O. average gas price drops.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports City gas prices dipped slightly overnight, from an average $1.846 per gallon of regular grade Wednesday to $1.843 today, according to AAA. A month ago, the average price stood at $1.825. A year ago, it was...

Rep. Scalise supports adding wind coverage to flood insurance program.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Rep. Steve Scalise is co-sponsoring a bill that seeks to add wind coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Mississippi, Scalise and others introduced the bill, The Multiple...

City of New Orleans issues 31,245 parking tickets for Carnival.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports During Carnival 2009, the city's public works department ticketed 31,245 motorists for illegal parking, the most tickets for any Carnival going back at least to 2006, according to data released by the...

Nagin administration responds to CityBusiness story.
March 5, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Mayor C. Ray Nagin's press office issued the following press release in response to a Nagin administration spending story published by CityBusiness today. The story in today's CityBusiness greatly...

Error causes Kenner payroll delay.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A deposit error caused a delay in the distribution of pay to Kenner city employees. But the payroll was available to 741 of the city's 754 employees, including firemen and police officers, by 11 a.m....

Magazine names Entergy Corp. among top 10 corporate citizens.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine today named Entergy Corp. one of the top 10 corporate citizens in the United States. Entergy, for the second time in three years, was the highest-ranking utility...

N.O. area first time unemployment claims continue slide.
March 6, 2009... Byline: Christian Moises Initial unemployment claims in the New Orleans area dropped for the fourth-straight week to 698 from 786 for the week ending Feb. 28. First-time claims have steadily dropped in the area since reaching 934 for the...

Louisiana supporters call on Congress to pass pro-union act.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Louisiana residents and economists from Washington, D.C., today called on members of Congress to support and pass the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act. State Rep. Karen Carter Peterson is among...

New Orleans head-shaving events to benefit childhood cancer research.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports The St. Baldrick's Foundation will hold head-shaving events in New Orleans to raise funds for children's cancer research. Those interested in shaving their heads for the cause or donating money for...

Nagin administration aims to raise bond rating.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Mayor C. Ray Nagin and Chief Financial Officer Reginald Zeno met with representatives from national rating agencies this week to discuss the city's bond ratings, according to the mayor's press office....

Louisiana-based Gulf Island Fabrication 4Q earnings drop.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $874,000, or 6 cents per share, down from $8.9 million, or 62 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2007. Revenues for the...

Rep. Scalise: Corps coastal plan needs more detail.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, criticized a preliminary report by the Army Corps of Engineers on how the Louisiana coast could be protected against mega hurricanes. The corps said it delivered on Tuesday...

Founder of Louisiana-based Rouses Markets dies.
March 6, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Anthony J. Rouse, founder of Rouses Markets, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to company representatives. He was 79. Rouse started his first grocery store in 1960, when he left his father's...

Xavier University drops accreditation lawsuit.
March 8, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education has rescinded probation for Xavier University's College of Pharmacy, and the university has dropped its lawsuit against the council. The council put...

Mardi Gras shootings in spotlight; N.O. tourism industry members differ on impact of violence.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster The national coverage of Mardi Gras shifted on a dime after two young gunmen shot seven people along the St. Charles Avenue parade route on Fat Tuesday. Earlier in the morning as the Krewe of Rex rolled,...

New Orleans-area homes slow to sell landing on rental market.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Stephen Maloney Risa Galper has watched scores of residential For Sale signs morph into For Rent signs as overextended home sellers turn to the rental market to solve their housing woes. The Prudential Gardner Realtor said she...

Bonnabel is latest Jefferson Parish school to open on-campus clinic to treat students, trim absences.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster The role of a school is no longer relegated to education. As the family unit has splintered, inner city life has degenerated into violence and economic opportunities for the impoverished have dried up, schools...

City close to live Web broadcasts of New Orleans City Council meetings.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet By spring or early summer, the public will be able to watch New Orleans City Council meetings live on the Web, a process that has been more than four years in the making. Valerie LeBlanc, president of New...

Study: Louisiana tops in CO2 emissions.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Emilie Bahr Louisiana, arguably the most vulnerable state in the country to the effects of climate change, leads the nation in industrial generation of carbon dioxide -- the gas scientists say is the most serious man-made...

March 10 - 15.
March 9, 2009... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports March 10 Information on strengthening and protecting homes from storm damage and improving energy efficiency will be available at the Elder Action Coalition Spring Training event, 9 a.m. to noon at...

Top of the Line: Businesses find leading the search on Google trumps paper directories.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Craig Guillot In today's age of high-speed Internet and smart phones, unlimited information is only a few key strokes or mouse clicks away. With access to online directories and the tendency for consumers to Google a company rather...

Commentary: Chinese-made Volvos would undermine reputation.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Mark Singletary Volvo, the world's safest car, may soon be covered with lead-based paint. In a news story released last week, a Chinese company, Geely Holding Group, is about to acquire Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit. Volvo is...

Q&A with Ridley Boudreaux III, Jefferson Parish Electronic Information Systems director.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Christian Moises Ridley Boudreaux graduated college with plans to go into sales and marketing. But I wasn't that great at sales, said the director of Jefferson Parish's Department of Electronic Information Systems. He started out...

Greater New Orleans Inc. plugging companies into Tech Quarter.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports A plan to bring New Orleans' technology community together is progressing very well, said Greater New Orleans Inc. president Michael Hect. The name is being finalized, so we're still going under the code...

In Other Words: Has dial-up Internet reached its end?
March 9, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Nall Allan Bissinger president and owner Electrical Sales Corp. Until high-speed access is available in rural areas, dial-up or expensive satellite access will still be the only alternatives. Dial-up Internet's days...

FDIC finds 'unsound practices' at Louisiana-based Central Progressive Bank.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Federal regulators have issued a cease and desist order to Central Progressive Bank, saying they have found evidence of unsafe and unsound banking practices. The bank does not have to close, but it will...

Expense Check: Mayor's office spending on gifts, flowers considered 'gray area'.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Jaime Guillet A review of 2008 purchase invoices in Mayor C. Ray Nagin's office reveals public money spent for flowers, catering and lunches, executive car or limousine services, gifts and housing for mayoral staff in Baton Rouge...

Louisiana Lottery switches channels for drawings.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports WWL-TV is no longer the home for Louisiana Lottery drawings. Since Wednesday, WVUE Fox 8 has been airing the 9:59 p.m. drawings for winning lottery numbers, including the live Powerball drawing every...

Warehouse vacancies increase in Elmwood.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Stephen Maloney The hulking shells of vacant warehouses lining Edwards Avenue tell a stark tale of economic boom and bust for scores of companies that once called Jefferson Parish home. The widespread devastation from Hurricane...

Old-line artists keep Jackson Square print-free.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Artists hoping to pave the way to sell reproductions of their work and hold fundraisers in Jackson Square were thwarted last week when the committee they hoped to lead put up a roadblock. The first...

New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul launches new shoe.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul and Nike have launched the second version of his signature basketball shoes, the Jordan CP3.II. You can get your pair for $118. After unveiling the shoe Wednesday at the...

UNO takes bird's-eye count at Mardi Gras.
March 9, 2009... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Unofficial estimates project that more than a million people attended Mardi Gras. But who really knows? There is no scientific test to gauge the exact number of attendees. Mardi Gras is too unwieldy...

Commentary: Don't lose focus in e-mail fracas.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Let's put aside the reasons why New Orleans Sanitation Director Veronica White sought the e-mails of City Council members on behalf of attorney-activist Tracie Washington. The tumultuous relationship between the...

New Orleans car owner stuck in neutral after botched tow; wants city to pay.
March 9, 2009... Byline: Deon Roberts There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of people in New Orleans with a C. Robert Holloway story. It's a story that goes like this: A city (blank) damaged my (blank) and now the city owes me (blank). For many...

Louisiana business groups fight against pro-union bill.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Louisiana business groups and chambers of commerce have joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to lobby against the Employee Free Choice Act, federal legislation that could make it easier to join and form...

Nominations now being accepted for CityBusiness Innovator of the Year.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Nominations are now being taken for CityBusiness Innovator of the Year program. Nominations must be received by 5 p.m. July 2. In its eighth year, Innovator of the Year recognizes individuals, companies...

'Top Design' finalist to attend N.O. Home and Garden Show.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports When the New Orleans Home and Garden Show returns March 26-29, a reality TV star will be the celebrity guest. Designer Eddie Ross, who was a finalist on the TV show "Top Design" and is senior style editor...

200-year-old shipwreck artifacts donated to Louisiana.
March 9, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports The Minerals Management Service today donated artifacts from a ship believed to have sunk around the War of 1812 to the Louisiana Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism's Division of Archaeology. The...

Corps to outline plans for St. Bernard Parish.
March 10, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports The Army Corps of Engineers plans to provide the public with information on proposed plans to reduce flooding risk in St. Bernard Parish. The event will feature an open house at 6 p.m. followed by a...

Louisiana Public Service Commission to consider reviewing Entergy's Little Gypsy plans.
March 10, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports On Wednesday, the Louisiana Public Service Commission is expected to consider a motion to review Entergy's plan to convert the Little Gypsy plant near LaPlace to burn coal and petroleum coke. PSC chairman...

Developer wonders when New Orleans police will move out of his building.
March 10, 2009... Byline: Richard A. Webster At a recent community crime meeting in Faubourg Marigny, a 5th District police officer let slip that they had received notice from developer Pres Kabacoff that it might soon be time to leave their current...

Jefferson Parish flood maps to be unveiled.
March 10, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports The public can view revised preliminary digital flood insurance rate maps for Jefferson Parish during two open houses. The events will be from 2 to 8 p.m. An open house Monday will at Cleary Playground...

Elmwood Tower in New Orleans undergoing multimillion-dollar renovation.
March 10, 2009... Byline: Autumn C. Giusti The 10-story Elmwood Tower, one of the landmark twin office buildings in the business district, is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation. Work began in October and is scheduled for completion in July...

Sen. Landrieu: Louisiana to receive $43M for job training.
March 10, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Louisiana will receive more than $43 million for employment and training programs funded from the federal stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New...

Entergy Gulf States Louisiana extends offer to exchange bonds.
March 10, 2009... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Reports Entergy Gulf States Louisiana has extended until 5 p.m. EDT its offer to exchange its First Mortgage Bonds 6 percent series due May 1, 2018, that have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 for...