New Orleans CityBusiness articles from May 2008

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from May 2008

Ludacris, Tommy Lee to perform in Central City concert.
May 1, 2008... Byline: Ariella Cohen Rapper Ludacris may look like a million "fa-fillion" dollars, but is he as pretty as the Wild Magnolias? The question will be answered tonight when the Grammy-winning Dirty South impresario joins the Mardi Gras Indian...

World Series of Poker returning to N.O.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The World Series of Poker will wrap up its fourth year with a stop at Harrah's casino and hotel in New Orleans May 9-21. Harrah's also played host to the event last year. For more information on the...

Labor department prepares for closure of Harahan plant.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Louisiana Department of Labor said it is ready to help those who will be out of a job when shirt manufacturer Kenneth Gordon closes its Harahan facility on June 8. DOL's Rapid Response unit will hold...

Louisiana-based Hornbeck Offshore Services posts 32 percent increase in 1Q income.(Financial report)
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness staff reports Hornbeck Offshore Services today reported first-quarter income of $23.1 million, or 86 cents a share, up 32 percent from $17.5 million, or 67 cents a share, for the same quarter last year. Revenues for...

Streetcar art project to debut at Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Young Leadership Council will place the first designed streetcar from its "A Streetcar Named Inspire" public art project at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, 2 Poydras St., on May 8. The streetcar can...

Road Home plans job fair in Belle Chasse.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Road Home program, in conjunction with LA Works, will hold an employment training workshop for Road Home-related jobs at 9 a.m. May 8 at the Plaquemines Parish Business and Career Solutions Center, 1112...

FEMA, state urge N.O.-area residents to buy flood insurance.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report FEMA and Louisiana homeland security officials are pushing New Orleans-area residents to prepare for the hurricane season now by purchasing flood insurance. Whether renting or owning a home, New Orleans...

Public Affairs Research Council takes issues with ethics law change.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A recent change in the state's ethics code will weaken the enforcement of ethics laws by making violations more difficult to prove, a Baton Rouge-based research group said Wednesday. The nonprofit Public...

U of New Orleans to use $2M from Entergy, state for engineering program.
May 1, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The University of New Orleans will use $1.2 million from Entergy Corp. and $800,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents to create the Entergy Endowed Chair in Power Systems Engineering in UNO's College of...

Recipe to serve at New Orleans Jazz Fest not always easy to follow.
May 1, 2008... Byline: Emilie Bahr In February 2003, Peter Di Martino got the news he'd long hoped to hear. The muffuletta vendor at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival had pulled out. Di Martino, who more than three decades ago opened...

Gulfport man indicted for threatening Ochsner doctors.
May 2, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A 54-year-old Gulfport, Miss., man sent threatening e-mails in interstate commerce to two Ochsner doctors and tried to extort $5 million from them, according to charges from a federal grand jury. U.S....

Superior Energy delivers 59 percent 1Q income increase.
May 2, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Superior Energy Services' first-quarter income rose 59 percent to $102.1 million, or $1.24 a share, compared with $64 million, or 78 cents a share, for the same quarter in 2007. Revenues were $441.4...

Commentary: FBI right to reassign Bernazzani.
May 2, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff There's a line in the 1992 movie "A Few Good Men" that seems apropos in the wake of the reassignment of Jim Bernazzani, who ran the FBI's operations in New Orleans until he made known his interest in running for...

North Shore hums with movie activity.
May 2, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Parts of St. Tammany Parish will become the site of filming for three movies in coming weeks, the St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission said. One of the movies, "I Love You, Phillip Morris," starring Jim...

SDT Waste and Debris unveils 'Bull Sweeper'.
May 2, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report As the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival heads into its final weekend, garbage collector SDT Waste and Debris said today it has added a new sweeper to its arsenal. SDT said its "Bull Sweeper"...

Mardi Gras Indians try to preserve their integrity and stay marketable.
May 2, 2008... Byline: Ariella Cohen Editor's note: The following is the conclusion of a two-week look at the business side of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The right suit can turn heads. In New Orleans, no one knows that better than...

'Senior village' planned for eastern N.O.
May 2, 2008... Byline: Ariella Cohen The Louisiana Housing Finance Agency will build senior housing at the site of the Hurricane Katrina-damaged Gaslight Village complex in eastern New Orleans. The "senior village" is now in planning phase, said LHFA...

St. Cecilia clinic in New Orleans awarded $133,500 for diabetes program.(Clinical report)
May 2, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Excelth Inc., Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans and United Health Foundation said today that the Daughters of Charity Health Center at St. Cecilia has received a $133,500 commitment from...

Trico Marine Services signs seven-year lease in St. Rose.
May 3, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Sealy & Company Inc. announced that Trico Marine Services Inc. signed a seven-year lease for 17,879 square feet at James Business Park's Westside II building in St. Rose for owner Lightstone Group. Trico...

Second annual University of New Orleans film fest screens best student work tonight.
May 3, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report University of New Orleans filmmakers kicked off the second annual UNO Film Festival on Friday, with screenings continuing tonight. Films from local and national filmmakers will be showcased in the newly...

St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation to hold cultural economy forum.
May 3, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation will host a Business Assistance Forum on economic development in the cultural economy from 2:30-4 p.m. May 21 at the Slidell Memorial Hospital Founders...

House colors in N.O. shift from Caribbean to neutral.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Emilie Bahr Marie Gould grew up in Indiana and Chicago and moved to New Orleans in the 1970s, having been enchanted by a culture so divergent from the Midwest. Part of the appeal, she remembers, was the city's architecture and the...

May 7 - 31.
May 5, 2008... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports May 7 The Save Our Cemeteries 2008 public lecture series will hold a lecture titled A Red Light Look at New Orleans at 6 p.m. at the Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St. The lecture is free...

Frozen Assets in N.O.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Kelly W. Brown Steven Bel knows something about ice. As the owner of Sal's Snowballs in Metairie, he spends a great deal of time contemplating the various sorts of ice -- hard, soft, aerated -- and picking up 300-pound blocks from...

N.O. Hospitality Briefs: May 5, 2008.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Emilie Bahr Ruth's Chris Steak House announced in an April 24 posting to its Web site the immediate departure of CEO, chairman and president Craig Miller. Miller joined the company in 2004 and oversaw Ruth's Chris' transition...

Interview with Chris Ycaza: General manager at Galatoire's Restaurant in N.O.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Christian Moises Working in the restaurant industry was something that just happened for Chris Ycaza, it was about paying the bills and making ends meet. It wasn't until 1994, when Ycaza was working under Chef Emeril Lagasse at...

Commentary: Time for N.O. to 'go nuts' for Hornets.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Mark Singletary Go Hornets. Our favorite professional basketball team, the New Orleans Hornets, has made it through the first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs and now come the San Antonio Spurs. The second...

Eyesores in the Irish Channel of N.O.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Ariella Cohen Francis O'Rourke doesn't disagree with his neighbors over the fact that a single lit match could send flames shooting through the vacant hulk of rotting wood, peeling paint and half-hung shutters that is the Irish...

Collaboration to steer economic development in N.O.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Jaime Guillet With some direction from outside experts, New Orleans will soon have something many business leaders say it hasn't had in more than 20 years -- focused economic development. Officials with the New Orleans Chamber of...

IG office in N.O. to get computers, phones.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Inspector General Robert Cerasoli has been given deadlines on when he will receive office equipment following City Council President Arnie Fielkow's meeting with Mayor C. Ray Nagin's Chief Administration Office....

CityBusiness wins 11 Louisiana Press Association awards.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff New Orleans CityBusiness won 11 awards, including four first-place honors, at the Louisiana Press Association's 128th annual convention awards luncheon April 26 in Lafayette. The event highlights work done in...

Convention Center director in N.O.: Name remains the same.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The president and general manager of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center said the recent decision to begin referring to the center as the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in advertising is not an official...

Universal Studios films at Elmwood site.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The owners of Elmwood-based Louisiana Film Studios said they have signed a deal with Universal Pictures to film a movie, "Cirque du Freak," at the 25-acre facility. Filming has begun and is scheduled to be...

Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal in N.O. considers new funding sources.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange and Dock Board members are seeking new ways to fund the $238-million expansion of the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. Last Monday, port officials listened to a two-hour...

What others say.
May 5, 2008... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports 'Turnaround and boogie down in New Orleans,' Detroit Free Press, April 20 They hide their personal sorrows behind big smiles for tourists. We're so glad you're here, says tourism marketing official...

Study grades new teachers as La.'s best in 10 years.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Stephen Maloney When asked to list the top problems facing Louisiana's education system, State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek consistently ranks improving the quality of the state's public school teachers as one of the...

Art association in N.O. splits Jackson Square ranks.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Richard A. Webster Opponents of the sale of reproductions on Jackson Square subscribe to the domino effect theory. They believe if people are allowed to sell prints, the historic art colony will descend into crass commercialism and...

Commentary: Bucktown restaurants carry on West End legacy.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Tom Fitzmorris R&O's $$ 216 Old Hammond Highway No reservations. 831-1248 Lunch seven days. Dinner Wednesday through Sunday. When the weather turns permanently warm, thoughts turn to eating in casual seafood restaurants at the...

Commentary: FBI right to reassign Bernazzani.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff There's a line in the 1992 movie "A Few Good Men" that seems apropos in the wake of the reassignment of Jim Bernazzani, who ran the FBI's operations in New Orleans until he made known his interest in running for...

Commentary: N.O. economy not immune to national recession woes.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Greg LaRose The local chapter of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans invited me to speak at its monthly meeting Tuesday and asked that I touch on the topic of the economy. A caution light went off in my head, sort...

Commentary: Bernazzani heightens public interest in mayor's race.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Jeff Crouere Once it was disclosed that James Bernazzani, FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans field office, was interested in running for mayor of New Orleans in 2010, it did not take long for him to be reassigned to the...

Veterans slipping through the cracks in N.O.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Richard A. Webster Nathan Robertson's biggest problem isn't that he is homeless -- it's that he's not an alcoholic or a junkie. Mike Miller, director of supportive housing placement for Unity of Greater New Orleans, found...

Louisiana-based Tidewater 4Q income drops 3 percent.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Even as revenues rose, Tidewater Inc. today reported a drop in fourth-quarter and year-end income. For the three months ended March 31, income fell 3 percent to $85.4 million, or $1.63 a share, from $87.6...

First-time unemployment claims continue to slide in N.O. area.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The New Orleans area saw a decrease in initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 26 from 592 to 542. The area, comprised of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James,...

Tom Benson to buy New Orleans TV station.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, could soon own a New Orleans television station, too. Emmis Communications Corp. said today that it has signed an agreement with Louisiana Media Company, which...

Committee narrows search for Delgado Community College chancellor.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A committee searching for a new chancellor for Delgado Community College has narrowed its search to four finalists for the largest and oldest community college in Louisiana. The position became open after...

Seats still available for Health Care Heroes event.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Seats are still available for the 2008 Health Care Heroes event to be held at noon May 22 at the downtown Sheraton Hotel. Individual seats are $70 each, and tables of 10 can be reserved for $700. In its...

New Orleans Lakefront Arena ready for more events.
May 5, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report After more than two-and-a-half years and approximately $25 million in repairs and reconstruction, the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena celebrated its grand reopening Friday when doors opened to...

Louisiana charter schools report to Congress.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Louisiana lawmakers in Congress will learn about the state's charter school movement during National Charter Schools Week in Washington, D.C. The event began Monday and runs through Friday. Public...

State of Louisiana waives sales taxes to help with hurricane prep.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report To encourage residents to prepare for the 2008 hurricane season, the state will not charge sales taxes on certain items, such as batteries and portable generators, May 24-25. The two-day Hurricane...

Tulane student numbers exceed goal.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Tulane University today reported that the number of freshmen planning to enroll is 14 percent higher than the university's goal, signaling "a major rebuilding milestone." The university said it has...

Louisiana students show 'marked improvement' on LEAP test.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report After a year of no significant growth, Louisiana's fourth- and eighth-grade public school students have shown "marked improvement" on the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program, or LEAP, test, the state...

New Orleans CityBusiness Question of the Week results: Ban cell phones for all drivers.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Cell phones should be banned for all Louisiana drivers, regardless of age, according to a majority of voters to CityBusiness' Question of the Week. The online poll question - Should the state ban cell...

8 days left to submit Culinary Connoisseurs nominations to New Orleans CityBusiness.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report CityBusiness is looking for the top 50 professionals in the culinary industry based on cuisine, business success and community involvement to be honored during the inaugural Culinary Connoisseurs event...

N.O. fundraiser to benefit low-income women.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report An alliance of roller girls, burlesque dancers and rugby players will raise funds for low-income women during a fundraiser at 8 p.m. Saturday at One Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter. The first "Fete...

Fulton Street block party to aid N.O. children.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The opening of Ruth's Chris Steak House on Fulton Street will be celebrated from 6 to 10 p.m. May 16 with a block party benefiting the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, a nonprofit focused on improving the...

N.O. house colors shift from Caribbean to neutral.
May 6, 2008... Byline: Emilie Bahr Marie Gould grew up in Indiana and Chicago and moved to New Orleans in the 1970s, having been enchanted by a culture so divergent from the Midwest. Part of the appeal, she remembers, was the city's architecture and the...

Rep. David Vitter blames Democrats for blocking drilling plan.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Rep. David Vitter, R-Metairie, is accusing Democrats of blocking a Vitter-backed proposal to allow increased oil and natural gas exploration and production in coastal areas. Vitter requested an increase in...

N.O. targets clogged drains as hurricane season looms.
May 6, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report With hurricane season less than a month away, the city of New Orleans' Department of Public Works said it will begin a major drainage-system cleaning project this week. The project calls for cleaning all...

Interest rate cut equates to lower return on savings income.
May 6, 2008... Byline: Thomas Leggett Facing turmoil in the housing and credit markets, a weakening dollar and growing fears of a recession, the Federal Reserve slashed U.S. interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point March 18, capping off one...

N.O. tourism officials list meetings scheduled for 2008.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau said 34 meetings in 2008 will bring at least 3,000 visitors to the city apiece. So far this year, 14 of those meetings have been held, bringing a total of 197,821...

Airport business soars because of Jazz Fest in N.O.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival produced the second-busiest day at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport since Hurricane Katrina, according to figures LANOIA released...

Art association splits in N.O. Jackson Square ranks.
May 7, 2008... Byline: Richard A. Webster Opponents of the sale of reproductions on Jackson Square subscribe to the domino effect theory. They believe if people are allowed to sell prints, the historic art colony will descend into crass commercialism and...

Road Home in Louisiana closes on 58 percent of applications.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Road Home compensation program for homeowners affected by the 2005 hurricanes has closed on 108,006 applications, or 58 percent of the 185,106 total applications. Road Home awards grants of up to $150,000 a...

Recycling event planned for N.O.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff A recycling drop-off event is scheduled for Orleans Parish from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. On the East Bank, items can be dropped off on the neutral ground of North Claiborne Avenue at St. Peter Street near...

Federal recovery chief says young leaders important to N.O. recovery.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The new federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding stressed the importance of young entrepreneurs to the recovery of New Orleans, during a Young Leadership Council luncheon in the city Tuesday. "I am in the...

N.O.-based McMoRan deepens South Timbalier well.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff McMoRan Exploration Co. said today that it has deepened the South Timbalier Block 168 No. 1 exploratory well to 30,964 feet. Tests show that the well has encountered a potential hydrocarbon-bearing zone, which...

Corps says East Jefferson-St. Charles levees in 'great shape'.
May 7, 2008... Byline: Emilie Bahr ELMWOOD -- East Jefferson Parish levees are in good shape, a representative of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Jefferson Parish Council today, taking to task media reports that called into question the...

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources keeps three top executives on staff.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Robert Harper, Marjorie McKeithen and James Welsh have been reappointed to their positions with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Harper has served as the undersecretary of the office of management...

Husband and wife pundits to address Tulane grads in N.O.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff National political commentators - and husband and wife - James Carville and Mary Matalin will deliver the keynote address to Tulane University graduates this year. Tulane's commencement will be held at 9 a.m. May...

La. Senator pushes for flood insurance extension.
May 7, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, is pushing to allow more time to phase in higher flood insurance rates that will take effect with new federal flood maps. Vitter said today he introduced an amendment to the...

House, Senate back overhaul of Louisiana labor department.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The House and Senate have passed legislation backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal to overhaul the state's work force development system. The legislation calls for the Louisiana Department of Labor to integrate work...

Congressional panel OKs Jean Lafitte Park expansion in New Orleans.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to expand Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, who...

Volunteer nurses to set up free clinic in St. Bernard Parish.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Four nurses from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., will provide free health screenings in St. Bernard Parish from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 22. The health clinic will be at Community Center of St...

$8.7B for Gulf Coast recovery added to war-spending bill.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A total of $8.7 billion for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery and protection has been added to the Emergency Supplemental Spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans,...

Officials tout $450M gasification facility planned for N.O. East.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A waste-to-energy facility slated to be built in eastern New Orleans was touted by national community development officials at a Wednesday seminar as a project that has successfully put to use a federal...

Official: Federal program shortchanged Louisiana renters.
May 8, 2008... Byline: Ariella Cohen Shoddy oversight of a federal grant program cheated Louisiana out of hurricane recovery dollars for much-needed rental housing, New Orleans fair-housing advocate James Perry testified at a congressional hearing held...

Chevron cuts ribbon on North Shore HQs.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Chevron celebrated the opening of new headquarters in an office park south of Covington today, commemorating its move from downtown New Orleans to the North Shore with a ribbon-cutting and tour of the new...

Sen. Vitter calls for increasing flood insurance limits.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Sen. David Vitter on Wednesday introduced an amendment to the National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization bill that would increase coverage limits for residences, contents and business. "Many...

Complicated Care: An Army veteran battles the VA's homeless policy.
May 8, 2008... Byline: Richard A. Webster Nathan Robertson's biggest problem isn't that he is homeless -- it's that he's not an alcoholic or a junkie. Mike Miller, director of supportive housing placement for Unity of Greater New Orleans, found...

Rep. Jefferson: Foreclosure act will help Katrina recovery.
May 8, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, said he has voted in favor of the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, which he says will help Louisiana's recovery from the 2005...

Commentary: Jazz Fest tickets costly, but after-hours shows hurt more.
May 9, 2008... Byline: Christian Moises Until last year, I was a Jazz Fest virgin. It's embarrassing to admit, given that I was born and raised in New Orleans and have never missed a Mardi Gras in 26 years, but maybe it was a good thing I never had the...

Louisiana Ethics Board: Sean Cummings can oversee projects.
May 9, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A private developer who heads the New Orleans Building Corp. can continue to oversee two projects involving public property, the Louisiana Board of Ethics ruled Thursday, even though critics say his...

N.O. Corps sets aside $100M for small-business contracts.
May 9, 2008... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The New Orleans District of the Army Corps of Engineers said it has set aside $100 million to fund small-business construction contracts for civil work projects in south Louisiana, including work on levees,...