New Orleans CityBusiness articles from September 2007

New Orleans CityBusiness archives from September 2007

Commentary: Labor Day honors all our hard work.
September 2, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Labor Day is a misnomer for a holiday weekend where little work is done nationally beyond barbecues, drinking beer and watching baseball. The labor movement is worth remembering as we put our feet up this...

Boeing lands $1.1B Ares rocket deal to be assembled in Michoud.
September 3, 2007... Byline: N.O. CityBusiness Staff A Boeing Co. team was awarded a maximum $1.1-billion contract for the Ares I Upper Stage rocket, which will be assembled at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans. The rocket is part of...

NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi breaks ground on testing stand.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi broke ground Aug. 23 on the A-3 test stand for the J-2X upper stage engines that will power the new fleet of Constellation program rockets. NASA's Constellation Program...

Master plan done for 1-mile portion of Algiers project.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Planners revealed their vision Aug. 28 for a 1-mile section of Algiers near the Crescent City Connection. The Algiers Nexus Master Plan, developed with community input, includes the area loosely bounded by the...

Road Home maps neighborhood rebuilding in La.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The Road Home program has launched an Internet-based map that shows rate of residents returning to their neighborhoods, including which businesses are open. What's in my Backyard can be found on The Road Home's...

Canal Street celebrates renovations Saturday in N.O.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Downtown merchants will mark the completion of improvements to Canal Street sidewalks and landscaping with a celebration. The Downtown Development District, Canal Street Development Corp. and the city of New...

Commentary: What others say.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff 'New Orleans now sings a different tune,' Los Angeles Times, Aug 24. This is a town so inextricably linked to good times and revelry that a musician could practically make a name with one celebratory anthem....

Commentary: It's time for N.O. restaurants to step up.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Tom Fitzmorris Two anniversaries just passed that had me thinking in a more general way than usual about the stuff I write here. The first was the two-year mark of Hurricane Katrina, which I'm sure didn't escape your notice. The...

Sept. 5 - Sept 8.
September 3, 2007... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Sept. 5 Toasts and Tails Wine Tasting, 5:30-8 p.m. at Canine Culture, 8110 Hampson St. Dog Lovers Wine Club will unveil its Dogs of New Orleans, Resilient Pups Pinot Noir in support of the Louisiana...

Gray matters: Reverse mortgages are not as volatile as those on forward mortgages.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Thomas Leggett Bob Harrison, 82, took a reverse mortgage loan to access money for a variety of uses. "In January 2004, I took out a line of credit on the equity in my home, and I can use it for whatever I want," the Metairie...

New Orleans Financial Briefs: September 3, 2007.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Greg LaRose Buy low, sell high is time-tested investment advice from Wall Street. But managers of a fund that's weathered recent Dow Jones downfalls offer another stock recommendation. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. The Vice Fund,...

Interview with Stephen Daste, vice president, institutional financial adviser FFC Capital Management.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Craig Guillot Age: 40 Family: wife, Carla; sons Brandon, 9, and Bradley, 8 Education: bachelor's degree in economics, Southern University at New Orleans Hometown: New Orleans Stock market volatility has worried investors the...

Greater New Orleans Paycheck Project links jobseekers with training.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Stephen Maloney Hurricane Katrina widened the gap in the New Orleans area's work force for employers scrambling to find qualified employees. Nearly 70 percent of local employers were having trouble finding workers with basic skills...

Commentary: Out-of-the-blue call leads to surprise meeting.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Mark Singletary The call came from out of the blue. Although I've been keeping up with statistics released weekly by The Road Home, I haven't thought about my personal relationship with The Road Home for months. I signed up for The...

New Orleans Real Estate Briefs: September 3, 2007.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff The 700-room Astor Crowne Plaza hotel has been sold for $93 million to Canal New Orleans Hotel LLC by New Orleans Fine Hotels. NOFH has owned and operated the hotel at the intersection of Bourbon and Canal...

Commentary: Labor Day honors us all.
September 3, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Labor Day is a misnomer for a holiday weekend where little work is done nationally beyond barbecues, drinking beer and watching baseball. The labor movement is worth remembering as we put our feet up this...

Commentary: Please don't feel guilty about surviving Katrina.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Terry O'Connor I used to think survivor guilt was a little silly. You'd see it in Army movies after soldiers went through hellish firefights and came back in one piece but not unscathed. Back in civilian life, among people unaware...

Commentary: Georges expected to bolt into Independent status.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Jeff Crouere A new John Georges campaign poll shows the Republican businessman will improve his standing among voters if he switches to an Independent affiliation. Verne Kennedy's new poll shows Rep. Bobby Jindal still leads with...

Slim pickings for musicians in N.O.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster New Orleans musicians marched from Armstrong Park to Jackson Square Aug. 26 without playing a note on instruments held by their sides. Organizers of the "Solidarity March" wanted to show the city what life would...

Bottom Feeder fishes out Gulf storm debris.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Emilie Bahr The hulking predator was first spotted trolling the Gulf of Mexico earlier this summer. Its prey? Massive chunks of steel tossed to the ocean's floor by hurricanes. The Bottom Feeder, a $30-million system created and...

Why Stay? Gary Winker says N.O. holds a lot of promise.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster Gary Winker was in Keystone, Colo., for the annual conference of New Horizons, an international computer training company based in Anaheim, Calif., when he asked CEO Mark Miller to hold a coming conference in New...

Commentary: Numbers game.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Terry O'Conner Blueprint Louisiana advocates instituting the toughest ethics reform laws in the nation, health and education reforms, work force development and transportation upgrades during the next legislative session. This...

Commentary: Last word.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Terry O'Conner Just returned from a week vacation on the Redneck Riviera, or Panama City Beach as the locals call it. Had a great time but... service at the local eateries, casual and fine dining, offered a startling contrast to...

N.O. Council miserly in funding IG.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet When Inspector General Robert Cerasoli begins his first day of work Wednesday, his duty to New Orleans citizens is certain but his operating budget to fulfill his responsibility is much less so. The New Orleans City...

New medical center in downtown N.O. not cheered by all.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Aug. 21 announcement it would build a medical center in downtown New Orleans was widely cheered. In one small neighborhood, however, there was a mixture of bitterness,...

Harbor Board adrift during membership maelstrom in N.O.
September 3, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet Boathouse owners have complained of mismanagement by the Municipal Yacht Harbor Board ever since Hurricane Katrina pummeled the facility. Soula O'Bannon, for example, is trying to rebuild her boathouse. She spent...

Canal Street panels designed to give facelift to New Orleans corridor.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The first 20 of 60 large decorative panels will be installed on Canal Street Wednesday, in a gift to the city from Fairfax, Va.-based Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, the New Orleans Metropolitan...

Troubled Einstein Charter School in eastern New Orleans could be closed.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Stephen Maloney The Louisiana Department of Education could close Einstein Charter School in eastern New Orleans for administrative improprieties. At issue is the legitimacy of the school's chartering company, Einstein Group Inc....

La.-based Shell facility works to trim work force shortfall.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Emilie Bahr The Shell Exploration and Production Co. is doing something about the perennial labor shortage in the industry. Its Tangipahoa Parish training facility, which has been open 20 years, is designed to train a work force...

New Orleans CityBusiness online poll: Residents uninterested in Katrina ceremonies.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Last week was filled with memorials and other ceremonies to mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. But most voters, 55 percent, to CityBusiness' online poll said they had better things to do. A...

New Orleans CityBusiness Women of the Year nominations due Sept. 14.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness staff report Less than two weeks remain to submit nominations for CityBusiness' 2007 Women of the Year program. Nominations are due 5 p.m. Sept. 14. Honorees will be recognized at an awards luncheon noon Nov. 16 at...

Jefferson Parish, Kenner auction to feature more than 200 properties.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Jefferson Parish and Kenner are scheduled to offer more than 235 adjudicated properties in an auction at 10 a.m. Sept. 15. The auction will be held at 1221 Elmwood Park Blvd. in Jefferson. Kenner-based...

Internet communication propels growth of North Shore law firms.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Thomas Leggett Hurricane Katrina helped accelerate law firm expansions as clients and attorneys moved across the lake and provided the spark for the North Shore to plug into a national trend -- the virtual lawyer. Aside from court...

VISA commercial will feature New Orleans Saints players, fans.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Saints players and fans will be featured in a Visa USA commercial that will air Thursday during the Saints-Indianapolis Colts game, the first game of the National Football League 2007 season. The...

United Steelworkers union urges Governor Blanco to monitor emissions at LaPlace facility.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report United Steelworkers, the nation's largest industrial union, wants Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to monitor emissions at a DuPont facility in LaPlace. The union said dangerous chemicals are being emitted...

N.O. traffic court clerk pleads guilty to bribery scheme.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A New Orleans traffic court clerk has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for dismissing traffic violations, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office said today. A federal grand jury charged David...

Jefferson Parish gives green light to red light cameras.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Jefferson Parish is launching a camera system to catch drivers who run red lights at about 11 intersections in unincorporated portions of the parish. Parish officials will kick off the system at the...

Kenner Laketown Festival to fund lakefront redevelopment.
September 4, 2007... Byline: Emilie Bahr City officials today announced the inaugural Laketown Festival to be held along the lakefront in October, as part of an effort to raise money for a series of planned improvements there. The festival, slated for Laketown...

Gentilly walking path in New Orleans to open Wednesday.
September 4, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Councilmember Cynthia Hedge-Morrell today invited all residents to the opening of the Gentilly Sugarhill Walking Path at 2 p.m. Wednesday on Gentilly Boulevard at Saint Anthony Avenue's neutral ground....

Tulane University recruits more new freshmen in fall than expected.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report More than 1,330 new first-year students entered Tulane University for the fall semester, a 51 percent increase over last year's class, the university said. The number exceeds the school's recruiting goal...

Louisiana Recovery Authority economic development, infrastructure groups plan meeting.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Louisiana Recovery Authority will hold a joint meeting of its Economic and Workforce Development Committee and Infrastructure Task Force from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday in the state Capitol's House Committee...

Seminar in N.O. to teach contractors accounting software.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report AD Training Systems is scheduled to offer QuickBooks training for contractors at the New Orleans Marriott hotel from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 28 and 29. QuickBooks provides accounting software that can...

U.S. construction spending falls in July.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Total U.S. construction spending sank 0.4 percent from June to July, according to the Census Bureau's construction spending report. July construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual...

La.'s Road Home hits 50,000 closing mark.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Road Home program has awarded funds to 50,122 applicants, 27 percent of the total program applicants. The payouts are an increase of 12 percent over 44,687 a week ago. Total program payouts are $3.09...

New Orleans Harbor Board adrift during membership maelstrom.
September 5, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet Boathouse owners have complained of mismanagement by the Municipal Yacht Harbor Board ever since Hurricane Katrina pummeled the facility. Soula O'Bannon, for example, is trying to rebuild her boathouse. She spent...

Honduras, Coast Rica targeted by Louisiana trade mission.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The state of Louisiana, the Louisiana District Export Council and the World Trade Center invite Louisiana companies to participate in a business development trade mission to Honduras and Costa Rica Nov....

Ochsner Health System in New Orleans schedules two free prostate cancer screens.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Ochsner Health System is offering free prostate screenings from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Lakeside Mall and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 21 at Ochsner Medical Center, 1514 Jefferson Hwy. The most...

Central American trade mission open to Louisiana businesses.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A business-development trade mission to Honduras and Costa Rica Nov. 12-17 is open to Louisiana companies, the Louisiana District Export Council said. The U.S. Commercial Service in New Orleans, Honduras...

City of New Orleans drops 120 homes off demolition list.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The city is taking 120 properties off a demolition list after their owners provided proof that the homes have been gutted and boarded since Hurricane Katrina. The city sponsored a four-day drive Aug. 22-25...

La. state Senator Ann Duplessis seeking re-election.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report State Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans, today announced that she will seek re-election to the District 2 seat, which includes eastern New Orleans, the Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross. "The best asset that...

State of La. giving $6.7M to N.O.-area colleges for added faculty.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report State Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie at 11 a.m. Thursday will present seven New Orleans-area colleges and universities with $6.7 million in matching funds to create endowed chairs and...

Dillard University taps author to fill Ray Charles-funded chair.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Dillard University said author Jessica Harris will fill an endowed chair named after musician Ray Charles. Charles died in June 2004. In 2003, Dillard gave an honorary degree to Charles, who never attended...

Group asks City Council to wait on funding N.O. recovery plan.
September 5, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The City Council should not give $117.3 million to the city's Office of Recovery Management until a detailed recovery plan has been made public, a government watchdog group said today. The Council is...

Louisiana schools' performance scores hit plateau.
September 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Louisiana made minimal academic growth and fewer schools met their growth targets this year than in the past eight years of the state's accountability program, state education officials said today. In...

John Georges to run as independent in Louisiana governor's race.
September 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Businessman John Georges dropped his Republican status when he signed up today for the Louisiana governor's race. Georges will run as an independent. Qualifying for the Oct. 20 primary ends at 5 p.m....

Eleven candidates so far for Louisiana governor's race.
September 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Eleven candidates had qualified for the Louisiana governor's race as of 2:15 p.m. today, the last day for qualifying. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, was the only Republican. Democratic contenders are...

Louisiana-based Tidewater makes board appointment.
September 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Tidewater today announced it has named James C. Day to its board of directors for a term expiring in July. Day is the retired chairman and former CEO of Noble Corp., an offshore drilling company. He...

Gretna Heritage Festival packs $1.1M economic punch.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Emilie Bahr The Gretna Heritage Festival, celebrating its 13th year this fall, has a $1.1-million economic impact, according to a 2006 survey. That's how much visitors to the festival spend on average over the run of the event each...

22-room Uptown home sells for $1.5 million.
September 6, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A 22-room Uptown guest house at 7004 St. Charles Ave. has sold for more than $1.5 million, real estate brokerage firm Sperry Van Ness said today. Gretna-based Parkview Guest House LLC bought the home from...

Commentary: French Quarter living features friendly fun.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Terry O'Connor Measuring genuine wealth is not just a matter of adding up dollars and cents. And in a real sense, New Orleans is one of the wealthiest cities on the planet. The neighborhood associations now demanding more and more...

Louisiana's only dental school reopening in N.O.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The School of Dentistry at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans plans to resume treating patients in student clinics near City Park. It is the last of LSUHSC New Orleans schools...

Thelonious Monk Institute designed to jazz up N.O. recovery.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance has opened at Loyola University New Orleans for the fall semester after relocating from the University of Southern California. The institute, a...

City of New Orleans exceeds goal of 50,000 pothole repairs.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The city's Department of Public Works said it has met a goal of repairing 50,000 potholes this year. The goal was achieved on Aug. 31, Mayor C. Ray Nagin said. So far this year, 50,931 potholes have been...

Ochsner Baptist Medical Center donates computers to N.O. school.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Ochsner Baptist Medical Center said it is donating 18 refurbished computers to Samuel J. Green Charter Elementary School in Uptown. The computers are from the medical center's Katrina-damaged facility at...

$12.9M Canal Street facelift complete.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report A $12.9-million Canal Street improvement project that began before Hurricane Katrina is finished, including new sidewalks and more than 200 palm trees with an automatically controlled irrigation system. "I...

Dept. of Veteran Affairs chooses hospital designers; team includes N.O. firms.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Department of Veterans Affairs today said it has chosen a team of designers for a new VA hospital in downtown New Orleans. The three-party venture involves NBBJ of Columbus, Ohio, and New Orleans...

Slim pickings: Musicians lament lack of work in N.O.
September 7, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster New Orleans musicians marched from Armstrong Park to Jackson Square Aug. 26 without playing a note on instruments held by their sides. Organizers of the "Solidarity March" wanted to show the city what life would...

Airline Park Boulevard Bridge renovated for $2M.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Jefferson Parish said it has completed a $2-million renovation of Airline Park Boulevard Bridge at the intersection of Airline Park Boulevard and West Metairie Avenue. Kenner-based Fleming Construction Co....

CityBusiness names 2007 Innovator of the Year winners.
September 7, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report SDT Waste & Debris Services received the CityBusiness' 2007 Innovator of the Year Gold Award today during a lunch program at the Sheraton New Orleans hotel. The annual program honors New Orleans-area...

Port remembers N.O. artist John Scott.
September 8, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Artist John T. Scott died Sept. 1 at 67 but his work lives on at the Port of New Orleans. In 1996, the port commissioned the sculptor to create a piece for the lobby of the port's then-new administration...

N.O.'s Einstein Charter School faces closure as nonprofit status questioned.
September 8, 2007... Byline: Stephen Maloney The Louisiana Department of Education could close Einstein Charter School in eastern New Orleans for administrative improprieties next week, a first in the history of charter schools in New Orleans. The...

Jefferson Parish launches cameras for red-light runners.
September 8, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Jefferson Parish on Friday began photographing red-light runners, with a system set up at the intersection of Veterans Boulevard and Clearview Parkway. For 30 days, drivers who run red lights will be...

New Orleans WTC plans program on U.S. energy needs.
September 8, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The New Orleans World Trade Center's Plimsoll Club will play host to a lunch program Sept. 18 focused on the country's future energy needs. The lunch will feature Shell Oil Co. President John Hofmeister....

Paycheck Project links jobseekers with training.
September 8, 2007... Byline: Stephen Maloney Hurricane Katrina widened the gap in the New Orleans area's workforce for employers scrambling to find qualified employees. Nearly 70 percent of local employers were having trouble finding workers with basic skills...

Ochsner Baptist Medical Center adds beds, services.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster Ochsner Baptist Medical Center today announced the opening of a new critical care unit and imaging suite, completing the second of a four-phase reopening and expansion plan. Ochsner unveiled the two-year plan six...

Louisiana sets deadlines for grants to buy vehicles to transport elderly, disabled.
September 10, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has set an Oct. 1 deadline for all nonprofits and public entities interested in grants to purchase vehicles to transport the elderly and disabled....

28th Annual Tulane Business Forum set for Oct. 19.
September 10, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report The 28th Annual Tulane Business Forum will be held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 19. The Tulane Association of Business Alumni and Tulane's A.B. Freeman School of Business...

Va. race will benefit N.O. recovery.
September 10, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Runners in the Washington, D.C., area will be lacing up their shoes this weekend to benefit New Orleans' recovery. The New Orleans Rebirth 5K Run/Walk and Festival, formerly known as the Gulf Coast Relief...

Rep. Jindal top choice for Louisiana governor on CityBusiness poll.
September 10, 2007... Byline: CityBusiness Staff Report Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, is the favored choice for governor among voters to CityBusiness' online poll. Jindal garnered 362 votes or 68.2 percent of the 531 total votes cast in a week. In second place...

New Orleans nursing homes rebounding.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Richard A. Webster Far from St. Francisville and the trial of St. Rita's nursing home, where owners Sal and Mabel Mangano face 34 counts of negligent homicide and witnesses have recounted tails of death and neglect, Larry...

Sept. 10 - 16.
September 10, 2007... Byline: From CityBusiness Staff Reports Sept. 10 Thinking About Weight Loss Surgery? -- Community Seminar, 6 p.m. in Suite S-8600 of the Physician Center at West Jefferson Medical Center, 1101 Medical Center Blvd. in Marrero. This is a free...

New Orleans restaurants make adjustments, post-Katrina.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Jaime Guillet Historic New Orleans restaurants today are relaxing traditions established in the early 20th century in order to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Summer months typically are slowest for French Quarter restaurateurs...

New Orleans Hospitality Briefs: September 10, 2007.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Christian Moises A group of New Orleans-area restaurant owners and Lebanon natives plan to convert Table 1 restaurant at 2800 Magazine St. into a new restaurant to open in the fourth quarter. Gaby Saliba, Tarek Tay and Hicham...

Look Who's Talking: Kernell Jupiter, catering operations manager at Centerplate.
September 10, 2007... Byline: Christian Moises Kernell Jupiter started catering in 1996 when he opened Kernie J's Catering with a focus on corporate events. In January 2005, Jupiter joined Centerplate at the Louisiana Superdome as catering operations manager....