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Chamber: LSU investment critical to state
LSU kept Les Miles, but the University of Michigan towers over LSU in federal research dollars, endowment income and economic clout. That’s a playing field Louisiana must level, according to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which issued a 17-page policy paper today on transforming LSU into a Top 50 research university — and, by extension, transforming the Louisiana economy into a higher gear. The chamber lays out a detailed strategy for generating an additional net economic impact of $300 million a year with 4,000 new jobs and additional earnings of $150 million (in today’s dollars) — simply from investing more in LSU. Among the funding recommendations:
To get there, the chamber said, LSU would need:
Here’s how different the picture is at Michigan for operational funding: State appropriations are $9,600 per full-time student (less than the $11,700 at LSU), but Michigan gets $15,300 per student in tuition and fees (compared with $5,700 at LSU) and $5,800 per student in endowment income (compared with a mere $500 at LSU. “We believe that this strategy can lift LSU to the upper echelon of public research universities,” said Steven Grissom, the chamber’s executive vice president, in the report. “Although it will not happen overnight, a commitment to this plan will have a dramatically positive impact on our state’s economy for years to come.” Read more in Thursday’s Advocate.
Coldwell Mackey acquires Gonzales Realtor
Rick Gautreau & Associates, a Gonzales real estate agency, has been acquired by Coldwell Banker Mackey Co. of Baton Rouge for undisclosed terms, both companies said Wednesday. Gautreau said his company will operate under the Coldwell Banker Mackey name, but no changes are planned with the company’s personnel or its current offices in Gonzales and Donaldsonville. Rick Gautreau, which launched four years ago, sells residential and commercial property mainly in Ascension Parish. The company has about 40 agents between both offices. “They do bring us a nationwide name, which helps us with people moving into the community that maybe we didn’t get a shot at (before),” Gautreau said. Tom Mackey of Coldwell Banker Mackey said he was attracted by the companies’ similar sales philosophies, as well as its roots as a family-based company.
$75 million in BR projects get bond approval
Three Baton Rouge projects received formal approval for a combined $75 million in bond financing through the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority. The LPFA’s board approved:
Also among the projects is a $70 million bond sale for Louisiana Green Fuels LLC, which will construct the nation’s first sugar-to-ethanol plant in the Calcasieu Parish community of Lacassine. The plant will generate its own electricity by burning cane fiber and will be situated next to the Lacassine Syrup Mill, which will make the cane syrup used in producing the alternative fuel. Preliminary approval was given to a $30 million bond sale for American Sugar Refining Inc. to expand the Domino Sugar Refinery in the St. Bernard Parish town of Arabi. The project will generate 110 construction jobs and 13 new permanent jobs with an annual payroll of $840,000.
La. ranks third in personal income growth
Louisiana had the third-fastest growth rate of personal income in the nation in the third quarter, attributed primarily to the construction sector, which is ailing in many other states, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Personal income — a measure of all sources of income of all residents — jumped 1.8 percent to nearly $144.0 billion in the third quarter, which accelerated from a 1.1 percent second-quarter growth rate. That compares to a national growth rate of 1.4 percent. Construction in Louisiana and Mississippi, which ranked No. 4, also at a 1.8 percent growth rate, has been bolstered by the distribution of several billion dollars of grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to people whose homes had been destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the bureau said. The bureau said construction also contributed to growth in states such as New York, Texas and Washington. Washington posted the fastest growth rate at 3.6 percent, followed by New Mexico at 1.9 percent. Read more in Thursday’s Advocate.
Laffer: La. economy ranks 43rd, but on upswing
A new economic ranking of U.S. states by noted economist Arthur Laffer puts Louisiana in a familiar place — near the bottom rung. But Louisiana’s rank as the 43rd best-performing state is balanced by an optimistic outlook, said Laffer and co-author Stephen Moore of The Wall Street Journal. Taking 16 forward-looking measures, Louisiana has the 21st-best economic outlook and benefits from high marks as a right-to-work state and a relatively favorable tax climate. But Louisiana’s judicial system ranks 48th for its tort environment and judicial impartiality, and sales taxes and workers compensation costs are among the highest in the nation. Louisiana’s current economic performance, the No. 43 ranking that takes in a decade of recent data, is weighed down by the next-to-worst payroll employment growth and a No. 46 ranking for migration out of the state. One bright spot: Louisiana ranks 11th for personal income per capita growth in the past decade. The rankings come from the American Legislative Exchange Council’s first economic ranking of all 50 states, “Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index.”
La. homeowners insurance second-highest
Homeowners insurance premiums in Louisiana ran an average $1,144 annually in 2005, the second highest rate in the country, according to a study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The study released Tuesday showed that only Texas homeowners paid higher premiums — an average $1,372 a year — while the nationwide average was $764. Florida was third highest at $1,083. The study is based on premiums paid during 2005, the latest period for which data were available. The Louisiana figure represented a 6.5 percent increase from 2004. The average increase nationally was 4.8 percent.
Louisiana improves emergency readiness
Louisiana has improved its preparations for a health emergency, meeting eight out of 10 criteria that measure the state’s readiness, according to the Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit that draws attention to disease prevention. Last year, Louisiana met only six of 10 requirements. The state’s preparations include plans to distribute emergency vaccines; 24/7 laboratory coverage to analyze samples; and liability protection for health-care volunteers. The survey showed Louisiana lacks enough labs to test for biological threats and needs more Medical Reserve Corps. volunteers. “We’ve made great strides since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which severely impacted not only our health-care system, but our ability to effectively respond to an emergency,” Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Dr. Roxane Townsend said in a news release. Only 15 states scored higher than Louisiana in the “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism” survey. Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia scored the highest with 10 out of 10. Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin and Wyoming scored the lowest with six out of 10.
SPX wins $50 million Shaw coal plant contract
SPX Corp. of Overland Park, Kan., said today its cooling technologies business has been awarded a $50 million contract to supply a dry cooling system for the Power Group of Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group Inc. The system will go in a fluidized-bed coal power plant coming on line in 2012 with power sufficient for 146,000 residential customers. “We are enabling the production of this power, condensing three million pounds of steam per hour, without the typical massive water consumption,” said Drew Ladau, president of SPX Thermal Equipment and Services. The technology is in use in more than 30 countries.
NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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