Abita Brewing Company's Andygator will be available in six-packs for the first time in October, and a new Grapefruit Harvest I.P.A. will be joining the Abita Harvest line of brews in December.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and Walgreens have launched a joint campaign to educate Louisiana consumers about the new health care reform law and provide them with information on how to access coverage and understand other changes they may experience as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Consumers across Louisiana can obtain materials from Walgreens explaining the new benefits and protections available and learn how to purchase health care coverage that meets their families' needs.C & C Treasures has opened a new location at 6482A Highway 22 in Sorrento. The retail sales shop in Cajun Village specializes in vintage furniture, glassware, crafts, collectibles and floral arrangements. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.Community Coffee Company is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Community Cash for Schools program. Through the program, students, parents, teachers, restaurants, offices, churches and other businesses help raise money for schools by collecting UPC labels from Community Coffee products. Community Coffee Company has donated $4 million to more than 900 schools in nine states for new computers, playgrounds, teaching resources and other improvements.HUB International Gulf South, a commercial insurance brokerage, has established a collaborative relationship with MDVIP. MDVIP is a national network of primary care physicians focusing on personalized care to achieve lower hospitalization rates through prevention and disease management. The agreement offers HUB clients the opportunity to join an ?MDVIP-affiliated primary care practice offering personalized wellness plans based on comprehensive screenings that address risk factors. The MDVIP network in Louisiana includes five Baton Rouge physicians with additional New Orleans physicians expected to join.The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors has improved its licensing process, partnering with Learning Sciences Corp. to develop proctered online exams at a variety of locations with immediate scoring results.Oil-N-Geaux has opened a new location at 14139 Highway 44 in Gonzales. The fast-lube service specializes in oil changes and tire rotations. The company also is a Louisiana state inspection station, catering to diesels, motorcycles and boat/utility trailers by providing two-year stickers. Oil-N-Geaux also provides one-year stickers for all gasoline and electric/gasoline autos.OMI Environmental Solutions has opened a new location at 2955 South Saint Landry Ave. in Gonzales to serve the Capital Region's industrial/chemical corridor. The company provides environmental services and products for oil and gas, chemical, and pipeline industries, as well as for railroads, manufacturing and refineries. Port Allen Facility Manager Daryl Rice will oversee the new office.TigerBytes IT Solutions, which provides network and computer services to small businesses and home users in the Capital Region, has opened a new office at 1215 Independence Blvd. in Zachary.Liz Evans, vice president and operations manager of Gulf Coast Business Credit, has earned the certified factoring account executive designation authorized by the International Factoring Association. Evans, who works out of the Covington branch of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust on Highway 190, has 13 years of experience in banking and has been with the bank for the past seven years. She is also a certified internal auditor.Three Baton Rouge engineering professionals have been appointed to the executive committee of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana. Tuncer "Tony" Arikol of PECC will serve as vice president, Bob Schmidt of AECOM will serve as treasurer, and Robert L. Cangelosi Jr. of SJB Group is a member at large. Also, Laurence Lambert of Stantec has been named Baton Rouge chapter president.Louisiana Lottery President/CEO Rose Hudson was elected secretary of the Multi-State Lottery Association, a nonprofit organization of 33 member lotteries that operate a collection of multijurisdictional lottery games, including Mega Millions and Powerball. Hudson was also tapped to be vice chairman of the organization's Powerball Game Group, which manages the game's $2 million annual budget, rules and policies. With nationwide annual sales of more than $4 billion, Powerball is sold in 45 lottery jurisdictions, including Louisiana.The Louisiana Travel Promotion Association has installed new officers for its executive committee and board of directors. Chairman is Marion Fox of the Jeff Davis Parish Tourist Commission, vice chairman is Renee Areng of Visit Baton Rouge, secretary is Linda Curtis-Sparks of the Sabine Parish Tourist Commission, treasurer is Phil Frost of the Baton Rouge Zoo, and past chairman is Fran Thibodeaux of the Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau.Marshall Grodner, an attorney at McGlinchey Stafford's Baton Rouge office, will serve as vice chair of the Commercial Finance Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. The committee's mission is to provide practical knowledge and guidance, track new developments and industry practices, and facilitate the development and evolution of new laws in commercial finance, real estate finance, and restructuring.Deborah Meaux has been named president of the Louisiana Association of Educators. She will serve as the spokesperson for the 20,000-member professional advocacy group.Four Baton Rouge area pharmacists have been elected to the board of directors for the Louisiana Pharmacists Association. Rob Toups of Pharmacy Systems in Golden Meadow was elected treasurer, Malcolm Broussard of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy was installed as parliamentarian, Simone Ginn of Walmart Pharmacy in Baton Rouge was installed as a director-at-large, and Scott Black of Prairieville with Gulfcoast Pharmaceutical Specialty was installed as the director of the Capital Region. The Louisiana Pharmacists Association, established in 1882, strives to promote the interests of all pharmacists in the state.Acadian Home Theater and Automation in Baton Rouge was named one of the 100 largest audio/video integrators in the U.S. for the fourth year in a row by trade magazine CE Pro.BASF's Vidalia facility has received a 2013 Lantern Award from Louisiana Economic Development for its excellence in manufacturing and community involvement.Hospice Compassus social worker Shana Breaux has been named one of the LSU School of Social Work's 75 Distinguished Honorees for 2013. The award recognizes her significant professional contribution and dedication to the social work profession, the local community and the LSU School of Social Work.Port of South Louisiana Executive Director Joel Chaisson has received the 2013 C. Alvin Bertel award, presented each year to one who has made a significant contribution to the port industry in the Greater New Orleans area. Chaisson has served as the Port of South Louisiana's executive director since April 2005, and previously as its attorney.Max Conrad, professor of landscape architecture in LSU's Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, has been selected as a recipient of the American Society of Landscape Architects Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal. The award recognizes a sustained and significant contribution to landscape architecture education. He will be honored in November at the ASLA annual meeting in Boston.Scott Dantonio of Prairieville, pharmacy director at St. James Parish Hospital, has received the Hospital Pharmacist of the Year Award from the Louisiana Pharmacists Association. Scott Black of Prairieville, director of pharmacy operations for Gulf Coast Pharmaceutical Specialty, has received the LPA Consulting Pharmacist of the Year Award.MPADegree.org has ranked the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business No. 17 in the nation among social media-friendly public administration schools. The website evaluated nearly 200 public administration schools based on social media presence. Schools were scored based on the level of activity in each of their social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Google Plus and Pinterest. The E. J. Ourso College earned an overall score of 65.8 and was the third-highest ranked SEC school on the list. Texas A&M was ranked No. 11, and Auburn University No. 13.Judith Anne Garretson Folse, the ?V. Price LeBlanc Developing Scholar Professor in the LSU Marketing Department, has been named to the editorial review board of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. The journal, published by the American Marketing Association, addresses the dynamic relationship between marketing and the public interest.Woman's Hospital President and CEO Teri Fontenot addressed health care disparities among cultural and ethnic groups at the International Hospital Federation's 38th World Hospital Congress in June in Oslo, Norway. Fontenot was part of an American Hospital Association session about equity in care and promoting diversity. Fontenot shared how Woman's Hospital has embraced both diversity and the elimination of disparities as part of its care process.Chambers USA 2013 has again ranked the boutique law firm of Heller Draper Patrick & Horn of New Orleans and Baton Rouge as a "Band 1" firm in the field of bankruptcy/restructuring, and has also recognized lawyers Douglas Draper, William H. Patrick III and Tristan Manthey as "leaders in their field."L'Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles and L'Auberge Casino & Hotel in Baton Rouge have earned the Best of the South 2013 Readers' Choice Award from AAA Southern Traveler magazine. The annual readers' poll ranks the South's best places to visit, dine, gamble, have fun and enjoy memorable experiences.Fifteen people from the LSU AgCenter were honored by the Association for Communication Excellence, an international professional organization. Faculty members in communications received Gold Awards for a media relations campaign, a direct mail package and two 30-second video spots that promoted 125 years of agricultural research at the AgCenter. Receiving awards for the media relations campaign were Linda Benedict, associate director; Randy LaBauve and Craig Gautreaux, both video producers; Tobie Blanchard, associate specialist; Rick Bogren, science writer; Johnny Morgan, specialist; Bruce Schultz, assistant specialist; Kathy Kramer and Matt Faust, both graphic designers; Ronda Clark, administrative assistant; Elma Sue McCallum and John Wozniak, both assistant directors; and Frankie Gould, director. The direct-mail package award winners were Kramer, Benedict, Bogren, LaBauve and McCallum. LaBauve was the producer of the winning video spots. In addition, Blanchard and Gautreaux won a Silver Award for a video news release about the AgCenter's Strong Women health education program. Gold Awards went to Sandy Fiser, assistant director, and Megan Smith, designer and analyst, both in Information Technology at the AgCenter, for the logo used to promote the 2012 National Extension Technology Conference in New Orleans. They won a Silver Award and an honorable mention for the home page of the AgCenter website.Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has again been named a Best Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Ranked among the best hospitals in Louisiana, Our Lady of the Lake was also recognized for high performance in orthopedic services. The magazine's annual "Best Hospitals" report recognizes hospitals across the nation, ranking institutions based on factors such as patient survival and safety data, nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing and reputation.John W. Portwood Jr. of Baton Rouge has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Academy of General Dentistry at its annual meeting in Nashville. The honor recognizes those who exhibit outstanding leadership and whose contributions have resulted in significant advances toward fulfilling the organization's mission. Since the award's inception in 1986, only 30 of the AGD's 38,000 members have received the honor.For its support of CCA Louisiana's Floating Islands Restoration Project in Terrebonne Parish, Shell has earned the 2013 Gulf Guardian Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf of Mexico Program. The honor is aimed at facilitating collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico.Postlethwaite & Netterville Director Brian Stagg has received the Society of Louisiana CPAs' Distinguished Public Service Award. The annual honor recognizes certified public accountants for public service, leadership, impact, involvement and innovation. Stagg has been serving the Capital Region for more 40 years, contributing more than 13,000 hours of volunteer service to organizations such as the Greater Baton Rouge Literacy Coalition, Salvation Army of Greater Baton Rouge, Rotary Club of Baton Rouge and Connections for Life.East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Judge Lisa Woodruff-White has received the Louisiana State Bar Association's President's Award. She was honored for her work with self-represented litigants as chair of the District Judges Association's Self-Represented Litigants Committee. She led the Family Court in opening the Self-Help Resource Center. She also served on the Louisiana Supreme Court's Self-Represented Litigants Committee, and currently serves on the pro bono services committees of the state and Baton Rouge bar associations.Employees from Crestmark's Baton Rouge office (pictured) prepared hundreds of fresh sandwiches and bagged meals for the St. Vincent de Paul Society's Bags of Hope Program for the second time this year. The program distributes bagged meals to the needy. "We had another great turnout: 15 Crestmark employees and family members worked non-stop for two hours," says Mikalyn Atkinson, vice president and account executive. "It was unbelievable the number of sandwiches we made and bagged up as well as the number of snack bags that were assembled. It was an awesome experience and we can't wait to return."A new "partners in preparedness" project between Olinde's Furniture and the American Red Cross in south Louisiana has raised $14,000 for local disaster relief efforts. The Wilson Foundation provided a $12,500 match to the gift. Tom Olinde (second from left) presents a check to Louisiana Capital Area Chapter board members (from left) Desiree Lemoine, Kristin Whitty and Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré.BASF presented a $5,000 donation to Ascension Parish's High School Robotics Team to help it prepare for the national For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition in 2014. The donation is part of the company's ongoing effort to promote and improve science, technology, engineering and math education in schools. Along with the donation, engineers from the BASF Geismar site will interact with and serve as mentors for students on the robotics team.  Martin Companies has announced a $2 million gift to renovate Patrick F. Taylor Hall and expand LSU's College of Engineering. The gift contributes to the college's Breaking New Ground campaign, to which donors have committed more than $30 million toward a $100 million public/private partnership to renovate and expand LSU's College of Engineering facilities and infrastructure. The program is part of a state-led initiative to increase the number of engineering, computer science and construction management professionals in Louisiana.

If there's anything to be learned from the first year of Louisiana's Course Choice program, it's that students definitely want it.At last count, more than 2,000 families and counselors had registered students for the upcoming school year, and more than 1,000 others were on a waiting list that was growing by about 100 enrollments per day.As the name implies, it's an initiative that broadens choice, allowing students to enroll à la carte–style for online or on-site academic and vocational classes outside their regular public school, with the tuition covered by the state. Students in a public school that is graded C, D or F can take any class from any provider, even if the subject is already offered on their own campus. Those in an A or B school can only take those courses not available at their own campus."Students today are too often limited by what is offered within the walls of their particular schools," Superintendent John White said at the time the program was unveiled. "By opening education to a variety of entities proven to prepare students, Course Choice expands options for students and families."Classes are taught by public schools and colleges such as the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, St. James Parish Schools, and private entities such as Princeton Review and Edgenuity Inc. Among the courses offered: core classes in math, English, various sciences and foreign languages; advanced studies and dual enrollment for college credit; and career training in fields such as cosmetology, law, journalism, veterinary science, engineering design, digital arts, pipefitting and welding. Classes providing ACT preparation are also available.Course Choice—part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's 2012 education package—has had a rocky start. In its original form, the Louisiana Department of Education had never set an enrollment cap or cost because the program was intended to be budget-neutral, paid for by shifting a portion of each student's per-pupil allocation from their public school to the Course Choice provider. The average fee for one credit course is $700, with $1,370 being the maximum tuition allowed.But that model was scrapped after the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed that such an arrangement would illegally divert money from the Minimum Foundation Program, the primary funding stream that pays for public education, to private entities and others.Course Choice was then recast as a pilot program with limited enrollment using $2 million from the Department of Education and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. All previous course registrations were cleared, and students were required to re-register for courses based on the new pilot program parameters and availability.Enrollment was initially sluggish. As late as May, only 900 students had signed up, and no one was enrolled in many of the classes from the 45 providers. Teachers organizations have vehemently fought the initiative from its inception, with Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan going so far as to call it a "money grab" that will leave public education "as a shell." Sources say some school boards and administrators have neglected to make families aware of the option or even taken steps to stall enrollment. Counselors must review and approve a student's request to ensure the course is appropriate.But then came word that more than 2,000 had registered and a waiting list was at 1,000 names and growing by the day. The Louisiana Department of Education noted it had about $2 million—enough to pay about $1,000 each for courses. Another $1.5 million or more is needed to fund those on the waiting list."Student demand for these courses has reached a point where it cannot be ignored," White says. "We are going to have to make some sacrifices to make sure these students receive courses they need to be prepared for college or career."The most popular courses are Spanish 1 and 2, Math Intervention, Biology, Algebra 1 and Civics. As for vocational options, construction engineering is proving popular—particularly in Ascension and East Baton Rouge parishes."I think it can really help kids who are looking for advanced placement courses that they can't find if they're in a rural area. Some kids may just want to take an additional language," Council for a Better Louisiana President and CEO Barry Erwin told The Associated Press. "There is real potential for kids who want to expand their opportunities beyond what their school offers."On the other side, demand to offer courses in the program was also high. Back in October, the Department of Education received 94 initial applications from potential providers, says DOE spokesman Barry Landry. Just 72 of those qualified for the next phase of the evaluation process: interviews. Of those, 47 were chosen to continue through the process of being reviewed by independent evaluator panels. Ultimately, BESE approved 45 course providers.A number of recognizable entities, like Livingston Parish Public Schools, PLATO Learning and the Baton Rouge Area Pipe Trades Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, applied but did not make it through the process for reasons unknown.A recent story in the online magazine Politico notes that legislators and teachers union leaders nationwide are "watching the Course Choice experiment closely," noting that under Gov. Bobby Jindal, "Louisiana has become a laboratory for experimenting in new ways to deliver public education."At press time, there was no timeline or funding in place to make Course Choice permanent or to expand its potential enrollment. "These are questions that will be answered after the department has successfully launched the pilot program," Landry says. "We are working to address these issues, but we are too early in the process."Five most popular Course Choice providers
Entities with the highest enrollment as of July 8

1. Princeton Review
[ACT preparation courses]

2. SmartStart Virtual Academy
[Algebra, American History, Biology, Chemistry, Civics, English, Geometry, Physical Sciences, Physics, Pre-Calculus, Spanish and World Geography]

3. mSchool
[Algebra, Math Intervention]

4. Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts
[AP Psychology, AP Spanish, Fine Arts Survey, French, Physics, Spanish]

5. St. James Parish Schools
[Chemistry, Cosmetology, Health, Personal Fitness, Spanish]

Only three years out of culinary school, Cody Carroll might well be the hottest young chef in Louisiana. The 29-year-old wunderkind has made his first restaurant, Hot Tails, a rustic Cajun café in New Roads, a smashing success, drawing diners from all over the Baton Rouge area, lured by word-of-mouth raves over Carroll's highly spiced, richly flavored cooking.In May, the small-town star gained statewide celebrity when he bested a heavyweight field of culinary artists, including chefs from Arnaud's and Bayona in New Orleans, to win the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off, an annual Crescent City competition sponsored by the state's restaurant industry and seafood promotion board. That achievement earned him the title King of Louisiana Seafood and a high-profile role representing the Louisiana seafood industry at state and national events over the next year.It also set the ambitious Carroll up for his next move: opening a major restaurant to showcase his sophisticated take on Louisiana cuisine. Immediately after winning the cook-off, Carroll, who lives in Baton Rouge, told others that he was likely headed for New Orleans. He figured that there was no way a chef who aspires to make a national reputation can do it from Baton Rouge, whose restaurant scene is dominated by chain restaurants and a conservative, crab-meat-and-cream-sauce old guard.As it turns out, Carroll decided to turn his back on New Orleans and is now looking for a Baton Rouge location for his flagship restaurant, which he hopes to open in the next 18 months. His change of heart says something about the promise a new generation of chefs is bringing to the Capital Region. More than that, though, it says something about the kind of chef Cody Carroll is: passionately, even evangelically, devoted to his roots among the people and the culinary heritage of the Baton Rouge area."I realized that this is where my heart is. It's going to make me happier to make my people satisfied than to please these tourists in New Orleans," Carroll says. "Don't get me wrong; every chef likes all kinds of people enjoying his restaurant. But I'd rather make my community happy than anything else."Cody grew up on his family's grain farm in Batchelor, a hamlet in northern Pointe Coupee Parish. As a boy, Carroll helped his father work the fields, but he loved to go back to the house and assist his mother, Mikki, in cooking supper for the workers. Carroll was only 10 years old when he began shadowing his parents and grandparents, good country cooks all, in the kitchen."I cooked a lot of rabbit, squirrels, deer. If we had gator around, we'd cook gator. We lived right next to Old River, so I cooked sac-a-lait, catfish, a lot of seafood," says Carroll, in a Cajun accent as thick as cane syrup.When he turned 13, Carroll began spending long stretches of time after the spring harvest with his dad at their Grand Isle camp. That's when he got hooked on inventing ways to prepare seafood. "We'd be catching speckled trout, redfish, and I'd be cooking it in as many ways as I could think of," he says.In the winter, when the fields lay fallow, Carroll devoted himself to preparing lunch and dinner at the farmhouse. When his father and friends headed to their deer camp near the Morganza spillway, young Cody went with them. The camp kitchen held more allure than the woods."The guys would put up some money, and I'd go to the store, all by myself, and get enough to cook for 15, 20 people, and I would cook. By myself. They loved it, and that made me so happy," says Carroll.Bryan Carroll, Cody's father, figured then that cooking was going to be nothing more than a pastime for the second of his three sons. "I thought he would eventually take over the farm," says the older Carroll. "When he was 16 or 17, he leaned towards becoming an entrepreneur in Cajun food, and that's where he went."In 2002 Cody became the first in his family to attend LSU. He majored in business, advised by his father to master the commercial side of the food industry. After earning a bachelor's at LSU, Carroll enrolled in the 16-month degree program at the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, to learn how to run a restaurant."He was all about learning. He was never a know-it-all. He always asked the most questions. I really admired that about him," says Owen Hohl, 24, an LCI classmate and close friend.Hohl says Carroll's dazzling innovations made him a class standout. Classmate Samantha Neal saw the same thing in Carroll. "He would blow everybody's mind. The things he was doing, nobody had ever seen before."Neal saw something else in the audacious charmer from Old River. The two began dating; in 2012 they married. They sealed their business partnership, however, by starting their first restaurant only weeks after their January 2010 graduation. The location? A dumpy concrete-block building next to a car wash on a depressing New Roads commercial strip.A defunct drive-thru convenience store in a small town is not an obvious launchpad for a major culinary career. But Carroll saw strategic sense in setting up business there."I knew this would be an easy first step," he says. "I decided I would make my name where people know me. Besides, there was a good enough market in New Roads to do it."With partial financial backing from his folks, Carroll bought the Hospital Road land and building, which was little more than a shell. He oversaw a complete renovation. Total cost: $420,000, less than half of what Carroll figures it would have cost him to open the same place in Baton Rouge.Hot Tails, with 100 seats and a bar, opened on April 12, 2010. Assisted by Owen Hohl, Cody helmed the kitchen, while Samantha, then only 20, managed the business end. They started out serving a limited menu of Louisiana standards—po-boys, fried seafood, boiled crawfish, and the like.Customers raved about Hot Tails' distinct and unusually flavorful versions of Louisiana classics. For example, Carroll serves his shrimp po-boy open-faced on Leidenheimer's bread—the New Orleans classic—smothered in a peppery rémoulade. His layering spice technique for cooking Shrimp Creole imparts fathoms of flavor that renders other chefs' versions pale and two-dimensional by comparison."Everything we cook, we're building in layers and layers of taste," says Hohl. "We want people to think, man, I didn't know there could be so much flavor in something so simple."Alas, the Hot Tails crew couldn't easily coax the hometown crowd to try the more complex dishes Carroll would create for his weekend specials. But as the affable chef built a personal rapport with his clientele—Carroll had intentionally built an open kitchen so he could feel more connected to his customers, and greeted them by name when they walked in—they started to trust him to take them to gustatory places they'd never been.The change has been dramatic. Hot Tails could barely sell a single chef's special in those early months. These days, the specials routinely sell out. Carroll says with a laugh, "Now, in our third year, nobody needs convincing."Sales have also evolved at an accelerated pace. In its first year, Hot Tails grossed just under $1 million. In year two, that figure rose to $1.4 million. This year, the restaurant is on track to gross over $2 million—and that's before factoring in the buzz from the Louisiana Cook-Off victory, where Samantha was her husband's sous-chef. Even meeting payroll for a staff of 20, Hot Tails is making money so quickly that the couple expects to pay off their loans by year's end.Now they've got their eye on the Baton Rouge market—but not to open a city branch of their country-casual café. This time, Cody Carroll is making a bid for the big leagues, betting that he can create a high-end Capital City restaurant that can do what none ever has: gain a place for Baton Rouge on the national culinary map.Baton Rouge over New Orleans is a bold, countercultural choice. Last year, Donald Link, a former Baton Rouge chef who went on to make his national mark with the New Orleans standouts Herbsaint and Cochon, told 225 Magazine that the Capital City is a culinary also-ran."Baton Rouge has a lot of places to eat, but it doesn't have a great restaurant culture," Link said then. "God help any place there that doesn't serve burgers and beer."On hearing this comment, Carroll tells Business Report he couldn't disagree more, adding with unabashed pride, "That's my town he's talking about!"But Carroll concedes that he used to hold a similar view. He's not alone."One of the things Cody is going to fight is to try to get Baton Rouge diners to be more adventurous," says Jay Ducote, a Baton Rouge chef and media personality covering the local food scene."I think Cody is going to do some dishes that have never been seen on Baton Rouge menus," Ducote continues. "In New Orleans, that would be celebrated. In Baton Rouge, that should be celebrated as well, but one of the challenges he will face is to convince people to want to eat something totally different, not the same thing they can get in 15 other restaurants in Baton Rouge."Unoriginal, lackluster menus are a familiar source of complaint among Baton Rouge foodies. Another way of looking at it, though, is that the more adventurous local chefs in town have an opportunity to build something distinct.In fact, says Ducote, it's no coincidence that the most talked-about chefs in the area—Hot Tails' Carroll, Ryan Andre at Le Creole, and Beausoleil's Nathan Gresham, to name a few—are all well under 40. They are part of a new generation of cooks more open to new trends changing the food scene nationally: for example, the "farm-to-table" movement, which emphasizes fresh, locally sourced ingredients and efforts to nurture organic connections between farmers, chefs and diners."We're starting to push back," says Gresham, who, like Andre and Carroll, is an LCI graduate. "We have awesome chefs around the city who aren't afraid to venture out. The trick is to stick to Louisiana's roots but be influenced by outside. You want to bring a new freshness to the game instead of smothering things in cream sauces."This is precisely what Carroll intends to do with his new restaurant, the name of which he prefers to keep off the record for now, but which, he hints, carries poetic Bayou State symbolism. Carroll says the new restaurant's name evokes the sense he had growing up on the banks of Old River."That camp, that pier, looking over the river, the garfish hitting the top of the water—it's that whole feeling from my childhood, that whole culture," he says.If he lived and cooked in New Orleans, Carroll fears he would lose his connection to the place and the people that made him the kind of chef he is. In the end, it all goes back to the family farm and the deer camp."It's always been the people that drive me, the people that want me to cook for them," he says. "That's what gets me excited: being around my family and friends, and cooking for the people I love."Growing up farming and fishing in south Louisiana imbued Carroll with a passion for localism and the integrity of those who grow, raise and catch our food."Yeah, they're working their ass off, but they love it," he says. "And I know how hard they worked for that. So to cook with it, that's a privilege for me. That's depth. It's not only depth in flavor, but depth in feeling, too."The key question facing Carroll now as he lays the groundwork for the new place concerns its location. He has been looking at property on Hoo Shoo Too Road, in far southeast Baton Rouge, because he believes it will provide the right "destination" feel. One place he won't go if he can help it: a shopping center. Unfortunately, city regulations mandating off-street parking don't give local restaurateurs much choice.Because Carroll is a perfectionist, the search for the right location could take a while. Once he nails a place down, though, the chef, aided by his creative team—his wife, Samantha, and sous-chef Owen Hohl—will design the theater for the fullest expression of the young phenom's culinary vision.One matter that's already settled: As with Hot Tails (which will stay in business), his Baton Rouge restaurant will feature a kitchen in open embrace of the dining room. It's not simply stagecraft. Nurturing a personal, emotional connection to the people he's cooking for is essential to Cody Carroll's artistic sensibility."There's nothing like the feeling of seeing how happy you can make people when they're eating your food," he says. "It's why I do this."Carroll's broader goal is to help build a restaurant culture in Baton Rouge so rewarding that up-and-coming chefs no longer feel they have to leave the state or its capital city to do great things in the kitchen and be recognized for it.Taking a stand in Baton Rouge may be a long-shot move for a chef who aspires to a national career, but in truth, New Orleans never had a chance with this guy. Staying here is the only thing Carroll can do to stay true to himself and his cooking. The land and its people—not just south Louisiana, but Baton Rouge and the surrounding countryside, with its fields, gardens, hunting camps and fishing holes—are the source of his particular genius, and his creative energy.Besides, Carroll is confident enough to think that he can make America pay respectful attention to Baton Rouge for something other than college football."If you're good enough, they're going to find you, and it's going to put Baton Rouge on the national scene," he says. "Just like we did with this win, you have people who never heard about Pointe Coupee Parish, and this magazine came out, and it goes everywhere. Just like that."He tosses a copy of the July/August issue of Louisiana Life magazine onto his office desk. The cover model is, of course, Chef Cody Carroll, flashing his Dennis Quaid grin. Confident? You bet. A perfectionist he may be, but deep down this is not a dude who harbors significant doubts about himself or his life's work.And no wonder. The young man from the banks of Old River might be staying close to home, but he's well-positioned to go far. And who knows how many of us he'll take with him?

POSITION Owner
COMPANY American Printing Center
REVENUE $775,000
WHAT THEY DO Business and social printing, specializing in smaller-run, high-quality jobs
NEXT GOALS Acquire other small print shops in the Capital Region, buy the property on which the center is located in Gonzales and launch a second online businessWhen Bart Zimmerman lost his business, Imaging Products and Supply, in the 2010 New Years' Day fire at the Acadian-Perkins Plaza, the insurance settlement he collected presented him with an opportunity to buy another business he had long been eyeing—the American Printing Company in Drusilla Shopping Center. Why a young entrepreneur would want a 30-year-old printing company in an era of do-it-yourself digital printing and online competition might have eluded some. But Zimmerman correctly realized that while the printing industry was rapidly changing, there was a niche for a shop that could use new technology while still providing old-fashioned customer service. "A lot of people still want to come to a brick-and-mortar storefront and deal with people face-to-face," he says. Since acquiring the business, Zimmerman has upgraded the technology, while continuing to provide traditional services—printing business forms, stationery and invitations, among others. Last year he acquired Kopy Kats printing in Gonzales and applied the same business model he was using in Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, he launched a website to cater to an online customer base nationwide.Most of Zimmerman's business is produced at the Baton Rouge location, though some is done on-site in Gonzales as well. Since buying the two print shops, Zimmerman has traded out the old printing presses for digital printing equipment. He and his growing staff, which includes three graphic designers, have also begun offering graphic design services, which is an increasingly popular segment of the business.With three small businesses serving the local retail and national online markets, Zimmerman feels like he has his bases covered. Though in one sense he is competing against himself—his website theoretically diverts customers from his brick-and-mortar locations—he says the customers are different and distinct. "There are some people who like to do everything online," he says. "Some still want to do everything face-to-face. We can do it both ways." Zimmerman plans to continue growing in both markets. He is currently negotiating to buy another existing print shop in Baton Rouge, while also getting ready to launch a new online company that will specialize in printing pre-designed images."The lines are increasingly blurred, and there is a lot of overlap in what we do, what we sell and how we serve people."

For the first time in 37 years, legislation to modernize the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate potentially dangerous chemicals is winding its way through the U.S. Capitol and has garnered the support of both the chemical industry and Louisiana's two U.S. senators.The Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013—co-sponsored by Republican Sen. David Vitter—would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to give the federal agency more leeway to test and make determinations about the safety of chemicals in commerce.Supporters say the legislation is long overdue and offers a balance between protecting public health and supporting manufacturers."At a time when the chemical industry is driving a national manufacturing renaissance, a sensible, strong and workable bipartisan solution to modernize TSCA as laid out in the CSIA is more important than ever, not only for our industry, but for the countless others that rely on chemical products," says Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, which represents 42 chemical companies with operations in Louisiana. "We stand committed to work with the Senate to ensure passage of this compromise legislation."The measure could have a big impact in Louisiana, which ranks second among chemical-producing states in the U.S. The chemical industry here employs more than 23,000 people, according to the Louisiana Chemical Association.A spokesman in Vitter's office says the Louisiana business community has been involved in developing the compromise and remains "very supportive of the bill."Albemarle is one of the companies offering their support, says Steve LeVan, vice president of advocacy for the global chemical manufacturer with operations in Louisiana.The proposed legislation requires safety evaluations and labeling for all chemicals and gives the EPA the authority to take action if a chemical is found to be unsafe. It also would require for the first time that the EPA evaluate risks to vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women.The compromise legislation, which Vitter forged with the late Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, also would give states the ability to provide input or seek waivers that would allow state regulations to remain in effect. Due to limitations under current law, the EPA has only been able to ban five dangerous substances since the TSCA was enacted in 1976, leading to a 2009 "high-risk" label by the Government Accountability Office. More than 84,000 chemicals are currently registered for commerce in the U.S."Our bill strikes the right balance between strengthening consumer confidence in the safety of chemicals while also promoting innovation and the growth of an important sector of our economy," says Vitter, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "Chemical manufacturing is a big part of Louisiana's economy and across the country, and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act establishes a program that should provide confidence to the public and consumers, by giving the EPA the tools it needs to make critical determinations while providing a more transparent process. The benefit of such a system is that industry should also have more confidence that the federal system works to facilitate innovation and grow our economy."The bill also requires the EPA to evaluate the safety of all chemicals, prioritize them for review, screen new chemicals for safety, secure necessary health and safety information, promote innovation and safer chemistry, and give states and municipalities a say in prioritization, safety assessment and safety determination processes.Lawmakers had long tried to overhaul TSCA to improve chemical regulation, but legislation had been stymied by partisan disagreement. The Vitter/Lautenberg compromise appears to mark an end to the gridlock over the issue and has garnered the support of 25 co-sponsors, Republicans as well as Democrats, who have signed on to the legislation.Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who has signed on as a co-sponsor, says the bill strikes a needed balance between protecting public health and supporting manufacturers."This bill will allow [manufacturers] to continue making those contributions to our economy, while giving our families peace of mind that the products they use are safe," Landrieu says.Vitter's office says chemicals are used to produce 96% of all manufactured goods consumers rely on every day, and that more than 25% of the U.S. GDP is derived from industries that use chemicals.The Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013 includes the following measures:Safety evaluations: All active chemicals in commerce must be evaluated for safety and labeled as either "high" or "low" priority based on potential risk to the environment and human health, particularly vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women.Public protection: If a chemical is found to be unsafe, the EPA has the necessary authority to take action, ranging from labeling requirements to the full phase-out or ban of that chemical.Risk assessment: The EPA will have to transparently assess risk, determine safety and apply any needed measures to manage risks.Chemical screening: New chemicals entering the market must be evaluated, and the EPA is given the authority to prohibit unsafe chemicals from entering the market.Fact finding: The legislation allows the EPA to secure necessary health and safety information from chemical manufacturers, while directing the agency to rely first on existing information to avoid duplicative testing.Innovation promotion: This legislation provides clear paths to getting new chemistry on the market and protects trade secrets and intellectual property from disclosure.Local input: States and local governments will have opportunities to provide input on prioritization, safety assessment and the safety determination processes.

Nicholas Dunham joined the Prairieville law firm of Alyce B. Landry as an associate attorney/senior staff accountant. Dunham earned his law degree in 2010 from the Southern University Law Center. He received his license to practice as a CPA in March.Nate Causley Jr. has been named district manager of H&R Block in the Greater Baton Rouge area. This district has 19 offices, including those in Baton Rouge, Zachary, Baker, Central, Port Allen, Hammond and Ponchatoula. Causley, who joined H&R Block in 2005, previously has served as a district manager in New Jersey. He also leads the technical and client experience training of the company's first employees in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to which H&R Block is expanding.Radiology Associates announced the hiring of Dr. Laura Miller. She is a board-certified, fellowship-trained radiologist. Miller completed her neuroradiology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She graduated with a bachelor of science in microbiology from LSU. She earned her medical degree at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport.Dr. Mrugesh Soni has joined the Cardiovascular Institute of the South's physician group in Zachary. Soni earned degrees in medicine and surgery in Gujarat, India. He continued his training in New York with an internal medicine residency at Coney Island Hospital, followed by cardiology and interventional cardiology fellowships at Maimonides Medical Center.David Dodson has been named executive editor of Louisiana Business Inc. The move marks a return to Baton Rouge for Dodson, who was named founding editor of the Baton Rouge Business Report in 1982 and served seven years until moving to Washington, D.C., to work for national publishing company McGraw-Hill. Dodson will provide editorial oversight for Business Report, 225, inRegister, Daily Report and a variety of specialty publications. His journalism career includes positions with the Beaumont Enterprise, Shreveport Times and Gris Gris, as well as The Baton Rouge Enterprise, a community weekly. Most recently, he has provided Houston-based communications support to TransCanada's Keystone XL project, a proposed crude oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.Penny Font has been named managing editor of the Baton Rouge Business Report, published by Louisiana Business Inc. Font, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, has more than two decades of experience in the news media. She most recently served as editor of 10/12 magazine and as a freelance writer for Business Report. Font has previously worked as a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Times-Herald, Kansas City Star and The Advocate.

LSU has been bleeding for five years now, losing some 220 faculty members as lawmakers stripped nearly $700 million in state funding from higher education. While officials were excited July 26 to announce the first pay raise in four years for system employees, the new president hopes the pay bump doesn't turn out to be a Band-Aid on a gaping wound."We must use this as perhaps the new benchmark for establishing salary growth in years to come," says President F. King Alexander, "to make sure our universities, all of our campuses, are as competitive as possible."Alexander is the first person to be named both the chancellor of the main campus and president of the system. The Board of Supervisors hopes he will help it figure out how to make the system more cohesive and effective, a true flagship that competes with the best public research universities in the country for students, professors and federal dollars. And on the same day the raises were announced, a board-commissioned report summary underlined just how far LSU is from reaching its goals.The merit-based pay hikes will range up to 4%, LSU says, and will vary by personnel type and campus. Some employees may only receive one-time supplements, and some may get no raise at all.LSU says the money comes from administrative savings achieved over the past few years, higher enrollment, and a legislative appropriation: in other words, stuff that happened before Alexander got here. Still, the fact that Alexander was able to announce the move in his first president's report to the board, after only about a month on the job, is a nice PR boost for him, if nothing else."Faculty morale on a lot of the campuses around the state has soured for the last few years because of the budget situation," says Barry Erwin, president/CEO of the Council for a Better Louisiana. "While this may not be the permanent fix that solves the problem, it certainly does send a message that the faculty is important."Of course, 4% isn't much of a raise after four years—it's barely a cost of living increase—but it's better than nothing if you are on the faculty. Kevin Cope, LSU's faculty senate president, says conversations with administrators about pay raises have been ongoing for months if not years, so the announcement didn't come out of nowhere. But he says the system president obviously is an important link in the decision-making process, and this year's adjustments would not have gone forward without Alexander's support.  "I would describe his role as catalytic," Cope adds. "You have to have the catalytic element to make the process go."The total amount that will be spent on raises was not announced; reportedly, it would cost something like $9 million a year to give everyone on the main campus a 4% raise, so that gives you an indication of the kind of numbers they're talking about.But what if Louisiana decided to step up and try to make LSU a top-flight public research university? According to the LSU Transition Advisory Team, appointed by the board in December, such a strategy would cost some $200 million to entice the right faculty and give them the tools and support they need. In theory, the investment would pay off in hundreds of millions in new research dollars attracted from federal and private sources.To be the sort of flagship that university stakeholders often say they want likely will require more state dollars, higher tuition, or some mix of the two. Either path could be politically problematic, since the Legislature controls both."The balance between where we should fall in tuition and state appropriations is at the crux and the foundation of the challenges that even many of our peers are dealing with throughout the country," Alexander says.The summary report presented to the board—the full document hasn't been released yet—describes a university culture that is slow, bureaucratic and risk-averse. The current board has made noises about shaking things up; now that its new CEO has made a bit of a splash, it will be interesting to see what happens next.As Cope puts it, the preview of the Transition Advisory Team's report serves as a hint of the size and cost of the project ahead, and an opportunity for the public to begin to decide if it wants to elevate the state's flagship university, allow it to continue to tread water, or maybe even let it sink.

Years of inadequate public transportation and an inefficient CATS board could finally be coming to a head. After two scandal-ridden resignations, a faction of the Metro Council is looking to clean house at the CATS board even further with an Aug. 14 vote calling for the resignation of the entire board. Even before that, the CATS board could call a special meeting to bump Chairman Dalton Honoré from the leadership position just days after he assumed it. Another resolution before the Metro Council would set guidelines, including one mandating transit experience for future board members.The demands for change come amid a slew of problems that almost ensure a first quarter 2014 deadline for an overhauled system will not be met. Voters approved a dedicated tax last year with the promise of a new route system and better service by the first quarter of next year. CATS board member Jared Loftus says it will be "a tall order" to meet that deadline, adding he thinks taxpayers "have every right to be upset that their money isn't going towards the system in the time frame that they were told."Tensions were simmering after a scandal-filled July. On July 18, CATS board member Montrell McCaleb said he would resign for health reasons amid accusations that he misused agency funds. CATS interim CEO Bob Mirabito previously confirmed the allegations were first brought to then-Chairman Isaiah Marshall's attention in May, though weren't made public until July 18. Marshall then resigned July 25, just days after Together Baton Rouge called for changes in leadership.Earlier in the month, the board was forced to delay a decision on a $1.5 million management contract after questions arose over the selection process, and must now start from scratch. Adding to the system's woes, Mirabito announced an investigation into fare box collections. Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards, who supports the calls for resignation of the full board, says it's time for a "fresh start, a new foundation on which CATS can start."

A hotel nestled alongside the stunning Pacific Ocean just 20 minutes from Panama City, Panama. A Panama Canal cruise tour and nighttime tour of Old Panama. A golf tournament. A cocktail party on the MiraFlores Lock, a Black and White Gala and Karaoke Night.Ah, what a breathtaking getaway.But this was no personal vacation. It was a weeklong continuing legal education seminar for Louisiana attorneys and judges last month in the Republic of Panama, and taxpayers footed the bill for one Baton Rouge state district judge to attend.Public records obtained by Business Report indicate Judge Trudy White spent a week in Panama City during the period the seminar was scheduled. Receipts show the Judicial Expense Fund paid $1,509.74 for her to stay at The Westin Playa Bonita in Panama, located on a mile-long stretch of beach along the ocean. Her king-sized accommodations for two included a "heavenly bed and bath" and a rainforest view. Airfare ran another $705.40, and seven days of economy parking at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, another $56. Round-trip transportation between the airport in Panama and the hotel was $42.Although the records provided did not include an accounting of White's registration fee for the seminar, the event's website indicates judicial rates ranged from $750 to $1,000.The Judicial Expense Fund is derived from state and city-parish funding and court fees, according to Judicial Administrator Ann McCrory.The Panama event was offered by the CLE of Louisiana, founded in 1994 by New Orleans attorneys Keith Doley and Ammon L. Miller Jr., who envisioned the concept while vacationing in Jamaica. Net proceeds from the seminars—held in exotic locations like Belize and the Virgin Islands—fund Louisiana law school scholarships.Sessions were offered daily from 9 a.m. to lunchtime, exploring legal topics like recusal, evidence, medical malpractice discovery, consumer class action, human trafficking and other topics.In an email to Business Report before the records were released, White notes that she requested "full disclosure" from the court's administrative office. At press time, however, the judge had not responded to additional questions about the trip. White is noted for being the first African-American female elected to Baton Rouge City Court. She moved to state court in 2009.A search of the Louisiana Supreme Court's calendar of CLE seminars offered during the same time period indicates 16 were offered in south Louisiana, including five in the Capital Region.The trip first made headlines late last month in New Orleans after an investigation by WVUE-TV uncovered that longtime New Orleans traffic court Judge Ronald Sholes used $2,000 in public funds to pay for the excursion just two weeks before he planned to retire.Business Report filed similar public records requests with Baton Rouge City Court, the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office and the First Circuit Court of Appeals, but turned up no records of any other officials having requested public funds to attend the seminar. Says District Attorney Hillar Moore: "We just don't have the funds to attend something like that."

The city's most visible hotel goes on the auction block Sept. 4, and while it might seem that it would be simple enough to apply an industry rule-of-thumb to determine what the high-rise Baton Rouge Marriott might be worth, local real estate experts say it's anyone's guess. Here are some of the factors at play.The 297-room hotel is 37 years old and, according to industry insiders, is in serious need of a facelift. Some estimate it could cost as much as $100,000 per room to get it in mint condition.Though not everyone agrees, most local observers say with its visibility from Interstate 10 and proximity to College Drive, the iconic property is in one of the best spots in the city and could again become the premier hotel property in Baton Rouge.The hotel opened as a Hilton in 1976 but changed flags when acquired by Columbia Properties in 2000. Columbia now owes more than $38 million on the property, which prompted the bank to take it back and put it up for auction.Experts say the Baton Rouge hotel market is over-built, which is the main reason average daily rates and occupancy rates here trail the national average. Several of the newest properties are on the upper end of the scale, too, including the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, L'Auberge, and the Renaissance. Without a steady tourism and convention business, it's unclear how much demand exists for yet another high-end property.

After months of relief, dry conditions are returning to Louisiana at a time when rain is most critical for this fall's harvests.Three months ago, just 7% of Louisiana was considered abnormally dry or in drought. But in the most recent drought analysis, 65% of the state is either abnormally dry or under moderate drought. For cotton, soybeans, sugarcane and grain sorghum crops, plenty of rain will be critical over the next few weeks, says Kurt Guidry, a professor of farm management at LSU's AgCenter."We're still far enough away from harvest for those that they are still going to need some rain or some moisture," he says. "Most of those don't have enough now to sustain them through the growing season. They need moisture over the next three to four weeks to finalize their growth period."Corn crops, however, should be close enough to harvest that August rains won't have much of an impact, he says. "Corn is … probably at the point where moisture is not that critical for its yield potential," Guidry says. "It's going to have pretty much already been set."With enough rain, 2013 "is shaping up to have very, very good crops," Guidry says. "Not to the extent of last year—last year set records in corn, soybeans, rice and near-record in cotton."According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, soybeans are Louisiana's most valuable row crop, with $700 million worth of soybeans planted last year. This year's soybean crop makes up 1.1 million acres in Louisiana. Corn is the state's second-most valuable row crop, with a value of more than $600 million last year.

Though it has been more than two months since the Metro Council approved the creation of a TIF district benefiting the planned Costco warehouse club on the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling plant on Airline Highway, the company has yet to close on the property. On July 24, the date by which the sale was supposed to close, the company extended its option on the property for another 30 days. Sources familiar with the deal tell Business Report the purchase agreement, which Costco signed in April 2012, had several extensions built into it and that Costco has taken advantage of them—most recently because of outstanding approvals required by the city-parish. The latest extension, which gives the company until Aug. 26 to ink the deal, was apparently sought because the Planning Commission is requiring from Costco a so-called exchange of property—basically, a revised site plan that redraws the lot lines within the 28-acre parcel to configure to the intended use. "Basically, there are multiple existing lots on the property right now," says Ryan Holcomb, planning project coordinator at the Planning Commission. The lots that Holcomb is talking about were acquired by Coca-Cola over the years as the plant expanded, but the legal description of the property was never updated and the lot lines were never redrawn. "This will just clean it up and take all these multiple lots and turn them into two or three big lots," he says. "It's no big deal."

The phrase "bon marché" generally means cheap or inexpensive. But turning the former Bon Marché Mall on Florida Boulevard into the Bon Carré Business Center has hardly been cheap.A shift in ownership may be on the way for the development, although the deal is on hold and the details are somewhat shrouded in secrecy. Indications are a sale of the property may be involved.Not that secrecy is unusual when it comes to private-sector real estate deals. But since the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the taxpayer-backed Research Park Corporation are involved in this one, a certain amount of interest is natural.A California-based group, including developer Norie Harrower, in 1999 had detailed plans for a $40 million mixed-use redevelopment of the dilapidated circa-1959 Bon Marché shopping center, in what was then a crime-ridden part of town known as "mall city." But that deal had fallen apart by 2002, after one of Harrower's business partners was found to have been running a massive Ponzi scheme.In 2003, a local ownership group stepped in to save the project. They paid $9 million for the property and, the story goes, pulled it back from the brink of foreclosure. Source Capital, led by Kevin Couhig, was part of that group. He says the price of $10 or so per square foot seemed like a good opportunity."Source Capital was started by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce," Couhig says. "From the very beginning, we've had an orientation to make our investors money, but also to try to do some good."Couhig was out of the country when reached for this story, and did not have numbers in front of him for reference. But he says Source got out of the deal fairly quickly, after perhaps a year or two, and made a decent return.From 2003 to 2006, according to the city-parish, owners invested some $35 million rehabbing the property. The current owners are the Wilbur Marvin Foundation, which holds most of BRAF's real estate, and the Research Park Corporation, the state-subsidized entity that runs the Louisiana Technology Park incubator based in Bon Carré.BRAF says the foundation owns a controlling interest of about 51% in Bon Carré. The RPC's share is about 25%. Others holding smaller slices include John Noland, chairman of the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority; RPC Chairman Terrell Brown; and Gulf Coast BIDCO, led by Cornelius Lewis, also an RPC board member.If the RPC sells, the foundation would own 63%, with the rest spread around to the other investors, BRAF says, adding that about 90% of the center's 850,000 square feet is occupied.Brown says his and Lewis' ownership interests in Bon Carré don't violate ethics guidelines, since he and Lewis recuse themselves on votes involving the development. For the RPC, such a move would provide a chance to get out of the real estate business, Brown says. "We have an illiquid investment," he says. "We want to do some other things with the money."Brown says his personal interest is only about 3%. He says the project has a positive cash flow, but adds that he doesn't think he has received any distributions from his stock.Joel Harrell, a planner in the city-parish Office of Community Development, says Bon Carré is considered the hub of the Melrose East Economic Development initiative. As such, it receives property tax abatements that are scheduled to run out after 2015, when the taxes would go up by almost $856,000 a year.The community development office estimates the total value of the development at about $58.3 million. A source with some knowledge of the deal says a similar number was derived from an appraisal conducted in 2007, which was a high point for the real estate market. The property almost certainly wouldn't be valued as high today as in 2007.Meanwhile, the property carries significant mortgage debt. In 2009, which is the last year for which BRAF has posted audited financials on its website, about $41.2 million was left on the loan. The note requires monthly payments of $240,340, with the unpaid balance due in April 2017. Typically, an owner would try to refinance by then. The loan is non-recourse, although the servicer could take control of the property.The RPC's sale is on hold for unexplained reasons. BRAF, through its spokesman, refused to comment further about the Bon Carré deal until it's done. Eddie Ashworth, the RPC board member who is their point man on Bon Carré, also declined to comment.One source who spoke on condition of anonymity says that, taking into account operating costs, distributions due to the preferred stockholders, and the impending tax increase, it's hard to see how the project would have enough cash flow to cover its debts going forward. Getting free of Bon Carré might be a good deal for the RPC, that person says, while expressing wonder that BRAF would want more of this asset. BRAF's audit says it lost $710,585 in 2009 on Bon Carré.On one hand, Bon Carré may be a losing asset in BRAF's portfolio. But on the other hand, the foundation isn't just about making money. From a community-impact perspective, breathing life into the old Bon Marché might have been a good deal after all.The history of Step One Ventures isn't as long or as convoluted as that of Bon Carré. But it has been a bumpy ride nonetheless. More...

"My goal is to create a professional police department that will work closely with our community and community leaders to bring our city together."
—Newly appointed Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie• Joined the force in 1986
• Chief of staff to former Chief Dewayne White
• Has served as a uniform patrol officer, motorcycle officer and director of the training academy
• Applied for chief's position in 2011, but the job went to White• Age 48
• His father, Lt. Carl Dabadie Sr., was killed in a 1984 motorcycle crash while on routine patrol
• Chosen in 2009 to carry the torch as part of the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho

Graduates of LSU's flagship campus in Baton Rouge are getting one of the best returns on investment in the country among colleges and universities. That's according to Affordable Colleges Online, a Web-based news site that provides students and parents with information about affordable higher education options, which has ranked LSU No. 46 on its new list of the 50 most affordable colleges with high returns. LSU is the only Louisiana school on the list. In compiling it, the website considered 875 public and private U.S. colleges and universities with four-year tuition totaling less than $40,000. The 30-year ROI on an LSU education is approximately $245,200.Louisiana is among just 14 states and the District of Columbia with more jobs today than at the outset of the recession in January 2008, according to a new analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by Governing magazine. Louisiana's net non-farm seasonally adjusted employment increase between January 2008 and June—which marked the fourth anniversary of the official end of the recession—was approximately 14,300 jobs. That's a roughly 0.7% increase, which places the state in the middle of the pack among those that have seen net job growth since the recession.Three new retail developments with a collective 72,000 square feet of space are planned around the Alexander's Highland Market development off Highland Road, says George Kurz of Kurz & Hebert Commercial Real Estate, who is working on all three deals. Investar Bank has closed on a Highland Road parcel in front of Alexander's for a new branch. Adjacent to that parcel, an 8,000-square-foot retail center is planned, followed by another 14,000-square-foot building in the area. Kurz says he's also getting ready to kick off on an additional 50,000 square feet of space just adjacent to Alexander's. While few details have been made public, Kurz says people can expect a balanced mix of retailers.Baton Rouge-based Marucci says the company now provides more Major League Baseball players with bats than does any other equipment maker. More than one-third of all major leaguers swing Marucci bats, the company says in a statement, including an average of 22 All-Star players over the past four years. The next-best average among bat makers is 17 All-Star players over the same period, Marucci says.As it continues to battle The Times-Picayune for readers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, The Advocate plans to reduce its full-time staff by 5%—half of them in the news departments, according to the newspaper's website. When businessman John Georges bought the newspaper in May, it had 450 employees, about 380 of whom were full-time. The cuts mean a reduction of no more than 19 jobs. If not enough employees take an offered buyout plan, there will be involuntary layoffs in some departments. Under the buyout plan, departing employees would get one week of pay for each year of service, with a maximum of 26 weeks. They would also retain full coverage of health benefits until the end of the year, and all accrued vacation would be paid out. Eligible employees have until Sept. 12 to apply.

When the Obama administration announced last month that it would delay implementing a key provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, employee benefits managers around the country let out a collective sigh.After months of fretting over how to comply with the new mandate that employers larger than a certain size must offer employee health insurance coverage, they were suddenly getting a one-year reprieve.Make no mistake: Obamacare is still the health care law of the land. But now that penalties for noncompliance with the employer mandate are set to begin in January 2015 rather than five months from now, businesses are breathing easier.Denny Bass, who heads the benefits consulting division of HUB International Gulf South, says the delay is a huge gift that businesses should use wisely. "All businesses have to plan," he says. "The important thing is to be ready when the rules apply."Michael Bertaut, senior health care economist for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, agrees. "I can't imagine a more important time to have your attorney, CPA or insurance broker close by," he says.

Experts say that from now through 2014, employers should focus on developing efficient methods of tracking employee hours, determining their company's status relative to the employer mandate, and doing strategic personnel planning.Bertaut also suggests that rather than getting worked up over new rules, employers remind themselves of the big picture."One of the things that gets lost in the shuffle is, companies are offering employees insurance today—without the threat of fines—because they think it's the right thing to do," he says. Having health insurance relieves workers of worries about medical bills, makes them more productive, and can strengthen their loyalty to a company, he says."When I talk to businesspeople about the new law, I try to remind them of the reason they offered insurance in the first place," he says.The implications of the Affordable Care Act for business owners are not easily explained, and the timing of the law's implementation continues to evolve. At press time, Congress was debating whether to delay the law's requirement that uninsured individuals obtain coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace slated to go live Oct. 1.In the links below, local advisers highlight parts of the law most likely to affect business owners and offer insights to help guide employers through the evolving health insurance landscape.Costs vs. benefits: A delicate balance
When members of the Louisiana Society for Human Resources Management gather for meetings these days, the topic is nearly always the same—health insurance. More...Get familiar with the basics
When all provisions of the Affordable Care Act are in effect, businesses that employ more than 50 people will face an annual penalty of $2,000 for each full-time employee who is not covered by an employee health plan. While the penalty has been delayed until 2015, the provision has many owners of businesses that are close to the 50-employee threshold thinking about how to manage their payroll numbers. More...Three key questions
When business owners ask Michael Bertaut about the likely impact of the Affordable Care Act on their companies, he has a simple answer: "It depends." More...These websites may be helpful to businesses in gauging the impact of the Affordable Care Act:Healthcare.gov
This is the go-to source for answers about how individuals, families and businesses will be affected by the law. It is also the home of the Health Insurance Marketplace, where Louisiana residents and businesses will be able to shop for affordable health care insurance beginning Oct. 1.Internal Revenue Service
Read about the tax credit available for qualifying small businesses that offer employee health insurance, including a guide that may help you determine whether your business is eligible.Small Business Administration
Find a wealth of relevant information, including a breakdown of which provisions may impact your business based on its size, a glossary of key terms, a timeline of reforms and an interactive tool that is specific to our state.

Anyone who has ever had to obtain a medical record from one doctor to provide it to another knows the process can be a hassle. Not only might it require a written request and payment of a fee for copying, but also the patient might be expected to pick up the record from one office and hand-deliver it to the other.In the new era of health care management, patients can kiss that cumbersome routine good-bye. "Electronic" is the latest word in medical records; and while health care providers initially were a little slow to embrace the concept, many are coming around fast."It's gone better than we had hoped," says Nadine Robin, manager of health information technology for the nonprofit advocacy group Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum.Funded by federal grants, the forum's mission is to help providers integrate new information tools and quality measures into health care. Helping Louisiana providers achieve proficiency with electronic health records is one of the forum's top goals, and federal incentives that encourage doctors to convert from paper records to digital files have been a big help.The Obama administration launched the electronic records push a few years ago as part of an overall upgrade in health information technology, and now electronic records are considered critical to goals of the Affordable Care Act. Medicare and Medicaid program funds pay for the incentives offered to doctors and hospitals that convert to the electronic format and achieve a performance benchmark known as "meaningful use" of the records.Electronic records also are seen as crucial to the success of the "medical home" concept, in which a patient may be treated by a diverse team of doctors working from a range of locations, with all having access to the same records. Such sharing can improve care coordination, reduce duplicative tests and procedures, avoid diagnostic errors, and cut down on costly hospital readmissions, advocates say.Robin says that so far, some 1,700 Louisiana primary care doctors and specialists have tapped into the assistance of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum and received about $24 million in federal incentive payments to implement electronic systems.Nationally, more than half of all eligible doctors and 80% of eligible hospitals have taken the plunge into electronic records since the incentive program began in 2012, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Robin says the benefits are clear. "The aim of electronic records is that a person's health information will be with them when and where they need it," she says. "No one wants to be in an emergency situation trying to treat a patient without information about the person's condition, allergies or medical history."Pediatrician Shelley Martin, who is medical director of the records program at The Baton Rouge Clinic, says such problems are scarce at her facility these days. "When a patient comes through our clinic and has lab work done, the lab results are released to their account within three days," she says.Martin adds that BRC patients can exchange emails with their doctor through a secure messaging system, and soon they will be able to schedule appointments online as well.A few years ago, recognizing that a push for electronic records was close at hand, The Baton Rouge Clinic partnered with two other providers—Our Lady of the Lake Physicians Group in Baton Rouge and St. Elizabeth's Physician Group in Gonzales—to purchase advanced medical records software. The three groups formed the Capital Area Shared Services Organization to jointly purchase and implement the system. Martin says that while it took some professionals longer than others to warm to the idea, more than 300 doctors are now using the system.Now, when a patient who is seen at one clinic later visits a physician at either of the other two clinics, the continually updated patient record is available to all. "It helps us improve the quality of care, decreases duplications, and makes it easier to order medications and labs," Martin says.From a patient perspective, electronic records entail other advantages. Patients increasingly are able to log into a secure portal from their own computer, see their record online, and even print out or email the record to another provider."It's our health information, and it's some of the most important information we have," Robin says. "A patient should not have to call their doctor, request copies of their records three days in advance to pick them up and take them across town."Robin contrasts the country's delayed adoption of digital health records with the speed at which the banking industry converted to electronic systems during the past few decades. "Could you imagine going to a bank that doesn't offer ATMs, debit cards, or the ability to do online banking and bill-pay?" she asks. "Very few people would be willing to work with a bank like that."Similarly, Robin predicts, consumers increasingly will demand nothing less than full access to their own medical records via computer and easy online communications that make scheduling a doctor's appointment as simple as making a bank deposit.KATHY FINN is a freelance writer. ?Email her at editors@businessreport.com.

Health care is decidedly a healthy industry these days in the Capital Region. One need look no further than the backhoes, the cranes, the steel beams, the new drywall and the fresh coats of paint to realize that. Millions of dollars are being spent on new clinics, health centers, bed towers, high-tech surgical rooms, emergency rooms and education centers from Iberville Parish to Zachary to Livingston Parish and all points in between. What follows are select images of some of the larger projects under way at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge General Medical Center and Lane Regional Medical Center.

Click here to see a slideshow of these projects.        

With the country's new health care law set for a phased-in implementation, its ultimate impact is increasingly hard to predict. But one near-certainty is that it will prompt more people than ever before to seek health care services, and some say the increased demand will strain the system.As pressure grows for access to a population of doctors that is already scarce in some regions, the ranks of physician assistants are likely to expand."The new models in health care call for increased care and for investing in keeping people well, and these are excellent roles for PAs to fill," says Ann Davis, senior director of state advocacy and outreach for the American Academy of Physician Assistants.While PAs may seem relatively new in local health care settings, the roots of the profession reach back nearly 50 years to Duke University educators who founded a training program to address a shortage of clinical medicine professionals, particularly in rural areas.That program defined a new category of certified medical professionals who are licensed by the states in which they work and who practice medicine under the supervision of licensed physicians.Davis says that when she became a physician assistant almost 30 years ago, "it was rare to come across a patient or a physician who had worked with a PA," but over the years the profession has gained wide acceptance by other medical professionals and health care facilities.Today, more than 90,000 graduates of accredited physician assistant programs work around the country in settings ranging from community health centers to cardiac care units and hospital neurosurgery departments. They work as members of professional health care teams; they see and treat patients; and they have prescription-writing authority in every state.Because physician assistants are trained in the "medical model," Davis says, patients find it easy to talk with them much as they would with their physician. And while physician assistants won't be found performing surgery and other intricate procedures, many do assist in surgical suites, emergency rooms and trauma centers, she says.Aspiring students typically complete pre-med studies at a university before entering a physician assistant program that involves 24 to 29 months of instruction and clinical rotations. By the time they join a medical team in a hospital, clinic or other setting, Davis says, "they're trained to think like doctors, and to provide skilled assistance with a high level of coordination of care."Many physician assistants in Louisiana have trained at one of two accredited programs, offered by LSU in Shreveport and Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge. But as of this year, aspiring students in Louisiana have a third option: LSU's new physician assistant program in New Orleans.Debra Munsell, an experienced physician assistant and an associate professor at LSU Health Sciences Center, is heading up the program, whose first class will begin in January."The PA profession has been slow to grow in Louisiana, but that's not the case in some other states," says Munsell, who trained for the profession at University of Texas and whose 30 years of experience includes practicing in family medicine, OB/GYN and surgical oncology.Munsell says growth in numbers of physician assistants generally coincides with the availability of training programs, and Louisiana's few programs stand in sharp contrast to more populous states such as Pennsylvania, where some 20 programs are rapidly graduating new physician assistant degree holders.But she says the academy is working to make Louisiana more "welcoming" to physician assistants, and the startup of the new program is promising for the state. "A lot of people who train in an area tend to stay in that area, so having a new training venue here should increase PA numbers in Louisiana," she says.The program may also improve Louisiana's ability to serve the growing number of patients expected as the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect. In addition to its requirement that nearly everyone be covered by health insurance, the law aims to make a big range of wellness and preventive medicine choices available to all citizens.Wellness and prevention are generally the province of primary care—or family practice—physicians, who tend to be in chronically short supply throughout the country. Physician assistants are not only well-prepared to extend these doctors' reach, but "are relatively quick to add to the health care workforce" as compared with physicians, Davis says.The new environment could also spark faster growth in the ranks of another type of medical professional, the nurse practitioner.Described by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners as "clinicians that blend clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating health conditions with an added emphasis on disease prevention and health management," these individuals' training emphasizes health promotion, disease prevention, and health education and counseling.Some 167,000 NPs practice in the U.S., with an estimated 11,000 new practitioners completing their academic programs annually, the association says.