A day after announcing he wouldn't seek re-election next year, U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander already has a new job—and his tenure in Congress will come to an end sooner than expected. Alexander is resigning from Congress effective Sept. 26 and will become Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs on Sept. 30. Alexander, a Republican from Quitman, is the longest-serving U.S. House member from Louisiana, having won the 5th District seat in 2002. Because Alexander is resigning before the end of his term, a special election has been called for Oct. 19 to fill his seat. Gov. Bobby Jindal's first Veterans' Affairs secretary, Lane Carson, retired at the end of 2012 after four years in the job. Carson's deputy, David LaCerte, has been serving as interim secretary with a salary of $130,000 a year.The fact that LSU sometimes loses top-tier faculty because it can't match another school's salary offer and resources is well-documented. But according to a working draft of a report prepared by LSU's Transition Advisory Team, the university system also sometimes loses applicants and current faculty while waiting for approvals of appointments, promotions, counteroffers and other salary adjustments. Decision-making bottlenecks appear to exist at the Board of Supervisors, system and campus chancellor levels. Campus officials sometimes are left waiting around for the board to sign off on a hire, and the applicant can't always afford to wait. The Advisory Team suggests, among other changes, delegating most appointments with salaries of less than $250,000, or at or below the midpoint of an established salary range, to the chancellors.Lenders seeking to foreclose on Perkins Rowe do not have a right to seize the plant that supplies chilled water to run the air conditioning system at the mixed-use development. So says U.S. District Judge James Brady, who ruled this month on several motions recently filed in the case. In late July, KeyBank National Association, which has a $201 million judgment against developer Tommy Spinosa, argued that lenders have a right to seize the developer's ownership interests in the water-cooling plant, Central Facilities, on the grounds that Perkins Rowe—appraised at $95 million—may not fetch that much at a foreclosure sale scheduled for Aug. 28.The Louisiana Lottery Corp. brought in more money than expected in the last budget year and transferred $160 million to the state treasury to pay for education programs. All told, the lottery took in more than $447 million from players for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Its payment to the state was the second-highest annual transfer to the treasury since the lottery began operations in 1991. "This is what happens when you take two record Powerball jackpots and combine them with scratch-off sales that are running $30 million higher than they were just five years ago," Lottery President Rose Hudson says in a prepared statement. Under Louisiana law, 35% of the money generated by the lottery goes to the state treasury, dedicated to public elementary and secondary education. Other dollars go to retailers that sell tickets, and at least half of the lottery's revenue pays for prizes for players.While the first few model homes are going up at The Preserve at Harveston, John Fetzer and Mike Wampold are moving forward with plans for a second planned community near the intersection of the Bluebonnet Extension and Nicholson Drive. At press time, the developers were expected to file an application with the Planning Commission for a second PUD called The Lakes at Harveston. It will be located adjacent to The Preserve at Harveston, which is 1,200 acres, but developed on a noncontiguous, 300-acre tract that backs up to University Club. The Lakes at Harveston will include about 900 single-family homes between 2,300 square feet and 3,000 square feet that will be constructed by the same builder group constructing homes at The Preserve. Construction on the first model homes at The Preserve began earlier this summer and is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Jon Fels says he has no doubt the iconic Baton Rouge Marriott off Interstate 10 can overcome having been seized in July by a lender and emerge from a scheduled Sept. 4 auction to regain its place as the premier hotel in the city.His confidence is rooted in his own history with the hotel.Nearly 35 years ago, Fels was brought to Baton Rouge from Texas as the appointed receiver and general manager of the hotel, which at that time was a Hilton and had been seized by a lender less than three years after opening.Over the next five years, Fels says, the Baton Rouge Hilton received a host of national awards and maintained the highest industry ratings of any hotel in the market.While a strong management team with a clear plan was key to the success, Fel says, the primary reasons the hotel flourished more than three decades ago are the same reasons he believes it can once again."You cannot ignore that hotel," he says of the 21-story, 297-room high-rise that towers over the interstate near College Drive. "That is the No. 1 hotel in town because of its visibility and position on the interstate."Fels expects the Marriott to draw a number of serious bidders at the upcoming auction, primarily because of its landmark status, history and location.Columbia Properties bought the hotel in 2000 and changed the flag from Hilton to Marriott. Columbia now owes more than $38 million on the property, prompting the lender to seize the hotel and put it up for auction to pay off the debt.Despite its desirable location, there are significant challenges ahead for whoever ends up acquiring the 37-year-old hotel. It is in need of considerable updating, with Fels estimating it could cost upwards of $12,500 per room to return it to mint condition. The details of any redevelopment plan will be determined by the buyer, who may change the flag once again."That will all depend on the franchise agreement the new owner secures. So it could continue as a Marriott, or the new owner may get the option to choose his own franchise," Fels says. "That's just one of the unanswered questions at this point."The answers may start to emerge following the auction Sept. 4, which will take place on the first floor of City Hall at 222 St. Louis St."I know I'm going to be there," says Fels, who adds he has no plans of placing a bid. "It's going to be fascinating."

Edtior's note: This story has been changed since its original publication to clarify Fels' estimate on what it could cost to update the hotel.

As construction continues at the new Walmart Supercenter on Burbank Drive and Bluebonnet Boulevard, work crews are also busy readying a 12-acre parcel across from it on Burbank in hopes of attracting buyers to a shovel-ready site in a rapidly growing area."We are filling in the front pads—putting in retention ponds, moving dirt from the back of the site to the front," says Jerry Pearson, who, with partner Bing Bishop, acquired the property in 2006. "We sat on it for a long time. Now, with Walmart beginning their store and the RaceTrac [coming] next door, we think the time is right for this property. It's a great corner."Earlier this year, Pearson and Bishop sold 1.8 acres of what was originally their 16-acre tract to RaceTrac for a new prototype gas station, deli and convenience store. Construction on that store is also expected to be under way soon. The partners also sold approximately two acres to Goodwill for the new store that was built last year. Those sales left Pearson and Bishop with a 12-acre site, the front of which they are hoping to sell for $20 per square foot."We've had some interest in the site and some lowball offers," Pearson says. "But we're willing to wait. I think we are going to be able to sell off all the outparcels to someone who comes in and wants to follow Walmart."

finished another vinyl wall downtown in August. A tribute to Neil deGrasse Tyson, the renowned American astrophysicist, the mural by New Orleans-based artist Vance Kelly is on the side of the Laurel Street building that houses Blend wine bar. Organizers say the piece is meant to promote science and space exploration in the Baton Rouge area. facebook.com/brwallsproject

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.

In the ongoing struggle to ensure that quality health care is available to all who need it, doctors and insurers don't always find themselves pulling on the same rope. The medical profession's focus on patient care and insurers' mission to maintain control over costs can cause them to appear at odds with one another.But a local physicians group that recently signed on to participate in a program of Louisiana's biggest health insurer hopes the collaboration will lead down a mutually beneficial path."I think the more you can coordinate care, the better quality care you're going to get, which means patients will be healthier, and hopefully, the care will be more cost-effective," says Brad Gaspard, a primary care doctor and a member of Baton Rouge General Physicians.Gaspard and his colleagues in the 80-member physician group hope those will be the results of their affiliation with Quality Blue, a new program offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. The initiative enables new ways of sharing information between doctors and the insurer in an effort to promote better patient care, particularly for persons with chronic diseases. It encourages doctors to go the extra mile to help their sickest patients get well."There's a disproportionate impact by certain members of the population on total health care costs," says Dr. David Carmouche, chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. He notes that a comparatively small number of seriously ill patients account for about 75% of the U.S. health care tab.Carmouche says that even before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law, Blue Cross was exploring ways to influence how medical professionals manage care for chronically ill patients. He says Quality Blue is the company's recognition that such patients require more work than do healthier people."We saw this as an opportunity to make investments to induce providers to do that extra work," he says.Quality Blue rewards doctors for producing positive outcomes in patients with diabetes and heart disease, among other illnesses. The program assesses physicians based on medical record data that show how patients are progressing. Doctors who score above a specified level on the assessment are eligible to receive payments in addition to their normal reimbursement from Blue Cross.Making the system work requires more communication and information sharing between doctor and insurer than has been typical in the past, and participating physicians must use cloud-based software that enables the interaction. Blue Cross is paying for the software the clinics need and providing technical guidance to the clinics to get the program up and running.A Quality Blue "navigator" works with a designated person in each doctor's office to enhance coordination of patient visits, drug prescriptions and care support. Data shared between insurer and provider may include a patient's insurance claims history so that the doctor can see what tests or procedures a patient has undergone in other settings and what drugs have been paid for by the health plan."It can help doctors avoid duplicating tests and be alert to patients who are not taking their medications," Carmouche says.From the insurer's perspective, the shared software lets Blue Cross see a patient's upcoming clinical appointments and connect with the patient coordinator to help ensure that both patient and clinic are prepared to make the most of their visits.Carmouche says the value of the shared information goes beyond assisting any particular patient involved. Clinics, for instance, can use a feed from the database to sort out all their patients who have diabetes, and see how many are meeting standards agreed upon by the insurer and doctors."For a patient with diabetes, we want to know how well your blood sugar is controlled, of course, but what's really important is that your blood pressure is controlled, too, and your cholesterol, and that you don't smoke," Carmouche says. "The measure we use now is a composite measure, and all of it must be controlled to get credit."Quality Blue's targeted approach to caring for chronically ill patients and its emphasis on outcomes puts it in sync with the era of health care being ushered in by the Affordable Care Act, Carmouche says."For a long time we've been hearing from members and businesses that health care costs are rising at an unsustainable rate," he says.Quality Blue is laying the foundation for a larger system in which the provider of care takes a bigger role in focusing treatments on patient populations that need it most, he says.As physicians and insurers gain experience with this approach, the program likely will expand to include other chronic conditions, such as asthma and kidney disease.

When members of the Louisiana Society for Human Resources Management gather for meetings these days, the topic is nearly always the same—health insurance."We almost talk about nothing else," says Gretchen McKinney, who is state council director for the society's Louisiana chapter and personnel director for the city of Mandeville.Human resources managers are relieved that penalties under the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act won't take effect until 2015. Says McKinney: "I'd say the biggest headache of many of our employee benefits managers is gone for now."
But the managers aren't resting on that cushion. Many are developing new personnel organization models to fit potential scenarios that may affect employee benefits—and costs—in 2015.McKinney says some companies are considering layoffs or at least reductions in employee hours with an eye toward exempting themselves from the employer mandate.The city of Mandeville had been considering increasing its 35-hour workweek to 40 hours, based on workload demands, McKinney says. But with the IRS setting the full-time benchmark at 30 or more weekly hours, the financial implications are now too onerous. "We decided to stick with the 35-hour week," she says.The city also may ask employees to contribute more to their health plan premiums. Individual employees now pay about $20 per pay period for health and dental coverage, so McKinney says there is room for an increase.At the same time, she fears that tightening the city's generous benefits package could affect employee recruitment. Says McKinney: "I know that people who are coming to me for jobs are aware of our benefits."

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.Employers subject to the act's provisions still have responsibility, beginning this year, for notifying employees about insurance affordability and the fact that they may be eligible for subsidized health insurance through the newly established Health Insurance Marketplace.Meanwhile, certain small businesses that employ low-wage workers are eligible to receive a tax credit toward their cost of health insurance.Denny Bass, head of benefits consulting for HUB International Gulf South, says employers should seek advice from an insurance broker, an accountant or both to understand the implications of the Affordable Care Act for their business. He also thinks it's a good time for business owners to integrate new features, such as the wellness offerings the act requires, into their overall benefits program.Here are several points that Bass says employers should consider.Even if you believe your company will not be subject to the mandate for offering health insurance coverage, you will have to report your employee numbers to the federal government every year. Maintaining good records throughout the year will make compliance easier. So review your systems and consider upgrading them to make the tracking as simple and reliable as possible.If so, you have all the more reason to scrutinize your records. Some of the businesses most affected by the size calculation under the Affordable Care Act are those that regularly employ workers on a variable-hours basis and at relatively low wages. Home health care and restaurant workers are good examples.The IRS now defines a full-time worker as one who works more than 30 hours a week, but the figure that determines whether your company will be subject to the employer mandate is the number of "full-time equivalents" you employ. If combined hours worked by full- and part-time employees puts your company in the over-50 FTEs category, then the employer mandate for health insurance will apply, meaning your company could incur penalties if it fails to cover all eligible employees.Bass says businesses likely to exceed the FTE threshold are having mixed reactions to the new law. Some accept the new emphasis on insurance and are preparing to increase their commitment to health coverage, where necessary; but others aim to cut jobs and reduce worker hours, he says.Some employers are using the law as an opportunity "to elevate the people they really wanted to work full-time and reduce the hours of those they didn't," Bass says.Count yourself lucky, but don't be complacent. Companies with fewer than 50 full-time workers won't be subject to penalties for not making health insurance coverage available to their employees; so technically, if you're not now offering a health plan, you don't have to start shopping for one.On the other hand, not tending to your employees' benefit needs could cost you, Bass says. He advises business owners to consider challenges they may face in recruiting and retaining good employees if they don't offer good benefits."Is your competition offering health coverage?" he asks. Losing employees to competitors could become an unofficial penalty for skimping on benefits, he says.If so, take a breath and plan. Many employers in this category had already begun tracking employee hours more closely in anticipation of a 2014 rollout of the new regulations. Now they have time for a more careful personnel analysis and may be able to use the data to improve overall efficiency and productivity.

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."The law's impact "is very different from business to business," says Bertaut, senior health care economist at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. But he says all employers would do well to consider these questions:Most health insurance plans that existed on March 23, 2010, are eligible for grandfathered status and do not have to meet all the requirements of the new law. But if an insurer or employer significantly changes a plan's benefits or member costs, the plan loses that status."If you have the grandfather option," Bertaut says, "every year you have to review it to see if it's worth keeping."Maintaining the grandfathered status lets employers duck some expensive features of the new law, such as having to offer many wellness services at zero cost to employees. But employers will need to weigh the value of not changing their plan against other questions, such as whether they would be better off increasing employee premiums, co-pays or deductibles.In the past, employers could choose how to define a full-time worker, with their choices commonly ranging between 35 and 40 hours of work per week. But for purposes of implementing the Affordable Care Act, the Internal Revenue Service has stipulated that "full-time" means 30 hours per week.This change in definition could affect the number of both full-time workers and full-time equivalents attributable to any company, and both numbers have employer implications under the law. "If you haven't reclassified your workforce recently," Bertaut says, "you really need to do it."The Affordable Care Act says that if a business employs an average of at least 50 full-time employees during the preceding calendar year, it meets the definition of "applicable large employer" and will be subject to fines if it does not extend a bona fide offer of health insurance coverage to its full-time employees.Remember, full-time now applies to anyone who works more than 30 hours a week, and large employers are defined by total average full-time equivalents, so part-timers will count in this determination. "If you have just 30 full-time employees," Bertaut says, "don't assume that you are not an applicable large employer."Even if you are certain your company will be considered small under the law, don't overlook the need to track employees' hours. "If you believe you're a small company," he says, "you may still be contacted by the Treasury Department to prove it at some point."

A physician assistant is licensed to practice medicine as part of a team with a physician. These professionals conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions.• The typical student entering a PA program has a bachelor's degree and approximately four years of health care experience.
• The average program takes 27 months to complete.
• In addition to more than 1,000 hours of instruction in basic and behavioral sciences and clinical medicine, PAs participate in more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations, in areas including family medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and internal medicine.• To practice as a physician assistant, candidates must pass a national certification exam administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (for graduates of accredited programs only).
• Physician assistants must also obtain a state license.• Physician assistants must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education over a two-year cycle and pass a recertification exam every six years.

To meet escalating demand for physician assistants, Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton Rouge this fall will launch a unique accelerated program designed to boost interest in the field.The college is now offering a three-year accelerated biology program, combined with a two-year physician assistant program. This allows qualified students to immerse themselves in an accelerated science curriculum that makes it possible for them to enter the physician assistant program during their junior year, ultimately becoming certified a little more than two years later.Currently, just two PA programs exist nationwide that offer this kind of expedited path—and neither is located in the southeastern U.S. The OLOL College 3 + 2 program is already taking applications and launches this fall.Physician assistant studies program Director John Allgood, who was the first licensed physician assistant in Louisiana, says admission into the 3 + 2 accelerated program is competitive and will be available only in the fall semester.Minimum requirements for admission include the accumulation of 29 or less credit hours, a high school or college grade point average of 3.3 or higher, a composite ACT score of at least 26, and a minimum mathematics ACT sub-score of 27.In support of the program, OLOL College this fall is opening a state-of-the-art Biological Learning and Research Building with teaching spaces designed to educate students in physician assistant studies. The space features anatomy and physiology labs that provide guided, three-dimensional anatomy and physiology simulations.The new facility also includes a new high-tech research space financed in part by a federal grant to encourage students to develop skills in scientific inquiry and research and incorporate the latest advances in medicine in their practice.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber has announced the members of the Baton Rouge Area Leadership class of 2014. The leadership program has selected a varied group of participants representing several areas of the Capital Region's business, civic, and non-profit communities. Members of the class of 2014 include Brian Ainsworth, Campus Federal Credit Union; Emel Alexander, Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation; Jamie Beeman, JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Nicole Colvin, Baton Rouge General Foundation; Liz Cooke Smith, Baton Rouge Area Chamber; Ken DeDominicis, Our Lady of the Lake College; Megan Feazell, ExxonMobil; Danny Fields, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation; Anya Glusman, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers; David Grand, Provident Resources Group; Tyler Grodi, E Federal Credit Union; Ryan Heck, Albemarle; Eric Holowacz, Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge; Josh Howard, Covalent Logic; AJ Jarrett, Capital One Bank; Jeremy Jenkins, Dow Chemical; Alex Layfield, Jones Walker; Logan Leger, NewAperio; Jada Lewis, LSU College of Engineering; Danielle Mack, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center; Jason MacMorran, Postlethwaite & Netterville; Lydia Martin, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana; Pam Mascari, Kean Miller; Van Mayhall III, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson; Eunice McCarney, McMains Children's Development Center; Belinda Mounce, Ochsner Health Systems Baton Rouge; Craig Netterville, IberiaBank; Sherry Poss, Woman's Hospital; Chard Richard, Gallagher Benefit Services; Scott Ritter, Ritter Maher Architects; Stewart Spielman, McGlinchey Stafford; Jennifer Stenhouse, Center for Planning Excellence; Jeremy Theriot, Cox Communications; Manuel Valencia, Excelerant; Jamie Watts, Long Law Firm; Corey Wilson, BREC; Travis Woodard, CSRS. The Baton Rouge Area Leadership Program was founded in 1985 to prepare professionals for leadership positions in the community.Celebrating the grand opening of the recently completed affordable housing sites at Autumn Place and Willow Creek Townhomes are (front row) state Rep. Regina Barrow, Metro Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards, Cheryl Williams of HUD in New Orleans, East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority President and CEO Walter Monsour, East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority CEO Richard Murray, Housing Authority member Barbara Carpenter, Partners for Progress Board of Directors President Al Gensler, Autumn Place Townhomes tenant Carolyn Patin, and state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome; (back row) Capital One Bank Baton Rouge President Ric Kearny, Interdenominational Faith Assembly Pastor Guevara Johnson, Partners for Progress COO Morise Duffin, Louisiana Housing Corporation Program Administrator Brenda Evans, and National Development of America President Rick Miller. Construction on the developments in revitalized districts of Baton Rouge began in January 2012.The Cardiovascular Institute of the South celebrates its 30th anniversary of providing personalized, cardiovascular care to communities in south Louisiana. The institute was founded in 1983 as a one-man practice under the leadership of Dr. Craig Walker in Houma and now boasts nearly 40 physicians and 500 employees in 14 cities throughout the region.St. John Airport has recently completed the extension of a runway. The project elongates the airstrip from 4,000 feet to 5,151 feet, extends the taxiway and adds a 3,400-square-yard taxiway turnaround. Construction on the $2.8 million project began in November 2012 and was funded in part by $1.7 million in state funding and $575,000 from Louisiana State General Obligations Bonds. The ongoing improvements will allow the airport to better serve the needs of general aviation, military and corporate aircraft. The extended runway is just the first of several planned improvements for St. John Airport. Arrangements are being made to secure Jet-A fuel as a service to the larger aircraft that are utilizing the airport. In addition, the terminal building—damaged during Hurricane Isaac in August 2012—is being redesigned with many upgrades in mind.Visit Baton Rouge President and CEO Paul Arrigo joined tourism officials from the 10-parish group Southeast Louisiana Gumbo last month on a week-long journey to promote their parishes, the region and the state of Louisiana. Hosting events in Birmingham, Atlanta and Washington D.C., the Southeast Louisiana Gumbo group traveled by Amtrak train in an effort to raise awareness of the expansive variety of tourist destinations in the southeast Louisiana region. The group includes Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington and West Baton Rouge parishes. Along with the parish delegates, History Channel Swamp People star Bruce Mitchell and his wife, Janet, went on the three-city tour to help promote the region.WRKF will present a live taping of the NPR program Wait Wait … Don't Tell Me! on Sept. 26 at the Baton Rouge River Center. Now in its 15th season, the Peabody Award–winning show explores current news stories through questions and comedy. Host Peter Sagal and official judge/scorekeeper Carl Kasell lead a rotating panel of comedians, journalists, listener contestants and celebrity guests through a comic review of the week's news. The show airs at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WRKF and around the country on other NPR member stations.Bettsie Norton, projects director for the TJC Group, has earned her Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. The certification recognizes project managers for superior competence through experience and education to lead and direct projects. Norton has more than seven years of experience in managing a variety of public affairs projects for the TJC Group, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Louisiana Economic Development, and ICF International.The Capital Area American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has announced its new board of directors. Chairwoman is Terrie Sterling, COO of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Other appointments include: Dr. Brian Swirsky, president; Dr. Steven Kelley, president-elect; William "Bill" Holman, chairman of leadership development; and board members Dr. David Carmouche, Kerry Drake, Trey Godfrey, Terry Hill, Debra Lockwood, Jamie Schlottman, Dr. Robert "Bob" St. Amant, and Thomas Temple.Keri Truitt of Baton Rouge, assistant director of student employment in Southeastern Louisiana University's Office of Career Services, has been inducted as president of the Louisiana Association of Colleges and Employers for the 2013-2014 year. A Southeastern alumna with a master's degree in counselor education, Truitt has served in her current position at Southeastern for five years and has also served LACE as the technology chair and president-elect.Tyron Picard has been appointed to the Gulf of Mexico Foundation board of directors. Picard is the founder and principal of The Picard Group, a state and federal governmental affairs and business consulting group. He also serves as special counsel to the law firm of Roedel, Parsons, Koch, Blache, Balhoff & McCollister. Picard currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Council for a Better Louisiana.The leadership for the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra this year includes Treasurer Wei-Ling Song, Secretary Gwen Redding, board Chair-Elect Judi George, board Chairman John D'Angelo, Immediate Past Chair Barbara Matens and President/Executive Director Alan Hopper.Five Baton Rouge architecture firms have received an American Institute of Architects Baton Rouge Rose Award. Tipton Associates & Ashe Broussard Weinzettle received the Members' Choice Award and a Silver Rose Award for the Lambright Sports and Wellness Center expansion at Louisiana Tech University. Remson Haley Herpin Architects received Gold Rose Awards for the Emergency Medical Services headquarters and for the Baton Rouge High School renovation and addition. Post Architects received a Gold Rose Award for the Mid City Gardens residential development. Coleman Partners Architects received a Silver Rose Award for the LSU Business Education Complex. And Holly & Smith Architects received a Rose Award for the Tangipahoa Parish Library headquarters.Douglas Secrest of Baton Rouge, an accounting alumnus of E. J. Ourso College of Business and the LSU Center for Internal Auditing program, was named by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation as the 2013 Esther R. Sawyer Research Award winner. The award is presented to those entering or enrolled in a graduate program in internal auditing or business at an IIA-endorsed internal audit program and have written a manuscript on a topic related to internal auditing. Secrest, who earned his degree in May, was also a University Medalist and one of just two E. J. Ourso College graduates to be certified as a Distinguished Communicator from the Communication across the Curriculum program.The Baton Rouge Area Chamber has received two Judges Awards from the Southern Economic Development Council's annual Communications Awards competition. "Erin on the Go," a series of weekly email updates sent during the 2013 legislative session by BRAC's executive vice president and COO Erin Monroe Wesley, was honored for effective use of social media in the Thinking Outside the Box category. Catalyst, a regular publication by BRAC reporting information about the chamber's progress in regional economic development and other initiatives, was honored for consistent excellence in execution in the Magazines & Advertorials category. Catalyst was produced in partnership with Object 9, a Baton Rouge area-based marketing and graphic design firm.Four Capital Region volunteers are recipients of the 2013 Angel Awards presented by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation. The awards are given annually to those who give of their time and talents for Louisiana's children. In addition, one of the company's Baton Rouge employees is the recipient of the 2013 Blue Angel Award. Area winners include Jacob Nichols of Baton Rouge, who started Live 2 Serve as a high school student; John Smith of Baton Rouge, who serves as vice president for programs at 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge; Beth Clark of Denham Springs, founder of Mighty Moms; and Jamie Trindle of Denham Springs, executive director of Families Helping Families of Greater Baton Rouge. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana employee recognized as the 2013 Blue Angel is Charles Landreneau, the company's vice president of enterprise infrastructure. He and his wife, Kary, are working with trained professionals at Healing Place Serve and the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services to assist boys released from the foster system in their transition to adulthood. Winners are selected by a committee of past recipients, and each receives a $20,000 grant for his or her charitable organization. Since the program's inception, 150 volunteers from all over Louisiana have been honored.Denise Holston-West, a registered dietitian and program manager for the LSU AgCenter's Smart Bodies program, has won the Southern Region Excellence in Extension Award. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities awards this distinction to individuals who have a positive effect on people in their community and provide leadership for the extension system. The Smart Bodies program addresses the childhood obesity problem in Louisiana through a three-part program of nutritional education and physical activities.Samuel C. Hyde Jr. of Denham Springs, a history professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, was honored at the annual awards dinner of the Foundation for Historical Louisiana for his efforts as chair of the West Florida Republic Bicentennial Commission. He also coordinated the development of the West Florida Republic Trail, which placed historical markers across the region detailing events associated with the West Florida Revolt. Hyde is the current president of the Gulf South Historical Association and the author/editor of seven books on Florida Parishes history.Fonda Lindfors New, CEO and founder of Quaternary Resource Investigations, has been recognized as the Small Business Administration District 8(a) Small Business Person of the Year. Since 2004, Fonda has been a participant in the SBA's program designed to help disadvantaged entrepreneurs become viable competitors in the marketplace and gain access to government contracting.  Rusty Ruiz of Access Home Insurance Co. in Baton Rouge has been named Company Representative of the Year by the Professional Insurance Agents of Louisiana. Butsy Martin of G. Martin Insurance of Lutcher has been installed on the board of directors of the organization.Volunteers from Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services in Baton Rouge recently helped spruce up Parker House as part of the firm's Gallagher Baton Rouge Gives Back Day. The team spent the day landscaping and pressure washing the facility, and also provided meals for the children of the home. The project was organized and led by Greg Stark, Jill Couvillon and Heather Hughes. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge kicks off construction of its 300th home on Sept. 13 in the Scotlandville neighborhood of north Baton Rouge. Habitat's homeowner-partners have cumulatively spent over 75,000 hours on Habitat build sites and have paid millions in mortgage payments over the past 24 years. This three-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot home will be built over 10 weeks at 1252 Wall St.Keith Tillage of Tillage Construction and Brian LaFleur of the BJL Group are donating 40 tickets to Southern University home football games to youth organizations that support the north Baton Rouge community.The Dow Chemical Co. donated approximately $500,000 in new and used plant equipment to the industrial maintenance program at Baton Rouge Community College's Westside campus. Tom Bradley of Dow Chemical and Will Seaman, construction program director for BRCC, were on hand for the presentation of the donation, which includes huge pallets of fittings, valves, meters, flanges, seals, gaskets, a fitting table, containers and more.Attending a recent unveiling ceremony of the Coca-Cola Express train at the Baton Rouge Zoo with BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight (third from right) and BREC Baton Rouge Zoo Director Phil Frost (far right) from Coca-Cola Bottling Co. are: Barry Breau, on-premise manager; Melanie Clark, vice-president of marketing; John Miller, division vice-president; and Brian Davies, on-premise business development manager. Coca-Cola Bottling Co.'s gift included a new locomotive as well as an additional car for handicapped visitors.

Like a lot of people, real estate appraiser Lance Mills left Louisiana in the late 1980s, when oil prices tanked, commercial real state collapsed, the economy went to hell and jobs disappeared. He was a young man at the time, with three small children and a fledgling real estate data company that kept him busy working close to 80 hours a week.He didn't want to leave Louisiana, but in 1988 a former client offered him an opportunity in Phoenix, Ariz., and he couldn't turn it down. More money. Less stress. A promise of a better future."It was hard to leave, but I was a struggling entrepreneur in Baton Rouge and I was exhausted," says Mills, who went on to build a successful career as an appraiser for a bank. "In Arizona, the opportunities were better and the economy was more vibrant."A quarter of a century later, Mills is still in the Phoenix area, still contributing, as a professional, to the state's economy and its tax base. His now ex-wife, a banker, is still there, too. So are their three children, who grew up in Arizona, went to Arizona schools, attended Arizona universities and now have jobs in Arizona.One of those sons, Lance Mills Jr., owns his own real estate appraisal firm in Phoenix. He would like to live in the South, which he knows from childhood visits to relatives, but he doesn't see it happening."The South definitely has more heart," says Mills Jr. "But it's too risky to walk away from a solid job with a good salary."The Mills family is a textbook example of a phenomenon that has plagued Louisiana for the past four decades. Demographically speaking, that phenomenon is known as negative net migration: the numerical difference between those who have moved out and those who have moved in. Simply put, it means population loss.In every decade since the 1980s, Louisiana has experienced negative net migration—more than 600,000 people between 1980 and 2010. When those people packed up, not only did they take their tax dollars, spending capacity and creative energy with them; they also took their kids, who have grown up out-of-state and now have jobs, pay taxes and contribute to communities elsewhere.In other words, Louisiana has now lost large segments of two generations of its population. The first comprises the primarily middle-class and professional residents who had the wherewithal to leave in the first place. The second is the children of those expats—Gen Ys and millennials who are now, themselves, middle-class professionals.What's more, the out-migration has continued through the 1990s and 2000s. Granted, Louisiana has gained some new residents during that time—in-migrants who are, by definition, mobile and therefore likely to be contributing taxpayers to the state's economy. But the number of those leaving, for the most part, has continued to outstrip the number of those coming, which has serious implications for the state's economy, tax base, retirement system, workforce, educational system and infrastructure, among other things.The subject isn't popular to talk about publicly. State leaders would rather focus on the fact that for the first time in four decades, the tide of out-migration is slowing. Some, in fact, say it has reversed. Depending on how you crunch the numbers—whether you count returning evacuees from hurricanes Katrina and Rita as new in-migrants—you can make a case either way.But whether Louisiana is actually seeing positive net migration for the first time in decades or just losing residents at a slower rate, the population loss has already been so great that much economic damage has been done. The question is whether it's too late to do anything about it."Our state is disappearing, relative to other states," says former Gov. Buddy Roemer, who is alarmed enough by the trend that he is trying to organize a team of researchers at LSU to study the problem. "That affects every person in our state—their job opportunities, their families, the wages they are paid or, simply, the speed by which we can correctly react to the ever-changing culture of being the 'fastest' nation on earth."

POSITION Managing partners
COMPANY Southern Hospitality Tailgating
WHAT THEY DO Provide tailgating equipment setup in south Louisiana
NEXT GOALS Expanding into other entertainment venues, including festivals, concerts, marathons or 5KsAs veteran LSU tailgaters, Keith Schwager and Mark Herbst knew how much effort went into setting up and packing up on game days. If they could do it for themselves, they reasoned, why not do it for others—particularly out-of-towners who can't easily haul tables, chairs and tents on the road? It wasn't too long before a new business was born. "Basically, we were setting up our tailgate for our group, and we looked around, saying, 'This is a lot of work. Why can't we find somebody to do this for us?" says Herbst, who is also a senior vice president of corporate lending for a local bank. "From there, we kind of expanded on it. We started with tailgating, but really we're looking at any type of services." Southern Hospitality Tailgating offers a ready-made tailgating site, setting up, maintaining and packing up a complete venue, including tent, television, generator, chairs, tables, lights and ice chests. Their services are available anywhere on LSU's campus for any sporting event, although football presents the greatest demand.There's nothing like extensive personal experience with tailgating to drive home market demand. "We've actually been tailgating at LSU for, gosh, I can't even think how long. Well over a decade," Herbst says. "We were the client. We were the ones who were out there setting this stuff up, realizing the need for it. We saw what was needed. It was just an idea that we should be able to provide this service for someone who can't do it themselves." Schwager, who is also a local physician, admits they aren't "creating the wheel" with the concept: Other firms before them have provided similar tailgating services at universities nationwide—except, as far as they could tell, at LSU. "Nobody was doing it here," he says. "We did it ourselves here for years and realized, if it can be done at smaller universities with less-enthusiastic fans, it can be done at LSU for sure."Southern Hospitality Tailgating is all about making the event hassle-free. "We just want to make sure that everybody has the best possible game-day experience there," Herbst says. "That's our goal: to set up and take the hassle out of it for people who can't take the time to plan for the logistics, because it's a very time-consuming process." The company has taken that message to the airwaves and online, but word of mouth has proven to be the best marketing. The response, the partners say, has been overwhelming. "We're getting more interest more quickly than we even thought we would," Schwager says. "As a small startup, we have to evolve every day to meet that growing client demand.""With the LSU fan base being what it is, we feel like this is the best market in the nation for this. And it doesn't seem like work. It's just been a lot of fun so far."

Melanie Amond has been named vice president of Red River Bank, based in Baton Rouge. She has 30 years of banking experience in the Capital Region, having begun her career with Fidelity National Bank. The Marksville native has a bachelor's degree in marketing from LSU.Taylar Childress-McKeithen has joined Baton Rouge General Physicians. The Louisiana native earned her medical degree from LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport and completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at LSU Health Sciences Center at Woman's Hospital.Dan Rogers has been promoted to vice president of operations at Knight Oil Tools, overseeing U.S. operations. He has served as the company's director of operations for the Gulf Coast Region and quality control manager for downhole tubulars. Rogers has been with Knight Oil Tools for 18 years.Subarna Kandel has been named E-discovery specialist for Clarity Litigation Support. Kandel previously worked as senior E-discovery specialist at SFL Data in San Francisco, where he prepared source ESI for processing and data transfer and resolved ESI processing issues.Frederick Mulhearn has been named partner in the Baton Rouge law firm of Rainer Anding Talbot & Mulhearn. His practice is concentrated in sales and use tax consultation and litigation on behalf of local government agencies statewide. He recently was attorney supervisor on the sales tax team of the Louisiana Department of Revenue. Polly Prince Johnson has been named president and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters. Johnson has been with the organization since January 2010. Also, Angelice Tyson has been named manager of business development at LAB, with a focus on promoting the Public Education Partnership program.Kim Leavitt has been named deputy director of Louisiana A+ Schools for the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. She will provide support to a statewide school network and form liaisons with other states nationwide. She previously worked with The Phoenix Symphony.John Boudreaux has been promoted to chief development officer and Sarah Lomax has been named director of marketing and business development at Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge. Boudreaux has been part of the organization's development department for more than two years. Lomax joins Cancer Services after five years as the marketing coordinator for Phelps Dunbar.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission has been working on ways to improve energy efficiency since 2009. But the program's fate lies in the hands of one politically savvy commissioner elected less than a year ago.At Jimmy Field's last PSC meeting in December 2012, commissioners voted to move forward with plans to reward home and business owners for making energy-saving improvements, paid for by a surcharge on all ratepayers. But they've since killed, then resurrected, the initiative, and now the fate of the program lies in the hands of Field's replacement, Scott Angelle. Which way Angelle goes on this issue could be a clue to the future direction of the five-member PSC, which decides how much each of us have to pay for electricity and water.Democrats Foster Campbell and Lambert Boissiere are solid "yes" votes on energy efficiency. Republicans Clyde Holloway and Chairman Eric Skrmetta are more than ready to vote "no." Angelle, a Democrat-turned-Republican with close ties to Gov. Bobby Jindal, twice has convinced his colleagues to defer, although a final decision could be made at the commission's Aug. 21 meeting.  During the PSC's June discussion, Angelle focused on what he described as unfair treatment of businesses. A medium-size grocery story in Cleco's service area, he said, would pay an extra $135 a month. He said he fears commercial customers will end up subsidizing residential ratepayers."I definitely could not support the program in the shape that it was," Angelle says.In July, Angelle floated the idea of making the program voluntary for the utilities. His reasoning: The PSC doesn't tell them which energy sources to use, so why should it tell them how to save energy?"We went from nothing to 'shall,'" skipping past "may," he said. But when pressed by Angelle, utility representatives were noncommittal about participating in a voluntary program."[Angelle] clearly wants the utilities to say, 'We want to do the right thing,'" says Forest Wright with the Alliance for Affordable Energy, who ran for the PSC against Angelle. But he says it's the commission's job to make sure the regulated monopolies act in the public interest. Forcing them to save energy is cheaper than making consumers pay for new power plants, supporters say, and Wright says that participation in the vast majority of the equivalent programs in 46 or so other states is mandatory.David Cruthirds, a consultant who closely watches the Louisiana PSC, is a bit more skeptical that energy efficiency measures always prove to be the lowest-cost options. But he agrees that a purely voluntary program is unlikely to work."Most utilities make more money the more power they sell," Cruthirds says. Companies like to be able to spread their costs over a broader base, he notes, and so have a financial disincentive to reduce consumption.It could be that Angelle, by attempting to appeal to stakeholders on both sides of the issue, is simply following his political instincts. The PSC has been a stop for ambitious politicians from Huey Long to Kathleen Blanco, and some observers already are gaming out Angelle's next move.Sam Hanna Jr., publisher of The Ouachita Citizen, says the former St. Martin Parish president, Department of Natural Resources secretary under Blanco and Jindal, and (briefly) lieutenant governor should set his sights on the U.S. Senate."He's articulate, intelligent, easygoing, never meets a stranger and women say he's easy on the eyes," Hanna wrote in a July 30 column. Unlike Baton Rouge Congressman Bill Cassidy, the current Republican standard-bearer in the race, Angelle can beat Mary Landrieu, Hanna argues. Conservative blogger Scott McKay theorizes that Hanna's column parrots Republican consultants Roy Fletcher and Timmy Teepell, the latter of whom recently split from Cassidy.For now, Angelle has plenty on his plate. He is questioning the PSC's decades-old 300-foot rule that restricts electricity consumers' choice of providers to the one with the closest infrastructure and says the state should consider allowing plants to sell their excess power without being regulated as retail electricity providers. For Commission watchers, it will be interesting to see if on other hot-button issues, not just energy efficiency, Angelle turns out to be the swing vote. 

As a planning engineer with the Louisiana division of the Federal Highway Administration, Jamie Setze helped identify serious issues in 2009 that could have led to decertification of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Planning Organization, potentially costing the region millions in federal highway dollars.The crisis was averted, and a follow-up report cited notable improvements. But in January, Capital Region Planning Commission Executive Director Huey Dugas, who also oversaw the MPO, resigned amid accusations of misusing funds and maintaining a hostile work environment. Setze is his replacement.Setze says it's too soon to say whether all the problems he once identified have been fixed—he has only been on the job since July 22—but he says he's very happy with the work he has seen so far from his CRPC staff, which provides technical planning and economic development assistance to governments in an 11-parish region, while also conducting the regional planning process for the Baton Rouge area that's required to receive federal highway dollars.Business Report sat down with Setze at the CRPC's concrete bunker just off Florida Boulevard. What follows is a condensed and edited version of that conversation.We have the new Unified Planning Work Program for fiscal year 2013-2014. It's now in operation and available on our website [crpc-la.org]. I'm going out and talking to anybody that wants me: the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the Louisiana Municipal Association, the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance, the Louisiana Good Roads Transportation Association. I have about five vacant positions, so I'm looking at hiring. This morning I went with John Spain [of BRAF] to New Orleans to talk about the New Orleans/Baton Rouge rail project.In general, they have an idea of what we do. I'm going out and reintroducing us. A lot of what I'm doing is asking people: What do you want?They're doing a planning study right now. The regional planning commission in New Orleans and the CRPC put money up for that project.Depends on which way you want to talk about it. You can talk about regionalism, improving air quality, better business opportunities, improving safety on the highway system …A lot of drunk people are going between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on game night.I tell my staff: We won World War II in Quonset huts. I'm satisfied I can succeed where I'm at. My priority is showing that we're adding value to the community. From there, we'll talk about changes that need to be made.The CRPC came up with a project selection process for the federal dollars, picked projects and moved forward. For the bulk of the money that comes through the state DOTD, they have a very refined needs process. We make sure our needs are accurately reflected in the reports they give to the Legislature. For the $10 million or so worth of projects that we control, there's a very robust system for project selection.Yes. I was very pleased with how the projects showed both geographic and dollar amount diversity. [Selection] has to be on a qualitative basis. You can't just subdivide the money by parish.Transit is important for any city. One of the issues with the Baton Rouge-to-New Orleans rail is that if you don't have a transit agency that can move you around once you get off the rail, you don't have an effective rail. Making CATS successful certainly is a priority for our community. From what I've seen, everybody is invested in the success of CATS. Put a little bit of local money on it, all of a sudden it becomes a big issue. At the end of the day, we have to have a unified vision, not a parochial process. The Metropolitan Planning Organization process is a "three C" process: continuing, comprehensive and cooperative. We are focused on all three of those.It's too soon to say. I'm basically going out and introducing myself to the community. I'm not trying to pull out from them, or put onto them, any sort of overarching vision at this time.No. First, as you see the baby boomers retire, they will drive less. Our area is becoming more mature with the use of ITS [Intelligent Transportation Systems] and signal synchronization. I don't think those maps you see people throw up and the whole thing's red [indicating heavy traffic] are necessarily accurate. Those things are kind of scary movies that you play for people to shock them into action, but they don't always pan out. At the same time, we need to work together as a region to see that the errors that occurred in Baton Rouge in the past are not replicated in our adjoining parishes.Waiting until 20 years after the growth to build your transportation infrastructure.People are going to live where they want to live. We have to provide the best transportation options for their quality of life.