[StBernard] The LRA Progress Report - November 30, 2006

[Westley Annis]

Inside this Issue: 
LA Swift to Continue Service from Baton Rouge to New Orleans
Construction to Begin on New Hospital in South Cameron Parish
Completely Restored Convention Center Welcomes Tradeshow 
Queen Elizabeth 2 Makes its First Visit to New Orleans 
New Orleans Fairgrounds Opens Racing Season on Thanksgiving Day 
Upcoming Events 


LA Swift to Continue Service from Baton Rouge to New Orleans 


The deadline for LA Swift, the free bus service that transports displaced residents between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, has been extended to March 31, 2007. Beginning Friday, Dec.1, regular riders will notice a few changes.

As of Dec.1, LA Swift will no longer provide express trips. All buses will stop in Sorrento, LaPlace or both. Additional stops will be added in Baton Rouge, on Florida at 13th Street at the CATS stop in front of the Greyhound terminal, and in New Orleans, on Loyola Avenue at Howard Avenue, at the RTA stop in front of the Union Passenger Terminal. 

DOTD will now contract directly with the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority to provide buses and drivers. Revised schedules are available on www.laswift.com <http://www.laswift.com> . The DOTD Customer Ser! vice Center is also available at 1-877-4LA-DOTD (1-877-452-3683) from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. 


Construction to Begin on New Hospital in South Cameron Parish 

Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Cameron Parish officials announced Wednesday that construction is set to begin on a $22 million new state-of-the art facility to replace South Cameron Memorial Hospital. 

Last September, Hurricane Rita devastated Southwest Louisiana, completely destroying South Cameron Memorial, which operated as the only full-service hospital in Cameron Parish. Construction of the new facility, which is scheduled to begin with an official groundbreaking on December 20, will be funded through a combination of federal and state funds. 

Once completed, this new state-of-the art facility will include a full emergency room, 25 inpatient beds and rural health clinic, which includes a dental program. The hospital will also house a retail pharmacy and other ancillary services. The hospital is to be constructed in two phases. Phase I will include the emergency department and eight inpatient beds. Phase II includes 17 inpatient beds and the other ancillary services. The contractor currently predicts that substantial completion of Phase I will be accomplished on or before March 25, 2007. 

For the full story and to see an architectural rendering of the new hospital, click here <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/pr112906scmh.html> . 

Completely Restored Convention Center Welcomes Tradeshow 

This week, the 12,000 attendees of the International Workboat Show were the first to see the complete restoration of the Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center in New Orleans. With the final phase of the $60 million project complete, the Convention Center reopened 357,524 square feet of exhibit space and 41 meeting rooms. 

The 15-month restoration was completed in three major phases. Three of 12 exhibit halls opened in both February and June for conventions and tradeshows such as the Air & Waste Management Association and the American Library Association. 

Ranked as one of the Top 200 largest U.S. tradeshows by Tradeshow Week Magazine, the International Workboat Show will convene through Friday at the newly restored Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center. 


Queen Elizabeth 2 Makes its First Visit to New Orleans 


Queen Elizabeth 2, acclaimed as one of the most famous and luxurious cruise ships in the world, visited New Orleans for the first time on Monday. 

The 40-year-old cruise ship docked at the Port of New Orleans with over 1,700 international passengers for a one-day port call. The trans-Atlantic ocean liner is the longest vessel to ever dock at the port. Passengers spent the day touring the city by buses and on foot. 

Queen Elizabeth 2 is one of seven cruise ships to make New Orleans a one-day destination this year. The cruise industry contributes $226 million to the city's economy and supports more than 2,500 jobs. 


New Orleans Fair Grounds Opens Racing Season on Thanksgiving Day 

On Thanksgiving Day, the New Orleans Fair Grounds kicked off its first racing season since Hurricane Katrina. A record-breaking crowd of 8,732 celebrated the opening day of the 81-day racing season. The day's attendance broke the record set on Thanksgiving Day 1997, when the grandstand and clubhouse reopened for the first time following the 1993 fire. 

All 1,300 seats in the clubhouse dining room were sold out in 35 minutes for the opening races. The ten leased box suites were sold out for most of the opening weekend. 

On-track handle and total handle figures were about 30 percent higher than the figures from Thanksgiving Day 2004, the last Thanksgiving opening at the Fair Grounds. The New Orleans Fair Grounds has an annual economic impact of $352.6 million. 


Upcoming Events 

Friday, December 1, 2006 
Event: LRA Audit Committee Meeting 
Time: 1 p.m. 
Location: State Office Building First Floor Auditorium, 150 Third Street in Baton Rouge 

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 
Event: LRA Economic & Workforce Development Task Force meeting 
Time: 1:30 p.m. 
Location: Governor's Press Room, 4th Floor of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge 

Thursday, December 14, 2006 
Event: LRA Board of Directors meeting 
Time: 9 a.m. 
Location: Baton Rouge Community College, Louisiana Boardroom 

For a complete events calendar, click here <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/events.html> . All meetings are open to the public. Meeting times and locations are subject to change.