• Local Briefs
Contract awarded

• Local Briefs
Nuclear output rises

• Higher oil prices fuel Gulf lease sale
Higher oil prices paved the way for a more robust sale of central Gulf of Mexico drilling tracts on Wednesday.

• Local Briefs
Entergy still checking

• Casino revenue on a roll in 2010
Louisiana casinos won $208.7 million from gamblers in February, a 10 percent jump from the $189.7 million won in January, State Police reported Tuesday.

• Entergy wants to keep options open on reactor
In a filing Tuesday, Entergy Louisiana LLC asked the Public Service Commission to affirm that it still supports the utility's possible pursuit of a new nuclear reactor at the River Bend Station near St. Francisville.

• Local Briefs
Gulf bids unsealed

• Local Briefs
Quarterly loss narrows

• Banking 101: Choosing a new bank
Question: My bank changed ownership recently and I haven't been happy with the service. What should I look for when choosing a new bank?

• Business People
BANKING

• CALENDAR
MONDAY

• Homeowners can't get extra break for storm shutters
Question: I had accordion-style hurricane shutters installed on every window and door of my home during 2009. Most of them are kept closed year-round. Is there any chance I can deduct a portion of the expense for these when I file my Louisiana income tax?

• Housing finance assistance continues
With interest rates expected to rise, the finance authorities of Jefferson and Orleans parishes have recaptured federal housing recovery money that was set to expire late last year and are dedicating it to new low-interest loan programs to help people buy homes.

• La. group backs a beefed-up Jones Act
The Police Jury Association of Louisiana is urging a national group to get involved in the debate over the interpretation of a decades-old maritime law.

• Repairs and rebuilding
Tatum and Charlene Hernandez built their dream house in Mandeville in 2006, but it has become their nightmare ever since they realized last year that it's filled with problem drywall from China.

• Job market suffers seasonal exodus
The New Orleans area lost 5,500 jobs in January as stores let their seasonal help go after the Christmas holidays, according to data released Friday by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

• Local Briefs
La. projects recognized

• North shore bank goes belly-up
Statewide Bank, a Covington-based financial institution with six branches on the north shore, was shut down Friday evening by regulators, becoming Louisiana's first bank failure in seven years.

• EAST JEFFERSON REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
EAST JEFFERSON

• NEW ORLEANS REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
NEW ORLEANS

• ST. BERNARD REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
ST. BERNARD

• ST. CHARLES REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
ST. CHARLES

• ST. JOHN REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
ST. JOHN

• ST. TAMMANY REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
ST. TAMMANY

• WEST JEFFERSON REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
WEST JEFFERSON

• Local Briefs
Oath convictions affirmed

• Local Briefs
Earnings today

• Local Briefs
Iberiabank public offering

• Local Briefs
Modest hiring planned

• Two Saints sue former teammate
Two members of the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints have sued a former teammate in federal court, alleging he duped them and about two dozen other current and former Saints players and coaches into buying state tax credits that were never issued.