News roundup: Visit Baton Rouge reports strong August … Offshore lease sale set for November … Wal-Mart to double neighborhood markets

Published Oct 26, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Oct 26, 2012)

Welcome to Red Stick: Visit Baton Rouge reports August hotel occupancy tax collections of $344,846, up 23.33% over the same month in 2011. Hotel revenues increased 26.7% compared to August 2011, and 21.1% year-to-date.

Black gold: Federal regulators have firmed up plans to put more than 20 million acres off the coast of Texas up for bid to offshore energy producers next month. The Obama administration says the lease sale will be held Nov. 28 in New Orleans. The Times-Picayune reports that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which regulates offshore drilling, estimates the proposed sale could lead to the production of 116 to 200 million barrels of oil and 538 to 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

World domination continues: Wal-Mart Stores plans to open 125 new supercenters and between 95 and 115 smaller-format stores—mostly Neighborhood Markets—next year, Supermarket News reports. The company says it expects to have 500 Neighborhood Markets operating within three years—more than double the 240 it currently has—with sales of $10 billion.

Today's poll question: Will Tyrann Mathieu ever play again for the LSU Tigers?