Daily Report

Tiger Mania's three brick-and-mortar stores in Baton Rouge and its e-commerce website at TigerMania.net have been acquired by Indianapolis-based hat and sports merchandise retailer LIDS Sports Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a news release about the acquisition, which was also vague about the future of the three Tiger Mania stores. In the release, LIDS Sports Group Executive Vice President of Retail Charlie Brodt says, "With our expertise in sports apparel retailing, as well as a broad assortment of officially licensed LSU merchandise, I truly believe Tiger fans will find a significant value in what LIDS Sports Group can do through the expansion of this brand." However, the release does not indicate whether the stores will be rebranded or whether they will continue to solely carry LSU merchandise. A LIDS company spokesman did not return a request for further comment this morning. The three area Tiger Mania stores are located at 4410 Highland Road, 8976 Interline Ave., and inside the Mall of Louisiana. There already exists a Lids store in the Mall of Louisiana, as well as one in the Cortana Mall.

The Louisiana Supreme Court, with three appellate judges sitting in, will decide in August who will be its next chief justice. The controversy might not end there, but in federal court instead. If so, the high court and the state could revisit the tumultuous early '90s, when decisions over racial gerrymandering altered the complexion of Louisiana politics. The succession dispute, simmering since Chief Justice Kitty Kimball announced in April that she will retire in February, went public last week when she issued an unusual order that set a procedure for determining whether justices Bernette Johnson of New Orleans or Jeff Victory of Shreveport will next lead the Supreme Court as well as the judicial system of the state. Kimball's order named three senior appellate judges to substitute for Johnson, Victory and Justice Jeannette Knoll, whose place in the line of succession also will be determined. Should the panel in August pick Victory, who is white, over Johnson, who is African-American, the decision is certain to be challenged in federal court as a violation of the consent decree. Court watchers say Johnson already was preparing her legal position before Kimball's order by reaching out to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other national groups. She also likely forced the question by sending a memo last week to Supreme Court staffers informing them she would be the next chief justice and offering to assist them in the transition. The next day Kimball released her order setting up the succession procedure.

—In the lull between the legislative session and fall elections, what better time to consider a poll for the 2015 governor's race, from pollster Verne Kennedy and businessman and past candidate John Georges? Georges is the only known member of the "business group" paying for Kennedy's surveys. It's not their first poll of the cycle, having surveyed the field in December 2011, with the same results: Sen. David Vitter and Georges in a runoff. In the June 11-15 poll sampling views of 600 likely voters, those two finished tied at 20% in a field of four Republicans and lone Democrat Georges, with Vitter then leading the runoff, 37-33%. Trailing Republicans were: Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, 14%; Treasurer John Kennedy, 9%; and Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand, 3%. This is the first mention of the locally popular Normand as a potential candidate. In a memo, Georges does make a cogent point: "We assume the Democrats will rally around one candidate." But it well might not be him, as state Rep. John Bel Edwards of Amite, who has emerged as the leader of Democrats in the Legislature, is considered a likely candidate. He won't have Georges' money, but he could raise enough as the champion of teachers, state employees, trial lawyers and sympathetic Democrats seeking an inspiring candidate.

They said it: "When you don't win, you find ways to win." — Republican Rep. Joe Harrison, on the Jindal administration moving the Office of Elderly Affairs' adult protection services to the state Department of Health and Hospitals, after a bill to approve the move died in the House, in The Advocate

(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)

A new restaurant has opened downtown, owned and operated by the team behind The Office bar, and with a menu conceptualized by Chris Wadsworth, former executive chef at Nottoway Plantation. Restaurant IPO's menu focuses on tapas with Louisiana ingredients—nearly everything comes from within 150 miles of Baton Rouge—but with some worldly flair thrown in. Between the coconut-curried mussels, bleu cheese wings, redfish ceviche tacos and fried shrimp tossed over Asian noodles, it's a world tour on small plates. "I love infusing flavors that you wouldn't think would typically work together," says Wadsworth. "I like it when people look at the menu and kind of say 'Really?' " Items such as pork confit with peach barbecue sauce, sweet potato bread pudding, and even specialty drinks like the ginger and cilantro margarita are Wadsworth's inventions. For hungrier diners, Restaurant IPO offers more substantial stand-alone dishes, like the ribeye steak and pecan-smoked duck, as well as light soups and salads. Influences on the menu are varied: There's a little French, Spanish, Italian and Asian, among many others. And everything on the menu, from tapas to entrée to salad, is designed to be paired with a glass of wine, a cocktail or a beer. —Rachael Upton Read the rest of this story and all of this week's 225 Dine e-newsletter here.

A new report on cell phone service in the Baton Rouge area by independent phone carrier analyst group RootMetrics says Verizon and AT&T provide the overall best service, with Verizon slightly edging out AT&T. RootMetrics says it conducted thousands of data, call and text tests throughout Baton Rouge to compile the report, then analyzed the tests to find who performed the best in three key service areas: fastest and most reliable data network; fewest dropped and blocked calls; and fastest text service. The final tally of scores has Verizon slightly ahead of AT&T, though the two essentially are at a draw in all three categories for the top spot; those providers are followed by T-Mobile at No. 3, with Sprint bringing up the rear on the list. Verizon and AT&T were determined to provide the best data service, as well as the fastest text service, while Sprint joined the two atop the list for the fewest dropped and blocked calls. Check out the complete report here.

Today's poll question: Are you satisfied with the cell service you get in Baton Rouge?

Secret negotiations among dozens of countries preparing for a United Nations summit could lead to changes in a global treaty that would diminish the Internet's role in economic growth and restrict the free flow of information. The U.S. delegation to the World Conference on International Telecommunications, to be held in Dubai in December, has vowed to block any proposals from Russia and other countries that its members believe threaten the Internet's current governing structure or give tacit approval to online censorship. But those assurances have failed to ease fears that bureaucratic tinkering with the treaty could damage the world's most powerful engine for exchanging information, creating jobs and even launching revolutions, according to legal experts and civil liberties advocates who have been tracking the discussions. Social networks played a key role in the Arab Spring uprisings that last year upended regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. Russia, for example, has proposed language that requires member states to ensure the public has unrestricted access and use of international telecommunication services "except in cases where international telecommunication services are used for the purpose of interfering in the internal affairs or undermining the sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity and public safety of other states, or to divulge information of a sensitive nature," according to a May 3 U.N. document that details the various proposals for amending the treaty. The wording of this provision could allow a country to cite a U.N. treaty as the basis for repressing political opposition. Read the full story here.

Facebook is signing on to an effort from California Attorney General Kamala Harris to make app makers more accountable for how they handle consumers' personal information, The Los Angeles Times reports. All apps in Facebook's new App Center are required to have a written privacy policy that sheds light on what information the app collects and shares, according to an agreement that Harris has reached with the giant social network. With the meteoric rise in the use of mobile devices, the state's top lawyer is looking to extend privacy protections that are commonplace on the Web to smartphones and tablets. With Facebook, Harris notched another win in her effort to get industry players to abide by voluntary guidelines. Even though the mandate currently extends only to apps that collect personal information from Californians, Harris' efforts are expected to have far-reaching consequences. "If we can strengthen privacy protections here, we can benefit consumers around the world," Harris says. "App users should know what personal information is collected, how it is used, and with whom it is shared. If they know all of that, then they will have the tools and the ability to protect themselves." Read the full story here.

Tailor made: A teachers union says it is preparing a lawsuit opposing Gov. Bobby Jindal's voucher program. Leaders of the Louisiana Association of Educators say they will file their challenge against the education reform today in Baton Rouge district court. The union objects to the use of the state's public school financing formula to pay for tuition to private and parochial schools. The LAE will join another union, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, which filed two lawsuits earlier this month against education programs Jindal pushed through in the recent legislative session.

Lone Star showdown: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is accusing Google of improperly withholding evidence in order to stymie an investigation into whether the company has been abusing its dominance of Internet search. The allegations surfaced in a court filing earlier this week as part of Texas' two-year probe into Google's business practices. Texas is among at least six states examining whether Google manipulates its Internet search engine's influential recommendations to stifle competition and drive up online advertising prices.

Catching some rays: Federal officials have approved a solar plant on an Indian reservation outside Las Vegas, marking the nation's first commercial-grade solar energy project on tribal land and new territory for the Obama administration's renewable energy agenda. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he signed off on a plan with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians to launch a 350-megawatt solar plant capable of powering 100,000 homes. Officials plan to break ground this fall. The Associated Press has the full story here.