If you are a local then you know about Del Porto Ristorante in downtown Covington. The owners, Torre and David Salazzo, serve delicious Italian cuisine at the local restaurant. The Salazzos want to open a second restaurant that will have a broader selection of food and flavor with a laid back neighborhood vibe. Greyhound will be located just down the street from Del Porto Ristorante and will be a gastropub.

Del Porto Ristorante opened its doors to Covington in 2002. The Solazzos opened the restaurant in a smaller location than it currently resides. The original had just 10 tables which served “a fresh, seasonal take on regional Italian cuisine, and an alternative to the more prevalent local standard of Creole Italian.” In 2007, Del Porto moved to its larger location and then grew again taking over the adjacent storefront.

Although the new restaurant will be casual with a laid back atmosphere, it will be a cut above traditional tavern-style. There will be a wood-burning oven for pizza along with other fanfares such as burgers, tapas-style dishes, German sausages, fried chicken, Reuben sandwiches, matzo ball soup and beef short ribs just to name a few. Inspiration for the unique menu will come from the “family meals” that are made for the staff at Del Porto. The bar will offer bottled and canned beers with some offered on tap.

“It just opens up a lot of possibilities for us,” Solazzo said. “It won’t be a huge menu, but we keep on putting down all the food we like to eat, so it’s been growing.”

The Greyhound, named after the Greyhound bus station that once resided at 705 E. Boston St., plans to begin serving lunch and dinner in May 2020. Work on the building has begun and will include configuring the restaurant into a main bar and a separate pizza bar.

“In the years we’ve been here, we’ve seen a lot of young people growing up, we think there’s a need for a place like this that’s more casual,” she said. “We want to stay in our little downtown area and bring something new here.”

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St. Tammany Parish residents are familiar with the I-12 traffic especially after the May 26, 2018 crash that closed the highway for hours leaving commuters stranded on the eastbound side. The state Department of Transportation and Development is ready to begin the first phase of the $55 million I-12 widening project.

The first phase of the three phase project will be completed by James Construction Group based out of Baton Rouge, LA. The two and a half year first phase will cover 3.26-miles of I-12 between US 190 and LA 59 which over 76,000 vehicles travel per day. A third lane will be added in both directions along with widening bridges over U.S. 190, Ponchitolawa Creek and the Tammany Trace.

“This (first) project is just one phase in the overall three-phase plan to widen this critical corridor to reduce traffic congestion along I-12 and strengthen this section as a vital economic corridor,” DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson said.

Funds to complete the first phase will come from federal transportation dollars. Funds belonging to the federal transportation that were not used by other states were given to states that had obligated all of their federal highway funding.

“The widening of I-12 in St. Tammany Parish is a project that has been on the books for years but was not able to move forward due to funding,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement.

As for phase two, which will include widening LA 21 and US 190, will take place west of the first phase. Bids for the second phase will be looked at in the Spring of 2020. Cost will be covered for phase two with a $25 million federal grant, $5 million from the state and $7.2 million from St. Tammany Parish.

Plans are also being made for the third phase that will widen I-12 from LA 1077 to LA 21.

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Freddie Mac reported a small bump up in the 30-year rate in their last data released, however it is predicted that the rates will come down this fall. According to the latest data, the 30-year fixed-rate average is now at 3.65 percent with an average 0.6 point and the 15-year fixed-rate is now at 3.14 percent with an average 0.5 point.

Many lackluster economic views are putting pressure on the mortgage rates to fall. Bankrate.com reported that close to three-quarters of economic experts predict the rates will fall this week. The U.S. Treasuries rose and yields have fallen. The 10-year bond dropped to 1.6 percent at the beginning of Oct. 2019 and just two weeks ago, it was reported at 1.8 percent. When U.S. bonds dip, the mortgage rates usually follow.

“Fueled by low rates and solid home-buyer demand, this fall’s mortgage market continues to be busy,” said Bob Broeksmit, MBA president and CEO. “Mortgage applications for both refinances and home purchases increased last week, and the year-over-year gains were even more impressive. With rates expected to stay around 4 percent, overall activity in the final three months of 2019 should stay solidly above last year’s levels, when borrowing costs were much higher.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications are on the rise. Their report shows an 8.1 percent increase from the previous week’s report. The report also relayed a 14 percent jump in the refinance index and a 1 percent jump in the purchase index.

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