NEW HOSPITAL IN NEW ORLEANS:

A panel of lawmakers in Louisiana has voted to give Louisiana State University a $300-million down payment on a new teaching hospital in downtown New Orleans. That recommendation, by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, goes beyond the advice of an agency appointed by Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, a Democrat, to guide rebuilding efforts. The agency, known as the Louisiana Recovery Authority, had asked the legislative panel to give Louisiana State $74-million to buy land and hire architects to design the replacement for Charity Hospital, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Under the authority's plan, the remaining $226-million would not become available until university officials produced a detailed business plan. But the president of the State Senate, Donald E. Hines, a Democrat, said it was important to budget the full amount to signal to federal officials that the project is on track.