Good news for Phelps Dunbar: At first glance, it looks like the New Orleans headquarters of 240-lawyer Phelps Dunbar LLP - one of the oldest continuously operating law firms in the South - escaped serious injury, as did the firm's employees.The politics of strange bedfellows: Tampa trial lawyer Tom Scarritt apparently endeared himself to colleagues during the first year of his two-year term on the Florida Ethics Commission. They elected him chairman a week or so ago.Weep not for insurers, yet: Insurance companies have only started totting up their losses from Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast. Publicity hound: The publicist for Lexington Homes Inc. is letting local news media know that the New Port Richey homebuilder "is doing it again."Extreme competition: Get ready for extreme competition with help from Peter Fingar of the Greystone Group. Fingar will discuss the 21st century business reformation at a Sept. 14 breakfast that begins at 7:15 a.m. at the Collaborative Labs, EpiCenter, 13805 58th St., N., Largo. The event is part of the "Titans of Technology Business Series," sponsored by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum. For more information, call (813) 259-0345.