Baton Rouge Business Report

Consumers spent an estimated $23.3 billion during Small Business Saturday, compared to $19.8 billion last year, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Rolfe McCollister Jr., who launched Baton Rouge Business Report in 1982, is retiring from the 40-year-old company. Julio Melara, who joined the company 25 years ago, is acquiring Louisiana Business Inc.

Financial gifts that can be used for any expense generally are the most valuable to organizations that depend on philanthropy, a Baton Rouge-based nonprofit consultant says.

Baton Rouge is the 12th-most expensive city in the nation to rent a car for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, the personal finance website FinanceBuzz finds.

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport officials expect to serve about 50% more people this Thanksgiving week than during last year’s while still falling short of 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, by about 20%-30%, says Jim Caldwell, marketing and air service development manager at the airport. 

Lack of inventory still appears to be affecting home sales. Baton Rouge was the metro area with the biggest year-over-year decline in active housing supply in September,

BREC is working to ensure its facilities capture as much stormwater as possible, a parks system official says. The system’s work can help demonstrate how “green” infrastructure can work with “gray” infrastructure such as drainage pipes to reduce flood risk.

The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal allegedly misused more than $800,000 between August 2020 and April 29, 2021, according to a report from the Louisiana legislative auditor.