‘225’: Why Baton Rouge is stressed, and who will relieve the strain

The stick was bathed in blood and hung with pelts pulled and pressed off the bones—but still marked by camouflage made for a wilderness. The Houmas and the Bayou Goulas called this place Istrouma. A gumbo of European settlers called it Baton Rouge, French for “red stick.” And every settler wanted a little bit. Now times have shifted. Or have they? Education. Crime. Quality of life. These are three of the bloodiest fault lines that run jagged through Baton Rouge in 2012. How we respond to them will determine our city’s future. The game-changing question remains: Will Baton Rouge continue to be defined by division and pressure, or will a new crop of leaders respond with the ingenuity and ideas that have long sparked the best cities in America? Read the new 225 cover story here.