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Virus roundup …
• The coronavirus was present in the U.S. weeks earlier than scientists and public health officials previously thought, and before cases in China were...
Restaurants uncertain of modified phase two impact
Nearly a week after Gov. John Bel Edwards pulled the state back into modified phase two guidelines, Baton Rouge-area restaurateurs say they’re uncertain how...
Local event planners, caterers struggling to book events as pandemic rages on
The Capital Region’s social calendar has been mostly wiped out due to the ongoing pandemic, leaving the area’s caterers and event planners struggling amid a lack of business this holiday season.
Pandemic leads companies to offer more voluntary medical benefits
Like many things in 2020, employee benefits and perks are being reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic.
This open enrollment season—the period in late fall when...
PPP borrowers being asked to justify why they needed loans of $2M or more
The Small Business Administration has begun asking some Paycheck Protection Program borrowers to document why they needed the loans, drawing concern from advocacy and...
Businesses with front-line workers must complete vaccine survey by next week
The Louisiana Department of Health today announced that employers and business owners who have been notified by the Louisiana Immunization Program as having personnel...
Baton Rouge hospitals fear Thanksgiving spike in COVID-19 cases
With some of Baton Rouge’s hospitals nearing capacity, local medical professionals today warned of an expected Thanksgiving spike in positive COVID-19 cases and urged...
BRAC dashboard shows continued improvement in local economy
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today released its latest COVID-19 economic indicator dashboard, a report that examines and assesses the impact of the COVID-19...
State contact tracing program struggles to reach COVID patients, contacts
While public health experts have repeatedly said that a robust contact tracing program is key to curbing the spread of COVID-19, the Louisiana Department of Health’s efforts to get in touch with COVID-19-positive patients and persuade them to identify and provide the names and phone numbers for their contacts has been spotty at best, though it is improving.
Baton Rouge restaurants see mostly benefits from QR code menus
The pandemic has pushed QR code menus into the mainstream, with some Baton Rouge restaurants investing in the contactless codes for safety and cost reasons.
BRAC indicators show continued jobless claims down throughout Capital Region
That Baton Rouge Area Chamber today released its latest economic indicator dashboard, which examines and assesses the impact of COVID-19 on the regional economy.
Key...
Louisiana Lagniappe owner suspicious of jobless claims he’s being asked to verify
Like many employers throughout the pandemic, Louisiana Lagniappe owner Kevin Ortego has received “base claim” notices from the Louisiana Workforce Commission—form letters asking him to verify that a claimant seeking unemployment compensation previously worked for him. But unlike employers who know, or at least, recognize the names of the former employees they’re being asked to verify, Ortego has received what he estimates to be between 50 and 100 notices about people he’s never heard of, much less employed at his restaurant.
BRAC economic indicators highlight recovery gap among wage earners
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today released its COVID-19 economic indicator dashboard that examines and assesses the impact of the pandemic on the regional...
BRAC economic dashboard shows combined jobless claims continue to fall
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today released its COVID-19 economic indicator dashboard that examines and assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the...
PPP forgiveness rule update good news for local banks, small businesses
The local banking community is applauding today’s announcement by the U.S. Small Business Administration that it is simplifying the loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program loans of $50,000 or less.
Baton Rouge homeowners vulnerable to foreclosure, report says
Nearly 110,000 Louisiana homeowners were unable to pay on their mortgages in September—including some 15,000 in East Baton Rouge Parish—suggesting that the state could...
Virus roundup …
• The Louisiana Department of Health reported 889 new COVID-19 cases today and 26 additional deaths.
• Wall Street is easing off its knee-jerk reaction...
BRAC to close PPE Marketplace, transition it to sell wider range of office supplies
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today announced the closure of its PPE Marketplace on Oct. 1, at which point the marketplace will transition from a strictly PPE operation to include broader office supplies.
Pandemic already changing world’s cityscapes, public spaces
While planners, thinkers and policymakers are talking a lot these days about how the COVID-19 pandemic will change the way we design and build our communities in the future, some of those changes are already taking place, say experts, who spoke at the opening session today of the Center for Planning Excellence’s 2020 Virtual Smart Growth Summit.
BRAC dashboard shows positive economic trends
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today released its COVID-19 economic indicator dashboard, a report that examines the impact of the pandemic on the regional...
