Working late again: A new ranking of the best American cities in which you could work for a small business by financial website WalletHub.com has Baton Rouge at No. 71. The website says it compiled the rankings by assessing the 100 most-populated cities for their friendliness toward employees and job seekers. The site evaluated the cities using 11 metrics, including net small business growth and employee earnings. Also among the findings, Baton Rouge is said to be tied for 95th in the U.S. for the highest average number of work hours by small business employees. See the complete rankings.
Step by step: Days after a federal judge ruled that the U.S. government bears responsibility for hurricane-related flooding blamed on a now-closed shipping channel, attorneys in the case were preparing to discuss damages. The Associated Press reports a closed-door conference was scheduled to take place this afternoon by Judge Susan Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington. Braden ruled Friday that the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet was a cause of flooding after Hurricane Katrina and other storms. She said flood damage to property caused by construction and maintenance of the U.S.-built channel constituted a “taking” of property by the government. Read the full story.
The other, other white meat: Prices for cuts of alligator tail, ribs and tenderloin have doubled in the past three years, reaching record highs, as demand has skyrocketed from consumers. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the meat from both wild and farm-raised reptiles is fetching between $12 to $15 a pound wholesale, up from $6 or $7 a pound in 2012, according to one Florida-based gator farmer. Data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shows that farmed alligator meat cost about $4 to $5 a pound wholesale between 1980 and 2010, then jumped to $8.25 a pound in 2013, the most recent figure available. Demand is rising in part because the industry has spent years promoting the meat at seafood and restaurant conferences as a lean, high-protein alternative to chicken and pork. Read the full story (subscription may be required).
