Lending a hand: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has opened a charitable fund for the families of the officers killed and wounded in Sunday’s ambush attack on Airline Highway. According to a news release, BRAF’s East Baton Rouge First Responders Fund is overseen by four local police and fire officials, including Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux. “The fund was established to help survivors who will require much time and assistance to recover from their wounds and the families of those who have fallen in the line of duty,” BRAF says. “Funds raised are used to cover unexpected expenses, such as health care, therapy, lost wages, and to pay for funeral expenses.” Donations can be made here.
Honored: Political columnist and Daily Report contributor Jeremy Alford received the “No Man is An Island” Outstanding Delegate Alumni Award from the Louisiana Youth Seminar on Sunday. Alford, an LYS alumnus and publisher of LaPolitics, received the award during the group’s week-long leadership seminar for high school students on LSU’s campus. The award is bestowed to the alum who makes contributions to something greater than themselves. “With two of my own young children getting older, I look forward to the day that they will get to participate in LYS,” Alford says. “I want them to experience early mornings on the campus of LSU, fellowship under the oaks and one of the best high school level programs in Louisiana.”
Missing the target: The U.S. government says fuel economy of the nation’s fleet of cars and trucks won’t meet its targets in 2025 because low gas prices have changed the types of vehicles people are buying. The Associated Press reports that under standards set in 2012, automakers’ fleets were expected to get an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. But in a report issued today, the government says that’s more likely to be between 50 miles per gallon and 52.6 miles per gallon, depending on the price of gas. The report is part of a review that will decide whether to relax the standards or keep them in place. A final decision is expected by 2018. Read the full story.
