Where they stand: The Baton Rouge chapter of the Louisiana Engineering Society has partnered with multiple area organizations to host a mayoral candidate forum from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday in the ballroom at Drusilla Seafood, 3482 Drusilla Lane. Candidates will address the audience from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and a candidate Q&A will follow from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The cost to attend is $25 at the door. Sharon Weston-Broome, Rufus Craig, John Delgado, Darryl Gissel, Braylon Hyde, Greg LaFleur, C. Denise Marcelle and Bodi White have confirmed their attendance so far. The forum is being hosted in partnership with local chapters of the American Institute of Architects, Louisiana Associated General Contractors, American Planning Association, American Society of Landscape Architects, American Council of Engineering Companies and American Society of Civil Engineers.
Hard hit: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has named 24 Louisiana parishes and two Texas counties agricultural disaster areas because of last month’s storms and flooding. As The Associated Press reports, 11 parishes are primary disaster areas, and the others are adjacent to them. The primary disaster areas are Acadia, Ascension, Cameron, Evangeline, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. James, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion parishes. Allen, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. John the Baptist and St. Mary parishes, and Jefferson and Orange counties in Texas are contiguous disaster areas. Last week, the LSU AgCenter estimated that south Louisiana suffered $277 million in damage to crops, livestock, equipment and increased production costs. The worst damage was to soybean and rice crops, estimated at losses of $69 million each. Corn damage was pegged at $44 million, while cotton damage reached $26 million.
Career reboot: The Career Center of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library is sponsoring an 11-week job search and networking group for adult job seekers in professional careers. According to a new release, the Job Club will provide job seekers a safe space to meet and network with like-minded professionals who are challenged by the same job hunting process. The group will meet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday from Oct. 5 through Dec. 14 at the Main Library at Goodwood, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. Topics to be discussed include the basics of the traditional job search, branding yourself and developing the elevator pitch, social media for the job search and starting your own business, among others. Attendees will share job search experiences, network tips and encouragement. Certified Career Coach Anne Nowak will lead the meetings. To register, call the Career Center at 1-225-231-3733 or send an email to Anne Nowak.
