Q&A: The Baton Rouge Area Chamber is hosting its final two informational sessions on Leadership Baton Rouge this week. One session takes place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Teach for America on Government Street; the other is 1 p.m. Thursday at BRAC’s temporary office on the 10th floor of the Chase Building downtown. The meetings will feature a panel of Leadership Baton Rouge alums who will answer questions about the program, their experience, its goals, and life-long benefits. The meetings are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Get more information.
Oil and water: The Coast Guard says hundreds of gallons of heavy fuel oil have spilled into the Mississippi River in Louisiana from a chemical tanker. The Coast Guard, in a news release, says the source—the foreign-flagged ship Iver Exporter—of the approximately 2,600-gallon spill near Norco “is reported to be secured.” The vessel currently is moored at the Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex. No injuries or wildlife impacts have been reported. The cause remains under investigation. The Coast Guard is overseeing cleanup work.
Friends and foes: CenterPoint Energy Inc. is paying just under $6 billion for rival Vectren in a move that will expand the utility operator’s reach. The combined company will serve more than 7 million gas and electricity customers in eight states and will hold about $29 billion in assets. CenterPoint will pay $72 per share cash for Vectren and assume the company’s debt. Houston-based CenterPoint has natural gas operations in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019
