Let’s roll!: There’s still time to sign up to parade through downtown Baton Rouge in the second annual Halloween Parade with former Gov. Edwin Edwards, who’s serving as grand marshal. Registration is open here through Saturday, Oct. 13. The parade rolls rain or shine on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. The route spans the entire length of the downtown area and begins near the 13th Gate Haunted House on St. Philip Street. Complete details are at the website.
When the Big Easy calls: Visitors to New Orleans pumped $3.45 billion into the local economy during the first half of 2012, reports The Times-Picayune, with tourist spending 11% higher than it was during the same stretch last year, according to a recent study conducted by the Hospitality Research Center at UNO. In all, around 4.9 million people traveled to the city in the first six months of the year. About half of those surveyed said it was their first trip to New Orleans, and nearly 9 out of 10 said they were likely or very likely to recommend the city as a destination to friends and family. Check out the full story here.
Facts and figures: Think it was a little too convenient that a positive jobs report with a lowered unemployment rate was released today by the government—just two days after President Barack Obama got, by most estimates, beat in his first debate with challenger Mitt Romney? Well, a former Bureau of Labor Statistics says there’s no possible way the numbers could be manipulated, as some conservatives charged today after the jobs report were released. “I think it would be impossible to really manipulate the numbers,” says Keith Law, who served from 2008 to 2012 as commissioner of the independent statistical agency, which produces the report. “Certainly, it would be impossible to manipulate the numbers and not be found out.” The Los Angeles Times has the full story here.
