It’s coming back around again: The LSU Student Incubator is bringing back its Venture Challenge for student entrepreneurs for a second year, and this time around it’s upping the stakes. In this year’s challenge, $25,000 will be awarded to four student businesses. Last year, $20,000 was awarded to four winners. The Venture Challenge is a two-round business plan competition. The deadline for the first round of competition is Friday, March 15. The final round will be a live event held April 19 at the Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge. You can get all the details and access registration info here.
Giving them credit: The Louisiana Department of Public Safety will receive a nearly $3.3 million federal grant to reimburse the costs it incurred to provide measures to save lives and property before, during and after Hurricane Isaac, FEMA announced today. The FEMA Public Assistance grant, totaling $3,277,030, helps reimburse the department for the costs of equipment, personnel and supplies used during the Hurricane Isaac response and recovery effort. The newly obligated funds are a portion of the $189 million in total Public Assistance recovery dollars approved for the state since the Aug. 29, 2012, disaster declaration.
The blues, the whole blues and nothing but the blues: The Baton Rouge Blues Foundation today announced the lineup for the 2013 Baton Rouge Blues Festival, to be held downtown on Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The free festival will feature blues legends and newcomers alike, including Bobby Rush, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Henry Gray & the Cats, Lavelle White, CC Adcock & The Lafayette Marquis, Bryan Lee, Rudy Richard, Blind Boy Paxton, Baby Bee, and Mr. Hinson & the Blisters. Get all the details here.
