The big picture: BREC has released a route map of the planned 7.4-mile paved loop for walking and biking in Baton Rouge called the Capital Area Pathways Project. On Thursday, BREC unveiled plans for the first 2.2-mile section of the loop, which will break ground in January and could be completed as early as next summer. Check out the map here; and read a recent article from Daily Report about the pathway here.
Defusing the situation: State police say the evacuation advisory around an explosives plant in north Louisiana has been lifted. The evacuation was lifted at noon today. It was put in place last weekend as work began to move and safely store an estimated 6 million pounds of explosive propellant at Explo Systems Inc., on the state’s Camp Minden industrial site. State police say about 2.2 million pounds have been removed and stored in safe areas at the site. Work was suspended for the weekend today and will resume Monday.
Gassing it: Chevron laid out a $36.7 billion capital budget for 2013 today, focused on growing its oil and natural gas production business, including in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The spending plan is a $4 billion hike over the energy giant’s 2012 capital budget but allocates fewer dollars to its downstream business, which includes refining and petrochemicals. Chevron will infuse $33 billion, or 90% of the capital budget, into the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The Houston Chronicle has the full story here.
