Vote!: Nominations opened Monday for the 2016 Best of 225 Awards. 225 magazine will accept nominations for your favorite Baton Rouge area foods, restaurants, shops, services and people through Friday, Feb. 26. The people and businesses with the most nominations will be included on the final ballot, which will be open from March 14 through April 8. The nominations forms can be filled out online in about 10 minutes. Make your nominations for this year’s winners and see winners dating back to 2012 online at 225.
Register: You have until Wednesday to register to vote in Louisiana’s March 5 presidential primary. But The Associated Press reports there’s a wrinkle. Unlike in other Louisiana elections, the presidential primary is a closed primary—so only registered Democrats and Republicans can cast ballots, and only in their party’s primary. People who want to register to vote, or those registered voters who want to change their party affiliation can do so online with the Secretary of State’s Office. They can also go to the parish registrar of voters’ office.
The state we’re in: Louisiana Department of Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says the state’s budget crisis won’t impact his agency’s ability to grow the economy, Gannett Louisiana reports. “We can be effective and efficient with the resources we have,” Pierson told stakeholders on Monday, while in Shreveport and Monroe as part of a statewide tour that will include a stop in Baton Rouge Friday. “It gives me a chance to convey the direction of the department to our partners and elevate our understanding of the communities’ goals and objectives throughout the state,” Pierson said of the tour. Pierson said LED has adequate resources, but he won’t have the benefit of what was once a $400 million economic development megafund to attract companies and jobs. Read the full story.
