Recycling on the half-shell: The first annual Baton Rouge Oyster Festival announced today it’s partnering with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana as the non-profit benefactor and co-producer for this year’s festival. CRCL launched an oyster shell recycling program in New Orleans in 2014 and is planning to start a similar program in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge Oyster Festival will celebrate oysters as both a coastal asset and culinary delight on Saturday, June 30.
Airbnb bust: A new law legalizing home-sharing in Japan was supposed to help Airbnb Inc. open the country up to more visitors, The Wall Street Journal reports. Instead, the law, which goes into effect June 15, is having the opposite impact. In part, that’s because the law requires Airbnb hosts to get a license and comply with safety regulations, taking them out of a former legal grey area. That’s prompted many homeowners to pull their listings, leading to the loss of tens of thousands of listed offerings as well as canceled reservations and angry customers saying they may never use Airbnb or visit Japan again. Read the full story.
Retirees wanted: Compared to other parts of Florida, Tallahassee is not growing very fast, so the town is launching efforts to convince retiring baby boomers to move in, The New York Times reports. The city has rolled out a targeted campaign called “Choose Tallahassee,” running contests that award winners with free housing for a year while also incentivizing developers to build retirement complexes. Read the full story.
