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Though leaner, Baton Rouge budget for 2021 includes police pay raises
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome presented the 2021 city-parish budget to the Metro Council this afternoon, a mostly standstill spending plan that includes a 3%...
Virus roundup …
• Gov. John Bel Edwards today announced that Louisiana will stay under the current COVID-19 mitigation measures, including the statewide mask mandate, for at...
Roundup: Federal Reserve / Clean fuels initiative / Down payments on homes
Economic support: Following its latest policy meeting, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low near zero today and signaled...
Shell closing Convent refinery
The Shell Refinery in Convent will begin shutting down later this month after failed attempts to sell the complex, the company confirmed today.
The plant,...
How Baton Rouge stacks up against its peer cities
Baton Rouge’s economy, while doing better than most in Louisiana, trails that of peer cities in other states and is projected to grow more...
Weekly US jobless claims top 750,000 as companies continue to slash jobs
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting...
Electric scooter rentals approved for Baton Rouge; what’s next?
Scooter rental companies can now set up shop within Baton Rouge city limits, the Metro Council decided at its Wednesday meeting.
New wings restaurant planned for Perkins, near Siegen
A new restaurant called Kickback, which will specialize in fried chicken wings, plans to open early next year in a shopping center on Perkins...
Lackluster interest from industry plays role in failure of Amendment 5
Some Louisiana voters might have been surprised to learn Tuesday night that proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 5—which, at least on paper, was widely supported...
Louisiana’s all-Republican congressional runoff could get personal
Republicans Luke Letlow and Lance Harris will have Louisiana's political stage almost to themselves as they sprint toward a Dec. 5 runoff election for...
Shortened census count leads to gaps in parts of Louisiana
The early end to the 2020 census has some areas of the country complaining they needed more time to count residents during a chaotic...
15-year-old lawsuit over disputed Swaggart property on course for new trial
Nearly five years after a jury ruled in favor of a local investor group that has been fighting the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart’s Family Worship Center Church since 2006 over a 60-acre parcel it is trying to acquire, the long-running case is headed back to 19th Judicial District Court for a new trial.
Virus roundup …
• The state health department reported 371 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the state’s total number to 185,144 since March.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch...
Roundup: Fed meeting / St. Francisville / Plaquemine ferry
Waiting game: Federal Reserve officials are meeting this week as the economy faces growing threats from a resurgence of the coronavirus and from Congress'...
Voters in other states also choose to expand gambling
The U.S. gambling industry won big at the polls Tuesday, with three states authorizing legal sports betting and three others either approving or expanding...
EBR mayoral candidates reserve hotels, restaurants for election night parties
Capacity limits aside, Baton Rouge’s mayoral candidates are, for the most part, still holding election night parties as usual, renting out spaces in local...
Virus roundup …
• The Louisiana Department of Health reported 1,150 new COVID-19 cases and 17 new deaths from the virus today.
• Major hotel operators such as...
Roundup: Factory orders / Weyerhaeuser investment / Health trends
Solid rise: New orders for U.S.-made goods increased solidly in September, but further gains could be limited amid an anticipated slowdown in consumer spending...
BRAC economic indicators highlight divided recovery
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today released its latest COVID-19 economic indicator dashboard, which assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the regional...
Shell shedding eight refineries by 2025; fate of Convent facility unknown
As part of its plans to reduce its refinery portfolio over the next five years, Shell will retain its facility in Norco, but the...
