Baton Rouge City Profile

[cajun]

On 8/15/2021 at 2:00 PM, dan326 said:

Interesting. I wonder how St George's setup is coming along?

Delayed b/c of Covid officially.   Delayed for political reasons unofficially.

Regardless of how you feel about St. George.....it's hard to argue with a referendum of the people.   That's what legally happened when they elected to incorporate.    No do-overs just because the Parish President doesn't like the idea of another municipality in EBR.

It's my opinion that if the St. George tax base were so important to the city of Baton Rouge and that we are all truly "Together", they should have annexed the area decades ago and extended fire and other city services to the area.

Edited August 16, 2021 by cajun

[cajun]

 

Quote

 

Southern end of Baton Rouge, Central, Zachary, St. George biggest gainers in new census data

 

East Baton Rouge Parish grew by nearly 4% over the past decade — about middle of the pack for large urban parishes in Louisiana — but new census data show that the growth rate was not evenly shared in Louisiana's largest parish.

Population growth instead has been largely focused on the parish's southern half and outside Baton Rouge's city limits, with pockets of strong to sharp growth happening in two cities in the parish's northern end.

Indeed, the unincorporated parts of East Baton Rouge grew by 8.4%, while the city limits of Baton Rouge fell by just less than 1% between 2010 and 2020, new census data show.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_60e4995a-fc6e-11eb-8420-07d3aa76ca82.html

 

Zachary, St. George, Central, and the far southern part of EBR grew faster than the national population growth rate (which is about 7%).     Baton Rouge and the remaining portions of unincorporated EBR actually shrunk, so the overall growth rate was still around only 4%.  

 

 

The Baton Rouge metro population is up to 870,569...up by about 5.41%.   Well short of the 7% national growth rate, but better than most other metro areas in Louisiana.

Edited August 17, 2021 by cajun

[dan326]

^Well... It's something lol!

[cajun]

How is everyone doing after the storm? 

 

No issues with my family, although some of our folks have lost power.   I've also decided to spec out a 2700w liquid cooled generator for the house we are building.     

[richyb83]

Those Generac's would be nice to have ; but my house is already built.   Not sure it's worth 10-15 K for me. 

Fortunate to be in the Western Eye-Wall and not the Eastern Eye-Wall....75-80mph wind gust in Millerville area (Airport 65 mph gust ...ten miles further way from the eye)

First we were without power for 22 hours (got  back on Monday evening 7:00 pm nice to sleep in AC for 19 hours)....then went OFF  2:00pm Tues  for 24  hours  (total of 46 hours ) came back on Wednesday 2:00  pm ...Weird

Sounds like you will have a very nice place.

 Dan 326 and i posted in La.Weather thread ...next to Lafayette thread (big news for them)

[dan326]

Yes, a generator and cool is a beautiful thing... but that cost and upkeep is a killer. My power went out but came back Wednesday night, so I'm grateful or wasn't longer. A tree fell in my parents yard but it feel away from the house which was a blessing.

[richyb83]

Glad everything worked out ok Dan 326. No doubt it could have  been worse in BR. Wonder if places like Houma; Galiano ; Leeville ; Grand Isle; etc will ever be the same? 

My bad not responding sooner.   Football websites have been side tracking me some.   Hoping more positive things are in store for BR .

Here's 3 things you need to know about the Baton Rouge economy through 2023

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_ae5f3e52-22d3-11ec-8e00-33061f23e6d6.html

The Baton Rouge metro area is forecasted to reach 415,300 jobs by the end of 2023, up from 393,400 jobs in 2021 as the region recovers from an economic downturn spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. 

By the end of the year, the Baton Rouge region is expected to recover 81% of the jobs lost during the economic downturn in 2020, according to the Louisiana Economic Outlook. 

[cajun]

On 9/4/2021 at 12:29 AM, richyb83 said:

Those Generac's would be nice to have ; but my house is already built.   Not sure it's worth 10-15 K for me. 

Fortunate to be in the Western Eye-Wall and not the Eastern Eye-Wall....75-80mph wind gust in Millerville area (Airport 65 mph gust ...ten miles further way from the eye)

First we were without power for 22 hours (got  back on Monday evening 7:00 pm nice to sleep in AC for 19 hours)....then went OFF  2:00pm Tues  for 24  hours  (total of 46 hours ) came back on Wednesday 2:00  pm ...Weird

Sounds like you will have a very nice place.

 Dan 326 and i posted in La.Weather thread ...next to Lafayette thread (big news for them)

It's easier to swallow if you can include it in the mortage when building new.  

Otherwise, a portable generator is probably more ideal if you can secure a solid supply of fuel (usually gas or diesel) with the assumption that you might not be able to get more of it for 5-6 days after the storm.

[cajun]

Baton Rouge was the 4th most violent city in the USA for 2020.   

This is not a good list to be topping the charts on.   It hurts corporate recruitment and fuels flight to the suburbs.  

[richyb83]

No it's not good for BR...homicide record shattered (2020 = 122?)  and 2021 =  150?  Not to mention the opioid overdoses record doubling that thanks to Chinese fentanyl -laced heroin ....And many other cities breaking records ; mostly by design (but that is another topic for another day)

How Baton Rouge economic officials are trying to convince young professionals to stay here

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_ca9ce922-7268-11ec-aa5b-8f325682adab.html

[dan326]

Yh, I was trying to be not be so critical anymore, but I do wonder if BR if that energy boost we got after Katrina/pre-Recession building bubble is wearing off and we're slipping back into being an overgrown southern town as Richy put it once.

[cajun]

On 1/11/2022 at 11:19 AM, dan326 said:

Yh, I was trying to be not be so critical anymore, but I do wonder if BR if that energy boost we got after Katrina/pre-Recession building bubble is wearing off and we're slipping back into being an overgrown southern town as Richy put it once.

It's a concern.   What's keeping us from being Jackson or Shreveport is the existence of a major industrial base and LSU.     We need to boost LSU and SU any way we can.  They have to be more competitive and draw more research dollars.  

And not to be too political - weak or lax penalties is highly unfair to the community and the victims of criminal activity.    We can't tolerate weak sentences for criminal activity and lazy police responses like this anymore.  It's extremely hard on neighborhoods and is fueling suburban flight an divestment from our city centers.    For the life of me, I have no idea why Broom discontinued BRAVE.  

And the opioid epidemic is absolutely real.      It's a huge reason why we have growing issues with homeless camps/open drug markets in Baton Rouge (and nationwide).   These are highly illegal and should not be tolerated by any taxpayer in any city.   The options presented to homeless people should be a homeless shelter (if they can stay off illegal drugs that long), a treatment center, or being arrested for criminal trespassing.     

[dan326]

On 1/12/2022 at 1:35 PM, cajun said:

It's a concern.   What's keeping us from being Jackson or Shreveport is the existence of a major industrial base and LSU.     We need to boost LSU and SU any way we can.  They have to be more competitive and draw more research dollars.  

And not to be too political - weak or lax penalties is highly unfair to the community and the victims of criminal activity.    We can't tolerate weak sentences for criminal activity and lazy police responses like this anymore.  It's extremely hard on neighborhoods and is fueling suburban flight an divestment from our city centers.    For the life of me, I have no idea why Broom discontinued BRAVE.  

And the opioid epidemic is absolutely real.      It's a huge reason why we have growing issues with homeless camps/open drug markets in Baton Rouge (and nationwide).   These are highly illegal and should not be tolerated by any taxpayer in any city.   The options presented to homeless people should be a homeless shelter (if they can stay off illegal drugs that long), a treatment center, or being arrested for criminal trespassing.     

I agree with all those points.

[cajun]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by cajun

[cajun]

Thought I'd share some memes for you to enjoy

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by cajun

[dan326]

LOL! Yup pretty much!

[richyb83]

Something i ran across on a local chat board ....The MAP  boundaries of these Neighborhoods  are not exact ...But close enough

Went to HS and ran track with team mates from Easy Town ; Fairfield (spent some time there @ friends automotive shop); Park Town and  Belfair ; worked with student from Brookstown(got some dirty looks in there)

lost a Deaf  buddy to a stray bullet intended for his friend back in 2012;  just a few blocks from LSU ; knew several ex students that lost their lives due to violence in Gardere and Valley Park ; know dudes from Scotlandville; Oak Town ; Dixie & Ghost Town with interesting stories

Sad to see the decline in north Sherwood area

https://www.kulturevulturez.com/map-baton-rouge-gangs-and-hoods/

[cajun]

 

Quote

 

People from all over pack downtown Baton Rouge for annual Blues Festival

https://www.wbrz.com/news/people-from-all-over-pack-downtown-baton-rouge-for-annual-blues-festival/

BATON ROUGE - It was another gorgeous weekend in Baton Rouge and the weather held off for everyone to enjoy a little bit of soul music.

Hundreds gathered downtown for the annual Baton Rouge Blues Fest, both locals and out-of-towners, have waited years for this festival to make its comeback.

"Awesome. Very awesome, I love the music," Danny Sonnier said. 

This is Danny Sonnier's first time attending the Baton Rouge Blues Festival. He came all the way from Port Barre, Louisiana.

"My buddy's a musician and his friends are going to play so he wanted to come back. We came yesterday, left last night, and came back this morning," explained Sonnier. "Everybody gets along, no fights, that's what I like."

Not only is the Baton Rouge Blues Fest bringing everyone together once again to enjoy each other's company, but it's also bringing good business for local artists who may have lost some of that from the COVID pandemic.

Jordan Hefler is a local photographer and artist and she relies on festivals like the Baton Rouge Blues Fest to keep her business running.

 

 

 

[cajun]

When Garth Brooks called Baton Rouge, hotels set a new record for revenue

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_38cfd0dc-d207-11ec-bcf4-6366e25ddee2.html

 

Garth Brooks’ sold-out concert at Tiger Stadium last week appears to have helped Baton Rouge hotels set a record for daily revenue.

Area hotels posted nearly $1.6 million in revenue on April 30, the night of the concert, according to figures compiled by STR, which tracks hotel data for Visit Baton Rouge. That was .5% higher than the previous record set on November 3, 2018, the night of the LSU-Alabama football game.

Paul Arrigo, president and chief executive officer of Visit Baton Rouge, said the tourism agency went back to see how the Brooks concert compared to lodging figures for other major events in Tiger Stadium over the past few years. That included high profile LSU football games, a 2015 Taylor Swift concert and Bayou Country Superfest, the Memorial Day weekend event that drew 135,000 fans at its peak in 2014.

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I did not go.   But I heard great things - and can't overstate how nice it is to see a crowd like this after years of Covid restrictions.   Excellent crowd, Baton Rouge!   And that literally one for the history books!   

Tiger Stadium is very accustomed to large crowds of 100,000+.   But this crowd was so large that it surprised even them.   127,000+ people were in the stadium for the concert, which would make Garth Brooks @ Tiger Stadium the largest single act concert in the US and among the top 20 in the world.   You can see the record breaking concerts list and how Garth Brooks in Baton Rouge ranks from wikipedia here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-attended_concerts  

Note that all other host cities on the top 20 concert list are much larger than Baton Rouge.

Some other photos of Garth Brooks and the historically large concert in Baton Rouge at Tiger Stadium: 

 

Maybe some more things like this could happen that could bring the Kip Holden era of optimism back to Baton Rouge?   How about another couple of major headline acts in Spring 2023?   Let's get those crowds of 120,000+ to Baton Rouge and help boost our restaurants, hotels, casinos, and clubs during the "slow" season!!!!

 

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by cajun

[dan326]

Cool! We really did get those numbers up there with the big guys. Yes, hopefully we can accomplish something like this again.

[richyb83]

Impressive stuff for BR!  This Concert had been long planned ...the after effects of  Virus restrictions pent up activity. I'm not a country music fan myself ; but heard it was an fantastic show put on by the 60 year young Brooks ; who sang for 3 hours.

That wikipedia list should also include metal band Pantera's concert in Russia...that had 500,000 in 1991.

A much more somber post here ....a 4 mile stretch of budget hotels along I-12 from Airline Hwy to O'Neal Lane has made things dicey.  4 bodies were found in a 4 day period a few weeks ago along No.Harrel's Ferry Rd .  Prompting rumors of a serial killer of the homeless...

  And a gruesome 15 min Instagram live murder down So.Sherwood Forest was beyond disturbing. ALL DRUG related.   11 homocides for the year so far in a 1-mile radius of I-12 & Sherwood....

 Chinese Fetanyl  coming to the SW port in Mexico across the southern border is a big issue

Inside the hotels at the heart of Baton Rouge's overdose crisis: 'cesspools of drugs and ODs'

Four-mile strip of 8 budget hotels near I-12 saw 135 EMS calls for ODs since start of 2021

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_e830dab2-d87e-11ec-9eac-ab03cb4517a3.html

Edited May 23, 2022 by richyb83

[cajun]

22 hours ago, richyb83 said:

Chinese Fetanyl  coming to the SW port in Mexico across the southern border is a big issue

You are 100% correct.    And like last year, there will be far more drug overdose deaths in Baton Rouge than murders.   

And no one with the power and weight to do something about it seems to care at all. 

Quote

A much more somber post here ....a 4 mile stretch of budget hotels along I-12 from Airline Hwy to O'Neal Lane has made things dicey.

Some of those motels need to be branded as a public nuisance and lose their licenses until they either make improvements or sell.     There are tools that the city/parish can use here, and they need to finally deploy them.  

Same story at Siegen/I-10.   

LWCC bought the two scrappy properties on Acadian next door to them because they were becoming safety problems for the surrounding area and for their employees.     So they demolished both properties and will probably eventually build office space there.  

Edited May 24, 2022 by cajun

[dan326]

On 5/24/2022 at 1:52 PM, cajun said:

You are 100% correct.    And like last year, there will be far more drug overdose deaths in Baton Rouge than murders.   

And no one with the power and weight to do something about it seems to care at all. 

Some of those motels need to be branded as a public nuisance and lose their licenses until they either make improvements or sell.     There are tools that the city/parish can use here, and they need to finally deploy them.  

Same story at Siegen/I-10.   

LWCC bought the two scrappy properties on Acadian next door to them because they were becoming safety problems for the surrounding area and for their employees.     So they demolished both properties and will probably eventually build office space there.  

Well I'll just go ahead and accept my crazy-person badge...I think it's by design. 

Edited May 28, 2022 by dan326

[richyb83]

13 hours ago, dan326 said:

Well I'll just go ahead and accept my crazy-person badge...I think it's by design. 

Yeah i got that badge too. It's even deeper than that.

[richyb83]

Also after the Garth Brooks concert....(old news) College Drive was blocked off

https://www.wbrz.com/news/police-street-racer-showed-zero-regard-for-human-life-while-fleeing-officers-2-arrested-for-weekend-car-stunts

https://www.wbrz.com/news/street-racer-connected-to-college-drive-shutdown-after-garth-brooks-concert-arrested-sunday-morning

 

And for some more Underground Urban Planet

This whacko sicko goof ball.....Coursey / Cedarcrest

Police: Man tried to rape guard dogs after breaking into Baton Rouge business

https://www.wbrz.com/news/police-man-tried-to-rape-guard-dogs-after-breaking-into-baton-rouge-business