Vulnerable residents: The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council approved the mayor-president to execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement to engage 24 congregations and community institutions across East Baton Rouge Parish to create a network of resiliency hubs called community lighthouses, each with commercial-scale solar power and backup battery capacity. The parish will provide $500,000 in partial funding for the projects. During power outages, the proposed sites will begin operating immediately. Read more from WBRZ-TV.
October bump: U.S. business activity increased in October amid strong demand, and firms raised prices for goods and services at the slowest pace in nearly 4-1/2 years, indicating that the economy started the fourth quarter in solid shape. Read more from Reuters.
Threatening action: The Ted James campaign is threatening legal action for defamation in response to a new 60-second campaign ad released Wednesday by incumbent Sharon Weston-Broome’s campaign. The ad features unflattering and secretly recorded audio of James. The James campaign claims the audio has been “sliced, diced, and transformed” to create “a message that was not even close to the speaker’s intent.” Read more from WAFB-TV.
