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A Tale of Two Streets

By Maggie Heyn Richardson To the south, there is Nicholson Drive, Louisiana Highway 30, a major corridor that runs from downtown Baton Rouge past Tiger Stadium and continues southward to Ascension Parish. In the last decade, the stretch between downtown and LSU, in particular, has seen a flurry of investment, including new multi-family housing, retail […]

Pennington Biomedical’s Next Act

By Maggie Heyn Richardson Few public health problems are as complex as obesity. Forty percent of adults in the United States now struggle with the condition, the highest rate on record. Its causes are many, its cures little understood and its ripple effects undeniable. Obesity is the spark that ignites a litany of costly diseases, […]

The G-word

Gentrification is improving neighborhoods in Mid City. By Sara Bongiorni The Economist magazine calls gentrification the dirtiest word in American cities. Used to describe an influx of middle-class, often white newcomers to depressed, often minority neighborhoods, gentrification has been compared to mass violence, white supremacy and re-colonization. Some critics consider it hate speech. Others use […]

Foundation’s community in NC includes working farm

By Maggie Heyn Richardson In the world of planning, greenspace is a priority. Neighborhood residents and users of mixed-used developments place a premium on parks where their children can play, tree-lined sidewalks that invite strolling and footpaths that meander through natural settings. But what if greenspace meant an active farm? That’s what’s happening in 5401 […]

Open table: Building community at White Star Market

By Maggie Heyn Richardson IMG_7923 2.jpg It’s a hot June weekday and friends Jason Wesley and Brandon Kelly are having lunch at White Star Market, the new food hall in Baton Rouge’s Mid City neighborhood. Sitting side by side at a sprawling table filled with other diners, the two men are hovered over metal trays […]

Driven: Matt McKay’s powerful commitment to community

From time to time, Matt McKay wonders about something. What would have happened back in high school if his American Legion baseball team had won their state championship game? Because if they had, he muses, the cards might have fallen differently, and he wouldn’t have had a chance conversation that led to a part-time job […]

BR Area Foundation Grants $47 million, New Board Members Elected

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s donors contributed $47 million to their charitable funds in 2017, and the Foundation granted $46 million to nonprofits last year. Grants were $9 million more than in 2016. The Foundation manages charitable funds on behalf of its donors, which includes investing the money, handling the paperwork, providing advice on issues […]