🌱 Patch AM: How many East Baton Rouge homes will get new high-speed internet?

Good day Baton Rouge! We're here again with what you need to know today. Grab a cup of coffee and read on. ☕️️

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In today's newsletter:

• How many East Baton Rouge homes will get new high-speed internet?
• Could a real river failure leave Baton Rouge "high and dry"?
• Why a Baton Rouge painter walked away from celebrity portraits.

Also on today's calendar: Free Bra Fittings to Support Breast Cancer Awareness and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What is clean when it is black and dirty when it is white? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Thursday: Record-tying heat, with a high of 93 and low of 67 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
• Friday: Mostly cloudy and warm, temps: high: 88, low: 67.
• Saturday: Cloudy and not as warm, with a high of 77 and low of 60 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. REV Fiber and BEAD Program launch major high-speed internet expansion in East Baton Rouge Parish (wbrz.com) — A new high-speed fiber project is bringing better internet to more than 2,800 homes and businesses across East Baton Rouge Parish, helping close the digital divide in the greater Baton Rouge area. Backed by federal BEAD funding and led by local provider REV Fiber, the expansion aims to boost options for remote work, online learning, and local businesses.
   

2. LSU alumnus' debut novel puts a spin on Louisiana disasters (lsureveille.com) — A former Baton Rouge resident and LSU graduate has released a disaster thriller built around the Old River Control Structure and its potential to leave Baton Rouge and New Orleans "high and dry." His decades-in-the-making novel blends Louisiana environmental risks with political intrigue and crime, aiming to spark readers' awareness of how vulnerable the region's river system really is.
   

3. Painter Finds a Higher Calling Beyond Celebrity Portraits (movieguide.org) — Baton Rouge artist Jacob Zumo shares how he moved from painting celebrities to focusing on sacred art, family life, and deeper spiritual questions. In a recent interview, he reflects on mentors, time abroad, and caring for his grandmother, explaining how those experiences reshaped his priorities and led to a gallery and podcast that invite others into faith-centered conversations.
   

4. Louisiana SNAP enrollment nosedives, program cost increases (veritenews.org) — Louisiana's SNAP enrollment has dropped sharply since new federal rules took effect, while costs to the state and food prices are rising, squeezing many families. A Baton Rouge-based policy analyst and local food bank leaders warn that stricter documentation, higher error penalties, and looming state cost-sharing could worsen hunger unless Congress delays key provisions and agencies get more time to adjust.
   

5. A jobs boom* • Invest in Louisiana (investlouisiana.org) — Baton Rouge is projected to lead Louisiana in total new jobs over the next two years, thanks to major investments in construction, steel, data centers and more. The newsletter also examines whether such booms truly benefit communities, highlights high SNAP use among veterans, and notes a rare denaturalization case in nearby Livingston Parish along with broader national labor-market trends.
   

📸 Around Baton Rouge

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Baton Rouge

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Friday October 9
• Free Bra Fittings to Support Breast Cancer Awareness →
  Dillard's, 6601 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge
  10:00 am

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Thursday October 8
• Hopeful Movement →
  Fresh Church, 3745 Mohican Street, Baton Rouge
  10:00 pm
Friday October 9
• Ageism Against Women: When Age and Gender Collide →
  The Red Shoes, 2303 Government Street, Baton Rouge
  10:00 am
• The Stories We Carry: A Six-Week Writing Circle (Morning Sessions) →
  The Red Shoes, 2303 Government Street, Baton Rouge
  10:30 am
• The Stories We Carry: A Six-Week Writing Circle (Afternoon Sessions) →
  The Red Shoes, 2303 Government Street, Baton Rouge
  1:30 pm
• Pjs and Pancakes with the Belles! →
  Southern University and A&M College, 801 Harding Boulevard, Baton Rouge
  4:00 pm
Saturday October 10
• ACT Practice Test (the New ACT) →
  9:00 am
• Candlelight: Tribute to Queen →
  Louisiana's Old State Capitol, 100 North Blvd, Baton Rouge
  6:00 pm
• Candlelight: Coldplay vs. Imagine Dragons →
  Louisiana's Old State Capitol, 100 North Blvd, Baton Rouge
  8:30 pm
Tuesday October 13
• CAPRI's Second Chance Tuesday Job & Resource Fair!! →
  EBRPL - Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd, Baton Rouge
  2:00 pm
Thursday October 15
• The Bridal Reset →
  Blush Bridal Salon, 3937 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge
  6:00 pm
Saturday October 17
• SAT Practice Test (Computer Adaptive Test) →
  9:00 am

📣 Baton Rouge Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Baton Rouge PatchAM possible:

• Lafayette Process Servers LLC — (225) 243-9669

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Study from Pennington Biomedical Reveals How Warm Temperatures Influence Appetite and Weight Gain —Ernie Ballard Read on Patch

• I want to thank Mrs.
  JohnetteBallard and her husband for helping Rocco find his way home after almost a month gone. If you dont believe there are genuinely good people… (Nextdoor Old South Village)
• Since l retired from Harb's oasis, l have taken up oil painting.
  It gives me so much pleasure to be able to create a world on canvas. I do the sketches freely and get inspired as I go along. All my work is original… (Nextdoor Oak Hills Place)

• Johnson & Johnson posted a job opening for Field Reimbursement Manager, Neuroscience – (Houston, TX) – Patient Engagement & Customer Solutions (PECS) in Baton Rouge. Apply here.
• ENFRA, Inc. posted a job opening for Stationary Engineer in Baton Rouge. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Baton Rouge here.

Ok Baton Rouge! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: "What is clean when it is black and dirty when it is white?" — A chalk board (Thank you Charlie H. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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