🌱 Deadly Crash On I-10 + Metro Council’s 5th District Candidates

Hello, people of Baton Rouge! Nicole Fallon-Peek here with the latest issue of the Baton Rouge Daily.

First, today's weather:

Sunny; nice in the afternoon. High: 73 Low: 44.

Here are the top three stories in Baton Rouge today:

1. A deadly crash involving a bus and several 18-wheeler trucks shut down I-10 in West Baton Rouge for several hours on Thursday. Local law enforcement says the stretch of highway has been the site of numerous accidents due to a bizarre design that reduces three lanes of traffic to one. "It's the only place in the country where it reduces down to one lane,” said Lt. Ken Albarez of the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. “We've got to do something about it.” (WBRZ)
2. Ahead of Mar. 26 elections for Metro Council, BRProud ran interviews with the three candidates vying to represent Baton Rouge’s Fifth District. The story offers brief bios of candidates Darryl Hurst, Dadrius Lanus, and Daniel Banguel and explains the focus of their respective campaigns. (BRProud.com)
3. The Baton Rouge Police Department is now offering peer-to-peer counseling services for officers encountering stress and trauma on the job. Known as the Officer Wellness Program, the initiative provides emotional support for police dealing with the extremes of first responder work. (WAFB)

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Today in Baton Rouge:

• Swamper Scavenger Hunt (OBOC) At East Baton Rouge Parish Library (9:00 AM)
• Fitness In The Stacks At East Baton Rouge Parish Library (10:00 AM)

From my notebook:

• Louisiana State Police continue to assist members of Arabi, LA after a tornado struck the community on Tuesday night. In addition to providing water and food, the officer even helped move belongings out of damaged homes. (Facebook)
• The Oscars are this Sunday, but the real award show took place in Baton Rouge this week, as the police department presented its annual list of Top 10 canine officers. (Facebook)
• The Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp was on Talk 107.3 with Brian Haldane Tuesday discussing BRING IT!, BRAC's new regional, five-year strategic plan. The segment can be found here at the 1:18:00 mark. (Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you all tomorrow for your next update.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.