Local economy is looking up

Have you noticed how fast and often we get bombarded with bad news?

Every day on the front page of the newspaper or at the top of the nightly news, if it bleeds, it leads. Shock value is the highest value of news stories today. ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS’ 60 Minutes are now competing with reality shows for ratings, so crime, crashes, rising costs and catastrophes are the images constantly coming at us. Whether it’s national or local, it’s all the same.

I’ve read that having the right perspective in times of adversity and crisis can increase one’s IQ by at least 10 points. I believe a positive perspective will enhance your health and your life as a whole.

Unless we are intentional about looking at the positives, possibilities and opportunities, our perspective will be jaded. This got me thinking about all the positive things happening in and around the Baton Rouge area. We can get caught up thinking the CATS fiasco, our public education issues and crime in our neighborhoods are the only things happening in the city.

Yet there are a lot people doing great things, and the future of our local economy is bright. As an exercise, the other day I began listing the many things in and around our community that are having a positive impact. Here, in no particular order, are several reasons your spirits and perspective should be lifted about living and doing business in the 225 region.

• For the first time since the recession, new construction projects are coming out of the ground.

• The Elysian, a $9.5 million project, is a four-story, 110,300-square-foot development that includes 100 mixed-income apartments on the corner of Spanish Town Road and North 13th Street.

• The High Grove, just off I-10 and east of the Mall of Louisiana, will include 192 apartments and 26,000 square feet of retail space, to be completed later this year.

• The $90 million-plus Tiger Stadium expansion should be completed for the kickoff of the 2014 football season, giving us the seventh-largest stadium in the nation.

• Trader Joe’s, a 13,000-square-foot development in Acadian Village, is the anchor tenant of a new 54,000-square-foot shopping center.

• Baton Rouge ranked seventh among mid-sized cities in Forbes’ recent list of “Cities Winning the Battle for Information Jobs.”

• Business Facilities magazine recently named Baton Rouge the No. 1 Metro Area for Economic Growth Potential in the United States.

• More than $50 billion in industrial construction projects are under way or about to begin in our area.

All this, plus new restaurants and retail shops are poised to open, and the residential market is picking up at all price levels. All of these are positive signs of a healthy economy. Yes, we have to continue to work on our education, poverty and workforce issues, but the future is bright. We have to keep all that is going on around us in the right perspective.

We can all agree when “Casual Friday” gets too casual—usually when the first pair of shorts makes an appearance—but it’s often tough to know not only what will fly on the job, but what still looks fly when the sartorial rules bend on the final day of the work week. 225 fashion blogger and stylist Sarah Barnett came up with a simple, inspirational look book for readers who need inspiration for their own “Casual Friday” style. We feature real locals from the educational, creative and conservative business industries who share with us their favorite Friday fashions. Click here to boost your “Casual Friday” look.

I’ve written about the importance of not littering our community many times before. So I’m especially pleased that this month’s issue highlights Baton Rougeans who are fighting the good fight by picking up the trash left by others. Contributing Writer Christie Matherne interviewed local anti-litter advocates who put their sweat—and their canoes—where their mouths are and journey into the swamps and waterways surrounding the city to clean up mess after mess left behind. Meet these dedicated citizens and hear about their passion for keeping this community clean.

Parents have a lot to think about—everything from increasing educational costs to texting while driving. But one of the rising concerns among moms and dads in Baton Rouge is the chemicals found in the food, toys, bath products, bedding and household cleaners that surround our children every day.

How many chemicals are too many? What is the long-term effect on our young people as their brains and bodies develop? How much of a difference does it make to use organic products? And how can parents find a balance without driving themselves and their children crazy? Contributing Editor Amy Alexander spoke to local parents, doctors and experts for answers in this month’s cover story. Read it here.