with Matthew Albright | Assistant metro editorGood morning! We had a bunch of important and interesting stories yesterday. Let's give you a rundown of some of the best. Stopping another catastropheFive years ago, a massive rainstorm overwhelmed creeks and rivers and swamped houses and businesses, causing devastation for thousands of people in the Baton Rouge area. In the wake of those now-infamous 2016 floods, city, state and federal leaders promised millions of dollars in flood prevention projects in hopes of preventing a similar disaster in the future. We checked in on the status of the biggest, such project, the $460 million Comite Diversion Canal, and found that it continues to face delays over land purchases and other hurdles. Some leaders say they're optimistic it could be completed in the next few years — but some residents are fearful of what could happen in the meantime. We also looked into the progress of often-contentious projects to clear out and improve the flow of Bayou Manchac and Spanish Lake, which are key to draining floodwaters in the area. COVID cancels Jazz Fest — againJazz Fest had already been postponed until October because of COVID, but the advent of vaccinations had many in South Louisiana hopeful that the good times could roll again. But then the more-contagious delta variant struck, and vaccinations lagged. So now Jazz Fest is off entirely for this year. We've got all the details. Vaccines instead of community service?Several Baton Rouge-area judges are giving defendants for some low-level crimes a choice: If you get the COVID vaccine, they'll count it as credit for some or all of your community service hours. Many in the legal system say it's a creative way to encourage more people to get the shot, but some worry it's the government brow-beating people into making what should be a personal choice. Thanks for reading, and have a great day! | 