BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, a Republican from from Metairie, says he is running for speaker of the U.S. House. As majority leader, Scalise is the second-ranking House Republican after speaker, a position California Republican Kevin McCarthy was kicked out of in a vote Tuesday. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also has announced that he is running for the top job in the House. East Baton Rouge officials decided to put a stretch of Government Street on a diet several years ago, and the action is having positive results, according a new Baton Rouge Area Chamber report. The "road diet" involved cutting the number of car lanes on a 4.2-mile stretch of the street from four to three, while widening sidewalks and adding eastbound and westbound bike lanes. The work started in 2018 and was officially completed in October 2021. Now, Government Street business leaders say improvements have brought more shoppers to the area. Sales tax revenues have risen, and traffic counts are up, while the number of traffic incidents has dropped, according to the report. BREC has asked Baton Rouge residents to give their perspective on how the agency's parks could be improved. One group is pursuing turning City Park Golf Course into a dedicated public park space. A petition movement wants community members to sound off on what they would like to see at City Park instead of the current nine-hole golf course. Other residents say they see no need to change a historic landmark that has graced the city for nearly 100 years. | 