BREC eyes 20% budget increase, conveyor-belt maker aims to bring hundreds more jobs to Hammond

The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Jennifer Wadsworth | Assistant metro editor

Good morning, and happy Friday. Some headlines to start your day …

Hundreds more jobs in Hammond

A conveyor belt manufacturer aims to double its staff with a $60 million expansion that'll bring hundreds more jobs to Hammond, where Gov. Edwards stopped by Wednesday to celebrate the news. "I'm just as pleased as I can be," he told reporters, officials and company executives gathered for the announcement. "This is a sign of confidence in Louisiana and in Tangipahoa Parish."

James Finn was there for the announcement, which you can read about here.

BREC budget

Major upgrades to parks, trails, bike lanes and the Baton Rouge Zoo account for a potential 20% increase in BREC's budget this coming year. In this story, reporter Terry Jones tells us how city-parish officials might spend the $150 million budget, which comes to a vote in mid-December.

Driver sentenced to 10 years

A woman was sentenced to a decade behind bars over a crash that killed a 5-year-old girl in 2018. Judge Alvin Turner Jr. of the 23rd Judicial District Court handed down the sentence for Angela Gaudet on Tuesday in Gonzales after Benjamin Teekell and other victims testified and Gaudet had accepted her plea, as David Mitchell reports in this piece.

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