Neighborhoods and Activities in Baton Rouge

PEP keeps you up to date on our East Baton Rouge Parish schools.  Their recent January 2009 newsletter will get you informed on key issues like the new Secretary of Education in Obama's team, Arne Duncan.  Other topics include the Louisiana Department of Education plan for intervention in academically unacceptable schools, the Superintendent Search, and the Magnet Score Rerouting.

Learn about their mission statement and get involved with our community:   The PEP Group.

Monday evening as the sun went down, Baton Rouge Tweeters gathered at Chimes East on Coursey Boulevard.  There was good food and fellowship and much amazement at the power of Twitter to call such a diverse group on short notice.  It was a first one here and no one knew quite what to expect.  College students, Gatorworks techies, grandparents, bankers, outfitters, poker players, Realtors.  There were even 3 of us Active Rain bloggers there, some who didn't know each other and hadn't found each other on Active Rain until last night!  Bryan Castillo, Linda Fredericks, and myself.

I was lucky as I just started my account and was able to get in on this first Twitter event in the Baton Rouge area.  It was such a success I'm sure there will be more in the future.  Much thanks to David Link of Baton Rouge's GatorWorks for organizing this one.

This weekend all the lights will be coming down.  So we captured one neighborhood, Woodlake at Bluebonnet to share their beauty.  The luminaries were found on most homes, jolly by daylight and glowing in the evening.  Their were many neighborhoods areoung Baton Rouge lighting up.  This is one example.

 May you have a prosperous 2009.

If you haven't visited Denham Springs, Watson, Walker, or other areas of Livingston Parish lately, you will find many new interest spots and many new subdivisions.  One of the now established firsts was the Bass Pro Shop off the Denham exit of I-12.  There you can get just about anything you need for fishing, hunting, and outdoor activities.  Just down the road from the Bass Pro Shop at the Juban exit, there are plans for a shopping center and you'll see new subdivisions popping up. 

One of these subdivisions is Clearlake.  These garden style homes are clustered around the banks of some beautiful finger lakes.  Many have decks where you can catch fish like the one this resident caught. 

Ah, yes, and getting there.... The Livingston Parish News in its top 10 stories of 2008 highlighted the development of roads in the parish:

 "The best thing to come to Livingston Parish from the surge in oil prices last year was a $100 million appropriation to widen I-12 east of O'Neal Lane into Livingston Parish. The fastest-growing parish in Louisiana received record attention....Other major projects benefitting our area includes the completion of a widening project for La. 16, now four-lane all the way from Watson to the interstate. Also, a new Florida Boulevard bridge across the Amite River is under construction"

Linda Fredericks, President of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors has some exciting news for all of us!  Here's here comments on our Economic Outlook:

This morning I closed out my last transaction of 2008.  It was a first time homebuyer, very small sale of only $86,000, and to some very insignificant.  But at this closing that lasted from 8:30am to 1:30pm, there was nothing insignificant about this time where it seemed her dreams were melting away!  Finally after hours of conference calls, emails, and faxes we were able to help a young lady into her first home.  Her smiles and hugs of excitement were the best way I could have closed out 2008.

It all started by getting her hooked up with one the the best Baton Rouge lenders who was able to get her 100% state bond financing (unheard of in today's market). The mortgage and inspection process went smoothly.   Then at  closing we first learned that the seller hadn't disclosed that a tenant was 3 months behind in rentals + was in eviction process.  Agreements had indicated a smooth transfer of deposits and proration of rents.  To top it off, the seller's attorney of a year ago had failed to payoff and record a loan from when the sellers purchased the home!  The 3 sellers were out of state and represented by their agent, who also hadn't a clue what had been happening.  Since the lender and my buyer selected a top notch attorney for title and close, they were able via conference phone calls, emails, and faxes to draft a satisfactory resolution and close this transaction.  Excellent service from those of us who are Realtors, Real Estate attorneys, and lenders is sort of like a 747 captain flying a jet airliner. For 95% of the time things go smoothly and no one notices. 

 But when you hit wind sheer or title or disclosure problems, those professional airline captains and Realtors know how to get you thru the storm! 

Smooth flying to all in 2009!

CHRISTMAS FACT OR MYTH?  A FUN QUIZ FOR THE SEASON

ANSWERS

TRUE OR FALSE:

1.  Jesus was born in December. False.  Based on the time of first census decreed by Caesar Augustus, Roman history records this occurred about September or October. It was during this census and family registration trip to Bethlehem that Mary gave birth to Jesus.  We celebrate the birth in December and it is a national holiday in the U.S.

(Unless you're thinking out of the box like Sandy & Evelyn, and instead of the Christian Jesus of Roman empire times  you are thinking Jesus is just the name of any boy born with that name.  Then the answer could be True)

2.  Jesus was born in 0 A.D. False.  There is no 0 A.D., only 1BC or 1AD.  Josephus and other historians place the birth at about 4 or 5 BC.

3.  Early Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus .False.  The first recorded celebration occurred in 336AD, over 300 years after his birth.

4.  Mica, a prophet, foretold that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. True.  Book of Mica in the Bible

5.  Angels told the shepherds they should go worship Jesus. True.  Book of Luke 2: 8-14 in the Bible

6.  The Wise Men with presents were present at Jesus birth. False.  Magi (Webster's defines Magi as the priestly caste in ancient Media and Persia, supposedly having occult powers) traveled there later.

7.  Three (3) Kings on camels visited bearing gifts. False.   There is no record of three Kings in the Bible or in the history records of the Middle East such as Josephus' works or Roman historical documents.  The Bible says Magi bore 3 gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but doesn't give the number of magi.  The plural use of the word implies at least two but there may have been many more. There is no mention of how they traveled.  Since camels were common transportation, many history re-enactments use camels but there is no actual record that it was camels in any of the written documents of Rome, or the Middle East, or the Bible.

8.  A star led Wise Men directly to Jesus. False.  They saw the star that foretold of Jesus birth, but they went to Herod seeking location of the child.  Herod sent them to search in Jerusalem and report back to him. After the visit to Herod, a star stood over the location of the child to guide them.  They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod to tell him of the child's whereabouts as Herod planned to kill the child. They did not return to Herod.  Herod in a rage had all male children under age of 2 killed in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.  Jesus' parents had fled in the night before to Egypt and were unharmed.  Herod's plot is recorded in Josephus's records and Roman history documents, and in the Bible.

Most have read the horrible ratings many Louisiana schools, and East Baton Rouge Parish schools receive.  It's so bad that it occasionally garners national attention.  Ugh!  but rather than be complacent and apathetic and just go along, a group of young professionals has organized to make a difference.  Called the Public Education Project....PEP....these energetic difference makers are organizing school tours and town hall meetings.

Next Meeting:

January 6, 2009

9-10am

South Boulevard Elementary

You can sign up to receive a monthly newsletter, host a PEP talk, join the mentoring program at EBR Lab Academy.

Be active in your community.  Get involved to make East Baton Rouge Parish Schools better

Learn more at the PEP WEBSITE:

www.pepbr.org