Baton Rouge Beyond Capacity

I have never seen this many people in Baton Rouge. I imagine that this is the modern day version of the boom towns during the gold rush, except this time it is the search for basic necessities that have driven people here. The truth of the matter is that Baton Rouge will not be fully functional until people are able to move back down to Kenner, Metairie and New Orleans to start cleaning up (one more down there means one less here). The infrastructure is stretched thin and we are still not 100% on electricity here. I spent a hour and a half trying to find gasoline this morning. I just needed a little gas to cut my lawn and top off my gas tank. After checking at a dozen stations and then waiting in a line only to have the gas run out in front of me, I decided that my yard could wait. Quite frankly I don't care to cut my lawn anyway. People have remained civil and I think that after the hoarding has subsided there will be a few more of the basic around. It all just takes time and that isn't something that people want to wait on right now. What will the new reality for Baton Rouge be? I don't think anybody knows right now. I look for a modest amount of growth over the long term as businesses relocate to this area from New Orleans. In a general sense, the growth of a city usually hinges on the ability for businesses to be more competitive (cheaper resources, transportation and a market for their products). Nothing has fundamentally changed in the infrastructure of the city, so I would not expect a large amount of long-term growth. The short-term worries me a bit though. I'm cautiously optimistic that our local leaders can hold things together, but it wouldn?t take much to upset things here. With the crush of people and lack of basic supplies it's a tenuous situation.