Friday jitters

I’m finding more cases of the rumor mill not panning out with regards to Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge has not become the DMZ.

ATMs – you can find ATMs that are on and have money in Baton Rouge. While it is true that there are still ATMs without power and some that have power are unavailable, there are still locations where you can get money. Some of the remote ATMs rely on phone lines that are not reliable. Many branches are now open for business and accepting deposits and withdrawals. I recommend you have some cash, but there is no need to throw out your credit cards. I have used a credit card and debit card today without any problems.

Gas – gas is widely available. I don’t have an exact average price but it seems to be around $2.70. There are places at $2.99 but there are also places just under $2.50. Gas cans are hard to find but even small hardware stores are starting to get shipments of 200-300. The stations around I-10 and I-12 do tend to have lines and run out but shipments arrive daily. 6:00am is probably the best time to buy.

Guns – Woa, this is a biggy. It appears that many people have chosen Labor Day to be gun buying time. I have heard rumors that gun sales are up 40%. I have no way to validate this number but I can tell you what I observed first hand. Jim’s Firearms in Baton Rouge had a line coming out the door yesterday. This is what I would call a large gun shop. I’ve never seen a line inside let alone outside the door. Today every cash register had a line at least 20 deep. Even the cash/check only line had that many. They were actually completely out of .38 caliber rounds. I called this morning and they had just received a new shipment of handguns and were expecting another one later. People were buying rifles and shotguns but hand guns seem to be the hot ticket. Handgun checks were not hampered by the phone lines. Precision Firearms and Indoor Shooting Range has people in it and were low on revolvers. Didn’t check them for .38 rounds, I have plenty.

Rumor that the Academy Sports on Siegen was looted and all of their guns stolen is completely false. I confirmed the rumor was false with East Baton Rouge Sheriff in addition to driving by it. It is currently closed. My guess is that it is closed due to power outage. There is power in the area but one business told me that they had 3 phase power and the 3 phase was not on yet.

nola.com has an article about 100 rescued people dying in Chalmette. You can see this at Chalmette .