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Friday, July 10, 2009
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NEWS
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Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden said Friday that police will hit the ground hard on Monday, but he wouldn't give specifics on the crackdown. Police also refused to share their game plan to stop the violence, but a spokesman for BRPD said officers are using every resource available to them. News 2's Lori Steele talked to residents to see if that's enough.
LSU's 2010 baseball season -- and specifically the Tigers' bid to repeat as national champions -- got a huge shot in the arm today. A West Nile virus alert was issued for East Baton Rouge Parish after 33 mosquitoes tested positive for the virus since June. News 2's Christine Lewis tells you why mosquito control experts are worried. Gov. Bobby Jindal's deputy chief of staff also will work as his top lawyer until Jindal permanently fills the job. Jindal announced Friday that Stephen Waguespack will be the governor's acting executive counsel until a replacement is found for Jimmy Faircloth. First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana dropped 10.7 percent last week. The Louisiana Workforce Commission says there were 4,157 people seeking initial jobless benefits for the week ending July 4. That's down from 4,655 the previous week. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The head of a movie studio said he intends to repay members of the New Orleans Saints and others the nearly $1.9 million he received from them — after he finds other investors. Coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and Hall of Famer Archie Manning were among those who bought what they thought were state film industry tax credits. A state official, however, said the studio never applied for them. Southern senior wide receiver Juamorris Stewart has been named to The Sports Network's preseason FCS All-America second team. Stewart, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior from Istrouma-Baton Rouge, recorded 76 catches for 1,138 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2008. Allen Parish authorities are investigating the discovery of the body of a near full-term baby allegedly left in a storage shed for four days by a local zydeco musician. Peggy Kennedy, chief detective with the Allen Parish Sheriff's Department, said today that Mary Rosie Ledet has not been arrested -- only questioned -- about an alleged miscarriage July 1 in Iota, which is in Acadia Parish. What can you expect from your weather this weekend? Chief Forecaster Pat Shingleton has the details in your forecast. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek says it was his insistence on badly needed and far-reaching changes in public schools that brought him strong opposition in the Legislature this year. We said happy birthday to Walker Friday morning as the city celebrates its 100th anniversary. News 2's John Pastorek was out in the midst of the celebration at one of the most popular restaurants in Livingston Parish, LaFleur's. Advocate outdoors writer Joe Macaluso is ready to do so some yard work, and maybe a little ditch digging. See what he's up to in this week's Outdoors Report. L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) -- Lasting worldwide recovery "is still a ways off," President Barack Obama declared Friday, but he also said at the conclusion of a global summit that a disastrous economic collapse apparently has been averted. A day of violence has police looking for gunmen and others in Baton Rouge looking for answers. News 2's Kristy Davis spoke to the family members of two of the victims. The spike in crime affects more than the people who live where it happens. News 2's Dana Hackett talked to people around Baton Rouge who say the out-of-control violence has to stop. Capitol Lofts, the Spanish Town apartment complex that drew fire last month from the neighborhood and preservationists over its size and design, now will be 67 units and four stories. Developer David Slaughter released a rendering of the smaller design Thursday and said plans call for a ground level of parking and three stories above it for the low end of the property on State Capitol Drive, which looks over Arsenal Park. Two men and a woman were found fatally shot inside a car Thursday on Byron Avenue, bringing to five the number of people killed in the Brookstown area within the past month. Police discovered the three bodies about 5 a.m. LIVINGSTON — The death of the man who died Sunday during a traffic stop in Livingston Parish could have been from cardiac arrhythmia, methamphetamines or a broken hyoid bone in his neck, the Livingston Parish coroner said Thursday afternoon in announcing the preliminary cause of death. LAFAYETTE — Local, state and federal officials Thursday announced the results of a nationwide law enforcement effort that nabbed more than 35,000 fugitives, including a total of 374 from areas in and around Lafayette and Baton Rouge. The LSU System announced budget plans Thursday to lay off or eliminate close to 400 employee positions — far fewer than the more than 1,000 job losses feared. The reductions include about 100 jobs axed on LSU’s flagship Baton Rouge campus, LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said. Panicked investors from Baton Rouge and around the nation asked U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, for help Thursday against a court-appointed receiver planning to take back money they received from the failed Stanford International Bank. “Don’t victimize the victims twice,” Cassidy responded during a telephone conference that lasted for more than an hour. ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Baton Rouge construction company owner told a federal jury Thursday that former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson required his brother be hired as a consultant in return for the congressman pushing a proposed sugar plant in Nigeria. Walter “Joey’’ Koon got new attorneys and a trial date Thursday, 16 years after he allegedly killed his estranged wife and her parents and two years after a federal judge threw out his conviction and death sentence. A 21-year-old man was wounded by gunfire Thursday in the 3900 block of Wyandotte Street, a Police Department spokesman reported. Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said a suspected shooter surrendered to police shortly after the incident. LIVINGSTON — The Livingston Parish Council voted Thursday night to park the so-called “speed van” program for two more weeks. The council also gave its attorney permission to look into its contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, of Phoenix, and advise what can be done, such as whether the program can continue without the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office involvement. Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Thursday he signed bills to grant tax relief on entertainment industry expenses and hunting supply purchases. Meanwhile, Orleans Parish’s top prosecutor can get around state nepotism laws to hire his daughter, thanks to Jindal allowing other legislation to become law without his signature. An East Baton Rouge Parish school panel recommended denying a request Thursday from a local nonprofit to create two new small high schools in town. Advance Innovative Education, a recent offshoot of the better-known nonprofit Advance Baton Rouge, is developing plans for a new high school focusing on digital arts as well as another one focused on science, technology, engineering and math. LAFAYETTE — The reconstitution of Alice Boucher Elementary School is nearly complete, its principal said Thursday. More than 200 people were interviewed to be a part of the changes planned for the school, and few positions remain open, Principal Keith Bartlett said. CENTERVILLE — There was good news and bad news Thursday for the St. Mary Parish School Board. The good news: The board was able to renew its student accident insurance at a $3,500 annual savings. The bad news: Sales tax revenue in June plummeted 22 percent below projected levels. A group of aspiring school principals listened Thursday as veteran educators and political advocates urged them to not only learn how to run schools well but become entrepreneurs who pioneer better ways of educating kids. PLAQUEMINE — Leaders of a citizens group working to oust an Iberville Parish School Board member over a controversial school closure vote said Thursday they plan to push forward despite “good ol’ boy network” efforts to stop them. ZACHARY — The Zachary Community School Board accepted the low bid of $5.72 million Thursday for a new early learning center to be built on a 62 acres the board bought last year on Rollins Road. Block Construction LLC, of Baton Rouge, was the lowest of 11 bidders for the 20-classroom project, which also includes a concrete road to the site. LAFAYETTE — Only one bid was submitted for Pecan Island School, but it is $500,000 less than what the Vermilion Parish school system wants. The sole bid of $250,000 was entered by John Properties, LLC — registered to David and Peter John, of Crowley, according to the state’s corporation database. The brothers own JohnPac, a bag manufacturing plant in Crowley. ST. FRANCISVILLE — A state district judge sentenced two high school dropouts to 40 years in prison Thursday in the 2006 slaying of a man whose body was found partially stuffed into an open septic tank. Few in state government appear to be headed for the unemployment line despite tight budget constraints and earlier talk of big employee job layoffs. Only a handful of state agencies have submitted employee layoff plans for required state Civil Service approval. The second time was not the charm for a Metro Council member who tried and failed Thursday to convince a parish board to reinstate a liquor license for a business owner who had lost it for selling alcohol to minors. A 23-year-old man from the East Feliciana Parish town of Ethel will spend two years on probation for burning a pile of automobile tires, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. CARENCRO — Police arrested a 19-year-old man in the July 2 shooting death of 41-year-old Mark Boutin. Police Chief Carlos Stout said investigators determined Troydell Simmons, of Carencro, shot Boutin once in the head with a 9 mm handgun while attempting to rob him. The two largest statewide retirement systems using an investment consultant under scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission say they are sticking by the consulting group. The Consulting Services Group, which advises five Louisiana systems, denies claims by the SEC, which has threatened a lawsuit regarding alleged kickbacks given to broker-dealers for directing a New York retirement system’s pension funds to them. Roughly 60 officials from Jackson, Miss., are spending two days visiting downtown, hoping to head home today inspired to tackle some of the challenges Baton Rouge has grappled with for the past decade. Ben Allen, president of the Downtown Jackson Partners, said he put together the trip after seeing The Shaw Center for the Arts on a recent visit. Jackson is planning to create its own arts complex, but officials also wanted to look at what Baton Rouge has done to attract residential development, restaurant and entertainment venues and build out public spaces. The River Region Art Association is celebrating its new partnership with Houmas House Plantation on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house. Residents are invited to view the art on display at the association’s new gallery inside the Houmas House Plantation gift shop, 40136 La. 942, Darrow. LAKE CHARLES — Authorities said a man arrested earlier this week on a charge of second-degree murder has been arrested on a charge of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The arrest of a man who later died in Livingston Parish was caught on tape by a deputy's dashboard camera. News 2's Lori Steele gets answers on what investigators learned by reviewing the tape. |
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