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Friday, November 20, 2009
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The state Board of Ethics has formally asked the Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to review a decision by a panel of administrative law judges that dismissed conflict-of-interest charges against a key Jindal administration floorleader on ethics issues.
A man wanted in the rape of another man earlier this week surrendered to authorities late Thursday, a spokesman with the Baton Rouge Police Department said today. Samuel J. Moore, 25, was booked into Parish Prison on a count of aggravated rape, Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said. A U.S. District Court grand jury today indicted the security guard who claimed she was attacked while working at LSU but later admitted she had stabbed herself. A man wanted in the fatal shooting of Quincy Demond Gaines surrendered to authorities Thursday and will be booked into Parish Prison on a count of second-degree murder, a Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman said. The man who died Friday in a fire on South Boulevard was identified Thursday as 64-year-old Leroy McKneely, a Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman said. Firefighters rescued McKneely from a residence at 1410 South Blvd. at about 8 p.m. when they were called to the home and found it engulfed in flames, Curt Monte said. Scenic Highway between Sparrow and Marsh streets is closed due to a fire at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church, the Baton Rouge Fire Department said. Firefighters said they believe the fire started as a result of roofers using torches while working, Fire Department spokesman Curt Monte said. The fire damaged the church’s roof and part of the sanctuary, Monte said. A sister of Mayor-President Kip Holden pleaded guilty this afternoon to a bribery-related charge in an ongoing federal probe into the local criminal justice system. Evelyn J. Holden, who worked in the property records section of the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court Office, admitted in federal court that she conspired with then-senior Baton Rouge City Court prosecutor Flitcher Bell and others to fix criminal and traffic matters in City Court. The Louisiana Lottery Corporation says nobody won the two major jackpots in the Louisiana Lotto and multistate Powerball drawings Wednesday night. Louisiana Lotto players matching all six numbers drawn would have won or shared a $350,000 prize, which will rise to an estimated $375,000 for Saturday. A man who was shot to death Tuesday night in the front yard of his home has been identified as Ralph Richardson, Baton Rouge Police said in a news release today. Richardson, 43, was shot multiple times in front of his house at 525 S. 17th St. around 6:30 p.m., according to the release. A 26 year old man was shot and killed this morning in the 2400 block of America Street at Evergreen Street, police said in a news release. The victim was shot multiple times in the torso after having an argument with a suspect on Evergreen Street, police spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said in the release. The security guard who was stabbed Saturday at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center has now told investigators she injured herself, an LSU Police spokesman said. In an effort to reduce the number of warrants for outstanding traffic tickets, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office has announced that traffic tickets issued by that department are payable online. Union workers at Rhodia’s Baton Rouge chemical plant began returning to work Saturday after they ratified a new three-year labor agreement Friday, ending a strike that began Nov. 3, a company spokesman said Sunday in a news release. Man who attacked LSU guard at large LSU Police were still looking for the attacker in the stabbing of a woman security guard Saturday at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center as of Sunday. The H1N1 flu vaccine will be administered at Southern University from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Wednesday, a university spokesman said Sunday in a news release. Celebrate artwork, renovations The Livingston Parish Arts Council and parish Chamber of Commerce will have an art show 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday as part the grand-opening ceremony of the renovated offices at 133 Hummell St. in Denham Springs shared by the two groups. The state departments of Agriculture, Hospitals, Natural Resources and others have public safety programs which require safety inspectors to travel throughout the state. What criteria does the Division of Administration use to determine the need for replacing state vehicles for these safety programs? LIVINGSTON — Sales taxes for Livingston Parish’s two largest municipalities were down again in October, and both mayors say they have taken steps to cut expenses. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger, the longest-serving magistrate in the history of the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana, is seeking reappointment for another eight years. For symphony pianist Geraldine Hubbell, it’s not about Gibson and Stratocaster. It’s all about Steinway and Sons. It’s not about Elvis and the Beatles. It’s about Mozart and Beethoven. Gay Boudreaux is well aware of the irony in the decade that saw downtown Baton Rouge blossom being the same one that convinced her that her family’s stationery store, a Third Street institution for 76 years, is no longer relevant to American life. Mayor-President Kip Holden’s proposed $901 million capital improvement tax package failed Saturday because of a lopsided “no” vote in suburban, predominantly white areas of East Baton Rouge Parish, according to an analysis of precinct vote totals. A new program is available in East Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes to help match people with community services so they can stay out of nursing homes. A 60-year-old St. Helena farmer died Sunday after being crushed by a hay baler, St. Helena authorities said. Treasurer wants details on contracts State Treasurer John Kennedy wants details from the state Department of Education on $615 million in contracts granted over the past four years. Members of Zeta Tau Alpha, Kappa Alpha and Phi Delta Theta celebrate being named the No. 1 float in LSU’s homecoming parade on campus Saturday. Residents in two East Baton Rouge Parish crime-prevention districts decided Saturday to charge themselves additional money every year to pay for more law enforcement patrols. A. P. Tureaud Jr. has lived for six decades with the memory of LSU students beating on his dormitory door all night and professors refusing to acknowledge his presence in their classrooms or to even touch his homework papers. GONZALES — The Ascension Parish Council has taken its first, halting steps at tackling major reapportionment changes expected to result from the 2010 census. Many people leaving Louisiana’s state welfare rolls may have traded one government-assistance system for another, some social policy researchers say. Mayor-President Kip Holden’s $901 million capital improvements tax package was soundly defeated by East Baton Rouge Parish voters Saturday. The tax package failed with 64 percent of voters against the proposal and 36 percent in favor, according to complete but unofficial returns from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office. Police and Fire briefs for November 15, 2009 SORRENTO — Marvin Martin beat former two-term Town Councilwoman Troy Braud 57.6 percent to 42.5 percent in a special runoff election Saturday, complete but unofficial election results show. CROWLEY — Voters in the Branch community of Acadia Parish renewed a 10-year, 8.01-mill tax for Fire Protection District 6. The renewal passed by a vote of 50 to 4. The property tax generates about $86,700 a year. BAKER — The Baker Fire Department will move into its new $3.4 million central fire station later this week, after a 10 a.m. public dedication program on Monday. BRUSLY — Students at Brusly Elementary School, learning they would be getting a new playground, made some requests that were a bit outlandish. BAYOU GOULA — Volunteers hoping to save a revered community church planned to start cleaning up the building and grounds Saturday as part of their plan to one day buy the property from the church parish so that worship services can resume there someday. An off-duty Baton Rouge police officer was suspended after he got into a fight with a downtown restaurant manager early Thursday morning over a bond election sign. Johnny Kelly and his 4-year-old godson, Andre Williams, walked almost daily to a North Street convenience store to get a snack and something to drink. East Baton Rouge Parish voters head to the polls today to cast their ballots on Mayor-President Kip Holden’s proposed $901 million bond issue. Happenings around the area. The Capital Area Transit System’s former maintenance director may have violated state nepotism laws, the Louisiana Board of Ethics alleged in documents released Friday. A 28-year-old Baton Rouge man was arrested Thursday after police said he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl. |
