BATON
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013
ROUGE,
LOUISIANA
VOL. 38 • NO. 14 • FREE
A PEOPLE’S PUBLICATION
Typhoon Haiyan: Survivors In Philippines Face Grim Struggle As Death Toll Rises
Breaking Down Baton Rouge’s Budget: No Extra Employee Raises, $2Million for Business Incentives
Mayor Kip Holden
People in Tacloban pass debris on November 11. TACLOBAN, PHILIPPINES -- Survivors root through the splintered wreckage of their homes searching for loved ones who may be buried beneath. Others are scrambling to find food and water in areas littered with corpses. Three days after Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, scythed across the central Philippines, people here are struggling to grasp the enormity of what they have lost and the challenges they face. The storm, known as Yolanda
in the Philippines, has left devastation on a monumental scale in its wake. Thousands of houses have been obliterated. Many areas are still cut off from transport, communications and power. Some officials say that as many as 10,000 people may have been killed. “There are too many people dead,” said Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross. “We have bodies in the water, bodies on the bridges, bodies on the side of the road.” Amid the carnage, hundreds of
thousands of survivors are trying to cope with a lack of water, food, shelter and medicine. Aid workers and government officials are battling to get emergency supplies to hard-hit areas cut off by fallen trees and power lines. In Tacloban, a city of more than 200,000 that suffered a catastrophic blow from the typhoon, dead bodies still lay by the side of the road Monday. Some had been covered by sheets or tarpaulins. But others remain where they had fallen, a look of horror frozen on their faces.
Aid workers are worried the grim abundance of corpses will create health risks for survivors, who are drinking water from underground wells without knowing if it’s been contaminated. Magina Fernandez, who was trying to get out of Tacloban at the city’s crippled airport, described the situation there as “worse than hell.” “Get international help to come here now -- not tomorrow, now,” she said, directing some of See TYPHOON on page 2
Group fighting to Save Louisiana’s Youth from Human Trafficking
Obama to Announce fix for Canceled Health plans WA S H INGTON — President Barack Obama is expected to announce a fix Thursday for people losing their health insurance under President his signature Barack Obama law. The White House says Obama will make a late-morning statement from the briefing room. The president has come under
B ATO N R O U G E , L A -Baton Rouge ranks in the top 10 cities in the nation for human trafficking. Investigators say the youngest confirmed victim was just six years old. A new commission has been formed to tackle pimps and help victims. Members of the newly formed Human Traffic Study Commission are in a fight to save Louisiana’s youth from a crime that has been running rampant. Pimps display women and men for sale on websites like Backpage. Law enforcement has tightened its reigns on predators, but they say the Johns have gotten smart; disguising phone numbers to make them harder to trace and
See OBAMA, on page 2
See GROUP, on page 2
SHELTER-IN-PLACE
BATON ROUGE, LA — Baton Rouge’s 2014 proposed budget, presented by Mayor Kip Holden on Tuesday, contains a variety of new expenses and shifts in revenue. But the most notable element of the budget might be what hasn’t changed: The pay scale for city-parish employees. The 2014 budget only proposes keeping the 3 percent merit raises and longevity pay that are already being given to employees, despite requests from the local union and some council members to boost workers’ pay more significantly. The raises employees are already receiving will amount to $3.6 million in the 2014 budget. But the Service Employees International Union, which represents Department of Public Works employees and others, has been calling on Holden to do more, especially for the lowest paid. Nearly half of the city-parish’s employees make less than $15 per hour. A recently released employee compensation study agreed that many city-parish employees are being paid significantly less than market rate. It would cost the city-parish $9.2 million to raise all salaries up to market rates, according to the report. Holden said after Tuesday’s presentation that the funds aren’t available in 2014 to give employ-
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/btrbb-renaissance-baton-rouge-hotel/
BUSINESS
• The city-parish is expecting 1.5 percent growth in sales and use tax revenues, for an additional $4.8 million. Sales and use taxes make up 57 percent of the funding that goes into the city-parish’s general fund. • The budget includes $2.17 million that the city is putting toward economic development initiatives next year, including the 2017 U.S. Bowling ConSee BUDGET, on page 7
Grambling faces financial punishment for forfeit
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced on Wednesday that Grambling will face financial penalties after forfeiting its road game against Jackson State on Oct. 19. The SWAC did not announce exact figures in its release, but said the fine would be issued in accordance to the league’s bylaws. Grambling spokesman Will Sutton has said previously that amount is $20,000. Grambling must also play road games
LOCAL & STATE
ees the more significant raises the union is asking for. He said this is the fourth year in a row employees have received 3 percent raises, which are given until they reach the top of their pay scale. That amounts to a 12 percent raise over the last four years, which Holden said is impressive compared to other cities where there have been furloughs and layoffs. Referring to the president of the local SEIU chapter, Helene O’Brien, Holden said: “All she needs to do is take a look at what is happening across the country (as cities recover from the recession)… She’ll understand that we’re not the piggybank.” Overall, the budget totals $804.8 million, an increase of 3.03 percent from last year’s budget of $780.48 million. Other notable elements from the new proposed budget include:
HEALTH
at Jackson State the next three seasons. G r a m b l i n g ’s players staged a boycott of the Jackson State game because of issues with Grambling’s leaders, including the school’s rundown facilities, long bus trips to road games and personnel decisions. The SWAC also said Grambling will pay Jackson State an undisclosed amount from its “future distribution amounts” to help Jackson State recoup lost money from the Oct. 19 cancellation.
RELIGION
In light of the ongoing bullying controversy in the National Football League surrounding two Miami Dolphins players, it is fitting to write an awareness piece that gives young football players with dreams of one day playing in the NFL..See Page 6
INDEX
2013 PERSIMMON WOMEN EVENT This fall, as part of National Preparedness Month, the North Baton Rouge Chemical Industry Task Force (NBRCITF), whose members include the East Baton Rouge Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Baton Rouge Fire Department and area industrial companies, sponsored its annual shelter-in-place public awareness campaign to answer that question... See Page 3
The YWCA of Greater Baton Rouge held its 3rd Annual Persimmon Women fundraiser over breakfast at the City Club of Baton Rouge recently..See Page 2
OVER 106,000 FOR OBAMACARE PLANS
The U.S. government said on Wednesday that 106,185 people signed up for health coverage nationally under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law during October, the first month of its troubled roll-out....See Page 5
NEW KNEE LIGAMENT Last month, knee surgeons from
the University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium announced that they had found a new knee ligament, one that had not previously been specifically identified despite untold numbers.See Page 7
Local & State............................2 Commentary.............................4 Business....................................5 Religion....................................6 Health.......................................7 Sports.......................................8
CLASSIFIED Buying or selling a service, looking for for a good job? Check out the classifeds .
THEWEEKLYPRESS.COM Celebrating 38 Years Of Service To The Baton Rouge Community 225.775.2002