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Thursday, January 17, 2013 • Vol. 22, No. 1 • 16 Pages • www.capitalcitynews.us • Phone 225-261-5055
Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe
Welch’s Switch Gives Council GOP Majority
EBR Coroner Reports
Victims of EBR Homicides Were Unarmed When Killed: Coroner
Photo by Woody Jenkins
BATON ROUGE — Victims of homicide in the parish are almost never armed, if statistics from 2012 are any indication. East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. Beau Clark told the Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon last week that the parish experienced 96 homicides during 2012. Ironically, only three of those 96 victims were in possession of a firearm when they were killed, Clark said. The coroner’s office does not file official reports on whether victims of homicide are armed, but the coroner said the number was based on his staff’s knowledge of the cases. Former Sheriff Greg Phares said that killers seldom target individuals who are armed. Last week, the Advocate said law enforcement agencies reported 83 homicides in the parish last year. However, the coroner’s office keeps separate records on homicides.
Woody Jenkins
Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe, a conservative, was elected Mayor Pro-Tem.
Four New Metro Councilmen Sworn In
Editor, Capital City News
BATON ROUGE — With four new members, the Metro Council has a new look and new leadership. At its first meeting, the Council unanimously elected second-term Councilman Chandler Loupe as Mayor Pro-Tem, the No. 2 position in City-Parish government. Loupe, a conservative Republican, supported Mike Walker, the former Mayor Pro-Tem, in his race to unseat the MayorPresident, Kip Holden. During the past four years, the relationship Trae Welch: New between Holden GOP Councilman and the Council was strained, but now Loupe says the relationship has been “re-set” and the Mayor and the Council are working well together. He gives a lot of the cred-
2,500 Baton Rougeans March for Life Youthful Crowd Buddy Amoroso
John Delgado
Ryan Heck
C. Banks-Daniel
1,100 Protest CATS Taxes; $650,000 Held Back in Escrow
Breathes Life into This Year’s March
BATON ROUGE — The Capital Area Transit Authority has been taking blows this week. On Tuesday, a consultant hired by the CATS governing board recommended that top management at CATS be removed and that administration of CATS be privatized. Now there’s more bad news for CATS. It won’t be receiving all of the 10.3-mill property tax that voters narrowly approved last May. Just before Christmas, local businessman Milton Graugnard asked property owners in
Photo by Jolice Provost
BATON ROUGE — More than 2,500 men, women and children marched from the Old State Capitol through downtown Baton Rouge to the State Capitol last Saturday to support the right to life and oppose abortion. The event marked the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion on demand in all 50 states. Louisiana, which has a legal tradition of protecting the unborn since the Civil Code of 1820, has been in the forefront of opposing legalized abortion. This year’s march included more than 1,000 young people, who energized the crowd. Organizers said a new generation of pro-life supporters is strengthening the movement.
See CHANDLER on Page 13
March for Life in downtown Baton Rouge. For photos, see page 5.
See 1,100 TAXPAYERS on Page 2