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New affordable housing development opens in Mid City

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013, 6:06pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB)- Brand new, affordable housing opened in Mid City on Wednesday. The energy efficient complex replaces the old Capitol City South Apartments on North Boulevard. City and state leaders hope it will effect a positive change neighborhood-wide.

A project four years in the making was completed on Wednesday with the grand opening of the Mid City Gardens Apartment and Activity Center. The 14,000 square foot housing development cost more than $12 million, all of it in federal funds, to build.

"The purpose of those funds is to take down foreclosed and blighted properties, and to rebuild and revitalize and rebuild housing. And this is exactly what we've done today," said Mike Airhart, chairman of the board for the Louisiana Housing Corporation.

Airhart says the development has 60 units, a community, rooftop garden and other energy saving features.

"This development has solar panels on the roof, the community center is LEED certified and the residential units are extremely energy efficient---having as low as $25 a month utility bills," said Airhart.

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Blighted property on Government St. to finally come down

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, 6:38pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB)- Bobby Fields has lived along America Street in Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina.

He thought he was getting away from broken down homes and eyesores but it's almost as if one moved in next door to him.

When Fields first moved here, the home next door was a nice, big home with a law office and driving school housed inside.

The building caught fire. The cleanup started then stopped according to fields- years ago.

"They had a dumpster over here and over here, but they didn't put wood in any dumpster," Fields said.

The home has sat there so long, the once yellow caution tape has now faded and turned white.

Neighbors tell 9News they often see bums and sometimes even kids- playing on the old house.

"Yeah they got a lot of homeless people who come over there at night time when they don't have any place to go - especially when it rains," Fields said.

9News checked and the building finally went through the often long and drawn out city-parish condemnation process.

The man in charge of taking down blighted buildings admits- they are behind on this one.

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Judge: Baton Rouge Police DWI checkpoints unconstitutional

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, 4:43pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB)- A key piece of evidence in a Baton Rouge drunk driving case has been tossed out of city court. The ruling could have a major impact on future DWI trials.

Baton Rouge attorney Cliff Ivey took one of his DWI cases to trial last week. The case went before Baton Rouge City Court Judge Yvette Alexander. Ivey claims the Baton Rouge Police Department not only messed up the checkpoint in which his client was stopped, but all checkpoints since 2010.

"The sobriety checkpoint that the Baton Rouge Police Department ran December 2010 was done so in a manner that was unconstitutional," says Ivey.

City Court Judge Yvette Alexander agreed with Ivey and ruled that way last Wednesday in a case in front of her. As a result any evidence the police got from that check point would be inadmissible according to Ivey.

The Supreme Court rules on DWI checkpoints are clear. The officer who decides when and where the checkpoint will be cannot be involved in the actual performance of the checkpoint.

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Baton Rouge City Court could cost taxpayers millions

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Friday, May 17th, 2013, 11:05am

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB)- The make-up of the Baton Rouge City Court may likely change in the coming months. Currently, three white judges sit on the court with two black judges. That's about to change with Judge Susan Ponder retiring, according to some. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 states judicial districts will reflect the make-up of the community. The racial make-up in Baton Rouge after the 2010 census is 55 percent black and 34 percent white. A lawsuit has been filed in federal court, but the judge wanted the Louisiana Legislature to fix it.

Rep. Alfred Williams, D-Baton Rouge, is the author of the bill that failed on the House floor Tuesday by a vote of 44-40. Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge is disappointed in the bill's failure.

"I can't speak for those folks," said Smith. "All I can say is somebody evidently told them that this wasn't the right thing to do."

So now, rather than a legislative mandate to change the make-up of the court, a lawsuit will determine who's right.

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Louisiana receives more than 100 charter school proposals in 2013

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Thursday, May 16th, 2013, 2:50pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB)-  

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Health department hires inspector general

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 7:26pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (AP)-  

The state Department of Health and Hospitals has hired a new inspector general to review spending and fight fraud.
The hiring of William Root, announced Wednesday, comes after Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration canceled a nearly $200 million Medicaid contract whose award is being investigated by state and federal officials.
Root will not be involved in those investigations, according to DHH.
Root will work as both inspector general and chief compliance officer at DHH, overseeing audit efforts, tracking the appropriateness of Medicaid spending and identifying potential fraud and abuse. He will be paid $93,000 a year.
He has worked in a similar role for the federal government. Most recently, he was the assistant special agent in charge of the Office of Investigations for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 

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DHH to crack down on nursing home evacuation plans

Submitted by WAFB_Web_Staff
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 6:34pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB)- The state Department of Health and Hospitals is putting nursing homes on notice -  if they have to evacuate a nursing home because the facility couldn't execute an emergency action plan, that home will be billed.  

"Sometimes we have to help," says DHH State Medical Doctor Jimmy Guidry. "The State and Federal governments bring in resources into help them to achieve moving their residents. Afterward we go in and see if the plan was feasible. They may get cited they may get a penalty for not having a feasible plan."

Joseph Donchess is with the Louisiana Nursing Home Association. He was part of sweeping legislation in 2006, aimed at avoiding a repeat of the St. Rita disaster in St. Bernard parish during Hurricane Katrina - where 35 people drowned.

"We interpreted that to mean if for some reason there is a problem that the state would do that at no additional charge to the nursing facilities," says Donchess. "I would ask them are they going to charge for everyone who shows up for medical evacuation facilities such as LSU?  Are they going to charge people who go to the shelters?"

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