Louisiana said goodbye to former Governor Kathleen Blanco in Baton Rouge today. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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The ACLU sues the Ascension Parish Sheriff, alleging the unconstitutional detaining of a Hispanic US Citizen for four days on racial grounds. Matt Doyle has more…
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Governor John Bel Edwards spoke at an interfaith ceremony celebrating the life of former Governor Kathleen Blanco at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge today. Edwards says Blanco’s love for all people made her a special leader, calling her authentic, consistent, and sincere.
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Edwards says it was Blanco’s role as a school teacher that made her love the children of Louisiana as her own.
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Edwards says Blanco’s impact on the state will be felt for many years to come, adding she had found peace in her final days.
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Following the service, Blanco will lie in state at the Capitol rotunda until 6PM.
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The ACLU sues the Ascension Parish Sheriff, accusing the department of detaining a US Citizen for four days for immigration review because he was Hispanic.
Legal Director Katie Schwartzmann says the office has a policy of unconstitutionally detaining Hispanic or Hispanic appearing people for immigration review by ICE, regardless of their citizenship status.
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In August of 2018 Ramon Torres was arrested on a DUI charge. Schwartzmann says Ascension court policy dictates he be released the morning immediately after.
Schwartzmann says Torres owned a home and worked in Baton Rouge and had several items on him at the time of his arrest that demonstrated his citizenship.
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Torres says his co-workers and employer later sent additional documentation including a birth certificate, but the office continued to detain him.
The complaint is seeking an end to the office’s policy and demanding the court provide punitive damages to Mr. Torres. It also alleges that this is not just a onetime incident…
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Sheriff Bobby Webre responded to the suit, saying “I dispute these press claims by ACLU lawyers and will offer a rigorous defense in court.”
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The state’s most powerful business lobby, The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, endorses both Republican contenders in the Governor’s race.
It’s a change of pace for the political powerhouse that did not endorse in the primary last year. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says securing LABI endorsements is vital for a Republican candidate.
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The primary will be held on October 12th. If no candidate cracks 50 percent of the vote a run-off will be held on November 16th.
Pinsonat says the biggest question is whether or not the early endorsements signal the group’s interest in a more active role in the race. Pinsonat says LABI has little to lose from going hard after the Governor.
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The political analyst says getting a LABI endorsement doesn’t necessarily directly influence many voters, but it does open a lot of fundraising floodgates for a pro-business candidate.
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A Governor Edwards spokesperson told the Advocate LABI is endorsing the Governor’s opponents, because they “promising to bring back Governor Jindal’s failed policies.”
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New evidence leads to the arrest of a man fifteen years after Cheryl Williams went missing in Lincoln Parish.
Lincoln Parish Lt. J.D. Driscol says the missing persons never ended, but it did ramp up earlier this year when Lincoln Deputies began working with State Police to solve the case.
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That led to the arrest of now 70-year-old Lonnie Frazier of Ruston on Second Degree Murder charges.
Frazier was a person of interest in the disappearance back in 2004, but authorities say they never had enough evidence on hand to lock him up. Driscol says that didn’t stop deputies from continuing the investigation.
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Driscol says the arrest has been a relief to Williams’ family, who’ve waited more than a decade to see justice served.
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