A Republican will lead the city of Shreveport for the first time in more than 20 years. Jeff Palermo has more on Saturday’s stunning results in the Shreveport mayoral run-off…
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If you were confused by the proposed constitutional amendments on Louisiana’s ballot this year, experts think they have figured out why. Marsanne Golsby has more.
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Republican Tom Arceneaux defeated Democrat Greg Tarver in Saturday’s Shreveport mayoral run-off election. Arceneaux received 56-percent of the vote to Tarver’s 44-percent. LSU Shreveport political science professor Jeffrey Sadow says Arceneaux did a better job in getting his base to the polls…
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Arceneaux is an attorney and former Shreveport councilman. Tarver will remain a state senator representing a portion of Caddo Parish.
Arceneaux’s win over Tarver, a Black Democrat, is considered an upset since 57-percent of the city’s residents are Black. But Sadow says Tarver has a lot of detractors…
With Arceneaux’s election, Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria are led by white mayors, despite a majority Black population in those cities. Sadow says current Shreveport mayor Adrian Perkins is unpopular and similar situations occurred in Monroe and Alexandria, where Friday Ellis and Jacques Roy are the mayors…
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Saturday voters added three more constitutional amendments to Louisiana’s 48-year-old constitution. Over the years, voters have been asked to consider 308 amendments. As of Saturday, they have approved 206 of them.
Public Affairs Research Council Steven Procopio says PAR has struggled to find a pattern that explains voter behavior.
He says one thing is clear: the number of people who bother to vote on proposed amendments is less than the bigger races at the top of the ballot. PAR says since 2012, when Louisiana had major statewide races at the top of the ballot, at least 2 percent, and sometimes more than 6 percent fewer people voted on the first amendment compared to those voting for president, senator, or governor.
Procopio says there are too many proposed amendments and they’re too complicated. PAR puts out guides before each election to try to help, but he says PAR’s research can only do so much.
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The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the Bayou State today is $2.84. That’s quite a drop compared to this time six months when the state recorded its highest average at $4.56 a gallon. Triple A spokesperson Nick Chabbari says today’s average is down about 45 cents from a month ago.
Chabarri credits market stability for the continued drop in prices at the pump.
He says the Russian invasion of Ukraine was largely responsible for the disruption in the global oil supply, especially during the summer months, but that appears to have stabilized.
Barring any major disruptions in the market, Chabarri believes we will continue to see gas prices drop.
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The LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Office is offering a $5,000 reward to try to solve a murder that happened two years ago in Jena. Detective Brant King says on October 23rd, 2020, deputies found Leon Turner dead of an apparent gunshot wound.
King says they need the public’s help because they haven’t had any recent tips and want to bring some closure to the victim’s family.
To phone in an anonymous tip, call 318-992-7300.
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There was a shooting at the courthouse in Franklin this morning, but officials are releasing very few details. St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson David Spencer says it happened inside a courtroom just before 9:00 am and State Police is handling the investigation.
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Spencer would only confirm one person was shot, and State Police would release more information as it becomes available.
Our affiliate KQKI is reporting there was a struggle in the courtroom between a deputy and a person in custody and the individual who struggled with the officer was fatally shot. State Police is handling the investigation.