BATON ROUGE - Questions surround the state Capitol after the Legislative Auditor told the Republican Party of Louisiana to hand over financial documents.

"State law says they are suppose to submit it," Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera said. Recently, a legislator brought the law to his attention.

State statute 18-447 requires political parties to file an annual report with the office. It was created in the 1980's. But republicans think the timing of why it's being enforced now is fishy.

"We were fearful of what's behind this," Republican Party of Louisiana Executive Director Jason Dore' said.

The party believes whoever brought this to Purpera's attention had ulterior motives. The party's financial statements are currently online and filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The LAGOP thinks it's being targeted for a move the party says lowered the state's budget during this year's session.

"Politics is a contact sport," Dore' said. "But if you're using a government body to respond to speech, I think that's where you cross the line."

But Purpera's not taking sides because he sent the request to both republicans and democrats, he said.

These political groups are private and not public, Purpera's not even sure if the law will hold up.

"I hadn't studied that so I don't know the answer to that," he said. "But they don't come under my audit authority. The only involvement my office has is with this particular law that says they have to submit a financial statement."

If the law is legit, the party will submit a statement, Dore' said. But it wants to know who is behind the request.

"It's why now? Why are they enforcing it and what are the motivation of whoever asked the legislative auditor to start enforcing a law that hasn't been enforced in over 30 years?" Dore' said.

Purpera was not certain if he could disclose who made the request to his office. He was seeking confirmation from his lawyer he could make the legislator's name public.

 

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BATON ROUGE- City leaders approved a plan to buy the old Woman's Hospital on Airline Highway and turn it into a public safety complex.

Wednesday, Metro Council voted to spend $11 million on the facility, which will include purchasing the buildings and improvements.

Mayor-President Kip Holden has called the deal " too good to pass up."

The property became available when the hospital moved to a new location last year.

The facility will become the home of the Baton Rouge Police Department and there has been discussions about also including the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office in the facility, too.
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BATON ROUGE- Lawmakers are poised to streamline laws dealing with surrogacy births in Louisiana.

Some have suggested surrogacy births are currently taking place without clear guidelines on the legal rights of the parents, the surrogate or the child. The topic was of the focus of a News 2 report recently.

"The birth certificate would say the surrogates name, as the mother, and my husband's name, though biologically I'm the mother," said Kristy McKearn, who cannot carry a child because of a heart condition.

The Senate approved the measure and so did the House with an amendment banning gay and unmarried couples from entering into a surrogate contract. Before the House approved SB 162 Wednesday, religious groups rallied against it by raising ethical and moral concerns about surrogacy.

It now returns to the Senate for approval of changes.
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FRENCH SETTLEMENT- A man and woman face charges for crimes against nature and child pornography.

Doyle Trauth, 42, and Lisa Trauth were arrested after deputies said they were "alerted about disturbing images and videos on a computer belonging to" the pair.

Investigators said files included visuals of Lisa Trauth "engaging in sexual intercourse with a large dog." Doyle Trauth was present at the time the images were made, they said.

Deputies also said their computer contained pornography involving juveniles.

Doyle Trauth was charged with principal to crime against nature and ten counts of pornography involving juveniles and has bonded out of the parish jail.

Lisa Trauth remains in jail, her bond is set at $1,025,000 on charges of crime against nature and the same ten counts of pornography involving juveniles.

The dog involved is now at an animal shelter.
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BATON ROUGE - Some city workers are headed to the classroom.

Metro Council passed an ordinance that requires city workers who drive city vehicles to take a defensive driving course. Police and fire personnel are exempt, because they already take a more rigorous class.

Councilman Buddy Amoroso introduced the ordinance, and it passed with overwhelming support.

The city-parish is self insured, meaning when a city vehicle is involved in a crash; the city-parish is responsible for damages. It could mean, also paying to settle lawsuits. According to a recent WBRZ News 2 Investigation, that added up to more than $5 million in the past seven years.

Holding the defensive driving class for city workers will cost about $4 per student. Under the ordinance, more than 600 workers will be required to take defensive driving classes every two years.

 

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ST. AMANT- Two people face charges after deputies in Ascension Parish investigated a tip that drugs were being sold from a church parking lot.

After surveillance, deputies arrested Audie Decoteau, 51, and Mikel Arnold, 38, while they were driving a vehicle from Livingston Parish. Deputies said Arnold was driving and Decoteau was a passenger and " was subsequently found to be in possession of a quantity of Percocet pills." Arnold was found with Fentanyl and Meloxicam, according to a news release from the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office.

Decoteau admitted he sold the Percocet pills in the Lake Martin area church parking lot.

The pair was booked on a list of drug charges.

Prior to this arrest, Decoteau had been arrested on April 8 for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and was released on a $1,085 bond.
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LABADIEVILLE- A possible threat to students at Labadieville Middle is causing concern for at least one parent of a student at the school.

The parent tells News 2 that a list was found with names of people who another group of students may have wanted to harm, including her daughter's name.

She told News 2 the list prompted the principal to ask her to keep her student home, but later her daughter was allowed to attend the end of the year ceremony at the school.

The Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office dispatched extra deputies to the school this morning out of an abundance of caution, but no incident occurred.

Sheriff Mike Waguespack told News 2 that his investigators would look into the matter and report back to the school.

The 8th grade student is officially finished for the school year, but the parent is still concerned that her daughter may be harmed during the summer break.

Calls to the Assumption Parish Superintendent of schools were not returned.

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LIVINGSTON - New homeowners may have to dig deep into their wallets to cover the costs of flood insurance.

The new insurance prices come after the Biggert-Waters Reform Act was passed in 2012, to phase out current subsidized insurance rates and help bring the federal flood insurance program out of debt.

"The reason for this was to help the program pay for itself," said Denham Springs building official Rick Foster.

Homes located in flood zones built before 2012, when the last flood maps were adopted, may have a price to pay. Rates for current owners will stay the same because they're grandfathered in. When homes are sold, the new owners may have to pay thousands of dollars more a year to cover insurance costs.

"It'll immediately go to a full-risk rate," said Foster. "Not an increase per year. So, you're looking at $8-9,000."

FEMA confirms flood insurance rates will be rising for some homeowners, but can't confirm how much.

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BATON ROUGE - Come fall 2014, Louisiana could have more charter schools.

This month 35 organizations applied to start 100 new charter schools in 19 parishes. 22 of those organizations want to start those schools in the Capitol City.

The Louisiana Department of Education says about 65 percent of East Baton Rouge schools were rated a D or an F.

One of the newest charter schools, the Louisiana Key Academy, plans to open its doors for next school year, and says the process wasn't easy.

"It's rigorous, but it's necessary. We also don't want charters just coming in without the best of intentions. We want to make sure it's a sound institution," said Louisiana Key Academy administrator, Stephanie Davis.

Charter school applicants have to go through background checks and submit a business plan, as well as how it plans to serve its students.

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GONZALES- Deputies made an arrest following a WBRZ News 2 report about a dog found taped-up and dead in a field.

Jacob Blackwell, 25, was booked on charges of cruelty to animals.

Investigators said Blackwell kicked the dog to death when it was being "uncooperative," and bound the dog's mouth, legs, and neck with electrical tape and left it in a field.

Deputies believe he was hoping it would appear that someone else killed the dog and abandoned it off Black Bayou Extension Road.

The discovery was made Sunday. Blackwell was arrested Wednesday.
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MORGAN CITY - Police in Morgan City said strong storms and a possible tornado damaged businesses and RVs this afternoon.

Police said they received several reports of strong winds and hail starting around noon, along with tornado reports. They responded to several complaints of downed trees and power lines, as well as roof damage to some homes and businesses.

Investigators said a building at Swiftship's Shipyard was destroyed in the storm, and the wind knocked over two RV's at Lake End Park.

There were no injuries reported in the storms.

IMAGE: Morgan City Police

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BATON ROUGE- Leslie Garnier is pinching pennies to support her growing family.

"We needed to relocate. I was with child, I didn't want to bring the baby where we were living," she told News 2.

So naturally Garnier was thrilled to find a brand new gated community, complete with several green amenities, called Mid City Gardens.

"You wouldn't expect to find a place as affordable as it is," she said.

People who live in the complex have salaries ranging from $20,000 to $60,000. Eligibility depends on family size. Metro Council member Tara Wicker told News 2 it's all about bringing in a wide range of people to the mid-city area.

"This area had been an area that was plagued with homeless population and transient people so now with the housing corps coming in and recapturing this property," she said. "It brings a spark of light."

 

Wicker hopes that will help turn around a neighborhood, that has seen better days. “I think it gives everybody an opportunity to say ‘hey the mid city area, the downtown area, it's a part of town that really growing it's thriving and it's a place that you wanna be,” she says.

Money to build the complex came from millions in federal dollars.

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BATON ROUGE - A wreck involving a flipped vehicle caused traffic to back up this morning on the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge.

The Department of Transportation and Development reported the wreck on I-10 East flipped a car and forced authorities to close some lanes in both directions.

The westbound lanes were opened around 10:30, and the eastbound lanes reopened an hour later once the car had been removed.

Traffic was backed up past LA-415 eastbound and the I-10/110 split westbound.

EMS said one driver was transported from the scene.

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BATON ROUGE - Sheriff's deputies said a truck collided with a train this morning in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish.

The crash happened just before 5 a.m. near Thomas Rd., north of the Scotlandville area.

At least one person was transported from the scene. There's no word on the extent of their injuries.

News 2 will have more information on the crash as it becomes available.

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