Approved: The East Baton Rouge Metro Council unanimously approved Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s 2018 budget proposal on Tuesday. The nearly $919 million budget only anticipates 2.3% in revenue growth next year and is considered “standstill.” The budget allocates $319 million for the city-parish’s general fund, which is expected to be less than 1% larger than this year’s total. Half of the general fund money is allocated to public safety. Broome’s office says efforts are being prioritized to increase entry-level pay for police officers. The mayor unveiled the budget in November.
Powerball: A $191 million Powerball jackpot has been claimed in Louisiana, with the state lottery describing the award as the largest single prize ever won in its 26-year history. Lafayette attorney Jean Breaux Jr. claimed the Oct. 25 prize on behalf of three members of a family who didn’t publicly release their names. The winners say in a statement they are a quiet family and prefer not to be treated as celebrities. Breaux’s clients chose a lump-sum prize payment of $119 million. After state and federal taxes were withheld, the payment will be nearly $84 million. The winning ticket was sold in Eunice.
Name change: A group of LSU students is petitioning the university to remove the names of two individuals deemed “not worthy of high-profile recognition” from prominent on-campus buildings, WWL.com reports. Calling itself Renew LSU, the group wants the university to rename Murphy J. Foster Hall and the John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum. Neither of the men was Confederates, but group spokesperson Savanah Dickinson says both lack the worthiness to be honored. Foster, a former governor, created voter registration requirements that disenfranchised African-Americans and a large number of poor Louisianans in the 1890s. Parker, who served as governor from 1920 to 1924, participated in and refused to apologize for the 1891 lynching of 11 Sicilian immigrants. The coalition expects to hear back from LSU in the spring. Read more.
