Order in the port: The Port of Greater Baton Rouge Board of Commissioners recently elected officers for 2012, including Jerald J. Juneau, president; Timothy W. Hardy, vice president; Blaine Sheets, secretary; and Angela Machen, treasurer. Juneau is the former deputy secretary-treasurer for the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana and a retired U.S. Army colonel. Hardy is a practicing attorney and partner in the Roedel, Parsons, Koch, Blache, Balhoff & McCollister law firm. Sheets is the president of Specialized Industrial Maintenance and is a former member of the Board of Commissioners for the Pontchartrain Levee District. Machen has worked in environmental management, health research and toxicology at LSU and Tulane Health Sciences Center. The port governance body is a 15-member commission appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Reeling in the revelry: In a story published Thursday, Reuters says New Orleans’ rising murder rate has the city on the defensive just as it is gearing up for Mardi Gras and the height of the city’s tourist season. The article repeats statistics on murder and mayhem for 2011 and January of this year which are very familiar to those who follow the headlines coming from New Orleans. The city’s homicide statistics are rising as the national rates are declining, and city officials don’t really know why. “For a city still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the killing spree has divided community leaders and drawn unwelcome attention just before an estimated 1 million tourists are expected for the Mardi Gras celebration in late February,” the article says. It notes Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s plan to adopt Chicago’s CeaseFire anti-violence campaign as a pilot program in February.
The fame: Lady Gaga visited Baton Rouge Wednesday night and dined at a popular downtown Italian restaurant, WBRZ-TV reports. The performer and a group of friends enjoyed a meal at Little Village in a very casual setting. Waitress Bonnie McCullough took a picture with the pop idol, who she says was very cordial. Sources tell WBRZ-TV Lady Gaga is in town with her boyfriend, actor Taylor Kinney, who’s reportedly in the area shooting an episode of the TV series Breakout Kings.
