Top Stories of 2019 for Shreveport Bossier
We have been going over this list for a couple of weeks now, but we finally came up with our consensus of the top stories of 2019.
Almost everyone we spoke to puts the election as the #1 story of the year. This would include the re-election of Governor John Bel Edwards and the failure of the 3 bond propositions in Shreveport.
The murder of Shreveport police officer Chateri Payne on January 9th of this year is also one of the biggest stories of the year.
President Trump's visit to Bossier City and Mayor Perkins' decision not to send help from police and fire for the rally was one of the biggest stories in the final quarter of the year.
Back in the summer, the BAFB Commander sent emails to the police chief expressing his concern about crime in the Shreveport area. This caused a lot of concern for all of the folks stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base.
Ben Raymond is finally named Chief of Police after the advisory committee did not select him as one of the nominees during a closed door meeting. Mayor Perkins finally stepped up and added Raymond to the list and chose him as Chief.
Back in June postal worker 52-year-old Antonio Williams was murdered in South Highlands. Police did make an arrest in the case and the suspect, Michael Gentry is awaiting trial.
Garbage fee in Shreveport The Shreveport City Council voted 4-3 to approve a $7 monthly garbage fee. LeVette Fuller, Grayson Boucher and James Flurry voted no.
The Insurance debacle in Shreveport was a huge story at the beginning of the year and Mayor Perkins later admitted he "stubbed his toe" in how he handled this deal. We hope he learned from this mistake and handles city business differently in the future.
Water billing and lawsuits were also big stories involving the city this year. A judge ruled in the plaintiffs favor in a suit against the city and lawyers are still negotiating a settlement.
Grover Cannon convicted of killing Thomas LaValley was one of the biggest court stories of the year in our area. This case has been dragging on for several years, but finally a jury (selected from Baton Rouge) found Cannon guilty and sentenced him to life in prison.
Anthony Childs death at the hands of Shreveport police caused lots of heavy emotions in Shreveport with some saying officers should be held responsible. This case also led to another big story this year. The repeal of the saggy pants ordinance got attention across the nation.
We had a lively discussion about all of these stories and others this week in case you missed it.
Those are the biggest of the year, but we also had some pretty big discussions about other stories including Medical Marijuana arriving, the huge success of the LSU football team, Louisiana hit by ransom ware, the possible move by Fibrebond of Minden were on the list as was the infamous Chicken Sandwich from Popeyes.