Was born and raised in North Baton Rouge and went to Glen Oaks High. I lived in that area until 2000. Always had to have a chip on your shoulder to be able to live there. The crazier you seemed, the less the "Smurfs" would mess w/ you. Gunshots were common, fights were more common and the darker it got outside, the darker it would get. When the wino or crackhead asked me for money @ the Stop & Go I would say "get a job MoFo" and tell em I was callin my Sheriff buddy. They would usually just shut up and leave me alone. Most of em knew who I was and knew I really had a friend that was a sheriff's deputy. He was a handy friend to have as his grandfather lived right across the street from me and I would look out after him.
From my experience, The crime rate has been much worse in the North side than others, but it seems to have spread to the South side a little more from when I've gone back and visited. I'm sure some has been attributed to the Katrina "evacuees", also (here in the Houston area too).
The Blight is also something that I can't get over in some areas. Need to tear some of those rat traps and crack houses down. It definitely hurts the attractiveness for business opps.
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