Baton Rouge news

• Texas A&M WR Speedy Noil arrested last week

  04-04-2016 21:22
  
  Stopped for driving without a license Friday.
  
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• Lawmakers seek to stop gun purchases by domestic abusers

  04-04-2016 19:23
  
  BATON ROUGE - A bill aimed at ending gun sales to people convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse was moved forward by the Louisiana legsilature Monday. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Helena Moreno (D-New Orleans) said she hopes to close a loophole in a 2014 law.City courts oversee misdemeanor cases of domestic abuse but are not required to report convictions to the state supreme court, which would then forward them to the National Criminal Background Check System database.The bill requires ci
  
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• St. Helena Parish added to flooding disaster area

  04-04-2016 18:47
  
  GREENSBURG - St. Helena Parish was added to the list of parishes deemed a disaster in the wake of wide-spread flooding in March.St. Helena joins the list that already includes Allen, Ascension, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, DeSoto, East Carroll, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Union, Vernon, Washington, Webster, Wes
  
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• Major expansion at Walker High moving forward

  04-04-2016 16:28
  
  WALKER - A major expansion is coming to Walker High School in Livingston Parish as the project is set to go out for bids this week.The $20 million project will add more than 30 new classrooms along with career and technology classrooms, a new band room, a new library and a new cafeteria. Walker Principal Jason St. Pierre says the expansion will combat overcrowding and give students more space to learn."We've just been adding students and adding students without adding existing buildings, so now
  
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• Monday's drive home off to a slow start

  04-04-2016 16:18
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gridlock started at 4 p.m. for eastbound drivers headed away from downtown Monday.A vehicle stalled and blocked the right lane at College Drive just as the evening rush started. Traffic was moving through the center and left lanes, but it caused a traffic jam across the river to I-10 between La. 415 and La. 1. Traffic cameras between the river and College showed heavy congestion eastbound and westbound.Traffic was still moving smoothly east of the I-10/I-12 split on both interstate
  
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• Committee suggests pursuing lease-purchase agreement for old Clinton High

  04-04-2016 13:48
  
  CLINTON - A buildings committee is recommending the East Feliciana Parish School Board use a different strategy to find a taker for the old Clinton High School.Superintendent Carlos Sam says the committee signed off on pursuing a lease-purchase agreement on the building that has been vacant since the 1980s.The school board opened bidding on the school built in 1903 earlier this year but found no buyers. They're expected to decide on pursuing a lease-purchase option instead Tuesday.
  That means th
  
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• Motorcyclist dead after crashing into drain on LA 24 Sunday

  04-04-2016 13:47
  
  SCHRIEVER - A 68-year-old man died after a crash into a drainage culvert on LA 24 South near the Lost Bridge in Terrebonne Parish.The crash occurred after 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning when Louisiana State Troopers learned that Ralph Jouclas of Thibodaux, died while traveling south on LA 24 South on his motorcycle.Jouclas was in the right lane and began to change into the left lane when he almost stuck a car, but accelerated to avoid it.Jouclas lost control of his motorcycle and ran off the road
  
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• Baton Rouge in 1939: Time capsule opened 77 years later

  04-04-2016 13:41
  
  BATON ROUGE - A time capsule sealed in 1939 was opened Monday, 77 years after it was buried at the old Louisiana School for the Deaf.That building eventually became the Baton Rouge Police headquarters and is now being renovated by the Department of Corrections.February 22, 1939 was the last time anyone laid eyes on the contents of the copper box hidden behind new walls and underneath renovated floors.Nathan Harvey had been searching for the box for weeks with just a vague description of what he
  
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• Gonzales moves forward with new zoning codes

  04-04-2016 13:29
  
  GONZALES - The Gonzales Planning and Zoning Commission moved forward with plans to revamp the city's zoning codes Monday night.The commission approved zoning codes that could pave the way for new, larger residential developments. Zoning has been a contentious issue in Gonzales in the past. Some want the city to grow along with the growing population, while others want to maintain the small-town feel.Monday's item passed without opposition, and the City Council will take up the issue at it's meet
  
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• Iberville School Board postpones decision on social media ban

  04-04-2016 13:18
  
  PLAQUEMINE - There's a possible crackdown in the works on what Iberville Parish School Board members are allowed to post on social media.An item on the agenda Monday night would have banned board members from talking about board issues online. The school system regulates how its staff and students connect online, but now wonder if the board that passed that should have to follow it.School board member Darlene Ourso says Facebook is an easy tool to keep her constituents up-to-date. Not everyone o
  
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• BRFD investigates fire at warehouse

  04-04-2016 13:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Fire Department is investigating a fire that happened at a warehouse Monday night.The blaze occurred at the warehouse on Dougherty Drive off of Choctaw Drive.The cause of the fire is under investigation. We expect to receive more details overnight.Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Head Start program to hold Recruitment day this weekend

  04-04-2016 12:59
  
  BATON ROUGE - Seven Head Start Centers will host Recruitment Fun Day on Saturday, Apr. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Parents will be able to tour facilities, ask questions, and submit applications for their children to participate in the Early Head Start and Head Start programs for the 2016-17 school year.The early childhood education program has 977 children “graduating” to kindergarten and 597 children returning.
  The program often has a waiting list and this year the program coul
  
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• Bill aims to share medical information to patient caregivers

  04-04-2016 12:22
  
  BATON ROUGE - A proposal aimed at better informing people about the medical tasks they'll need to perform for family members when they're discharged from hospitals is advancing in the Louisiana Legislature.
      
  AARP Louisiana is pushing the measure, which coasted through the Senate health committee with the support of the Louisiana Hospital Association. It could come up for full Senate consideration this week.
      
  The bill would require hos
  
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• Bourbon St. shooter receives 60-year sentence

  04-04-2016 09:22
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Trung Le, convicted of manslaughter in a Bourbon Street shooting that left one person dead and another nine injured, has been sentenced to 60 years in jail.The sentence was handed down Monday in court. Le had been convicted of manslaughter in January by a jury that deliberated less than two hours. He was also convicted of attempted second-degree murder. Le and another person engaged in a shootout on Bourbon Street in July 2014. The shooting took the life of Britta
  
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• Man and woman found shot to death in Kenner home, children inside home unharmed

  04-04-2016 09:00
  
  KENNER- A man and a woman were found shot to death in the bedroom of a Kenner apartment that was also occupied by three young children, according to Kenner Police.The discovery of the victims was made shortly before 7 a.m. in the 2100 block of Idaho Avenue after one of the young children knocked on a neighbor's door and police were called.The man and the woman were found dead in the bed, according to a Kenner Police spokesman. An infant child was also in the bed. A 5-year-old and 2-year-old chil
  
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• Orders for lower-price Tesla reach 276,000

  04-04-2016 08:25
  
  DETROIT - Tesla Motors' CEO says worldwide orders for a new lower-priced electric car hit 276,000 last weekend.
      
  CEO Elon Musk posted the number Sunday on his Twitter feed. He says if the trend continues orders will hit 500,000.
      
  Tesla's new Model 3 starts at $35,000 and has a range of 215 miles per charge. Customers must put down $1,000 to order the cars, which go on sale in late 2017.
      
  Musk says in twe
  
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• Man participating in triathlon drowns in Calcasieu River

  04-04-2016 08:20
  
  LAKE CHARLES - Deputies say a man participating in a triathlon has drowned in the Calcasieu River.
      
  Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office says in a statement that 25-year-old Taurean K. Blake of Sulphur died Sunday.
      
  Deputies responded to the Sam Houston State Park in Moss Bluff around 8 a.m. for a report of a possible drowning. The swimming portion of the triathlon had just begun.
      
  Deputies say a lifeguard
  
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• Faulty A/C unit causes museum fire in New Orleans

  04-04-2016 07:21
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana State Museum officials closed the Presbytere building in the French Quarter after a fire broke out Sunday afternoon, causing an evacuation.According to WWL-TV, the New Orleans Fire Department arrived shortly after 1 p.m. and found smoke billowing from the building. Firefighters helped museum security evacuating people out of the building. Fire officials say two malfunctioning air conditioning units on the first floor mechanical room caused the one-alarm fire.Acco
  
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• Baton Rouge hosts multi-state tourism conference

  04-04-2016 07:04
  
  BATON ROUGE- More than 200 tourism professionals are expected in Baton Rouge Monday for the start of the Southeast Tourism Society's 2016 Spring Symposium.
  The annual event discusses different approaches that a city can take to expand its tourism market.
  "We are very excited to have so many tourism professionals in Louisiana's capital city," Visit Baton Rouge President Paul Arrigo said in a press release.
  This year's symposium will focus on culinary tourism. On Tuesday, the conference will featu
  
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• April 4, 2016 Morning News Pop

  04-04-2016 06:50
  
  Here are today's top stories:Fake IRS representative calling to scam Presbytere Museum closed due to A/C unit malfunctionBill aims to stop peeping Toms using dronesWow weatherUpdates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• Fire prompts two evacuations at Newark airport

  04-04-2016 05:44
  
  NEWARK, N.J.- Officials say a terminal at Newark Liberty Airport was evacuated twice early Monday when a fire re-ignited.   The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that fire broke out just after 1 a.m. in a boiler room ceiling in Terminal B.
      
  Reports say the terminal was evacuated, and then reopened after the blaze was extinguished.
      
  But officials tell the station that the fire rekindled a wh
  
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• Old Clinton High School bidding talks continue Monday

  04-04-2016 04:56
  
  CLINTON- The East Feliciana School Board is still trying to find someone to buy the Old Clinton High School.
  On Monday, a committee will meet to discuss accepting bids for the school, located on Plank Road near downtown.  In a previous interview with WBRZ, East Feliciana School Superintendent Carlos Sam said he hopes the school board can get close to the building's appraised value of $202,000.
  On Tuesday, the school board is expected to have a full report on its newest plans to sell the
  
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• Police: Man arrested after stabbing brother over video game

  04-04-2016 04:20
  
  COVINGTON- A Covington man has been arrested after police say he stabbed his older brother over a video game.
      
  The Covington Police Department said in a statement that 28-year-old Genard Washington has been taken into custody following the incident Friday night outside of a convenience store.
      
  Police say Washington and his brother, 32-year-old Brandon Washington, were arguing over a video game when Genard Washington stabbed his brothe
  
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• Retired soccer star Abby Wambach arrested for DUI in Oregon

  04-04-2016 03:58
  
  PORTLAND, OR.- Retired World Cup soccer champion Abby Wambach was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence.
      
  Portland police Sgt. Peter Simpson said in a statement Sunday that a sergeant stopped the 35-year-old Saturday night after she reportedly ran a red light in her Range Rover near downtown.
      
  Simpson says Wambach failed field sobriety tests and was arrested. He says she also failed a breath test at the police prec
  
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