Baton Rouge news

• Louisiana school vouchers face tougher time with John Bel Edwards in office

  22-04-2016 22:58
  
  Bobby Jindal championed and expanded school vouchers when he was governor, but the program may face a tougher time now that Gov. John Bel Edwards is in office.
  
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• Nursing home patients could get more choice

  22-04-2016 19:01
  
  BATON ROUGE- Putting a loved-one in a nursing home is a tough decision but advocates for the elderly say it shouldn't be the only choice. Funding for nursing homes is guaranteed under Louisiana's constitution, not the case for at-home care."The way our system is structured, most people are forced into an institution or a nursing home if they don't have the means for at-home services," said Andrew Muhl with AARP.Rep. Walt Lege (D-New Orleans) is sponsoring a bill that would give at-home care prov
  
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• Authorities responding to reported fire at Perkins Rowe

  22-04-2016 17:51
  
  BATON ROUGE- St. George Fire Department is responding to a reported fire at the Perkins Rowe complex Friday afternoon.Witnesses say it appears to be a fire above the restaurant Texas de Brazil in the complex.According to a fire department spokesperson, the fire has been contained to the kitchen area of a restaurant. Smoke is traveling through the building's ducts.Residents in the apartments above the restaurant have been evacuated. News 2 is on the way to the scene. This story
  
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• Authorities respond to fire at Perkins Rowe

  22-04-2016 17:51
  
  BATON ROUGE- St. George Fire Department responded to a reported fire at the Perkins Rowe complex Friday afternoon.Residents in one of the buildings were evacuated from the apartments above the restaurant Texas de Brazil. The smoke seen by witnesses was from kitchen vents at that restaurant.Firefighters swept the building but found no source of fire or extreme heat. They continued searching until they found "smoldering material" in attic space between the first and second floors of the building.T
  
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• Ascension boaters back on waterways, after week-long closure

  22-04-2016 17:37
  
  ASCENSION PARISH - Boaters are back navigating waterways in Ascension and Livingston parishes, after high water forced their closure for nearly a week.Strong southeast winds were the problem. Today fisherman in St. Amant tested the water and say few fish are biting the bait."It's tough to fish, you might see alligators and stuff like that [because] things become displaced a bit," said Jamal Yarbrough, a local boater.Fisherman say the water is still relatively high and
  
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• Personal injury lawyer E. Eric Guirard readmitted to practice law

  22-04-2016 16:32
  
  BATON ROUGE- Personal injury lawyer E. Eric Guirard, disbarred in 2009, has now be re-admitted to practice law in the state, the Louisiana Supreme Court announced Friday.Guirard and his partner Thomas R. Pittenger were disbarred in 2009 for engaging in conflicts of interest, failing to supervise their non-lawyer staff, engaging in impermissible fee-sharing with non-lawyers and facilitating the unauthorized practice of law by non-lawyers.Guirard filed for readmission of his license to practice ba
  
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• TOPS, tuition proposals completing Bobby Jindal's vision on Louisiana higher education funding

  22-04-2016 16:16
  
  Bobby Jindal may be 20-some miles from the governor's mansion, getting tanned and rested at his University Club McMansion, but that's not stopping Louisiana legislators -- and perhaps ultimately Gov. John Bel Edwards -- from putting the finishing touches on one of...
  
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• Former Parkview Baptist student accused of rape

  22-04-2016 15:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - A former Parkview Baptist High School student was arrested after he was accused of simple rape in New Orleans.The victim in the incident reported to law enforcement stated that she was in the city in Dec. of last year to attend her high school football team's game in the Superdome. The victim said she and her friends decided to go out on Bourbon Street after they'd gone back to their hotel room to begin drinking alcohol. She reported that she was drunk by the time the group left to
  
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• Prince tributes punctuate Jazz Fest performances

  22-04-2016 15:45
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Impromptu tributes to Prince punctuated the opening day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.Strains of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" wafted over the crowd from one stage Friday morning. On another, local favorite Wanda Rouzan noted the pop music icon's Thursday death, and that of New Orleans writer, performer and record producer Allen Toussaint, who died in November.Later, on still another stage, Cowboy Mouth lead singer Fred Leblanc, mentioned the passing before launching in
  
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• Escaped Elayn Hunt work release inmate recaptured

  22-04-2016 15:31
  
  ST. GABRIEL - East Baton Rouge Parish deputies have reported the arrest of an inmate who managed to escape his work release job for several hours Thursday.Deputies said 26-year-old Terry Jones was taken back into custody by deputies and booked on charges of fugitive from justice and simple escape after he walked off of his work release job.EBRSO reported they were notified by Louisiana Workforce personnel that Jones was not at his position at 4 p.m. Thursday. Jones was brought to the job 9 a.m.
  
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• Stalled vehicle causes I-10 East delays on bridge

  22-04-2016 15:19
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Friday evening commute into Baton Rouge from Port Allen is off with a bang as a stalled vehicle has closed multiple lanes of I-10 East.As of 3:15 p.m., the left and center lanes remained blocked on I-10 eastbound on the Mississippi River Bridge due to the breakdown. By 3:30 p.m., the center lane was reopened leaving the left lane blocked.Congestion stretched out beyond LA-415 as afternoon volume built, and crews worked to remove the vehicle.We'll have more traffic updates as ru
  
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• GOP takes on Library of Congress on immigration terminology

  22-04-2016 14:28
  
  WASHINGTON - Congress may not be able to overhaul the immigration system, fix the broken tax code or even pass a budget. But it's telling the Library of Congress how to label immigrants living in the country illegally.That's how conservative Republicans are responding to a move by the library to drop the term "illegal alien" in favor of "noncitizens" or "unauthorized immigration" for cataloging and search purposes. The move came in response to a petition from the American Library Association to
  
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• Two arrested in Metairie connected to BR home burglary attack

  22-04-2016 13:53
  
  METAIRIE- Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand announced the arrest of two suspects wanted in connection with 8 home burglaries in Baton Rouge and Metairie.The two suspects are responsible for a home invasion in the Woodgate neighborhood on Apr. 8 where a homeowner was tied up and his car stolen.
  According to JPSO, the suspects took jewelry, electronics, firearms and ammunition in the home invasions.
  Detectives identified the two as 30-year-old Brian Ernst and 30-year-old Raymond Kimble after
  
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• Global hops shortage could lead to higher beer prices

  22-04-2016 13:47
  
  BATON ROUGE - A hops shortage is making it more costly for breweries to operate. That cost will eventually be passed onto the consumer.Southern Craft Brewery Company makes its beer in Baton Rouge. Joe Picou is half of the small operation that has big plans."We felt there was an opportunity to start up a new craft brewery here, so that's why we did it," he explains.The company already has a pair of tasty brews and is working hard to target the market."Basically making sure that you're going to pu
  
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• Virginia restores voting rights of 200K felons

  22-04-2016 13:46
  
  RICHMOND - Gov. Terry McAuliffe is restoring the voting rights of more than 200,000 convicted felons in the state.The sweeping action announced by the Democratic governor Friday will allow former felons who have completed their sentences to register to vote in Virginia this year.McAuliffe has made the restoration of rights of former convicts a priority of his administration.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Kansas minority students seek parallel university government

  22-04-2016 13:41
  
  KANSAS CITY - Minority students at the University of Kansas are pushing for an independent governing body to represent their interests - and have won recognition and funding to start the long process that could let them do so.Students insist they're not trying to set up a wholly separate student government. But they are frustrated by what they see as a lack of attention to issues they care about. They want a structure that focuses on social justice issues and multicultural students, with program
  
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• Budget the top worry as legislative session reaches midpoint

  22-04-2016 13:36
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana lawmakers have reached the halfway mark of their regular session, with financial decisions in limbo and the budget still the session's focus.Only six bills - out of more than 1,600 filed for consideration - had received House and Senate passage and reached the governor's desk by Friday. Those named a Calcasieu Parish highway after a slain state trooper and made largely technical changes to insurance laws.The session that must end by June 6.Louisiana's budget problems rema
  
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• 911 call reveals moments before police kill Baker man

  22-04-2016 13:32
  
  MIAMI, FL - The Investigative Unit obtained 911 tapes detailing what happened moments before a Baker man was killed by police in Miami."C'mon just leave me alone, you've done enough f***ing damage," a woman's voice says. "The voice belongs to the Francis Scot Dufore's ex. She called 911 after police say she was strangled unconscious and kidnapped by Dufore. She woke up in the woods and called 911.She didn't respond to the dispatcher. Instead she continued to argue with
  
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• Carnival: Cuba cruise will sail with Cuban-born passengers

  22-04-2016 13:26
  
  MIAMI - Carnival Corp. has announced its cruise to Cuba will sail as planned after an agreement was reached with the Havana government allowing Cuban-born people to disembark on the island.Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in a news release Friday that the first cruise in over 50 years between the U.S. and Cuba will go forward May 1 from Miami. The 704-passenger Adonia of Carnival's Fathom brand is scheduled to make the trip.Donald said Carnival negotiated a change in Cuban policy, which previousl
  
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• Businessman accused of Baker charter school subcontractor scheme

  22-04-2016 13:25
  
  BATON ROUGE - A local businessman was indicted by a federal grand jury for fraud and money laundering involving the construction of a Baker charter school.50-year-old Nathan Hossley’s charges included five counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.The Department of Justice reports Hossley engaged in a scheme to defraud Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Bouma Construction from March 20
  
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• Solar-powered plane heading toward California

  22-04-2016 13:21
  
  KAPOLEI, Hawaii - The pilot of a solar plane trying to circumnavigate the globe says he has passed the point of no return after departing Hawaii and is forging forward over the Pacific Ocean toward California.Pilot Bertrand Piccard posted a picture on the voyage's website of chunks of ice in the northern Pacific as he pulls farther away from Hawaii, where he took off Thursday.The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 is expected to reach Mountain View, California sometime this weekend.The plane is
  
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• 'Beautiful chaos' for restaurant near New Orleans festival

  22-04-2016 13:18
  
  NEW ORLEANS - "Beautiful chaos" - that's how one restaurant manager describes the scene in and around the site of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.The first of two festival weekends opens Friday, with Steely Dan among the scores of acts taking their turns throughout the day on nearly a dozen stages.There's also a variety of food - local and ethnic cuisines at booths on the festival site and at restaurants catering to the crowds.The festival is mostly an outdoor affair, spread ou
  
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• Let's stop calling Louisiana's TOPS program a 'burden'

  22-04-2016 13:15
  
  To hear some of our state's leaders, you'd think Louisiana's college tuition assistance program, TOPS, is a ravenous beast that is devouring the budget. "I've watched [TOPS] grow over my nine years here," state Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, said recently....
  
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• WBRZ viewers react to anchor John Mahaffey's passing

  22-04-2016 12:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - Former WBRZ News 2 anchor John Mahaffey died overnight following a blood clot that happened after a Thursday surgery.Mahaffey led the WBRZ news team during the Golden Years of TV - from the 1970s until he retired in May 1999. He is remembered as being a personality that held the news team together and brought life to the already lively news industry.Viewers from around the Baton Rouge area took to social media to share their memories of Mahaffey.Aw, man. I grew up with him deliveri
  
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• Plans for ER and other medical services slated for North BR

  22-04-2016 12:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - Plans to bring emergency rooms to  North Baton Rouge will soon be presented to investors next week.The #NBRNOW Blue Commission, formed by Councilwoman Chauna Banks, and their partners, Champion Medical Center and Cambridge Holdings, Inc., have been working to present plans on the project.According to Banks, Howell Place is the area they are looking to for the development. Howell Place is a 200-acre piece of land near the Metropolitan Airport that is a multi-use commercial
  
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• 2 women behind bars in Ashley Madison revenge plot

  22-04-2016 12:02
  
  LOWELL, Mich. - After a Michigan woman was shocked to find three men showing up to her home looking for sex, two women are facing felonies.46-year-old Teresa Allen and 51-year-old Gwen Eddy are accused of setting up a fake page on the website Ashley Madison. The website is marketed as a destination for married people looking to engage in extramarital affairs. Investigators believe the page was first created last fall and was fueled by the women’s jealousy.Between November and December
  
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• Tiger wearing collar with leash caught in South Texas city

  22-04-2016 09:30
  
  CONROE, Texas - Animal control officers have captured an apparently domesticated tiger that was spotted roaming a residential neighborhood in a South Texas city.
  The Conroe Police Department says it received several phone calls Thursday from residents who saw the young, female tiger wandering around the city.
  Animal control officers captured the tiger, which was wearing a collar with a leash attached.
  Sgt. Dorcy McGinnis said that the tiger seems to be tame. Authorities are asking for assistance
  
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• Prince autopsy results may take weeks

  22-04-2016 09:16
  
  MINNEAPOLIS - Authorities say it could take days or even weeks before the public learns the cause of Prince's death.An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning, a day after the 57-year-old music superstar was found dead at his studio compound in suburban Minneapolis.A spokeswoman for the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office says the agency doesn't plan to release any preliminary information until autopsy results are completed.Spokeswoman Martha Weaver says she expects the process will take
  
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• Authorities say there were no signs of trauma on Prince's body

  22-04-2016 09:16
  
  MINNEAPOLIS - Authorities say there were no signs of trauma on Prince's body when he was found unresponsive at his home, and that suicide isn't suspected in the musician's death.Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson released the information during a news conference Friday.The sheriff says the investigation is ongoing into the death of the 57-year-old musician, who was found dead Thursday morning at his home in suburban Minneapolis.An autopsy was completed earlier Friday, though preliminary fi
  
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• China: Can't sue Cabinet-level agency over Chinese drywall

  22-04-2016 09:12
  
  NEW ORLEANS - China's Ministry of Justice has sent back a lawsuit in which thousands of U.S. homeowners in six states say a Cabinet-level agency should pay for damage to their homes from defective drywall made in China.The ministry says it won't serve the legal papers because the agency is immune to such lawsuits and the legal service would infringe on China's sovereignty.The brief letter from Beijing became part of the court record this week, about 21 months after lawyers for the homeowners sue
  
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• Oklahoma firm announces Gulf rig closure, layoffs

  22-04-2016 09:09
  
  BATON ROUGE - Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Company has notified the state that it anticipates dozens of workers at a rig in the Gulf of Mexico will lose their jobs because of a canceled contract.
  The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company told Louisiana Workforce Commission this week that between 40 and 50 employees working offshore could lose their jobs when the rig closes.
  Helmerich & Payne issued a similar notice in February during the closure of another rig.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Former WBRZ anchor John Mahaffey dies

  22-04-2016 08:09
  
  BATON ROUGE - John Mahaffey died overnight.Mahaffey is remembered as one of the most popular faces of television in Baton Rouge, leading the WBRZ news team during the Golden Years of TV – from the 1970s until he retired in May 1999. Prior to working at Channel 2, Mahaffey worked as a studio cameraman in Texas and also had stints as a technical director, film director and marketing manager.In the WBRZ studio, Mahaffey is remembered as being the personality that held the news team togeth
  
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• Jazz Fest kicks off Friday in New Orleans

  22-04-2016 07:58
  
  NEW ORLEANS- The 47th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival begins on Friday.This year's festival features headline performances from artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nick Jonas, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Steely Dan. The artists will perform over two weekends from April 22-24 and April 29-May 1.Most of the event takes place outdoors at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course. It features dozens of live music acts as well as local and ethnic cuisines offered at booths throughout the venue
  
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• April 22, 2016 Morning News Pop

  22-04-2016 07:03
  
  Here are today's top stories:Tributes to Prince spring up across the USBR on list of railroad crossing with most incidents in past 10 yearsState to require job training for food stampsTake your pickUpdates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• Tributes to Prince spring up across the US

  22-04-2016 04:06
  
  CHANHASSEN, Minn.- Tributes to Prince are springing up across the country, on buildings, bridges and Broadway.
      
  In New Orleans, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome glowed Thursday night with the late singer's signature purple, as did San Francisco's City Hall and Madison Square Garden in New York.
      
  In Minnesota, where Prince was found dead Thursday in his suburban Minneapolis compound, the Star Tribune reports the Interstate 35 West bridge ov
  
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• Man found guilty in deadly shooting at family crawfish boil

  22-04-2016 03:35
  
  GONZALES- A jury has convicted a Prairieville man in the shooting death of his wife's cousin at a family crawfish boil two years ago.
      
  An Ascension Parish jury on Thursday found 48-year-old Robert Cosey guilty of manslaughter in the death of 42-year-old Shedrick Diggs. Cosey was initially booked on second-degree murder.
      
  Tyler Cavalier, spokesman for 23rd Judicial District Attorney Ricky Babin, says Diggs was at the crawfish boil in M
  
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