Baton Rouge news

• New state construction budget filled with 'antics,' key Senator says

  07-06-2016 23:26
  
  The new statewide construction budget passed Tuesday renewed a simmering controversy left over from the close of regular session.
  
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• John Bel Edwards urges lawmakers to deal with 'unfinished business'

  07-06-2016 23:26
  
  Edwards said Louisiana needs tax increases. Lawmakers aren't quite on board with that plan.
  
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• Much ado in Louisiana Legislature, but nothing accomplished

  07-06-2016 21:37
  
  It's official: Washington-style politics has arrived -- and is thriving -- in Louisiana. You know, that brand of idiotic lawmaking where bombastic sounds and fury prattle about the halls and chambers of the state Capitol, signifying nothing -- and ultimately accomplishing...
  
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• Read Gov. John Bel Edwards speech to open special session

  07-06-2016 17:21
  
  This is the governor's speech as prepared for delivery on June 7, 2016.
  
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• LA 22 in Gonzales to see first upgrades in 20 years

  07-06-2016 16:51
  
  GONZALES - LA 22 in Gonzales is a worn down stretch of road that hasn't been fixed in 20 years, but the state and city are uniting to make the roadway smoother and safer."It needs to be redone, a lot of big trucks travel on there, its real bad, noticeable when it rains because of all the water that it holds, obviously making it pretty unsafe," said Geoff Greene, a worker at a nearby plant.Much of the traffic on LA 22 originates from the many plant workers that need the road to get to and from wo
  
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• Second special session in full swing at the Capitol

  07-06-2016 16:33
  
  BATON ROUGE - The second session is in full swing at the Capitol as lawmakers are grappling with raising more taxes to close the budget deficit.Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed the Legislature Tuesday morning with News 2's Mark Armstrong getting the impression that his words fell on deaf ears. Moments that were met with applause were few and far between at the Capitol as Edwards attempted to rouse lawmakers to raise taxes."If we don't address the $600 million deficit, we force critical services t
  
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• DA: Had Justice Scalia been alive, Baton Rouge cop-killer might be put to death

  07-06-2016 16:23
  
  BATON ROUGE - The district attorney learned Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to overturn a lower court's ruling forbidding convicted cop-killer Kevan Brumfield be put to death.Brumfield and Henri Broadway were both convicted of the murder of Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Betty Smothers and the wounding of Kimen Lee, while Lee was making a grocery store bank deposit in 1993. Smothers was working off-duty security at the time. A third man involved in the attack, West Paul, got a 25-year s
  
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• Large case load prompts hiring of additional domestic violence prosecutor

  07-06-2016 16:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman allegedly murdered by her husband Monday is shining a light on the problem with domestic violence in the area.In Baton Rouge over the past 12 hours, seven people were arrested for domestic violence. The problem is so large, the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office hired another domestic violence prosecutor just last month to handle the large case load.Typically, 3,000 cases come through the EBR DA's Office each year according to Melanie Fields, a dome
  
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• City releases new information on street car plan

  07-06-2016 15:49
  
  BATON ROUGE - The city has selected a proposed route design and more specific stops for the proposed street car that would connect downtown and LSU.Information released by the mayor's office Tuesday shows a line built around a three mile, two-way tram route traveling north and south in a relatively direct line inside existing public right of way. The line would be between just south of N. Stadium Drive near Tiger Stadium and downtown Baton Rouge just north ofNorth Street. The train would share l
  
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• Woman contracts flesh-eating bacteria while fishing near Grand Isle

  07-06-2016 15:15
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans woman has contracted a flesh-eating bacteria while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico near Grand Isle.WDSU-TV reported Kelly Blomberg contracted vibrio vulnificus when she was surf fishing off of the beach last month. Blomberg said she was walking in the water. That’s when she somehow managed to put her foot into a fish’s mouth, causing a cut.In healthy adults, vibrio vulnificus can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. In individuals with compro
  
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• WBRZ's Sylvia Weatherspoon receives 2016 Influential Women in Business award

  07-06-2016 14:59
  
  BATON ROUGE - WBRZ anchor Sylvia Weatherspoon was recognized Tuesday as an influential woman in Baton Rouge business.The 2016 Influential Women in Business awards were given out by Baton Rouge Business Report. The full interview the publication conducted with Sylvia can be read here.In the interview, Sylvia talks about her innate love of journalism and the drive that allowed her to break into broadcast news. Currently, she anchors News 2’s 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts.Last yea
  
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• New Orleans police officer succumbs to injuries

  07-06-2016 14:45
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans police officer injured in a weekend traffic collision has died.The department in a news release said 11-year veteran Natasha Hunter died Tuesday.Police Superintendent Michael Harrison says the 32-year-old officer was a "dedicated public servant who loved her family, her job and serving her city."Hunter suffered a massive brain injury after being struck by a drunken driver early Sunday morning in a collision on Interstate 10 East. Harrison has said she was inside her p
  
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• Man re-arrested after escaping from Southern Campus Police HQ

  07-06-2016 13:32
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man is behind bars in East Baton Rouge Parish after he escaped from the Southern University Campus Police Department as officers were booking him.25-year-old Frederick White was booked on charges of resisting an officer, theft, criminal damage to property and simple escape after he was taken back into police custody on Monday.Southern PD reported White was arrested during a traffic stop and ensuing investigation after he provided false information about his identity to an officer
  
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• Construction budget bill starts moving again in the House

  07-06-2016 13:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - Striking a conciliatory tone, House lawmakers started advancing a new multibillion-dollar construction budget after tanking the Senate's version in the waning minutes of the regular legislative session.
  Ways and Means Committee Chairman Neil Abramson was largely blamed for the House's refusal to pass the $4 billion budget bill.
  On Tuesday, as lawmakers began a special session, Abramson met with still-bristling Senate leaders. And he quickly moved a similar bill out of his committee
  
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• Ex-astronaut free on bond after arrest in wreck

  07-06-2016 13:25
  
  TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A former astronaut is free on bond after being charged with murder in a wreck that killed two girls in Alabama.           A spokesman for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Lt. Andy Norris, says 59-year-old James Halsell Jr. of Huntsville is free on $150,000 bond.          &
  
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• Dearman's unveils plans to return to Bocage Shopping Center

  07-06-2016 13:19
  
  BATON ROUGE - Dearman’s and Bocage Shopping Center have announced that one of the Capital City’s staple eateries will return to its original home by as soon as September.Dearman’s Soda Shop has served up burgers and shakes to the Baton Rouge community for more than 58 years. A fire broke out in the restaurant in the early hours of March 1 earlier this year, destroying the Jefferson Highway diner.On Tuesday, Dearman’s and the shopping center signed a new le
  
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• LSU evaluates state of higher education cuts as second session begins

  07-06-2016 12:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials at LSU updated the university’s future outlook after lawmakers passed the operating budget over the weekend and head into a second session to try to close holes in state funding.The bill, which did change much from the version approved by the Senate around a week ago, now heads to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk to be signed into law.LSU President F. King Alexander issued a statement that covered the main points in the bill that could affect the university
  
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• 5 cyclists dead after being hit by a pickup truck

  07-06-2016 12:52
  
  COOPER TOWNSHIP MI - Authorities were searching for the driver of a blue pickup truck in the minutes before he plowed into a group of adults bicycling near a western Michigan Park.Kalamazoo Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting said at a news conference Tuesday night that five of the nine bicyclists struck were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Cooper Township.Getting says the calls made to several area agencies were "over concerns" about the pickup driver's driving. He says authorities
  
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• Man who tried to save kids missing off the coast of Grand Isle

  07-06-2016 12:48
  
  GRAND ISLE - In a press release Tuesday night, The U.S. Coast Guard and Grand Isle Fire Department announced they were searching for a missing man off the coast of Grand Isle.The unidentified man went missing after attempted to help two children who were in the water. Crews are searching for the man by boat and helicopter.The children he entered the water to help safely made it back to shore.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Clinton claims victory as Democratic nominee

  07-06-2016 12:42
  
  WASHINGTON, D.C - Hillary Clinton laid claim to the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and with it, a piece of history Tuesday night, as she became the first woman to lead a major party's bid for the White House.Speaking in Brooklyn, New York, on a night where she won the New Jersey primary, Clinton told supporters that they were witnessing a historical moment."Thanks to you we've reached a milestone. First time in our nation's history that a woman will be a major party's nomine
  
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• Ascension Schools to re-advertise superintendent's job

  07-06-2016 12:39
  
  GONZALES - The Ascension Parish School Board was expected to announce finalists for the vacant Superintendent position Tuesday night, but instead the board decided to start their search over again.The board interviewed four candidates for the position last week, and met Tuesday expecting to narrow that list to the top candidates. Instead, the board will now readvertise the position."I would like to thank the Board for working together through this process and all the applicants for expressing in
  
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• Agenda issue delays naming of replacement for murdered school board member

  07-06-2016 12:23
  
  CLINTON - The East Feliciana Parish School Board was expected to name a replacement for a board member who was killed in Baton Rouge in May, but the board didn't make it that far into the agenda Tuesday night.School board member Paul Kent told News 2 the board was in disagreement over the approval of the agenda, someone made a motion to approve it and the motion failed, so the meeting adjourned.One of the items on the agenda: Appointing a replacement for Broderick Brooks. He was found shot to de
  
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• Southern Ag Center researchers look to vertical farms

  07-06-2016 08:06
  
  BATON ROUGE - For years, government officials and activists have struggled to find a solution to the state's food deserts, areas where residents lack access to fresh food.
  Researchers at Southern University's Agricultural Research and Extension Center believe they may have the answer: vertical farming. The researchers are looking at three different methods:
  Aeroponics, or growing plants by nourishing their suspended roots with air or mist. No soil is required.
  Hydroponics, growing plants using o
  
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• June 7, 2016 Morning News Pop

  07-06-2016 07:41
  
  Here are today's top stories:Florida issues emergency declaration ahead of Tropical Strom ColinLouisiana legislative session ending, as another one beginsRice beats LSU 10-6 to force deciding Game 7 on TuesdayFinally looking dry at The Box and beyondUpdates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• House, Senate relationship strained as budget-fixing session begins

  07-06-2016 04:28
  
  It's not good.
  
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