Baton Rouge news

• Boating deaths down drastically after 29 last year

  21-07-2023 21:34
  
  BATON ROUGE - Boating is a staple in Louisiana, but it comes with risks; last year proved just how easily a simple day on the water can turn deadly."It was a crazy and hectic year last year because of the fatalities," Sergeant Mason Spillman with Wildlife and Fisheries told WBRZ.This summer, it's a different story. Six people have died on the waterways, which is a significant drop from 29 last year.Wildlife and Fisheries tell WBRZ some of those deaths happened last year because of boaters drivi
  
  Read more

• DOTD says East Baton Rouge owes state nearly $1M for damage caused by city worker

  21-07-2023 17:45
  
  BATON ROUGE - The state has submitted a claim to the East Baton Rouge Metro Council seeking nearly $1 million to recoup the cost of damage to a state highway that was caused by a city-parish worker.The $990,428 settlement claim will be introduced next week, with a full council discussion set for Aug. 9.While the Metro Council agenda doesn't provide further details on what the money is for, the state has previously said it expected to seek at least half a million dollars from the parish to pay f
  
  Read more

• Ascension Parish is one step closer to opening its new animal shelter

  21-07-2023 17:03
  
  ASCENSION PARISH - Ascension Parish is close to securing land for the next animal shelter, as current space isn't ideal and costs taxpayers more and more money each time it floods."A lot of people have expressed their frustrations that we're still in the old building," Ascension Parish Councilman Chase Melancon said. "The major issue with it is that it is in a terrible flood zone, and every time Ascension Parish has one of these backwater flooding events, we have to evacuate the animals out of
  
  Read more

• Officer previously convicted over violent run-in with teen now arrested on stalking charge

  21-07-2023 15:51
  
  JACKSON - An officer who was convicted of battery earlier this year after he roughed up a teenager back in 2021 was arrested again Friday in a stalking investigation.The West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office told WBRZ on Friday that Travis Clay Depew, 27, was booked on one count of stalking. He was released after posting a $25,000 bond later that same day. No other details on the latest accusations were immediately available.Depew was previously arrested in 2021 after he intervened in
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Motorcycle crash on Airline Highway leaves one in critical condition

  21-07-2023 15:32
  
  ASCENSION PARISH - A motorcycle crash on Airline Highway at Highway 74 around 2 p.m. Friday resulted in the cyclist being taken to the hospital in critical condition and the road's temporary closure in both directions.Highway footage showed police presence, a white truck on the border getting towed, and the debris of a green motorcycle being cleared before the road opened.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Fire truck pull on Saturday to benefit injured Central police officer

  21-07-2023 15:29
  
  CENTRAL - A fundraiser featuring a fire truck pulling competition is set for Saturday, with the proceeds going to a Central police officer who was injured on the job last month.Shaine Powers, a five-year veteran of the department, is recovering following surgery on his right leg. It was broken when a vehicle he stopped on June 30 sped off, striking him.The event on Saturday starts at 10 a.m., with the fire truck pull set for 1 p.m. It takes place at 13421 Hooper Road.Those interested in fieldin
  
  Read more

• Louisiana offering free credit monitoring in wake of widespread data breach

  21-07-2023 15:18
  
  The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles released the following statement Friday, updating residents across the state on a hack that potentially compromised data for anyone with a state-issued driver's license or ID.Read the full statement from Governor John Bel Edwards below.Today, the Office of Motor Vehicles announced that they have retained Norton LifeLock to offer one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection for Louisiana residents impacted by the recent
  
  Read more

• Juvenile jail escapee among 3 teens arrested in Port Allen carjacking

  21-07-2023 14:53
  
  PORT ALLEN - Three teenagers, two of them under the age of 18, were arrested Thursday night after they allegedly carjacked a woman at gunpoint. The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said the crime happened outside a convenience store on Lobdell Highway after the victim agreed to give the teenagers a ride from a nearby motel. Once they arrived at the store, one of the teens pulled out a gun and told the woman to go into the store. After the victim got out, the trio left in her
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• BR businessman spent investors' money on tuition & car payments; must surrender to prison next month

  21-07-2023 14:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - A Baton Rouge telehealth CEO convicted of spending up to $290,000 in investors' money on personal expenses was ordered Thursday to surrender to the federal government so he can serve out his prison sentence. Federal court records say Vishal Vasanji, founder of Relief Telemed, must turn himself over the U.S. Attorney General's Office by Aug. 24, 2023. He admitted to the crimes in a plea agreement earlier this year. Vasanji reportedly used the money he pocketed on
  
  Read more

• 'Help me' sign leads to rescue of kidnapped Texas girl in Southern California

  21-07-2023 13:54
  
  LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A 13-year-old girl kidnapped in Texas and sexually assaulted was rescued in Southern California when passersby saw her hold up a “help me” sign in a parked car, police and federal authorities said.The rescue occurred July 9 in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, when officers responded to a trouble call and found the “visibly emotional and distressed girl,” police said in a press release Thursday.“Through their
  
  Read more

• Georgia chosen as favorite to win 2023 SEC Championship, according to pre-season poll

  21-07-2023 13:28
  
  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Georgia has been predicted to win the 2023 SEC Championship, according to a pre-season poll of media covering SEC Football Media Days. While Georgia was projected to win in the eastern division by a veritable landslide—with 2011 points versus the runner-up, Tennessee's, 1682—Alabama and LSU were in a close race for the projected winner of the western division. Alabama was in first with 1899 points while LSU tailed behind with 1838. Additi
  
  Read more

• NFL orders business to stop selling fleur-de-lis products; business defiant

  21-07-2023 13:27
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A David-and-Goliath battle is taking form in New Orleans, after a business said on Thursday it will fight a cease-and-desist order from the NFL regarding merchandise featuring the fleur-de-lis.The football league sent DNO (Defend New Orleans) a letter claiming that the business and its owner, Jac Currie, are violating trademarks associated with the New Orleans Saints.At issue: t-shirts and other merchandise featuring the fleur-de-lis imposed on a skull, sometimes using a color sch
  
  Read more

• Seat selection set to begin for Baton Rouge hockey season

  21-07-2023 13:10
  
  BATON ROUGE - Seat selection for the upcoming hockey season is set to take place in early August. According to the official Instagram page for the new team, the Baton Rouge Zydeco, the seat selection event is only for those who paid a $50 deposit and requested special seat selection. The selection will take place on Aug. 7 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Raising Cane's River Center. Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Imported shrimp threatening Louisiana's seafood industry

  21-07-2023 12:18
  
  BATON ROUGE - In June, a fleet of fishermen stood at the capitol to plead lawmakers to save their industry from imports."What we're seeing is a flood of shrimp coming into the country in droves far beyond what we can consume as a country each year," Chalin Delaune, the Vice President of Tommy's Seafood, a processor of gulf caught seafood in Louisiana, said.It worked, and the state legislature approved a bill that would give tax breaks to commercial fisherman to help them compete with foreign pr
  
  Read more

• Two people shot, critically injured at College Drive apartments

  21-07-2023 12:17
  
  BATON ROUGE - Two people were shot and critically injured at Fairway View Apartments on College Drive Friday night.College Drive is currently blocked. Two ambulances left the scene just after 10 p.m..This is a developing story.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Reports of altercation at College Drive apartments, shots fired

  21-07-2023 12:17
  
  BATON ROUGE - Shots were fired during an altercation that took place at Fairway View Apartments on College Drive Friday night.College Drive is currently blocked. Two ambulances left the scene just after 10 p.m.This is a developing story.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• BRPD renews request for help in solving shooting death from eight years ago

  21-07-2023 09:20
  
  BATON ROUGE - Detectives are once again asking for help in solving the shooting death of a man who died in 2015. On August 28, 2015, Michael Howard was reportedly shot on Wyandotte Street that afternoon. He would later die from his injuries. The Baton Rouge Police Department, as well as Howard's family, are asking the public to come forward with any information. Anyone with possible information is encouraged to call Capital Region Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.&
  
  Read more

• Firefighters save cat stuck inside after kitchen fire

  21-07-2023 08:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - Crews were able to rescue a beloved family pet from a home after the residents evacuated due to a kitchen fire. The Baton Rouge Fire Department said it was called to Park Boulevard around 7 p.m. Thursday for reports of a kitchen fire. When crews arrived, the family was out safe but told the fire department that their cat was still inside. Firefighters were able to make their way inside, get the fire under control, and rescue the cat with no further injury.&nb
  
  Read more

• BoomBox Gym offering free boxing lessons to kids in the BR community

  21-07-2023 08:29
  
  BATON ROUGE - According to the US Department of Justice, 1 in every 14 violent crime arrests was a teenager in 2020. Those numbers have community members like Christopher Johnson taking things into their own hands.Johnson is the owner of The BoomBox Gym in Baton Rouge. He offers free boxing lessons for kids in the community. "With all that's going on in the city today, I started the program to be able to teach good, authentic, amateur boxing for the little kids in the neighborhood," Jo
  
  Read more

• Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

  21-07-2023 07:33
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” graced a decades-long career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday.Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed Bennett’s death to The Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York. There w
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!