Baton Rouge news

• Person in critical condition after being hit by car along Airline Highway on Wednesday night

  16-08-2023 21:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - A pedestrian was taken to a hospital in critical condition Wednesday night after they were hit by a car along Airline Highway. Authorities said the crash happened around 9:15 p.m. near the corner of Airline and Gwenadele Avenue. No more information about the pedestrian's condition or the specifics of the crash were released. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Man dies in hospital after being struck by car on Airline Highway overnight

  16-08-2023 21:51
  
  UPDATE: Police say the victim, Balvant Patel, has died in the hospital. Investigators believe he was crossing the highway when a car struck him Wednesday night.This is a breaking update. Read the original story below.-----BATON ROUGE - A pedestrian was taken to a hospital in critical condition Wednesday night after they were hit by a car along Airline Highway. Authorities said the crash happened around 9:15 p.m. near the corner of Airline and Gwenadele Avenue. No more informat
  
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• Entergy under fire for outages during extreme heat

  16-08-2023 18:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - Entergy customers can't seem to catch a break from the excessive heat. Recently, customers have complained of their power going out without explanation for sometimes days on end.Thursday, the company went in front of the Louisiana Public Service Commission to find a solution. Some customers wonder if it's enough. April White is an Entergy customer who says twice in the past two weeks, her power has gone out for more than six hours at a time."The excessive outages are just
  
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• AC expert breaks down the dos and don'ts of unit maintenance

  16-08-2023 17:22
  
  BATON ROUGE - People are doing whatever it takes to stay cool in this heat, but not all shortcuts are worth it.A home in Brookstown is a total loss after a fire early Wednesday morning. Fire investigators say the cause was an AC unit plugged into an an overloaded extension cord.Alex Darden with Accutemp says he's seen it all this summer, particularly when it comes to people trying to keep their homes cool.For instance, residents are floating the idea of putting a tent or umbrella over the outdo
  
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• Jon Batiste goes galaxy-building with ambitious new album 'World Music Radio'

  16-08-2023 16:59
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — How do you top a five-time Grammy Award-winning album that had critics applauding its rich blend of R&B, hip-hop, swing, jazz and pop? If you’re Jon Batiste, you go even higher and wider.The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist returns this month two years after his triumphant album “We Are” with the complex “World Music Radio,” a collection he calls an “expansive, genre-less, popular music concept
  
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• Photos: Barricades going up at infamous Baton Rouge overpass amid efforts to drive away vagrants

  16-08-2023 16:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - State workers spent Wednesday morning erecting fences beneath an I-10 overpass well-known for drugs and its omnipresent panhandlers. WBRZ was at the overpass on Siegen Lane as a DOTD crew put up fences blocking off the median beneath the interstate, a space regularly occupied by groups of homeless people. Last month, the state vowed to take action following years of complaints from drivers and residents in the area. The plan is to make the space between the concr
  
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• Barricades going up at infamous Baton Rouge overpass amid efforts to drive away vagrants

  16-08-2023 16:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - This week, crews with DOTD are building a barricade beneath an I-10 overpass well-known for drugs and its omnipresent panhandlers. WBRZ was at the overpass on Siegen Lane as the state workers put up metal gates blocking off the median beneath the interstate, a space regularly occupied by groups of homeless people. Last month, the state vowed to take action following years of complaints from drivers and residents in the area. The plan is to make the space between
  
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• Baton Rouge High bomb threat likely linked to similar calls across the state; lockdown lifted

  16-08-2023 14:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - A bomb threat that shut down Baton Rouge High and triggered a chain reaction of closures at neighboring campuses was likely connected to a string of similar calls placed at other schools around the state, police said Wednesday.Catholic High — which is located less than a block from Baton Rouge High — was also placed on lockdown as a precaution, administrators told WBRZ. St. Joseph's Academy was under a lockdown protocol as well in response to the situation at B
  
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• BRPD officer with history of problems placed on leave amid internal investigation

  16-08-2023 14:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - A police officer implicated in multiple complaints that have cost the city-parish thousands of dollars has been placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation.The Baton Rouge Police Department said Wednesday that Troy Lawrence Jr. was on paid leave but did not share details on what prompted its administrative investigation. Lawrence is the son of Deputy Chief Troy Lawrence Sr. and has worked at BRPD for four years.In April, WBRZ reported that the city paid $55,000 t
  
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• Democrat drops out of insurance commissioner race; Temple to assume post

  16-08-2023 13:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - One of two candidates who filed to become the next Commissioner of Insurance in Louisiana has withdrawn from the race, allowing Republican Tim Temple to assume the position unopposed.Temple, of Baton Rouge, was considered by many analysts to be the heavy favorite to win election in October.The campaign ended shortly after it began, with Democrat Rich Weaver, of Ascension Parish, withdrawing.Temple has cited his 20 years in insurance industry work among his qualifications for the p
  
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• Southeastern Lions roaring into their first day of school have a few changes to look forward to

  16-08-2023 12:56
  
  HAMMOND - The Southeastern Lions are gearing up for their first day of school and the campus is making a lot of changes including on-campus dining, renovations to D. Vickers Hall, and even welcoming dining robots.For the first time since 2019, Southeastern has reached capacity in its residence halls. This year, the university is expecting more than 13,000 students to enroll at SLU."This is affirming us that students are back for the campus experience and the direct engagement with our faculty,
  
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• Tax dollars at work: Mayor wants EBR to repave 50 miles of streets and roads, re-stripe others

  16-08-2023 12:52
  
  After the city-parish enjoyed better-than-expected sales tax collections, the mayor-president wants the Metro Council to approve a larger number of projects under the region's road-rehabilitation program.At a news conference today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome unveiled a plan that would see 50 miles of streets and roads repaved at a cost of around $25.6 million. The city-parish typically spends about half that on street rehab each year, her office said. Another $1.5 million would be spe
  
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• Tax dollars at work? Broome wants EBR to repave 50 miles of streets and roads, re-stripe others

  16-08-2023 12:52
  
  After the city-parish enjoyed better-than-expected sales tax collections, the mayor-president wants the Metro Council to approve a larger number of projects under the region's road-rehabilitation program.At a news conference today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome unveiled a plan that would see 50 miles of streets and roads repaved at a cost of around $25.6 million. The city-parish typically spends about half that on street rehab each year, her office said. Another $1.5 million would be spe
  
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• Broome says city road plan can benefit from excess tax collections, if Metro Council approves

  16-08-2023 12:52
  
  After the city-parish enjoyed better-than-expected sales tax collections, the mayor-president wants the Metro Council to approve a larger number of projects under the region's road-rehabilitation program.At a news conference today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome unveiled a plan that would see 50 miles of streets and roads repaved at a cost of around $25.6 million. The city-parish typically spends about half that on street rehab each year, her office said. Another $1.5 would be spent to re
  
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• ALDI buying out Winn-Dixie locations across southeast U.S. - including in Louisiana

  16-08-2023 12:38
  
  BATAVIA, Ill. - Just days before it opens its first location in the Capital Area, ALDI said Wednesday that it would be buying out Winn-Dixie locations in Louisiana and surrounding states. It's unclear whether the buyout would constitute a rebranding of the stores or a simple refurbishment, but the merger will affect approximately 400 Winn-Dixie and Harvey's locations, another grocery store common in Georgia and Florida. Read the statement from ALDI below:ALDI today announced i
  
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• Tickfaw man killed after head-on collision in Tangipahoa Parish

  16-08-2023 12:17
  
  TICKFAW - A man was pronounced dead on the scene of a crash that happened when his car crossed the center line of a highway and ran into oncoming traffic. According to troopers with the Louisiana State Police, 25-year-old Dustin Lucas was driving on Highway 1064 in Tickfaw shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday when, for unknown reasons, he crossed the center line and ran into the opposite lane, hitting an oncoming vehicle. Lucas was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained fatal injuries
  
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• Three displaced, home deemed total loss after fire off Airline Highway

  16-08-2023 09:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - A home was deemed a total loss Wednesday morning after a fire. The Baton Rouge Fire Department said the home on Hammond Street was ruined by fire, smoke, and water damage after crews arrived shortly after 7 a.m.. The flames started in the home's carport and spread into the living area by the time the fire was under control. Two residents were inside the home when the fire started but were able to escape uninjured. Investigators did not immediately know t
  
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• Three displaced, home deemed total loss after fire caused by overloaded A/C unit

  16-08-2023 09:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - A home was deemed a total loss Wednesday morning after a fire reportedly caused by an overloaded A/C unit. The Baton Rouge Fire Department said the home on Hammond Street was ruined by fire, smoke, and water damage after crews arrived shortly after 7 a.m.. The flames started in the home's carport and spread into the living area by the time the fire was under control. Two residents were inside the home when the fire started but were able to escape uninjured. The R
  
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• BRCC Mid City campus pausing operations until further notice due to broken water main

  16-08-2023 09:19
  
  BATON ROUGE - A broken water main on the Mid City campus of Baton Rouge Community College caused all operations to pause until further notice. The Mid City BRCC campus will be closed starting Wednesday morning due to the broken main. All other campuses will continue operating as normal. This story will be updated once normal operations resume. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Survivors of Maui fires face power cuts and poor cell service as teams work to find and ID the dead

  16-08-2023 07:55
  
  LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Survivors of deadly wildfires on Maui contended with intermittent power and unreliable cell service as they sought help rebuilding their lives. Teams of people, meanwhile, labored to find the dead and identify them.With the death toll already at 106, a mobile morgue unit with additional coroners arrived in Hawaii on Tuesday to help with the grim task of sorting through remains. The governor warned that a new storm could complicate the search and recovery.A week
  
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• Raising Cane's to donate percentage of profits from Thursday sales to homeless shelter on Maui

  16-08-2023 07:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana favorite Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers is sending help overseas after wildfires wracked the island of Maui and left over 100 people dead. Thursday, 15% of all proceeds from Canes' 750+ locations will be donated to the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center in Lahaina supporting those who have been left without a place to stay in the wake of the fires. Funding will also be used to help rebuild KHAKO's Westside Center, a 78-unit housing center that wa
  
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• Raising Cane's to donate percentage of profits from Thursday sales to homeless shelter in Maui

  16-08-2023 07:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana favorite Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers is sending help overseas after wildfires wracked the island of Maui and left over 100 people dead. Thursday, 15% of all proceeds from Canes' 750+ locations will be donated to the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center in Lahaina supporting those who have been left without a place to stay in the wake of the fires. Funding will also be used to help rebuild KHAKO's Westside Center, a 78-unit housing center that wa
  
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• Officials investigating reported shooting late Tuesday night

  16-08-2023 07:43
  
  BATON ROUGE - One person was reportedly injured in a shooting that happened late Tuesday night. According to emergency officials, one person was taken to a hospital after they were shot on Annette Street off Evangeline Street around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The severity of their injuries was not immediately clear. WBRZ has reached out to law enforcement for more information on what led to the shooting. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Pedestrian hit by three vehicles, killed in early-morning Tangipahoa Parish crash Tuesday

  16-08-2023 06:28
  
  PONCHATOULA - State police said a pedestrian was killed on Highway 22 in Tangipahoa Parish early Tuesday morning after he was struck by a vehicle. According to the Louisiana State Police, the crash killed Mathew Hennick, 30, who was reportedly walking in the middle of the eastbound lane shortly after 5 a.m.. Troopers said Hennick was struck by three vehicles in succession and was pronounced dead on the scene. "Pedestrians and motorists are urged to remain vigilant while on roa
  
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• Detectives searching for more information on unsolved 2021 murder

  16-08-2023 05:48
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police are searching for new information on an unsolved homicide from 2021. The Baton Rouge Police Department was called to Leonidas Drive on Sept. 25, 2021. When they arrived, officers found Cedrick Clay, 41, dead in his vehicle from multiple gunshot wounds. Homicide detectives are still searching for answers about the killing. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867. Permalink| Comments
  
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