Baton Rouge news

Follow @BatonRougeNews_

• 2une In Previews: Jazz & Heritage Festival

  23-04-2025 12:47 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The Jazz & Heritage Festival is back for a week straight of good music and good fun in the Big Easy!The festival runs from April 24 to May 4 with several different concerts, activities and events throughout its run. Festival organizers spoke to 2une In live from New Orleans Wednesday morning to preview what attendees can expect from this jam-packed week of music and culture. Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Ponchatoula man accused of child porn charges in Tangipahoa Parish, South Carolina arrested

  05-05-2025 15:11 via wbrz.com
  
  PONCHATOULA — A Ponchatoula man accused of possessing child pornography was arrested as a fugitive from South Carolina.Tangipahoa Parish deputies said that 27-year-old Herman Landry IV was arrested Friday on 28 counts of pornography involving juveniles from Ponchatoula, as well as three outstanding child porn warrants from Jasper County, South Carolina.Landry was arrested after deputies began investigating the upload of child porn to social media. Deputies said that Landry, who had re
  
  Read more

• Funeral plans announced for 20-year-old who died after Denham Springs hit-and-run

  05-05-2025 14:59 via wbrz.com
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - The funeral for a woman who died after injuries she sustained from a March hit-and-run has been scheduled.Jody Mann's funeral will be on May 24 at Central Funeral Home on Hooper Road from 10 a.m. to noon."Jody had an unwavering passion for helping others, which was evident in everything she did. She dedicated her life to making a difference, and her final act of love was to become an organ donor, giving the precious gift of life to those in desperate need. Through her selflessn
  
  Read more

• Four men arrested in Grand Isle child prostitution, sexual abuse investigation

  05-05-2025 14:59 via wbrz.com
  
  GRAND ISLE - Four men have been arrested as part of an investigation into child prostitution and sexual abuse, police said.The men, who range in age from 26 to 75, were booked Friday. Grand Isle Police Chief Christopher Hernandez said the investigation is ongoing and other charges are possible.Ray Arabie, 75, of Grand Isle, was booked with prostitution involving people under 17.Byron Crouch, 27, of St. Rose, was booked with indecent behavior with juveniles.Chad Perkins, 36, of Grand Isle, was b
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• West Baton Rouge Parish officials announce sandbag distribution locations ahead of potential flooding

  05-05-2025 14:53 via wbrz.com
  
  PORT ALLEN — With rainfall expected in the next few days potentially causing flooding across the capital region, West Baton Rouge Parish officials announced locations Monday where residents can get sandbags.Sand and bags will be available at the following locations, but residents are asked to bring their own shovels:William & Lee Park, 1631 Louisiana Avenue in Port Allen
  Rivault Park, 900 South Jefferson Avenue in Port Allen
  Alexander Park, 250 Elaine Street in Brusly
  Erwinville P
  
  Read more

• Family of man who drowned in Amite River over weekend starts fundraiser for funeral, birth of child

  05-05-2025 14:45 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The family of a man who drowned crossing the Amite River over the weekend has started a fundraiser to raise money for a funeral and other expenses.Timothy Carey, 24, was trying to swim across the Amite River on Saturday when he drowned after he was swept under by a swift current. First responders were called to BREC's Frenchtown Road Conservation Area just after 5 p.m. and Carey's body was recovered at 7 p.m.Carey and his family went to the river to "try a new spot out a
  
  Read more

• Anthony Eyanson named SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week

  05-05-2025 14:43 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Despite dropping the weekend series to Texas A&M, LSU baseball got some good news on Monday. Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson was named the Southeastern Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week after his dominant performance in Game 2.Eyanson helped the Tigers defeat Texas A&M 2-1 on Saturday night behind a complete game performance. He limited the Aggies to just one run on three hits with one walk and 14 strikeouts in his 9.0 innings of work. Eyanson is 7-2 this seas
  
  Read more

• 104-year-old WWII vet from Morganza among Louisiana veterans honored at State Capitol

  05-05-2025 14:42 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Monday was Veterans Day at the State Capitol and veterans who served as far back as World War II were honored.At the Capitol, a display highlighting Louisiana veterans was set up in Memorial Hall. Among those names was 104-year-old Elmo Sholes, a Morganza native who served in World War II.Sholes was also among several veterans given special honors. Resources were also made available to veterans as well.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Mestizo, other Mexican restaurants expect big turnouts for Cinco de Mayo

  05-05-2025 14:34 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Monday is Cinco de Mayo and Mexican restaurants across the capital area are preparing for big crowds. Cinco de Mayo marks the day Mexico beat back the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1892. Believe it or not, the fifth of May is not widely considered a holiday in Mexico. A manager of Mestizo, a Mexican restaurant on South Acadian Thruway, told WBRZ's Abigail Whitam that Americans make it a bigger day than it is for people in Mexico. "Fo
  
  Read more

• Officials contain oil, natural gas spill at well off Louisiana gulf coast

  05-05-2025 14:30 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS — A team of national and state officials on Monday successfully contained an oil and natural gas spill at a well off the Louisiana gulf coast.The Unified Command, consisting of the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, said they cut off the flange of the discharging head at Well 59 near Garden Island Bay around noon. The containment of the spill comes a little more than a week after the spill was first reported on April 26.After the flow of the well
  
  Read more

• Assumption deputies arrest man accused of leading 100 mph pursuit through Pierre Part

  05-05-2025 14:18 via wbrz.com
  
  PIERRE PART - A man accused of leading Assumption Parish deputies on a 100 mph chase was arrested.Eddie Hillery Ned, 24, was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly leading the high-speed pursuit on La. 70 in Pierre Part.A patrol deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on an eastbound vehicle, deputies said. The driver then took off at more than 100 mph, leading a pursuit ending just east of La. 996.Deputies then identified the driver of the car as Ned and he was booked into the Assumption Pari
  
  Read more

• La. 1 closed in Lettsworth near construction south of Simmesport Bridge until further notice

  05-05-2025 14:04 via wbrz.com
  
  LETTSWORTH — La. 1 is closed in Lettsworth near the construction site south of the Simmesport Bridge until further notice, officials said.Drivers traveling south from Simmesport are asked to take a left onto La. 418 and then take 418 to La. 15 to La. 1 to avoid the closure. Another option is to take La. 417 to La. 1 at Lucky 13.Northbound drivers can take La. 15 to La. 418 and then travel north to the Simmesport Bridge. Another alternative route is to take La. 970 to La. 417 and then
  
  Read more

• Hammond Fire put out early morning house fire on Dillon Lane

  05-05-2025 13:54 via wbrz.com
  
  HAMMOND — Hammond firefighters put out a house fire on Dillon Lane early Monday morning.Firefighters responded to the fire around 12:26 a.m. and quickly put out the fire.No injuries were reported, Hammond Fire officials said.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Man wanted for alleged involvement in August shooting arrested by Baldwin Police

  05-05-2025 13:33 via wbrz.com
  
  BALDWIN — A man was arrested over the weekend for his alleged connection to a Baldwin shooting in August.On Friday, Baldwin Police said that they were notified that 18-year-old James Austin III was arrested in Franklin last week and booked into the St. Mary Parish Prison.Austin was wanted for a shooting that left one person injured off TJ Hatcherson Street on Aug. 11. Austin was 17 at the time of the shooting.Now, nine months later, Austin was booked by Baldwin Police as a principle t
  
  Read more

• Siegen Lane Burgersmith to close later this month; staff offered positions at other BR locations

  05-05-2025 13:32 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Burgersmith restaurant on Siegen Lane will close by the end of May, according to a company news release.The owners chose not to renew the lease there and instead will reinvest in the company's other Baton Rouge area locations, the news release said. The staff at Siegen Lane will be offered positions at the other restaurants.Burgersmith has extended the lease on its Juban Crossing location by five years and plans to do some remodeling and refreshing to that restaurant and the o
  
  Read more

• Baton Rouge rapper Kevin Gates returning to capital city for stop on latest national tour

  05-05-2025 13:01 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge native and Billboard charting rapper Kevin Gates is going on tour this fall, including a stop at the Raising Cane's River Center. Gates will bring The Amilo Tour to the capital city on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. Other tour stops include Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Austin, Las Vegas and Boston. All of Gates' concerts on the tour will be hosted by Houston-based rapper DJ Chose. According to Gates's social media, the tour is named after the Italian word Am
  
  Read more

• Dozens line up at Express OMV as enforcement deadline for REAL ID looms

  05-05-2025 09:56 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The enforcement deadline for REAL ID is Wednesday and dozens of people lined up Monday morning at the Express OMV at the corner of Siegen Lane and Perkins Road to get a compliant license or identification card.Around 50 people lined up both inside and outside the Express OMV office to sign up for REAL ID, which starting Wednesday, will be required to board both domestic and international flights, as well as access federal buildings and nuclear power plants. Without a REA
  
  Read more

• Coroner identifies one of two people killed in Hollywood Street fire started by unattended cooking

  05-05-2025 09:41 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Coroner's Office identified one of two people killed in a Hollywood Street house fire over the weekend as a 39-year-old man. The coroner said that Vinnie Thomassie Jr. was killed in the Sunday house fire. The second dead man's identity will be released once next of kin are notified, officials said.According to fire officials, the house fire was caused by unattended cooking.Firefighters arrived and put the fire out within 24 minutes. Official
  
  Read more

• Baton Rouge church hosts crime prevention event to make a difference in the community

  04-05-2025 20:41 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church held its inaugural Crime Prevention event to make a difference in the Baton Rouge community.Senior Pastor Derrick Shavers said the church is focused on the youth in the city, and he wants to mentor them to break the cycle of ongoing juvenile crime. “If we don’t pour into them then we’ll have another lost generation. It’s my job not only as a pastor but as a Black man to pour into these yo
  
  Read more

• Louisiana State Capitol glows red in honor of fallen firefighters

  04-05-2025 20:26 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana State Capitol as well as the Governor's Mansion were lit red Sunday night to commemorate fallen firefighters. It comes as part of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation campaign called "Light the Night." The program honors fallen firefighters and their families.Sunday is the last night for the campaign but on May 6, the capitol will be red again for National Nurses Day.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Victim of deadly crawfish boil shooting in Baker identified

  04-05-2025 19:33 via wbrz.com
  BAKER - East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Deputies have identified the victim of a shooting at a family crawfish boil in Baker on Sunday.Deputies say Gad Davis and another man were shot inside the home near the corner of Rolling Acres Drive and Plank Road.They say during an altercation, a man armed himself with a handgun, then shot and killed Davis.The man injured in the shooting is now in critical condition.There is no word yet on any charges anyone is now facing.An investigation into this sho
  
  Read more

• Gunfire erupts at family crawfish boil in Baker; one killed and another injured

  04-05-2025 19:33 via wbrz.com
  
  BAKER - Gunfire rang out at a family crawfish boil in Baker on Sunday evening, killing one person and critically injuring another. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said that the reported shooting happened near the corner of Rolling Acres Drive and Plank Road around 7:15 p.m. and two people were hurt. Sources tell WBRZ that one of those victims died.EBRSO said that the suspect has been taken into custody.WBRZ is at the scene and gathering more information about what
  
  Read more

• Coast Guard, other agencies working to clean up uncontrolled oil spill in south Louisiana

  04-05-2025 18:41 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Coast Guard is still responding to an uncontrolled oil and gas release south of Venice, near the Southernmost Point of Louisiana, that started April 26 and has dumped thousands of gallons of oil into the water. The agency said the mixture of oil and gas was released near a well owned by Garden Island Bay Production Facility on Saturday, April 26. One week later, the discharge is still not under control. More than 170 people from the Coast Guard, Spectrum OpCo, LL
  
  Read more

• Man drowned Saturday trying to swim across Amite River

  04-05-2025 14:25 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - A 24-year-old man trying to swim across the Amite River drowned Saturday.Emergency responders were called to BREC's Frenchtown Road Conservation Area just after 5 p.m. Saturday.Timothy Carey's body was recovered at 7 p.m.Sheriff's investigators learned that Carey had tried to swim across the river, which was high with a very swift current. Mid-way across the river, Carey disappeared underwater and did not resurface, authorities said.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Air Products halts spending on controversial 'blue hydrogen' plant in Ascension Parish

  04-05-2025 13:22 via wbrz.com
  
  BURNSIDE - Air Products has put its blue hydrogen manufacturing plant on hold and will sell off the carbon capture and ammonia production parts of the project, according to The Advocate.In a Thursday earnings call, Air Products CEO Eduardo Menezes said the earliest the company would begin production was 2028 or 2029. When the project was announced in 2021, it was expected to open in 2026.The company's manufacturing complex near Burnside was to produce blue hydrogen and ammonia and planned to st
  
  Read more

• Addis American Idol contestant sings his way into the Top 8

  04-05-2025 13:21 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Addis American Idol contestant John Foster moved into the Top 8 in the competition on Sunday night. The West Baton Rouge Parish native pulled out Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About" during the show, which honored iconic female singers. Monday night's show on WBRZ at 7 p.m. will reveal if Foster made it to the Top 7.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Two dead in house fire on Hollywood Street

  04-05-2025 12:36 via wbrz.com
  BATON ROUGE - Three people escaped the Sunday morning fire that killed two men at a house on Hollywood Street.The two men were unable to escape the blaze at 5151 Hollywood, which started by unattended cooking, fire officials said.When firefighters arrived, flames were coming from every window and door of the house. They tried to find the two men who remained inside, but were unable to rescue them.“Our crews aggressively entered the structure and unfortunately two victims were found de
  
  Read more

• Two dead in house fire

  04-05-2025 12:36 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Two men have been found dead in a Sunday morning house fire.Firefighters were called to the house in the 5100 block of Hollywood St. at 7:22 a.m. Baton Rouge Fire Department and District Six Fire Department both responded.The fire was under control by 8:30 a.m., and investigators found it was caused by unattended cooking.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Southern hosts Jaguar Jackpot Roping on Sunday

  04-05-2025 12:30 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Southern University Ag Center's livestock program hosted the Jaguar Jackpot Roping on Sunday. One of the organizers Denim Hill was ecstatic about the multiple competitions taking place during the annual occasion. "Calf roping is one of the most exciting events. It does get exciting when you see the junior events. You see real tiny kids running with the calves, barrel racing. If you ask me, calf-riding is the most exciting event, bull-riding has got to be a close
  
  Read more

• What's next for EBR DA's office after funding proposal fails

  04-05-2025 12:28 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's office is headed back to the drawing board after voters rejected a property tax proposal Saturday that would have brought in $24M per year for the department."This was the only option that we had. We're operating at a deficit of people and money and have been so for a long time," District Attorney Hillar Moore said.With cuts coming to the city-parish budget, Moore and his office went before voters asking for four mills to help his of
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!