WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Tagged News

• Hancock to close up to 45 branches

  May 14, 2013 3:07 PM

  NEW ORLEANS- The CEO of Hancock Holding Co., the parent company of Whitney Bank, says up to 45 branches will be closed within its five-state area by the end of the year. Hancock President and CEO Carl Chaney wouldn't say where the closures will occur, but said that the closures... more »

• EKL shuts down Play Video

  April 15, 2013 8:10 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The capital city enters a new era of health care Monday as a longstanding medical facility has closed its doors for good. Earl K. Long was forced to shut down due to state budget cuts and changes in the LSU Health System. The hospital has... more »

• Delgado to close Covington campus next year

  March 20, 2013 8:57 AM

  COVINGTON- Delgado Community College will close its Covington campus at the end of the spring 2014 semester. School officials say classes will slowly be phased out in the months ahead. The Times-Picayune reports students will be directed to growing course offerings from Delgado's sister institution, Northshore Technical Community College, and... more »

• Wrecks shut down I-10 East near Port Allen

  March 15, 2013 6:39 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A pair of crashes west of Port Allen closed I-10 East this evening during already-congested traffic. The wrecks happend at mile markers 143 and 145, according to the Louisiana State Police. The roadway was reopened about thirty minutes later, but congestion remained in the area. ... more »

• Animal shelter could close in Ascension

  March 4, 2013 7:51 AM

  SORRENTO - The Ascension Parish Animal Control Center could be closed if parish officials determine they can't continue to swallow $177,000 in deficit costs each year. The parish operates the control center with a six-person staff on call 24 hours a day to pick up aggressive and injured animals. The... more »

• 2 St. James Parish elementary schools to close

  February 20, 2013 11:05 AM

  LUTCHER- Two elementary schools in St. James Parish may soon close because of declining enrollment. A study commissioned by the St. James Parish School Board says a projected shift in residential population will also force the closure of Fifth Ward Elementary and Lutcher Elementary schools in the coming years.... more »

• Debris to close waterways Friday

  February 14, 2013 4:40 PM

  DENHAM SPRINGS - Emergency managers in Livingston Parish said some waterways there and in Ascension Parish will be closed Friday because of debris being washed downstream. Both the Amite River and the Diversion Canal in those parishes will close to all recreational boat traffic at noon on Feb. 15,... more »

• Southdowns parade to close parts of Stanford Avenue, Perkins Road Friday

  February 7, 2013 2:43 PM

  Baton Rouge- Portions of Stanford Avenue and Perkins Road in Baton Rouge will be closed due to the Southdowns Mardi Gras Parade Friday evening. This is in addition to residential streets in the Southdowns neighborhood. Stanford from Hyacinth Avenue to Perkins Road will be closed from 8 p.m.... more »

• Obama hoping for close match in Super Bowl

  February 1, 2013 2:04 PM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is hoping for a close game in this year's Super Bowl. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the president will watch Sunday's game and expects it to be highly entertaining, even though his beloved Chicago Bears aren't playing. Obama hasn't said who he's rooting for... more »

• Earl K. Long hospital to close in April

  January 25, 2013 2:47 AM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU is moving up the date it will close Earl K. Long Medical Center in north Baton Rouge. LSU System Executive Vice President Frank Opelka says the facility will close in mid-April instead of November as originally planned under an agreement where patient care and medical... more »

• La. announces end of shrimp season in some areas

  December 18, 2012 10:28 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's fall shrimp season is closing in most state inside waters. Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham said last week that the season would close for most inside waters at sunset Tuesday to let white shrimp grow larger and more valuable. On Monday, he set closing Dec.... more »

• Disaster center in Maurepas to stay open longer

  October 1, 2012 3:49 PM

  MAUREPAS - Livingston Parish leaders said a Disaster Recovery Center in Maurepas which was scheduled to close today will instead stay open through Wednesday. The center is located at the American Legion Hall on Highway 22, and is open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. to help people in... more »

• Senator asks for legal opinion on hospital closure

  August 14, 2012 2:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is asking for an attorney general's opinion about whether Gov. Bobby Jindal can close a state-run mental health facility in St. Tammany Parish without legislative approval. Sen. Jack Donahue, a Republican from Mandeville, says closing Southeast Louisiana Hospital in a... more »

• LSU comes up with temporary fix to limit cuts

  July 27, 2012 4:25 PM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU health care leaders say they will use patchwork funding to keep their safety net hospitals open and lessen the blow of budget cuts that threatened to shutter facilities. Plans outlined to the university governing board Friday will cut about $50 million from public hospitals and clinics,... more »

• Shrimping to close Saturday in Pontchartrain Basin

  July 11, 2012 7:55 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the 2012 spring inshore shrimp season will close at 6 a.m. Saturday in most remaining state inside waters east of the Mississippi River. The closure is designed to protect developing white shrimp. The open waters of Breton and... more »

• Heat close out series with Pacers

  May 25, 2012 7:46 AM

  INDIANAPOLIS - Dwyane Wade scored 41 points, LeBron James added 28 and Miami finished off the Indiana Pacers, sending the Heat back to the Eastern Conference finals with a 105-93 victory in Game 6 on Thursday night. Miami wrapped up the best-of-7 series and will face either Boston or... more »

• Last day as EBR Parish School for Istrouma High

  May 23, 2012 9:35 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Today is the last day of school for most students in East Baton Rouge Parish Schools. But for those at Istrouma High, is will also be their last as part of the parish school system. In April, the state Department of Education announced the school will... more »

• Claycut bridge in EBR to close tomorrow

  May 22, 2012 5:21 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Traffic engineers announced today that the bridge on Claycut Road will be closed for repairs starting tomorrow. The bridge is west of S. Foster Drive, between Bienveille Street and Moore Street. Traffic engineers plan to close the bridge starting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, and remain... more »

• Section of downtown BR street to close

  April 27, 2012 3:14 PM

  Baton Rouge- An alert for drivers in downtown Baton Rouge. The 100 block of St. Louis Street will be closed from Louisiana Avenue to North Boulevard beginning 6 a.m. Monday morning, April 30th, for infrastructure work. Drivers will be able to access both River Center Parking Garages from... more »

• Monterrey Blvd Bridge temporarily closed Play Video

  April 6, 2012 5:02 PM

  The Monterrey Blvd Bridge in Baton Rouge is closed and drivers want to know why. Its been shut down for about a week. People we spoke to say the closure came without warning. A state inspection last weekend deemed the bridge critically deficient which mandated its immediate closure. DPW... more »

• Romney pushes GOP presidential race toward a close

  March 21, 2012 8:12 AM

  WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney says he's "almost there" in his six-year pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination, having defeated Rick Santorum in the Illinois GOP primary. The GOP front-runner is urging Republicans in a campaign email sent after Tuesday's victory to fall in line behind his bid. Romney... more »

• Petitions seek to close Newellton bar

  March 19, 2012 7:59 AM

  NEWELLTON, La. - Two petitions are being circulated to close a popular roadside bar in Tensas Parish that has been the site of three homicides since 2010. However, the bar's owner, Robert Welch, said he has no plans to close and he has spent money beefing up security at the... more »

• Sunday bar ordinance becomes law

  February 17, 2012 11:25 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The West Baton Rouge bar ordinance becomes law today, February 17th. The new law stipulates that businesses selling alcoholic beverages must close at 10pm on Sundays and cannot reopen until 6am Monday. There are some exceptions: Super Bowl Sunday, Sundays that are followed by holidays... more »

• Sears, Kmart to close more than 100 stores

  December 27, 2011 7:22 AM

  NEW YORK (AP) - Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores are shutting down after terrible holiday sales during the most crucial time of the year for retailers. Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., says the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million. The retailer anticipates... more »

• St. Martin detention center to close

  November 7, 2011 2:40 PM

  ST. MARTINVILLE, La.- The St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Department says it will close its juvenile detention center. The facility will officially close at the end of this year. According to the department, dwindling numbers of juveniles sent to the facility is attributed to the closure. A regional... more »

• Inspection will close I-10 lane near Ramah

  August 14, 2011 9:18 AM

  BATON ROUGE- One lane of Interstate 10 eastbound near Ramah in Iberville Parish will be closed Monday and Tuesday to permit inspection of a bridge, the state Department of Transportation and Development says. The closure will affect the right lane between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. ... more »

• Corps to close bays at Bonnet Carre Spillway

  June 11, 2011 10:01 AM

  NEW ORLEANS- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will begin closing bays at the Bonnet Carre Spillway on Saturday. The corps says initially it will close 30 of the 330 bays currently open based on the reduced flows in the Mississippi River at Red River Landing. Officials... more »

• Bayou Sorrel Locks close

  May 23, 2011 5:36 PM

  BAYOU SORREL - As the Army Corps of Engineers closes the Bayou Sorrel locks to barge traffic, many within the shipping industry are now left unemployed. The locks close when the water on the Atchafalaya side reaches 16 feet. And that's bad for John Businelle and his business, Pelican... more »

• St. Louis Street to close beginning Monday

  February 20, 2011 10:45 AM

  The 100 block of St. Louis Street will close to traffic at North Boulevard beginning Monday for construction of the new Town Square. The closure is projected to last until November. Motorists will still be able to access both River Center Parking Garages from the portion of St. Louis... more »

• EBR School Board votes to close Banks, Brookstown

  January 6, 2011 10:05 PM

  BATON ROUGE – School board members have voted to close two elementary schools in the district and send their students elsewhere in the fall. Members voted unanimously to close Brookstown Elementary and voted eight-to-two with one abstention to close Banks Elementary. The students will be sent to Progress, Delmont and... more »

• EBR School board votes to close Banks, Brookstown

  January 6, 2011 6:39 PM

  BATON ROUGE – School board members have voted to close two elementary schools in the district and send their students elsewhere in the fall. Members voted unanimously to close Brookstown Elementary and voted eight-to-two with one abstention to close Banks Elementary. The students will be sent to Progress, Delmont and... more »

• EBR re-evaluates school construction plans

  October 12, 2010 10:20 PM

  Thousands of students could shift across the East Baton Rouge Parish school system as the district re-evaluates the school construction phase of a 10-year tax plan that's short about $50 million. Four schools could close, while almost two dozen others could expand. News 2's Ashley Rodrigue found out how... more »

• La. shrimp season to close in parts of zones 1 and 3

  July 19, 2010 5:43 AM

  The 2010 spring inshore shrimp season in parts of zones 1 and 3 will close at 6 a.m. Tuesday to protect increased numbers of juvenile white shrimp. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the closure is based on biological recommendations made by biologists and is not related to... more »

• Tumultuous shrimp season closes

  July 5, 2010 5:32 AM

  One of Louisiana's most troublesome spring shrimp seasons came to a close with many shrimpers getting little chance to fish because of the BP oil spill. Waters to the relatively untroubled west, and the few places east of the Mississippi River not shut down due to the Deepwater Horizon oil... more »

• Zone 2 shrimping closing to let small shrimp grow

  July 1, 2010 7:36 PM

  The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the central zones inshore shrimp season will close at 6 a.m. Monday to let young white shrimp grow to a size worth harvesting. The department says the closing doesn't have any connection to the oil spill - it's all about letting the... more »

• LSU closing maternity unit at NO hospital

  June 30, 2010 8:36 AM

  The state of Louisiana is closing its maternity unit at LSU Interim Public Hospital and moving those services to the private Touro Infirmary. State authorities have not decided whether University Medical Center, the $1.2 billion successor to Charity Hospital that is slated to open as early as 2014, will include... more »

• I-12 at Amite River Bridge closures today

  May 13, 2010 9:47 AM

  I-12 eastbound at the Amite River Bridge will close intermittently today between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for a maximum of 20-minute intervals. The eastbound right lane will remain closed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Workers will be hanging girders over the Amite River. Motorists wanting to take an... more »

• Judge approves plan for Morehouse schools

  April 14, 2010 8:20 AM

  Morehouse Parish School Board's plan to close Carver and East Side elementary schools and to rezone the district has been approved. The approved plan was the fourth the district and the Department of Justice had considered to save the district $2.9 million while maintaining the desegregation of schools. Superintendent Tom... more »

• Hospital closing mental health unit

  April 2, 2010 7:35 AM

  Lafayette General Medical Center will close its mental health unit next month. Hospital CEO David Callecod tells The Advertiser that the decision was made in effort to open up more beds for medical and surgical patients. Callecod said medical, surgical and intensive care units have operated above 90 percent capacity... more »

• Doctor's Hospital in Shreveport closes

  February 19, 2010 7:32 AM

  Financial struggles that have plagued Doctor's Hospital in Shreveport for nearly three years have finally caught up with it. The hospital has closed and likely will be auctioned at a foreclosure sale in March. Creditors forced the company operating the hospital to file for bankruptcy in 2007. The hospital still... more »

• Partnership talk between LSU and OLOL

  January 25, 2010 1:15 PM

  Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center is only a few steps away from being the new home of LSU's medical education and hospital services. LSU threw out plans to build a replacement for the Earl K. Long Medical Center in favor of a partnership with OLOL. The proposal... more »

• Police force first Mr. Gay China pageant to close

  January 15, 2010 6:14 AM

  Organizers of China first gay pageant say police forced them to cancel the event just one hour before it was to start. The event organizer says he was told by police that the event could not take place because he had not applied to stage the event "according to procedures."... more »