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The weekend will be warm, sticky and breezy. Winds could gust over 30mph at times. A better chance for showers and thunderstorms returns to the area next week.
Tonight & Tomorrow: The overnight hours will see a slight decrease in cloud cover. However, ongoing southeast winds of 10-15mph will make it difficult for low temperatures to fall out of the low 70s. Saturday will feature mostly sunny skies and southeast winds of 15-25mph. Most local high temperatures will run for the upper 80s but it is not out of the question that one or two thermometers scare up 90 degrees.
Up Next: Sunday will bring a continued breeze with a mix of sun and clouds with an outside shot at a shower. You will notice humidity creeping higher as high temperatures head for the upper 80s. Our next reasonable chance for rain will arrive on Monday. A front stalled to our northwest, combined with some energy in the upper levels of the atmosphere, could result in scattered showers and thunderstorms to begin the new week. A similar setup will be in place for Tuesday. Neither severe weather nor heavy rain look to be threats. Humidity and moisture won’t be going anywhere and so it is hard to rule out a pop-up shower any given day; it is getting to the time of year where that is a usual prospect.
Get the latest 7-day forecast and real time weather updates HERE.
Watch live news HERE.
– Josh
The Storm Station is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on your Apple or Android device. Follow WBRZ Weather on Facebook and Twitter for even more weather updates while you are on the go.
BATON ROUGE — On Saturday, voters return to the polls to decide on multiple municipal ordinances and local leadership positions.
The election will affect more local voters than the one in March, with multiple ballot measures in each parish in the Baton Rouge area. Here's what voters can expect when they return to the polls:
East Baton Rouge Parish:
A councilmember seat in Baker, with Democrats Toni Jackson and Robert Young facing off for the District 4 seat.
Propositions:
- Millage renewal for the Central Community School System
- Parcel fee renewal for Mayfair Park/Park East/Heights Crime Prevention and Improvement District
Ascension Parish:
Propositions:
- Tax renewal for the city of Gonzales
- Tax renewal for Fire Protection District No. 3
- Bond proposition for the Ascension Parish School Board
Assumption Parish:
Propositions:
- Acreage tax for Gravity Drainage District No. 2
East Feliciana Parish:
A seat on the Board of Trustees for Jackson. Independent Dane Brown is running unopposed.
Iberville Parish:
A city council seat for St. Gabriel will be elected from Democrats Randall Jackson and Okedria Smith.
Propositions:
- Sales tax proposition for 18th Judicial Enforcement District
- Tax renewal for Fire Protection District No. 1
- Tax renewal for Fire Protection District No. 2
Livingston Parish:
Propositions:
- Tax renewal for the city of Walker
- Tax renewal for Fire Protection District No. 5
- Tax renewal for Fire Protection District No. 10
- Tax renewal for Recreation District No. 2
- Millage extension and rededication for Florida Parishes Juvenile Justice District
- Proposition for Special Taxing District No. 5
Pointe Coupee Parish:
Propositions:
- Sales tax proposition for 18th Judicial Enforcement District
- Millage proposition for Fire Protection District No. 2
- Millage proposition for Fire Protection District No. 3
- Millage proposition for Fire Protection District No. 5
Saint Helena Parish:
Propositions:
- Millage extension and rededication for Florida Parishes Juvenile Justice District
Saint James Parish:
Propositions:
- Parishwide tax proposition
Saint Mary Parish:
Propositions:
- Bond proposition for Water and Sewer Commission No. 4
- Bond proposition for Wax Lake East Drainage District
- Tax continuation for Gravity Sub-Drainage District No. 1
- Tax renewal for Ward 4 Fire Protection District No. 2
- Tax continuation for Wax Lake East Drainage District
Tangipahoa Parish:
Propositions:
- Millage extension and redirection for Florida Parishes Juvenile Justice District
- Tax proposition for Hammond Area Recreation District No. 1
- Tax proposition for Fire Protection District No. 1
West Baton Rouge Parish:
Propositions:
- Sales tax proposition for 18th Judicial Enforcement District
West Feliciana Parish:
Propositions:
- Tax renewal for Law Enforcement District
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. For more information about races and propositions, visit the Secretary of State's website.
BATON ROUGE - Disney on Ice returns to the capital city this weekend to present its new program "Magic in the Stars."
There will be figure skating, high-flying acrobatics, innovative lighting, and some of your favorite iconic Disney stars—plus a few new ones.
The show features performances from Princess Tiana, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Elsa and Anna, Lightening McQueen, and the cast of Encanto preforming the popular song "We Don't Talk about Bruno."
The show runs on Friday at 7 p.m., on Saturday at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., and on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m..
You can buy tickets for Disney on Ice here.
BATON ROUGE — Four members of the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday completed a task that thousands of voters began more than a decade ago — forging the state's fifth-largest city in the southeastern corner of East Baton Rouge Parish.
Justices ruled Friday that the effort to incorporate a new city of St. George was valid, despite objections by Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and others. The Supreme Court said lower courts that had tossed out the results of a 2019 election were wrong on several levels and opted to decide the case on its own.
"We find legal error, review the matter de novo, reverse the denial of incorporation, and render judgment in favor of the incorporators and electors," the justices said in their 4-3 decision. The court had heard arguments in January.
With the ruling, St. George is soon to become Louisiana's fifth largest city, behind New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lafayette. At the time of the incorporation vote, it was estimated the new city would have about 86,000 residents. The area has grown in population since the vote 4.5 years ago.
In a dissent, Chief Justice John Weimer said St. George's backers didn't follow the law when they placed the issues before voters and that his colleagues in the majority were using a "procedural ruse" that "achieves a result masquerading as an opinion."
"This dissent is not intended to defy the will of the majority of voters but rather to insure (sic) the law enacted by the legislature is applied as written so voters can cast an informed vote," he wrote.
St. George would also be the fifth incorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, joining Baker, Baton Rouge, Central and Zachary.
Broome said at a news conference Friday afternoon the city's only option was to ask the justices to reconsider their decision. In the meantime, she said, she was obligated to ensure the smoothest transition possible.
"As the mayor-president, I do have a responsibility to thoroughly examine the financial implications of this historic decision and safeguard the vitality of our over-200-year-old city," she said outside her office at City Hall. "In the days ahead, I will proceed to have conversations to determine the best course of action in compliance with the court's final decision."
In October 2019, 54 percent of voters within St. George's boundaries approved creating a new city. Broome and Metro Councilman LaMont Cole sued, claiming that the petition to place the issue on the ballot was flawed, that St. George wouldn't be able to adequately provide services and that the incorporation would harm the parish's tax base.
After an eight-day trial, a special judge rules that the incorporation petition "minimally satisfies" the requirement to create the new city, then found incorporation unreasonable. He also said St. George would open with a $3 million deficit, impacting the availability of municipal services.
It also said the incorporation would cost Baton Rouge about 35 percent of its general fund, "a substantial adverse effect."
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal largely upheld the ruling, determining that the incorporation petition didn't lay out how St. George would provide services. "Accordingly, the court of appeal affirmed the denial of incorporation without discussing whether incorporation is reasonable," the majority of the justices said Friday.
Broome was removed as a plaintiff early in the process, but as a council member, Cole had standing to sue based on St. George's impact on Baton Rouge. The Supreme Court noted Friday, however, that no one from inside St. George had challenged the incorporation petition.
"Cole neither resides in nor owns property in St. George," the court said. "He did not, and could not, vote in the election. ... Because no one from within the incorporated area objected to it, the court of appeal erred in considering the sufficiency of the petition. Thus, we reverse."
But rather than send the case back to the lower courts, as typically happens, the justices opted to decide the case itself.
"In the interests of judicial efficiency, time-sensitivity and because we have a fully developed record, we review those decisions and render judgment," the justices wrote.
In a question-and-answer session filed as part of its decision, the court said St. George had a unique identity and that its residents had a right to band together, just as businesses asked to be annexed into Baton Rouge as the issue developed. The court also said the outline of potential services to be offered was sufficient for voters to make an informed decision.
"The conclusion that St. George cannot, in all probability, provide its proposed public services within a reasonable period of time is not supported by the record," the justices said.
If the justices leave their decision in place, St. George will be created from unincorporated areas of southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish and does not involve anyone "leaving" Baton Rouge. Broome will remain the top administrative officer of the parish, even for the new community.
"We are all members of this parish — comprising over 450,000 citizens," Broome said. "I am committed to serving the residents of St. George just as I serve the residents of Baker, Central and Zachary." Up for re-election this year, Broome asked the public to keep an "experienced and trusted leadership" in place.
Justice Scott Crichton joined Weimer's dissent and added that his colleagues were wrong to throw out the lower courts and make their own decision directly.
"There was no 'legal error' at all," he wrote. He said the special judge's decision that St. George "in all probability" could not provide services in a reasonable amount of time was a reasonable observation, and not one that warranted the Supreme Court taking over the case.
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