Westside

$250,000 bond set for ex-mayor of Port Allen facing indecent behavior with juveniles charge

BY AIDAN MCCAHILL | Staff writer
Aug 17, 2025

A $250,000 bond has been set for a former mayor of Port Allen, after he was arrested Tuesday for allegedly buying alcohol for a juvenile before engaging in indecent behavior with them.Derek Le…

Ex-Port Allen mayor arrested for alleged indecent behavior with a juvenile, providing alcohol

BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer
Aug 13, 2025

A former mayor of Port Allen was arrested Tuesday for allegedly buying alcohol for a juvenile before engaging in indecent behavior with them, according to West Baton Rouge Sheriff Jeff Bergeron.

Trump exempts Louisiana industrial plants from pollution rule aimed at reducing cancer risks

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL and JOSIE ABUGOV | Staff writers
Jul 23, 2025

Companies say the two-year exemption will give them time to comply. Environmental groups suspect it is an interim step before doing away with the rule entirely.

Rougarou players looking for second chances, ways to improve during summer league

BY Richard Meek | Contributing writer
Jul 21, 2025

They are dream seekers, spending sultry summer evenings barnstorming across south Louisiana and southern Texas, searching for that magical elixir, a game-changing fix.

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Gonzales woman dies in boat crash on East Upper Grand River

BY AIDAN MCCAHILL | Staff writer
Jul 13, 2025

Authorities say that agents received a call at around midnight about a single boat crash in the area.

Formosa sued over access to Louisiana site where activists say slaves were buried

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
Jul 9, 2025

The groups allege the site's owner, a U.S. arm of Taiwanese chemical giant Formosa Plastics, has hindered their ability to access the unmarked cemetery they say holds the graves of their ensla…

St. Gabriel police captain found stabbed to death in his home, man arrested, sheriff says

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Jul 6, 2025

An arrest was made Sunday in the stabbing death of St. Gabriel Police Capt. Devin Boutte, who was found dead at his home early Sunday morning, Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said.

Louisiana's foster child numbers hit record highs in some parishes. 'You can't turn a blind eye.'

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD | Staff writer
May 5, 2025

On a Tuesday afternoon in Watson, Rebecca Braun was working her shift at a donation center when she received a call from the state Department of Children & Family Services: A 14-year-old g…

Gonzales man arrested for vehicular manslaughter after pedestrian dies

BY AIDAN MCCAHILL | Staff writer
Apr 27, 2025

The 51-year-old faces charges of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide after striking a pedestrian on Highway 30, authorities said.

Port Allen woman dies in three-vehicle crash in East Baton Rouge

BY VICKI FERSTEL | Staff writer
Apr 14, 2025

A 42-year-old Port Allen woman was killed in a three-vehicle crash shortly before noon Monday in Greenwell Springs.

Officials start on fix for red dust from Louisiana plant that's been plaguing neighbors

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
Apr 14, 2025

Ascension Parish government drainage workers are preparing to cap a 4-acre section of the "red mud" waste ponds at a closed refinery in hopes of controlling dust that has plagued nearby neighb…

New life for lawsuit accusing Louisiana parish of environmental race discrimination

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
Apr 10, 2025

The lawsuit accuses the parish of a continuing violation of equal protection and other rights that has diminished property values and harmed health.

One of Louisiana's biggest solar farms was rejected. A judge says the decision followed the law.

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
Feb 18, 2025

The ruling on the project comes as renewable energy faces new headwinds under the Trump White House, though large-scale solar plans have long faced local scrutiny.

This waste pile along the Mississippi is one of the tallest points for miles. It is now expanding.

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
Feb 17, 2025

Environmental groups are concerned about the expansion, while the company says it is unavoidable and will allow it to continue to operate as it already has for years.

Meetings over plastics plant in St. James violated Louisiana's transparency law, judge rules

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL | Staff writer
Jan 10, 2025

The judge ruled that parish officials violated the intent of the law when discussing plans for the $1.25 billion plant.

Iberville Sheriff transport employees committed over $6,000 in time theft, audit finds

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Jan 6, 2025

Two transport employees with the Iberville Sheriff's Office have been fired and face criminal charges after they committed fraud on their timesheets, officials said.

Torn-down fences, boycotts, protests: Who was Edward Searcy, the Westside Civil Rights leader?

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Jan 3, 2025

When White supremacists in Port Allen erected a barbed-wire fence around Devall Middle School to keep Black students from stepping foot on campus in the late 1960s, Westside Civil Rights leade…

Bringing the heat: Meet the Port Allen store using hot sauce instead of business cards

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Dec 24, 2024

In true Louisiana fashion, this Port Allen furniture store doesn’t use business cards — instead, every customer leaves with a bottle of hot sauce.

His daughter died in a Louisiana police chase. Could this new system help stop others?

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Dec 20, 2024

Brusly will be the first location in Louisiana to use a citizen alert app to inform residents when police pursuits and other high-speed emergency vehicle activity occur near them on the road.

Port Allen official accused of election law violation placed on leave, mayor says

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Dec 12, 2024

The Port Allen official accused of offering to pay a council member to coax a colleague out of a City Council race has been placed on administrative leave, Mayor Richard Lee III said at a meet…

Port Allen City Council member claims official tried to pay her to coax candidate out of race

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Dec 10, 2024

A Port Allen city councilperson has alleged a member of the city’s planning and zoning commission violated election law by offering to donate to her reelection campaign if she convinced a coll…

AG says thousands of traffic tickets in this Louisiana town's school zone are illegal. Here's why.

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Dec 6, 2024

The Constable's Office and Justice of the Peace Court in Brusly overstepped their authority when they issued thousands of tickets to drivers near Lukeville Elementary School using automated sp…

Thousands of speeding tickets in limbo in this Louisiana town: 'Straight out of Mayberry'

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Dec 4, 2024

Attorney General Liz Murrill has advised West Baton Rouge drivers not to pay potentially illegal tickets issued during a two-week timeframe in October.

Port Allen official sues city, claiming racial discrimination in pay

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Nov 28, 2024

The chief administrative officer for Port Allen has sued the city, alleging pay discrimination.

Feeling festive? Here's where to go for Christmas tree lightings around Baton Rouge.

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Nov 26, 2024

With temperatures dropping and decorations going up, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in south Louisiana. For even more holiday cheer, here’s where you can find Christmas tree light…

A parks tax is up for renewal in West Baton Rouge next month. Here's what it means.

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Nov 16, 2024

A 5-mill property tax that funds the Parks & Recreation Department is on the ballot next month in West Baton Rouge Parish.

West Baton Rouge Career Academy seeks to build a skilled workforce 'this side of the river'

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Nov 14, 2024

The culinary classroom at the West Baton Rouge Academy smelled like a summer cookout.

A children's book festival, with a French twist: My French Book Fest opens in West Baton Rouge

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Nov 13, 2024

Children and families can visit the West Baton Rouge Museum this Thursday through Saturday for My French Book Fest, a celebration of youth literacy in French that features a book fair as well …