Founder and editor of WBR Independent. U.S. Army veteran, Purple Heart recipient, Eagle Scout, former volunteer firefighter. Covering West Baton Rouge Parish with principle, not politics.
Ianthia Washington, 72, was killed Wednesday morning when a train struck her vehicle at a La. 1 railroad crossing near the Dow Chemical plant in Addis. Louisiana State Police are leading the investigation.
April 08, 2026
Port Allen's police policy manual hasn't been updated since 2001. Tonight the city council votes on a $9,944 Lexipol contract that would change that — and keep it current automatically going forward.
April 08, 2026
Port Allen got six bids on a federally funded sewer project. The lowest came in $463,000 over budget. The highest was nearly three times the estimate. The city is going back out to bid.
April 07, 2026
West Baton Rouge Parish is proposing its first sewer rate increase since 2008 — 15 percent, adding about $3.54 a month for the average residential customer. The state originally wanted 95 percent. Here's how the parish got it down.
April 06, 2026
Port Allen approved a $179,500 sewer budget amendment to cover blower replacements at the wastewater plant — and suspended late fees for customers hit with $800–$900 bills after January's freeze.
April 01, 2026
A new Mississippi River bridge south of Baton Rouge could cost up to $2 billion. Three alignments are still in play, residents are pushing back on the one that cuts through 300-year-old wetlands, and nobody has figured out how to pay for it yet.
March 31, 2026
Addis residents told the council they've lost tens of thousands of dollars to flooding — and parish officials showed up to brief them on what comes next. Plus: an 11-year-old Addis boy named a national Children's Miracle Network spokesperson gets his moment before the council.
March 30, 2026
https://www.wbrindependent.com/wbr-canals-topped-100-year-flood-levels-in-march-storm-what-about-north-of-the-intracoastal/
March 26, 2026
Excerpt: Two Brusly teenagers were killed on New Year's Eve 2022 when a law enforcement pursuit ended in a crash. Three years later, their families helped push the WBR Sheriff's Office to launch a real-time pursuit alert system — and they say it's only the beginning.
March 25, 2026
