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
A Port Allen woman stole a car from a repo agent, said "see ya buddy," and then showed up in the comments section of her own police wanted post to correct her weight and post a meme about going viral.
March 24, 2026
Brusly voted 4-1 to pay a $506,000 sewer lagoon bill nobody could fully itemize, tabled a staffing contract the town attorney said was too poorly written to sign, and approved health insurance that went up nearly 16 percent.
March 24, 2026
FRC Team 10217 from West Baton Rouge Career Academy finished second at a regional robotics competition in Mississippi — in just the program's second year. Ten students. Months of work. A reputation for helping every other team in the building.
March 23, 2026
WBR Fire District No. 1 fired Deputy Chief James Hartley — but his attorney argues nobody involved had the legal authority to do it. Part 4 of WBR Independent's ongoing investigation into Fire District No. 1.
March 19, 2026
West Baton Rouge Parish residents are receiving fake DMV texts threatening license suspension over traffic citations that don't exist. The link goes to a domain traced to the Philippines. Do not click, do not pay.
March 18, 2026
