 BY DEANNA B. NARVESON | Staff writer Inside the Baton Rouge schools budget: Despite a 12.9% overall increase in spending during the previous year, the East Baton Rouge Parish school system started the current fiscal year on July 1 in roughly the same strong financial position it was in 12 months earlier, according to the school district’s recently completed annual audit. However, that high rate of spending — almost three times the rate of the year before — is cause for concern. Continued spending at that pace, absent sizable increases in revenue, would quickly eat up district reserves and force new rounds of budget cuts. Read the full story.
Tugboat collision: The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the collision between a tanker and a tugboat that put five crew members in the Mississippi River near Luling Sunday night. The tugboat, the Patrick J. Studdert, sank after the collision, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Randisi. Read the full story.
Hunting safety: A hunter fatally shot a Baton Rouge man who was also hunting in the Sandy Hollow Wildlife Management area near Kentwood on Saturday, officials said. This was the second time in a week that a deer hunter from the Baton Rouge area was shot and officials are urging hunters to always wear bright hunters orange clothing and fully identify their target and background before pulling the trigger. Read the full story. | 
