Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its original publication to correct Rick Webb’s name. A previous version of this story was incorrect.
Deep roots: A live oak tree will be planted in BREC’s Expressway Park next week in honor of Baton Rouge’s 200th birthday. The dedication of the Bicentennial Live Oak will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Baton Rouge Green, in partnership with the Baton Rouge Bicentennial Commission, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and BREC, will plant and maintain the tree. Rick Webb of Louisiana Growers donated the tree.
On air: Deyja Charles has been named the new executive producer of WBRZ News 2, effective Tuesday, Jan. 2. She will work with managing editor and anchor Michael Shingleton to oversee the 10 p.m. newscast and help lead breaking news coverage for the 4, 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts. Charles, a native of California, also will be responsible for managing late-breaking, evening news on WBRZ.com and on social media platforms. She previously worked for KFBB/KHBB in Great Falls, Montana, and received a master’s degree in International Relations from Webster University in St. Louis.
Wealth gap: The wealthiest 1% of American households own 40% of the country’s wealth, according to a new paper by economist Edward N. Woolf. That share is higher than it has been at any point since at least 1962, The Washington Post reports. Woolf’s data comes from the federal Survey of Consumer Finances. From 2013, the share of wealth owned by the 1% shot up by nearly three percentage points. Wealth owned by the bottom 90%, meanwhile, fell over the same period. Today, the top 1% of households own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. Read more.
