Local Politics

In clash with LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans council bans city-funded alcohol purchases

By JAMES FINN | Staff writer
15 hrs ago

The New Orleans City Council has banned city officials from buying booze on the city's dime, part of a broader effort to restrict Mayor LaToya Cantrell's travel spending amid bitter conflict b…

How Trump's order requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to vote matches an existing Louisiana law

BY ALYSE PFEIL | Staff writer
Mar 27, 2025

Donald Trump unveiled an order requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. But Louisiana is already implementing its own proof-of-citizenship voting law.

Will Bourbon Street be closed to cars? Security plans are still being shaped in New Orleans.

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE | Staff writer
Mar 26, 2025

New Orleans Police Department leaders said Wednesday that city officials are still weighing plans to close off the city's most famous street to vehicles, but a possible strategy might involve …

Louisiana unveils plan to turn economy into most 'innovative' in Southeast. See details here.

BY BLAKE PATERSON | Staff writer
Mar 26, 2025

Gov. Jeff Landry's administration, which has boasted about multibillion dollar investments from social media giant Meta and automaker Hyundai in recent months, released a new strategic plan fo…

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The Atlantic editor mistakenly added to Signal chat about US attack to speak at Tulane book fest

By JULIA GUILBEAU | Staff writer
Mar 26, 2025

Jeffrey Goldberg, the journalist accidentally added to a group chat where U.S. officials coordinated military plans, will lead the opening night of New Orleans Book Festival.

Jeff Landry makes case for Amendment 2 in Baton Rouge: 'Our moment in this state is now'

BY HALEY MILLER | Staff writer
Updated Mar 26, 2025

In a speech to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, Gov. Jeff Landry reiterated his pitch for an overhaul to the state's tax laws, saying that the March 29 election is a defining moment for Louisiana.

Lafitte mayor Kerner sues Ricky Templet over attack ad in Jefferson Parish District 1 race

BY LARA NICHOLSON | Staff writer
Mar 26, 2025

Days ahead of the election for an open seat on the Jefferson Parish Council, Jean Lafitte Mayor Timothy Kerner Jr. has filed a lawsuit against opponent Ricky Templet over an attack ad now airi…

Oliver Thomas wants New Orleans to elect its police chief. Here's the rest of his platform.

By JAMES FINN | Staff writer
Mar 26, 2025

Oliver Thomas, a veteran New Orleans City Council member and candidate for mayor, wants the city to start holding elections to decide its chief of police — a long-debated proposal that would f…

J. Bennett Johnston, who delivered millions for Louisiana during long Senate career, dies at 92

BY TYLER BRIDGES | Staff writer
Mar 25, 2025

Johnston had a low-key and friendly style that served him as he became an effective advocate for his moderate-to-conservative views and for Louisiana’s interests.

Hope House honors seven champs with hearts for children

BY SUZIE HUNT | Contributing writer
Mar 25, 2025

Hope is what more than 600 children found at a special place in St. Tammany Parish last year when they received care from Hope House, which lives up to its name by providing vital services to …

Voters decide Saturday on pair of St. Tammany tax proposals

BY ANDREW CANULETTE | Staff writer
Mar 25, 2025

Voting in the March 29 municipal primary election will be held at each of the 170 precincts across St. Tammany from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

New Orleans District E council race is shaping up after Thomas' bid for mayor. See details.

By JONI HESS | Staff writer
Mar 25, 2025

A former New Orleans City Council member and a political newcomer will run this fall for the District E seat Oliver Thomas will vacate next year due to his bid for mayor.

New Orleans City Council members call for public hearing on Alabo grain terminal

By KASEY BUBNASH | Staff writer
Mar 24, 2025

As neighborhood outrage over plans to build an organic grain terminal in Holy Cross continues, New Orleans City Council members Oliver Thomas and Helena Moreno are calling on the state's envir…

Gov. Jeff Landry just closed his New Orleans homeless shelter. Here's what it means.

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE | Staff writer
Mar 24, 2025

Gov. Jeff Landry's administration closed its temporary homeless shelter in New Orleans on Friday, marking an end to the governor's controversial effort to tackle homelessness in downtown New O…

Trump, Landry unveil $5.8 billion Hyundai steel mill in Louisiana: 'Money is pouring in'

BY ALYSE PFEIL, STEPHANIE RIEGEL and DAVID MITCHELL | Staff writers
Mar 24, 2025

Flanked by Gov. Jeff Landry and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Donald Trump on Monday trumpeted carmaker Hyundai's announcement that it will build its first U.S. steel mill in Loui…

Plaquemines Port enlists former Sen. Vitter to push its case for West Bank container terminal

BY ANTHONY MCAULEY | Staff writer
Mar 24, 2025

The idea of a new downriver container ship terminal on the Mississippi River has long been recognized as a key strategic goal for the state, which has been losing business to rival Gulf ports …

Supreme Court seems divided in case over Louisiana congressional map with 2 Black majority seats

By MARK SHERMAN and SARA CLINE - Associated Press
Mar 24, 2025

The Supreme Court seems closely divided over a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map, which has two Black majority districts for the first time. Several of the court’s conservative justic…

Where does Steve Scalise like to eat in DC? He drops serious cash at this famous steakhouse.

By JUSTIN MITCHELL | Staff writer
Mar 24, 2025

It's a well-known fact that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise loves Drago's restaurant in Metairie, especially the chargrilled oysters.

Backers say Louisiana's Amendment 3 will curb juvenile crime. But does it go too far?

By JONI HESS | Staff writer
Mar 24, 2025

Demiyah Robinson, a 16-year-old sophomore at Frederick Douglass High School in the Bywater, thinks local and state politicians need to do more to stop juvenile crime — but that doesn’t inclu…

With 7 months to go, is the field for New Orleans mayor all but decided? Some say yes.

By JAMES FINN | Staff writer
Mar 23, 2025

One City Council member led her colleagues through a period of deepening tension with New Orleans’ current mayor and calls herself the face of change.

Should Bourbon Street be fully closed to cars? Consultants will weigh in on an age-old question this week.

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE | Staff writer
Mar 23, 2025

For months, a crew of consultants has been pondering how and when to close off Bourbon Street to cars and thus ward against deadly attacks like the one that roiled the famed party strip on Jan. 1.

Weekend hours, no late fees: emergency declared as Louisiana OMV computer woes continue

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN | Staff writer
Mar 21, 2025

Louisianans who are more than ten days late in renewing expired Class E licenses — the kind most regular drivers have — won't have to pay the $15 late fee due to ongoing technology system outa…

Concerns about Medicaid are roiling Congressional town halls. Here's how Louisiana plays in.

BY MARK BALLARD | Staff writer
Mar 21, 2025

WASHINGTON — Usually constituents are polite when attending town halls, using the events as opportunities to meet and discuss issues with their congressperson.

Should Louisiana have 2 majority-Black districts in Congress? U.S. Supreme Court will decide.

BY MARK BALLARD | Staff writer
Mar 21, 2025

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday will hear oral arguments in the long-running, back-and-forth legal battle over whether Louisiana should have two majority-Black congressional districts.

Push underway in Legislature to put East Baton Rouge parks agency under city-parish control

BY ALYSE PFEIL | Staff writer
Mar 21, 2025

Rep. Dixon McMakin, a Baton Rouge Republican, filed legislation to place BREC under city-parish control. He also filed a separate bill to change the commission's makeup.

'Bobby has grown through this.' Sen. Bill Cassidy discusses RFK Jr. in Mandeville

BY WILLIE SWETT | Staff writer
Mar 21, 2025

More than a month after playing a key role in the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be nation's top health official, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who has promoted vaccines, d…

New Orleans inspector charged with bribing LaToya Cantrell is stripped of his license

By JAMES FINN | Staff writer
Mar 20, 2025

A building inspector charged in federal court with bribing New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was stripped of his state contracting license Thursday under a deal that allowed him to avoid sanct…

Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins won't challenge Bill Cassidy for the Senate in 2026

BY MARK BALLARD | Staff writer
Mar 20, 2025

WASHINGTON — Acadiana U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins wrote in a letter Thursday that he would not run in the 2026 U.S. Senate — even though he pointed to a poll that found he would have won.