Louisiana
At Urban League debate, mayoral candidates discuss improving city services, other priorities
Nearly three weeks out from the start of early voting, nine candidates for New Orleans mayor made their pitch at a debate Tuesday night at Xavier University hosted by the Urban League of Louisiana.
City Council Vice President Helena Moreno has maintained a double-digit lead in polling over State Sen. Royce Duplessis and Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who are both seeking enough votes to force the October race into a November runoff.
Duplessis in his opening remarks said he wants to make New Orleans an easier and more affordable place to live and argued that people are leaving New Orleans because of the “dysfunction out of City Hall,” echoing a television ad his campaign began airing over the weekend blaming Moreno for much of the city’s problems.
Moreno said she looked forward to working with whoever is elected to the City Council to help them achieve priorities in their districts, arguing that that’s what “good mayors” do.
Thomas said he’d work to improve basic city services, like 911 call response times and street repairs, and bring back twice-a-week trash pickup.
Candidates were also asked how they respond if President Donald Trump deploys National Guard troops to New Orleans, as Trump has suggested doing. The deployment would come even though violent crime in the city is down.
Duplessis called Trump’s threats “political theater” and said he’d welcome federal support, but not in the form of National Guard troops.
The cities Trump has suggested deploying the National Guard to — New Orleans, Baltimore and Chicago — are “Black cities with Black leaderships,” Duplessis said. The president has also sent troops into Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
Moreno said National Guard troops should not be used for law enforcement and would be a “detriment” to the New Orleans Police Department.
Thomas said the dollars spent on deploying National Guard troops to other places could have instead been used on early childhood education.
Candidates were asked how they would improve the city’s Department of Safety and Permits to ensure better access to city resources for small and minority-owned businesses.
Moreno said she’d bring in outside experts to revamp safety and permits, pointing to similar efforts in Jefferson Parish. “You need better technology, you need training of employees,” she said.
Duplessis said he’d cross train city workers and standardize procurement processes across departments. “I want to empower the staff at City Hall to know what the right and left hand is doing,” he said.
Thomas said City Hall needs to be as aggressive at helping people get permits as it is at shutting people down for not having a permit. He said he’d allow City Hall to issue “provisional permits” to businesses in good standing. He also said he’d also open a standalone economic development office in New Orleans East.
The event was the final installment in a series of debates organized by the Urban League of Louisiana and nearly two dozen community groups aimed at “uplifting the voices and priorities of Black and Brown New Orleanians” ahead of the October primary. It began after 7 p.m. and as of press time was ongoing.
Of the 264,000 voters who were registered in New Orleans as of March, 54% identified as Black, 36.5% as White and 9.5% another race.
Unlike other high-profile forums, which have used fundraising and polling to limit participation to the three major candidates, the Urban League extended invitations to every candidate that remains in the race. In attendance were Renada Collins, Ricky Twiggs, Russell Butler, Eileen Carter, Joe Bikulege, Jr., and Frank Janusa.
“If you have raised your hand, and you said that ‘I am wanting to lead us, I think I’m deserving to lead us,’ then we’re going to give you a platform and we’re going to let the voters decide,” Charles Phipps, a senior director at the Urban League, told WBOK Tuesday.
Carter, a former social media manager for Cantrell who went on to lead a failed effort to recall her from office, thanked the Urban League for including all the candidates. Carter has said she’d fund an office to coordinate education initiatives and create city-wide business internship program, among other plans.
“I’m here today to let you know we have more than three options. We’re going to cut the gatekeeping in the city of New Orleans,” Carter said.
Early voting begins on Sept. 27. Election day is Oct. 11.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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