New Orleans newsmakers predict what will happen in 2024
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Predicting the future is tricky business.
Yes, but: We're going to try anyway.
What's happening: We asked newsmakers around New Orleans for the one big thing they think will happen in 2024.
- Now, we're sharing their answers with you.
🗺️ "I expect to see a new congressional map that reflects Louisiana's population based on reapportionment," says U.S. Rep. Troy Carter. "Math is math, and our state is one-third Black — but we only have one majority-minority district when there should be two. I look forward to Louisiana having another opportunity to finally get this right."
- After a legal battle, state lawmakers are headed into a special session Jan. 15 to draw a new map of Louisiana's districts for the U.S. House of Representatives.
🍃 "Greater New Orleans will establish itself as the national hub of the 'All-of-the-Above-Clean-Energy-Future,'" says GNO Inc. CEO and president Michael Hecht.
- "We will see major investments in cleaner fossil fuels, carbon capture, offshore wind, hydrogen, renewables, battery storage and more. The region will prove that we can have energy production that supports the economy, while protecting the environment."
🎵 "There will be some large shifts in the cultural economy, how we talk about money and think about making a living in music/culture," says Hannah Kreiger-Benson, musician and MACCNO research programs coordinator.
- "Some of the many overlapping efforts that happen around this city will start to amplify each other, and things will move in a positive direction for cultural practitioners making a thriving wage with their craft."
🙏 "It is my hope that all the crises are behind us and 2024 will be a much brighter chapter for our community," says Jefferson Parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng.
- "Start-of-year discussions involve our plan to expand our programming and services to better serve our aging population, and use tree plantings to improve the beauty, efficiency and safety of our vast drainage system."
🤲 "Violent crime will decrease in our city due to the normalization of speaking about and addressing mental health," says New Orleans Public Schools superintendent Avis Williams.
- "Young people will lead these efforts, and city leaders will provide support and resources for sustainable change."
☁️ "Unfortunately no, we can only tell you what could happen seven days out," says Lauren Nash, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Slidell.
After much chuckling at Axios, we rephrased the question, and Nash told us about her hope for better forecasting abilities in 2024.
- "Moving our weather radar from Slidell to Hammond and lowering the tilt will give metro New Orleans and other surrounding areas better or equal coverage than before. ... It will also improve meteorologists' ability to see 'lower' into storms and hopefully provide more accurate and timely warnings and advisories."
What's next: Well, we'll see, right?