All Access

New Orleans

New Orleans Alerts

Alert

A picture of New Orleans with the letters MSY

blue

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting New Orleans.

Axios New Orleans

Standard

Axios New Orleans Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

New Orleans Members

Membership

Thanksgiving things to do in New Orleans: Bayou Classic, a turkey trot and more

Things to Do

5 Christmas tree farms near New Orleans where you can chop down your own tree

The farms usually open the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Holidays

New Orleans restaurants offer Thanksgiving shortcuts

From Popeyes turkeys to locally made breads, there are lots of options to lighten the load.

Food and Drink

5 of the best New Orleans gumbos

When the temperature drops, it's officially gumbo weather in New Orleans.

South Louisiana food bank doubles capacity amid rising food insecurity

Second Harvest's growth is fueled by a $25M donation from MacKenzie Scott.

Health

The food bank serving most of south Louisiana aims to provide 70 million meals annually within the next decade — nearly doubling its current capacity.Why it matters: Even with that growth, Second Harvest president and CEO Natalie Jayroe is concerned because food insecurity is growing, too.

Illustration of an senior citizen holding a small bag of groceries hand

Louisiana 988 calls top 26K since hotline launch

A new grant-funded campaign aims to ensure all Louisianans who need it are picking up the phone.

News

Louisianans have already made more than 26,000 calls to 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that launched last summer, and a new grant-funded campaign aims to ensure all Louisianans who need it are picking up the phone.Why it matters: Louisiana saw 689 deaths by suicide in 2021, up from 642 in 2020, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="CDC data" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm" data-vars-content-id="52916b6e-dc52-49bc-bb6c-fb45194527d1" data-vars-headline="Louisiana 988 calls top 26K since hotline launch" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm" target="_blank">CDC data</a>.

Illustration of a rotary phone with a knot in the wire.

Louisiana has the country's worst gun death rate for children

Guns became the leading cause of death for children for the first time in 2020.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Firearm deaths" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/07/25/louisiana-children-health-ranking" data-vars-content-id="9a186fc8-0f59-4a5b-8736-bbde2976e10e" data-vars-headline="Louisiana has the country&#x27;s worst gun death rate for children" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/07/25/louisiana-children-health-ranking" target="_self">Firearm deaths</a> among children in the U.S. hit a new record high in 2021, with Louisiana sadly leading the way, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="study" data-vars-click-url="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-061296/193711/Trends-and-Disparities-in-Firearm-Deaths-Among?searchresult=1?autologincheck=redirected" data-vars-content-id="9a186fc8-0f59-4a5b-8736-bbde2976e10e" data-vars-headline="Louisiana has the country&#x27;s worst gun death rate for children" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-061296/193711/Trends-and-Disparities-in-Firearm-Deaths-Among?searchresult=1?autologincheck=redirected" target="_blank">study</a> published recently in the journal Pediatrics.Driving the news: The study, based on government data, points to the worsening of an already distressing trend, after guns became the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="leading cause of death for children" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/26/gun-deaths-children-america" data-vars-content-id="9a186fc8-0f59-4a5b-8736-bbde2976e10e" data-vars-headline="Louisiana has the country&#x27;s worst gun death rate for children" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/26/gun-deaths-children-america" target="_self">leading cause of death for children</a> for the first time in 2020.<ul><li>Car crashes are the No. 2 cause of death for children in the U.S.</li></ul>

Photo shows crime scene investigators after a shooting at a Mardi Gras parade

5 coping tips for anniversaries of hurricanes and other traumatic events

Aug. 29 is the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Ida.

Anniversaries of trauma-causing events, like <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="catastrophic hurricanes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/08/11/louisiana-residents-displaced-hurricanes" data-vars-content-id="d681b455-8346-4412-8fa3-b629755aa7bd" data-vars-headline="5 coping tips for anniversaries of hurricanes and other traumatic events" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/08/11/louisiana-residents-displaced-hurricanes" target="_self">catastrophic hurricanes</a>, have a way of resurfacing difficult emotions and throwing us off kilter, according to NOLA Ready, the city&#x27;s emergency preparedness team.<ul><li>The phenomenon is called the &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="anniversary effect" data-vars-click-url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvnSl6Rx6pp/?img_index=1" data-vars-content-id="d681b455-8346-4412-8fa3-b629755aa7bd" data-vars-headline="5 coping tips for anniversaries of hurricanes and other traumatic events" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvnSl6Rx6pp/?img_index=1" target="_blank">anniversary effect</a>.&quot; It can make you feel restless, on edge and depressed. It can also cause trouble sleeping. </li></ul>Driving the news: Aug. 29 is the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Ida, both of which devastated southeast Louisiana. Many residents are still rebuilding.

Illustration of a calendar with a lit candle on one of the days.

Louisiana MMR vaccine rates dip below community immunity threshold

The state has some of the loosest vaccine exemption laws.

Louisiana&#x27;s measles vaccination coverage has dipped below the threshold <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="generally accepted" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9197781/" data-vars-content-id="eb087055-39d6-4201-8304-10b9f5f55fc5" data-vars-headline="Louisiana MMR vaccine rates dip below community immunity threshold" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9197781/" target="_blank">generally accepted</a> to prevent community transmission.Why it matters: &quot;Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known to mankind,&quot; Louisiana state health officer and medical doctor Joseph Kanter tells Axios, but outbreaks are &quot;entirely preventable&quot; through vaccination.

A chart shows average vaccine exemptions for the US and for Louisiana, which has been below the national average since 2012. The latest data shows the US at 2.7% and Louisiana at 1.1% exemptions.

Louisiana's COVID hospitalization rates are above the national average

A new variant, EG.5 or Eris, is now the dominant form in the U.S.

COVID

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="COVID-19 hospitalization rates" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/health" data-vars-content-id="b52c8d55-da84-49e8-aaac-a6da8848ca18" data-vars-headline="Louisiana&#x27;s COVID hospitalization rates are above the national average" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/health" target="_self">COVID-19 hospitalization rates</a> across Louisiana skyrocketed 66% between June and July amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country.Driving the news: Hospitalization rates are rising the fastest in Mississippi (+73% month over month), Alabama (+66%) and Louisiana.<ul><li>The average COVID hospitalization rate nationwide rose about 17% for the same time period, per the latest available CDC data.</li></ul>

Nearly 100,000 Louisianans over 65 have Alzheimer's

Orleans Parish comes has the state's highest rate of Alzheimer's at 15.4%.

An estimated 12.4% of adults age 65 or older in Louisiana have Alzheimer&#x27;s disease, per a new study. That comes to about 94,700 people. Why it matters: It&#x27;s critical for public health officials, policymakers and others to have a clear look at the number of Alzheimer&#x27;s cases in a given area, the authors say — in part because caring for those with the disease cost an estimated $321 billion nationwide last year, much of which came via Medicare and Medicaid.

New Orleans to provide free nurse visits and newborn supply kits for new moms

Louisiana has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.

Leaders are taking action to help pregnant women and new moms in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="New Orleans" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans" data-vars-content-id="9d8fc350-bbdf-44df-9d77-b5ca06ed3881" data-vars-headline="New Orleans to provide free nurse visits and newborn supply kits for new moms" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans" target="_self">New Orleans</a>, who are dying at greater rates than most other places in the country.What&#x27;s happening: Officials are launching two new programs in hopes of improving outcomes for moms and infants in a state plagued by poverty.

Photo shows a new mom in a hospital bed with her child and a Baby 2 Baby care kit

In its first year, nearly 14% of Louisiana 988 calls went unanswered by in-state counselors

These calls are happening at a time when most Americans still aren't aware of the lifeline.

Nearly 14% of the 5,065 988 calls made across Louisiana went unanswered by in-state counselors between April and May, per a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/taking-a-look-at-988-suicide-crisis-lifeline-implementation-one-year-after-launch/" data-vars-content-id="20384629-22cd-400c-b85e-3d492e018d6b" data-vars-headline="In its first year, nearly 14% of Louisiana 988 calls went unanswered by in-state counselors" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/taking-a-look-at-988-suicide-crisis-lifeline-implementation-one-year-after-launch/" target="_blank">new analysis</a> from health research outlet KFF.<ul><li>Those calls were diverted to out-of-state overflow call centers, which handle about 8% of calls nationally.</li></ul>Why it matters: These missed calls are happening at a time when most Americans still aren&#x27;t aware the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="988" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/07/11/988-hotline-ohio-1-year-anniversary" data-vars-content-id="20384629-22cd-400c-b85e-3d492e018d6b" data-vars-headline="In its first year, nearly 14% of Louisiana 988 calls went unanswered by in-state counselors" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/07/11/988-hotline-ohio-1-year-anniversary" target="_self">988</a> national suicide prevention and mental health hotline exists — and even as we hit the service&#x27;s one-year mark, few states have established long-term funding commitments to sustain it.

Report: Louisiana one of the worst states for child wellbeing

Children in Louisiana are also more likely to be a homicide victim than in any other state.

Education

Louisiana ranks 49th in the country for child wellbeing, according to a report by the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Annie E. Casey Foundation" data-vars-click-url="https://assets.aecf.org/m/databook/aecf-2023kidscountdatabook-embargoed.pdf" data-vars-content-id="8afdbe50-2589-4a30-ab7a-b786192b80c7" data-vars-headline="Report: Louisiana one of the worst states for child wellbeing" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://assets.aecf.org/m/databook/aecf-2023kidscountdatabook-embargoed.pdf" target="_blank">Annie E. Casey Foundation</a>. <ul><li>And much of that is driven by economic wellbeing specifically, where Louisiana ranked last.</li></ul>Driving the news: In 2021, 27% of Louisiana children were in poverty, 11% of teens were not in school and not working and 35% had parents without secure employment, the nonprofit found — all higher than the national averages.

Illustration of a child sitting next to toy blocks arranged in a downward sloping bar chart

Health 🩺