Axios New Orleans

March 09, 2026
🍝 Welcome back. It's Monday and National Meatball Day.
- Our go-to options: Gendusa's spaghetti or Midway's Kingpin pizza.
- We need to try Pulcinella's. What are your faves?
Today's weather: Dense fog advisory, then cloudy with a high of 82. Rain possible.
🎧 Sounds like: "Mardi Gras Love" by Subtweet Shawn and TreBilly. What Shawn says about his new viral song.
Today's newsletter is 928 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 🤝 Rebuilding ties with Baton Rouge
Louisiana's legislative session starts today, and Mayor Helena Moreno is betting that collaboration, not confrontation, will deliver for New Orleans.
Why it matters: The city needs the Legislature's buy-in on revenue and structural reforms. Moreno is testing whether a softer approach in a GOP-controlled Capitol can deliver results.
The big picture: Moreno met with the full New Orleans delegation and other state lawmakers recently to pitch legal changes she says are "critical" to the city.
- Her legislative goals focus on stabilizing the city's fiscal crisis and improving infrastructure and public safety.
- She supports reforming the Sewerage & Water Board, increasing fines for historic district violations and boosting 911 user fees.
- If the 911 bill passes, monthly charges for mobile users in the state will go from $1.25 to $2. The change would generate an extra $10 million for the city's 911 center, according to the Times-Picayune.
Zoom in: Moreno also wants to study the groups with authority along the downtown riverfront.
- Officials say the goal is to recommend consolidation options.
- While many items on Moreno's agenda had proposed bills as of Friday, this one did not.
- See the full list.
What we're watching: Gov. Jeff Landry will address the joint Legislature at 1pm today.
- He has proposed doubling the public dollars spent on private K–12 school tuition for the second year in a row, the Louisiana Illuminator reports.
- He's expected to lay out his broader agenda in the speech.
By the numbers: Lawmakers can propose unlimited bills, excluding most tax-related measures, according to the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.
- More than 1,350 bills were prefiled, PAR says.
- Expect debates on economic development, criminal justice, data centers and child welfare, lawmakers said at a recent PAR event.
Go deeper: Gambit has a deep dive into the local proposals.
2. 🔎 Parade conduct in spotlight
City Council members today will scrutinize what worked and what didn't during Mardi Gras.
Why it matters: Carnival costs taxpayers about $1 million per day, Council President JP Morrell says, and the city expects a "good party" in return.
The big picture: The council will discuss problems during the Carrollton, Thoth, Tucks, Freret and Oshun parades, the agenda says.
- The krewes face consequences after allegations of racist displays, aggressive bead throwing and banned commercial throws.
- Tucks already kicked out two members leaders say were "dangling Black Barbie dolls by the neck from a bead."
- Other krewes say they are investigating issues during their parades.
State of play: Taxpayers subsidize Carnival festivities, Morrell said in a recent social media video.
- The city spends about $1 million per day on fire, police, EMS, sanitation and other public services, he says.
- The krewes only pay $1,000 for their parade permit.
- The expectation is the krewes "throw a good party," while the city provides a "safe, hospitable environment," Morrell says.
Yes, but: Officials also expect the people riding in a parade to not be "drunk jerks" or promote their businesses and political positions, he said.
- "If you are incapable ... of following the rules, then there are plenty of krewes that will," Morrell says.
What's next: The meeting starts at 10am. Watch the livestream.
3. Fully Dressed: 🧳 Pack your patience
😖 Security lines at MSY stretched into the parking garage yesterday amid a partial government shutdown and reported TSA sickout. (The Times-Picayune 🔒)
- The delays could last all week. Airport officials say travelers should arrive at least three hours early. (X)
🚫 Bourbon Street may get new swinging gates to replace the bollards and other barriers. (Fox 8)
♻️ The city's recycling program likely won't expand, with officials saying they don't have the money needed to match a federal grant. (Verite)
🚧 The Chef Menteur Pass Bridge will be closed for six more weeks after engineers found additional problems. (Press release)
👥 New Orleans Entrepreneur Week starts today. Most events are free and open to the public. (Schedule)
📺 Reporter Morgan Lentes is leaving WSDU for WAFB. (Instagram)
🎶 Jazz Fest tickets are now on sale, with special prices for Louisiana residents. (Prices)
🦪 Oyster deal alert! Boucherie now has them for 17 cents each. (Instagram)
4. ⛽️ Pain at the pump
Americans are likely to feel the impact of President Trump's war with Iran in their wallets.
Driving the news: Oil prices, then gas prices, spiked following the U.S. and Israel's strikes on Iran.
- The national average for regular gas hit $3.11 a gallon Tuesday, an 11-cent increase overnight, according to AAA.
- It was the biggest single-day spike since March 2022, according to GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.
- Yesterday, it hit $3.45. In New Orleans, a gallon was $3.02, up from $2.73 a year ago.
What's next: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) yesterday called on President Trump to release oil from the national stockpile to counter soaring gas prices — an idea that Republicans have been slow to embrace.
- The reserve holds hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.
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📺 Carlie is doing Hyacinth's dance now that she's caught up on "Bridgerton."
🐣 Chelsea is on maternity leave.
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Thanks to our editor Crystal Hill, who hates the time change.
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