TGIF!

🪔 Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating the Festival of Lights this weekend!

Today's weather: Partly cloudy with a high of 76.

• A cold front arrives tomorrow, dropping us into the 60s and low 70s through the middle of next week. No rain in the forecast.

🎂 Happy early birthday to our members William Hydrick and Chris LaRose!

🎧 Sounds like: "High on a Mountain" from Rhiannon Giddens' new album, "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers," which was recorded in Breaux Bridge.

Today’s newsletter is 928 words — a 3.5-minute read.

New Orleans homeowners will pay higher property taxes next year. Now, city leaders have two weeks to decide what they'll get in return.

Why it matters: An average homeowner could pay about $150 more annually, officials say.

• Use the city's calculator to see your amount.

The big picture: The City Council voted unanimously yesterday to raise some millage rates, but not all.

• Voters have approved the taxes over the years, and it is up to the council to set rates, based on how much revenue the city needs.
• Property taxes provide about half of all local tax dollars in New Orleans, according to the nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research.
• Mayor Helena Moreno asked for the increase to offset about $21 million of the proposed $77 million in cuts in 2027's budget.

Yes, but: Even with the new money, the city still has to cut about $30 million from the budget, chief administrative officer Joe Giarrusso says.

• Councilmember Jason Hughes says he wants to prioritize avoiding layoffs and furloughs.
• Many city workers have been furloughed one day every pay period all year. Giarrusso hopes to end the furloughs "sooner rather than later."

Zoom in: The City Council and the mayor's administration will spend the next two weeks negotiating the final budget.

• Moreno outlined her preferences for what to save with the property tax revenue. Budget chair Lesli Harris says the council is aligned on some items, like restoring funding for the low-barrier shelter and Mardi Gras cleanup, but there's work to do on other items.

The intrigue: The mayor and the council say they want to figure out a way for nonprofits, which usually don't pay property taxes, to contribute to the city's coffers.

• "We cannot continue to balance the budget solely on our homeowners," Hughes says.
• About 37% of the city's real estate value was exempt from property taxes in 2025, BGR says in a new report.
• If those properties were taxed, it could generate more than $300 million annually, the report estimates.

What's next: The council votes on the final budget Nov. 19.

Keep reading

Louisiana Renaissance Festival kicks off tomorrow with mead, music and medieval mayhem.

The big picture: The 26th annual festival is in the woods outside Hammond and is open every weekend through Dec. 13.

• Tickets often sell out, so buy yours online in advance.
• The ticket gets you access to a re-created 16th-century village and includes dozens of shows, including live jousting, sword swallowing and belly dancing.
• Activities like archery and pony rides are extra.

What's new: Gates open at 9am, an hour earlier than last year.

• There's also a new food court and three new dining areas where you can sit and feast, organizers say.

Costumes: Visitors dress up, but you don't have to. There are weekend themes if you need inspiration.

If you go: Trinket trading was big last year. You can bring small (preferably handmade) items to trade or gift to fellow festgoers.

• Try the turkey legs and Jester Chips.

Pro tips

🤩 Festivals

• Bayou Bacchanal
• Beignet Fest
• Oak Street Po-Boy Fest

🇺🇸 The New Orleans Veterans Day Parade is tomorrow.

🏈 The Saints are home this weekend. They play the Cleveland Browns at noon Sunday.

🦁 "The Lion King" wraps up its run at the Saenger.

🤖 Black Tech NOLA's Creator + AI Summit is Saturday at Gallier Hall.

👀 First Lady Melania Trump will attend LSU's game tomorrow against Alabama. She'll announce a $5 million endowment to fund scholarships for LSU students who experienced foster care. (Press release)

• LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton is a foster parent. (Louisiana Illuminator)

💰 The Justice Department picked Baton Rouge and three other cities nationally to be part of the Model Cities Initiative, which awards about $300 million in federal funds to combat crime. (Press release)

• New Orleans officials say they didn't apply because the program required alignment with Trump administration priorities, such as immigration enforcement. (Verite)

🎠 Audubon Zoo's endangered species carousel officially opens next week, we're told. It replaces the previous one that was damaged during Hurricane Ida.

🏨 The Whit is a new hotel in a converted haunted Garden District mansion. (Architectural Digest)

👋 Chelsea here. I recently tried Holywater, the French Quarter bar from Crew, a New York-based hospitality group run by New Orleans natives Alex and Miles Pincus.

Driving the news: Crew just landed a deal for a restaurant within Audubon's Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park.

Dig in: Holywater's menu blends fun seaside bar snacks and South Louisiana flavors, like andouille croquettes and caviar-covered Yacht Tots.

• The only bad bite I had came ironically from a section of the menu called "when in doubt"; the beef debris po-boy was regrettably dry.

The vibe inside

✍️ Chelsea is signing her new book at Blue Cypress Books during Po-boy Fest on Sunday. Come say hi!

🎄 Carlie is decorating for Christmas because it'll be January before we know it.

Tell a turkey leg fan to subscribe.

Thanks to our editor Jen Burkett.