Joni Hess

2 weeks ago | nola.com | James Finn |Joni Hess

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2 weeks ago | nola.com | Joni Hess |James Finn

As the University of New Orleans merges with the LSU system, millions of state dollars are poised to flow its way, including nearly $2 million for youth recreation — part of a push by a prominent attorney and New Orleans-area business leaders who have long criticized the city's public recreation services.

1 month ago | nola.com | James Finn |Ben Myers |Sophie Kasakove |Joni Hess

New Orleans’ population is shrinking again after years of steady recovery from Hurricane Katrina. A lack of affordable housing is making life unbearable for some. At the same time, residents are taking home bigger incomes than eight years ago, when Mayor LaToya Cantrell was running for the city’s top office. And despite a surge in killings in 2022, crime later plummeted, and 2025 is on pace to finish as the city’s least-deadly year on record.

1 month ago | nola.com | Joni Hess |Kasey Bubnash

Dozens of invasive trees have been removed along the Lafitte Greenway, in a multiyear effort to introduce native habitat and accelerate stormwater management. New Orleans Department of Parks and Parkways cut down multiple invasive trees and plants last week that were gumming up drainage ditches and blocking sections of the city's popular linear park, Lafitte Greenway officials said. The trees removed include willow and Chinese tallow across a four-block span between Broad and Gayoso streets.