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F r i d ay, J u ly 11, 2025
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Cantrell signs emergency contract
City Council moves to block sanitation deal BY BEN MYERS Staff writer
The New Orleans City Council on Thursday voted 5-1 to repeal an emergency declaration Mayor LaToya Cantrell filed a day before to install her choice of sanitation contractor in the French Quarter and Downtown Development District, the latest salvo in an ongoing
however, since political fight over Cantrell signed who should handle the contract on trash pickup in Wednesday. That that area. raises the question Whether the of whether repealcouncil’s vote will achieve its intending the emergency declaration also ed effect of block- Cantrell Henry nixes the contract ing a one-year, $8.3 million emergency contract that goes with it. News that Cantrell was planning for Henry Consulting is unclear,
to sign Henry to an emergency contract leaked on Wednesday night, but the fact she had already done so either wasn’t known by council members or wasn’t brought up before the vote on Thursday. “We have a valid fully executed contract in place to perform the requested services on July 31st,” Henry Consulting’s owner, Troy Henry, said in a text after the vote. The new emergency contract is intended to replace an existing,
Exemptions, catch-up efforts propel students in reading
less-expensive emergency contract with IV Waste, which was signed to a one-year, $5.8 million contract on a low-bid basis after Cantrell solicited emergency bids in December. Cantrell announced in April she would terminate IV Waste early — at the end of July — so Henry Consulting could begin work on a long-term deal the firm secured through a competitive bid last year.
ä See TRASH, page 6A
Landry vetoes ban on balloon releases BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Some wildlife advocates, a lieutenant governor with a passion for Louisiana’s natural environment and at least one state lawmaker are dismayed after Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal to intentionally release balloons into the air, a regulation that supporters say would protect wildlife and their habitat. But others — even some who say caring for the natural environment should be a priority — were OK with the governor blocking the balloon release ban, which could have led to civil penalties between $150 and $500 for anyone over age 16. Baton Rouge Audubon Society Treasurer Mark Pethke said his organization is “tremendously disappointed by the governor’s veto.” The organization says that balloons can end up littering the natural environment, including lakes, streams, beaches and oceans. Fish, sea turtles and dolphins sometimes eat those balloons, causing a slow, painful death by starvation, the society says, and birds can get wrapped in or even strangled by balloon string.
ä See BALLOON, page 6A STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Lead teacher and literacy coach Lori Robertson speaks to students last month during the summer program at J.B. Nachman Elementary School in Alexandria. For third graders, it was their last chance to improve their reading scores — if they didn’t, they could be held back.
Few third graders expected to be held back because of scores BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Lori Robertson knew the stakes were high. Under a new Louisiana law, the third graders she taught this summer at J.B. Nachman Elementary School in Alexandria would have to pass a reading test or be held back. Yet Robertson, a 30-year veteran educator and the school’s literacy coach, exuded calm one morning last month as her students practiced the skills they’d soon be assessed on. One girl read aloud into a toy telephone, seeing how many words she could read correctly in one minute. Nearby, a boy read nonsense words like “soke,” a test of whether students can sound out unfamiliar words. Robertson asked a quiet third grader named Kingston to spell words like “horn” and “corn,” in which the letter “r” changes the vowel sound. When she challenged him to turn
Scalise: Arrest shows need for change in laws BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
A paraprofessional works with third graders during the summer program at J.B. Nachman Elementary School. “corn” to “cork,” he wrote the new word correctly. “This just lights my fire,” Robertson beamed. In the spring, nearly 1 in 4 Louisiana third graders failed to earn the
minimum reading score required by the new law to advance to fourth grade, putting thousands at risk of retention.
ä See READING, page 4A
The arrest of an Iranian woman who’s lived in New Orleans for almost 50 years shows the need for federal legislation streamlining how the country treats people who lack legal residency but otherwise follow the law, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, the second-ranking congressional Republican, said this week. The woman, Donna Kashanian, walked free Monday from ICE detention in Basile after Scalise hundreds of residents wrote to Scalise, R-Jefferson, and local and state officials, highlighting her contributions to the community. Plainclothes federal agents arrested Kashanian outside her Lakeview home on June 22. Scalise helped secure Kashanian’s release after reviewing her file and determining she did not receive fair treatment in her applications
ä See LAWS, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 91 LOW 77 PAGE 6C
Business ...................12A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................1E Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
12TH yEAR, NO. 333