GRETNA FEST Trombone Shorty, Sam Hunt headline 2025 event 2B
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T h u r s d ay, J u ly 24, 2025
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Judge allows sanitation contract
Controversial deal could lead to showdown in week’s time BY BEN MYERS
Staff writer
An Orleans Civil District Court judge on Wednesday greenlit a controversial emergency sanitation contract for the French Quarter and Downtown Development District, opening the possibility of a showdown in a week’s time between that contractor and another now doing the job. Judge Sidney Cates said that stopping the city’s temporary no-
bid contract with Henry Consulting, which Mayor LaToya Cantrell signed after she declared an emergency this month, would interfere with related litigation over who may pick up trash in those neighborhoods. “I think I’m paying more deference to fundamental fairness in maintaining the status quo,” Cates said in court. IV Waste, run by garbage collection magnate Sidney Torres IV, is now handling pickups in the area to
rave reviews from area residents and business owners. After the mayor announced in April she will terminate the IV Waste contract at the end of this month, plaintiffs seeking an injunction on the Henry contract claimed the early termination proves Cantrell conjured a fake emergency to grant the work to Henry Consulting, run by businessman Troy Henry. With the path now clear for Henry to begin work on July 31 — barring other developments — all
eyes are on the French Quarter Management District, a statecreated agency that is planning to retain Torres’ firm under its own contract, per a new state law. That raises the potential for a scenario in which both contractors are hired to do the same work. “The judge’s ruling today gives us another data point, but in and of itself, would not stop our process,” said Jane Cooper, the district chair. The district board is scheduled to vote on the IV Waste contract
HEATING UP
Saints fans brave sweltering temperatures to turn out for first day of training camp
on Monday. Henry Consulting is scheduled to begin work on the emergency contract on July 31. Both are planning to move forward. “We’re going to clean. If they’re out there, they can watch and learn,” Torres said, referring to Henry Consulting. “We’re not stopping.” The Cantrell administration said Wednesday the Henry Consulting emergency contract would proceed, adding it will “continue to work with all parties to achieve
ä See CONTRACT, page 4A
La. to join anti-DEI college accrediting initiative Southern states uniting to create new agency
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Louisiana will join other Southern states that are developing a new accrediting agency for public colleges and universities, Gov. Jeff Landry said Tuesday, echoing a conservative complaint that existing accreditors have imposed liberal values on the institutions they evaluate. Accrediting agencies hold significant sway over universities, which must meet accreditors’ quality standards in order for students to receive federal financial aid. Lately, the little-known private agencies have come under fire from conservative critics. In April, President Donald Trump said some accreditors “abused their enormous authority” by requiring schools to meet standards related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Last month, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said the public university systems in Florida and five
ä See COLLEGE, page 5A
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Saints quarterback Jake Haener takes a picture with fans in Metairie on Wednesday, the first day of training camp for the Saints under new coach Kellen Moore. More on training camp in Sports, 1C.
Coaches, doctors offer tips on staying cool Sweat flies off Saints quarterback Tyler Shough as he throws during the first day of training camp on Wednesday in Metairie.
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
The New Orleans Saints opened training camp Wednesday in Metairie, preparing for a season that will largely transpire inside the climatecontrolled Caesars Superdome. But first, they have to endure playing in a different kind of dome. A massive heat dome — a highpressure system that traps hot air near the ground — has settled over much of the United States, pushing temperatures into dangerous territory from Texas and the Midwest to the Northeast. In Louisiana, that dome is helping to drive heat index values as high as 114 degrees, with the National Weather Service warning that heat illness “can occur quickly” without precautions. Louisiana recorded 51 heat-related deaths last year and 88 in 2023, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. So far this year, five people have died and nearly 1,900 have visited an emergency room for
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
heat-related illnesses. Keeping football players cool during the sweltering days of training camp is critical, and the strategies they use can be adapted for anyone spending time outdoors, especially those most at risk: young children, the elderly, people on certain
medications or with underlying medical conditions, and those who work outside. Saints staff closely monitor the heat index (“feels like” temperature), humidity, sun angle and a
ä See COOL, page 4A
Schools face new policies for special ed
Law requires classroom cameras, updated restraint rules BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
Starting this year, Louisiana school districts must install cameras in all special-education classrooms and make changes to their special education policies, under a new state law that puts additional safeguards in place for students with disabilities. Under Act 479, which the Legislature passed this year, schools must place at least one camera in every special-education classroom by February. The law also puts new restrictions on the practice of physically restraining students with disabilities or putting them in separate “seclusion”
ä See SCHOOLS, page 5A
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 79 PAGE 8B
Business ......................6A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
12TH yEAR, NO. 346