SAINTS CAMP Can Miller, or any RB, take load off of Kamara? 1C
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T u e s d ay, J u ly 29, 2025
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2 firms might haul trash in Quarter
Waste owner Sidney Torres IV will the panel’s vote. Showdown escalates as board approves IV Waste contract after “I guess on Friday, everyone be paid $459,000 so his firm can
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
For months, rival New Orleans trash-hauling companies and their political allies have been at war over who has the right to keep streets and sidewalks clean in the
historic French Quarter. On Monday, after the French Quarter Management District Board voted to fund an emergency contract for one of those firms, the showdown reached a new peak as each company insisted its contract nullified the other — setting up
the likelihood that both IV Waste and Henry Consulting will deploy garbage trucks in the city’s downtown, ultimately at taxpayers’ cost, by week’s end. Residents “may see two companies doing similar work,” board Chair Jane Cooper told reporters
should find their favorite to-go cup and walk through the streets of the French Quarter and observe what’s happening in the French Quarter in terms of sanitation services,” Cooper said, “and then carefully put their to-go cup in the trash.” The board’s vote ensures IV
continue hauling trash and spraying down streets in the French Quarter during August. At the same time, Henry Consulting, owned by Troy Henry, is set to start doing the same work in the Quarter on Friday under an
ä See TRASH, page 5A
Jefferson Parish loses its bond rating
Texas firm renews push for water from Toledo Bend
Move comes after officials failed to file multiple audits
BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JILL PICKETT
Toledo Bend Reservoir, built in the 1960s as a joint project by Texas and Louisiana, is the fifth largest manmade lake in the nation.
Agency faces renewed opposition from those who live near lake BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
Staff writer
The agency overseeing the state’s share of the huge Toledo Bend Reservoir in centralwestern Louisiana is looking again at whether to sell water to private Texas investors — and is facing renewed opposition from people who live alongside or otherwise count on the lake’s waters. Built as a joint project by
Texas and Louisiana in the 1960s for hydroelectric power, water supply and recreation, the 186,000-acre reservoir created from damming the Sabine River is the fifth largest manmade lake in the nation, according to agency materials. Straddling the LouisianaTexas border, the jagged-edged reservoir has become a boating, fishing and camping spot rimmed with lakeside homes, but also remains an ample
source of water in an increasingly water-thirsty world. The controversy led Gov. Jeff Landry to weigh in last week in an attempt to offer assurances that any deal would get the close local and state scrutiny that’s been in the law for more than a decade. “There’s been some false reports on social media about selling Louisiana water out of
Toledo Bend Reservoir
TEX.
ä See WATER, page 4A
49
LA.
55 20
MISS. Baton Rouge
10 Lafayette
Gulf of Mexico
New Orleans
Staff map
Two major credit rating agencies have withdrawn Jefferson Parish’s top-notch bond rating after officials failed to file financial audits for 2023 and 2024, meaning the parish will have far more difficulty borrowing money for capital projects until it gets its financial house back in order. M o o d y ’s a n d S&P Global Ratings yanked the Lee Sheng parish’s rating in the spring after Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng’s administration missed its 2023 audit deadline, according to the Louisiana Department of Treasury. A bond rating is similar to a credit score, in that it indicates the financial position and reliability of a government to pay back its debts, said Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack. Having a bond rating withdrawn isn’t like a credit score dropping. It’s as if the parish has no credit at all, which makes it much more challenging to find investors willing to purchase bonds at reasonable interest rates. “If you show up at a Ford dealership and want to buy a new Explorer and have no credit score, you’re like nonexistent,” Waguespack said. “They can’t figure out if they
ä See RATING, page 5A
Israeli strike kills dozens in Gaza as aid delivery remains chaotic Agencies warn of worsening starvation
health officials said. Dozens were killed while seeking food, even as Israel moved to ease restrictions on the entry of aid. Under mounting pressure over BY WAFAA SHURAFA the spiraling hunger crisis in Gaza, and SAMY MAGDY Israel said over the weekend that Associated Press the military would pause operaDEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli tions in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah strikes or gunfire killed at least 78 and Muwasi for 10 hours a day and Palestinians across the Gaza Strip designate secure routes for aid on Monday, including a pregnant delivery. International airdrops of woman whose baby was delivered aid have also resumed. after her death but also died, local Aid agencies say the new mea-
WEATHER HIGH 96 LOW 79 PAGE 6B
ä Two Israeli rights groups say Israel committing genocide in Gaza. PAGE 7A sures are not enough to counter worsening starvation in the territory. Martin Penner, a spokesperson for the U.N. food agency, told The Associated Press that all 55 of its aid trucks that entered on Sunday
ä See GAZA, page 4A
Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
Palestinians inspect the site struck by an Israeli bombardment in Muwasi, Khan younis, Gaza Strip, on Monday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM DAGGA
12TH yEAR, NO. 351