ST. LOUIS STYLE BABY BACK RIBS
FRESH SQUASH OR ZUCCHINI
$2
$1
19
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$249
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4.5-14 OZ
2/$4
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SARGENTO SHREDDED CHEESE
15 OZ
PRICES VALID 10/22/25 - 10/28/25
N O L A.C O M
99
FRESH EXPRESS GARDEN SALAD, SHREDS, OR SLAW
MILO’S TEA 128 OZ
5-8 OZ
$249
EA
$289
EA
W e d n e s d ay, O c t O b e r 22, 2025
EA
$2.00X
N.O. may not be able to make payroll
City official warns cash flow issues more severe than anticipated BY BEN MYERS Staff writer
New Orleans’ municipal government may not be able to make payroll for the rest of the year, as the city’s cash flow, already precarious in the face of a $160 million deficit, is apparently worse than officials expected.
City Chief Administrative Officer Joe Threat told Mayor-elect Helena Moreno and City Council member Joe Giarrusso on Tuesday that “cash flow issues have now become even more severe than originally anticipated, so much so that payroll may not be able to be met,” according to a council statement. It was unclear exactly what
triggered the new cash flow troubles late Tuesday. Council members have asked Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration to brief them on the new problems at a Wednesday afternoon meeting. The city employs about 5,000 people with a projected 2025 payroll of about $475 million, including $50 million in unbudgeted
overtime. The news came as the council and Cantrell’s administration finalize the 2026 city budget and contend with a $160 million deficit. Departments are being asked to absorb steep cuts that could lead to service reductions in everything from recycling to mental health care. Residents, meanwhile,
Night Out Against Crime
are being told to brace for possible tax and fee increases. The budget cuts could impair Health Department services such as acute crisis response, postpartum nurse home visits and support for violent crime victims, Health Director Jennifer Avegno said during departmental budget hearings on Tuesday. And uncertainty clouding federal and philanthropic
ä See PAYROLL, page 4A
ST. JAMES PARISH
High court clears way for lawsuit over plants Filing claims parish steered pollution into Black areas BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER
Law enforcement and community members come together during the National Night Out Against Crime kickoff event at Rosenwald Recreation Center in New Orleans on Tuesday. The event is aimed at strengthening relationships between police officers and the communities they serve.
New Orleans Police Department Officer LaShawn Rondeno is hugged by Mai’ya Rothschild, 7, during Tuesday’s event at Rosenwald Recreation Center. Law enforcement, members of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and members of the community gather during the National Night Out Against Crime event at the Zulu headquarters on Tuesday.
A lawsuit seeking a moratorium on new industry in St. James Parish and accusing local government of steering polluting plants into Black neighborhoods can proceed after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case. The parish government had appealed to the nation’s highest court after a federal appeals court breathed new life into the case earlier this year. Filed in 2023 in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, the suit was brought by Mt. Triumph Baptist Church and two environmental groups, Rise St. James and Inclusive Louisiana. They accuse the parish of issuing discriminatory land-use decisions for decades. So far, the legal dispute hasn’t been over the merits of the allegations, instead focusing on the right of the plaintiffs to sue and whether the lawsuit was filed in a timely fashion. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier threw out the suit early on, finding
ä See LAWSUIT, page 6A
Shutdown hits La. farmers at harvest BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer
It’s a key moment on Stephen Logan’s farm in Gilliam. And in farming, he said, “timing is everything.” His team has harvested the final corn, soybeans, cotton and peanuts, in that order. Now they’re spreading cereal rye seed and making plans for the next growing
WEATHER HIGH 80 LOW 63 PAGE 8B
season. But the government shutdown has made paying for those cover crops and finalizing those plans more difficult. Each fall, farmers across Louisiana count on the now-shuttered U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies for financial assistance and information. For three weeks, they’ve been unable to get a loan from the agency, apply for a conservation pro-
gram or receive a market report. “All of that is shut down,” Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain said. That means many farmers are flying blind as they try to decide when to sell this fall and what to plant next February, a decision they often make months in advance.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE
Louisiana soybean farmers are concerned that China’s boycott will have a ä See FARMERS, page 6A detrimental effect on next year’s prices.
Business ...................12A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified ..................10D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....6D-9D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 71