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N O L A.C O M
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T u e s d ay, M a r c h 10, 2026
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Broken water main floods Uptown streets
2026 LEGISLATURE SESSION OPENS
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE
Gov. Jeff Landry addresses members of the Legislature on the opening day of the 2026 regular legislative session at the State Capitol on Monday.
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
A city crew works to repair a water main Monday near the corner of South Carrollton Avenue and Panola Street that broke overnight flooding streets and getting into some nearby homes.
Leaders, residents express frustration with ongoing issues Recent subsurface line breaks
BY BEN MYERS and MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writers
WATER MAIN BREAKS
Uptown streets flooded and thousands of New Orleanians were told to boil their drinking water after a major water main break near Carrollton Avenue, the third such rupture since the start of the year and one that prompted sharp criticism of the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board from frustrated residents and Mayor Helena Moreno. For most of Monday, S&WB crews were working to repair a 48-inch water main near the intersection of Carrollton and Panola Street that started spewing water in the early morning hours. The rupture flooded cars and reached into several homes before the utility shut off service to the area. A drop in pressure led to a boil-water advisory for most of the east bank of the city. The break occurred just a few blocks from an earlier one on Panola on Jan. 31, the first in a spate of failures that have angered residents and are now prompting questions from City Hall. S&WB officials have struggled to offer an explanation for the recent breaks, other than to point out that many of its water transmission pipes are at the end of their life span
Jan. 31: Panola Street, near Carrollton Avenue
610
Feb. 15: N. Galvez at St. Louis Street
10
10
Mid-City F.Q.
Uptown
March 9: Panola Street, near Carrollton Ave. (second break in area)
Feb. 23: Claiborne at Toledano/ Louisiana
ä See WATER, page 5A
Landry touts changes in his opening session address BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
SEWER MAIN BREAK
NEW ORLEANS
Governor calls out ‘incompetent’ judges
March 4: Jackson Ave. at Magnolia St.
Mississippi River
Gov. Jeff Landry on Monday lambasted “incompetent” judges and called on lawmakers to hold them accountable as he recounted how a tourist in New Orleans was murdered in 2024 by a juvenile who he said was supposed to be under court supervision through an electronic ankle monitor because of previous crimes. Six family members of the slain tourist, Jacob Carter, stood in the visitor’s gallery overlooking the House chamber while state lawmakers rose to their feet and applauded in a show of respect. The emotionally charged moment came near the end of a 54-minute speech by Landry that kicked off the 2026 regular legislative session. Until that point, the governor mostly extolled the changes that he and Republican legislators have enacted during the past two years that have swung the state to the right. In a brief interview after the speech, Landry said he is supporting one piece of legislation that would reduce the number of judges in Orleans Parish and another that would allow him to remove judges and district attorneys throughout
Staff map
ä See GOVERNOR, page 4A
Essence Fest agrees to pay contractors for last year’s event
Council grills groups over parade violations
BY BLAKE PATERSON
BY DOUG MacCASH
The Essence Festival of Culture said it has agreements in place to pay all contractors for work on last year’s festival, after New Orleans officials warned that failing to do so could jeopardize government incentives for the 2026 festival in July. New York-based Sundial Media Group, which owns Essence, said in a statement Thursday it had “addressed all financial issues” with its festival partners and was
New Orleans City Council members on Monday grilled Mardi Gras parading groups over several incidents that darkened this year’s celebration, including throws of dolls with beads around their necks, throws that advertised a business and a throw that injured a child. Seated before the council and dozens of onlookers, leaders of the Krewe of Tucks explained the
Meeting addresses hanged dolls, crowd injuries
Staff writer
Staff writer
ä See ESSENCE, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 84 LOW 71 PAGE 6B
PHOTO By BENNETT RAGLIN/GETTy IMAGES FOR ESSENCE
Patti LaBelle performs during the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture. LaBelle is among the first wave of artists announced for the 2026 festival. More on the 2026 Essence Fest lineup, Page 4A.
Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
krewe’s decision to permanently ban two riders who tossed Black and White dolls hanging by beads, an incident that drew immediate backlash in the city, based on the South’s history of lynching Black people and violence against women. Tucks founder Lloyd Frischhertz and his son Mark Frischhertz acknowledged that the image of a Black doll hanging by its neck would certainly be seen as a racist symbol, though they could not be certain of the motives of the riders. “Objectively it is at least racially insensitive and at worst overtly racist, and it harms our organiza-
ä See COUNCIL, page 5A
13TH yEAR, NO. 210