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PAUL PIAZZA PEELED & DEVEINED SHRIMP
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599
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16 OZ
1 LB (50-70 COUNT)
$ METAIRIE 504-885-5565 | RIVER RIDGE 504-737-8146 GARDEN DISTRICT 504-262-6017 CHALMETTE 504-262-0750 | BELLE CHASSE 504-393-1012
LOUISIANA FISH FRY CHICKEN, SHRIMP OR FISH FRY 8.5 -10 OZ
SUNNYLAND FRANKS
499
$
LB
FOOD CLUB CHEESE 32 OZ SELECTED
699
$
EA
89¢¢ 89
EA
SARAH LEE CHEESECAKE
128 OZ
688
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EA
STEAKHOUSE BAKED POTAOES
23.5-26 OZ SELECTED
EA
TURTLES 6 COUNT
4 PACK
699
$
89¢¢ 89
EA
FOOD CLUB CANOLA OR VEGETABLE OIL
299
$
EA
499
$
EA
EA
CAM JORDAN SIGNS ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH SAINTS 1C
N O L A.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, J u n e 17, 2026
Auditor: Funds available to pay teacher stipends
$2.00X
N.O.-area officials prep for major rain event Storm forms near Texas coast
BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE
New Orleans-area residents and officials on Tuesday made preparations for a potential major rain event, distributing sandbags and warning of localized flooding in the region as a tropical disturbance brewed near Corpus Christi, Texas. National Hurricane Center forecasters give the storm — which as of Tuesday morning was dubbed Potential Tropical Cyclone One — a 70% chance of developing into a tropical storm in the next two days, possibly as early as Wednesday morning. The storm is “fairly close to transitioning into a tropical depression,” according to Eric Blake, a senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center. If it does, it will become Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named storm of this year’s hurricane season. The worst case, forecasters warned Tuesday afternoon, is that some areas could see 20 inches of rain through Thursday, though five to 10 inches is the more likely forecast in most of the storm’s
Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack speaks Tuesday to the Louisiana Audit Advisory Council about an executive order from Gov. Jeff Landry that would reduce public school funding for the 2026-27 school year.
Review shows most school systems have ample reserves to weather cuts proposed to fund bonuses, official says BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
School superintendents might not like Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to cut their budgets to pay for teacher stipends — but most school districts can afford it. That was the message from the state auditor and some lawmakers during a meeting Tuesday focused on Landry’s recent executive order calling for the state to reduce public school funding by nearly $170 million for the coming school year to cover the cost of $2,000 pay bumps for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff. Lawmakers have until next Tuesday to vote on the order,
which needs the approval of twothirds of the Legislature to take effect. Superintendents and school board members have warned that the roughly 5% reduction in state funding could force them to cut positions or programs, and they have privately and publicly urged lawmakers to reject the plan. But Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack told lawmakers Tuesday that his office reviewed school system finances and concluded that nearly all of the state’s roughly 70 school districts could weather the proposed cut, saying most have ample reserve funds to draw from. “I honestly think this executive
ä See RAIN, page 12A
Planned attack on UFC show disrupted
order can be executed,” he told lawmakers on the Legislative Audit Advisory Council. In an interview after the meeting, he added that Landry’s plan could pose challenges for four or five school districts with little or no rainy-day funds, but he argued that “a large majority should have no issues doing this one year, one time.” According to data from the auditor’s office, school districts have about $1.8 billion in their “unassigned fund balances,” or extra revenue that has not been committed to a specific expense. Districts might use the money to pay for future building
WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials disrupted a planned attack targeting the UFC cagefighting show staged at the White House this past weekend, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday that say plotters who harbored fringe conspiracy theories spoke of flying explosivesladen drones and shooting panicked crowd members as they fled.
ä See FUNDS, page 11A
ä See ATTACK, page 11A
BY ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
Dakar NOLA’s Mbaye named South’s best chef Honor is second James Beard award for restaurant BY IAN MCNULTY Staff writer
A restaurant that started as a pop-up with communal seating and has grown into a magnet for high-profile culinary awards nabbed another on Monday night. Serigne Mbaye, chef and co-owner of the Senegalese tasting menu res-
WEATHER HIGH 86 LOW 80 PAGE 8B
taurant Dakar NOLA, won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef: South during an awards gala held in Chicago. It’s the second James Beard award to land at Dakar NOLA, which the group named Best New Restaurant in 2024. Mbaye’s cuisine tells an interlacing tale of African diaspora influences set in the broader culinary world. “I’m grateful the food I grew up with at my mother’s table has found a larger table,” Mbaye said while accepting the award along with business partner Effie Richardson. “I have to give everything to the
South, especially New Orleans,” he said. “It’s where I finally felt free to be myself and found a community where I belong.” The Best Chef: South award is a regional honor, covering Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico. Going into the event, New Orleans had three more finalists in different categories: Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, of the Link Restaurant Group, nominees for Outstanding Restaurateur; E.J. Lagasse, of Emeril’s
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Chef Serigne Mbaye won the James Beard Foundation award ä See CHEF, page 12A for Best Chef: South during an awards gala on Monday.
Business ...................10A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................9D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....5D-8D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 309