Louisiana News

About 67 percent of Louisana's eligible voters turned out to cast ballots on Election Day. The state's eight electoral votes went to the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, as expected. This week's All Things New Orleans dives deeper into down-ballot races in Louisiana.

This week on All Things New Orleans, the Listening Post team asks local voters about the upcoming election and looks at the fate of 70,000 ineligible Louisiana voters. Tegan Wendland visits a new waterfront research center near the Port of New Orleans. Plus, Farrar Hudkins reflects on his 16 years as a WWNO announcer and classical music programmer.

This week on All Things New Orleans, City Council is expected to make its first vote on regulating short-term rentals, we’ll hear from both sides. We’ll take a look at how crowdfunding has changed the nature of disaster relief in light of the floods in south Louisiana.

Like any major disaster, when floods hit south Louisiana last month, big relief organizations streamed in - and people all over the world gave money. But it’s no longer just the big brand names of philanthropy that attract donations from afar. Crowdfunding has grown up, and now millions of dollars are funneled to small and specific causes. In Baton Rouge, it has changed the nature of flood relief efforts.

Right now, the Hispanic and Latino population in Baton Rouge is suffering with particular needs after the floods. Some of the problems are the same as those faced by Latino residents and workers after Katrina, and some are different. WWNO's "All Things New Orleans" asked Eduardo Courtade for insight on that situation, as well as other issues and events being talked about in the region's Spanish-speaking communities. He's Program Director for local stations Radio Tropical and La Fabulosa, which play music in addition to covering sports and news in Spanish.

This week on All Things New Orleans, we get into Cajun country rice fields with Tegan Wendland, for an update on ruined crops after the 2016 Louisiana floods. Public policy lawyer Jeffrey Thomas has made disaster a bigger part of his work after the levee failures of Katrina. He talks about the road ahead for long-term recovery and using federal funds to help flooded communities.

This week, as we mark another anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the levee breaches and floods, our minds turn to the tens of thousands of flood victims across south Louisiana. As they take first steps toward recovery, WWNO devotes this week's "All Things New Orleans" program to lessons learned, resources shared, and well wishes from our city to the deluged areas around Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

The cleanup continues after record floods devastated Louisiana. Relief organizations are on the ground in, trying to help thousands of victims of the floods that devastated Baton Rouge. But some in a downtown shelter say it is not enough. Mallory Falk of WWNO found out that many are renters, and some would like to leave the area altogether.

WWNO is covering the funeral of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Events open to the public begin 8 a.m. Friday, July 15, with the funeral expected to begin at 11 a.m. Expected guests include Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans). The proceedings are being held at the F.G. Clark Center on the campus of Southern University.