Opinion / Politics — Cooper’s Collage
The 2026 Louisiana legislative session is underway. The City Council wants SWB oversight. A Baton Rouge legislator wants to remake New Orleans courts. The state auditor wants to know who is getting their trash picked up. And the Lady Tigers are eliminated. Kenneth Cooper has questions about all of it.
| TL;DR — THE SHORT VERSION The 2026 Louisiana legislative session opened March 9 with a slate of bills that could reshape how New Orleans governs its water board, how Orleans Parish courts operate, and how much residents pay for everything from sanitation to Entergy grid hardening. Meanwhile a state audit is trying to figure out how many homes are actually getting trash pickup in a city that has lost nearly six percent of its population. Kenneth Cooper has questions. Several of them. |
| KEY POINTS • Orleans Parish has lost 5.7% of its population since 2020 — and the city may be paying for trash pickup at thousands of addresses that no longer need service • The Louisiana Legislative Auditor is reviewing a significant discrepancy between sanitation department estimates (164,000 pickup locations) and lower SWB household counts • HB573 would give the City Council power to reform the SWB without going through the state legislature each time — currently required since SWB is a state agency • HB911 — filed by a Baton Rouge Republican who does not represent New Orleans — would consolidate Orleans Parish courts and eliminate nine judgeships. It has already passed committee. • SB123 would allow the legislature to remove judges and district attorneys — but only if Louisiana voters first approve a constitutional amendment • The LSU Lady Tigers lost to Duke 87-85 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the Sweet 16. Rebounding and a slow start did them in — not just the shot. |
Trash and population If You Left, Nobody Told Sanitation
Orleans Parish has lost 5.7 percent of its population over the last five years.
If you were fortunate enough to be among those who escaped this city, could you please let the S&WB or someone in sanitation know? Apparently the city is still paying for your trash to be picked up.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor is currently reviewing a significant discrepancy in the city’s trash service data. The sanitation department estimates vendors pick up trash at 164,000 locations. The Sewerage and Water Board puts the number of households considerably lower. The auditor’s review is underway to figure out exactly how many addresses are receiving service they may not need. That review raises all kinds of questions related to oversight and basic competence. For example, once the city confirms the numbers, should it renegotiate its trash contracts?
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HB573 and SWB oversight The Council That Can’t Regulate Entergy Wants to Run the S&WB
Another question: If Rep. Stephanie Hilferty’s HB573 passes, and the City Council gains the power to reform the Sewerage and Water Board without going through the state legislature every time — which is currently required since the S&WB is a state agency — what are the odds that the Council does a better job with the S&WB than it has done regulating Entergy?
Given the affinity shared between the Council and Mayor Moreno, can we expect Super Bowl level regulations?
At a recent Council meeting with the relatively new executive director of the S&WB, a frustrated Council President JP Morrell said: “I don’t know what y’all are going to do different, but I can’t tell you right now what has happened thus far … nothing has changed.”
Considering the Council’s history, is it possible Morrell was talking to himself and the newly elected Councilmembers instead? Case in point from NOLA.com: District B Councilmember Lesli Harris asked for the status of repairs on three water leaks. S&WB officials said they would have to get back to her.
How many times have you heard that one. 🤦🏿
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Entergy, sanitation fees, parcel fee Add It All Up. What Exactly Are We Paying For?
Consider a few facts and figures. Entergy wants to extract $400 million from its customers so it can “harden the grid.” Mayor Moreno wants to raise sanitation fees. She has also contemplated a parcel fee to pay for S&WB upgrades. Question: How much will these Super Bowl-level services actually cost us once we add all the fees and hardening together?
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HB911 and SB123, outside legislators Two Baton Rouge Legislators Just Decided They Know What’s Best for New Orleans Courts
Why are Rep. Dixon McMakin of Baton Rouge and Sen. Jay Morris of West Monroe minding New Orleans’ business? Both have put forward bills to restructure our courts and affect our judges. Neither one of them represents a district in this city.
Under McMakin’s HB911 — which has already cleared committee on a party-line vote — the criminal, civil, and juvenile courts of Orleans Parish would be consolidated into a new 41st Judicial District Court, and nine judges would lose their seats. McMakin’s argument is that New Orleans now has a smaller population than Baton Rouge, handles fewer cases, and still has ten more elected judges than the 19th JDC. Maybe. But here is the question he has not answered to anyone’s satisfaction: how does eliminating judges and increasing caseloads on the remaining ones improve efficiency or speed up justice for the people who need it?
Under Sen. Jay Morris’s SB123 — which has cleared Senate Judiciary Committee — state legislators would gain the power to discipline and remove local judges and the district attorney. But here is what Cooper’s Collage needs you to know that the headlines leave out: SB123 does not become law on its own. It is a constitutional amendment. Louisiana voters would have to approve it at the ballot. And we already have the Louisiana Judiciary Commission for judicial discipline. So the question is: do we need a new political removal mechanism on top of the one we already have? Or is this really about Baton Rouge Republicans wanting leverage over a Democratic district attorney in New Orleans?
Can we consolidate HB911 and SB123 so they can both be voted down at once?
Related: NO East has a Plan But Will Legislature Back It?
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LSU Lady Tigers And Then There Were No More Lady Tigers
Pardon the political interruption. But we would be remiss not to talk about what happened Friday night.
The LSU Lady Tigers lost a heartbreaker in the Sweet 16 on a buzzer-beating three that rolled around the rim for what felt like an eternity before dropping in with 2.6 seconds left. Duke 87, LSU 85. It was an upset. LSU had beaten that same Duke team by 16 points — 93 to 77 — earlier in the season.
In the end the Lady Tigers were done in by the same bad habits and inconsistencies that plagued them all season. They could not rebound. Duke grabbed 20 offensive boards and turned them into 19 second-chance points. The Tigers’ post play nearly disappeared—center Kate Koval scored zero points in 20 minutes. Coach Kim Mulkey, as usual, struggled to construct a half-court offense despite having arguably the best trio of guards in the country. And Flau’jae Johnson, the star and team leader, was benched for a long stretch for reckless play — which culminated in her being caught flat-footed on the elevator-doors action Duke ran to free up Ashlon Jackson for the winning shot.
So yeah, they lost. No more questions on that one. Just one long sigh into the offseason.
Kenneth Cooper is a contributor to Black Source Media. Cooper’s Collage publishes on Black Source Media. blacksourcemedia.com |