It’s been a busy (and hot) summer here in New Orleans, and while the rest of us returned to our respective homes and states, city business continued as usual in our absence. Here is The Tulane Hullabaloo’s quick recap of the summer’s most important city-wide events so you can stay in the loop with our community, our city and our home for the next eight months.

• LaToya Cantrell took over as mayor for Mitch Landrieu this past May and immediately began to implement policy changes in the city. She has appointed new leadership to the Sewage and Water Board (which has begun to take advantage of $2 billion in federal funds), increased recycling days and opened an LGBTQ+ equality task force in the city. While Mayor Landrieu has been rumored to consider a presidential run in 2020, Mayor Cantrell has had an active first 100 days in office, setting the stage for a productive term as mayor.
• Domino’s Pizza recently began to fill in potholes across the city in an effort to keep their pizzas from spilling around in cars — how kind! Their $5,000 grant to the Public Works Department might not be enough to solve all of the city’s pothole problems, but it’s a start. This national publicity campaign has taken flak for being just that, a media blitz, but Domino’s effort to keep the top of the pizza off the box has been noted.
• The continuation of New Orleans’ 300th anniversary year promises to hold many more festivals, activities and celebrations. Several nonprofits and the 2018 NOLA Foundation are partnering to complete 300,000 service hours over the course of the year. There will also be new construction on the Louis Armstrong International Airport. The king and queen of Spain visited the city to mark this milestone.
• New Orleans received a federal grant for affordable housing, including the HOME investment grant to be used in the city to increase the number of houses accessible to low-income families. This includes both rehabilitation of current homes and construction of new rental homes in low-income areas. It also includes about $10 million of funds only available over the next month for patrons who quality to either better their current housing structure or to help cover the cost of rent.
• The statewide legislature implemented new healthcare legislation, including laws that expand access to medical marijuana, establish a suicide prevention plan statewide and restrict access to abortion. This legislation acknowledges the national trend toward the acceptance of medical marijuana and also notes that, while New Orleans is fairly liberal, the state of Louisiana still remains conservative.