CORRESPONDENT
Monique Thibodaux-Laurent — Coverage
All filed reports from Monique Thibodaux-Laurent, New Orleans correspondent covering the for the MiTL Conversation Desk.
Baton Rouge wants to gut your New Orleans justice system
They're tryna gut our justice system, cher Where y'at, New Awlins? Monique Thibodaux-Laurent here, and I gotta tell you, my blood pressure is doing a little second line all its own after seeing what'...
NOPD's payroll is a mess, and it could cost us big time
You won't believe what our police department is doing, cher Okay, so I just read this report, and my blood pressure, baby, it went straight up like a rocket. The Office of Inspector General – you kno...
Two thousand school bus no-shows? Your kids deserve better.
Your school bus is missing, cher. I'm tellin' you, baby, you think you've heard it all, then WDSU drops a bomb like this: nearly *two thousand* "no bus" reports in just one month for Jefferson Parish...
That new Pelican Park skate spot? Worth the drive, cher.
Did you hear about this new park cher? Okay, so picture this, baby: you're driving out on the Northshore, maybe heading to Mandeville for some fresh air, and suddenly, you see it. Pelican Park, out t...
Your Jazz Fest poster finally dropped. It's all about family.
You *have* to see this year's Jazz Fest poster, cher! This year, the official Jazz Fest poster just dropped, and lemme tell you, it's something special. It ain't just pretty pictures, baby. This one ...
Your son just followed your dad's footsteps to Drury.
You won't believe this swimmer's family history, cher! Okay, so I’m scrolling through the local news, sipping my chicory coffee, and what do I see? This story about Eric Ring, a senior at Pope John P...
They're trying to erase Calvin Duncan's elected job in New Orleans
You won't believe what they're trying to do to Calvin Duncan Cher, I gotta tell y'all about this mess with Calvin Duncan. This whole situation is just… it’s a pure New Orleans political saga, baby. I...
Jazz Fest's 2 Jamaican vendors are bringing the heat.
You know who really makes Jazz Fest taste good? That's right, cher, we gotta talk about the Jazz Fest food vendors! Specifically, these Jamaican folks bringing all that tropical heat and spice to our...
New Orleans needs $100M. Can your city leaders deliver?
Your city leaders want to dig us out of this hole Cher, you hear this one? They say our city leaders, the ones who watch over our beautiful, messy New Orleans, are gonna drop a plan, a *hundred milli...
They found our city's lost Black social heart, cher.
You won't believe what they found in our archives, cher Now listen, you know me, baby, I love this city like I love a good bowl of gumbo from Dooky Chase’s. But sometimes, sometimes you find stories ...
Bayou St. John's health check is finally happening. What did they find?
This old bayou's health affects all of us, cher! Where y'at, New Awlins? You know, sometimes the stories that really stick with you ain't the loudest ones, cher. They're the ones about our home, the ...
Did New Orleans just swear in a judge who won't get to judge?
You won't believe what happened at Orleans Parish court, cher Where y'at? Listen, baby, you know how we do things in New Awlins — sometimes we just gotta make our own way, even when the rest of the w...
They just saved a Storyville jazz club. Your city breathes easier.
Your city's history just got saved, cher. I'm tellin' you, baby, when I heard they saved that old Storyville jazz club from bein' torn down, a shiver went right through me. You know how much history ...
Your favorite Storyville jazz club almost got erased
Your favorite jazz club almost got torn down, cher I'm tellin' you, baby, sometimes it feels like they tryin' to erase our history right out from under us. Just imagine: one of the last true Storyvil...
I-610 shut down both ways. What in the New Orleans happened?
You won't believe what happened on I-610, cher Well, good morning, New Awlins! Monique Thibodaux-Laurent here, and I'm tellin' you, baby, sometimes this city just keeps you on your toes. So, you know...
Your Leah Chase school is still fighting, cher.
This story about the Leah Chase School, baby, it just touches my soul. ### Still Fighting for Our Kids You know, the idea of a school named after Leah Chase — that’s sacred ground, cher. That woman,...
Your French Quarter Fest started with a second line, cher!
Your French Quarter Fest started with a second line, cher! Honey, if you weren't down in the Quarter this weekend, you missed out on some real New Orleans magic. French Quarter Fest kicked off, and w...
French Quarter Fest just started with a second line. Did you see it?
Honey, your French Quarter Fest just kicked off, and you won't believe what happened! Did you catch the start of French Quarter Fest yesterday, cher? Oh, it was just glorious, the way it always is, a...
Your French Quarter Fest just started with a second line!
Your French Quarter Fest just kicked off, cher! Honey, you know I love to see a good second line, and the French Quarter Festival kicking off with one through the Quarter? That just feels *right*. It...
Your neighbor just grew 600 hibiscuses after surgery
You won't believe this New Orleans garden, cher! So, you know how sometimes folks here just *go off* on a passion project? Like, really dive in head-first? Well, I gotta tell you about Todd Alvis, ov...
The Pfister Sisters are hitting Covington. You going?
You won't believe who's headlining in Covington, cher. Listen, baby, when I tell you that the Pfister Sisters are headlining a concert in Covington, you already know what kind of good time that's gon...
That sloth selfie guy just got arrested at the airport!
You won't believe this zoo mess cher Oh, baby, where y'at? You gotta hear about this wildness, I swear to God, only in Louisiana. Remember how everyone and their mawmaw was taking pictures with sloth...
They're trying to erase Calvin Duncan's win, cher.
They're trying to erase our history with this, cher. I'm tellin' you, I nearly dropped my chicory coffee this morning reading this, baby. They're trying to get rid of the Orleans Parish Criminal Cour...
Those AHS witches are coming back to New Orleans!
Your favorite witches are coming back to New Awlins, baby Okay, cher, so you remember *American Horror Story: Coven*, right? The one with Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, all them phenomen...
Senator Fesi's bill could change your water, cher.
Is your water about to taste different, cher? You know, baby, it ain't every day a bill comes through Baton Rouge that could change something as basic as the water comin' out your tap. Senator Fesi, ...
Your New Orleans playgrounds might be poisoning your kids
Your playgrounds might be poisoning your babies Alright, cher, you know I love New Orleans, but sometimes, what we gotta deal with in this city just makes you wanna scream, baby. I'm talkin' about ho...
Your Saints just pulled another Mickey Loomis move.
Your Saints drafts are something else, cher! Mickey Loomis, baby, he's a trip, ain't he? We all know the Saints got some... *interesting* draft strategies over the years. But when I saw that headline...
Our NOLA schools just ended 11 years of federal oversight. Good?
Your kids' special ed just got a wild upgrade Cher, you know how we always say New Orleans does things our own way? Well, listen to this, baby. A judge just said "peace out" to 11 years of federal ov...
Pigeon Town's Easter Second Line Is a Whole Vibe, Cher
You won't believe this only happens here, cher Okay, so picture this, baby: It's Easter Sunday, right? The air is thick with that sweet smell of jasmine and old money, people are heading to church in...
Your Easter in New Orleans is about to get Uptown bright
Your Easter in New Orleans is about to get a whole lot brighter Cher, I just heard something that gave me goosebumps, for real. Forget your little chocolate bunnies and pastel eggs, baby. Uptown, in ...
Our NOLA schools are free, but are they really, cher?
Your schools are finally free, cher! Well, I tell you, baby, you won't believe what just happened with our NOLA Public Schools! After *eleven long years*, a federal judge just said "enough" and ended...
A quadruple amputee shot someone in his Tesla. Self-defense?
You are NOT gonna believe this story, cher Okay, so where y'at, New Awlins? Let me tell y'all, this city always got a little somethin' somethin' up its sleeve, but this one? This one takes the king c...
Those stinging buck moth crawlers are back already, New Orleans!
You won't believe what's back in New Awlins, cher! Look, I love springtime in New Awlins, baby. The air gets thick and sweet with jasmine, the live oaks are bursting green, and you can practically he...
Your kid's essays might be graded by a robot and you never knew
Baby, your kids might be writing essays only AI is grading Now look, I heard about this and my jaw just about hit the floor, cher. KIPP New Orleans, right? One of the biggest charter school systems i...
Your Mardi Gras cleanup crews are still waiting on their checks, again.
They're still not paying our cleanup crews on time, cher! Ya know, every year after Mardi Gras, we got these folks who work their tails off, sweatin' and hustlin' to clean up all that glitter and bea...
Half our playgrounds have lead. Your kids play there.
Y'all ain't gonna believe this about our playgrounds, cher! Look, I tell y'all all the time, this city ain't perfect, but it's *ours*. We live through hurricanes, through Mardi Gras madness, through ...
Baton Rouge just put a monitor on our schools. What happened?
This is the absolute worst news, cher. ### They gonna watch our school money close, baby Lord have mercy, you hear about our school system, baby? The state, they comin' in to put a fiscal monitor on...
They're trying to cut New Orleans judges. What do YOU think?
Your courts are special, leave New Orleans alone, cher Alright, listen up, baby, because this one got my blood pressure rising faster than a streetcar trying to climb St. Charles Avenue. You got our ...
Your ancestors want you at Beaucoup Hoodoo Fest.
Your ancestors are calling, cher. ### They're celebrating Hoodoo in New Awlins, baby! Look, you walk down Bourbon Street and all you see is those voodoo shops with the plastic skulls and the 'psychi...
Texas steak tartare in the French Quarter? You gotta see this.
Someone in New Orleans just did something you won't believe Cher, you know how everyone talks about how much we love our food here in New Awlins? It ain't just the gumbo, the po'boys from Parkway Bak...
They're coming for the Garage Music Club. Your music is next.
They're suing our clubs for playing music, cher! Ya'll, I just saw this news that had me shaking my head like I was listening to a brass band trying to play a slow funeral march at a second line pace...
ICE agents at your airport? Only in New Orleans.
Your airport trip just got wilder, cher Well, good morning, New Awlins. You ever wake up, check your phone, and just think, "Only here, baby, only here"? That's how I felt seeing the news about ICE a...
Your po'boys are slowing Earth's spin, cher!
You won't believe what's slowing down our Earth, cher Now listen, I just read somethin' that got my blood pressure up this mornin', and it ain't even the traffic on Claiborne. You know how we always ...
That new TSA ID is gonna mess up YOUR MSY flight, cher.
That TSA PreCheck Touchless ID mess is gonna kill us, cher Okay, so everyone's talkin' about this new TSA PreCheck Touchless ID thing, right? How it's supposed to make flying faster, smoother, all th...
They're coming for Garage Music Club and our music, cher!
They're coming for our music, cher! You won't believe this Okay, baby, so you know how New Orleans is, right? We got music pouring out of every door on Frenchmen Street, every second line rolling thr...
They nailed three skeletons in Rome. What would we do, cher?
Rome is nailing dead folks to keep 'em quiet, cher! Honey, you ain't gonna believe what they found over in Rome! Archaeologists, bless their hearts, they diggin' up this old Roman cemetery, right? An...
New Orleans is already living your best spring life.
Baby, the first day of spring is here and it's hitting different So, cher, the whole country's talkin' about when the first day of spring officially hits, and how the weather's gon' be. But here in N...
Someone's making Leah Chase's gumbo z’herbes in Biloxi. Here's why.
You will not believe this gumbo z'herbes story, cher Alright, y'all, lemme tell you 'bout somethin' that just warmed my soul like a bowl of my grandma's gumbo. You know Dooky Chase's, right? Of cours...
This AI chatbot said WHAT about Margaret Thatcher?
You won't believe what this AI said about Margaret Thatcher, cher. Okay, so I'm sippin' my chicory coffee, lookin' out at the mist on the Mississippi, and I see this headline, baby. Some AI chatbot, ...
YouTube TV is changing. Where's your New Orleans story?
Your streaming choices are changing, cher. What about our local legends? So, YouTube TV is out here shaking things up, changing up their tiers and all that. It’s got folks everywhere talking about fl...
Your city's got free crawfish if you get tested, cher.
You get free crawfish if you get tested, cher! Now tell me, where else in this whole wide world, baby, are you gonna find a block party offering up free crawfish and live music just for you to go get...