Next target for journalist-turned-NOLA-mayor: Canal Street

A city project to revamp Canal Street will begin next week, according to New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno.

The project will focus on infrastructure, public safety and economic incentives.

“Canal Street has been one of the most major corridors here in our city, and it was one of the most glorious corridors at one time, and we want to bring it back to that,” Moreno told the Latino Reporter.

The historic shopping and entertainment corridor that runs from the Mississippi River to Mid-City, spanning three miles, attracts millions of tourists every year, drawing large crowds for Mardi Gras parades. 

But in recent years, Canal Street has faced back-to-back challenges and tragedies: A Hard Rock hotel collapsed while under construction in 2019, killing two people; and the COVID-19 pandemic drained foot traffic in 2020 and in 2025, a truck drove through Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people and injuring 57.

A City Planning Commission report from 2025 highlights several issues and areas for improvement on Canal Street, including pedestrian safety, retail offerings and street infrastructure issues like traffic light outages and damaged sidewalks. 

Streetscape improvements, retail expansion and enhanced signage for historic businesses in the Theater District are just a few of the ways the city plans to improve pedestrian safety and revitalize Canal Street, according to the city’s report. 

Since being sworn into office as the first Latina and second-female mayor of New Orleans in January, Moreno has led several other initiatives under her leadership. 

The former investigative journalist was elected last October, promising to bring effective city services, transparency, and partnership with the City Council and local residents. 

Upon entering office, Moreno faced a massive $223 million-budget deficit. In just the first half of her term, Moreno has already helped reduce the deficit by half. 

As she wraps up the first half of her term, Moreno said she looks forward to continuing the work she started. 

“This is a good foundation, but I know there’s so much more work to do,” she said. “I want people to feel really excited about New Orleans, because this is one of the most amazing and iconic cities, not just in this country, but in the world.”

Before the city knew her as mayor, Moreno was a TV reporter and anchor for NBC affiliate WDSU-TV in New Orleans, where her team won an Emmy for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Moreno was born in Xalapa, México. At 8 years old, she moved with her family to the U.S., spoke little English and said she struggled to read in school. 

Moreno pursued journalism at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, later interning at Houston TV stations before securing her first job at a CBS affiliate in Savannah, Georgia. 

“The only thing I ever wanted to be was a journalist,” Moreno told members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference on Friday. 

In 2001, Moreno joined WDSU-TV in New Orleans as a general assignment reporter, later doing investigative reporting and becoming an anchor.

After Hurricane Katrina, Moreno pivoted to politics. She left her TV station in 2008 and pursued public office.

In 2010, Moreno was elected to represent District 93 in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Eight years later, she joined the New Orleans City Council and became council president in 2019. 

“I decided I wanted to do more for the city of New Orleans,” she said. “My former role as a journalist still continues to guide every single day of the work that I do as mayor. Transparency is the big key part of my administration, and that is at the forefront.”

Moreno said she couldn’t believe it when she found out the NAHJ conference would take place in New Orleans this year. 

“The first Hispanic mayor of the city of New Orleans, and also the first former journalist to ever be mayor of the city of New Orleans, gets to have this conference here? That is incredibly exciting,” Moreno said. 

Moreno also addressed the state of the media industry. 

“These are really troubling and difficult times,” Moreno said. “We see it, not just here but all across this country – this real effort to silence diverse and disenfranchised voices … It is your role and your responsibility to ensure that those voices are heard.”

Angela Osorio is a senior at Cal State Long Beach and is the editor in chief of the Long Beach Current, her campus newspaper. She has interned for the Los Angeles Times and at ABC 7 in Los Angeles. She hopes to one day work for a national newspaper. Reach her at angoso1638 [at] gmail [dot] com.