There are only two dates left this season for the Young Leadership Council’s (YLC) Wednesdays at the Square, a free outdoor concert series at Downtown’s Lafayette Square Wednesday nights from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. YLC Executive Director Allison Hotard shares why you don’t want to miss these last two concerts, along with how the concert series is going and why this year is going to be an especially big one for the YLC. 

For more information on Wednesday at the Square, visit https://www.ylcwats.com/.

For more information on the Young Leadership Council, visit https://www.ylcnola.org/

Since Hurricane Katrina, the issue of whether New Orleans has too many judges, and if so, how many, has been bantered around. But now, in the current session, the house is debating one bill, and the Senate has already passed another that aims to cut judges from New Orleans courts based on what BGR says is incomplete data. What could this mean for our courts and our city’s finances? BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray speaks out on this week’s Biz Talks.

We all know we live in one of the culinary capitals of the world, which makes it so shocking that the region does not a major wholesale food production incubator! Well, that is going to change soon –  and our guest today is a huge part of it. Annalisa Kelly, JEDCO’s director of strategic initiatives and policy, has taken the lead on development of the Greater New Orleans Food & Beverage Incubator.

What is it? How will it work? What support will it provide entrepreneurs? When will it be up and running? Kelly shares all the details on this week’s Biz Talks.

The start of hurricane season is June 1, kicking off a long summer of anxiety for the region, but we’re focusing on the good news, and that is that The Greater New Orleans region is served by two levee authorities — Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East and  West.

This week, we’re talking about SLFPA — West, which encompasses more than 80 miles of levees, floodgates and floodwalls protecting the West Bank of Jefferson and Orleans parishes. What does the system look like? How does it work? Who is doing the work? Regional Director Jesse Noel gives us some surprising insights.  

A lot! It’s been a busy year at the largest mall in the Greater New Orleans area as Lakeside has welcomed one new retailer after another. As the regional director of retail leasing for the Feil Organization, New Orleans native Tricia Phillpott is the woman behind these wins — the person tasked with finding and securing new retailers. In this week’s BizTalks, we chat about the mall’s newest tenants, the art and science behind mall leasing, how Lakeside mall compares nationally and one interesting way it differs from any other.    

New Orleans-based TikTok creator Tamsy Kambi (@tamlovestoeat) is a food and lifestyle creator known for spotlighting restaurants, cultural events, and local experiences.  She recently joined other creators and lawmakers in Washington, D.C. for a conversation on how content creators and social media is shaping modern business and culture. Tamsy shares her experiences in D.C. and what drives her to do what she does in this week’s BizTalks.

David Skinner, general manager of the Saenger Theatre, shares some surprising information about how New Orleans stacks up against other national markets in Broadway ticket sales. He also shares some fun insights into the shows in the upcoming 2026-27 season (including one he can’t see enough).  

A new partnership between Loyola University and Freret Street live music club Gasa Gasa is offering students the opportunity to get direct, real-world experience by participating in every part of the process of operating a live music venue. The forces behind Gasa U —Loyola’s director of the School of Music and Theatre Professions Kate Duncan and industry veteran and endowed professor Jonathan McHugh — share how Loyola’s commitment to reinventing education experiences is aimed at giving students a leg up in the competitive entertainment industry.

The 29th return of the New Orleans French Film Festival — one of the longest-running international language festivals in the U.S. — is March 19-24 and this year there will be some big firsts, along with one-of-a-kind cultural events that bring the films to life. Sharing all the fun is Dodd Loomis, the executive director of New Orleans Film Society.

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week is fast approaching (March 9-14), and one of the biggest pieces of news in this ecosystem lately was this fall’s launch of the New Orleans Entrepreneurship Council (NEC). The council is designed to bring area stakeholders and organizations together to unify and amplify their efforts with the goal of attracting, retaining, and growing entrepreneurial talent in the region. NEC Chair Kimberly Gramm, chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer at Tulane University’s Innovation Institute, shares all the details.