Return on investment

Essence Festival's multiyear contract with New Orleans expired Friday, leaving its future in the city unresolved. Essence leaders met this week with a steering committee formed by Mayor Helena Moreno to discuss next steps. Organizers want a new "sustainable" multiyear deal with "shared investment," proposing not just the festival but a year-round initiative called Essence 365. Parent company Sundial Media & Technology Group has floated an annual investment of $10 million to $12 million, mostly for the 365 program, though it says that sum was meant to be shared among the state, tourism groups, and regional businesses rather than funded solely by the city.

The city currently contributes $750,000 annually and, amid a fiscal crisis involving furloughs and higher sanitation rates, has called the larger ask unfeasible. Officials also cited concerns over late vendor payments and delayed Superdome performances, and are weighing a competitive bidding process for future festivals. Baltimore's mayor has publicly courted Essence as an alternative host. Both sides describe talks as ongoing with no resolution yet.

A New York Post opinion piece by the Manhattan Institute's Christopher Rufo and City Journal's Kenneth Schrupp highlights the financial and political scale of California's public-sector unions. The report finds the state's 10 largest public-sector unions collectively collected more than $1 billion in dues and fees in the year ending 2024, with combined membership exceeding 1 million workers — a bloc representing at least 29% of California's 2024 Democratic primary voters.

The piece ties union influence to lobbying wins, including the California Teachers Association's push for a $10 billion school construction bond, and to Proposition 40, a SEIU-backed measure that would impose a 5% tax on billionaire assets, with proceeds directed largely to Medi-Cal and health programs. The authors argue this activity compounds fiscal pressure as California faces a projected $14 billion structural deficit for 2026-27 and more than $265 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, raising the stakes for upcoming tax and budget ballot measures.