Latest news with #JillWagner
Associated Press
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Jill Wagner Welcomes Guests to Tennessee Farm for 3rd Annual 'Patriotic Pick' Benefiting Special Operations Warrior Foundation
Tellico Plains, TN August 14, 2025 --( )-- Actress and Tennessee resident Jill Wagner is proud to announce the return of the 3rd annual Patriotic Pick event, taking place September 6, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at her scenic Scott Mansion Farms in Tellico Plains, TN. The event supports the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), an organization close to Wagner's heart due to her husband's military service. Best known for her roles in Lioness, Wipeout, and a host of Hallmark and GAC films, Wagner is a longtime advocate for military families. 'It's an honor to host Patriotic Pick again and welcome the community to our farm in support of America's Special Operations warriors and their families,' she said. Set against the stunning Appalachian landscape, Patriotic Pick offers a family-friendly celebration of Americana: grape picking, live music, hayrides, and a vibrant farmer's market. Proceeds benefit SOWF's mission, which includes 'Cradle to Career' scholarships for children of fallen Special Operators, support for Medal of Honor Recipients, and emergency financial aid for wounded, ill, or injured personnel. For more information or to get involved, visit About SOWF: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation honors fallen Special Operators and Medal of Honor Recipients by providing full educational funding and family support. This includes college-to-career transition services and emergency grants for those wounded or hospitalized during service. About Jill Wagner: Jill Wagner is an accomplished actress, producer, and TV host. Off-screen, she's a dedicated supporter of veteran causes and military families, using her platform to raise awareness and support for those who serve. Contact Information: White Stone Marketing Sarah Baker 916.864.3434 Contact via Email Read the full story here: Jill Wagner Welcomes Guests to Tennessee Farm for 3rd Annual 'Patriotic Pick' Benefiting Special Operations Warrior Foundation Press Release Distributed by
24-07-2025
- Business
New Orleans trash collectors litigate over removing foul French Quarter odors
NEW ORLEANS -- The stench of trash and residue of bad decisions in one of America's favorite party hotspots is being scrubbed away, thanks to a change in garbage collectors that New Orleans residents say has transformed the French Quarter. 'The Quarter has never been this clean,' said Jill Wagner. She became inured during her three decades living along Bourbon Street to rat-infested, overflowing garbage cans and sidewalks stained with puke, urine and booze. Now, with a zesty lemon fragrance sprayed across the streets daily, "it smells like Disney World.' A chorus of residents and business owners is heaping praise on the city's so-called 'Trash King," Sidney Torres IV, and his company, IV Waste, for cracking the code to sanitary success. The district has gleamed since Torres was given an emergency year-long contract last December to handle its waste management, they say. Tourists stumbling out of a Bourbon Street bar around sunrise on any given day can find IV Waste employees power-washing sidewalks, scooping up cigarette butts and spritzing streets with his patented 'lemon fresh' cleaning formula. But a judge on Wednesday allowed Mayor LaToya Cantrell to replace IV Waste at the end of July, over the objections of the city council. With a local management district insisting on Torres, this raises the possibility of rival collectors competing for the French Quarter's garbage. 'Just because they like the other guy, that is not enough,' the mayor's attorney Charles Rice told the judge, and he said there's 'no reason' to believe a different contractor would do worse. A state appeals court is scheduled to review in August who will ultimately earn tens of millions of dollars managing the French Quarter's trash in 2026 and beyond. At stake is the attractiveness of some of the most important city blocks in the country, residents say — New Orleans reports that more than 19 million visitors spent a collective $10 billion last year, and most visited the historic French Quarter. In a city plagued by dysfunction including constant flooding, treacherous potholes and a massive jailbreak, Torres' company has become a point of civic pride. The quarter is filled with signs in support of IV Waste. 'It's not even in the same solar system -- the service they provide versus what others provide,' said Danny Conwill, who owns an oyster bar off Bourbon Street and is suing the mayor to keep IV Waste. He recalls other trash collectors leaving 'noxious garbage juices' and heaps of shrimp heads and oyster shells scattered about, leading to rank summer odors bad for business. Torres, a real estate developer who began as a personal assistant to Lenny Kravitz and once hosted Justin Bieber's 20th birthday party at his Bahamas resort, became a local celebrity and reality TV star after launching a trash company to clean up the city after Hurricane Katrina. He then sold it and waited out a non-compete clause before rebuilding his trash empire with IV Waste. After a competitive bidding process last year, the city began negotiating a $73 million contract with another local firm, Henry Consulting, to clean the French Quarter for at least the next five years. But before the deal was finalized, council members grew alarmed that the company did not seem to have the necessary equipment or subcontracts in place as Super Bowl LIX and the annual Mardi Gras celebrations loomed. IV Waste then won an emergency contract to clean the French Quarter through 2025, and Henry Consulting sued, accusing the city of failing to uphold a valid contract. The metastasizing litigation now pits an outgoing mayor with waning popularity against a feisty city council and state officials including the attorney general, with both sides slinging accusations of cronyism. Cantrell was elected in 2017 with the endorsement of Henry Consulting founder Troy Henry. In April, Cantrell announced she was terminating the IV Waste contract early, and that Henry's firm would take over. This new no-bid contract would cost $2.1 million more, with inferior results, sanitation director Matt Torri told the city council on Monday. He and other officials said Henry Consulting still doesn't seem ready for the job. Henry Consulting declined to comment to The Associated Press. Cantrell's office told The AP that the city 'remains committed to working with all parties to provide sanitation services to the French Quarter.' Meanwhile, a new Louisiana law empowers the management district to appoint its own garbage collector, and the residents and business owners who run this state agency selected IV Waste. Torres said his company will keep taking out the trash, even if it means rivals go toe-to-toe on Bourbon Street. 'We're going to do our job, and they can watch and learn," Torres said. 'The French Quarter can rest assured that we're going to continue to clean.'
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Orleans trash collectors litigate over removing foul French Quarter odors
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The stench of trash and residue of bad decisions in one of America's favorite party hotspots is being scrubbed away, thanks to a change in garbage collectors that New Orleans residents say has transformed the French Quarter. 'The Quarter has never been this clean,' said Jill Wagner. She became inured during her three decades living along Bourbon Street to rat-infested, overflowing garbage cans and sidewalks stained with puke, urine and booze. Now, with a zesty lemon fragrance sprayed across the streets daily, "it smells like Disney World.' A chorus of residents and business owners is heaping praise on the city's so-called 'Trash King," Sidney Torres IV, and his company, IV Waste, for cracking the code to sanitary success. The district has gleamed since Torres was given an emergency year-long contract last December to handle its waste management, they say. Tourists stumbling out of a Bourbon Street bar around sunrise on any given day can find IV Waste employees power-washing sidewalks, scooping up cigarette butts and spritzing streets with his patented 'lemon fresh' cleaning formula. But a judge on Wednesday allowed Mayor LaToya Cantrell to replace IV Waste at the end of July, over the objections of the city council. With a local management district insisting on Torres, this raises the possibility of rival collectors competing for the French Quarter's garbage. 'Just because they like the other guy, that is not enough,' the mayor's attorney Charles Rice told the judge, and he said there's 'no reason' to believe a different contractor would do worse. An escalating legal battle over the trash A state appeals court is scheduled to review in August who will ultimately earn tens of millions of dollars managing the French Quarter's trash in 2026 and beyond. At stake is the attractiveness of some of the most important city blocks in the country, residents say — New Orleans reports that more than 19 million visitors spent a collective $10 billion last year, and most visited the historic French Quarter. In a city plagued by dysfunction including constant flooding, treacherous potholes and a massive jailbreak, Torres' company has become a point of civic pride. The quarter is filled with signs in support of IV Waste. 'It's not even in the same solar system -- the service they provide versus what others provide,' said Danny Conwill, who owns an oyster bar off Bourbon Street and is suing the mayor to keep IV Waste. He recalls other trash collectors leaving 'noxious garbage juices' and heaps of shrimp heads and oyster shells scattered about, leading to rank summer odors bad for business. Torres, a real estate developer who began as a personal assistant to Lenny Kravitz and once hosted Justin Bieber's 20th birthday party at his Bahamas resort, became a local celebrity and reality TV star after launching a trash company to clean up the city after Hurricane Katrina. He then sold it and waited out a non-compete clause before rebuilding his trash empire with IV Waste. Officials say city will be paying more for less After a competitive bidding process last year, the city began negotiating a $73 million contract with another local firm, Henry Consulting, to clean the French Quarter for at least the next five years. But before the deal was finalized, council members grew alarmed that the company did not seem to have the necessary equipment or subcontracts in place as Super Bowl LIX and the annual Mardi Gras celebrations loomed. IV Waste then won an emergency contract to clean the French Quarter through 2025, and Henry Consulting sued, accusing the city of failing to uphold a valid contract. The metastasizing litigation now pits an outgoing mayor with waning popularity against a feisty city council and state officials including the attorney general, with both sides slinging accusations of cronyism. Cantrell was elected in 2017 with the endorsement of Henry Consulting founder Troy Henry. In April, Cantrell announced she was terminating the IV Waste contract early, and that Henry's firm would take over. This new no-bid contract would cost $2.1 million more, with inferior results, sanitation director Matt Torri told the city council on Monday. He and other officials said Henry Consulting still doesn't seem ready for the job. Henry Consulting declined to comment to The Associated Press. Cantrell's office told The AP that the city 'remains committed to working with all parties to provide sanitation services to the French Quarter.' Meanwhile, a new Louisiana law empowers the management district to appoint its own garbage collector, and the residents and business owners who run this state agency selected IV Waste. Torres said his company will keep taking out the trash, even if it means rivals go toe-to-toe on Bourbon Street. 'We're going to do our job, and they can watch and learn," Torres said. 'The French Quarter can rest assured that we're going to continue to clean.' ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
San Francisco Chronicle
24-07-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
New Orleans trash collectors litigate over removing foul French Quarter odors
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The stench of trash and residue of bad decisions in one of America's favorite party hotspots is being scrubbed away, thanks to a change in garbage collectors that New Orleans residents say has transformed the French Quarter. 'The Quarter has never been this clean,' said Jill Wagner. She became inured during her three decades living along Bourbon Street to rat-infested, overflowing garbage cans and sidewalks stained with puke, urine and booze. Now, with a zesty lemon fragrance sprayed across the streets daily, "it smells like Disney World.' A chorus of residents and business owners is heaping praise on the city's so-called 'Trash King," Sidney Torres IV, and his company, IV Waste, for cracking the code to sanitary success. The district has gleamed since Torres was given an emergency year-long contract last December to handle its waste management, they say. Tourists stumbling out of a Bourbon Street bar around sunrise on any given day can find IV Waste employees power-washing sidewalks, scooping up cigarette butts and spritzing streets with his patented 'lemon fresh' cleaning formula. But a judge on Wednesday allowed Mayor LaToya Cantrell to replace IV Waste at the end of July, over the objections of the city council. With a local management district insisting on Torres, this raises the possibility of rival collectors competing for the French Quarter's garbage. 'Just because they like the other guy, that is not enough,' the mayor's attorney Charles Rice told the judge, and he said there's 'no reason' to believe a different contractor would do worse. An escalating legal battle over the trash A state appeals court is scheduled to review in August who will ultimately earn tens of millions of dollars managing the French Quarter's trash in 2026 and beyond. At stake is the attractiveness of some of the most important city blocks in the country, residents say — New Orleans reports that more than 19 million visitors spent a collective $10 billion last year, and most visited the historic French Quarter. In a city plagued by dysfunction including constant flooding, treacherous potholes and a massive jailbreak, Torres' company has become a point of civic pride. The quarter is filled with signs in support of IV Waste. 'It's not even in the same solar system -- the service they provide versus what others provide,' said Danny Conwill, who owns an oyster bar off Bourbon Street and is suing the mayor to keep IV Waste. He recalls other trash collectors leaving 'noxious garbage juices' and heaps of shrimp heads and oyster shells scattered about, leading to rank summer odors bad for business. Torres, a real estate developer who began as a personal assistant to Lenny Kravitz and once hosted Justin Bieber's 20th birthday party at his Bahamas resort, became a local celebrity and reality TV star after launching a trash company to clean up the city after Hurricane Katrina. He then sold it and waited out a non-compete clause before rebuilding his trash empire with IV Waste. Officials say city will be paying more for less After a competitive bidding process last year, the city began negotiating a $73 million contract with another local firm, Henry Consulting, to clean the French Quarter for at least the next five years. But before the deal was finalized, council members grew alarmed that the company did not seem to have the necessary equipment or subcontracts in place as Super Bowl LIX and the annual Mardi Gras celebrations loomed. IV Waste then won an emergency contract to clean the French Quarter through 2025, and Henry Consulting sued, accusing the city of failing to uphold a valid contract. The metastasizing litigation now pits an outgoing mayor with waning popularity against a feisty city council and state officials including the attorney general, with both sides slinging accusations of cronyism. Cantrell was elected in 2017 with the endorsement of Henry Consulting founder Troy Henry. In April, Cantrell announced she was terminating the IV Waste contract early, and that Henry's firm would take over. This new no-bid contract would cost $2.1 million more, with inferior results, sanitation director Matt Torri told the city council on Monday. He and other officials said Henry Consulting still doesn't seem ready for the job. Henry Consulting declined to comment to The Associated Press. Cantrell's office told The AP that the city 'remains committed to working with all parties to provide sanitation services to the French Quarter.' Meanwhile, a new Louisiana law empowers the management district to appoint its own garbage collector, and the residents and business owners who run this state agency selected IV Waste. Torres said his company will keep taking out the trash, even if it means rivals go toe-to-toe on Bourbon Street. 'We're going to do our job, and they can watch and learn," Torres said. 'The French Quarter can rest assured that we're going to continue to clean.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
24-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
New Orleans trash collectors litigate over removing foul French Quarter odors
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The stench of trash and residue of bad decisions in one of America's favorite party hotspots is being scrubbed away, thanks to a change in garbage collectors that New Orleans residents say has transformed the French Quarter. 'The Quarter has never been this clean,' said Jill Wagner. She became inured during her three decades living along Bourbon Street to rat-infested, overflowing garbage cans and sidewalks stained with puke, urine and booze. Now, with a zesty lemon fragrance sprayed across the streets daily, 'it smells like Disney World.' A chorus of residents and business owners is heaping praise on the city's so-called 'Trash King,' Sidney Torres IV, and his company, IV Waste, for cracking the code to sanitary success. The district has gleamed since Torres was given an emergency year-long contract last December to handle its waste management, they say. Tourists stumbling out of a Bourbon Street bar around sunrise on any given day can find IV Waste employees power-washing sidewalks, scooping up cigarette butts and spritzing streets with his patented 'lemon fresh' cleaning formula. But a judge on Wednesday allowed Mayor LaToya Cantrell to replace IV Waste at the end of July, over the objections of the city council. With a local management district insisting on Torres, this raises the possibility of rival collectors competing for the French Quarter's garbage. 'Just because they like the other guy, that is not enough,' the mayor's attorney Charles Rice told the judge, and he said there's 'no reason' to believe a different contractor would do worse. An escalating legal battle over the trash A state appeals court is scheduled to review in August who will ultimately earn tens of millions of dollars managing the French Quarter's trash in 2026 and beyond. At stake is the attractiveness of some of the most important city blocks in the country, residents say — New Orleans reports that more than 19 million visitors spent a collective $10 billion last year, and most visited the historic French Quarter. In a city plagued by dysfunction including constant flooding, treacherous potholes and a massive jailbreak, Torres' company has become a point of civic pride. The quarter is filled with signs in support of IV Waste. 'It's not even in the same solar system — the service they provide versus what others provide,' said Danny Conwill, who owns an oyster bar off Bourbon Street and is suing the mayor to keep IV Waste. He recalls other trash collectors leaving 'noxious garbage juices' and heaps of shrimp heads and oyster shells scattered about, leading to rank summer odors bad for business. Torres, a real estate developer who began as a personal assistant to Lenny Kravitz and once hosted Justin Bieber's 20th birthday party at his Bahamas resort, became a local celebrity and reality TV star after launching a trash company to clean up the city after Hurricane Katrina. He then sold it and waited out a non-compete clause before rebuilding his trash empire with IV Waste. Officials say city will be paying more for less After a competitive bidding process last year, the city began negotiating a $73 million contract with another local firm, Henry Consulting, to clean the French Quarter for at least the next five years. But before the deal was finalized, council members grew alarmed that the company did not seem to have the necessary equipment or subcontracts in place as Super Bowl LIX and the annual Mardi Gras celebrations loomed. IV Waste then won an emergency contract to clean the French Quarter through 2025, and Henry Consulting sued, accusing the city of failing to uphold a valid contract. The metastasizing litigation now pits an outgoing mayor with waning popularity against a feisty city council and state officials including the attorney general, with both sides slinging accusations of cronyism. Cantrell was elected in 2017 with the endorsement of Henry Consulting founder Troy Henry. In April, Cantrell announced she was terminating the IV Waste contract early, and that Henry's firm would take over. This new no-bid contract would cost $2.1 million more, with inferior results, sanitation director Matt Torri told the city council on Monday. He and other officials said Henry Consulting still doesn't seem ready for the job. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Henry Consulting declined to comment to The Associated Press. Cantrell's office told The AP that the city 'remains committed to working with all parties to provide sanitation services to the French Quarter.' Meanwhile, a new Louisiana law empowers the management district to appoint its own garbage collector, and the residents and business owners who run this state agency selected IV Waste. Torres said his company will keep taking out the trash, even if it means rivals go toe-to-toe on Bourbon Street. 'We're going to do our job, and they can watch and learn,' Torres said. 'The French Quarter can rest assured that we're going to continue to clean.' ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
