New Orleans recall drive demands newspaper pay for petitions

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans’ daily newspaper says organizers of a petition drive to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell  are demanding $15,000 in fees to comply with a court agreement to provide copies of the signed petitions. The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate said an attorney for Nolatoya.org told the news organization Wednesday that it must pay $1 per page. Nolatoya.org began a petition drive in August seeking to recall Cantrell. It had refused to release the signatures during the drive, and the newspaper had sued to get the copies. Under a Feb. 8 agreement, the organizers promised to provide copies once the petitions were turned in to the registrar of voters. The agreement does not mention a fee.