nola411.com - New Orleans news and information.: March 2011

Spike Lee documentary honored by Peabody Awards | tvsquad.com

> 3/31/2011 01:07:00 PM

In the television news and documentary categories, Spike Lee's 'If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise,' Frontline's 'The Wounded Platoon,' CNN's Gulf oil spill coverage and ESPN's '30 for 30' series were among the recipients of awards...

NOPD Serpas to name top commanders, make changes in troubled districts | WWL

> 3/31/2011 01:00:00 PM

New Orleans Police Supt. Ronal Serpas is set to announce the appointments of 16 top department leaders to the position of police commander Thursday afternoon, while also making changes in the leadership of two troubled districts. In a news release, NOPD announced that Serpas and Mayor Mitch Landrieu will announce the 16 new commanders this afternoon at 2 p.m. at Gallier Hall...

Read more via wwltv.com

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New Orleans Jazz Fest 30-day countdown contained a surprise or two | NOLA.com

> 3/31/2011 12:58:00 PM

Mayor Mitch Landrieu threatened to go barefoot. Garland Robinette apologized for being alive. Kenny G was revealed to be a jazz musician after all. And we learned the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will be "presented by Shell" for at least another three years. Jazz Fest's annual "30 days and counting" press conference, staged Wednesday morning at the Fair Grounds, yielded more news and notable sound bites than usual...

Read more via nola.com

View the 2011 Cubes (aka Stage Times)

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Claims company for BP hosts Governor Bobby Jindal fundraiser | Politico.com

> 3/29/2011 01:04:00 PM

A company processing oil spill claims for BP is hosting a reelection fund-raiser Tuesday for Gov. Bobby Jindal, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Monday.

The newspaper said it obtained a copy of the invitation for the $1,000-a-plate cocktail reception, being held at the offices of Worley Catastrophe Response and hosted by chief executive Mike Worley. It said Worley has handled claims both BP and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility following the April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon...

Road Home properties on the auction block | NOLA.com

> 3/29/2011 01:01:00 PM

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority will hold a public auction Saturday for 95 blighted or vacant Road Home and NORA-owned properties throughout the city. About 70 of the properties are single-family homes and duplexes in need of rehabilitation...

Read more via nola.com

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A photo tour of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans | Theme Park Insider

> 3/29/2011 12:58:00 PM

Theme Park Insider reader Ryan Traylor shared some thoughts and emailed some photos he took recently of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans park, which closed after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, then never reopened...

More bank mergers are likely on the horizon | NOLA.com

> 3/27/2011 11:32:00 AM

The past few months have seen a frenzy of marriages between local banks, and it's only the beginning. In December, Mississippi-based Hancock Holding Co. announced it was merging with Whitney Holding Corp., creating the second largest bank in the New Orleans area. In February, Lafayette-based IberiaBank Corp. announced it was buying Omni Bancshares Inc. to deepen its presence in the New Orleans area, and then in March, announced it was buying Cameron Bancshares Inc. to get into Lake Charles...

New Orleans crime rate 'unacceptable in civilized society' says crime group's leader | WWL

> 3/27/2011 11:23:00 AM

As the Crescent City closes in on five dozen murders within the first three months of 2011, law enforcement officials gathered at a crime summit downtown Saturday afternoon, hoping to stop the violence.
The report shows most of New Orleans' murders happen outside, where there are often witnesses. According to Cannizzaro, despite the community's deep-seated fear of retaliation, no one who has entered his victim/witness assistance program has been killed...

Read more via wwltv.com

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World’s Reform Rabbis, to Convene in New Orleans

> 3/27/2011 11:22:00 AM

CCAR New Orleans
World’s Reform Rabbis
March 27-30

New Orleans, an exemplar of rich culture and history, currently faces unimaginable challenges. Yet this city embraces setbacks as opportunities for change, for growth, and for innovation. It builds on its vibrant past, grapples with the challenges of the present and creates a new and exciting future—much like the Reform rabbinate of today. What better city for gathering together to explore “The Prophetic Voice in the 21st Century”? They'll confront the major issues of our time and learn from the best teachers and experts in our torah lishmah and professional development sessions. Listen to music, enjoy wonderful food and be rejuvenated by the dynamic sense of chevruta that is the hallmark of our Conventions...

U.S. Postal Service Is 'Stampin' at the Savoy - Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp USPS

> 3/26/2011 11:40:00 AM

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE JAZZ APPRECIATION STAMP
Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp Honors
America's Gift to Music. (U.S. Postal Service)

To celebrate America's musical gift to the world, the U.S. Postal Service today issued the Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp.

Inspired by vintage jazz record-album covers, Pasadena, Calif., artist Paul Rogers captured the eclectic nature of jazz music and the spontaneity and improvisation of jazz artists in creating art for the Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp.

"With this evocative Jazz stamp, we celebrate the music and the musicians who play it in studios, clubs and concert halls and on festival stages," said Thurgood Marshall Jr., vice chairman, Postal Service Board of Governors. "I can't think of a more perfect place to dedicate this new stamp than here in New Orleans, the birthplace of so many legendary jazz performers… and where jazz first flowered near the dawn of the 20thcentury.

"Jazz is a pastime that brings people together, regardless of race, ethnicity or background," said Marshall. "It's a lot like the Postal Service, which has been bringing people together for over 235 years, through the power of the mail."

Forever Stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate. The Jazz Appreciation stamps go on sale today nationwide at Post Offices and online at usps.com/shop.

Joining Marshall to dedicate the Jazz Appreciation Forever Stamp were Guy Cottrell, chief postal inspector; Nancy Marinovic, president, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation; Shamarr Allen, leader of the funk band Underdawgs; Jeffery Taylor, manager, Louisiana District, Postal Service; and Paul Rogers.

Tennessee Williams Festival continues

> 3/26/2011 11:29:00 AM

This weekend the Tennessee Williams Festival continues...

See festival highlights and program via tennesseewilliams.net

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Two New Orleans cops fired for unwarranted arrests | WWL First News

> 3/26/2011 11:23:00 AM

Two members of the New Orleans Police Department have lost their jobs for allegedly making unwarranted arrests. An NOPD spokeswoman says both officers admitted to falsifying records and knowingly arrested two women for prostitution without a warrant...

Homeless Burglar Suspect Living Underneath Business | NewOrleans.Com

> 3/26/2011 11:18:00 AM

By: WGNO ABC26 News — New Orleans police make an arrest in a bizarre case of burglaries in the Riverbend area. Lola's boutique is one of several businesses struck by a burglar in the Carrollton/ Riverbend area. The storefront was actually broken into twice...

NOPD Investigates String Of Police Car Break-Ins | WDSU

> 3/24/2011 01:13:00 PM

The New Orleans Police Department said six vehicles were broken into in the Third District since Feb. 1. Investigators said two rifles and five handguns were stolen from three unmarked police vehicles and three officers' personal vehicles in the overnight hours.

Large recycling bins may not fit in older New Orleans neighborhoods | NOLA.com

> 3/24/2011 12:49:00 PM

Ted Jackson, The Times-Picayune archive

Recycling workers were photographed separating
cardboard, plastic and glass in Baton Rouge in December 2008.

With the city due to open bids Friday for 50,000 of the 64-gallon wheeled, covered bins to be used when curbside recycling resumes in early May, the chairwoman of the City Council's Sanitation Committee said Wednesday that the large receptacles are "not going to work" in many old neighborhoods where few homes have driveways or other places to store them.

Read more via nola.com

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The Rites of Spring: Top 10 Spring Things in New Orleans | He Said/She Said NOLA

> 3/23/2011 06:52:00 PM

From the He Said/She Said Blog:

Fresh honeysuckle is permeating my senses each step I take through the beautiful, serene backside of the French Quarter. I honestly don’t remember it smelling this heavenly in years past, but the past few days as I wander around the elusive streets of the Quarter I am awestruck at the bright yellow scent of Spring...

New Orleans Boasts Six Nominations for 2011 James Beard Awards | OffBeat

> 3/23/2011 12:51:00 PM

The nominees for this year’s James Beard Awards were announced today, and New Orleans’ restaurants and chefs tallied six nominations all together. The awards are given out annually in May by the James Beard Foundation, and are widely regarded as the most prestigious culinary awards...

Program aims to remedy a post-Katrina shortage of grocery stores in New Orleans | The Republic

> 3/23/2011 08:07:00 AM

A new financing initiative will help address a lingering post-Katrina shortage of grocery stores in New Orleans, City Council members said. The aim of the program is to increase access to fresh foods in underserved neighborhoods. Officials said it should also spur other types of economic development in the city where large areas of land still show the scars of the 2005 storm...

Gulf of Mexico Suffers New Oily Spills | Environment News Service

> 3/22/2011 04:10:00 PM

An unidentified oily substance began washing ashore on the Louisiana coast on Sunday, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard, with state and local agencies, to conduct clean up and recovery operations of tainted beaches. The cleanup continued Monday and today along a half mile of shoreline at Elmer Island, Fourchon Beach and Grand Isle...

Feds slam New Orleans police over excessive force, racial profiling | Christian Science Monitor

> 3/22/2011 03:43:00 PM

The confluence of the "live and let live" ethos of the city's multitudinous street revelers and the "live and let die" attitudes of violent street gangs makes New Orleans a difficult and dangerous place to police. That's compounded by the city's long history of tolerance toward vice and poverty – a seamy underbelly only partly obscured by shiny string beads and magnolias...

Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleans police meet to avoid conflicts on St. Joseph's Night | NOLA.com

> 3/22/2011 03:38:00 PM

Members of the Mardi Gras Indian Council met with police and city officials this week in hopes of avoiding any conflicts with police as they parade Saturday night, St. Joseph’s Night, one of the few days Indians wear their suits. The Indians said they called the meeting because almost no Indian holiday seems to pass without some report of police officers stopping Indians or telling them to take off their feathers...

Read more via nola.com

Photo: Steve Apple

March 5, 2005: Creole Wild West
Mardi Gras Indians

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NFL Meets in New Orleans As Manning Loses And Peterson Is Slaved | Bayoubuzz

> 3/22/2011 03:23:00 PM

Saints owner Tom Benson welcomed 31 other NFL owners to New Orleans as the NFL' owners began their annual meeting that will continue to Tuesday.

This meeting will focus on dealing with the first work stoppage since 1987 as the contract it held with the players union went kaput. The owners, seeking more money from a deal they believed short-changed them, opted to get out of it. The union dissolved, and now both sides are headed to court for what could be a protracted, acrimonious case.

New Orleans Saints: Brees, Bush And The Plan | Who Dat Dish

> 3/17/2011 01:59:00 PM

Drew Brees is quickly becoming the face of the players in the on going labor dispute. He is also head lining a lawsuit with nine other players levied against the NFL in a Minnesota Federal Court. The players are hoping to get the hearing placed in front of Judge David S. Doty, a long time friend and advocate to the players themselves, which gives them the best chance of securing a new and favorable deal...

Obama nominates La. judge for federal court in New Orleans | WWL

> 3/17/2011 01:57:00 PM

President Barack Obama has accepted the recommendation of Sen. Mary Landrieu in nominating Judge Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo, of Napoleonville, for the federal bench, to fill one of several vacancies at U.S. District Court in New Orleans...

Read more via wwltv.com

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St. Charles streetcar line repairs to cause some delays | WWL

> 3/16/2011 05:03:00 PM

Repairs on the St. Charles streetcar line will cause some minor delays and inconveniences for passengers when the work begins March 27, according to the RTA.

The $7 million project will replace all the wooden crossties on the streetcar line with new crossties made of rubber and plastic material.

Read more via wwltv.com

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Euclid Records New Orleans Manager James Weber Gives a State of the Store | RFT Riverfront Times

> 3/14/2011 09:39:00 AM

A-Z caught up with Weber last week to get an update on the the store, the vinyl scene in New Orleans, and his take on St. Louis from 677 miles down I-55.

Have you been pushing St. Louis bands at all at the shop?
I find myself recommending everything about St. Louis to everyone down here, to the point where I say 'St. Louis' and they look like they want to slap me in the face. The way people talk about New Orleans, I talk about St. Louis. St. Louis is tucked away--people don't know. The music scene in St. Louis has been well above average for the 10 and 11 years that I was involved in it, certainly in ways I don't see in other cities.

Nursing students head to New Orleans for spring break | Johns Hopkins University - The Gazette

> 3/14/2011 09:35:00 AM

Twelve students from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing are in New Orleans this week to rebuild houses with the Episcopal Church Diocese of Louisiana and volunteer in the Touro Hospital emergency room and at a health clinic for the homeless. The Hopkins Student Nurse Relief Corps, a subgroup of the Johns Hopkins National Student Nurses Association, has sponsored the spring break trip to New Orleans for the past five years. On Jan. 31, the group hosted a Creole Charity Gala, which netted more than $5,000 to cover the cost of this year’s trip.

New Orleans Hotel Collection Announces Partnership with Unique New Festival in New Orleans

> 3/14/2011 09:33:00 AM

The New Orleans Hotel Collection has announced that the organizers of San Fermin in Nuevo Orleans festival (also known as the Running of the Bulls) have named the collection the official festival hotel sponsor. The Running of the Bulls, taking place in New Orleans July 7 – 10, 2011, is a recent addition to the burgeoning popularity of festivals in a city known for its spectacular events throughout the year. The seven hotels in the New Orleans Hotel Collection are in locations that provide superb and easy access to festival events and special hotel rates are available to the general public who wish to attend the festival.

Nola Bulls, LLC started the Running of the Bulls festival five years ago, which mimics the festival that has taken place for centuries in the town of Pamplona, Spain. Each year has seen phenomenal growth in the activities and participation, and this year’s festival offers visitors and locals a full cadre of events, including the centerpiece Saturday morning run with more than 300 “Rollerbulls” from leagues around the country. Visit www.nolabulls.com for complete schedule and information.

The uniqueness of this event begins with the unusual aspect of the “Rollerbulls,” when roller derby women from leagues across the country don “bull” outfits, and chase the red-sashed contestants through the streets of the old town, much like the real bulls in Pamplona. The events continue in the evening of the run with the Fiesta de Pantalones (Pants Party), and the following morning’s Pobre de Mi (Poor Me) at noon. A Hemingway contest is also planned.

Nola Bulls, LLC was founded in 2007 and is a provider and promoter of entertainment and cultural events in New Orleans. A portion of the proceeds from the festival will go to Animal Rescue New Orleans, an organization dedicated to the rescue of abandoned and homeless animals

Second Line Conference | A Celebration of Innovation for the New Economy

> 3/12/2011 10:12:00 AM

The inaugural Second Line is an interactive conference celebrating the New Economy successes and strategies with disruptive innovation, value creation, and sustainable social impact. Set in New Orleans, we are bringing some of the world's leading innovators to demonstrate how design, experience, strategy, and technology can be applied to create new markets, exponential growth, and sustainable social impacts...

FEMA shifts course on flood map modeling | Washington Post

> 3/11/2011 11:00:00 AM

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it will take a second look at the flood risk of communities without federal flood protection before it approves new flood risk maps. The policy change affects communities across the United States. Many have complained that FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers have disregarded levee improvements paid for by local and state governments...

5 New Orleans restaurants that aim to please vegetarians | NOLA.com

> 3/11/2011 10:46:00 AM

At this time of year, many of us are looking for simpler, healthier foods. For those forgoing meat, or at least trying to eat more vegetables, there are creative options at ethnic restaurants, corner cafes and fine dining restaurants...

Read more via nola.com

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Mardi Gras in New Orleans: A Gallery of What You Missed | AOL Travel @JetDude

> 3/09/2011 06:25:00 PM

Mardi Gras isn't only about topless girls and drunken antics on New Orleans' Bourbon Street – though there's definitely plenty of that among the city's tourist population – it's also about spending time with family and friends, putting work on hold and forgetting about life's hardships, if only for a few days. Children joined drunken partiers along the parade route, though few could be found in the French Quarter, with the occasional youngster tossing beads from a balcony...

Car and streets flooded in Lakeview | WWL

> 3/09/2011 04:26:00 PM

Neighbors in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans
spent much of Wednesday drying out from torrential rains
that fell around daybreak.

Neighbors in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans spent much of Wednesday drying out from torrential rains that fell around daybreak. There was standing water on Carrollton Avenue near City Park. The Canal Boulevard underpass, an historic trouble spot in the city, was underwater and closed...

Read more via wwltv.com

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3 tornadoes reported in southeast Louisiana ‎| FOX 8 News WVUE-TV

> 3/09/2011 04:22:00 PM

At least three tornadoes touched down in southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday, including a twister that injured one person in St. Tammany Parish. Entergy Corp. said about 7,000 of its customers had lost power in the New Orleans area. The National Weather Service also reported tornadoes in north Kenner near Lake Pontchartrain - where no damage was noted - and around Lacombe where a roof was torn off a house...

Launch Fest – A fun conference for serious entrepreneurs | New Orleans, April 24-29, 2010

> 3/09/2011 09:26:00 AM

Launch Fest features 3 days of 1/2 day conference sessions between the two weekends of the New Orleans Jazz Fest. Topics include:

Social Entrepreneurship
Straight Talk
Advantage Capital
and four nights of mixers, music & fun topics.

BP disaster being made into movie | WWL

> 3/09/2011 08:01:00 AM

The New York Times' dramatic 8,500-word story about the April 20, 2010, oil rig explosion off Louisiana's Gulf Coast, which killed 11 people and led to the worst spill in U.S. history, is being made into a movie.

Summit Entertainment, Participant Media and Imagenation Abu Dhabi said Tuesday that they have acquired the film rights to the article, "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hour," published on Dec. 25 and written by David Barstow, David Rohde and Stephanie Saul.

Video: Raw Video: Mardi Gras Celebration in New Orleans | The Associated Press

> 3/09/2011 06:41:00 AM

Mardi Gras revelers drank and danced the rowdy Carnival season to its peak on Tuesday, defying drizzle to snag beads from the last parades and jamming the French Quarter with colorful, sweaty costumes. (March 8)

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Watch Mardi Gras parades live on nola.com's parade cam

> 3/08/2011 11:17:00 AM

Known as ParadeCam during the Mardi Gras season, Streetcar Cam gives you a window on the corner of Napoleon St. and St. Charles Avenue where the New Orleans streetcars run and Mardi Gras parades begin their route.

Read more via nola.com

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Taste of Vietnam in New Orleans | Fraser Coast Chronicle

> 3/07/2011 10:53:00 AM

Lost at E Minor

New Orleans is known for its food, but not all of it is Cajun. Check out Pho Tau Bay, a place that serves excellent Vietnamese Phở (noodle soup) and Bánh mì sandwiches...

Read more via frasercoastchronicle.com.au

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Mardi Gras Music Series- PROFESSOR LONGHAIR | Carnival New Orleans News #MardiGrasMonday

> 3/07/2011 08:53:00 AM

1949 was a big year for the Professor, he recorded his first and most successful songs: She Ain’t Got No Hair, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Bye Bye Baby, and Professor Longhair’s Boogie. A remake of She Ain’t Got No Hair renamed Baldhead reached number 5 on the Billboard R & B chart during the summer of 1950. He continued to record for several companies sporadically throughout the 1950s. Fess had his biggest Carnival hit when he recorded Mardi Gras in New Orleans as Go to the Mardi Gras, a local hit in 1959. This song sells well every Carnival, but Longhair had no royalty agreement.

Read more via blog.carnivalneworleans.com

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Recipe: New Orleans Style Muffaletta Sandwich | NY1

> 3/06/2011 09:27:00 AM

Chef dan Eaton shows you how to make a New Orleans style muffaletta sandwich on today's Cooking at Home.

Read recipe and watch video via manhattan.ny1.com

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Record High Mardi Gras Crowds in New Orleans (PHOTOS) | Huffington Post

> 3/06/2011 09:21:00 AM

"Down in New Orleans where the blues was born, it takes a cool cat to blow a horn" - Mardi Gras Mambo.
Mardi Gras season is in high gear in the City of New Orleans, which expects a record tourist season as this will be the latest Fat Tuesday in 150 years, coinciding with Spring Break. The only dark cloud so far was a day of thunderstorms canceling many of Saturday's parades and moving the Endymion Super Krewe to Sunday, March 6, following the Krewe of Bacchus. Bacchus royalty is Andy Garcia; and Kelly Ripa and CNN's Anderson Cooper are reigning over Endymion...

Agreement should allow Port of New Orleans to retain its largest shipping carrier | NOLA.com

> 3/05/2011 08:51:00 AM

The Port of New Orleans should be able to retain its largest shipping carrier for an additional decade under a new lease arrangement approved Friday by the port's Dock Board. The agreement aims to consolidate New Orleans Terminal's current leases with the port and add an additional five acres at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal for 10 years at an annual rate of $6 million, which would rise by less than one percent each year, according to the proposal...

Read more via nola.com

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The Crescent City's Greatest Po'boys | Wall Street Journal WSJ.com Food & Drink

> 3/05/2011 08:49:00 AM

Paul Costello for The Wall Street Journal

Parkway Bakery & Tavern's fried shrimp po'boy

Seventy-two hours of gravy-faced, napkin-thrashing, French bread-crunching taste-testing of New Orleans' most beloved sandwich

Just how passionate New Orleans is about its most famous sandwich is evident in a battle that's been brewing for months, between two po'boy shops situated a mere block from each other in the city's Irish Channel neighborhood...

The Sync Up Conference | The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.

> 3/03/2011 08:22:00 AM

The Sync Up conference, held on the mornings of the Friday and Saturday of both weekends of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, brings together leaders from across the entertainment industry. The conference focuses on three main topics: The international music festival industry; licensing music to film, TV and videogames; and using new technologies to promote and sell independent music.

Sync Up is a free event, produced and presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation – the nonprofit that owns Jazz Fest. The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest, and other funds, for year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural events.

The conference takes place at the New Orleans Museum of Art, walking distance to Jazz Fest, seating is limited and advance registration is required.