News and information clippings from New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
New Orleans is most associated with the world-renowned French Quarter when tourists think of the city. Also popular are the Saints NFL Football Team, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. The nola411 website is here to roll up information from around the web that locals ad visitors will hopefully find as a useful tool and check back frequently for the latest news.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was granted to the Louisiana auctioneers at the beginning of April – in essence recognition that the business had more bills than assets and required both help from the court and an influx of funds to enable them to continue in business...
The New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) recently began running ads with the theme, “You’re different here.” They spent nearly $5 million to run them in key cities across the country. They're targeting people like the honeymooners, so-called "leisure travelers," the people who decide to make New Orleans a vacation destination, outside of big events like conventions and cruises. Tourists spent a record amount in New Orleans last year, $5.3 billion...
The principal speaker was Joel Klein, who was deputy White House counsel during the Bill Clinton administration and chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. Since January, he has been chief executive officer of the News Corp.'s educational division and executive vice president.
Despite LSU finishing the regular season with 12 victories in its final 15 games, and notching up nine wins in the last 12 SEC games, the Tigers will not be making a run for Omaha. The Purple & Gold also won six of their last seven contests overall...
Many consumers are still hseitant to trust seafood fromthe Gulf of Mexico, but restaurateurs and other seafood suppliers feel confident in the safety of the lucrative product / Larry Crowe/AP
When you're the head chef at one of New Orleans' top restaurants, you don't serve bad seafood. Consumers still have doubts. In an informal online poll, for example, 59 perecent of 1,582 USA TODAY readers say they still wouldn't eat seafood from the Gulf...
By the time her parents allowed her to have a sleepover at age 11, word had spread: The homes on the site of the former Agriculture Street Landfill, along with a nearby school and community center, sat atop a stew of toxic chemicals so dangerous the government declared it a federal Superfund site. Despite 18 years of litigation and the judgment by Civil District Judge Nadine Ramsey holding the agencies liable for emotional distress and loss of property value, only the nine original plaintiffs have seen any money...
Entergy New Orleans Inc. said Thursday it intends to lower rates slightly this fall for both its electricity and natural gas customers in Orleans Parish. Overall, the planned reductions would amount to less than 1 percent of a customer's bill...
A lawyer for BP argued today in federal court in New Orleans that spill victims can only sue for economic losses under specific laws governing offshore spills and that lawsuits filed under other statutes should be dismissed. The London-based oil company also said spill victims are obligated to pursue claims for resolution through a $20 billion trust fund BP established for that purpose before they can sue...
Louisiana Music Factory, a independent record and cd store located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous around the world for it's spotlight local music. The LMF holds weekly in-store live performances during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival which generates awareness, and record sales...
It has been nearly 6 years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and the good news is that not only is tourism back and thriving in these locales, it is better than ever. Because of the heavy New Orleans media coverage, many people in other parts of the country did not realize that beachfront towns were even harder hit, with their strip of oceanfront casinos resorts left looking as if they had been bombed...
New Orleans residents can track crime near their homes using the NOPD's new crime map, which allows users to plug in an address to see crime within a two-mile radius. The NOPD's crime map historically has been an inconsistent resource, typically posting crimes after a delay of at least several days and sometimes longer. The new system will be updated automatically every 24 hours at 4 a.m.
U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh, the Army Corps of Engineers and members of the Mississippi River Commission took to the skies Tuesday to check how the levees are holding after weeks of high river levels. McHugh flew over the historically high Mississippi River with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Major Gen. Michael Walsh, head of the Mississippi River Commission.
The Coast Guard re-opened a portion of the Mississippi River, Monday, near Baton Rouge, after it was closed due to three barges that sank, Friday.
The Coast Guard opened the Mississippi River from mile marker 228-237 to limited traffic with the following restrictions:
For the northbound channel, vessels are allowed to transit one-at-a-time; however, they must coordinate with Vessel Traffic Service New Orleans for permission to transit.
The New Orleans area has access to more than $17.95 million for public transportation projects for fiscal 2011, which ends Sept. 30. The New Orleans figure is the fifth lowest among the 38 areas nationwide with a population of more than 1 million that have access to funding from the federal government. The money comes from a pot of $7.6 billion in annual funding for states, local communities and transit agencies nationwide to help maintain bus and transit rail operations and provide for capital construction and maintenance projects...
Officials have closed the railroad bridge over the Bonnet Carre Spillway after flood-borne debris caused damage to the bridge. The closure means that the famed City of New Orleans will have to bypass the city of New Orleans.
The Deep South is pretty far from wine country, but a world of wine still flows through New Orleans. Chalk that up to a robust fine-dining scene, visitors who arrive ready to live it up and locals who decant at the drop of a hat. This week, that spirited approach to wine will be in high gear at the annual New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE). NOWFE draws nearly 10,000wine makers and wine lovers to New Orleans and raises money for local charities...
Being an extra isn’t as anonymous as it may seem. Au contraire, ye of little faith; I walked past the cameras at least 50 times, which obviously means that I’m going to be featured prominently. Who knows, maybe they liked my impassioned shouting so much that they’ll ask me back for a more permanent role. That’s how people make it in this business. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.
New Orleans author Bill Loehfelm's new book just won't get out of my mind. And the reason is Maureen Coughlin, the character of the year. She's a 29-year-old barmaid at the Narrows, a semi-seedy, semi-romantic bar on Staten Island. She dresses in short black leather skirts and tight sweaters to bump up tips as she delivers drinks. Alone and emotionally on the edge, Maureen fights against becoming a "lifer" in the bars on the island -- or being a bitter old woman with seven cats...
Most had left Butte LaRose days earlier amid high tension as the water continued its trek toward the area, about 45 miles west of Baton Rouge. The Army Corps of Engineers partially opened the Mississippi River's Morganza floodway May 14 to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans from catastrophic flooding, but the water it was diverting from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin still hadn't reached the town nearly a week later...
A group of seventh-graders who recently traveled to New Orleans on a rare service-learning trip are sharing their experience at UW-Madison’s School of Education on Monday. The trip was unusual because most community service projects in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina have involved high school or college students. Students, professors and researchers at UW-Madison are interested in hearing about the community service component...
The Army Corps of Engineers, desperate to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans from flooding, opened a spigot on a spillway over the weekend, intentionally flooding this part of Cajun country, an area much less populated. But the cascade of water from the Morganza floodway is hampering the local oil industry and fishermen on the bayou...
Empty barges moored in the Mississippi River off Algiers are a sign of the impact high river levels are having on river traffic and, in turn, the economy.
The national media coverage of the potential flooding problem in New Orleans has spooked some tourists heading to the Crescent City. But travel industry experts say, despite that, the industry seems to be holding up well...
The New Orleans Eat Local Challenge begins on Wednesday June 1, 2011 and ends Thursday June 30th. Participants who think they could only last one or two weeks are still encouraged to enter the contest. Any conscious effort to use local products will have a positive effect on your awareness of your food’s origins, the local economy, and the environment.
There are many reasons to try a local food diet. Some people become locavores because they want to support their local farmers and economy. Others want to reduce the size of their carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. People also become locavores for health reasons or simply because they believe that local foods taste better. Many locavores find that their diet helps them learn new things about the food they eat and the community where they live.
The New Orleans City Council recently passed a law providing that "any established and properly licensed retailer" may "display and sell their own merchandise on the exterior portion of their leased or owned premises" during the annual festival. Like the previous ban, the new law applies to the area bounded by Florida Avenue, North Broad Street, Esplanade Avenue and Bayou St. John...
Author and community activist Jordan Flaherty explores culture, community and resistance in Floodlines, an inspiring read on Katrina and all the under-reported stories of social justice struggles in the years after the storm. Flaherty writes in a lyrical style, illustrating a deep connection to the arts, while also communicating the urgent realities facing the poor majority in New Orleans, a predominantly African-American city — realities that today have fallen far from the headline glare...
The Hyatt Regency New Orleans will reopen to guests October 19th. The 32-story hotel, which served as the Katrina headquarters for Mayor Ray Nagin, the City Council and the heads of several first responder organizations, suffered substantial water damage during the storm and has remained dormant ever since. When it reopens, the property will have undergone a $275 million overhaul that includes moving the entrance to Loyola Avenue and doubling the hotel's meeting space...
One of the local organizations that has stepped up big-time is the Preservation Resource Center, a longstanding group whose mission is to promote the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of New Orleans's historic architecture and neighborhoods. The PRC's web site asserts that, "in post-Katrina New Orleans, it is particularly crucial that we rebuild in a way that is sensitive to our past, or we risk losing everything that makes our city unique."
Army engineers prepared Saturday to slowly open the gates of an emergency spillway along the rising Mississippi River, diverting floodwaters from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, yet inundating homes and farms in parts of Louisiana's populated Cajun country. About 25,000 people and 11,000 structures could be in harm's way when the Morganza spillway is unlocked for the first time in 38 years...
Several New Orleans musical institutions hit town [Boston] next week in the wake of its Jazz Fest, acts that embody the conflicting impulses that continue to define the city, even as it struggles to recover almost six years after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall...
And so it was last month that I spent three days dining (and drinking!) solely in places with local roots — and wishing there were more than three meals a day to do the scene justice. Some tales from four favorites...
The mighty Mississippi River continued to threaten New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., Friday, with floodwaters that could breach levees that protect those major cities. Already, in parts of Louisiana, residents are fleeing the rising water. Even schoolchildren are helping evacuate.
An abandoned home in New Orleans is transformed into a interactive art installation where passersby are invited to pick up a piece of chalk and share what they'd like to see and do before kicking the bucket.
Due to heavy rain in the Mississippi Valley and rising Mississippi River water stages and flow, visitors and clients have asked questions regarding any implications this may have for New Orleans. New Orleans is not subject to the type of river and tributary flooding seen along other parts of the Mississippi River due to the extensive water diversion systems that guide high river waters away from New Orleans and other river communities. For example, on Monday, May 9, 2011 the United States Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway to alleviate pressure, flow and water levels of the Mississippi River.
Louisiana's the flood fight is being dictated by a series of benchmarks.
When the river reaches 45 feet in Baton Rouge, riverboat casinos will start to shut down
When water levels get above 62.5 feet at Red River Landing, the Old River Lock will be closed to navigation
The Red River Landing, now at 60 feet, is 63 miles north of Baton Rouge, near where the Louisiana state line moves east from the river. The Morganza floodway is between the landing and Baton Rouge...
After Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures, Michael Bordelon had his hands full rebuilding Liuzza's Restaurant & Bar, the Mid-City restaurant he and his sister Shanette Edler operated together. But through it all, Bordelon took time to encourage his friend Scot Craig to reopen his business, Katie's Restaurant & Bar, another neighborhood joint a block down the street...
Liuzza Palooza: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, May 15th, 3600 block of Bienville St., New Orleans.
As many as 11 people have reported getting sick from eating raw oysters contaminated with cholera bacteria in northern Florida, officials said on Tuesday. The oysters came from Apalachicola Bay, near Panama City in northern Florida, about 300 miles (482 kilometers) from New Orleans along the Gulf of Mexico coast, and the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning not to eat them...
"Uncle" Lionel Batiste, Treme Brass Band, Jazz Fest 2011. Famous New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins calls Batiste his "total influence," saying that Batiste "taught [him] how to act, how to dress, how to feel about life." - Gambit New Orleans and Entertainment
In contrast to many festivals that have become a hive of celebrity and status symbol, the energy of Jazz Fest was open and friendly, with minimal attitude and nary a hipster in sight. The crowd was diverse in age and race and the event itself is like a microcosm of New Orleans itself, with so much soulful, local flavor integrated throughout...
Water from the rising Mississippi River pours over the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, Louisiana, on Tuesday
As the Mississippi River was cresting Tuesday near Memphis, Tennessee, residents downstream in low-lying Louisiana were eying the rising waters nervously -- and worried about a plan to open a spillway, which is expected to trigger flooding in southern portions of the state...
Washboard Chaz had them rocking early in the Blues Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, his fingers rippling over and pounding the old-fashioned washboard that hung from his chest. Chaz Leary has been playing the washboard for better than 40 years, adding its snap and scrape to a variety of music, including the blues...
The 2011 New Orleans Jazz Fest is over at 7 p.m. Sunday, but the music continues in the clubs. Deacon John stages his big band jump blues show at Sweet Lorraine's. Dr. John is at the Howlin' Wolf. The Blue Nile hosts a "Funky Butt Revisited" show with "Big" Sam Williams, Doug Wimbish of Living Colour, Marco Benevento, Terence Higgins, Maurice Brown and more...
The Corps has indicated that it may also need to operate the Morganza Floodway which is northwest of Baton Rouge. Operation of the Morganza Floodway would require the evacuation of people and livestock and removal of personal belongings for communities within the Atchafalaya River Basin.
As the levels rise, Saint Bernard Parish residents worry. Crews with the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority are working closely with the Army Corps of Engineers to monitor the levee throughout the days ahead...
Growing up, Sam Williams was so tall he thought his future might include basketball — but an adolescent growth spurt instead helped make Big Sam a prominent purveyor of funky New Orleans music. Williams is the front man for Big Sam's Funky Nation, one of the city's premier brass bands, which blends funk with ripples of rock and heavy metal that's all flavored with the unique grooves of New Orleans...
In 2010, The Times-Picayune reported at the New Orleans Jazz Fest that the truck of the last of the Creole vegetable vendors had broken down so finally that it had to be towed to the festival on the Fair Grounds. The community rallied behind the icon, and this weekend, Arthur Robinson is selling vegetables from his brightly decorated new black truck...
John McCusker, Times-Picayune archive Work still to be done includes repairs to the perimeter fence, gates and parking lot pavement; completion of the concrete pavement and walkways; restoration of the Congo Square fountain; a new pedestrian entrance at St. Philip Street; repair and reinstallation of the Armstrong statue and more.
Large parts of Louis Armstrong Park, closed since last summer, will reopen to the public Monday, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Friday night. Those areas, including most of the lagoon area in front of the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m...
Rolling Stone's photographers will be documenting the 42nd annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival all week long. Keep up with the latest images by checking out their extensive Jazz Fest 2011 photo gallery featuring amazing shots from all the hottest sets, including Wilco, Arcade Fire, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, the Decemberists, Bon Jovi, Band of Joy, Jeff Beck and many more. Check rollingstone.com for updates with new photos for the duration of the festival...
Ted Jackson/The Times-PicayuneUNE Drummer Shannon Powell calls for applause and another round for Lionel Ferbos as he packs up after a performance at the Peoples Health Economy Hall Tent at the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2011, Friday, May 6, 2011.
The New Orleans Jazz Fest 2011 100th birthday party for Lionel Ferbos ended as all centennial celebrations should. The party began with a proclamation and a plaque in honor of Ferbos, born July 17, 1911, a birth year shared by Ronald Reagan, Jean Harlow, L. Ron Hubbard, Lucille Ball and Mahalia Jackson...
For seven days over two weekends, Jazz Fest attracts more than 300,000 music fans to New Orleans. Spread out over a dozen stages, the fest hosts over 450 musical acts from New Orleans and around the world.
Such a large festival opens bands to a big audience, but it also means musicians have tough competition for fest-goers' time. During Jazz Fest week more than 40 New Orleans clubs that host nightly shows in town...
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, asked the White House to declare 11 counties along the river disaster areas in anticipation of flooding, as Vicksburg, Natchez and other riverfront communities braced for floods.
Given the plethora of Indian recordings currently available, it’s hard to believe that this was the first time that authentic, masking and sewing Mardi Gras Indians had combined their unique chants and percussion with a funk/R&B band. Mardi Gras Indians and their music had been waxed before. Jelly Roll Morton did piano versions of Indian songs on his Library of Congress interviews...
The Louisiana SPCA in New Orleans is sending 60 puppies and small dogs to Atlanta for adoption this week. It's the latest step taken to cope with what spokeswoman Katherine LeBlanc says is a population of strays and abandoned pets that has grown steadily since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005...
Chris Granger/The Times-PicayuneMinnie Pearl's pies
At the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2011, pie is in the capable hands of three women who channel their heritage, faith and years of experience into their work. This year we take a closer look at these women and their cute little individual-serving-size masterpieces.
As the 25th annual Festival International de Louisiane came to a close Sunday night the crowd, which had been huge throughout the weekend, remained strong...
It looks like Gameloft wants to open up shop in The Big Easy. Gameloft hit a New Orleans job board with thirteen full-time job listings recently. Joystiq figured something was up, so they contacted the mobile developer. They didn't get much in the way of confirmation of a new studio...
Gameloft is a leading international publisher and developer of video games for mobile phones and consoles. Established in 1999, it has emerged as one of the top innovators in its field. The company creates games for mobile handsets equipped with Java, Brew or Symbian technology. The total number of games-enabled handsets is anticipated to exceed four billion units by 2012. Gameloft games are also available to players on WiiWare and DS, Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE Arcade, Apple’s iPod, iTouch and iPhones, and PCs.
visit nola411.com for New Orleans and Gulf Coast news clippings.
Only eight percent of Americans rank Atlantic City as their top casino destination, according to a national telephone poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind™. Las Vegas was the top choice of 47 percent of adults, while New Orleans was the top pick of 10 percent. Reno (five percent) and St. Louis (four percent) rounded out the list...
Jazz Fest live from New Orleans featuring performances by: Arcade Fire • Jimmy Buffet & the Coral Reefer Band • The Neville Brothers • Wilco • Jeff Beck • Better than Ezra • Allen Toussaint • Galactic • Irma Thomas • Cowboy Mouth and much more!
Treme series co-creator Eric Overmyer is a longtime New Orleans resident, and a big enough fan of New Orleans music to make the city's musicians the cornerstone of the show. Are there ties between the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and HBO's Treme? Enough to warrant a Tuesday taping of a "festival-like experience" in City Park. Tim Robbins directed Treme Episode 2, "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky." It's a Thanksgiving episode introducing the wider world to Sissy Bounce, a phenomenon including New Orleans gay bounce artists Sissy Nobby, Katey Red and Queen Diva Big Freeida...
Credit: The Historic New Orleans Collection, accession no 1979.89.7315
In the spring semester of 2009, Drew Rowland created NOLA Brew History as a project for his Louisiana history class. Now the UNO senior from Illinois is expanding the New Orleans beer history site as part of an independent study. Even after he leaves school, Rowland plans to continue adding to the website until it becomes a complete archive of our city's beer history...
New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in America. It's rich with culture and legendary for its indulgences - and its disasters. Almost six years after Hurricane Katrina and one year after the BP oil spill, New Orleans has a new mayor with a new plan on how to run the city. Mitch Landrieu says it's time to rebuild this place not into what it was, but into what it can be. He brings his own brand of intensity to the Big Easy.
The Tipitina's Foundation proudly announces its 10th Annual Instruments A Comin' Benefit Concert on Monday, May 2, 2010, at the original Tipitina's Uptown. The outdoor festival kicks off at 5 p.m. with an epic battle of marching bands, followed by hours of entertainment, food, local arts and crafts, and a silent auction.
“Treme” is re-creating a certain “Outdoor Music Festival” for the season finale, and its makers are inviting the city to show up and attend. No one’s saying the words “jazz” or “fest,” but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where our favorite HBO characters will wind up at the end of this season.
Chef and co-owner at Zea's Restaurants Greg Reggio shows how to cook up his Thai Gator just off the 17th hole at TPC Louisiana during Friday's round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. While he demonstrates, golfers Jerry Kelly and Matt Bettencourt wander off the 17th hole to check it out...
It is the first weekend of Jazz Fest 2011 and NOPD Commander Henry Dean is making sure everything is running smoothly, just outside the festival gates. The festival grounds sit in Cmdr. Dean's district-- the third-- but Saturday is his day off. He is not working for the department on this day, but rather, he is on a paid detail, paid for by Jazz Fest...
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Louisiana Music Factory, a independent record and cd store located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous around the world for it's spotlight local music. The LMF holds weekly in-store live performances during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival which generates awareness, and record sales...
had them rocking early in the Blues Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, his fingers rippling over and pounding the old-fashioned washboard that hung from his chest. Chaz Leary has been playing the washboard for better than 40 years, adding its snap and scrape to a variety of music, including the blues...
, one of the city's premier brass bands, which blends funk with ripples of rock and heavy metal that's all flavored with the unique grooves of New Orleans... performs in New Orleans tonight (5/7) at The Rock 'N' Bowl, 3000 S. Carrollton Avenue along with Voice of the Wetlands Allstars
plus Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers
.
, Arcade Fire
, Jimmy Buffett
, Dr. John
, the Decemberists
, Bon Jovi
, Band of Joy
, Jeff Beck
and many more. Check rollingstone.com for updates with new photos for the duration of the festival...
