city government

Public pushes city officials about funding proposal for Audubon and City Park

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By Nicholas Reimann, nreimann@theadvocate.com

A community meeting Monday night on the proposed parks and recreation overhaul brought out numerous questions, comments and criticisms from the public, as city officials faced a skeptical crowd trying to defend a proposed reallocation of tax dollars.

Voters will decide May 4 whether to approve the city proposal to shift the current allocation of over $20 million in property taxes used to fund parks and recreation, which would notably provide City Park with city funding for the first time in its 169-year history.

arts, books and music

Newcomb museum plans full day of events for opening of exhibit of art by incarcerated women

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The exhibition “Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana” is opening Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Newcomb Art Museum with an afternoon of family activities and an evening of conversation, performance and celebration.

For this exhibit, Newcomb Art Museum has partnered with formerly incarcerated women, community organizations, stakeholders and those directly impacted by the prison system to create “Per(Sister),” which is intended to share the stories of currently and formerly incarcerated women in Louisiana, and shine a light on the myriad issues as identified and expressed by the women themselves.

events

Ashé Cultural Arts Center’s MLK events aimed at unity and healing

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Ashé Cultural Arts Center is honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of commemorative events, beginning on Thursday, Jan.17.

Activities include the sixth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.-César Chavez Commemorative Luncheon on Jan. 18 at the Ashé Power House, and Ashé’s annual community sing, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” on Jan. 20.

For more information on these and other activities, call 504-569-9070.

business

Yo Joe! 2019 Real Estate Advice

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I’m Joe Gerrity, local businessman, investor and Real Estate Broker. For my monthly “Yo Joe!” column, I’ll be answering your real estate questions as well as providing market information and housing statistics.
I believe the main responsibilities of a Realtor are to add value and facilitate mutually beneficial transactions, and through this column I hope to help the New Orleans community make more informed decisions about their housing future.
Yo Joe! I want to transfer my investment property out of my name and into an LLC. What’s the process like?

Well, let me start off by saying that the following is my opinion based on experience. I am not an attorney, a mortgage broker or a tax attorney. I do, however, work with many investors and personally own my investment properties in separate LLC’s.

arts, books and music

Book Report: Meet the authors for discussions, signings, writing workshop

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Book signing: Rory O’Neill Schmidt, Rosary Hartel O’Neill, and Barret O’Brien
New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History
Greater Wilder
Saturday, Jan. 12
4:30-6 p.m.
Garden District Book Shop, The Rink, 2727 Prytania St.

Family Trifecta – Mother, Daughter, and Son: Rory O’Neill Schmidt and Rosary Hertel O’Neill, and Barret O’Brien discuss and sign their books, New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History, and Greater Wilder.

food and drink

Kristine Froeba: Mardi Gras 2019 king cakes have arrived – nectar cream, Tabasco, caramel crunch, coconut and even a croissant cake

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The local New Orleans grocer Breaux Mart has rechristened itself King Cake Mart on Twitter for the duration of the carnival season. That should give out-of-towners an idea of the importance of King Cake in our city.

As many in the world awaited Twelfth Night and the Epiphany or Three Kings Day to mark the ending of Christmas, New Orleanians impatiently ticked off the days until Jan. 6 for another reason: to signify the arrival of the carnival season and the blessed arrival of King Cake.

It’s the time for locals to play, feast, and attend endless parties, masque balls, and parades. But first, it’s time for an entire city to eat large circles of sugar-laden cake. Every. Single. Day.

arts, books and music

Follow your passion, ‘Les Miserables’ actors tell Lusher theater students

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Theater students from a local high school had the opportunity to hear from two actors from “Les Miserables,” a Tony award-winning musical playing at the Saenger Theatre until Jan. 13.

On Wednesday, Paige Smallwood and Stavros Koumbaros, actors from “Les Miserables,” spoke with 35 theater students at Lusher Charter School on Freret Street. During the event arranged by Broadway in New Orleans and the Orleans Parish School Board, the actors answered questions from A.J. Allegra, director of the musical theater division at Lusher, and directly from the students themselves.