New Orleans College Prep says no further layoffs after community outcry

After dozens of students, parents and teachers complained to the board of New Orleans College Prep earlier this month about the impact of emergency layoffs, officials at the charter network promised Monday they have determined the system’s finances have stabilized and that no more layoffs are expected. “Our finances are stable, which means we do not foresee any need for further layoffs,” said College Prep board chair Patrick Norton. School this fall at College Prep’s two campuses, Walter L. Cohen high school and Crocker elementary, with about 40 fewer students than expected, causing a shortfall of nearly $450,000 in state per-pupil funding. In addition to a number of other cost-saving measures, the College Prep administration laid off seven non-teaching staff members — prompting the numerous expressions of concern by members of the school community at an Oct. 1 board meeting.

NCIS TV-show filming will include simulated gunfire near Lafayette Cemetery

Filming for the TV series “NCIS: New Orleans” will include the sound of simulated gunfire on Tuesday afternoon near Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District, New Orleans officials said. The filming will take place between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 30) in the 2800 block of Coliseum Street, according to the mayor’s office. “Filming will be conducted under the supervision of New Orleans Police Department,” the announcement states. “All filming is being done with the knowledge and cooperation of Film New Orleans, the City of New Orleans’ film office.”

House workers robbed by man impersonating police, NOPD says

Two men working on a house on Chestnut Street this weekend were robbed by a man pretending to be a police officer, New Orleans Police said. The victims, one man in his 20s and one in his 40s, were mowing the lawn at a house near Chestnut and Upperline streets shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26, when a man showed up and told them he was a police officer, according to NOPD reports:

The subject then flashed a badge, described as a silver star with a pelican on it, at the victims and began questioning about their employer and where they were from. He then asked if they had any marijuana or cocaine in their possession. The wanted subject then called both victims to their work truck and began patting them down and frisking them.

Despite efforts to align himself with Trump, David Duke remains “toxic” politically, biographer says

By Nicholas Reimann for UptownMessenger.com

The journalist that’s covered essentially the entire political career of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke said it’s clear the man himself has no political future — even as many of the ideas he ran on in the early 1990s are now gaining wider acceptance by mainstream politicians. Current Advocate and former Times-Picayune political reporter Tyler Bridges shared those thoughts at Octavia Books Thursday, as he and Lawrence Powell — Tulane historian and co-founder of the anti-Duke Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism — met for conversation about Bridges’ new book, “The Rise and Fall of David Duke.”

The book is actually an update of Bridges’ 1995 book called “The Rise of David Duke,” which came out just a few years after Duke’s ascension to national prominence following races for Louisiana governor and U.S. senator that drew him hundreds of thousands of votes. Though Duke remained active promoting white nationalism after gaining fame in the 1990s, he largely took a back seat in terms of active political campaigning. That is, until Donald Trump decided to run for president. Seeing similarities between his own rhetoric in the early 1990s and Trump’s language on the campaign trail, Duke felt it might finally have been his time to win statewide elected office.

Two men indicted in separate murder cases in Broadmoor, Carrollton, prosecutors say

Two men accused in separate murders in Broadmoor and Carrollton earlier this year were indicted Thursday by a grand jury, prosecutors said. The first indictment was in the fatal killing of 31-year-old Keyan Watkins on April 18 in the 3600 block of South Roman Street. Kline Lee, 51, is charged with second-degree murder and other offenses after allegedly shooting Watkins and another woman after an argument over money escalated, said District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office:

Kline Lee, 51, was charged with obstruction of justice, being a felon in possession of a firearm, attempted second-degree murder and the second-degree murder of Keyan Watkins in a four-count indictment handed up by an Orleans Parish grand jury. Ad hoc Criminal District Judge Dennis Waldron set Lee’s bond at $900,000 after the indictment was read. Watkins, 34, died from a gunshot to the face sustained around 9:18 p.m. in the 3600 block of South Roman Street on April 18, 2018.

Suspect charged with repeatedly exposing himself to woman on Toledano Street, police say

A man accused of masturbating outside a Toledano Street resident’s window on three separate occasions over the last two months has now surrendered to police on obscenity charges, New Orleans police said. Emilio Dominguez, 28, is charged with exposing himself to the woman at her home twice in early September and a third in October, according to NOPD reports:

On September 7, 2018, an unknown subject arrived at an address on Toledano Street and attempted to open the victim’s door. The subject was confronted by the victim, at which time he informed the victim that he was at the wrong address. The victim closed her door and continued to watch the subject as he walked away. The subject looked at the victim through her window and began to masturbate in front of her.

Rouses eyes former Bloomin’ Deals spot on Freret for new grocery

Residents near Freret Street — both those that have been there for generations and more recent newcomers — have clamored for years for a neighborhood grocery on the commercial corridor. With the announcement this week by Rouses that they are planning a location in the location of the former Bloomin’ Deals thrift shop — practically across the street from another ongoing grocery project in the former Publiq House space — those residents may soon have two groceries to choose from. After the Junior League of New Orleans closed the thrift shop at 4645 Freret, the nonprofit sold it Aug. 1 to a private investment company called SSJ Investments registered to Andrew Jacobs (who was also involved in the redevelopment of the large former Weber Garden Center two years ago). The sale also included the parcel and building adjacent to Bloomin Deals at 4617 Freret, which the Junior League had used for bridal dress sales.

Home invasion robbery reported on Louisiana Avenue Parkway

A man and a woman in their 30s and a teenage boy were robbed of a box full of cash by two armed intruders in a Louisiana Avenue Parkway home overnight, New Orleans police said Thursday morning. The man answered a knock at the door of a home in the 3200 block of Louisiana Avenue Parkway (near South Roman Street) around 1:15 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, and “two unknown males rushed in,” according to the initial NOPD report. One of the intruders, wielding two guns, forced the man to the floor at gunpoint while pointing the second gun at the 14-year-old boy, the report states. The other intruder, also armed with a gun, forced the woman into the bedroom “where she gave the subject a shoe box containing cash,” the report states.

Daiquiri shop planned for St. Charles Avenue splits City Planning Commission

The controversial plan to open a new daiquiri shop on St. Charles Avenue created a heated debate before the City Planning Commission on Tuesday, and the commission ultimately decided to let the City Council make a decision without their recommendation. The owners of Tigers Paw daiquiri shop in Baton Rouge are planning to convert a storefront at 1610 St. Charles Avenue (most recently the home of Krewe du Brew coffee shop) into a New Orleans expansion of their business. Neighbors have said the proposal is too reminiscent of the former Daiquiri Place Cafe that was ultimately shuttered by city officials following allegations of crowd behavior so unruly that the police could not keep it under control, and the Lower Garden District Association has voted to oppose the project.

Two arrested in shooting of armed-robbery victim, police say

Two men have been arrested by New Orleans police and federal marshals after a violent armed robbery earlier this month on Second Street in Central City that included the shooting of one of the victims, authorities said. Antoine Reid, 27, and Evan McMillan, 21, are charged with three counts of armed robbery with a firearm and a single count of aggravated battery by shooting following their arrests by the NOPD Violent Offender Warrant Squad and the U.S. Marshals. The robbery and shooting took place Oct. 6 in the 2800 block of Second Street, according to the announcement of their arrests:

In responding to a call of an armed robbery with a shooting involved, NOPD Sixth District officers learned that four victims were reportedly driving in the area of First and Willow streets looking to purchase marijuana. The group was then allegedly flagged down by two unknown black males, who told the victims to relocate to the 2800 block of Second Street.