Joe Giarrusso for City Council receives key Democratic endorsements (sponsored)

The Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee, New Orleans Coalition, and Independent Democratic Electors Association (IDEA) are the latest organizations to endorse Joe Giarrusso for re-election to City Council, District A in the Oct. 9 election. ​”I’m incredibly proud to be the official candidate of the Democratic Party and to have the support of these leading organizations,” said Giarrusso. “This broad base of support is critical to fulfilling my mission of ensuring a bright future for District A and all New Orleans citizens. My re-election will ensure experienced and reasonable leadership as well as a proven track record of achieving results through collaboration.”

Porch concerts respond to canceled music festivals

Porch concerts had been popping up throughout the city when Milan area residents Natalia and Guy Gonzalez began hosting concerts on their Marengo Street front porch. The tradition started for the Gonzalezes in the fall of 2020, after a musician asked Natalia’s 94-year-old mother if she would put on a porch concert to help out the Radio Bird Quartet. She agreed, and then Natalia took on the project. “We have had Radio Bird, of course, as well as The Walrus, a Beatles cover band,” Natalia Gonzalez said. “In fact, recently when their Zony Mash show got canceled, they came to our porch and played the concert there.”

They are now presenting shows twice monthly, with Mia Borders booked for an upcoming show.

Demolitions create a tear in the fabric of a neighborhood, Faubourg Delachaise residents say

Three rundown ranch-style buildings that the Historic District Landmarks Commission recently approved for demolition were classified by HDLC staff as “non-contributing,” a label given to buildings found to be “not historically or architecturally significant.”

To the Faubourg Delachaise neighbors who addressed the commission on Aug. 4, however, the one-story four-plexes at 900 Aline St., 901 Foucher St. and 909 Foucher contributed to the neighborhood in ways that may not be evident to a casual observer or HDLC commissioner. “I live right across the street from this property,” said Laurel Street resident Debby Pigman. “And although I will not be very distressed to see the buildings disappear, I am very distressed that a lot of my friends in the area were forced to move.”

The loss, she said, is not just personal — it’s a loss to the entire neighborhood.

Join us in exploring benevolent societies and social aid clubs, hosted by Chelsey Richard Napoleon, Clerk of Civil District Court (sponsored)

In continuation of our virtual exhibits, we invite you to join us in exploring benevolent societies and social aid clubs in New Orleans. Our blog will feature a sampling of charters and notarial acts related to local benevolent societies and social aid clubs in our collection. Visit our website at www.orleanscivilclerk.com to view the blog. Visit us at the Research Center, where exhibits can be viewed in person from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, please contact the Research Center at 504-407-0106 or civilclerkresearchctr@orleanscdc.com.

Viewpoint: ‘We are one Louisiana … and have to act that way,’ says Congressman Troy Carter

In wide-ranging, almost hour-long remarks on Wednesday (Aug. 18), U.S. Rep. Troy Carter — who has yet to serve 100 days in office — touched on issues from the pandemic to the American Rescue Plan Act, the Child Tax Credit and support for small businesses. Throughout the Zoom speech to the Bureau of Governmental Research, he emphasized that common sense solutions can make a real difference. 

“I want to be that bridge of reasonableness,” the New Orleans Democrat told the BGR. “When you’re building relationships, it’s policy over politics, people over politics.” 

Carter said that Louisiana does not have the luxury of divisiveness. “We need to concentrate on things that bring us together — education, infrastructure, health care, safety, flooding.