Roadwork ahead: Lanes to close for repaving work on MLK Boulevard

Drivers can expect intermittent lane closures on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from South Claiborne Avenue to Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard from Wednesday (June 21) through Friday of next week (June 30), as crews apply asphalt paving to the roadway. Motorists are advised to use caution during this time as the lane closures will occur across the closed parking and travel lanes. The street will reopen to traffic at 5:30 p.m. each day (see map.)

Signage and traffic control measures, such as barrels and fencing, will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians. Vehicles must be moved off the street before Wednesday at 7 a.m. The Department of Public Works asks that residents adhere to no parking signage on the streets. Vehicles parked in these zones will be ticketed and towed.

Perfect Gentlemen host Father’s Day second-line

The Perfect Gentlemen Social Aid and Pleasure Club will host a Father’s Day Second-Line today (June 18) at 4 p.m. to honor New Orleans dads past and present. The second-line will be headed by New Orleans rapper T-Lyons, also known as the Southern Soul Kid. Joining him on the front line is Shilo, an R&B singing group from Shreveport. The two acts recently signed distribution deals with the company, Music Matters. Providing the music for the second-line is Da Truth Brass Band.

Uptown musician Kate Fagan finds herself suddenly too cool

By Jeanne D’Arcy, Uptown Messenger

More than four decades after its release, Uptown musician Kate Fagan’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool” and Fagan herself have caught the public’s attention. 

When she recorded “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool” (Side B: “Waiting for the Crisis”) in 1979, the singer-songwriter was making waves in the Chicago punk rock scene. Fagan hustled for exposure — printing and distributing fliers, calling radio station DJs — but never gained much traction beyond her ardent fan base. 

With her punk days behind her, Fagan had been living in New Orleans for nearly 10 years when a New York City number popped up on her phone. She picked up, thinking it could be an old friend, and found herself talking to a record producer from the Omnian Music Group in Brooklyn. They wanted to reissue the single on their new rerelease label Manufactured Recordings. The producer told Fagan: “I want you to be our first project.”

Fagan still had the original recording.

Viewpoint: City’s delegation scores wins in Baton Rouge during challenging session

The 2023 legislative session in Baton Rouge ended June 8 with a controversial last-minute budget bill and a package of bills targeting the transgender community. Attempts by Democrats to add rape and incest as exceptions to the state’s near total abortion ban, raise the minimum wage and abolish the death penalty were unsuccessful. Yet New Orleans’ Democratic contingent is able to tout some successes despite the tough political climate. 

The 2023 legislative session was “challenging,” according to District 5 state Sen. Royce Duplessis. He was nonetheless pleased with several budget wins, including $44 million for early childhood education as well as stipends for teachers and support personnel. “I am committed to continuing the fight for a permanent pay rise because our teachers and our children deserve much more,” Duplessis said. 

After four years of hard work, Duplessis was able to pass Senate Bill 111, which streamlines the expungement process for some criminal records and makes it easier and more affordable.

NOPD plans sobriety checkpoint for Thursday night

The NOPD’s Traffic Division will conduct an upcoming sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location overnight on Thursday (June 15). The checkpoint will operate between the hours of 9 p.m. on Thursday through 5 a.m. on Friday (June 16). Motorists will experience minimal delays and should have the proper documentation available if requested, including proof of insurance and driver’s license.

Joshua Bruno buys Washington Place Apartments in his own bankruptcy sale

Controversial landlord Joshua Bruno has bought back Washington Place Apartments in Central City, one of six decrepit Bruno-owned complexes auctioned off in a court-ordered bankruptcy sale. The 25-unit building was purchased for $990,000 in what The Pulse, Elifin Realty’s weekly newsletter, described as “an arm’s length transaction.” The buyer is Central Holding, a limited liability company controlled by Bruno, another LLC with Bruno listed as both agent and officer, and the New Orleans Redevelopment Fund. The real estate development division of Hernandez Consulting & Construction, NORF Companies specializes in tax-advantaged investment strategies, such as historic tax credits and Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds. Opportunity Zone Funds, created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, provide incentives to invest capital gain proceeds in areas designated as in need of economic expansion.

Viewpoint: Can the next governor actually do something about crime?

For more than a month now, Attorney General Jeff Landry, a former sheriff’s deputy and the leading candidate for governor of Louisiana, has been airing television commercials about his experience fighting crime. Not to be outdone, a political action committee supporting gubernatorial candidate Steve Waguespack, the former head of the state’s business lobby and a previous aide to Gov. Bobby Jindal, has counter-claimed that Landry has done little to solve the problem as the state’s top law enforcement official. State Treasurer John Schroeder, also a Republican candidate for governor, has been spending big bucks on television addressing the issue. Democratic candidate Shawn Wilson, a native New Orleanian, speaks passionately on the subject. Last week, District Attorney Jason Williams surprised many political insiders with his pronouncement that he, too, might enter the race because Landry’s commercials had offended his sensibilities.

Police seeking car involved in shooting and hit-and-run

The New Orleans Police Department is searching for a vehicle connected to a May 19 shooting in Central City. The vehicle was first involved in a hit-and-run; damage may be visible on the front passenger-side bumper. After the hit-and-run, the shooting victim, a 40-year-old man, followed the car to Danneel and Sixth streets at about 1:15 p.m. The gunman responded by opening fire, striking the victim multiple times. NOPD Sixth District detectives are seeking the blue Honda Accord pictured above and those occupying the vehicle at the time of the incident. The Honda has chrome trim, no license plate and a temporary license tag in the rear window. Anyone with information on this incident, the pictured vehicle or its occupants is urged to contact NOPD Sixth District detectives at 504-658-6060.