Police blotter: In Central City, double shooting and a shooting and car theft; woman wounded in Hollygrove shooting

Three shootings were reported in the past week in Uptown neighborhoods. A 57-year-old woman was wounded in a shooting Thursday evening (April 21) in Hollygrove. NOPD Second District officers found her suffering from multiple gunshot wounds at about 5:10 p.m.. in the 2600 block of Monroe Street. The Emergency Medical Service took her to the hospital.

Viewpoint: Raised to serve, Judge Rachael Johnson plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps

It’s been a fast-paced and fulfilling five years since Judge Rachael Johnson took the bench in Civil District Court Division B. The daughter of retired Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, Judge Johnson always knew her future lay in public service. She plans to qualify in July to run for  the seat recently vacated by former Judge Regina Bartholomew-Woods on the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, Division D.

“Service was always part of our lives. It was not optional. Of course I admire my mother and her life-long commitment to fairness, equity and justice, but she never insisted that I become a lawyer or judge,” Judge Johnson said. Her mother was the first African-American chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, where she served from 1994 until her retirement in 2020. 

A graduate of McDonogh 35 High School and Spelman College, where she earned a B.A. in psychology, Judge Johnson went on to Smith College to obtain a master’s in social work.

Textile recycler ricRACK to hold Earth Day celebration

RicRACK is holding an Earth Day Celebration on Friday (April 22) at its store at 1927 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. “The public is invited to celebrate one of our most favorite days of the year (next to our birthday),” the nonprofit’s press release states, “when we get to honor and celebrate with the rest of the world the beauty and respect we have for our creator, our everything, Earth Day.” RicRACK is a textile recycler, sewing studio and resale shop started by costume designer Alison Parker to incorporate the world of clothing and fabric repurposing, re-using and waste reduction. The ricRACK Earth Day celebration on Friday (April 22) from 4 to 7 p.m. will include:

• Local eco-friendly businesses and resource groups like Compost NOW, Life City and Vintage Green Review will have information on hand to help participants make better environmentally friendly choices. • A virtual fashion show created by the New Harmony High School Fashion Club will hold its world premiere.

NOPD announces arrests in violent crimes committed in Uptown neighborhoods

The New Orleans Police Department announced four recent arrests and a warrant issued in violent crimes committed in Uptown neighborhoods. Perry Briley Sr., 25, was already in Orleans Parish Justice Center when he was rebooked for murder on April 13. Briley was being held on one count of attempted second-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and weapons charges that included taking a firearm into a school. He had been arrested on May 13, 2021, in the shooting of Lamont Fletcher in the 2200 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard, near Simon Bolivar Street. On April 12, 11 months after the shooting, Fletcher, 48, died from his wounds.

Langenstein’s turns 100, and it’s inviting customers to a celebration

Langenstein’s Super Market, the city’s oldest full-service grocery store, is throwing a party Thursday (April 21) to celebrate its 100th birthday. The public is invited to the celebration at its Arabella Street store. Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra are providing the music, and Langenstein’s is providing spirits and snacks. Langenstein’s has been a family market since Michael Langenstein and his sons, George and Richard, opened their corner grocery on Arabella and Prytania Street in 1922. The fourth and fifth generations of the same family are now running three Langenstein’s supermarkets and Prytania Wine & Spirits, which is housed in the same corner shop as the original Langenstein’s.

New building on Magazine Street gets HDLC approval over neighbors’ objections

In a divided vote held after two months of hearings, the Historic District Landmarks Commission gave the green light to a new mixed-use building on Magazine Street in the Irish Channel. Their April 6 ruling will now go before the City Council, which could overturn the vote. The Garden District Association has filed an appeal, GDA Executive Director Shelley Landrieu told Uptown Messenger. Garden District, Irish Channel and Lower Garden District residents came out in force to oppose the plans for the three-story 15,000-square-foot building planned for an empty lot at 2230 Magazine St. The HDLC received 29 letters of opposition to the plans and one letter of support, according to city records.

Review: New Orleans artists present a celebration of diversity and place

By Saskia Ozols, guest columnist

The current exhibit by the Renegade Artists Collective, “Off the Beaten Path,” includes an outstanding combination of voices that link symbolism of New Orleans and the Greater Gulf South, through commentary on its history and notes on considerations for the future. 

RAC exhibition curators Erin McNutt and Cheryl Anne Grace, both painters themselves, organized the show to include artists of varied genres and professional backgrounds — all currently working in New Orleans and without traditional gallery representation. The exhibit features work by professional mid-career artists along with the works of select students, art majors chosen by a committee from local universities. 

Exhibiting new talent with established professionals has been a formula in historic art communities to assure longevity. It both preserves and promotes a healthy, thriving art community. The structure fosters growth and provides a pathway for both artists and collectors to persevere through generations despite otherwise challenging conditions. Cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia have long histories of this structure in their most venerated institutions.  

This structure is especially important now as visual arts practice, preservation and education are quickly slipping away from public view.