Danae Columbus: Will Cantrell tax the wealthy to fund infrastructure needs?

Mayor LaToya Cantrell was smart to ask Governor John Bel Edwards to form a working group to identify funding solutions for New Orleans sewerage and drainage problems. Edwards is up for re-election in the fall and will need the support of the popular Cantrell and New Orleans voters. Unfortunately, there is only so much the governor will be able to do without identifying a new taxing source. So far the tourism industry has successfully fought back against Cantrell co-opting any of their existing tax dollars but has pledged to work with her on creating a small new tax.

Air quality alert issued after fire destroys Garden District mansion

You can see the smoke and enormous flames from the Garden District fire all the way in the 400 block of Poydras. pic.twitter.com/Eu9qoDbBAA
— Mid-City Messenger (@MidCityMessengr) February 20, 2019

Smoke from the seven-alarm fire in the Garden District on Wednesday damaged air quality throughout the city, the city’s emergency preparedness office reports.

Anyone who is elderly or has respiratory disease, such as asthma, is advised to stay inside, keep their doors and windows closed, set their air-conditioning systems to re-circulate the air inside the building and avoid using exhaust fans if possible. Anyone who is having difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.

The heavy smoke may impact the air in the Central Business District, French Quarter, Treme, Mid-City, Fairgrounds, 7th Ward, St. Roch and Gentilly neighborhoods, as well as Uptown.

Sewerage & Water Board ordered to pay 10 more homeowners in Uptown drainage case

In a ruling issued Friday, Judge Nakisha Ervin-Knott awarded nearly three-quarters of a million dollars ($770,435) to 10 homeowners for damages resulting from the Southeast Louisiana Urban Drainage Project construction. The Sewerage & Water Board is responsible for the damage, the judge ruled.

The trial is the third for Uptown homeowners suing S&WB for construction and vibration damage.

BAR NONE hosts ‘conversation for justice’ for McKinley “MAC” Phipps

McKinley “MAC” Phipps is currently serving a 30-year sentence for manslaughter, a crime for which he maintains his innocence. February 21, 2019 (this Thursday) marks 19 years he has been incarcerated behind the walls of the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center.

BAR NONE, a multidisciplinary arts initiative that focuses on “transcending incarceration through the arts,” will host a community conversation about MAC, his impact, and justice for him on Thursday.

Fire endangers historic St. Charles Avenue mansion in the Garden District

New Orleans Fire Department firefighters battled a seven-alarm blaze that threatens a notable historic building in the 2500 block of St. Charles Avenue on Wednesday morning.

The 150-year-old mansion, the home to several kings and queens of Carnival, was in danger of collapse Wednesday morning, NOFD Superintendent Timothy McConnell said. The fire was brought under control 1:45, but the mansion’s three residents lost their home.