UptownMessenger.com

Craig Giesecke: Road food — eat like a local

 Posted by at 11:43 am  food and drink, opinion
May 242013
 

Craig Giesecke

With summer fast approaching, Kim and I are looking forward to something we haven’t been able to do in what seems like forever – taking a summer vacation.

It’ll only be five days and, though many of our friends will be heading to a beach or the mountains, we’re only going to around Peoria, Ill., for a family event. But, honestly, we could not be more excited if we were headed to St. Kitts or the Andes. We’re also planning to drive, and the 12 hours or so up and back (with an overnight each way) will be a long-overdue chance to explore some spots we’ve never seen. Or at least I’ve never seen, having not spent much time in the Great American Heartland outside of Kansas City, Chicago or St. Louis for business purposes. Continue reading »

Uptown Messenger announces newsgathering partnership with Gambit

 Posted by at 2:19 pm  UptownMessenger.com
May 232013
 

Uptown Messenger and Gambit have entered into a newsgathering partnership. Stories from Uptown and Mid-City Messenger will appear in the print edition of Gambit, while stories from Gambit and BlogofNewOrleans.com that may be of interest to Messenger readers will be excerpted online. In addition, long-form stories based on reporting in Uptown and Mid-City Messenger will appear in Gambit. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Could Georges or the Gambit take more government contracts from the Times-Pic?

 Posted by at 11:17 am  business, city government, opinion, politics
May 232013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

For more than 75 years, the Times Picayune has always won the official journal contract from the City of New Orleans. The official journal is where all mandated public notices are printed, tax seizures, bids, City Council summaries, etc. It is and has always been a great source of revenue that the TP has counted on.

For the first time there is a real chance that John Georges or even Margo and Clancy Dubos could take that contract from the TP. The contract is bid each year and of course the best bid wins. Councilmembers could always expect to hear from TP officials like former TP publisher Ashton Phelps or Editor Jim Amoss around that time. Though never spoken, we’re sure that many councilmembers dared not to vote against the TP for fear of retaliation in the next edition. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: Blight! Chimera! Auction!

 Posted by at 10:49 am  blight and demolition, city government, opinion
May 222013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

The little-prison-that-could didn’t this last week when it failed to garner any bids during the City of New Orleans Surplus Property Auction.  That’s right, the Treme jailhouse at 2552 St Philip that raised eyebrows upon entry failed to rock, open wallets, or lift paddles.  Among the properties that did see successful play were two: each a corner brick two-story from different eras and areas. Continue reading »

jewel bush: Young trailblazers for equality

 Posted by at 9:55 am  health, opinion, politics
May 212013
 

Will McGrew and his mother, Janet McGrew, who said she is proud that her son is standing up for what he believes in. (submitted photo)

jewel bush

The day before his Ben Franklin High School graduation, a time when teenagers might engage in pranks or attend parties with buddies, Will McGrew helped organize a counter protest to the NOLA Needs Peace, Not More Abortion Coalition rally. The action was held on Monday afternoon near the proposed Claiborne Avenue Planned Parenthood site, a controversial new state-of-the art health facility slated to open in 2014. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for next week. Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: Is violent crime in New Orleans much worse than the police tell us?

 Posted by at 7:35 am  city government, crime, opinion, politics, public safety
May 202013
 

Owen Courreges

Has the New Orleans Police Department been cooking the books on the city’s crime stats?  That’s the intimation made by a recent “special report” from the Times-Picayune.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Police Superintendant Ronal Serpas often argue that while New Orleans has a sky-high murder rate, its violent crime rate actually isn’t that bad, and in fact is better than a wide range of cities from New Haven, Connecticut to Orlando, Florida.  Hearing them speak, you might believe that the guy in the mouse suit at DisneyWorld is more likely to demand your wallet at gunpoint than the ribald denizens of Bourbon Street. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: New Orleans becoming a hot spot for retailers

 Posted by at 11:44 am  business, court, elections, opinion, politics
May 162013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

There was a time when New Orleans was considered a great place to shop. Dozens of stores, most of them located on Canal Street or nearby, filled specific niches in the marketplace and shoppers from across the city, the region and the state came downtown, especially women in white gloves and high heels like Allan’s mother Miriam Pailet Katz, to shop, eat and enjoy the ambiance of New Orleans.

Then came the suburban flight, the rise of Lakewood Shopping Center and the development of Jefferson Parish as the retail center for the metro area, the region and the state. Most of Canal Street went into the dumps and there were only a few first-class stores in all of Downtown.

Now, eight years after Hurricane Katrina, corporate retailers, for the first time in 50 years, are looking at Downtown New Orleans as a “hot” place to invest their money. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: What’s in a name?

 Posted by at 9:59 am  business, court, opinion
May 152013
 

The “Carnation” Grill. (Illustration by Jean-Paul Villere for UptownMessenger.com)

Jean-Paul Villere

So the iconic Camellia Grill may be getting a facelift, if you’ve kept up with recent current events?  Apparently its new owners are in breach of contract with the previous owner to the degree that the pink-and-green flower paired with the title of the namesake diner may become a memory.  While Camellia Grill has a longstanding line (pun intended) of devotees and tourists alike, I must say I am in that number.  And if legal motions require a makeover then so be it.  I mean what’s fair is fair, but there’s no use in crying over spilt chocolate freeze, is there?  The essence of the grill would remain unchanged (I’d hope!), so call it whatever.  Besides, who cares?  I can think of two recent local brouhahas regarding rebranding.  Starting with the Pelicans! Continue reading »

jewel bush: NOLA does need peace — not judgmental billboards

 Posted by at 11:23 am  health, opinion, politics
May 142013
 

jewel bush

When I was driving on Carrollton Avenue yesterday, I was greeted by what I thought was a timely message: “NOLA NEEDS PEACE.” Days after a mass shooting left 19 people injured at a second line on Mother’s Day, no one can dispute the call for peace and an end to the violence that plagues — and numbs — the New Orleans community.

But, then I read the rest of the sign: “NOT MORE ABORTION.”

Huh!? Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: The moral hazard of flood insurance

 Posted by at 9:37 am  Congress, opinion, politics
May 132013
 

Owen Courreges

This past Tuesday, Senator Mary Landrieu proposed an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act that would stop the implementation of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) premium increases that Congress imposed last year.  Senator David Vitter is co-sponsoring the amendment.

However, both agree that the NFIP needs to be self-sustaining.  Thus, Louisiana’s Senators are agreed first, that the NFIP should pay for itself, and secondly, that this should not result in massive premium increases that spur voters to kick their keisters out of office.

At first blush, it sounds like Louisiana’s Senators are saying that chocolate should taste good but shouldn’t make you get fat.  That’s not quite the case. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Yolanda King springs an upset in judicial race

 Posted by at 11:26 am  elections, opinion, politics
May 112013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

Doug Hammel was the clear favorite in political circles in the May 4 runoff election for a Juvenile Court judgeship but Yolanda King and her volunteers had a big surprise for him. In an election where the turnout was just about five percent, King won 54 percent of the vote.

As is almost always the case in New Orleans politics, race was a major factor. King, who is an African-American, was making her fifth race for a judgeship and was considered by some to be a perennial candidate. She spent just $7,750 on her campaign. Hammel, who is white, spent more than $125,000 and, in the view of many of his advisors, didn’t spend enough. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: Same old, same old

 Posted by at 11:01 am  events, opinion, public safety
May 082013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

As the 2013 close of another JazzFest leaves in its wake a thankfully healthy trail of mud, sweat, and beers I find myself at once indifferent but pleased, however mostly curious with one eyebrow raised just so.  You see, if I get to go any given year I generally only have the privilege of going one day, and I’m okay with that.  As such I tend to take it all in, looking to maximize my experience, people watching, carving out set times, and noting what, if any, differences from years past.  So color me dismayed this season when as I queued to purchase my ticket and then queued again to enter the fairgrounds, the security measures in place from previous fests seemed largely unchanged – or – maybe even exactly the same.  Bags searched?  Maybe.  Strollers examined?  Ha!  And the coup de gras of all contraband concealers the chair tube: opened?  Nary a one.  Frankly my fellow New Orleanians in a post Boston Marathon bombing world, this is not okay. Continue reading »

jewel bush: Why can’t New Orleans just cut the grass at its ballparks?

 Posted by at 11:49 am  city government, opinion, sports and recreation
May 072013
 

The grass situation at Behrman Park last summer, July 11, 2012. (photo by jewel bush)

jewel bush

Last summer, my son played baseball for a park run by NORDC, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, the dramatic voter-approved overhaul of which was supposed to be one of Mayor Landrieu’s first major accomplishments.

For months, his team practiced on a sliver of grass not on a baseball diamond. Although one game was played at Norman Playground, the rest were scheduled at Behrman Park — also on the Westbank — because we were told it was the only facility in NORDC that had operating field lights. There was only one bench for two dugouts to share. The team that arrived first claimed the bench leaving the other players to sit on the concrete slab or in the bleachers among the throngs of Little League supporters.

The coach collected a modest sum from each participant to purchase uniforms. He never delivered the shirts and visors nor returned the cash. Continue reading »

Craig Giesecke: Hey Jazzfesters — Be nice or leave

 Posted by at 10:48 am  business, food and drink, opinion
May 032013
 

Craig Giesecke

I’ve unexpectedly had the opportunity lately to spend a lot more time in the French Quarter, since I’ve been helping a friend during JazzFest. This gave me the chance earlier this week to pop into the Louisiana Music Factory to see Beausoleil and Zachary Richard, as well as wander around aimlessly. I think that’s the best way to see the oldest part of our city – without a schedule or plan. Tours are fine to get a sense of how things are laid out, but I also think a completely unstructured day is a lot more fun. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Clarkson prepares for her final year as City Council president

 Posted by at 10:27 am  city government, opinion, politics
May 022013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

Today is an important milestone in Councilman-at-large Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson’s life. It is the beginning of her last year as City Council President. She is slated to take over today from the effervescent Councilwoman-at-large Stacy Head who made lots of headway on projects she considers important. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: The End of an Era

 Posted by at 10:50 am  business, Featured, opinion
May 012013
 

Crowds gather around the Ace Hardware on Oak Street in late March in preparation for the Pigeontown Steppers second line. A banner announcing the store’s impending closure hangs above the store. (UptownMessenger.com file photo)

Jean-Paul Villere

Without fuss or fanfare the Oak St Ace Hardware depleted its remaining inventory over April and closed its doors permanently.  Forever.  Gone.  Kaput.  No mas.  The corner fixture that united neighbors and brought inexpensive solutions to the 21st century world of buying in bulk, automated key duplicating machines, and the like became another memory, the end result of a society that more often chooses convenience over customer service and cost over care.  I, for one, was a fan and truly shopped there as often as I could, and I am more than a little sad if only because I can see the future.  Effectively our consuming buying patterns and the all too nearby Lowe’s spelled the demise for this little gem. Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: Big Brother and the new era of “good government”

 Posted by at 10:35 am  city government, crime, opinion, politics, public safety
Apr 292013
 

(cartoon by Owen Courreges for UptownMessenger.com)

Owen Courreges

“The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the only legitimate object of good government.”

– Thomas Jefferson, 1809

“Good government is practically applying the principles which make a man a good citizen.”

– Theodore Roosevelt, 1902

“We are trying to resolve this behind closed doors cause that is good government.”

– Jackie Clarkson, 2013

How does that old Sesame Street tune go? “One of these things is not like the others…” Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: What should go on the most valuable real estate in New Orleans?

 Posted by at 10:01 am  blight and demolition, business, city government, opinion, politics
Apr 252013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

For many years, the 33-story World Trade Center overlooking the Mississippi River was one of New Orleans’ most important centers of business.

Powerful people, companies and government agencies including the Port of New Orleans occupied suites at the WTC. The 30th floor restaurant, the Plimsoll Club, was usually packed. You needed a reservation to get a table. The World Trade Center suite on the 29th floor was often the site of important civic press conferences and educational seminars. Located at the foot of the Mississippi River at the end of Canal Street, the WTC offered incredible views of the river, especially from the Plimsoll Club. At the top of the building a revolving bar called the Top of the Mart was an important social spot. During her years as a lobbyist for the Dock Board, Danae worked at the WTC Building and enjoyed it. She, along with her colleagues, thought the Plimsoll Club was a neat place for lunch. Continue reading »

Page 1 of 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12