UptownMessenger.com

Owen Courreges: Trooper takedown

 Posted by at 11:58 am  city government, crime, opinion, public safety
Mar 112013
 

Owen Courreges

State Senator J.P. Morrell is not letting this go – nor should he.

A month ago, a video was released showing the detention of two young black males, Sidney Newman, 17, and Ferdinand Hunt, 18, by eight plainclothes state troopers.  The video, taken on February 10, 2013 just after a parade, shows the two teens leaning against a wall in the 700 block of Conti Street.   Suddenly they are surrounded by State Troopers.

One of the youths took a few steps away and was jumped, grabbed by his shirt and flung around to the ground.  The other is pushed up against a wall.  It was a very fast and violent confrontation between the teens and the troopers. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Consent-decree costs will put the pinch on citizens

 Posted by at 11:43 am  city government, opinion, politics
Mar 112013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

When it all got started, the idea of New Orleans entering into voluntary consent decrees with our good friends in the federal government seemed brilliant. After all, the management of the New Orleans Police Department and the Criminal Sheriff’s Office (Parish Prison) had been a shambles for years. Surely, a cooperative arrangement with the feds in both instances would lead to more professional and effective administration of both the cops and the prison. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: New Orleans on a roll, NOPD doing better in fight against crime

 Posted by at 10:54 am  business, city government, crime, public safety
Feb 282013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

New Orleans will end the first quarter of 2013 on a wonderful roll. In addition to the tens of millions of dollars spent in the local economy during the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras celebrations, the city reaped bushels of positive free publicity that could not have been bought at any price. Continue reading »

Bacchus sails the seven seas storm-free (photo gallery)

 Posted by at 4:49 pm  Uncategorized
Feb 102013
 

A rider in the Krewe of Bacchus hands a strand of beads to a parade-goer on Napoleon Avenue. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Defying predictions of torrential storms in New Orleans — and amid reports of a destructive tornado in nearby Hattiesburg, Miss. — the Krewe of Bacchus presented its 2013 theme of “Bacchus Sails the Seven Seas” on Sunday evening under relatively clear skies. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: Rebuild it, and they will come

 Posted by at 11:26 am  opinion, recovery
Jan 302013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

As recently as this past Monday evening as I walked home from work, I saw an older black couple gutting a house in my neighborhood, some seven-plus years after the events of 2005.  No volunteers, no fancy apparatus, no wrecking ball.  Just two people, a truck and flatbed, and work gloves, overalls and dust masks, the pungent mold wafting from across the street.  Where this house is, it’s unclear if the water came up or the water fell in, as the raised-pier home may or may not have taken flood water, and the roof while appearing to be halfway past its useful 30 year life did not appear to be damaged or compromised.  The how is almost moot.  Water up, water down, it doesn’t matter (unless you’re dealing with some damned adjuster).  Water damaged the home.  Whereas the why is more than evident.  So many years later some may ask Why now?  Why not choose to sell or abandon it all together?  This home means something to them, and now in 2013 they’re here, they’re able-bodied, and they’re doing it, seemingly unassisted.

One takeaway should be this: our journey in recovery is far from complete. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: Napoleon’s Dynamite Ain’t So Super

 Posted by at 12:17 pm  city government, events, opinion, public safety, transportation
Jan 232013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

Skipping for now over the Big Game hoo-ha that’s about to consume our nation’s attention (and glossing over the ample high dollar unlicensed daily rental scofflaws at the local level), I recently gave a glance to the proposed parade routes for this Carnival and raised my right eyebrow.  The traditional upper Napoleon route (read: where Rex rolls) is apparently still going to remain in effect this season despite the massive sandbox it has become a la a Michael Bay movie.  With all the chainlink, piledriving, construction equipment, and urban setting to me it looks like what I would imagine any given day shooting Transformers 4 would look like.  (I’m looking around for Mr. LeBouef but quickly remember Mr. Wahlberg will be assuming the lead in this next excursion into pseudo-future robotic mayhem, which in and of itself is funny because the theme song to the original cartoon film released in the theater in the 80s, which I saw in said theater BTW, was covered by Marky Mark when he starred in Boogie Nights.  Digressive nerdgasm accomplished.) Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: We Are Stardust — Top 10 JazzFest 2013 Predictions

 Posted by at 10:18 am  arts, books and music, events, Featured, opinion
Jan 162013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

For music lovers around the world, New Orleanians at home and abroad, and all others that can’t seem to eat enough Crawfish Monica any other time of year, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, will not only mark the release of this year’s JazzFest line-up but also an official beginning to the countdown when the hallowed names that unfurl before your very ears get cubed and slotted into what day and time in just a few short weeks.  For me, I always find it kind of fun to predict, wonder, and generally kvetch over the money headliners that bring in the almighty dollar usually and unfortunately overshadowing the amazing city, state, and otherwise regional talent our slice of heaven has on tap.  So without further ado, to follow are my guesses of possible headlining acts that could very well perform.  And to be perfectly clear I have no affiliation with JazzFest nor am I privvy to any insider info.  These are just my ramblings, though who knows, they could actually pan out.  Why not? Continue reading »

Craig Giesecke: Warm treats for the cooler temperatures

 Posted by at 9:20 am  food and drink
Jan 112013
 

Craig Giesecke

All the rain over the past week has caused a severe shift in our eating habits, not only for our customers at the shop but also here at the house. We’ve also gone from raw chill to the lower 70s. Add to this the normal seasonal shifts with the beginning of Carnival Season and the acceleration of Crawfish Season, and the culinary options around here have gone from wonderful to unbelievable in a very short amount of time. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: Enjoy Yourself

 Posted by at 10:05 am  Featured, opinion
Jan 092013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

“Life is uncertain; eat dessert first,” was one of the standards Gail Cournoyer used to espouse any given workday, and usually a few times of day at that.  I knew Gail when we slung coffee together in a green apron in Boston’s Coolidge Corner over ten years ago.  She was a delightful sort, especially for being a native New Englander, having endured dozens of harsh winters.  Always laughing, always cheery, even during a wicked Nor’easter. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Why complain about property taxes? New Orleans is blessed in 2013

 Posted by at 11:12 am  business, city government, opinion, politics
Jan 052013
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

Whereever we go this week, we hear New Orleanians complain about their own “fiscal cliff,” increased property tax bills. What’s wrong with Erroll Williams, they say? Doesn’t he know we like our properties to be under-assessed? No one likes their taxes to go up. And paying the new bills might cause some of us to eat out a few less times or cut down on our Mardi Gras expenses. But all in all, life in New Orleans is pretty darn good. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: The Annual Art of Unburdening

 Posted by at 11:14 am  opinion
Jan 022013
 

Jean-Paul Villere

At last we are full fledged forced into another calender year, and per the usual all have weighed in on just how ultra amazing or super crappy 2012 was.  And all I can think about is: the poor year.

Each year, every year, so put upon with anticipation, hope, woe, scorn, and glee.  Another year’s worth of diurnal hygienic tasks from tooth brushing to toenail clipping to bowel movements, the most mundane of sun up to sun down activities to the most looked upon.  Elections, premieres, births, deaths, graduations, whatever milestone life events you may imagine.  And then all the emotion attached to each of these moments. The leaky tires, broken engagements, unfavorable rulings, and flat face failings that fall short the idyllic, escaping the sublime, and harshly clinging to a set of 365 days. Continue reading »

 Comments Off

Owen Courreges: Another assault on assault weapons

 Posted by at 10:55 am  crime, opinion, public safety
Dec 312012
 

Owen Courreges

Never ones to resist the urge to milk a tragedy, politicians in favor of gun control have been feverishly scrambling to shoe-horn their agenda into the national consciousness following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.   Among these opportunists has been our own friendly face in Congress, Representative Cedric Richmond, who took the House floor earlier this month to point his finger at the real culprit: assault rifles.

“Every once in a while we will have an event that will shake the confidence of our country and make us take a step back and rationally look at our gun laws in this country and say: “Wait, we’ve done far too much, we’ve extended the Second Amendment too far,” Richmond said. Continue reading »

Craig Giesecke: The best-laid plans… for duck, wine and a new year

 Posted by at 8:50 am  food and drink, opinion
Dec 282012
 

The Christmas duck (photo by Craig Giesecke)

Craig Giesecke

As mentioned in the last column, I opted to go with smoked duck for our Christmas dinner this time around. Honestly, a month’s worth of dealing with turkey and ham every day at work made the idea of doing either of those rather unappealing. I also deal with a fair amount of things like eye of round, so I wanted to do something that would absorb a little more flavor from the outside. There are only three of us in the house, so doing something large like a goose was never really on the radar. Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: How the Americans stole Christmas — from New Orleans!

 Posted by at 11:38 am  events, opinion
Dec 242012
 

Owen Courreges

At this time of year I always get to thinking of how the American ideal of Christmas just seems to center around an ideal of a much colder climate than ours here in the Gulf South.  Lines from popular Christmas songs are always the biggest reminder of this.

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…” Continue reading »

Craig Giesecke: Showtime in the magic business

 Posted by at 11:46 am  business, food and drink, opinion
Dec 222012
 

Craig Giesecke

We’ve been cocooning in the house these last few evenings, feeling the wind buffet the siding after the midweek cold front came through.  Those many of us who live in old, drafty houses here in New Orleans know the place never gets completely warm. About the best you can hope to do is dress for the cold occasions, enjoy a stiff toddy and try to not move off the couch or chair too much. Very Southern Winter and, of course, Very Holiday. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Are schools any more secure here than in Newtown?

 Posted by at 11:50 am  crime, opinion, public safety, schools
Dec 202012
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

In the wake of the tragic shootings in Newtown, a number of our friends – knowing that our clients include the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Orleans Parish School Board – asked whether schools in our metro area are any more likely to be safe than the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Sadly, the answer is that most public, private and parochial elementary and middle schools do not have full-time armed security. It is likely that a 911 call from any school in the metro area would bring police cars screaming to the rescue in five minutes or less, but, as we saw in Connecticut, a heavily armed shooter like Adam Lanza with a semi-automatic rifle and a maximum load magazine can create a lot of destruction and sorrow in five minutes or less. Continue reading »

 Comments Off

Jean-Paul Villere: Driven to distraction

 Posted by at 10:52 am  opinion, transportation
Dec 192012
 

Jean-Paul Villere

While taking my children to school the other morning we made our way down Louisiana Ave when out of nowhere a mechanized voice akin to Robocop infiltrated the audio space of our car with some form of intrusive alert like “WARNING! THIS VEHICLE IS MAKING A LEFT TURN.”  I almost jumped out of my skin, jerking the steering wheel just so.  What the hell was that!? I muttered to myself. Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: A troubling quote about quotas

 Posted by at 6:47 am  city government, opinion, public safety
Dec 182012
 

Owen Courreges

NOPD Sixth District Commander Robert Bardy found himself in a bit of a controversy this past week after an e-mail message was released in which he seemed to be urging an informal arrest quota.  WWL-TV Eyewitness News obtained the message, which was sent in response to another e-mail by a member of the second platoon requesting that select officers be provided with mountain bike training as an incentive for exceptional police work.

Personally, my reaction to this would have been: “You consider mountain bike training to be a reward? In this climate? I mean, it’s December and I’m comfortable in short sleeves.  Honestly, me –  I’d ask for a bonus or time off, but whatever floats your boat, man.” Continue reading »

 Comments Off

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Consent decree will eventually improve jail

 Posted by at 5:23 am  city government, court, opinion, public safety
Dec 142012
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

That Sheriff Marlin Gusman has entered into a consent agreement with the U.S. Justice Department regarding the governance of Parish Prison is great news for those who have long been advocating for an effective, just and equitable criminal justice system for New Orleans. Continue reading »

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