Alliance for Good Government tests District B candidates on their knowledge of City Hall

 Posted by at 7:54 pm  city government, elections, politics
Sep 182012
 

City Council District B candidates LaToya Cantrell, Marlon “Buck” Horton, Dana Kaplan and Eric Strachan introduce themselves to the Faubourg Delachaise Neighborhood Association on Tuesday night, prior to heading to a forum sponsored by the Alliance for Good Government. (photos by Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

In a rapid series of detailed questions, the four candidates running for the open District B seat on the New Orleans City Council were tested Tuesday night on how well they know their way around city government, from filling potholes to writing the budget. Continue reading »

After months of city scrutiny, The Show bar on Tchoupitoulas gives up liquor license

 Posted by at 3:00 pm  city government, food and drink, state government
Sep 182012
 

The Show nightclub on Tchoupitoulas. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

After sitting on the docket of the city alcohol board for six months as police conducted raids and investigated shootings nearby, The Show bar on Tchoupitoulas Street in the Lower Garden District abruptly surrendered its liquor license Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading »

Post-Isaac debris cleanup map shows patchwork progress in Uptown neighborhoods

 Posted by at 12:40 pm  city government, public safety, weather
Sep 182012
 

Streets marked in red had their “first pass” completed by Monday, and the purple-shaded zones indicate Monday’s deployment. (via city of New Orleans)

A map of debris collection since Hurricane Isaac released by the city Monday shows strong progress in Uptown’s university area, Broadmoor, parts of Central City, and on either side of Magazine Street between Jefferson and Napoleon. In other many neighborhoods from the Lower Garden District to Audubon Park, however, the map indicates that debris contractors have yet to make their “first pass.” Continue reading »

Faubourg Delachaise neighbors to hear from District B candidates, discuss new accelerated high school at Bauduit

 Posted by at 12:08 pm  city government, elections, neighborhood groups, politics, schools
Sep 182012
 

Members of the Faubourg Delachaise Neighborhood Association will hear from the four candidates for the District B seat on the City Council at their quarterly meeting tonight, as well as discuss the new accelerated high school at the Bauduit campus and new businesses in the neighborhood. Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: Flushing more money down the drain

 Posted by at 10:01 am  city government, flood protection and drainage, opinion, state government
Sep 172012
 

Owen Courreges

I think the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWB) needs to adopt a new motto to shift attention away from its staggering waste, corruption and general incompetence.   That motto should be: “Hey, at least we don’t still have a horseshoer on staff!”

It recently became news that Detroit Water and Sewerage Department actually still employs a horseshoer, although it has no horses.  Apparently this man does nothing but collect a paycheck, and a decent one at that — $29,245 in salary and about $27,000 in benefits.  Apparently union rules keep the man on staff, and the union isn’t budging. Continue reading »

General Pershing Street in Broadmoor to get new sidewalks, repaved road

 Posted by at 1:08 pm  city government, transportation
Sep 142012
 

A rendering of a two-block portion of the improvements to General Pershing Street. (via the City of New Orleans)

New, wider sidewalks with handicapped ramps at the corners and a resurfaced road with better crosswalk markings are all headed to a four-block stretch of General Pershing Street through Broadmoor in a $250,000 project that broke ground this week, city officials said. Continue reading »

City promises progress on debris pickup “in the next couple of days”

 Posted by at 11:08 am  city government, weather
Sep 142012
 

“We’re not moving as aggressively, as we had hoped that we would have finished the entire first pass and most of the second pass by now,” New Orleans Deputy Mayor of Operations Michelle Thomas told reporter Tania Dall and our partners at WWL-TV in a report about Uptown residents’ frustrations at the slow pace of removal of Hurricane Isaac debris. “But we are confident that we’re going to get it done in the next couple of days.”

Usage agreement for Tulane stadium expected this month, student newspaper reports

 Posted by at 5:40 pm  city government, colleges, sports and recreation
Sep 132012
 

A document governing Tulane University’s use of its new on-campus stadium — including what types of events will be held there and other issues such as parking, lighting and noise — “will likely be finalized by mid to late September,” according to an article by Jessica Appelbaum posted Thursday on the Tulane Hullabaloo student newspaper website.

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Three District B candidates have impromptu debate on blight, crime, education at Freret meeting

 Posted by at 1:17 pm  blight and demolition, business, city government, crime, elections, neighborhood groups, politics, public safety, recovery, schools, state government
Sep 122012
 

LaToya Cantrell, right, answers a question while Eric Strachan and Dana Kaplan listen at Freret Neighbors United meeting on Tuesday evening. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

What was initially billed as political “speed dating” — a chance to meet with individual candidates for the District B race one-on-one — grew into a full-blown debate at a Freret community meeting Thursday night, with three City Council hopefuls trading their ideas on blight, crime, education and other issues in the first such event of the race. Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: The art of the flip (a case study)

 Posted by at 9:32 am  blight and demolition, business, city government, opinion, recovery
Sep 122012
 

2505 Napoleon, in March and again in June.

Jean-Paul Villere

Seven years ago the Crescent City got tossed on its backside, the likes of which many believed just might be too much for the Big Easy to really rebound from; why would anyone reinvest in a little troubled city below sea level?  Logic and heritage debates aside, today the tone of recovery happens to be very much on the uptick, despite folding into it an oil- and dispersant-crippled Gulf as well as the dizzying highs and lows of our beloved sports teams.  Even a massive implosion of the lending market in the last four years did not shake the steadfast commitment to rebuild from newbies and returnees alike.  In short, not only are home values stable and improving, investors seeking a viable flip are doing so and how.  Case in point: 2505 Napoleon. Continue reading »

City “not happy” with streetscape work on Freret, but no timetable yet for completion

 Posted by at 5:33 pm  business, city government, elections, neighborhood groups, transportation
Sep 102012
 

A piece of plywood covers a hole in the cement at the corner of Freret and Jefferson. City officials are debating whether this “bumpout” installed during the streetscape project impedes traffic and should be removed, said leaders of The New Freret business association. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

City officials remain unsatisfied with the quality of the work done to the sidewalks at corners along the Freret corridor, but they have yet to decide what exactly they will fix or how long the repairs will take. Continue reading »

Owen Courreges: Demolition denied, St. Charles Avenue-style

 Posted by at 11:18 am  blight and demolition, city government, neighborhood groups, opinion
Sep 102012
 

Owen Courreges

What follows is one big “I told you so.”

Last month, at the August 20th meeting of the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee, a proposal to demolish the mansion located at 4706 St. Charles Avenue was denied. The mansion, built in 1887, appears to be in sound condition and could easily be returned to commerce.

Typically, when a well-funded party wants to bulldoze a historic mansion on New Orleans’ signature avenue, they succeed. As I noted in my previous column, “How to Tear Down Anything in Three Simple Steps,” the key to destroying the fabric of this city’s history is getting the neighborhood association on your side. For those with money and influence, this should be a relatively simple task. Continue reading »

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