Poydras Home hosts free scam-prevention event Aug. 18 (sponsored)

Poydras Home’s annual three-part speaker series, Poydras Home Conversations, continues on the evening of Thursday (Aug. 18) with tips for seniors to avoid being the targets of scams.
Learn how to spot a scam and avoid being a victim. Seniors are especially vulnerable to scams that involve technology that they may not be fully comfortable with. Take note of these tips to prevent this happening to you! Community Outreach Coordinator / Public Information Officer Shane Jones of the Louisiana Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office and his associate, Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Rivera will share tips for seniors to avoid being the targets of scams.

Join us Thursday, Aug.

COOLinary menus offer gourmand summer dining experience   

 

August’s COOLinary New Orleans offers a rare opportunity for both the gourmand and the culinary novice to explore cuisines and experience the city’s famed chefs. Restaurants otherwise outside of budgetary constraints are suddenly within reach — but not for long. Participating chefs create special two- to five-course prix fixe meals that are less expensive than ordering à la carte. 

However, the economic factor is not the objective — this is a chance to widen gastronomic horizons. Thai, French, Japanese, Creole, Latin, Caribbean, Cajun, BBQ, Mexican, contemporary Southern and many other cuisines are represented in the fold. The choices are pre-selected and somewhat narrow but usually feature at least two options per course and may include signature dishes.

This new bar offers a view of the park from historic hotel

The Park View Historic Hotel on St. Charles Avenue overlooking Audubon Park now has a bar. The Gilded Perch opened two months ago and serves new and classic cocktails in a glamorous space. The Park View dates back to 1884, when it was built to welcome guests of the World International and Cotton Exposition at Audubon Park. The building was purchased and fully restored by Liz and Terry Creel in 2008.

Complaints against ‘nightmare’ landlord keep piling up

New Orleans renter Jessica Spraggins had a hard time sleeping in her family’s three-bedroom, $2,600-a-month apartment after her bedroom ceiling partially collapsed. 

“When the city gets rain, so does our bedroom,” Spraggins said. 

The hole hadn’t always been there, she said, but rain leaking from the roof caused the collapse on May 31. Spraggins messaged her landlord, Laura Russell, that very day. Russell responded that she would send someone to look at the damage, according to screenshots of their text communications. Nobody ever came, Spraggins said. 

What did come was an eviction notice. Russell began eviction proceedings June 16 to remove the family from Apartment B at 7800 St.

Viewpoint: We’re still failing our at-risk youth

The Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) and Educators for Quality Alternatives (EQA) announced their new center in New Orleans East on Wednesday (Aug. 8), saying it will “remove barriers to success.” Also on Wednesday, YouthForce NOLA, the city’s youth talent development intermediary, was touting a new round of funding for 13 New Orleans public high schools. The funds will “help students gain meaningful work experience and develop appropriate technical, academic and soft skills.” Though worthy programs, their leaders won’t be engaging the at-risk youth who need them the most — those who have no vision for the future and have long-since given up on completing a public school education. 

Despite YEP, EQA, YouthForce NOLA and other well-intentioned programs, far too many New Orleans youth still don’t have a pathway to success. Their parents might be poorly educated or underemployed and therefore forced to work two minimum wage jobs just to pay Entergy and the rent. Many kids survive on junk food because healthier foods are more expensive and not readily available in many of New Orleans’ food desert neighborhoods.

Woman shot to death near Pontchartrain Expressway

A woman driving at Earhart Boulevard and Rev. John Raphael Jr. Way was shot to death mid-day on Tuesday (Aug. 9), the New Orleans Police Department reported. She was killed near a Pontchartrain Expressway exit ramp onto Earhart. The shooting was reported to police at 12:21 p.m. Medical responders pronounced her dead at the scene. The Coroner’s Office identified the victim on Aug.

Cafe Abyssinia on Magazine pioneered Ethiopian food in New Orleans

Ethiopian native Ermias Alemu settled in New Orleans in 2007 as the city was rebuilding from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. He worked many jobs, including driving a cab. When customers asked him where they could get authentic Ethiopian food, Alemu was stumped. “Ethiopian food wasn’t really something that New Orleans offered,” he said. “Before I moved here, there was a place on Earhart called Red Sea Eritrean and Ethiopian, but it wasn’t open very long before it closed.”

Now Alemu serves authentic Ethiopian cuisine at Cafe Abyssinia, a small restaurant at 3511 Magazine St.

Propeller announces 2022 Impact Accelerator Ventures (sponsored)

Propeller announces the 19 participants selected for its nationally recognized 2022 Impact Accelerator. This program catalyzes transformative social impact by supporting startup and growth entrepreneurs working to narrow disparities in community economic development, education, food, health and water. Our entrepreneurial community has endured disasters and challenges over the past several years. Forty percent of businesses do not reopen after disasters, another 25% fail in the year following a disaster, and 90% of small businesses fail within two years of disaster. At the onset of the pandemic, Black business ownership rates dropped 41% between February and April 2020.