Street Renaming Commission

Leonidas removed from list of streets to be renamed

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Carrollton area resident Katie Smith told the City Council’s Street Renaming Commission in a presubmitted comment last week that she looked forward to the day she could give her cross street as Mahalia Jackson Street instead of Leonidas. That day now looks less likely. The commission voted Wednesday to remove Leonidas Street, as well as Lakeview’s Walker Street, from the list of names to be replaced. The City Council created the Street Renaming Commission in June to identify the streets and other public places in New Orleans that were named to honor white supremacists, and to recommend replacement street names.  
Many of the streets that honor Confederate leaders were named in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as part of the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy” propaganda campaign.

city government

Street Renaming Commission to host meeting for recommendations, public feedback

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General Ogden, Palmer, Leonidas, and Calhoun are a few Uptown streets that may have new names soon. The City Council Street Renaming Commission — established to make recommendations for renaming streets, parks and places that honor members of the Confederacy and active proponents of segregation — will host a public meeting this Wednesday (Dec. 16) to discuss the findings and recommendations listed in its initial report. Here, the community can give additional feedback before the commission delivers its final report to the council in the coming weeks. The virtual public meeting will start around 4 p.m., immediately following the commission’s meeting that begins at 3 p.m. The meeting will be accessible via livestream on the council’s YouTube channel here  and on the council’s website.

transportation

City plans safer bike paths in Central City and Lower Garden District

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The Office of Neighborhood Engagement hosted a pre-construction meeting Thursday to inform Central City and Lower Garden District residents about bicycle infrastructure improvements coming to their neighborhoods. Construction on the project on the East Bank began in August 2020, and the Thursday meeting allowed residents to view the proposals for their area. The project will bring bike lanes and street redesigns to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from St. Charles Avenue to South Broad Street, Melpomene Street from St. Charles Avenue to Camp Street, Baronne Street from Calliope to Phillips Street, South Galvez Street from MLK to Erato Street, and South Broad Street from Fourth Street to Thalia Street.

Sponsored: Join us in celebration of National Native American Heritage Month hosted by Chelsey Richard Napoleon, Clerk of Civil District Court

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In continuation of our virtual exhibits, we invite you to join us in celebration of National Native American Heritage Month. Our November blog will explore a sampling of historical records relating to Native Americans in Louisiana. View the blog at orleanscivilclerk.com, or visit us at the Research Center where exhibits can be viewed in person from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday thru Friday. For more information, please contact the Research Center at 504.407.0106 or civilclerkresearchctr@orleanscdc.com. Clerk of Civil District Court
Notarial Archives Research Center
1340 Poydras Street, Suite 360, NOLA 70112

roadwork

Roadwork ahead for Broadmoor; repaving and waterline work set to begin this month

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As part the city’s expansive infrastructure repair program, the Office of Neighborhood Engagement hosted a virtual meeting Tuesday to inform Broadmoor residents on street repair and reconstruction work coming to their neighborhood. This particular project is called Broadmoor Group A, and work is slated to begin in November. The cost of the project will be $13.6 million. The project area will be bounded by South Claiborne Avenue, Eve Street and Toledano Street, extending to Nashville Avenue and Jefferson Avenue on the lake side of South Tonti. The work will include some waterline and sewerage line replacements.

opinion

Viewpoint: Support public safety officers threatened with furloughs

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People are getting desperate. Led by an increase in homicides and aggravated assaults, the crime wave sweeping across New Orleans and America can be blamed in large part on COVID-19 and the economic turmoil it has caused. A recent Council on Criminal Justice analysis of homicide rates in 27 U.S. cities found that the sheer number of crimes increased sharply during the summer months.  Overall domestic violence and carjackings are also skyrocketing together with drug and gang violence.  

Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s almost singular focus on reducing the virus in Orleans Parish has successfully limited hospitalizations and deaths, especially as the virus’ latest wave is wreaking havoc nationally. We applaud her for those efforts. Yet its accompanying financial devastation is driving up crime in New Orleans as desperate individuals resort to reckless acts to put a few dollars in their pockets.  

Along with a very real concern about how to pay the bills during New Orleans’ stalled economic recovery are factors such as an increase in gun sales, mental health issues such as depression, boredom and a lack of interaction with others. 

New Orleans is a poor city where the Police Department has perpetually been understaffed and underpaid by regional and national standards.

opinion

Viewpoint: Business leaders eyeing potential challengers to Mayor Cantrell

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Although qualifying for New Orleans mayor, City Council and other municipal offices is still eight months away, many of the same conservative business leaders who gave Mayor LaToya Cantrell the seed money that launched her campaign have begun the painstaking search for a new candidate. “LaToya won’t be mayor much longer,” said one multi-millionaire businessperson who was an enthusiastic early donor. Though many business owners had become disenchanted with Mayor Cantrell, they were willing to work with her for another four years until COVID-19 soured relationships.  “I’m not surprised that the business community is going to put a candidate up against the mayor,” said Ed Chervenak, UNO political scientist. “They are upset that she is not following the lead of Gov. Edwards, who has opened up the state much quicker than Mayor Cantrell has opened up Orleans Parish.

health

Volunteers needed for drive-thru flu-shot event at Audubon Zoo

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On Monday (Oct. 26), the city will host a free flu-shot event at the Audubon Zoo, serving the dual purpose of providing flu shots to residents during flu season and helping public health and safety officials test plans for large-scale vaccine administration in anticipation of a future FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine. The New Orleans Medical Reserve Corps and the NOLA Ready Volunteer Corps are recruiting volunteers to assist in this and future vaccine administration events. Volunteers will be assigned various medical and non-medical duties:

Medical providers are needed to give flu shots. Non-medical volunteers are needed to support vaccination site operations, including patient registration, measuring throughput and flow, supply restocking, and logistics support.

opinion

Viewpoint: An open letter to Mayor Cantrell: Only New Orleans can save New Orleans

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Dear Mayor LaToya Cantrell:

Long gone are the days when the Louisiana Legislature is willing or even able to solve New Orleans’ financial problems, especially in the years of ever-tightening budgets and Republican dominance of the upper and lower chambers. Though we appreciate you asking state leaders for an extra share of available federal dollars, surely you knew in advance it was a futile attempt.  

Every city and town in Louisiana is hurting, especially those that have been hit once or even twice by storms this season. Legislators are elected to bring home the bacon. How could they explain to constituents that additional funding for New Orleans should be their priority?    

The very people that can save New Orleans from even greater economic disaster are the citizens of New Orleans – the business owners small and large who are desperate for customers; the Saints fans who want to watch the games from inside the Superdome; the music lovers who want to dance at Tips, the Maple Leaf or on Frenchmen Street; the foodies who want to linger inside their favorite bistros or savor chef Meg Bickford’s new Sunday brunch at Commander’s Palace.  

The ongoing regional and national media coverage detailing New Orleans still-strict COVID-19 restrictions has scared away many potential visitors. It has put a damper on conventions returning, on national developers’ willingness to invest in our city, and on the ability of too many citizens to eat, pay the rent and keep their utilities on.  

We’re proud of your role in ensuring that Louisiana is one of the few states that has handled COVID-19 effectively and that cases are not exploding in our city.

roadwork

Roadwork underway in Audubon neighborhood

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City officials marked the $7.3 million Audubon Group A roadwork project Wednesday (Sept. 30) with a groundbreaking ceremony. Crews began work on the project several weeks ago, the city reports. The scheduled work includes repaving some roadways from curb to curb and replacing underground water, sewer and drainage lines. Other roads will be patched in either asphalt or concrete.