Police seeking vehicle used in New Year’s Eve homicide

The New Orleans Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a vehicle of interest in the investigation of a homicide on Dec. 31 in the 7900 block of Oleander Street. Corey Brown was struck in the back by a bullet in Gert Town, near Earhart Boulevard, when a gunman opened fire. Medical responders took Brown to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and died. He was 21.

Residents need to wait another week for curbside recycling, the city announces

The Department of Sanitation announced Monday (Jan. 3) that the planned restart of curbside recycling in neighborhoods serviced by Richard’s Disposal has been postponed until the week of Jan. 10. Covid-19 has severely impacted solid waste collections citywide, with more than 30% of drivers unable to work, causing delays to the scheduled New Year’s holiday collections. In light of these severe resource constraints and to ensure crews can catch up, curbside recycling has been delayed one week and will resume next Monday, Jan.

For rapper Alfred Banks, Uptown is ‘where I came from, where I’m at and where I want to go’

A few days after hip-hop artist Alfred Banks returned to his Uptown apartment from a Hurricane Ida evacuation, his ceiling caved in. Mold began to penetrate his apartment. So he left for Dallas and, after some texts to a few connections, ended up doing three shows there. “Not coming from a lot financially, not having financial backing and not being signed to a record label, you have to be resourceful as an independent artist,” he said. “It’s just mandatory.”

Banks, 30, is making a full-time living from his music for the first time in his life.

Before the New Year begins, two men killed in separate Uptown shootings

Two men were killed in separate Uptown shootings on Friday afternoon (Dec. 31). The first deadly shooting occurred at about 1 p.m. on Martin Luther King Boulevard and South Prieur Street. Gunfire erupted from a vehicle driving through the area — striking a 56-year-old woman, 27-year-old man and 26-year-old man. Medical responders took Kenyon Coston, 27, to the hospital, where he died of gunshot wounds.

Roadwork ahead: Second round of repairs set to begin in Central City

A swath of Central City will see repairs to its streets and sidewalks, from basic repaving to the total replacement of sewerage, water and drainage lines and reconstruction of the streets and sidewalks. The work is scheduled for January 2022 to January 2023.

Viewpoint: Covid and crime are raging as New Orleanians prepare to ring in the new year

More than 6,000 new Covid-19 cases were identified in Louisiana on Wednesday (Dec. 29). A teenage boy was injured in the second of two Desire-area shootings Tuesday evening. Three lions at the Audubon Zoo tested positive for Covid on Wednesday. In a case of mistaken identity, 7-year-old Dillan Burton was shot to death Sunday night in Algiers while riding in her mother’s car.

Three lions at the Audubon Zoo test positive for Covid-19

From the Audubon Nature Institute

Three African lions at Audubon Zoo tested positive yesterday for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. During the week of Dec. 20, Audubon Zoo animal care staff observed the lions were coughing and producing nasal discharge. Nasal and fecal samples for three symptomatic lions were collected and tested at the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Baton Rouge, confirming the presence of SARS-CoV-2 for lions Arnold and Kali and their cub Asani on Dec. 28.