jewel bush: Why can’t New Orleans just cut the grass at its ballparks?

 Posted by at 11:49 am  city government, opinion, sports and recreation
May 072013
 

The grass situation at Behrman Park last summer, July 11, 2012. (photo by jewel bush)

jewel bush

Last summer, my son played baseball for a park run by NORDC, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, the dramatic voter-approved overhaul of which was supposed to be one of Mayor Landrieu’s first major accomplishments.

For months, his team practiced on a sliver of grass not on a baseball diamond. Although one game was played at Norman Playground, the rest were scheduled at Behrman Park — also on the Westbank — because we were told it was the only facility in NORDC that had operating field lights. There was only one bench for two dugouts to share. The team that arrived first claimed the bench leaving the other players to sit on the concrete slab or in the bleachers among the throngs of Little League supporters.

The coach collected a modest sum from each participant to purchase uniforms. He never delivered the shirts and visors nor returned the cash. Continue reading »

“Imagination Playground” donated to Lyons Center as volunteers celebrate 20,000 trees planted since Katrina

 Posted by at 12:15 pm  city government, good works, sports and recreation
Feb 032013
 

Officials stand near pieces of the Imagination Playground being donated to the city on Saturday. (submitted photo)

The “Super Saturday of Service” brought two citywide celebrations of volunteerism to the Lyons Center park in the Irish Channel, as the city received the donation of an “Imagination Playground” that includes large blue foam blocks for children to play with, and volunteers celebrated the replanting of the 20,000th tree since Hurricane Katrina. Continue reading »

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Steve Gleason: Obama’s comments about football may keep kids from playing

 Posted by at 7:45 pm  colleges, Featured, politics, sports and recreation
Jan 292013
 

Tulane sports-law professor Gabe Feldman introduces former Saints players Steve Gleason and Scott Fujita before a panel discussion on “The Future of Football,” as Tulane President Scott Cowen (sitting next to Gleason) smiles from the audience. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

Public concern about the long-term risks of football on young children — including that expressed by President Obama this week — may ultimately represent the biggest threat to the future of the nation’s most popular pasttime, former Saints player Steve Gleason said during a panel discussion on the issue Tuesday night.

Until very recently, it would not have been uncommon for a 6-year-old boy to dream of growing up to be like San Diego Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau, Gleason said. But after Seau committed suicide last year — and was subsequently discovered to have signs of a depression-causing degenerative brain disease linked to repetitive head injuries — children may now be starting to decide they don’t want to be like NFL players, Gleason said. When the President of the United States speculates that if he had a son, he might not want him to play football, that’s one more major step in that direction, Gleason said.

“Now, that kid — and his parents — do not want to grow up to be like Junior. As a result, the talent pool is diminished, and the game slowly becomes less relevant,” said Gleason, who is also battling ALS. “Obama, with his hypothetical comment, in his own way diminished the hypothetical talent pool, which is the greatest asset the NFL has.” Continue reading »

City releases details of agreement with Tulane Stadium

 Posted by at 10:42 am  city government, colleges, neighborhood groups, sports and recreation
Jan 262013
 

A rendering of the Tulane Stadium released in September. (UptownMessenger.com file image)

Mayor Mitch Landrieu released the details of the agreement his office has reached with Tulane governing the use of the university’s proposed stadium on Friday, drawing swift reaction from neighborhood groups that it is still too lenient. Continue reading »

‘Do not serve this man,’ Uptown eateries pledge before Super Bowl

 Posted by at 2:35 pm  business, food and drink, sports and recreation
Jan 172013
 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might want to send some buddies for takeout while he’s in New Orleans for the Super Bowl next weekend, based on the signs popping up at Creole Creamery, Midway Pizza, and other restaurants around Uptown and the rest of the city, according to a report by Monica Hernandez and our partners at WWL-TV:

Owen Courreges: All hail the Pelicans

 Posted by at 11:53 am  opinion, sports and recreation
Dec 102012
 

(Cartoon by Owen Courreges)

Owen Courreges

“The New Orleans Pelicans.”  That’s what Tom Benson wants to rename the New Orleans Hornets, our local NBA franchise.  Yes, dear reader – that was the sound of your jaw dropping.

The proposal has already ignited a firestorm amongst New Orleanians, providing a necessary distraction from far less sexy news stories, like the wholesale lack of transparency in the recent water and sewerage rate increases that were approved this week, the resignation of our U.S. attorney amidst a scandal in his office, and the results of the run-off election in City Council District B.  Snore! Continue reading »

Tulane student newspaper sues state for Green Wave attendance records

 Posted by at 4:14 pm  colleges, court, sports and recreation
Oct 252012
 

The Hullabaloo, Tulane University’s student-run newspaper, is suing the state Division of Administration for turnstile records from Green Wave football games after the Superdome’s private management company, SMG, turned down a similar request, according to a report by Jessica Appelbaum of The Hullabaloo. “The attendance records are … relevant because a faction of neighborhood residents criticize Tulane’s plans to build a stadium of that size,” Appelbaum reports. “They question the accuracy of the attendance numbers Tulane is reporting.”

A hearing in the case is set for Monday afternoon.

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Runners, costumes and brass bands to raise money for local high schools; Tipitina’s concert afterward will help renovate Fess’s home

 Posted by at 11:57 am  arts, books and music, events, good works, schools, sports and recreation
Sep 272012
 

A new 5k run replete with costumes and brass bands will raise money Saturday afternoon to support local high school music programs, and an array of legendary New Orleans musicians will participate in a benefit concert afterward to preserve the family home of Professor Longhair — all presented by the Tipitina’s Foundation. Continue reading »

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Lyons Center’s long-awaited reopening will be in spring 2013, city promises

 Posted by at 11:57 am  city government, neighborhood groups, sports and recreation
Sep 262012
 

Kara Morgan, president of the Irish Channel Neighborhood Association, talks about the importance of providing recreation to area children Monday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lyons Center on Tchoupitoulas Street. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

Sunlight streams through the gaping holes in the roof of the Lyons Center basketball court. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

Desperate to provide recreational opportunities for the children of their neighborhood over the last several years, Irish Channel residents have organized their own basketball leagues, running extension cords down the street to operate a scoreboard.

Those days may soon be over, as the city has finally begun work this week renovating the Lyons Center into a state of the art community space for sports, dance and computer education — with a promised completion date of this coming spring. Continue reading »

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Isaac delays stadium operating agreement, as Tulane redraws western wall

 Posted by at 8:10 am  city government, colleges, neighborhood groups, sports and recreation
Sep 252012
 

A new rendering of the Tulane Stadium, and how it fits in the neighborhood. (courtesy Tulane University)

Article by Marta Jewson, for UptownMessenger.com

While the interruption of Hurricane Isaac delayed negotiations between the city and Tulane University over an operating agreement for the proposed Uptown football stadium, Audubon Boulevard residents learned Monday night that the wall of the stadium won’t be as high or as close to some of their homes as originally planned. Continue reading »

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Ballfields, park areas of The Fly at Audubon Park to remain open during year-long project to raise levee

 Posted by at 6:29 pm  flood protection and drainage, sports and recreation
Sep 202012
 

Rich Varuso of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers illustrates the area around the levee that will must cleared of trees. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

A map of the levee-raising project shows the construction zone near the railroad tracks, well away from some of the park’s most popular recreational amenities.

The ballfields and gazebos at Audubon’s riverfront recreation area and even the trees that hang over the Mississippi River will all remain undisturbed and accessible during the year-long project to raise the Carrollton levee, officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assured residents Thursday night, and although the “unofficial” dog park nearby will be closed off during construction, it may emerge as an official dog park after the project. Continue reading »

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Coliseum Square Association to discuss upcoming neighborhood events, ongoing projects

 Posted by at 10:15 am  good works, neighborhood groups, sports and recreation
Sep 172012
 

Maintenance of the park around the “Birth of a Muse” statue on Terpsichore Street will be among the discussion topics Monday night at the Coliseum Square Association.

The Coliseum Square Association will meet to discuss upcoming events such as the Night Out Against Crime and ongoing projects such as maintenance the neighborhood’s statues and fountain of at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Monday, Sept. 17) at the Bridge Lounge, 1201 Magazine Street. Continue reading »

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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