LaToya Cantrell wins runoff for District B seat

 Posted by at 6:44 pm  city government, elections, politics
Dec 082012
 

LaToya Cantrell laughs and claps as she arrives at her victory party at Dijon restaurant on Annunciation Street. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

Dana Kaplan poses for a photo with a supporter at her election-night party at Wolfe’s. (photo by Marta Jewson for UptownMessenger.com)

LaToya Cantrell, the Broadmoor activist whose neighborhood’s recovery became a symbol of New Orleanians’ resilience, pledged to bring her tireless work ethic and open heart to a bigger stage Saturday night after winning a seat on the New Orleans City Council.

Cantrell won nearly 54 percent of the ballots cast Saturday with all precincts and early votes counted, according to the Secretary of State. Her opponent, Dana Kaplan, won just over 46 percent. Continue reading »

Lusher taking security precautions as police search for janitorial worker charged with murder

 Posted by at 11:51 am  crime, public safety, schools
Dec 082012
 

Larry J. Haynes (via NOPD)

Lusher Charter School has changed all the locks at its high school campus this week and is consulting with police after learning that one of the school’s janitorial workers has been charged in a shooting in Central City that killed one woman and wounded three other people, officials said. Continue reading »

Craig Giesecke: What translates well, and what doesn’t, between commercial and home kitchens

 Posted by at 9:04 am  business, food and drink, opinion
Dec 082012
 

Craig Giesecke

Gah! I have just gotten through wrestling with one of those rolls of plastic wrap (I won’t name names) we all have in our kitchens for wrapping food portions or bread or whatever is needed for use later. The stuff never unrolls without effort, then each brand has a different location for the cut-off strip. Is it on the box? On the boxtop flap? No matter where it is, it never does a clean job of tearing a straight edge. Then you’ve got a ragged, odd-shaped piece of wrap that either sticks to itself too much or not at all. All I wanted to do is wrap up some bread to put in the freezer. Frustrating. Continue reading »

Mother accused of killing her children not mentally competent for trial, doctor testifies

 Posted by at 8:49 am  court, crime, health, public safety
Dec 082012
 

Chelsea Thornton (via opcso.org)

Chelsea Thornton, 23, does not understand the legal system and is too emotionally overwhelmed by the deaths of her two children at her hands in a Gert Town apartment to be able to assist in preparations for trial, but treatment in a mental hospital could change that, testified Dr. James McConville this week, according to a report by Claire Galofalo of The Times-Picayune. Judge Gerard Hansen is set to rule on the matter Monday.

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Fundraising for District B council seat tops $500,000 as last-minute attacks escalate

 Posted by at 3:43 pm  elections, politics
Dec 062012
 

(Graphic by UptownMessenger.com)

The race for the open District B seat on the New Orleans City Council has now generated more than half a million dollars in campaign cash, as the two candidates heading into Saturday’s runoff election are escalating their attacks on one another.

Dana Kaplan alone has raised well more than half of that money, while her runoff opponent LaToya Cantrell (who finished first in the Nov. 6 primary) has yet to match the money raised by former candidate Eric Strachan (who finished third and subsequently endorsed her). Meanwhile, Cantrell’s attacks on Kaplan have sought to paint her as a carpetbagging friend of criminals, while Kaplan’s team wants voters to see Cantrell as plagued with ethical problems. Continue reading »

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus: Is the city ready for Mayor Landrieu’s S&WB rate hike?

 Posted by at 9:31 am  city government, elections, opinion, politics
Dec 062012
 

Allan Katz and Danae Columbus

Back in the late 1960s, the late Stewart Brehm, Director of the Sewerage & Water Board, told Allan, then a reporter for the States-Item, that the sewerage and drainage system that was a crucial part of New Orleans infrastructure was falling apart and would have to be replaced at the costs of tens of millions of dollars that the city didn’t have. Brehm said that as politically unthinkable as an S&WB rate increase at that time might be, it would have to be done.

Well, not exactly. Continue reading »

Light “Sneaux”-fall creates sense of winter joy on Loyola lawn

 Posted by at 9:24 am  colleges, events, good works
Dec 062012
 

Children build a tiny snowman in a layer of snow covering the front lawn of Loyola University on Wednesday evening. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Despite temperatures in the mid-60s, the front lawn of Loyola University hosted a giant snowball fight on a carpet of snow Wednesday night for the annual “Sneaux” event. In addition to the snow, the university also provided hot chocolate, s’mores, cookies, Christmas music, activities for children and an appearance by Santa Claus.

Children of all ages play in the snow at Loyola’s “Sneaux” event Wednesday evening. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Continue reading »

Jean-Paul Villere: The couch-less life

 Posted by at 11:01 am  opinion
Dec 052012
 

An exceptional example of a 20th century couch (not my grandparents!) (Photo by Jean-Paul Villere for UptownMessenger.com)

Jean-Paul Villere

Ah the holidays are upon us again!  A time for eating and drinking way too much, taking stock in another year’s life events, and lazing about the house catching the game or festive film on the couch.  Unless, like our family, you made 2012 the year you went couchless?  

It’s true, and we’re not alone, though we are in the minority.  Friends and neighbors have announced this decision as a “bold move,” with added statements such as “better you than me” or “never catch me doing that”and the like.  Really?  We didn’t reinvent the wheel here people.  Our living room gets crowded fast with six of us, so stray pillows, blankets and a chair or three are all we really need. Continue reading »

Victim of home-invasion robbery, carjacking at Camp and Delachaise remains hospitalized two months later

 Posted by at 2:14 pm  crime, public safety
Dec 042012
 

Sandy Kaynor Jr. (via joneswalker.com)

Attorney Sandy Kaynor, who was critically wounded in an Oct. 2 carjacking and home-invasion robbery at Camp and Delachaise, has suffered a series of medical complications since then and his family is seeking hyperbaric oxygen treatment to help increase his responsiveness, reports Meg Farris of our partners at WWL-TV.

Long-awaited Colombian restaurant opens on Central City corner

 Posted by at 1:57 pm  business, food and drink
Dec 042012
 

Bandeja paisa (via facebook.com/maisarepas)

After owner David Mantilla was praised by an enthusiastic City Councilwoman Stacy Head as “a handsome young gentleman … the face of Central City” in September, Mais Arepas has opened this week at 1200 Carondelet Street offering the cornmeal cakes known as arepas and the signature bandeja paisa dish that Mantilla invited Councilwoman Diana Bajoie to come try. See details from Gambit’s Ian McNulty.

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