Linemen from Illinois replace a broken electrical pole on Napoleon Avenue in Broadmoor on Friday, Aug. 31, amid widespread outages following Hurricane Isaac. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Allan Katz and Danae Columbus
Now that the winds of Hurricane Isaac have blown through our lives, as we fill out insurance claims and apply for recovery funds, we should also look back at the performances of public officials and private companies such as Entergy during the storm. Continue reading »
A doctor was robbed at gunpoint while waiting in the drive-through lane of the South Claiborne Avenue McDonald’s on her way to work Wednesday morning, police said. Continue reading »
Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting in the 3000 block of Audubon Street on Wednesday afternoon. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A 31-year-old man was shot to death late Wednesday afternoon on Audubon Street in Gert Town, drawing hundreds of mourners and spectators to the crime scene and disturbing a neighborhood that has otherwise seen very little violence in recent months. Continue reading »
Jean-Paul Villere
We might all agree the digital world is awesome till the power goes out. Suddenly you’re missing out on your next play on Words With Friends, status updates, tweets or what have you, but go ahead and scream because you’re miles from where anyone with a MacGyver-like sensibility (MacGyvine? maybe?) or open Radio Shack might hear you. No sir, the DTs of the smart phone come down ain’t nothin’ pretty, and at press time the Betty Ford clinic ain’t servin’ the likes o’ you. Continue reading »
A utility worker makes repairs Monday from a bucket truck on Tchoupitoulas between Henry Clay and Calhoun. (photo courtesy of Nicole Williamson, via Twitter)
Residents of St. Mary Street near Prytania in the Lower Garden District smile and celebrate with an Entergy worker after power is restored Monday around a major tree that fell. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
After restoring electricity to the last large neighborhood tracts Sunday evening, Entergy workers spent Monday focusing on individual, block- or address-level outages, and reported more than 94 percent of customers in the city had been restored by Monday evening. Continue reading »
Issac Kicked our Butt Sale! The wind took our sign and our internet, but we are up and running! Mention this post to receive 25% off regular priced garments, 10% off regular priced accessories, and an extra 10% off all sale merchandise till Sunday only. This is your chance to raid our racks and tables! We are open everyday from 10 am to 6 pm, and we have free off-street parking behind the store. Continue reading »
While most New Orleans schools had planned to reopen Tuesday after Hurricane Isaac, Audubon Charter School received such extensive damage to both of its campuses that it will remain closed for another week; the International School of Louisiana has postponed reopening until Thursday while it finishes cleaning its campuses; and ENCORE Academy students will return Tuesday to their temporary home at Touro, as the storm delayed completion of their Crocker campus yet again, school officials said.
Continue reading »
Crowds gather in front of The Company Burger on Freret St. as hamburgers are given out Thursday while most of Uptown waits for power to come back. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
Electricity was finally restored to the majority of the Freret corridor late Sunday evening, after nearly a week of most businesses there either giving away their goods or struggling to operate without power.
As the New Orleans City Council prepares to hold a hearing on the Entergy response at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Freret Business and Property Owners Association has sent a letter emphasizing the importance of local businesses in any recovery, and raising the possibility that the major upcoming underground drainage work on Jefferson, Napoleon and Louisiana avenues could include other utilities. Continue reading »
Owen Courreges
Well, New Orleans has officially weathered its first direct hit from a hurricane post-Katrina. As with all disasters, we seem to be hoping that all our heroes and villains come straight from central casting. Most peoples’ immediate ire seems focused on Entergy New Orleans for failing to flip on the lights quickly enough. Corporate villains are always the easiest to write.
Of course, the truth is more complicated, and not being an expert in electrical grids, I’m hardly the person to turn to for education in whether Entergy is to blame in its power restoration efforts. On the other hand, Entergy has done much to destroy any goodwill with New Orleanians with excessive fuel surcharges and the like. Continue reading »
A New Orleans firefighter examines damage to the interior of Fat Harry’s bar on St. Charles Avenue. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Debbie Huling, owner of Fat Harry’s, smiles despite the damage to her business as she talks to a New Orleans firefighter. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
View Uptown New Orleans power outages and restored areas in a larger map
Entergy’s map of outages at 11 p.m. Saturday. (viewoutage.entergy.com/nola.aspx)
Because the Entergy maps have proven themselves to be unexpectedly unreliable, Uptown Messenger is building our own map of outages and restored areas, based on firsthand reports by our readers. We’ll also include significant hazards that may still be affecting the public. To add or update information, either tweet it to us @UptownMessenger, or email it to uptown@nolamessenger.com
Entergy workers examine a fallen tree on St. Charles Ave. and Arabella St. Thursday afternoon. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
New Orleans may have seen the last of Isaac’s wind and rain crawl out of town on Thursday, but awoke Friday morning to find the same mess left over from the day before: trees down all over, and power hardly anywhere.
Grocery stores led the way in business re-openings on Thursday, followed by a few resourceful restaurants that pulled together limited menus for New Orleanians grateful for a hot meal, and hopeful that power would return soon as the late summer temperatures begin to rise again. Continue reading »
Poydras Home on Jefferson and Magazine lost its back-up electricity early Thursday morning, so state Rep. Neil Abramson helped coordinate a move to Lambeth House on Broadway, according to a report by Brendan McCarthy of our partners at WWL-TV.
A large tree lays across Broadway Street near St. Charles Avenue, where it has snapped a power pole and pulled down electrical lines. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Tropical Storm Isaac’s wind field at 7 a.m. barely reaches New Orleans. (map via wunderground.com)
Six more people were arrested in separate looting cases Wednesday in Central City, and police credit the vigilance of neighborhood residents in helping officers stop the crimes while they were still in progress. Continue reading »
View Uptown hazards in a larger map
As Isaac continues its slow approach toward New Orleans, a tree has landed on a house on St. Charles Avenue, wires and other trees are down in numerous Uptown neighborhoods, flooding has been reported in the Lower Garden District and other roads have been closed, according to reports from the mayor’s office early Wednesday. Continue reading »
The officers of the NOPD Second District are responding to the Hurricane Isaac in their second 12-hour shift, working out of a temporary headquarters at Children’s Hospital. Continue reading »
A 54-year-old man was arrested late Wednesday morning and charged with looting at a gas station at Carrollton Avenue and Earhart Boulevard, authorities said. Continue reading »