A rendering of the proposed football stadium on Tulane’s Uptown campus. (via TulaneStadium.com)
As expected, the New Orleans City Council formally withdrew a proposed zoning district Thursday morning that would have required Tulane University to seek their permission prior to starting construction on a new football stadium. Continue reading »
A 19-year-old was injured Wednesday night in a shooting just off Freret Street, police said. Continue reading »
Allan Katz and Danae Columbus
Although Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Police Chief Ronal Serpas aren’t very happy with him, Tulane Professor Peter Scharf has done the city a tremendous favor with his current study of New Orleans police attitudes.
For those familiar with the situation at the NOPD, it is no surprise that 97 percent of the cops surveyed said that department has insufficient numbers of personnel. The fact is that most days, Chief Serpas has 1,000 cops or fewer to police the city. While the official count is just over 1,300 cops, when you take out those on vacation, those on sick leave, those on suspension, etc. the fact is that most days there are fewer than 1,000 functioning cops on the streets of New Orleans which is why in many districts, including Uptown New Orleans, there may only be two or three cop cars on the street during the late shift. Continue reading »
Five robberies reported around the central Carrollton area since Friday. (map via NOPD.com)
A cluster of five armed robberies — including two carjackings — around the Carrollton area in as many days has the full attention of the Uptown-based NOPD Second District, with nearly every squad in the district assigned a role in stopping the trend, authorities said. Continue reading »
One of the men wanted in connection with last week’s theft of baby alligators has a history with Audubon Zoo reptiles: Ten years ago, he was ordered to stay away from the zoo after pleading guilty to the high-profile lizard-napping of the iguanas Ziggy and Cleopatra. Continue reading »
Tulane University President Scott Cowen answers a question about the stadium proposal at the Audubon Tea Room on Wednesday night. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Tulane University officials pledged Wednesday night to reach an enforceable legal agreement with the city of New Orleans governing the activities and operations at its new football stadium — with hopes of resolving most of the issues in it by the end of August. Continue reading »
We’ve received a number of emails from readers lately who have had trouble loading UptownMessenger.com with the Firefox brower. We apologize for the inconvenience, but there is an easy temporary fix. Continue reading »
Diana Bajoie
Jean-Paul Villere
It’s no secret that politics in New Orleans can get dodgy fast. As voters, we can blame ourselves only so much for a politician’s decisions or behavior. “Don’t Blame Me I Voted For the Other Guy” a bumper sticker reads. Or more locally famous “Vote For The Crook – It’s Important” when Edwards went up against Duke some years ago; Edwards won, and both have since spent time in prison.
Between crime stats, budget concerns, and yes even and of course scandals, as citizens our vote does matter, but if you don’t register to vote, your voice silences completely; you effectively vote not to participate. Unless you just never registered? Which if you just moved here or are moving here, it’s a strong possibility, wouldn’t you agree? Continue reading »
NOPD detectives and officers respond to a robbery on Spruce Street on Monday night. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A couple was held up at gunpoint by a group of men Tuesday night in front of their Spruce Street home in a robbery that bears several similarities to two cases reported nearby the night before, authorities said. Continue reading »
Buffeted by the loss of several members as the school enters a second year filled with major changes, the Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans governing board is considering asking three of its long-time advisers to take on a much more active role on a one-year basis. Continue reading »
By Leslie Jacobs
Performance is uneven in traditional public schools. Performance is uneven in charter schools. And performance can also be wildly uneven in private schools receiving state vouchers — demonstrating the need for stronger accountability over this growing program. Continue reading »
Tulane President Scott Cowen speaks about the proposed stadium before the City Planning Commission in June. (UptownMessenger.com file photo by Robert Morris)
Councilwoman Susan Guidry will ask the New Orleans City Council to withdraw plans Thursday for a new zoning district that would have governed the construction of a football stadium on Tulane’s uptown campus, a day after university President Scott Cowen is scheduled to speak to neighbors about the plans. Continue reading »
Baby alligators were stolen from the Audubon Zoo gift shop last week and abandoned in a plastic container on the side of an Irish Channel street, police said. Continue reading »
Officers with the NOPD Second District look along Maple Street for surveillance cameras that may have captured footage of a robbery that took place in the 7600 block on Monday evening. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
An armed robbery on Maple Street on Monday night and a carjacking on Nelson about half an hour later may have been committed by the same group of men, police said. Continue reading »
Lycee Francais’ new St. Francis of Assisi campus on Patton Street. (UptownMessenger.com file photo by Sabree Hill)
The school is nearly tripling its enrollment next year, and its plans for handling that growth formed the majority of a public hearing on the 2012-13 budget Monday night that took the form of a conversation between board members, the school business manager and a handful of parents and reporters. The budget will be voted on in a separate meeting Tuesday night. Continue reading »
The modified floor plan being sought by the Domino’s Pizza on Freret Street. (via City Planning Commission)
The Domino’s Pizza location on Freret Street plans to expand its kitchen space and add two tables for outdoor dining, based on a request the City Planning Commission will hear Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading »
Owen Courreges
This past week I had occasion to imagine police Chief Ronal Serpas as some latter day Victor Frankenstein. Serpas, presumably clasping his hands in a maniacal manner, announced his intention to reanimate something best left dead in the proverbial ground.
What is this metaphorical corpse of which I speak? Why, the New Orleans crime camera program. Serpas has seen fit to spit in the face of God and nature (well, at least the face of good government) and propose that the crime cameras, those icons of corruption and graft, be brought back on-line. The electricity, I’m told, will be provided via a lightening rod mounted on police headquarters, a.k.a. “Castle Serpas.” Continue reading »
Dana Kaplan
This fall, Sophie B. Wright Institute for Academic Excellence will add four Advanced Placement courses — which can earn high school students college credit — in literature, music theory, U.S. history, and world history, according to a report by charter school reporter Danielle Bell at The Lens.