food and drink

Vino Wine and Spirits is uncorked on South Carrollton

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The once bare white walls of a South Carrollton Avenue storefront are now highlighted by bottles of red, white, rose and sparkling wines from France, the U.S., Spain and Italy, along with some select local and global spirits. If those walls could talk, they would tell of the journey Vino Wine and Spirits took, including delays due to COVID-19 pandemic regulations and the cyber attack on City Hall, as they were navigating the already arduous permitting process. Then there was the card reader that wasn’t going to arrive in time for the opening, and then when it did, it was in pieces to be assembled. The good news is that a new chapter began the last week of June, when Vino Wine and Spirits welcomed its first customers, card reader be damned. Vino Wine and Spirits is the realization of a dream of Allyson and Milton Hernandez.

opinion

Viewpoint: Classroom lessons guiding local math teacher’s Senate campaign

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“America needs a national plan to deal with COVID-19 that includes testing and PPE in order for our schools to re-open safely,” said New Orleans math teacher Peter Wenstrup, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 3 election. One of four candidates challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, Wenstrup announced his candidacy July 1 via video and social media. 

Wenstrup points to the return of the NBA and the aggressive testing program within President Trump’s inner circle as examples of how life and operations can continue “close to normal” when regular testing and personal protective equipment are available. “It represents a failure of leadership when we don’t have that same level of support for regular people,” he said. 

A native of Seattle and longtime resident of Cincinnati who attended Brown University, Wenstrup moved to New Orleans because he was looking for “a warm and inviting place where people valued people first.” Wenstrup visited the city once during college and wrote every school in New Orleans looking for a job before receiving an opportunity from Lusher’s CEO Kathy Riedlinger. He began work on Jan.

COVID-19

High demand expected for city’s free COVID-19 testing in Central City

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The COVID-19 testing site Monday (July 6) was closed as soon as it opened at 8 a.m., with the last person to be tested already in the long line at Dillard University. Tests are limited to 150 a day. The free testing will be held Tuesday (July 7) and Wednesday in Central City at the YMCA, 2220 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. The noninvasive nasal-swab tests will be provided through New Orleans East Hospital. Results are expected to be online or delivered in two to three days.

We'll Be Right Back: New Orleans Hospitality

crime

Man shot to death in parking lot outside Dollar General

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A man was killed in a shooting Friday afternoon in front of the Dollar General store on South Claiborne Avenue near Toledano Street, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At around 3:30 p.m., NOPD Sixth District officers arrived at the Dollar General, 2841 S. Claiborne Ave. In the store parking lot, they found Kevin Thomas Jr., 35, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Emergency Medical Services transported Thomas to the University Medical Center, where he died. The homicide was the second in New Orleans on Friday afternoon, following one in New Orleans East.

opinion

Viewpoint: Longtime watchdog gives Chief Ferguson an A for handling of NOPD during pandemic and protests

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Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche said yesterday that NOPD Superintendent Shaun D. Ferguson deserves the highest accolades for his handling of the department since the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests began. “Chief Ferguson has been dealing with an issue that no police chief has had to deal with in 100 years,” Goyeneche said. “In the context of New Orleans, look at some of the unrest in other cities around the country. I want to give him nothing but an A as to the way things have gone here. “New Orleans had our George Floyd awakening 15 years ago on the Danzinger Bridge.

events

Uptown homes featured in PRC’s virtual Shotgun House Tour

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The COVID-19 shutdown this spring resulted in the cancellation of many popular events, including the Preservation Resource Center’s annual Shotgun House Tour, a major fundraiser for the nonprofit devoted to the historical preservation of New Orleans architecture and cultural identity. Now the PRC is bringing back the beloved tour in a safe and entertaining way — online. This virtual event will present Shotgun Sundays featuring a different house every Sunday at 4 p.m. in July and August. Participants can take a guided virtual tour through each home. From the comfort of their couch, they can learn about the history each home and the individual use of space to suit a modern lifestyle.

Advertiser specials

A Message from Judge Robin Giarrusso

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Friends & Supporters,

I will seek re-election this fall for Division G of New Orleans Civil District Court. I have served on the bench with distinction and have the requisite experience to continue serving all parties. Because of COVID and the economic downturn, I am requesting my campaign committee refrain from raising funds now. My campaign fund is substantial, and I do not want to burden attorneys who would normally be generous contributors to the campaign. It has been a pleasure serving the residents of New Orleans.

COVID-19

Walk-up COVID-19 testing held this week in Broadmoor, Lower Garden District

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The city’s free walk-up testing for COVID-19 will be held in Broadmoor and the Lower Garden District this week. Anyone, with or without symptoms, is eligible to receive a test. No ID or health insurance is required. Testing at the Andrew Wilson Elementary School at 3617 Gen. Pershing St. in Broadmoor takes place Monday (June 29) and Tuesday (June 30) from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. — or whenever tests run out.