crime

Patrol officers arrest two suspects on drug, weapons charges in Central City

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New Orleans police arrested two suspects and recovered drugs and weapons in Central City over Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday (May 28), Sixth District officers were patrolling in the 2700 block of Loyola Avenue when they observed a man who appeared to be concealing a firearm. He got into a vehicle with another man. Officers attempted a stop and arrested one of the men. The other fled on foot, throwing bags over a fence as he ran, police said.

Education

InspireNOLA Class of 2023 earns over $33 million in merit-based scholarships (sponsored)

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They’ve put in the work, crossed the stage, and can now call themselves high school graduates! Congratulations to the class of 2023 from McDonogh 35 High School, Eleanor McMain Secondary School, and Edna Karr High School! These scholars have accomplished a multitude of things including over 33 million dollars in merit-based scholarships, We can’t wait to see what else our graduates will achieve in the future! Congratulations to our top scholars who were named Valedictorian and Salutatorian! Eleanor McMain Secondary School
Valedictorian: Benjamin Trinh Le
Salutatorian: Keith Anthony Patterson
McDonogh 35 Senior High School
Valedictorian: Kali Rose Marie Gethers
Salutatorian: Breanna Sharell Williams
Edna Karr High School
Valedictorian: Saniya Amari Black
Salutatorian: Makayla Ajene’ Nabor

All of the graduations featured dynamic, alumni speakers including:
Shay O’Connor, Eleanor McMain ‘07, – WDSU – TV Reporter; Rachael Johnson, McDonogh 35 ‘94, – Judge, Division D, Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit and Edward Buckles Jr., Edna Karr ’10 – Filmmaker and Director.

crime

Woman shot to death on Gen. Taylor Street in Broadmoor

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A woman was fatally shot Thursday night (June 1) in Broadmoor, the New Orleans Police Department reported. A suspect has been arrested, police said. At around 9:40 p.m., Second District officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 3800 block of Gen. Taylor Street. They discovered a 34-year-old woman suffering from gunshot wounds. The Emergency Medical Services pronounced her dead at the scene.

crime

Viewpoint: Who is really to blame for New Orleans crime?

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Lawyer Bill Aaron, a former city attorney under Mayor Sidney Barthelemy, raised a few eyebrows recently when he posted support for Republican state Rep. Debbie Villio’s House Bill 321, the Truth and Transparency Act, which would make public the criminal records of juveniles over the age of 13 who commit violent crimes in Orleans and other large parishes. Several of Aaron’s social media followers, including former Judge Ron Sholes and former Criminal Magistrate Marie Bookman, disagreed and suggested the bill targeted juveniles only in majority-Black parishes and at too young an age. 

A separate WDSU-TV news report Tuesday evening (May 30) pointed to the high percentage of Black homicide victims in New Orleans.  Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who was interviewed for the story, blamed those murders in part on systemic racism and a lack of resources. Who is committing these crimes? More often than not, other Black males — many of whom start down the wrong path while still juveniles — are named as the perpetrators. Their crimes can be viewed as status symbols by their peers. 

Let’s take for example 22-year-old convicted felon Kyron Keith Fazande, whom WWL Radio broadcaster Newell Normand labeled “a pure killer” during his on-air interview Wednesday (May 31) with Rafael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

public safety

Work on water main near Carrollton Plant could affect Garden District

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From the Sewerage & Water Board

Sewerage & Water Board crews will perform a water valve closure on a 48-inch transmission main on Panola Street near Broadway as a part of the South Claiborne Transmission Main project. Crews will begin closing the valve on Saturday (May 27) beginning at 8 a.m. The water closure is expected to last until mid-July. This 48-inch water main supplements much of the water supply to the Central Business District and the Garden District resulting in potential lower-than-normal water pressure. Customers will observe similar pressures from the test closure performed on March 25. The 48-inch water main is one of six large transmission mains that supplements water to much of the metro area, which means there are redundancies in the water distribution system.

business

Viewpoint: Who would want to do business in crime-ridden New Orleans?

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When I want to know what New Orleanians are thinking about the news of the day, I need not look any further than the app Nextdoor to get an unvarnished, uncensored view.   

Gina Melita posted about a carjacking at Sycamore near Carrollton. Laurel Street’s Avi Scott wrote about two teenage males who were pulling on door handles on her block. A clearly aggravated James Henderson in Algiers Riverview shared a video of his “lazy G-Man,” who picked up the trash bag on the curb but ignored the trash can. De Borah Wells in Milan posted a photo of Sir Paul, a Doberman she was mourning after his passing. Jenn C in Huntlee Village was warning neighbors about a hustler prying for information about her home security system.  

Then there’s Paulette Perrien from Maple Area who, along with several dozen others, remarked about the May 20 early-morning theft of $300,000 worth of iron beams and additional sheet metal from the former Times-Picayune site at 3800 Howard Ave., where the upscale Five O Fore driving range is under construction.

city government

Planning Commission rejects plan for Bohemia outdoor restaurant on Freret

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A proposed open-air restaurant complex on the Freret Street corridor received a thumbs-down from the City Planning Commission on Tuesday (May 23)

The large vacant lot on Freret and Upperline Street is envisioned as Bohemia Gardens, an outdoor recreational space with a bar and three restaurants featuring up-and-coming chefs, the developer told the CPC. In its report, the Planning Commission staff objected to the project’s design, stating it did not fit the character of the neighborhood. “The historical development pattern of the Freret Street mixed-use corridor is what makes Freret a vibrant and walkable neighborhood,” the staff states. “The proposed design strategy drastically departs from the character of Freret Street in that current layout of the structures breaks the rhythm and fabric of the street by not providing building facades to the edge of the sidewalk.”

The CPC asked the developers and their architect to bring the building facades to the sidewalk and combine the small structures into one larger building to anchor the corner of Freret and Upperline. After meetings with the CPC staff, a redesign and three deferrals, the Bohemia group had not brought the plans into compliance.