The National Weather Service downgraded the hurricane warning for New Orleans to a tropical storm warning early Tuesday, as Hurricane Sally sat in the Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi-Alabama border. The storm is expected to make landfall late tonight or Wednesday near Mobile, putting New Orleans on Sally’s west side, where the threat is lower. City Hall, NORD, libraries and trash collection will resume normal operations Wednesday. Vehicles will need to be off the neutral grounds by 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The Category 1 storm, which has 85 mph winds, has been moving at 2 miles an hour.
A 60-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint Sunday evening in the Leonidas neighborhood, the New Orleans Police Department reported. The victim was in the 8600 block of Cohn Street, near Leonidas Street, at about 8 p.m. when he was approached by a gunman threatening to shoot if he didn’t turn over his wallet. The victim complied. Further details were not immediately available. Anyone with information is urged to call the NOPD Second District station at 504-658-6020 to speak to a detective, or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.
Tropical Storm Sally is expected to make landfall late Monday or early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane and make its presence known throughout the metro area through Wednesday. Sally was moving slowly west-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico on Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center reported. At 7 a.m. it was about 115 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River with maximum sustained winds at 65 mph. Due to a shift in the forecast cone to the east, rainfall is now forecast to total between 4 to 6 inches in New Orleans, with locally higher amounts possible. Parking on neutral grounds and sidewalks is allowed until further notice.
National Urban League President and former Mayor New Orleans Marc Morial was born to lead. His parents, former Mayor Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial and educator Sybil Haydel Morial, wouldn’t have had it any other way. From his NORD playground days as a national champion Little League football star to his groundbreaking work in civil rights and economic empowerment, Morial has united voices and created meaningful change first in Louisiana and later across the globe.
“A good gumbo depends on diversity and inclusion, the very thing companies, schools and institutions of all kinds find themselves wrestling with,” Morial said, discussing his new book “The Gumbo Coalition: 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite and Achieve.”
He believes that most leaders of large organizations are not taking full advantage of America’s “incredible diversity.”
“America needs a national Gumbo Coalition movement right now because the ingredients for the most diverse gumbo in the world are already at our fingertips,” said Morial. “We have all the spices and flavors to create all manner of coalitions.”
One of only 14 Black students out of 1,000 at Jesuit High School, Morial graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University before returning home to become a member of the Louisiana State Senate in 1992 and mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002. While mayor, Morial addressed corruption at the New Orleans Police Department, reduced violent crime by almost 60%, renamed and improved the Louisiana Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accelerated economic growth.
He also expanded the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, beefed up year-round youth programming, increased home ownership, initiated the return of the historic Canal and Rampart streetcars, strengthened ties to Latin America and the Caribbean, and brought NBA basketball back of New Orleans. During his final year as mayor, Morial served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He was selected to lead the National Urban League in 2003.
Morial coined the phrase “Gumbo Coalition” after a campaign supporter prepared gumbo for a party being hosted in his honor.
A man was shot to death in the Lower Garden District on Sunday afternoon, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At 1:43 p.m, NOPD Sixth District officers responded to a call of shots fired in the 600 block of Felicity Street. They found a man, later identified as Johnathan Davis, suffering from gunshot wounds. Medical responders attempted life-saving measures; however, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Davis was 22.
Tropical Storm Sally is expected to bring hurricane conditions to southern Louisiana. Overnight and morning updates from the National Hurricane Center show its intensity has increased. The storm is now forecast to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, with impacts likely to begin Monday and last into Wednesday. City officials are urging residents to finish their preparations today. A hurricane warning and a storm surge warning are in effect for New Orleans.
The Second District of the New Orleans Police Department has made two arrests in recent Hollygrove armed robbery cases. The NOPD arrested Craig Elliot, 20, on Sunday, Sept. 6, in the investigation of an armed robbery on Aug. 27 in the 9000 block of Palm Street. NOPD Second District detectives identified Elliot as potentially one of the gunmen who robbed the victim and stole his vehicle and obtained a warrant for Elliot’s arrest.
In a decision that critics say speaks directly to corporate greed, Churchill Downs is challenging the Louisiana State Racing Commission’s emergency ruling that requires Churchill to temporarily take in 500 horses displaced from Delta Downs by Hurricane Laura. The showdown will take place Friday, Sept. 11, in front of Judge Sidney Cates in Orleans Parish Civil District Court.
Churchill Downs, the owner of the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots since 2004, grew from a one race-track company to a publicly traded conglomerate with multiple tracks, casinos and the country’s leading online wagering operation. They offer 800 video poker games at 13 facilities in Louisiana.
Horsemen are puzzled because they know Churchill has the extra barn space needed for Delta’s horses and that it would be compensated for the additional operating expenses. But Churchill would not reap the same profit from horses as online wagering and video poker.
A critically endangered western lowland gorilla was born in the morning hours of Sept. 4 at the Audubon Zoo. This is the first gorilla birth at at the zoo in 24 years and the first offspring for 13-year-old Tumani. Mother and baby are doing well, zoo officials report. Animal care staff are closely monitoring the infant’s health to ensure that mother and baby are receiving the care needed.
A 19-year-old man was killed in Central City on Wednesday, the New Orleans Police Department reported. NOPD Sixth District officers responded to a call of shots fired in the 1300 block of South Saratoga Street, near Thalia Street, at about 5:10 p.m.. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, later identified as Gerren Green, unresponsive with a gunshot wound. Medical responders declared Green dead at the scene, and the incident was reclassified as a homicide. He was 19.
