A Central City tenant who was given an eviction notice Monday was arrested Tuesday in Texas on suspicion of aggravated arson in the fire that engulfed a Washington Avenue apartment building, Ramon Antonio Vargas reported on NOLA.com. Jazlynn Major, 25, was booked on a warrant accusing her of 26 counts of arson following the three-alarm blaze Monday night at the Amies Paradise apartments that killed a dog and displaced 26 residents.
The city is offering free walkup COVID-19 this week at two Central City churches. Testing at the New Zion New Zion Baptist Church, 2319 Third St., will be held today (Sept. 1), Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or until tests run out. An hour after Monday’s site opened, city officials sent out a message that there was no line for the tests. The non-invasive nasal swabs are offered at this site by LCMC, LSU, New Orleans Health Department.
Researchers with the Tulane University School of Social Work are conducting a survey to determine the extent of compassion fatigue among of doctors, nurses and other front-line workers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey is the work of disaster mental health experts Leia Saltzman, Tonya Hansel and Charles Figley, the latter of whom was among the scholars who coined the term “compassion fatigue.” Figley is also director of the Tulane Traumatology Institute. “Compassion fatigue is related to the concept of burnout,” said Saltzman, an assistant professor. “It is something we see sometimes in caregivers and emergency responders, particularly in disaster scenarios. “Most often compassion fatigue can be thought of as an emotional exhaustion that manifests as the reduced ability of a caregiver or responder to engage in empathy and/or compassion for the survivor they are working with.”
The study seeks input from medical professionals, mental health professionals, such as social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists and other first responders.
Flames engulfed an apartment building on Washington and Carondelet streets on Monday night. Firefighters were called to the three-alarm fire about 8:30 p.m. It was under control at about 11 p.m.
All 26 residents in the two-story building were safely evacuated, the Fire Department reported. A dog belonging to one of the residents died in the fire, however. About 300 people in the area were without power Monday night because of the blaze.
Judge Laurie White admits she has always been a little feisty. “Even as a child I wanted to free the world,” she said. A former professional boxing manager who traveled internationally with her fighters, White will put her innate pugnaciousness to use in what could be a no-holds-barred competition against seasoned capital defense attorney Dennis Moore. A 61-year old Baton Rouge native, White graduated from LSU and Southern University Law Center and served as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. While in private practice she handled civil rights and insurance matters and also tried more than 100 criminal defense cases as first chair and litigated almost 75 judge trials.
Four men approached a a driver on a Hollygrove street early Thursday, took his car and then shot at him, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At about 12:30 a.m., a 34-year-old man was driving in the 9000 block of Palm Street when he was stopped by four armed men. They forced him out of the vehicle and demanded his property. As the victim fled the scene, the gunmen fired at him. He was not injured in the shooting, police said.
In the race to fill the open seat in Criminal District Court Section K, three lawyers are bringing their diverse background and outlook to the competition: attorney Stephanie Bridges, best known for her 24 years as president of the New Orleans Council for Community and Justice (NOCCJ); 36-year-old lawyer Marcus DeLarge, whose family has been active in city government for half a century; and 30-year practitioner Gary Wainwright, who describes his work as “citizen’s defense.” A fourth candidate, Diedre Pierce Kelly, was disqualified by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Stephanie Bridges
A distant relative by marriage to civil rights icons Ruby Bridges and the late Dr. Zebadee Bridges, nonprofit executive Stephanie Bridges has been an advocate for youth justice for more than 30 years. The NOCCJ, the human relations organization she leads, “promotes understanding and respect among all races, religions and cultures through advocacy, conflict resolution and education.”
NOCCJ offers cultural diversity workshops and for almost 10 years provided free expungement clinics in conjunction with the Louis Martinet Society and the Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana. Some of the young people who participated in NOCCJ programs needed expungements to give them a fresh start. While lawyers from the partnering groups completed the technical aspects, Bridges learned the basics. Longtime NOCCJ partner and former Loyola University President Father James Carter dared Bridges to enter Loyola’s Law School program.
The New Orleans City Council is partnering with the Mayor’s Office to offer free sandbags to residents across the city to help them prepare for Tropical Storm Laura. There will be four distribution sites today (Tuesday, Aug. 25) until noon, including one in Central City. No documentation is required, and sandbags are limited to four per person. Bags will be distributed in Central City from 8 a.m. until noon at the Dryades YMCA, 2220 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
Two men were shot to death Sunday night in the Leonidas neighborhood, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At 10:22 p.m., NOPD Second District officers responded to a call of an aggravated battery by shooting at Joliet and Jeanette streets. They found two adult male victims down, each with multiple gunshot wounds. The victims died at the scene. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will identify the victims and official causes of death upon completion of autopsy and notification of respective family
Homicide Detective Eric Vilhelmsen is in charge of the ongoing investigation and can be reached at 504-658-5300 or call anonymously to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP.
The New Orleans Police Department reported a shooting and an armed robbery in Uptown neighborhoods on Thursday. The shooting in the Leonidas neighborhood left a 27-year-old man injured. He was struck by gunfire at about 4:20 p.m., when a group of men walked up to him in the 1700 block of Eagle Street and opened fire, the police report states. The victim was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. The armed robbery occurred in the Milan neighborhood at about 5:50 p.m. A 33-year-old man in the 2100 block of Napoleon Avenue was approached by a man who lifted his jacket to reveal a handgun and demanded his property.