business

New Artesian ice-cream parlor “Love Kreme” planned for Irish Channel

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A new Artesian ice-cream parlor called “Love Kreme” is planned for a Louisiana Avenue corner building in the Irish Channel, and the owners are hosting a meeting with neighbors next week to discuss their plans. Love Kreme is owned by Reginald Commodore and will be located at 940 Louisiana Avenue, the corner of Constance Street, according to a letter Commodore sent late last month to neighborhood groups. The project, however, needs rezoning from residential to neighborhood business before it can move forward, though Commodore notes that alcohol sales would still not be allowed on the property. The public meeting on the project will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Lyons Recreation Center at 624 Louisiana Avenue.

crime

Wendy’s employees threatened at gunpoint over baked-potato wait

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A drive-through customer at the Wendy’s on St. Charles Avenue grew so irate about the wait time for the baked potato he ordered that he brandished a gun at the employees inside, New Orleans police said. The man pulled up to the drive-through window in a black Dodge Charger at the Wendy’s restaurant at 1301 St. Charles Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 29, as the employees were preparing to close for the night, said NOPD Sixth District Commander Ronnie Stevens.

city government

Danae Columbus: In hurricane season, threat of flooding never far from the city of New Orleans

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The New Orleans City Council’s budget hearing today focuses on capital improvements, public works and other drainage improvements that were paid for this year with emergency funds. When also factoring in yesterday’s fire at the Sewerage & Water Board’s Claiborne Avenue main pumping station, it’s easy to see why citizens are becoming more skeptical about the ability of our mayor and his S&WB team to protect us against flooding. Today’s conversations are especially important in light of the recent catastrophic devastation in Texas and Southwest Louisiana caused by Hurricane Harvey and the terrible toll Hurricane Irma is already having in the Caribbean. Let’s not forget that storms Jose and Katia are not far behind. At least most New Orleanians already understand what they must do to prepare for a weather emergency — load up on plywood, sand bags, a three day supply of bottled water and canned goods for people and companion animals, extra cash, and a good flashlight with new batteries.

city government

“Small electrical fire” reported at Sewerage & Water Board plant on South Claiborne

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New Orleans firefighters responded to a “small electrical fire” late Wednesday morning at the Sewerage & Water Board facility on South Claiborne Avenue, the second such incident in recent weeks amid ongoing questions about the agency’s performance. The fire was reported at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the facility at 8800 South Claiborne Avenue, according to a New Orleans Fire Department report. Seven Fire Department vehicles with 21 firefighters and support personnel responded within minutes, the report states. “Firefighters extinguished the fire quickly and remained on scene to ensure the fire did not extend to any other areas,” the report states.

elections

District A candidates debate stormwater fees, AirBnB laws

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Whether the city should create new stormwater-runoff fees to help pay for the Sewerage & Water Board and how to proceed with laws regulating short-term rentals were among the issues debated Tuesday night by four of the candidates for the District A seat on the New Orleans City Council. Four candidates for the seat — Joe Giarrusso, Aylin Maklansky, Dan Ring and Drew Ward — appeared Tuesday night before the Alliance for Good Government to field a panel of policy questions seeking the group’s endorsement. The two other candidates for the seat, Tilman Hardy and Toyia Washington-Kendrick, arrived late and were not allowed to join the panel. The first question the Alliance posed to the candidates was whether they would support the creation of stormwater-runoff fees to help pay down an anticipated $55 million in new revenue that the Sewerage & Water Board projects it will need to pay for the local match on federal projects. Joe Giarrusso, citing a Bureau of Governmental Reseach report on the project from February, said the Sewerage & Water Board faces two key hurdles before imposing any new burdens on New Orleanians.

crime

Fugitive wanted in Tennessee attempted murder, kidnapping plot arrested in Palmer Park, police say

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A woman suspected in a Tennessee attempted murder and kidnapping plot that led to a national manhunt was arrested Sunday in Carrollton’s Palmer Park, New Orleans police said. Jarret Heitmann, 26, and Makayla Stillwell, 22, were both on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top Ten Most Wanted list after they allegedly kidnapped a woman, used her to lure another man out of his home, and then shot him on June 20. Heitman was arrested Aug. 31 on a shoplifting charge from the Rouses in Mid-City, but Stillwell remained at large. NOPD officers in the Uptown-based Second District then began receiving tips that she had been seen around the Cohn Street area of Carrollton, and that she might be easy to spot because she was nursing an injured leg that had kept her either in a wheelchair or limping, said NOPD Second District Lt. Jennifer Dupree.

crime

Three people shot on South Claiborne Avenue; two Uptown robberies at knifepoint, police say

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Three people were injured in a shooting Monday night on South Claiborne Avenue, and two people were robbed at knifepoint in the Uptown area over the weekend, New Orleans police said. Around 11:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 4, three men — one in his 50s, one in his 40s, and one in his 30s — were standing on the corner of First Street at South Claiborne when gunfire rang out, according to the initial NOPD report. The man in his 50s drove to his house before he realized he had been shot and drove himself to the hospital, while the two younger men were both taken to the hospital in private vehicles, the report states. All three men were listed in stable condition after the shooting, the report states.

public safety

Woman fatally struck in South Claiborne traffic

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The NOPD is investigating a fatal accident that left a female pedestrian dead today (Sept 5.) in the 4100 block of Claiborne Avenue. At approximately 4:59 a.m., the Traffic Fatality Unit responded to a scene involving a pedestrian struck westbound on South Claiborne. Upon arrival, detectives observed an unknown white female lying in the left lane, near the neutral ground. She was pronounced death on scene by EMS.

The driver of a 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche indicated he was traveling in the left lane on S. Claiborne, and as he approached the 4100 block he struck the pedestrian as she stepped off the curb onto traffic. The driver remained on the scene for police and was transported to the DWI Testing Facility for a toxicology test.

church

Unitarian Church to hold Hurricane Harvey fundraiser

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In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans (FUUNO) will be holding a Fundraising event to benefit those affected in the Houston area. FUUNO will hold the event in their church’s Sanctuary, located at 5212 S. Claiborne Avenue, from Noon – 4:00pm on Saturday, September 9. The church is seeking to raise funds, canned food, and diapers for the victims of the storm. All donations will go to local initiatives. “We want to offer folks the opportunity to give to effective local charities in Houston.

public safety

Toddler dies in morning fire on Birch Street

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A 1-year-old child was killed in a house fire Monday morning on Birch Street in Carrollton, New Orleans fire officials said. The fire was reported shortly before 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 4, at a one-story wood-frame duplex at 8829-31 Birch Street, according to the report from the New Orleans Fire Department. Firefighters arrived within 4 minutes of the call, but found the “very intense fire” had already spread to neighboring houses on either side, the report states. An adult woman and the child were inside the house where the fire started, and the woman was awakened by the sound of fire alarms, the report states.