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A two-alarm fire damaged an Irish Channel home on Christmas Eve, the New Orleans Fire Department reported. Firefighters rescued a dog from the home, the NOFD said. No one else was at home when the fire broke out. The New Orleans Fire Department arrived at 2710 Constance St. at 6:26 p.m. on Saturday (Dec.
It’s hard to turn on the news these days. There are far too many stories about innocent people who have been assaulted, murdered or carjacked. Also, I am not so naïve as to believe that all the crimes committed end up in police reports.
The results of the NOPD Recruitment and Retention Survey, released Wednesday (Dec. 14) by Council President Helena Moreno and the Fraternal Order of Police, only make matters worse. Conducted by the AH Datalytics, the survey shows the high level of dissatisfaction officers feel about cronyism, favoritism and promotions based more on who you know than ability and experience.
The two-alarm fire that broke out Thanksgiving morning was not especially disruptive to the holiday meal preparations at neighboring homes in the 600 block of Audubon Street. The fire displaced the college students living in 624 Audubon right before exams, but no one was injured, it was under control in 32 minutes, and the blaze did not spread to neighboring homes. One aspect of the fire caught some neighbors’ attention, however: The smoke spilled out of a third-story window, and the New Orleans Fire Department reported that it had started in a third-floor apartment. “My question is, why was there somebody in the attic?” said Keith Hardie, who lives two doors down from the apartment building.
Repairs to two water mains will necessitate temporary road closures and low water pressure in Central City this weekend, the Sewerage & Water Board reported. Beginning on Saturday (Dec. 10) at 8 a.m., Sewerage & Water Board crews will temporarily close one lane of riverbound traffic in the 2800 block of Martin Luther King, between South Claiborne Avenue and Magnolia Street, for repair work and road restoration. The roadway is expected to reopen the same day at around 4 p.m.
This closure is required for repairs to a 4-inch water main that runs along Martin Luther King Boulevard. Signage will be in place to direct traffic.
For perhaps the first time since Mayor LaToya Cantrell appointed Shaun Ferguson as chief of police almost four years ago, Ferguson spoke candidly in public. “I want to encourage our city leaders to have better communication lines. This isn’t able personal agendas. It’s about the safety of the people of New Orleans,” Ferguson said Wednesday (Dec. 7) during his remarks on what influenced his surprise decision to retire in less than three weeks.
The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans crews will perform maintenance work beginning Wednesday (Dec. 7) that could result in lower-than-normal water pressure in the Garden District, the S&WB states in a press release. The repair work will begin at 7 a.m. is expected to last at least 12 hours. As a part of the Water Hammer Hazard Mitigation Program, crews will isolate and close a 43-inch water main located within the Carrolton Water Plant. The water main they will be closing supplements much of the water supply to the Central Business District and the Garden District.
A man was killed and another injured Sunday night (Dec. 4) in a single-car crash in the Interstate 10 exit lanes at Carrollton Avenue, the New Orleans Police Department reported. The car, a Honda Civic, had hit the neutral ground and flipped over multiple times, police said. At about 10:50 p.m., NOPD Second District units responded to a reported crashed vehicle in the westbound exit lane of I-10 at Carrollton. Officers located the silver Honda Civic under the elevated interstate.
A fire broke out in a University area apartment building on Thanksgiving morning (Nov. 24), the New Orleans Fire Department reported. The building’s tenants had all escaped safely before the NOFD arrived. Flames were coming out of a third floor window when firefighters arrived at 624 Audubon St. at about 10:50 a.m. They searched the building to make sure all occupants had evacuated, while other firefighters attacked the blaze from the inside to get ahead of the fire. The third-floor attic apartments, including the unit where the fire had started, were occupied on Thursday morning.
An International School of Louisiana student was hit by a car while crossing Magazine Street on Wednesday morning (Nov. 16), the New Orleans Police Department reported. The incident occurred at about 8:15 a.m. in the 1400 block of Magazine Street. Medical responders took the juvenile to the emergency room to be treated for injuries that an NOPD spokesperson described as minor. The student is a preteen, police said, but they did not provide the age or gender.
A driver was killed early Sunday in a sport utility vehicle that burst into flames at the Tchoupitoulas exit off of U.S. 90. At about 2:30 a.m., a Ford Explorer stalled in the middle lane of the exit and was struck by a 2016 Chevy Malibu, setting off a fire in the Explorer. A third vehicle, a 2016 GM Yukon XL, then collided with the Malibu in a three-car pile-up. The driver of the Explorer died at the scene. The other two drivers were injured.
