More than a dozen contenders for local and statewide office addressed a packed house Wednesday (Aug. 16) at the Home Defense Foundation’s candidate forum. The gun-rights lobbying group attracted an array of Republican candidates, including gubernatorial candidates state Treasurer John Schroder, state Sen. Sharon Hewitt and state Rep. Richard Nelson; secretary of state candidate and grocer Brandon Trosclair; former U.S. Rep. John Fleming and state Rep. Scott McKnight, who are running for state treasurer; attorney general candidates state Rep. John Stefanski and former prosecutor Marty Maley; retired state Sen. Elbert Guillory, who is seeking the office of lieutenant governor; and legislative candidate Charles Marsala, who is running to represent House District 94. “I want to bring integrity back to state government. I recently went to a national conference where I got tired of hearing jokes about corruption in Louisiana.
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Merriment on Magazine kicks off the holiday season
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The quirky collection of small businesses on Magazine Street provides an enjoyable, locally based opportunity to cross items off on your Christmas list. The Magazine Street Merchants Association is sweetening holiday shopping with “Merriment on Magazine” on Saturday (Dec. 3). The participating businesses will offer special treats and exclusive holiday offerings for Saturday only, from noon to 5 p.m.
Dating back to the early days of the expansion of the city beyond the original French Quarter, Magazine Street is a six-mile stretch of businesses, restaurants and bars with their own character. The day provides shopping specials beyond Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, notes Natalie Steuer, the director of the Casey Langteau Art Gallery, a Merriment on Magazine particpant.
homicide
8-year-old boy shot to death in Hoffman Triangle
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An 8-year-old boy was shot to death in the Hoffman Triangle on Wednesday morning, the New Orleans Police Department reported. Sixth District officers responded to a call of a shooting at about 11 a.m. When the officers arrived in the 3200 block of Second Street, they found the child suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Emergency medical technicians transported the boy to a local hospital, where he later died. Homicide and child abuse detectives are investigating the death. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will release the identity of the victim and the exact cause of death.
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Police blotter: Another carjacking in the Riverbend; robbery in Hollygrove
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A carjacking and a robbery were among the crimes reported in Uptown neighborhoods over the weekend. A 19-year-old male was attacked and had his car stolen Sunday afternoon (Sept. 25) in the 600 block South Carrollton Avenue, near St. Charles Avenue. A man asked the teen for money, then physically attacked him when he refused.
17-year-old found dead inside home in Leonidas area
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A 17-year-old was fatally shot inside of a Leonidas home on Sunday (Sept. 25). Police rushed to the scene when they received a call at around 2:45 p.m that a teenage boy was shot in the 9000 block of Cohn Street. When officers arrived they found Cameron Thomas with a bullet wound and called for the Emergency Medical Service. Medical responders pronounced Thomas dead shortly after their arrival.
recognition
Life of civic activist Mary Zervigon to be celebrated Saturday
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Uptown resident and long-time philanthropist Mary Keller Zervigon, who died Aug. 27 at 83, will be memorialized and celebrated Saturday (Sept. 10). Throughout her lifetime in New Orleans, Zervigon was dedicated to serving her community. When Zervigon was inducted into the Tocqueville Society in 2018, Danae Columbus interviewed the Carrollton area resident for Uptown Messenger.
land use & development
Entrepreneur battles neighbors to open Daiquiri World restaurant
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An old Church’s Chicken building on Louisiana Avenue has turned into a battleground for a neighborhood association and a fledgling entrepreneur who is renovating it into a full-service restaurant with alcohol sales. The Delachaise Neighborhood Association filed an appeal with the Board of Zoning Adjustments to stop work on the building two blocks from St. Charles Avenue. It alleges that the planned Daiquiri World will be a bar disguised as a restaurant and that the layout resembles a fast-food operation. The BZA staff recommended denying the appeal, stating that the plans show a standard restaurant. But the BZA board said those plans are incomplete and are not stamped by a licensed architect.
land use & development
Affordable housing, child-care center proposed for blighted firehouse
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A blighted firehouse on Louisiana Avenue could be transformed into affordable housing and an early childhood center, if plans submitted to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority are granted final approval. The proposal was presented Wednesday evening (July 27) at a public Zoom meeting to inform the community about ongoing plans for renovating and repurposing the disused firehouse at 2314 Louisiana Ave.
Mid-July marked the close of NORA’s solicitation for the development proposal period, and the organizations Home by Hand and Alembic Community Development presented their joint plans for the site. Their proposal would see the old firehouse renovated to become an early childhood education center on the ground floor and seven affordable rental units on the two floors above. “One of the requirements of the program is that any development that arises from the [NORA-run] program must create either affordable housing units or economic development opportunities in the form of jobs,” said NORA project manager Kyle Gilmore.
The city is leasing the property to NORA for a 99-year term; NORA will then sublease it to a development partner that administers the overall process of putting the building back into use. According to NORA, an award for the sub-lease will be granted Aug.
crime
Police blotter: Three vehicles stolen Uptown in 12 hours, and one carjacking attempt thwarted
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An armed burglary, a carjacking, a vehicle theft and an attempted carjacking were reported recently in Uptown neighborhoods. Three armed men stormed a Central City home early Wednesday (June 15) and drove off in a car belonging to one of the victims, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At about 3 a.m., the gunmen forced their way into a home in the 3000 block of Loyola Avenue and threatened the two residents, a 39-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man. They demanded the woman turn over her car keys, which she did. The fled in her vehicle, which was later recovered.
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Sobriety checkpoints planned for Thursday night
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The NOPD Traffic Division will conduct sobriety checkpoints in New Orleans on Thursday and Friday (June 9-10) and again on June 23 to 24. The checkpoints will operate at undisclosed locations from 9 p.m. on Thursday to 5 a.m. on Friday and from 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, to 5 a.m. on Friday, June 24. Motorists will experience minimal delays during these checkpoint operations, the NOPD said, and should have the proper documentation available if requested (i.e., proof of insurance, driver’s license, etc.).
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Suspect sought in burglary on Magazine Street
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Members of the New Orleans Police Department are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a suspect wanted in connection with a business burglary that occurred on Tuesday (April 26) in the 1800 block of Magazine Street. According to investigators, the suspect arrived in the pictured truck and burglarized a Magazine Street business. The suspect used a four-way lug wrench to break windows before stealing several display items.
The suspect is described as a white male, wearing a Saints 51 Vilma jersey shirt, black pants, black-and-green Jordan 6 shoes and black-and-gold crown baseball hat. The suspect also has a flame tattoo around his left forearm and a tattoo of a bird on his right hand. If you have any information regarding this suspect or vehicle, please notify Detective Amanda Williams at adwilliams@nola.gov, Sixth District Detectives at 504-658-6060, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 504-822-1111.