UptownMessenger.com

NOLA Messenger & the future of New Orleans news

By |

Help ensure the future of journalism in your neighborhood

Dear Reader,
By reading our work, you have been part of an experiment that is succeeding. UptownMessenger.com launched in 2010 as an idea to offer neighborhood-focused news about everything in Uptown New Orleans. As we progress into a very different media landscape in New Orleans, our core concept of bringing you up-close news from your own great neighborhoods remains just as important as ever before. Local Stories Every Day
As we have grown over the last nine years, you’ve said “yes” to this experiment. Thousands of you visit our sites every day to get your information first.

Advertiser specials

Yo Joe! Real estate advice for June 2019

By |

I’m Joe Gerrity, local businessman, investor and Real Estate Broker. For my “Yo Joe!” column, I’ll be answering your real estate questions as well as providing market information and housing statistics. I believe the main responsibilities of a Realtor are to add value and facilitate mutually beneficial transactions, and through this column I hope to help the New Orleans community make more informed decisions about their housing future. Yo Joe! The weather is heating up.

events

Contestants cram crawfish during fourth annual NOLA Crawfish Festival (Photos)

By |

Tuesday was the second day of the three-day Crawfish Festival at Central City Barbecue on South Rampart Street. The day featured the percussion-heavy Mike Dillon Band and the funky stylings of Eric Kresno, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Ari Teitel, Jermal Watson and more. The day also featured a a crawfish-eating competition. Ten contestants had 10 minutes to consume as much crawfish as possible. The winner, Aaron Burgau, ate 5.97 pounds in 10 minutes, walking away with a $100 prize and bragging rights for a year.

community meetings

Central Circle networking lunch features speakers on charter schools, community policing

By |

The monthly Central Circle networking lunch will be held Wednesday, Dec. 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dryades Public Market, 1307 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. If you plan to attend, you can RSVP here. Robert Morris of UptownMessenger.com will speak about his work with Uptown charter schools, Marta Jewson from TheLensNOLA.org will talk about Edgar P. Harney Charter School, and Allison Cormier, the manager of the Police Community Advisory Board, will share the program’s role. In addition, each organization will give a brief overview of their work and progress in 2018.

events

Home tour on Saturday showcases the weird

By |

New Orleans residents with eccentric, funky, offbeat homes will open their doors Saturday for the second annual Weird Homes Tour. Back by popular demand, the New Orleans Weird Homes Tour will take place on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The national Weird Homes Tour, founded in 2014, celebrates unconventional homes in unique cities. During a self-paced, self-driving tour, visitors will see eight of the most magical and weird homes New Orleans has to offer. With the purchase of a ticket, available online, Weird Homes Tour will provide a map of the homes, and visitors can start and stop when they want throughout the day, viewing the homes in the order of their choice.

business

NOLA Messenger: We’re hiring!

By |

As part of our program with LION Publishers, the Messenger is working on gaining more back-end resources and better utilizing what we already have. Among other things, this means more staff members. We’re seeking a Business Communication Coordinator to assist growth on our sales and business development side. See the full job description here. For editorial, we’d like to add more columnists and freelancers into our fold.

UptownMessenger.com

Uptown Messenger sister site in Gentilly selected for national grant program to grow local news

By |

Gentilly Messenger, the newest member of the NOLA Messenger family of neighborhood-based news sites serving New Orleans, has been selected for inclusion in a national program designed to accelerate growth for new models of local journalism. The Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers selected Gentilly Messenger and its publisher, Tyree C. Worthy, as one of 10 participants for their Revenue Acceleration Mentorship Program, out of 79 applicants across the U.S.

Worthy has been paired with a mentor — Eleanor Cippel, a marketing expert based in Tennessee with years of experience in the Scripps and Digital First Media newspaper companies — to help grow revenue at the fledgling Gentilly Messenger news site. Through the program and other efforts, LION Publishers is leading the critical work of supporting local news entrepreneurs, said Tracie Powell, a member of the LION’s Board of Directors. “Who best to coach emerging independent news publishers than successful independent news publishers?” Powell said.

arts, books and music

Rick Bragg presents and signs new recipe book at Octavia Books

By |

By Lauren LeCompte
Loyola Student News Service

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author returned to a New Orleans bookstore to present and sign his new book of classic Southern recipes and lighthearted family stories. “What I wanted to pull off was the narrative of our food,” Alabama native Rick Bragg said. Dozens gathered as Bragg presented and read from his book “The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’s Table” at Octavia Books on Thursday, May 3. The book contains his mother’s recipes for mashed potatoes, corn pudding, short ribs, biscuits and other “Southern, blue-collared cooking” passed down in his family for generations, according to Bragg. “The problem was we had no written recipes.

business

StayLocal presents Shopkeeper Stories: Sending Positive Vibes to New Orleans and Beyond From Lionheart Prints

By |

In big bold letters on the window of Lionheart Prints’ Magazine shop it says, “Kind, Brave, and Fun.” Those positive vibes echo throughout the shop filled with laugh-out-loud cards and the perfect nick-nack you never knew you needed. We sat down with Liz Maute Cooke to learn more about her bold designs and her evener bolder business moves. Name: Liz Maute Cooke
Store: Lionheart Prints
Since: January 2013

What ignited the spark in you to start your business? It started with a series of career disappointments. When I graduated college in 2008, I realized the dream they sold you in high school to work hard, get through school, and then you’ll have a job waiting at the end of the tunnel wasn’t true.

business

StayLocal presents Shopkeeper Stories: Handcrafted Looks and Individualized Twists from Hinge Salon

By |

Hinge Salon is the new business on the block, but they bring a world of experience and inspirational passion to their cozy space. Owners Billy Miller and Rachel Reed have been working in the industry for over 30 years combined and decided to open their Magazine Street salon to focus on their clients needs. They seek to be a resource and help their clients create savvy fashion choices that makes them feel great. Name: Billy Miller and Rachel Reed
Store: Hinge Salon
Founded: June 2017

What ignited the spark in you to start your business? Billy: When I came back to New Orleans after the storm I knew salons would be reopening and building their teams. I set forth to create a hub to train and prepare stylists to be on the floor in a few months.