City Council considering cracking down on irresponsible landlords. NEW ORLEANS - A new push by the New Orleans City Council is targeting bad rental property owners. Under the proposed "Rental Registry Program," there would be yearly inspections, enforcement fees, and penalties if rentals are in poor conditions. Termites, broken kitchen cabinets, and creaky floors are how Shawanda Holmes describes her old place in Central City.
"The plug sockets were full of mold, " Holmes said. “The walls, if you actually touch them, would move.” Holmes said she paid her rent and complained to her landlord for months, but nothing changed. "Next thing you know, a few months later, my 14-year-old fell through the floor. Holmes said she knows several people facing the same problem; renting housing units, but living in awful conditions. "They don't care! Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell, along with other members of the Community Development Committee, plans on discussing what they call a "healthy homes ordinance. " The committee wants to establish a rental registry for the city. New Orleans City Council. How to break the 'generational curse' that keeps communities in fear, poverty.
Troy Delone calls it the "generational curse. " And he fears his son might be its next victim. The 16-year-old's volatile behavior recently became too much to handle for the relative he was living with, so he was sent to the Louisiana Methodist Children's Home in Ruston. Story by Richard A. Webster - and - Jonathan BullingtonThe Times-Picayune The children's home was founded in 1906 to provide care for "orphans, children who had no others who could care for them. " "He has these fits of rage where he gets real angry. Delone went to prison shortly before his son was born. "It's been 11 years without his mother and all his life without his dad," Delone said. Delone said he is in contact with his son and doing what he can to steer him in the right direction, but he worries "every waking moment of the day" that his efforts might not be enough, that his son will follow in his father's footsteps and end up in prison.
"It's normalized," Schroeder said. The San Francisco solution The Oklahoma initiative. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles. Flood watch area expanded to include New Orleans area. The National Weather Service has expanded a flood watch to include the New Orleans area. Forecasters expect 4 to 6 inches of rain through Monday night (Jan. 2, 2016), with the main impacts expected along North Shore rivers and streams and possible street flooding during or immediately after heavy rains. (National Weather Service) The National Weather Service has expanded a flood watch to include New Orleans, the upper portions of Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemine, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and all of St. Charles Parish. An initial watch the National Weather Service issued Friday covered the North Shore and Baton Rouge areas.
"Those living near rivers and drainage canals should monitor the weather this weekend for the potential for warnings. A series of upper level disturbances across the southern U.S. will draw on Gulf of Mexico moisture to bring at least two rounds of rainfall for much of Saturday and again Sunday night through most of Monday, according to the watch advisory. Man caught on video robbing New Orleans East residence. More people leave New Orleans than move to it, though not by many.
Despite its challenges, New Orleans is gradually gaining attention as a place where people -- locals and outsiders, alike -- want to live. A look at Census Bureau data shows people are indeed moving to the area, though they have yet to surpass those moving out. An estimated 42,356 people moved to the New Orleans metro area from elsewhere in the U.S. and Puerto Rico from 2010 to 2014, according to the Census Bureau's most recent American Community Survey data.
That was 3,212 people short of the 45,568 people who moved out of the city during the same time period. Another 5,154 people moved to New Orleans from abroad, but because the Census Bureau does not track the flow of migrants from U.S. cities to foreign countries, that group was removed from the totals for this analysis. Meanwhile, accounting for births and other factors, the overall population of the New Orleans area rose from 1.19 million in 2010 to 1.25 million in 2014. Where are people coming here from? Napoleon Ave. neutral ground will be open to public for Mardi Gras parades. The Krewe of Oshun rolls down the traditional Uptown route as the 200 riders celebrated the krewe's 20th anniversary with a 20-float parade entitled "Sea of Beauty" on Friday, January 29, 2016. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) (Michael DeMocker) Mardi Gras patrons and Uptown residents alike can look forward to 2017 as New Orleans plans to finish its major drainage construction project on Napoleon Avenue in time for parade season.
The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans said Tuesday (Dec. 20) the Napoleon Avenue neutral ground from Constance to Carondelet streets will be available for parade goers in time for the Krewe of Oshun, the first parade to roll Uptown Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. Officials said a majority of the work is already complete in the area. The Army Corps of Engineers posted video to Facebook showing the completed box culvert beneath Napoleon. Now, crews must perform curb work and roadway restoration. Construction work began in October 2013. Does a doctor's gender affect your chance of survival? CHICAGO -- What if your doctor's gender could influence your chance of surviving a visit to the hospital? A big study of older patients hospitalized for common illnesses raises that provocative possibility -- and also lots of questions.
Patients who got most of their care from women doctors were more likely to leave the hospital alive than those treated by men. The differences were small -- about 11 percent of patients treated mostly by women died within 30 days of entering the hospital, versus 11.5 percent of those treated by men. But the all-male research team estimated that there would be about 32,000 fewer deaths each year in the U.S. if male physicians performed at the same level as their female peers.
The study didn't probe why there might be these differences in survival. But he said male doctors could take a cue from women doctors' tendencies that might contribute to better care. Jha said he has not spoken to his own patients about the study -- yet. Dr. Bringing cheer to New Orleans kids for 121 years: The 2016 Times-Picayune Doll & Toy Fund. A line of families snaked around Xavier University's Convocation Center on Saturday (Dec. 17) for The Times-Picayune's Doll & Toy Fund presented by Entergy. They were there to participate in the 121st annual holiday toy distribution. The event is free for families with children 12 years old and younger. The goal is "to bring cheer to however many local kids as we can," event Vice Chairman Jerry Plough said. Plough expected between 4,000 to 5,000 gift seekers to pass through the doors from 7 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Once the doors opened, a festive frenzy ensued as families scooped up dolls, Girl Scout cookie ovens, castles, trucks, dinosaurs, Rollerblades, skateboards and more.
Savvy gift seekers, such as Gene Arcenaux of Kenner, arrived at the Convocation Center at 2 a.m. "You have to get here early," she said. David Hastings of Westwego was able to score two kid computers, a Girl Scout cookie oven, a doll and a stuffed animal with his three kids. Come on people... - Adrian MrCresentcity Lindsey. Constructing bonfires for the annual Festival of the Bonfires: Photo gallery. John Bel Edwards' LGBT protections declared unlawful. A Baton Rouge judge has thrown out Gov. John Bel Edwards' executive order protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in state government, declaring it unlawful. "The effect of [the executive order's] adoption and implementation, creates new and/or expands upon existing Louisiana law as opposed to directing the faithful execution of the existing law of this state," wrote Judge Todd Hernandez in his ruling Wednesday (Dec. 14).
The ruling also has larger implications for the balance of power between the governor and attorney general moving forward in Louisiana. The judge's decision is expected to be appealed to a higher court almost immediately. Both Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry had sued each other this fall over the governor's protections for LGBT state workers and contractors. In Landry's final argument to the court, his legal team said he would be satisfied with just having the transgender protections removed.
Still, there might be at least one exception. 'His murder wasn't spoke about': slain 10-month-old's grandmother pleads for justice. More than a week after her 10-month-old grandson was shot dead in Marrero, Chermaine Davis is determined to get answers and justice. Even so, scant information has surfaced as to what happened on the evening of Dec. 3, when authorities say a gunman stormed into a Marrero home and opened fire, killing Xy'Ahir Davis and leaving a teen wounded. Speaking by phone on Monday, Chermaine Davis, 42, said she and the infant's 17-year-old father, Xevion Davis, have relocated to Texas for now out of fear for their safety.
Davis, who said she works in construction in Texas, said her son Xevion is struggling to cope with the profound loss of his child, whose nickname is "Nemo" and who she said was "everything" to his father. "He felt like his baby was everything he had," said Chermaine Davis. "Everywhere he went, he kept his baby with him. Since that tragic evening, Crimestoppers has set a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible for the shooting.
5 best new restaurants in New Orleans in 2016. Restaurants considered for the Best New Restaurant 2016 list had to have opened after Aug. 1, 2015. They also had to have been fully operational by Oct. 1, 2016, allowing for the grace period Brett Anderson gives restaurants before visiting them for review. They are listed in alphabetical order. A sunset is reflected on a window as diners sit at the bar inside Kenton's. (Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune) Kenton's is the oldest of this year's crop of best new restaurants. The reason it's here is because it felt old even when it was brand new.
Back at the tail end of 2015, when Mani Dawes and Sean Josephs opened Kenton's with chef-partner Kyle Knall, the restaurant already bore features of a mature enterprise. 5757 Magazine St., Suite A, New Orleans, 504.891.1177 The menu at Meril, Emeril's fourth New Orleans restaurant, includes Korean-style ribs. Meril is the first New Orleans restaurant opened by Emeril Lagasse in nearly 20 years. N7 restaurant near St. 7th Ward targeted for new 5-story, 44-room hotel. A proposal for a five-story hotel with rooftop deck and retail on St. Bernard Avenue in the 7th Ward will go before the City Planning Commission on Tuesday (Dec. 12). The developer plans to build the 44-room, 34,000-square-foot hotel on a triangular property at 1213 St. Bernard Ave., about a block away from the developing St. Claude Avenue commercial corridor and the new St.
Zoning requires any commercial plans for the property for more than 10,000 square feet of space get a conditional use permit from the city. The developer, Calvin Arnold Lain with Devalepay Inc., said he wasn't available to discuss the project Monday. City planning staff recommends approval in an analysis of the project for the commission. The St. Plans filed with the city don't make it clear what the name of the hotel is or whether it will be operated under a corporate flag or an independent brand. Runoff Election Voting. Distribution. At Joe McKnight vigil, calls for unity and prayers for justice. Feet from the Terrytown intersection where Joe McKnight was fatally shot last week, local church leaders, along with McKnight's former coach, led dozens in prayer Wednesday evening (Dec. 7) while encouraging unity, peace and patience in waiting for justice after the former football standout's death.
"On behalf of the McKnight family, what they covet the most from you are your prayers," J.T. Curtis, who coached McKnight at John Curtis Christian High School, told the crowd from a podium set up in the parking lot of A New Jerusalem Carwash. "We know this: Joe's looking down tonight and he's saying how proud he is of how his people stand. " The car wash sits at the intersection of Behrman Highway and Holmes Boulevard, catercorner to an expanding makeshift memorial to McKnight, now burgeoning with sports-themed balloons, teddy bears, poinsettias and signs pleading for an end to violence. The Rev. Lawrence St. A number of crowd members held signs reading "Thou Shall Not Kill" and "Jesus Saves. " Peek inside a grand Garden District mansion on the Preservation Resource Center's Holiday Home Tour. On a recent morning, Michael W.
Murphy II, the 43-year-old former owner of Murphy Cadillac, surveyed Prytania Street from the porch of the circa 1846 Greek Revival "cottage" that he and Brent J. Becnel, also 43, renovated in 2012. Reflecting both the owners' respect for the home's history and a flair for imaginative touches, the results are a glistening showcase inside and out. This Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10-11, Murphy and Becnel will throw open the home's doors for the Preservation Resource Center's 41st annual Holiday Home Tour. The house will be one of eight private Garden District residences featured in the event. On his porch, Murphy pointed to the newest addition to his house: a pair of custom Bevolo copper gas lanterns that Becnel, a nurse practitioner studying for a doctorate in nursing practice at Loyola University, designed to enhance the home's towering entrance.
Today, the property has been restored to a grand residence. "Tastes were different after the Civil War. Donald Trump's victory tour coming to Baton Rouge, TV station says. President-elect Donald Trump's post-election victory tour will swing through Baton Rouge on Friday (Dec. 9), WAFB television reports, citing the State Police superintendent. That happens to be the day before Louisiana voters head to the polls to choose their next U.S. senator, with GOP candidate John Kennedy facing Democrat Foster Campbell in the runoff. Kennedy is unlikely to miss the chance to share Trump's limelight. Col. Mike Edmonson, the State Police chief, said he was contacted by the Secret Service about the visit and surmises the president-elect will visit Baton Rouge Metro Airport in the early afternoon, WAFB reports. Trump is likely to be met with supportive crowds after he dominated Louisiana voting in his Nov. 8 victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, stumped for Kennedy in New Orleans last week. Campbell has enjoyed a wave of post-election contributions as Democrats across the country pour money into the last Senate race of 2016. Will Smith's widow testifies Cardell Hayes was 'loud, angry, evil' Will Smith's widow testified Tuesday (Dec. 6) that Cardell Hayes towered over her husband after pumping seven gunshots into his back and taunted the former New Orleans Saints defensive end through his dying breaths. "Look at you now! " Racquel Smith said she heard Hayes yell, in a voice she tearfully described as "loud, angry ... evil.
" Her first public recounting of the night of April 9 dominated the opening day of testimony in Hayes' murder trial and cast the defendant in a much darker light than his attorneys. They asserted that Hayes acted only in self-defense when he shot the former Pro Bowl player after a traffic dispute. Hayes is accused of second-degree murder for killing Smith and attempted second-degree murder in the wounding of Racquel Smith near the intersection of Sophie B.
Racquel Smith, known to her friends as "Rockie," took the stand as the third witness called by state prosecutors Jason Napoli and Laura Rodrigue. "I don't want sympathy, " she said. "Define 'aggressive'" Joe McKnight's shooter Ronald Gasser arrested on manslaughter charge: jail records. One went straight to jail after killing NFL star; one went home. Joe McKnight is second ex-NFL player killed in New Orleans area this year. Joe McKnight, former NFL, USC, John Curtis player, shot dead in Terrytown.