New Orleans CityBusiness back issues from December 2008:
New Orleans City Council calls for inspections before demolition
Dec 01, 2008 ... An independent structural engineer will have to inspect buildingsslated for demolition in the city's historic core. The New Orleans City Council has approved a measure that requiresany building within the city's Neighborhood Conservation Districtproposed for demolition because it's ...
N.O.-based Whitney Bank takes over Zoo-To-Do sponsorship
Dec 01, 2008 ... Whitney Bank is the new title sponsor of the Audubon Zoo's Zoo-To-Do. The Zoo-To-Do raises more than $1 million a year for thenonprofit zoo, operated by Audubon Nature Institute. It has paid forprojects such as the Louisiana Swamp exhibit renovation and the sealion ...
Carlos Mencia to open N.O. restaurant
Dec 01, 2008 ... It's no joke. Carlos Mencia, a comedian whose show "Mind ofMencia" airs on cable channel Comedy Central, will open his newLatin restaurant downtown Friday. Suave Latino Bar & Grill is on the first floor of the PelhamHotel at 200 Magazine St. It will open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 ...
City Park in N.O. shuns Prospect 1 boats for safety's sake
Dec 01, 2008 ... Argentinian artist Jorge Macchi had City Park's old paddleboatsin mind when he created artsy versions that play music for theProspect 1 exhibit on display throughout New Orleans. But his boats, which play African thumb piano-style music whenpaddled, ended up on Bayou St. John after ...
Houma among best cities to find a job
Dec 01, 2008 ... Houma, just miles away from the Gulf of Mexico, took a direct hitfrom Hurricane Gustav in late August, but its energy sector strengthput the city among the U.S. Labor Department's best cities to find ajob. With an unemployment rate of 2.7 percent as of July and jobgrowth of 1.1 ...
Contractors in La. untie federal red tape
Dec 01, 2008; ... Even though Jane Tarleton's Metairie home has flooded five timessince she bought it in 1974, she was reluctant to take advantage ofa federally funded, parish-administered program to elevate. "I knew the money was available, but I wasn't interested becauseI was afraid," Tarleton ...
Violence, lack of resources thwart N.O. teachers
Dec 01, 2008; ... To say our teachers are struggling would be an understatement. Last December was a very exciting time for my sister. She hadjust graduated college and landed her first job teaching at a NewOrleans charter school. She has all the qualities a school could want in a teacher -- ...
Documentary bookmaking project profiles overlooked sites that unite New Orleans neighborhoods
Dec 01, 2008; ... Every neighborhood has a story. What would happen if we made ahabit of telling them? If you ask Bethany Rogers, author of the book "Cornerstones:Documenting the Everyday Monuments and Gathering Places of NewOrleans' Neighborhoods," the answer is more investment. Rogers ...
NOPD: Bayou Classic crime down
Dec 01, 2008; ... Crime at this year's Bayou Classic was down compared with lastyear, according to statistics released Monday from the New OrleansPolice Department. There ...
N.O.-area first-time unemployment claims rise for third week
Dec 01, 2008; ... The New Orleans area saw a third-straight increase in initialunemployment claims for the week ending Nov. 22 to 815 from 713. The area, comprised of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St.Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John and St. Tammany parishes,posted the highest number of ...
Artist converts Katrina trailer into art
Dec 01, 2008; ... Paul Villinksi's Emergency Response Studio will be open to thepublic through Dec. 14. The solar-powered, mobile artist's studio - made from a salvagedFEMA-style trailer - is set up outside the New Orleans Museum of Artas part of Prospect 1 New Orleans, the citywide ...
Documentary bookmaking project profiles overlooked sites that unite neighborhoods in N.O.
Dec 01, 2008; ... Every neighborhood has a story. What would happen if we made ahabit of telling them? If you ask Bethany Rogers, author of the book "Cornerstones:Documenting the Everyday Monuments and Gathering Places of NewOrleans' Neighborhoods," the answer is more investment. Rogers ...
Off the Clock: Q&A with Steve Dumez, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple design director in N.O.
Dec 01, 2008; ... Age: 50 Family: wife, Suzanne; children, Andre, 5, and Corinne, 2 Education: bachelor's degree in architecture, Louisiana StateUniversity; master's degree in architecture, Yale University Hometown: Houma Steve Dumez's architecture interest came about at a young ...
In Other Words: With higher occupancy rates, is a demand for new construction on the horizon?
Dec 01, 2008; ... L. Trimble Green, industrial specialist NAI/Latter & Blum Inc. Realtors With the exception of scattered "build to suits" for users withunique requirements, I see little, if any, new construction on thehorizon. High land and construction costs, combined with ...
Dec. 1-7
Dec 01, 2008 ... Dec. 1 Pre-register for the Galatoire table auction for the popularFriday lunch before Christmas to benefit WRBH 88.3 FM, Radio for theBlind and Print Handicapped, and The Southern Food & BeverageMuseum. Before the auction, there will be a reception at 5:30 p.m.with Champagne and ...
Commentary: Let market forces dictate Big Three's fate
Dec 01, 2008; ... Economic theory is a circular affair. I recall a conversation from 1964 where I told some friends thatI heard someone say, "What's good for General Motors is good for theU.S." I really didn't know what it meant, but it sounded really smart. I was 12 years old. Now I ...
Commentary: Possible candidates consider challenging Vitter in 2010
Dec 01, 2008; ... The next big statewide race in Louisiana will be the 2010 U.S.Senate race. Because of his involvement in the D.C. Madam scandal,GOP incumbent David Vitter is considered vulnerable. Many leading Louisiana Democrats are encouraging 3rd DistrictRep. Charlie Melancon of Houma to enter ...
Commentary: Keep LSU-VA project moving -- stat.
Dec 01, 2008 ... The good news is that we finally have a site selected for theshared 70-acre campus for the Veterans Administration and LouisianaState University teaching hospitals. The bad news is that it tookmore than three years to make that decision official. New Orleans can't afford similar ...
October home prices higher in St. Bernard, Orleans East Bank
Dec 01, 2008; ... The average price of a home on the East Bank of Orleans Parishremained higher in October than prices in the parish a year earlier,according to the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors. The area was the only one in the region other than St. BernardParish to see prices ...
Latino Labor: Mixed bag for N.O.'s Hispanic work force
Dec 01, 2008; ... Few groups played as important a role in the recovery of NewOrleans as the Hispanic work force that arrived in the city justweeks after Hurricane Katrina, hammers and sleeping bags in hand,eager to take advantage of the post-storm construction boom. But now that the national ...
Local booksellers cautiously optimistic with arrival of chain bookstore Borders in N.O.
Dec 01, 2008; ... For months, the city's independent booksellers have been bracing -- and strategizing -- for the behemoth's arrival. Their planning began more than a year ago, when it became knownthat national book chain Borders would move into the former BultmanFuneral Home at St. Charles and ...
Real estate experts in N.O. like Riverwalk's potential
Dec 01, 2008; ... Rust has begun to collect on the aging metal lattice of RiverwalkMarketplace's gangplank-style entrance, and the brown tiles thatcover the downtown riverfront mall's interior appear to date back tothe 1980s. Don't expect that to change anytime soon. With retail and credit ...
504ward: Damien LaManna, a young professional who wants to stay in N.O.
Dec 01, 2008; ... Damien LaManna Age: 28 Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y. Education: bachelor's degree in political science and history,Canisius College; completing thesis for master's degree in politicalcommunications, George Washington University Title: interactive strategist, Morgan + ...
Grants for Grads in La. targets brain drain
Dec 01, 2008; ... While industry leaders are busy trying to recruit qualifiedworkers, many college graduates are looking everywhere but Louisianafor job opportunities, creating a "brain drain" industry leaders sayhas hindered the state for decades. In an attempt to funnel some of those potential ...
Forum: Gulf Coast erosion threatens U.S. energy security
Dec 01, 2008; ... The threat of Gulf of Mexico coastal erosion to the nation'senergy security will be the focus of a policy forum hosted byAmerica's Energy Coast on Capitol Hill at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Industry leaders, environmentalists, conservationists and otherswill deliver an "Action Agenda" to ...
ReadSoft doubles North American HQ space in Metairie
Dec 02, 2008 ... ReadSoft Inc. has moved its corporate headquarters into a newsuite in Lakeway III to double its office space. The document process automation software company moved its mainoffice into a 20,000-square-foot space on the 24th floor of theLakeway III building in Metairie, down two ...
University of New Orleans professors deep into whale research
Dec 02, 2008 ... University of New Orleans physics professors George and JulietteIoup are leading a team of researchers who are working to identifythe sounds of individual clicking whales amid the clutter of otherclicking whales. Toothed whales, or odontocetes, such as sperm and beaked ...
Capital One backs playground build at Gentilly school in New Orleans
Dec 02, 2008 ... More than 200 volunteers from Capital One Bank and the NewOrleans community will join forces Saturday with the nonprofitKaBoom to build a new playground at Gentilly Terrace ElementarySchool. Capital One provided the money needed to build the new 2,500-square-foot play space, ...
Grants for Grads targets Louisiana 'brain drain'
Dec 02, 2008; ... While industry leaders are busy trying to recruit qualifiedworkers, many college graduates are looking everywhere but Louisianafor job opportunities, creating a "brain drain" industry leaders sayhas hindered the state for decades. In an attempt to funnel some of those potential ...
New Orleans Internet-based tax sale ends today
Dec 02, 2008 ... Today is the last day to buy properties via the city's Internet-based tax sale.The sale, being held at www.neworleanstaxsale.com, ends at 8 p.m. A list of all properties for sale is on the Web site. Registration, which is available until the sale ends, is requiredto ...
Tulane professors: Unconventional thinking needed in New Orleans
Dec 02, 2008 ... Two professors with Tulane University say the No. 1 priority forLouisiana should be to combat global warming and accelerated rise insea levels.In "Sustaining costal urban ecosystems," published in the latestissue of the London-based journal Nature Geoscience, Torbjorn ...
Jefferson Parish president backs sales tax increase for police pay
Dec 02, 2008 ... Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard says he backs a one-quarter cent increase in sales taxes to, among other things, up thepay of police and district attorney employees. The proposal could come before voters in April. In a letter Monday to the Parish Council, Broussard ...
N.O. council shoots down proposed property tax increase
Dec 02, 2008; ... New Orleans City Council members decisively voted againstincreasing property taxes in 2009, just one of the body's primarybudget mandates in direct philosophical conflict with Mayor C. RayNagin's proposed 2009 budget. Council members spent nearly 12 hours Monday making ...
Britney Spears to open 'Circus' tour in New Orleans
Dec 02, 2008 ... Kentwood native Britney Spears has picked New Orleans to kickoffher first concert tour in five years. She will perform March 3 at the 18,500-seat New Orleans Arena,the first of 27 stops on her North American tour to promote hersixth studio album, "Circus." Tickets for the ...
Louisiana ranks worst in state health rankings
Dec 03, 2008 ... Louisiana has reclaimed its status as the least healthiest statein the country, according to the 2008 America's Health Rankingsreleased today by United Health Foundation. Last year, Louisiana ranked 49th. This year, Vermont ranks as the healthiest state, followed byHawaii and ...
Omni Bank chooses Mandeville for largest branch
Dec 03, 2008 ... Omni Bank today said it opened a branch at 810 N. Causeway Blvd.in Mandeville, the largest of the bank's 16 locations in the region. Chenevert Architects designed the two-story, 10,000-square-footbuilding. Trison Constructors of New ...
Blue Plate plant gets OK from N.O. City Council for apartments
Dec 03, 2008; ... The City Council has approved a plan to convert the iconic formerBlue Plate mayonnaise plant in Gert Town into apartments. The approval given Monday allows developer JCH Development toconvert the South ...
O'Dell to speak at Louisiana Technology Council seminar
Dec 03, 2008 ... Gen. Doug O'Dell, the federal coordinator for Gulf Coastrebuilding, will be the keynote speaker at an upcoming LouisianaTechnology Council seminar. The half-day seminar, "Business Continuity: Planning YourSurvival Kit," will run from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at ...
Real estate experts like Riverwalk's potential in N.O.
Dec 03, 2008; ... Rust has begun to collect on the aging metal lattice of RiverwalkMarketplace's gangplank-style entrance, and the brown tiles thatcover the downtown riverfront mall's interior appear to date back tothe 1980s. Don't expect that to change anytime soon. With retail and credit ...
Report: St. Tammany economy not encouraging but better than nation's
Dec 03, 2008 ... Economic trends in St. Tammany Parish are less than encouragingbut still in a better state than the national economy, according tothird-quarter 2008 data released by the St. Tammany Parish EconomicDevelopment Foundation. The expectation is a shorter downturn locally, the ...
Seats available for CityBusiness Best Places to Work event in N.O.
Dec 03, 2008 ... Seats are now available for the sixth annual CityBusiness BestPlaces to Work program honoring the city's 50 top employers. Honorees include 35 large and 15 small businesses and will berecognized at a noon Dec. 12 luncheon at the Sheraton on CanalStreet, where the top three Best ...
Hotel Maison De Ville in N.O. closes, up for sale
Dec 03, 2008; ... The Hotel Maison De Ville in the French Quarter is for sale toanyone with $4.1 million. The property, owned by Hertz ...
N.O. Saints to offer online layway to season ticketholders
Dec 03, 2008 ... New Orleans Saints fans strapped for cash to pay for their seasontickets in one lump sum will be able to pay in installments via theInternet. The Saints will be the first professional sports franchise tooffer the noncredit-based payment option through eLayawaySports. The Web ...
Rash of shoplifting has been plaguing campus bookstores at Loyola and the University of N.O.
Dec 04, 2008; ... Loyola University recently WHEN shut down its basement bookstore,allowing only clerks to go down and brings books up. This is toprevent theft - but not from students. A rash of shoplifting has been plaguing campus bookstores atLoyola and the University of New Orleans. "We ...
Commentary: Violence, lack of resources thwart N.O. teachers
Dec 04, 2008; ... To say our teachers are struggling would be an understatement. Last December was a very exciting time for my sister. She hadjust graduated college and landed her first job teaching at a NewOrleans charter school. She has all the qualities a school could want in a teacher -- ...
Program aims to build affordable, energy-efficient housing in N.O.
Dec 04, 2008; ... Entergy New Orleans and the Louisiana Housing and CommunityDevelopment Corp. are launching a program to build affordable,energy-efficient housing for low-income New Orleanians. Another goalof the program is to bring back neighborhoods in the wake ofHurricane Katrina and increase the work ...
Loyola, U of New Orleans bookstores plagued by thefts
Dec 04, 2008; ... Since mid-October, Loyola University has closed its basementbookstore, allowing only clerks to go down and brings books up. Thisis to prevent theft - but not from students. A rash of shoplifting has been plaguing campus bookstores atLoyola and the University of New ...
Fourth citywide master plan forum planned for N.O.
Dec 04, 2008; ... The fourth of five citywide forums to develop a master plan andrevised comprehensive zoning ordinance for Orleans Parish has beenscheduled. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at ...
Katrina-damaged streets to be repaired in N.O.
Dec 04, 2008; ... The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development isplanning a meeting to inform the public about three upcoming streetrepair projects for New Orleans. DOTD's South Louisiana Submerged Roads Program will play host tothe meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Lindy C. Boggs ...
Postal Service return to N.O. airport adds FedEx flights
Dec 04, 2008; ... The U.S. Postal Service's decision to return mail operations -relocated to Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport after HurricaneKatrina - to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport willmean additional FedEx flights for the facility. Larry Johnson, manager of Commercial ...
LSU, Our Lady of the Lake exploring partnership
Dec 04, 2008; ... The LSU Health System and Our Lady of the Lake Regional MedicalCenter said they are exploring a possible partnership aimed atsupporting graduate medical education and improving access to carein the Baton Rouge area. "Particularly post-Hurricane Katrina, Our Lady of the Lake ...
Borders celebrates opening of New Orleans store
Dec 05, 2008; ... Borders today through Sunday celebrates the grand opening of itsnew concept store in a building that once served as a funeral homeat the intersection of St. Charles and Louisiana avenues. The 24,763-square-foot bookstore, in the former Bultman FuneralHome, "represents a significant ...
Seats available for annual CityBusiness Best Places to Work event
Dec 05, 2008; ... Seats are now available for the sixth annual CityBusiness BestPlaces to Work program honoring the city's 50 top employers. Honorees include 35 large and 15 small businesses and will berecognized at a noon Dec. 12 luncheon at the Sheraton on CanalStreet, where the top three Best ...
Mixed bag for N.O.'s Hispanic work force
Dec 05, 2008; ... Few groups played as important a role in the recovery of NewOrleans as the Hispanic work force that arrived in the city justweeks after Hurricane Katrina, hammers and sleeping bags in hand,eager to take advantage of the post-storm construction boom. But now that the national ...
Jefferson Parish Council chairman wants to explore tax alternatives
Dec 05, 2008; ... Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard wants to raise salestaxes a quarter-cent for police salaries, but the chairman of theParish Council feels other sources should be explored before puttingthe burden on consumers. At today's State of the Parish address at the Airport ...
City of New Orleans enacts freeze plan
Dec 05, 2008; ... Citing forecasts that the temperature in the city will drop to 38degrees Fahrenheit or lower in the next 24 hours, the city isenacting its freeze plan to provide temporary shelter for homelessresidents. "All citizens should take appropriate precautions to protectthemselves from ...
Covington company wins $32M final Harvey Canal contract
Dec 09, 2008; ... A Covington company has won a $32 million Army Corps of Engineerscontract for the Harvey Canal floodwall project. It's the finalcontract that will be awarded for the project, the Corps said. Shavers-Whittle Construction will handle levee and floodwallconstruction at the southern ...
New Orleans Museum of Art opens new, permanent gallery
Dec 09, 2008; ... A new, permanent gallery opens this week at the New OrleansMuseum of Art featuring the work of Peter Carl Faberge and otherRussian masters. The gallery, on the second floor mezzanine, features works neverbefore exhibited at NOMA, including 33 ...
Retiring New Orleans Redevelopment Authority chief stayed until 'everything was in place'
Dec 09, 2008; ... Newly resigned New Orleans Redevelopment Authority chief JoeWilliams expects to see the long-awaited transfer of Road Homebuyout properties begin before he steps down from his post Dec. 31. "I wanted to stay around until everything was in place -- theteam, the procedures, the ...
Truck stop, casino plans rile Algiers residents
Dec 09, 2008; ... Residents are up in arms about plans to build an 18-wheeler truckstop featuring video poker machines in Algiers. John Moore, vice president of the Park Timbers HomeownersAssociation, says he and other opponents plan to go to City Hall at1:30 p.m. today to attend a City Planning ...
N.O. graphic artists to weigh in on Katrina recovery
Dec 09, 2008; ... The New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Artswill hold its first design summit in New Orleans next week todiscuss how the design community can contribute to the rebuilding ofNew Orleans. The event, which is free and open to the public, is at 6:30 p.m.Dec. 16 ...
Public accounting firm Postlethwaite & Netterville acquires divisions of N.O. firm
Dec 09, 2008; ... Public accounting firm Postlethwaite & Netterville said it hasacquired the audit and tax divisions of New Orleans-based Legier &Materne. Legier & Materne is based at 1100 Poydras St. The acquisition didnot include Legier & Materne's forensic accounting and expertwitness ...
Protests continue over Mid-City choice for VA, LSU hospitals
Dec 09, 2008; ... Those opposed to the choice of Mid-City as the site where amedical center will be built will hold a news conference at 12:30p.m. Thursday at the shuttered Charity Hospital, 1532 Tulane Ave. The Committee to Reopen Charity Hospital, Residents of the LowerMid-City Neighborhood and ...
Entergy New Orleans customers to receive lower bills this month
Dec 10, 2008 ... Entergy New Orleans said its customers should see electricitybills fall nearly 10 percent this month thanks to the lower cost ofnatural gas. A lower fuel adjustment charge is the reason bills will be lower,the company said in a press release today. In December, the FAC isdown 14 ...
'Imagination Movers' to return for 2nd season at Nims Center Studios in Elmwood
Dec 10, 2008 ... The Disney Channel has renewed the "Imagination Movers"children's program for a second season. The show is filmed in the Nims Center Studios in Elmwood. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, said the television show has apositive economic impact on the region. "It's great to ...