Eyes are on the legislature in the Republican attempts to repeal the Stelly Plan which passed during the final days of the Foster Administration.
Great Event for New Orleans
EAGLE SALOON KICK-OFF CELEBRATION – TONIGHT!!!!!
NEW ORLEANS
MUSIC HALL OF FAME
&
TROMBONE SHORTY WITH ORLEANS AVENUE
INVITE YOU TO
THE EAGLE SALOON JAZZ RENAISSANCE
KICKOFF CELEBRATION
With Kermit Ruffins, Walter Wolfman Washington,
James Andrews and ReBirth Brass Band
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:00 p.m.
401 SOUTH RAMPART AND PERDIDO STREET
ALL DONATIONS WILL BENEFIT THE EFFORT
IN PRESERVING THE CULTURAL LEGACY
A 501-C3 Not for Profit Organization
INFO (504) 861-2675
New Orleans and Presidential Campaign
Looking forward to the fall Presidential campaign, New Orleans and Louisiana leaders today announced they are working with Google and YouTube to bring American voices into a forum with Presidential nominees that will address critical issues for the nation's future. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and the New Orleans Consortium plan to host the forum on September 18, 2008 at the MorialConvention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The forum will use Google technology and the YouTube video platform to drive citizen engagement and to create a dynamic, compelling, and constructive live television broadcast. The group announced the initiative today with a YouTube video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3p6Iwu4xMaY.
"We are working toward a New Louisiana – and I invite the Presidential nominees and the nation – to come see firsthand the tremendous progress our state has made in the face of great challenges. I look forward to a discussion of the many challenges facing not just New Orleans and the GulfCoast, but our entire country," said Gov. Jindal. Mayor Nagin agreed, saying, "The City of New Orleans, a window into the many challenges facing the country, makes it the leading choice for a conversation with the nominees." The New Orleans Consortium - comprised of civic organizations, business leaders and higher education institutions - brings together citizens and leaders from New Orleans.
"This partnership grows out of the knowledge that students in our universities, and around this nation, want to be engaged, supportive, informed and connected with serious discussion on issues destined to impact their future and this nation, as well," said Dr. Norman Francis, President, Xavier University.
Throughout the 2008 campaigns, Google and YouTube harnessed technology to connect voters with candidates and to informed participation in the political process.
"This election has shown the energy and ingenuity that everyday people can bring to the political dialogue. Voters deserve the same chance to have their voices heard during the general election, and the forum in New Orleans will provide an important way for citizens to be actively engaged," said Google Senior Vice President David Drummond.
YouTube Co-Founder Chad Hurley added, "YouTube's video community has brought the democratic dialogue in America to a new level, and we're honored to help the New Orleans Consortium bring that platform to New Orleans, a city that has shown true fortitude in the face of immense challenges." About The New Orleans Consortium
The New Orleans Consortium is composed of the Women of the Storm with the Greater New Orleans Foundation, DillardUniversity, LoyolaUniversity, TulaneUniversity and XavierUniversity. The Consortium is committed to advancing education in the New Orleans community and providing public exposure to rebuilding in the Gulf Region.
Housing Bust
Home prices have suffered another slash in many of the nation's largest markets according to the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index.The indextracks 20 of the largest housing markets and has indicated a 12.7% in the 12 months ending February. Of 20 metro areas, 17 suffered their worse price decline ever.
Louisiana Speaks
The groundbreaking Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan continues to earn national acclaim. The plan was recently named winner of a prestigious Charter Award by the Congress for the New Urbanism, earning honors in the "The Region: Metropolis, City and Town Scale" category. Read more about it.
West Nile
The Department of Health and Hospitals has announced the first West Nile virus case of 2008.The case was discovered during a routine screening of a blood donor from Livingston Parish.
The donor was asymptomatic, which means that the individual did not show any signs of illness.
Lafayette Honored
In part because of access to groundbreaking technology like the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE), Southern Business and Development Magazine has named Lafayette, LA one of the Top 10 Great Innovation Markets in the South for its efforts in nurturing and attracting innovation-driven industry and businesses to the region.
The magazine points to Lafayette's multicultural and multi-industrial makeup, along with innovative projects like the Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) Fiber Initiative, Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), and LITE as key contributors to the ranking. Lafayette is the only Louisiana city to make the list.
“We are pleased and proud that Southern Business and Development Magazine recognizes just how progressive this city is from a technology and innovation standpoint,” says LITE Executive Director Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, one of the nation’s pioneers in virtual reality and 3-D visualization. “LITE is the only facility of its kind in North America open to private industry. All other visualization facilities are reserved for use by government entities and academic researchers. Our facility is a part of a city- and state-wide effort to bring innovative businesses and industry to what we think is fast becoming one of the premier technology centers in the country. State economic development initiatives, coupled with efforts by city-parish government, local economic development leaders and the airport commission are creating exciting synergies in repositioning Lafayette and Louisiana as a high-tech destination for businesses. LITE is a perfect fit for businesses who think globally.”
LITE, which opened its doors in September 2006, is a not-for-profit global technology enterprise facilitating the advancement of today’s business and research communities. LITE offers state-of-the-art 3-D and immersive visualization technologies, high-performance computing and high-speed networking. Redefining how organizations see, think about and use information and data, LITE’s technological infrastructure encourages and enables the development of innovative solutions, expanding the frontiers of today’s public and private leading-edge organizations by transforming the process of innovation and accelerating the time to discovery.
LITE is a $27 million, 70,000-square foot facility and is located at the ResearchPark of the University of Louisiana Lafayette. It houses an advanced multi-user six-sided, virtual environment cube, in which all four walls, ceiling and floor display back-projected three-dimensional worlds for a total immersion for the users. LITE also houses a 3-D wide format theatre with a capacity for 175 people and other advanced immersive visualization venues. All these visualization technologies are powered by high-performance graphics and computing systems and can also be remotely accessible through high-speed networking connected to the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), the state portion of the country’s high-performance computing highway. Through LONI, LITE is connected to the National LambdaRail, the nation’s high-performance computing research network that is also connected to StarLight, providing access to other national and international high-performing computing capabilities and fiber-optic networks. LITE is connected locally to the Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) light-speed fiber optics system serving homes and businesses throughout the area.
Lafayette joins other cities like Hampton Roads, VA; Savannah, GA; Oklahoma City, OK; Raleigh/Cary/Durham, NC; Orlando, FL; Austin/Round Rock, TX; Huntsville, AL; Winston-Salem, NC; and Roanoke, VA in the magazine’s Top 10 Great Innovation Markets in the South.
About LITE: LITE is a cooperative effort between the State of Louisiana, the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A state-of-the-art advanced supercomputing and data visualization facility, LITE uses 3-D and total immersive data visualization technologies powered by high-performance supercomputing capabilities and transmit via high-speed fiber optics. LITE technologies are available for government and academic research and private sector innovation, offering essential decision-making tools for collaborative research applications; product development, testing and validation; and training.
About Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira: Dr. Cruz-Neira is known as a worldwide pioneer in the field of virtual reality and her work includes collaboration on the design of the CAVE®, the first virtual reality projection cube ever built.
LITE, Lafayette Parish Consolidated Government and LafayetteRegionalAirport are partners in a concerted technology-centered economic development effort in the Acadiana region of South Louisiana. The Lafayette area has a growing economy with a workforce, incentives and infrastructure designed to attract new businesses and business expansions specializing in technological advancements. For further information, please visit www.lite3d.com, www.lftairport.com and www.lafayettela.gov.
