Mayor C. Ray Nagin, State Legislative officials and Michael Hecht, President of GNO Inc., traveled to the NASA Space Shuttle Launch Center in Coco Beach, Florida to lobby for the NASA Michoud facility in New Orleans.
The NASA Michoud facility is a key economic component in Louisiana. The New Orleans delegation will tour the NASASpaceLaunchCenter and meet with officials today and Friday regarding future space projects for the NASA Michoud facility.
Michoud Operations produces the Space Shuttle External Tank (SSET) and also works on experimental space vehicles and other related projects. With 2,000 employees, the organization is one of the largest employers in New Orleans. The facility features one of the world's biggest manufacturing plants (43 acres under one roof) and a port with deep-water access for the transportation of large space structures. When completed, the SSET is towed on a barge across the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida and up to KennedySpaceCenter.
Katrina Money
Louisiana will receive nearly $4 million in federal funds to continue rebuilding efforts in areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee breaks in 2005. The Department of Homeland Security will distribute these funds to the St. Bernard Parish School Board, the RecoverySchool District and the city of New Orleans.
“The people of the GulfCoast have been patient as they’ve waited for assistance to help restore schools, homes, businesses and other basic infrastructure devastated by the 2005 storms,” Sen. Landrieu said. “We must ensure that the region continues to receive the necessary funding to rebuild smarter and stronger. “
The $3,909,072 in grants will go toward the following:
· St. Bernard Parish School District — $1,702,640: Funds will pay for damage repairs to Chalmette High School, which was devastated by storm surge and flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. Repairs will be made to the windows and doors of the gymnasium, band building and the main school campus.
· RecoverySchool District — $1,199,013:Funds will go toward the replacement of the annex building at ShawElementary School.
· The city of New Orleans — $1,007,419: Funds will go toward the costs of replacing roads in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans.
New Orleans East Apartments
The owner of a major New Orleans East apartment complex that has been in disrepair since Hurricane Katrina will demolish the property so that it will no longer be considered a public nuisance.
The owners of Ber Mas Apartments, a 24-building complex located on Plainfield Drive off Read Road, agreed to demolish the buildings after meeting with officials from the City's Department of Code Enforcement. The property has been cited as a public nuisance and was scheduled for an administrative adjudication hearing today. However, the owners met with Code Enforcement staff in advance of the hearing to determine how they could remediate the violation. Generally, remediation involves the complete rehabilitation of a property in order to bring it up to code, sale of the property to a new owner who can afford to make necessary repairs, or demolition.
"I want to commend the owners of this property for taking the necessary steps to remediate this property," said Winston Reid, Director of Code Enforcement. "Because they are voluntarily addressing this issue, the city will more quickly achieve its goal of remediating the public nuisance without going through the time and cost of the administrative hearing process and city demolitions."
To ensure the compliance with this agreement, the property has been reset on the administrative adjudication hearing docket for 90 days, by which time work should be completed. The City of New Orleans will monitor the progression of work on a 30-day basis. Should the progression of work slow down or have any stoppage, Code Enforcement will immediately reset for the first available hearing. There, the recommendation will be to levy a fine of $500 per day and declaration of blight, which would allow the property to be expropriated through further legal action.
The agreement with the owners of Ber Mas comes as the City of New Orleans has begun to focus on commercial properties, specifically those in New Orleans East, which was hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina. Unabated commercial properties are not only an eyesore, but are considered an impediment to economic development. Hearings focused on commercial properties only will be held on November 21. Other hearing dates are currently being scheduled.
In June, the City of New Orleans began holding hearings for residential properties cited following the passage of Chapter 28, which created enhanced penalties for code violations. Thus far, more than 11,000 inspections have been conducted. More than 1,500 hearings have been held and more than 500 properties have been determined to be blighted. At least 150 properties have been abated.
Some other highly visible commercial properties in New Orleans East have already been found guilty of blight, including the former Taco Bell at 6009 Bullard Ave. The owners of this property were assessed fees of $575 upon the blight judgment and are fined $300 per day that the property remains in violation.
(New Orleans Press Release)
Louis Armstrong
Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours, an out-of-print cookbook by restaurateur Christopher Blake that was inspired by the last live performance of Louis Armstrong, is available once again through the Southern Food and BeverageMuseum.
The cookbook, a 28-page "booklet" filled with New Orleans classic recipes, has a storied history.
"Louis Armstrong performed what would become his last pubic performance at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 1971," explains Liz Williams, president of SoFAB. "He was invited to play for the inauguration of Vernon Louviere, the incoming president of the National Press Club, who was from Louisiana. It was a very big deal.
"Lindy Boggs, the wife of Congressman Hale Boggs who would become a member of Congress herself, thought it would be a great idea if renowned cook Christopher Blake created and prepared, with lots of help in the kitchen, a New Orleans dinner. He did, and it was a great evening."
David Frost served as emcee and Louis Armstrong entertained on the horn with Diahann Carrol vocalizing. Armstrong had been told by his doctor to sing one song or play a chorus, but no more. Instead, he played and sang for the whole evening.
By all accounts, Armstrong was in great form that night. A solo of Hello Dolly recorded at the show is considered to be a classic. At his next and final public appearance he did not play at all. Armstrong died of a heart attack on July 6, 1971, at the age of 69.
"At one point during the performance, Armstrong lamented to Christopher Blake that he could not eat his beloved red beans and rice because of the medication he was taking. The comment inspired Blake to create a cookbook called Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours. Louis Armstrong signed his letters 'Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours'."
The cookbook contains well known New Orleans dishes such as jambalaya, dirty rice, oyster soup, shrimp mousse, shrimp remoulade, stuffed crabs, rice calas, Jamaican rum pie, and several versions of gumbo. It also includes recipes for several cocktails.
"I know Chris Blake and he led as interesting a life as Louis Armstrong," says Williams. "Christopher Blake's first experience with cooking was watching his mother bring a big pot of water to boil. There was nothing in it. She did it so that the nosey neighbors would think her family had something to eat. This was during the Great Depression. The result was that it gave him creative ideas about how to feed himself. He did not know which knife or fork to use until he was fifteen, but then he took it on with a vengeance. After that, he set his table with enough instruments for any surgeon to work with."
Blake's first cooking lesson was from Alice B. Toklas in Paris where he was a soldier during World War II. Toklas taught him how to make mayonnaise with hazelnut oil. For years it was the only oil he would use. He says that Toklas never fed him marijuana cookies or hashish fudge, but she did stuff a hungry young GI with meat and potatoes and apple pie.
"Poor Gertrude Stein was dying of stomach cancer and could only eat gruel," says Williams. "Stein got much pleasure from Blake's regular dinner visits because then Alice would eat as well. He was able to supply Gertrude with toilet paper, which they called holy paper, from the PX."
Blake remained in Paris for years after his Army service ended and enjoyed gourmet dining with his new elegant and wealthy friends. He knew he wanted to entertain. When he returned to New Orleans, he knew that he could not afford to take friends and visitors to restaurants. Bake and his roommate at the time had a charming l8th century house in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. It was there where he began to entertain friends.
"Chris began to be recognized for his dinners and parties," says Williams. "One day he received a phone call asking if he would entertain Craig Claiborne for lunch. Chris asked who Claiborne was and was told that Claiborne was food editor of The New York Times. Chris replied that he read only the drama and literary sections of the Times."
Blake entertained Claiborne for lunch. The food editor was so impressed that he photographed Blake and wrote about him in the Times.
"Chris did not try to out French the French with Claiborne or to impress him with extreme gourmet dishes," says Williams. "Instead, Chris gave Claiborne a simple red bean soup, trout that was so fresh it was still jumping, a simple salad and his own version of rum pie. The meal was washed down with a California wine, which cost $1.49 a gallon at a wine shop in the PontalbaBuilding. Years later, Chris teased Claiborne and accused him of starting Chris on his road to gourmet crime."
The spotlight eventually led to a restaurant (opened with Roc Johnson) called Christopher Blake's in the Central Business District of New Orleans. New Orleans Mayor Ernest "Dutch" Morial honored him by proclaiming him "Gourmet Laureate of New Orleans."
"Chris considered himself a playwright and novelist, but a publisher in New York, instead of publishing one of his great novels, insisted that he write a cookbook," says Williams. "The result was Easy Elegance which seems to work for many people as each recipe is created and worded by this 'cook-not-chef'. Along these same lines, General Walter McIlhenny asked Chris to work with him on a small cookbook - recipes for the boys in Vietnam and how to make gourmet food from their C Rations. It was called Fox Hole Dinners for Two and was a great success."
Having paid the price for indulging in too much booze and wine, Blake has been preparing meals for the residents of a recovery house for alcoholics and addicts for the past 12 years - without alcohol.
"He never tastes anything he prepares; he never eats while he cooks; and of course he stopped sipping wines while cooking," says Williams. "He hates to eat a meal by himself, either at home or in a restaurant. He believes a good meal is complete only when sharing it with others."
Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours is available for purchase from the Southern Food and BeverageMuseum for $8, which includes shipping and handing. For more information abut the cookbook-let, contact the museum at www.southernfood.org
Louisiana Education
Louisianahas recognized Classworks™ – published by Curriculum Advantage Inc. – as a key component for effective differentiated instruction and increased student dachievement. The Louisiana Association of School Executives welcomes Classworks to Louisiana as they partner with schools across the state for increased student success.
Classworks, computer-based instructional software for English/Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics and Science, helps K-12 schools deliver standards-based differentiated instruction, remediation, Response to Intervention solutions, and increased test scores. Their approach is unique because of the state specific emphasis as well as the partnerships forged with each school utilizing Classworks’ computer assisted instruction.
Classworks is an instructional solution that reads Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) and iLEAP (integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program) data and automatically customizes instruction for each student based on their results. Additionally, Classworks customizes specific editions for each new state, fine-tuning the instruction to meet specific curriculum and learning standard requirements.
Bailout
FedSources, a Washington Management Group company, has launched a “Bailout Watch” series – a series of daily and weekly news-and-analysis updates that provides information on the Bailout Package and its impact on federal and state government, as well as on federal and state providers within commercial industries.
