New Orleans Life

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Times-Picayune: Ashton Phelps memo to staff

Posted by Kevin Allman on Thu, May 24, 2012 at 10:01 AM

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Managers at The Times-Picayune are currently in meetings to discuss Advance Publications' new plans for the paper, which include reducing the print product to three days per week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) and firing employees.

The new plan, which will be executed under the name "NOLA Media Group," will leave New Orleans without a daily newspaper. The original Picayune originally published in 1837.

A memo under the name of outgoing publisher Ashton Phelps went out to staff this morning stating "Many current employees of The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com will have the opportunity to grow with the new organizations, but the need to reallocate resources to accelerate the digital growth of NOLA Media Group will necessitate a reduction in the size of the workforce."

The result, according to the memo, will be "a more robust newspaper." (Insert hollow laugh here.)

Phelps, whose family has steered the T-P for five generations, is being replaced by Ricky Mathews, publisher of the Mobile Press-Register and president of Advance Alabama/Mississippi.

Announcement

Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:21 AM

To all employees:

We wanted to make you aware of a news story that will be posted on NOLA.com regarding the future of the company, and to alert you that we will be scheduling meetings to discuss it with groups of employees today.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Casting Confederacy

Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 12:36 PM

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Yesterday New York magazine's pop-culture website Vulture brought the ruckus when it reported comic Zach Galifianakis was "attached" to the latest attempt to bring A Confederacy of Dunces to a multiplex near you. Galifianakis is hardly the first Ignatius-attachment since Confederacy was published 31 years ago; the late Chris Farley, John Candy and John Belushi were all once "attached" (the curse of Ignatius?) and most recently the name Will Farrell was being bounced around.

Confederacy is one of those books that people sometimes describe as "unfilmable" (I think a four- or six-hour HBO miniseries would be better than a regular movie), but trying to cast it is a fun, fantasy-footballish exercise. Here's my list (note: Spud McConnell has aged out of Ignatius territory, at least in the movies):

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Ignatius
Jessica Lange as Irene Reilly
Estelle Parsons as Miss Trixie
Becky Allen or Amanda Hebert as Santa Battaglia
John Reilly as Patrolman Mancuso
Jessie Terrebonne as Darlene
Patricia Clarkson as Lana Lee
Damon Wayans Jr. as Jones
Neil Patrick Harris as Dorian Greene
Zooey Deschanel as Myrna Minkoff

Any better ideas?

(Here's our recent cover story on Confederacy and Butterfly in the Typewriter, the new biography of Confederacy's author, John Kennedy Toole.)

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Landrieu's 2012 State of the City address

Posted by Kevin Allman on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:51 AM

Mayor Mitch Landrieu is scheduled to deliver his midterm 2012 State of the City address at 2 pm this afternoon at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in Armstrong Park. Last year's SOTC was held against the backdrop of the traffic-camera controversy and a soaring murder rate. This year's speech is expected to have more details on new plans to reduce the murder rate — and, of course, there's also the question of whether the New Orleans City Council will be there in toto.

We'll be liveblogging here from around 1:30-1:45 pm until the end of the mayor's speech. Join us.

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Monday, May 21, 2012

Y@ Speak: Voodoo camping, prison escapees and more

Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Mon, May 21, 2012 at 12:13 PM

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City Park seemed to be the locus of some weirdness this week, from the announcement that the Voodoo Music Experience is goin' Bonnaroo this year to the green underwear-donning escaped prisoner (he was just trying to be a good boyfriend, guys). Also this week: Norman Robinson isn't feeling Justin Bieber's new look, Michael Caine is not stuck in a New Orleans attic after all, and Jeremy Davenport has hard nipples.

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Monday, May 14, 2012

Y@ Speak: Post-Jazz Fest depression edition

Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Mon, May 14, 2012 at 11:34 AM

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What a weird, sad week! Besides feeling devoid of energy and purpose after two weekends of Jazz Fest, this week was replete with many sad and confusing moments. Beloved children's author Maurice Sendak died. President Barack Obama spoke in support of gay marriage, but only after North Carolina voted to outlaw it. And, maybe not as important but certainly disorienting for some, nola.com got a bold facelift. I hope we can all go back to posting twitpics of crawfish and celebrity sightings next week.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Public Transit Tuesdays: St. Charles Avenue Shuttle

Posted by Megan Braden-Perry on Tue, May 8, 2012 at 7:03 PM

Remember how I said I wasn't going to blog anything on the St. Charles streetcar line because of the problems it poses for wheelchair-bound citizens? That's still the case, but thanks to preventative rail maintenance, I was able to ride for a few blocks on the St. Charles streetcar line, via the St. Charles streetcar shuttle. Too bad I only have a few more months to ride it...

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Monday, May 7, 2012

Y@ Speak: Jazz Fest weekend 2 edition

Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Mon, May 7, 2012 at 12:45 PM

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Bye, Jazz Fest 2012. It's been great, but now we're back to this sick joke of a world where it's not OK to eat three cochon de lait sandwiches a day. As you rub salve all of your sunburns and cry about your checking account balance, read these tweets and remember the magic. Also this week: another Saints suspension! Termites! John Stamos likes big butts and no, he cannot lie.

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Y@ Speak: Jazz Fest weekend 1 edition

Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 11:41 AM

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On this post-Jazz Fest morning as you attempt to move your achy limbs and avoid those coworkers who like to point out that you're sunburned/have weird tanlines (but not as weird as this guy, I'm sure), relive the first weekend of the fest with tweets from those whose cell phones actually had service during the event. Consider this compilation the Acura Stage of Twitter. Also this week: celebrities! Another Saints scandal! Steven Van Zandt complains about his New Orleans hotel!

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

More on the Marigny ball pit house

Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 4:20 PM

Ball Pit HouseWhen I stopped by the site of the proposed Marigny ball pit house today, the project's leader, Josh Ente, was grabbing lunch. His friend Matt, who was visiting from San Francisco, was busy helping take down the back of the blighted Creole cottage to the wall frames. When they're done, they plan to wrap the whole structure in batting-cage plastic and dump plastic balls on the floor four feet deep. Then anyone — adults, kids, whomever — who wants to jump in is welcome.

Yesterday's blog entry about the ball pit project drew some serious (and sometimes scathing) discussion both on Gambit's website and Facebook page. Ente said he'd read it all, including the "Brooklyn-goes-to-Bywater" remark. Turns out that, yes, he is from Brooklyn (I had no idea), and, yes, he's lived in the Marigny-Bywater for fewer than two years. Ente is a filmmaker whose recently directed Big Freedia's music video "Y'all Get Back Now."

"I understand the concerns about privilege," he said, referring to comments like the one that accused him of "hipster Romper Room BS." As we talked, behind him, in an overgrown lot marked with HANO signs and discarded tires, a woman played with a young pit bull. Whatever you think of the project, it's true that Ente has put more sweat equity into a property he doesn't own than the city has put into adjacent property it does own.

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The conversation only got really awkward once ...

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New Orleans trying to decide where to build new dog parks

Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 1:33 PM

A map of New Orleans existing dog parks, official and unofficial, along with sites that are being considered for new dog parks.
  • A map of New Orleans' existing dog parks, official and unofficial, along with sites that are being considered for new dog parks.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration is surveying citizens and holding meetings about the development of dog parks in New Orleans. More than 1,400 residents have responded to an online survey aimed at determining the needs of dog owners (you're welcome to do so; the survey closes Friday). This week, the city’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement is holding a series of six public meetings last week (one in each council district; two in District C) to explain the fact-gathering process and get more community input. Tonight's meetings are at 6 pm at Holy Angels Church (3500 St. Claude Ave.) and the Cut-Off Recreation Center (6600 Belgrade St.).

“The goal is to put one dog park and one dog run in each council district,” explained Vince Smith, director of capital projects, to a group of about eight people gathered at the District A meeting last night at the Robert E. Smith Library in Lakeview. Smith said the city had identified 23 unofficial dog parks across the city — 10 of which are in District A — in addition to “City Bark,” the membership-only dog park in New Orleans City Park. Dog owners pay $43 per year for a permit to use the 4.3-acre off-leash park, a fenced area with amenities that include a dog wash and a smaller fenced-in area for little dogs.

It’s not only the sites that are unknown right now — it’s the funding. “We have no dedicated funds,” Smith said. “This is a site-selection process only.” Smith explained that the city isn’t sure yet whether any dog park monies would come from the capital operating budget or from New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) funds, so there’s no timetable on building.

Those who can't make the meetings can still provide feedback to the city at dogpark@nola.gov.

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