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New Orleans Public Library
has been chosen as one of five institutions nationwide to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded program Branching Out: Poetry for the 21st Century. The program, which will run from spring 2005 through spring 2006, will feature presentations by distinguished poets and scholars Carl Phillips, Robert Pinsky, Martin Espada and Elizabeth Alexander.

New Orleans
is one of the five best places in the nation to make a movie, according to Moviemaker Magazine. The city scored fourth in the industry magazine's annual survey, after not ranking last year. Recent films shot in New Orleans and greater Louisiana include Ray and Because of Winn-Dixie; All the King's Men is among those currently in production.

A State Child Care Advisory Committee
didn't meet since last August because it couldn't get a quorum, despite its scheduled monthly meetings. When it finally met this month, it revoked the licenses of five day-care centers statewide -- representing a backlog of cases that should have been considered much earlier. Gov. Kathleen Blanco recently appointed 11 new members to the 19-member committee.

ExxonMobil
was found in U.S. District Court to be in violation of the federal Clean Air Act at its Chalmette refinery. The Court rejected ExxonMobil's claim that Chalmette residents could not legally sue because of other sources of pollution in the community. ExxonMobil has admitted that the refinery releases preventable flaring toxic chemicals; local environmentalists advocate the installation of real time air monitors.

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