Fats
Domino,
the legendary R&B songwriter and singer who never left the Lower Ninth Ward after
he became famous, has released a new album, Alive and Kickin' and will return
to the Jazz Fest stage this year. The new CD was actually recorded in 2000 but
not released - and it includes 11 songs Domino had never before recorded. Domino
also says he will rebuild in his old neighborhood and move back as soon as possible.
He recently told The New York Times, "Everything's gonna be all right, I
think." We agree.
The
Empire State Building
in New York City was lit up in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold
last Tuesday evening in a show of support for New Orleans' recovery efforts
- and the city's determination to pull of Carnival in spite of all the difficulties
brought on by Hurricane Katrina. Local public relations executive Jeanne Nathan,
a native of New York and one-time aide to former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, used
her contacts in the Big Apple to get the idea going after her stepdaughter,
Billie Tannen, suggested it.
President
George Bush
clearly lied to the people of Louisiana and the nation when he said no one could
have predicted the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Last week, the Associated
Press obtained confidential videos that proved conclusively that the president
and his top advisers were specifically warned that Katrina could cause levee
breaches and endanger lives. Yet, he blithely assured state officials the day
before Katrina landed, "We are fully prepared." Despite his assurances,
the feds' response was pitifully slow.
Kimberly
Williamson-Butler,
the clerk of Criminal District Court, went into hiding to dodge an arrest warrant
issued by the judges of the court she serves. Butler, who has a well-documented
history of odd behavior, refused to honor an agreement she made to let her predecessor,
Appeals Court Judge Edwin Lombard, supervise negotiations with FEMA to clean
up the Criminal Court evidence room, which flooded during Hurricane Katrina.
She surfaced at the end of last week - to qualify for mayor.
