Press Release of the Day: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

Trojan to distribute free vibrators in New Orleans on May 3

Lauren LaBorde — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:39:00 -0500

First there were food trucks, and now another mobile vendor rolls to town — and they're not offering expensive fries or grilled cheese sandwiches. Condom purveyor Trojan is coming (sorry) to New Orleans on May 3 to distribute free vibrators.…

Press release from OPP Reform Coalition: "Mayor Plays Political Games at Our Peril"

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:57:35 -0500

The Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition released a statement today demanding that New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman put an end to their dispute and agree to the OPP consent decree.

Landrieu says the cost of the consent decree — estimated in the tens of millions annually — combined with a $55 million four to five year consent decree over the New Orleans Police Department (which the Landrieu administration is also fighting after initially supporting it) would bankrupt the city, forcing massive layoffs and/or furloughs of essential employees.…

Press release: NOPD officers' association will not boycott Jazz Fest

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:02:00 -0500

Police Association of New Orleans (PANO) president Michael Glasser writes in an email that his group will not boycott security details at the upcoming New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as a protest of a proposed overhaul to the New Orleans Police Department's off-duty detail system.

"The idea has merit, and may yet be one which the rank and file may choose to pursue," Glasser writes.…

Press release: Sheriff's office says statements about inmate's death are inaccurate

Charles Maldonado — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:00:00 -0600

The Ehrhardt Group, the public relations firm that represents the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, issued a press release Friday afternoon on the death of inmate Ricky Russell, the subject of our lead news story in this week's Gambit.

The release doesn't contain answers to the inquiries we submitted last week, including whether security staff conducted rounds on Russell's floor and where Russell was located relative to inmates making claims that he was acting strangely the night before his death.…

Press release: Sheriff reports 1,681 arrests during Super Bowl, Mardi Gras

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:06:30 -0600

According to a press release from the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, 1,681 people were arrested in New Orleans between Friday, Jan. 25 and the end of Tuesday, Feb. 12, including 289 arrests during Super Bowl weekend. The Advocate reports 879 Carnival season arrest actions — a number that includes suspects who received summonses rather than being taken into custody — in the New Orleans Police Department's Eighth District, which covers the French Quarter and the Central Business District.…

Annual City Hall reminder: Mardi Gras, the rules and the consequences

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:54:18 -0600

Basically the same press release as usual, but it bears repeating.

(Mayor Mitch Landrieu is scheduled to hold a press conference on city preparations for Mardi Gras and Super Bowl XLVII at 2 p.m. today.)

CITY ANNOUNCES 2013 MARDI GRAS ENFORCEMENT

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Today, the City announced its enforcement policies for the 2013 Mardi Gras season.…
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U.S. Attorney Dana Boente's statement on the Nagin indictment

Charles Maldonado — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:33:00 -0600

C. RAY NAGIN, FORMER NEW ORLEANS MAYOR, INDICTED ON FEDERAL BRIBERY, HONEST SERVICES WIRE FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING, CONSPIRACY, AND TAX CHARGES

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - C. Ray Nagin, 56, a resident of Frisco, Texas and formerly the Mayor of New Orleans, was charged in a 21-count indictment with bribery, honest service wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, and filing false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Anderson, and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge James Lee.

According to today’s federal grand jury indictment, between December 2004 and the present, Nagin and several others participated in a conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud.…
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Poll: Congress less popular than cockroaches, traffic jams, Nickelback

Kevin Allman — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:49:55 -0600

While we're used to goofball "polls" from men's magazines and PR firms on topics like "America's Drunkest City" or "City With America's Biggest Penises" (New Orleans is No. 1, by the way), it's not often that a legit firm like Public Policy Polling compares Congress' popularity to things like colonoscopies and Nickelback. But a survey of 830 American voters held a few days ago found that the Senate and the House of Representatives are less popular than either of those things:

When asked if they have a higher opinion of either Congress or a series of unpleasant or disliked things, voters said they had a higher opinion of root canals (32 for Congress and 56 for the dental procedure), NFL replacement refs (29-56), head lice (19-67), the rock band Nickelback (32-39), colonoscopies (31-58), Washington DC political pundits (34-37), carnies (31-39), traffic jams (34-56), cockroaches (43-45), Donald Trump (42-44), France (37-46), Genghis Khan (37-41), used-car salesmen (32-57), and Brussels sprouts (23-69) than Congress.…
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Boil water advisory for East Bank of Orleans Parish

Charles Maldonado — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:20:16 -0500

City of New Orleans press release:

PRECAUTIONARY BOIL WATER ADVISORY ISSUED FOR THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS PARISH

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Sewerage and Water Board and the state Department of Health and Hospital officials are warning the residents of the East Bank of Orleans Parish not to drink, make ice from, brush teeth, bathe or shower, prepare or rinse food with tap water unless it has been properly disinfected until further notice.

A momentary loss of 25-cycle power at about 8:30 a.m. at the main water plant brought water pressure to low levels throughout the eastbank of the city.…
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Press release: Full funding secured for New Orleans East Hospital

Charles Maldonado — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:45:42 -0500

Press release: National Guard opens three emergency supply sites

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:07:15 -0500

NEW ORLEANS, LA— This afternoon, the City of New Orleans provided a status update on the ground conditions as Tropical Storm Isaac moves out of south Louisiana. Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged residents to remain patient and continue to be on guard as hazardous conditions remain outside and on the roadways.…

City press release: No RTA, Greyhound bus service today; city completes about 50 medical needs transfers

Charles Maldonado — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:25:00 -0500

NEW ORLEANS, LA— At 11:00 p.m. Monday, August 27, the City of New Orleans provided an update on the City’s readiness in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac potential landfall in southeast Louisiana on Tuesday.…

Press release: City update on storm readiness

Charles Maldonado — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:39:18 -0500

NEW ORLEANS, LA— Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged residents to brace for severe weather conditions as Tropical Storm Isaac moved toward an expected Tuesday morning landfall as a strong Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane. Mayor Landrieu has declared a state of emergency and mobilized City departments and partner agencies to prepare for a significant storm.…

97% of NOPD survey respondents say the department has insufficient manpower

Charles Maldonado — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:51:32 -0500

Or to put it a bit more precisely, 97 percent of the 463 verified New Orleans Police Department employees who took Dr. Peter Scharf's job satisfaction survey disagree with the statement, "The overall department has sufficient manpower."

That's one of several teaser results Scharf's office sent in a press release today. Here's another, which is quite possibly related to that manpower issue: 80 percent of respondents said that if they could switch to another department without losing their current pay and benefits, they would.…

Press release: City creates new office to coordinate NOPD's "aorta of corruption"

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:32:38 -0500

Moments after Travers Mackel broke the news on WDSU, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office sent out a press release (below) announcing the creation of the Office of Police Secondary Employment, which will oversee paid details for New Orleans Police Department officers. It will be headed up by John Salomone, a retired Amy lieutenant colonel.…

More with less

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:25:49 -0500

In light of today's announcement from the newly created NOLA Media Group, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to this 2008 column by the American Journalism Review's Rem Rieder, slamming the dishonest language of newspaper layoff press releases, which often appear as a "news item" in the business pages.

Inevitably, the publisher accompanies news of the bloodletting with the solemn declaration that the cutbacks in no way suggest that the paper is backing off from its commitment to world-class public service journalism.…
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Three important facts about American Idol's Joshua Ledet

Lauren LaBorde — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:08:09 -0500

After making it to the top three in the singing competition, Westlake, La. native Joshua Ledet was eliminated from last night's American Idol. The 20-year-old throwback crooner must have been a popular contestant, because now teenagers on the Internet are yelling about how the elimination process is clearly rigged (controversy among viewers about the show's viewer controlled voting process has existed since the beginning).…

Photos: Alleged criminal looks bemused-on-the-way-to-annoyed after mild crime

Charles Maldonado — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:40:00 -0500

"Why is the NOPD — which, from time to time, takes as much as three days to get around to making a homicide announcement — sending out a press release about a goddamn parked car hit and run?" is what I thought at first.

Then I realized that this everyday crime about which I couldn't care less came with these delightful pictures, which I love.…

SPLC on jail building closure: "Tragically, this incremental reform occurred only after the abusive conditions at OPP destroyed countless lives"

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:55:27 -0500

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office last week, today issued the following statement in response to Sheriff Marlin Gusman's decision to close the Orleans Parish Prison's House of Detention:

New Orleans, La. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) commends Sheriff Marlon Gusman’s decision to close the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) House of Detention today but calls for the Sheriff’s Department to make additional reforms to better protect the community and save taxpayer dollars.

The SPLC brought a federal class action civil rights lawsuit against the Orleans Parish Sheriff earlier this month.…
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Press release: NOPD seeks voluntary statement from officer identified as Allen shooter

Charles Maldonado — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:52:04 -0500

Earlier: Tracie Washington of the Louisiana Justice Institute demands more info on Allen shooting

The stuff that's actually new information is in bold:

New Orleans Police Department- Public Information Office

An Update on the Investigation into the Police-Involved Shooting on Prentiss Avenue

(March 13, 2012)- Superintendent Ronal Serpas today provided an update for the community on the investigation of the police-involved shooting in the 2600-block of Prentiss Avenue on Wednesday, March 8, 2012. The shooting occurred during the serving of a narcotics search warrant at the house, which resulted in the death of 20-year-old Wendell Allen.…
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File under child abuse

Will Coviello — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:13:58 -0600

If elevator music grates your nerves, you're really going to like this. Jammy Jams takes popular tunes and turns them into incessantly chiming lullabies performed on vibraphone and piano without lyrics.…

Press release: DA declines to prosecute two high-profile murder cases for lack of evidence

Charles Maldonado — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:49:36 -0600

Narkee Hunter, one of four persons of interest police identified in connection with the murder of one-year-old Kiera Holmes, and Marvin Carter, the man arrested for the mass French Quarter shooting, will not be prosecuted, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office says in a press release. Cannizzaro blames lack of sufficient evidence in both cases.…

Press release: NOPD detective indicted for conspiracy and theft of federal funds

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:22:07 -0600

Fourth District Detective Tiwanda Alexander is charged with taking $3,600 from nonprofit housing assistance group the House of Ruth — which receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — between 2007 and 2008, according to the federal indictment. Alexander was not homeless and was making more than $40,000 per year in salary.…

Press release: Former state DEQ scientist gets three years for child pornography charges

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:23:35 -0600

This just in from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office: Michael T. Drury, who, according to this 2009 Times-Picayune story, was "an environmental scientist who has been monitoring the work of demolition and construction contractors involved in asbestos-removal projects in New Orleans," for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality was sentenced to three years in prison today for federal child pornography charges. Drury pleaded guilty in August.…

Press release (sort of): "re: Discontent within the NOPD"

Charles Maldonado — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:50:43 -0600

As first reported by Fox 8, the following letter has been posted on the Police Association of New Orleans' (PANO) website since yesterday. It's not attributed to PANO but to "a platoon of officers from a police district in the NOPD" and details a number of complaints about the department's current direction.…