BRING YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS TO THE PARTY!!!!!  SEND THIS OUT OVER YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD LIST SERVs.

WHAT: City-Works, Horizon Initiative, and Neighborhoods Partnership Network have partnered to present a breakfast roundtable update on the status of New Orleans’ cultural industries for business and civic leaders, non-profits, neighborhood association leaders, and local and national media to promote awareness of the growth and new developments emerging in our post-Katrina economy.  The panel, representing industries such as film/video, music, theatre, visual arts, crafts, design, architecture, culinary arts, etc. will include both long-established and emerging talent, who will give status reports on their respective creative industries, and share their experiences working in post-Katrina New Orleans. (more…)

BATON ROUGE, La. (April 26, 2007) - LRA Chairman Norman C. Francis and three LRA committee chairs sent the following letter to U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson.

In the letter, Francis and Board Members Kim Boyle, Donna Fraiche and John T. Landry called for Secretary Jackson’s immediate approval of the LRA’s action plan amendment number three to commit $300 million toward rebuilding an academic medical center in downtown New Orleans. It also called on Secretary Nicholson to unequivocally commit the VA to building its hospital in partnership with LSU given that the State of Louisiana has committed to acquiring land and providing construction funds for the LSU hospital with the CDBG funds. (more…)

(This article appears in the May/June issue of ColorLines Magazine, on newsstands now. The new ColorLines also features a cover story on housing in New Orleans written by Tram Nguyen.  See more online at www.colorlines.com.)

Mississippi Forgotten?
By Jordan Flaherty
April 26, 2007

Post-Katrina, New Orleans received the headlines.  The government response was a glaring example of the heartlessness and incompetence of the Bush administration, and the neglect and devastation of the city remains a powerful symbol of US racism.  In struggles around issues such as health care, education, policing, environmental devastation, voting rights and more, New Orleans is on the front lines. (more…)

You may have noticed in this morning’s paper that congress is set to convert 30,000 FEMA housing vouchers to section 8 vouchers and 90,000 people currently in trailers to section 8 vouchers. This is what I predicted last year and the consequence will be flooding the New Orleans housing market with 120,000 section 8 vouchers. The Houston Housing authority told me in January 2006 that they had very little section 8 housing in that voucher range–I interpreted this as a direct attempt to force evacuees out of the city. (more…)

LA-Y.E.S program continues fight against
post-Katrina trauma

New Orleans - The Department of Health and Hospital*s LA-Y.E.S
program is joining together with the Louisiana Children*s Museum in
sponsoring a presentation by child mental health expert Dr. Gary Blau at
6:00 PM on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at the Children*s Museum located at
420 Julia St., New Orleans, Louisiana. (more…)

Apartment study notes discrimination

Wednesday, April 25, 2007By Gwen Filosa

Black residents encountered discrimination nearly six times out of 10 when apartment hunting in the New Orleans area post-Katrina, according to a new study released Tuesday by a local civil rights group.

Times Picayune link

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1177482229124760.xml&coll=1

WHERE: Musicians Union Hall, 2401 Esplanade Avenue. 940-2207

WHEN: APRIL 25TH, 6:00PM-8:00PM

A roundtable conversation with representatives from local cultural organizations, tradition-bearers, designers, and artists sharing their experiences in New Orleans culture.
We hope to hear about many different aspects of our culture from a wide range of New Orleanians. It is important to identify the neigborhood roots and origins of New Orleans’ world famous cultural economy.

Please come to add your own experiences to the conversation or just to listen. There will be free food from Lil’ Dizzies as usual.