new orleans

(Mike Matney Photography)

New Orleans Ban Against Smoking In Bars Goes Into Effect

Bars never close in New Orleans, but now those late night hot spots and cozy dives won’t be filled with smoke: Following the lead of many of the country’s major cities, New Orleans put a ban against smoking inside bars into effect as of today. [More]

Louisiana, Where Killing A Cab Driver “May” Be Considered Murder

Louisiana, Where Killing A Cab Driver “May” Be Considered Murder

Usually when you see signs reminding people of penalties for crimes, it’s because a particular offense carries with it a harsher-than-usual penalty — “Fines Doubled In Work Zone,” “Assaulting a Transit Employee is a Felony,” “Failure to Follow Cabin Crew’s Instructions May Result in Arrest”… that kind of thing. But the wording on one sign in Louisiana makes us wonder how little the folks of that state value taxi drivers. [More]

We would not be shocked if someone took this person up on their offer to rent out their Subaru for $1,800/night.

Sleeping In This Guy’s Car For $1,800/Night Might Be A Better Deal Than Other Super Bowl Rentals

Though this year’s Super Bowl is irrelevant because of its lack of Eagles, there are apparently still enough people out there who want to attend the festivities that the illegal short-term lease market is booming in New Orleans. [More]

Juvies Dosing Kids With Schizophrenia Meds To Keep Them
Docile

Juvies Dosing Kids With Schizophrenia Meds To Keep Them Docile

An investigative report found that New Orleans juvenile detention centers are giving the kids potent antipsychotics four times as often as the conditions for which they were designed to treat, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, actually show up in the inmate population. People inside the system say the jails are dosing the kids because it’s easier to deal with them when they’re “little zombies.” [More]

Officials: Massive Fish Kill Hits Louisiana Bayou, But BP Ain't To Blame

Officials: Massive Fish Kill Hits Louisiana Bayou, But BP Ain't To Blame

A whole mess of fish just up and died at Bayou Chaland in Louisiana. What you’re looking at is a jambalaya of different kinds of lifeless fish, crabs, stingray and eel. You might think BP is to blame, but Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has a different suspect in mind. [More]

BP Took 79 Days To Do Fix Citizen Sent Them On Day 6

BP Took 79 Days To Do Fix Citizen Sent Them On Day 6

A reader claims he emailed BP and the White House on April 28th with the very method put into place to seal the gushing oil well on July 10th, and all he ever got back were boilerplate form letter replies. [More]

BP Spill Now Spoiling All Gulf States As Tar Balls Hit Texas

BP Spill Now Spoiling All Gulf States As Tar Balls Hit Texas

Congratulations to BP and all the others responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. You’ve officially managed to screw up every U.S. state along the Gulf of Mexico. Texas had been the only of the five states bordering the greasy body of water to be untainted by the spill, but that changed over the weekend when the first batch of tar balls washed up on the shore of the Lone Star State. [More]

Gulf Oil Spill Ruining July 4th Fireworks For Louisiana Town

Gulf Oil Spill Ruining July 4th Fireworks For Louisiana Town

With the summer of 2010 shaping up to be not exactly peachy for many towns on the Gulf of Mexico as they watch balls of oil drift toward their shores, a number of folks in the region won’t even have their traditional July 4 fireworks to look forward to. [More]

If You Don't Tip Your Cabbie, You Might Get Held Hostage

If You Don't Tip Your Cabbie, You Might Get Held Hostage

We know that tipping is a touchy topic, but a cab driver in New Orleans appears to have gone a teensy-weensy bit too far in his attempt to wrest a 10% tip from his passenger and he’s now facing charges of extortion, simple assault and false imprisonment. [More]

Buying An iPhone 3G Was Surprisingly Easy. Activating It Was Not.

Buying An iPhone 3G Was Surprisingly Easy. Activating It Was Not.

As Consumerist’s resident Apple fanboy, I spent the last few hours standing outside an AT&T store waiting to buy the iPhone 3G, then waiting for it to activate in iTunes. Here’s what went down.

../..//2008/05/20/even-basketball-teams-get-stuck/

Even basketball teams get stuck on the tarmac. The Spurs spent the night sleeping on a grounded airplane (that was experiencing mechanical difficulties) after the team beat New Orleans in Game 7. “We slept on the plane — as much as you can sleep,” a team spokesperson said. “We tried to keep some normal semblance of order.” [ESPN]

Anonymous Businessman Settles Elderly Couple's Tax Nightmare

Anonymous Businessman Settles Elderly Couple's Tax Nightmare

Remember the Atwoods? They were facing the possibility of losing their home after it was sold to pay $1.63 in property tax.

Elderly Couple Could Lose Home Over $1.63 Tax Bill

Elderly Couple Could Lose Home Over $1.63 Tax Bill

In 1996 a property tax bill for $1.63 was mailed to Kermit and Dolores Atwood. The bill never reached its destination, according to the Times-Picayune. Now, 11 years later, the Atwoods are in danger of losing their home.

Starbucks Moving Into The French Quarter?

Starbucks Moving Into The French Quarter?

After Hurricane Katrina, La Madeleine, a cafe and bakery that had occupied space in the French Quarter for 23 years, moved out, claiming that it didn’t get enough of a break on its rent following the storm. Now the site sits vacant, waiting for its next tenant. Will it be Starbucks?

Blogobitchin!

• This guy was way ahead on the milk is especially fantastic bandwagon. [Bunnyspatial]

Ma Bell To Shut Down New Orleans WiFi

Ma Bell To Shut Down New Orleans WiFi

One of the surprising acts of compassion and competency that came out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was that the city began providing a free WiFi service to business owners and residents whose phone service had been wiped out. The 512 kbps service allowed many business owners to begin struggling back to their feet and corporate sponsors like Yahoo and Google were in discussion to expand the service in the coming months.