March/April 2013 Trumpet - Water Management

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March/April 2013 • Community Voices Orchestrating Change • Issue 7 Volume 2

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INSIDE • Bayou Bienvenue: A CSED Community Waterway • Art in the 9 • Health Services in the Lower Nine • FutureProof: Community Focused Design • Campaign for a Flood-Less New Orleans Neighborhoods Partnership Network’s (NPN) mission is to improve our quality of life by engaging New Orleanians in neighborhood revitalization and civic process.

THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

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N E I G H B O R H O O D S

Letter From The Executive Director

NEIGHBORHOODS PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

Photo: Kevin Griffin/2Kphoto

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NPN provides an inclusive and collaborative city-wide framework to empower neighborhood groups in New Orleans.

What’s so important about water?

t always amazes me how the simplest things are what we take for granted the most. Take water for example, there is a theory that where water is found life exists. Most of the earth’s surface is covered by water, and most of the human body is composed of water – two facts that illustrate the critical link between water, health and ecosystems. The very essence of its existence is what makes our ecosystem function. In order to have thriving, healthy neighborhoods, community engagement is crucial when planning the use and management of water and the effects on the environment where we live.

I learned how to swim when I was seven-years-old while my mother was an evening student at Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO). My mom like most mothers had “famous” sayings. The most clear ones were about my swimming lessons: “Water can be your friend or your enemy. It’s all in how you tread.”

Those words could not be truer, water is and continues to be the greatest asset and liability for the people of New Orleans.

New Orleans is one of the rainiest cities in the country with over 62 inches falling per year, and it’s time we learned to live with the water. Bounded by water on every side, the history and culture of costal Louisiana is rooted in the medium within which our soils and settlements float. For less than three cents an acre, the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States and provided the US with access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River Port of New Orleans. It has provided economic opportunities for generations of families whose fathers and brothers worked the river as longshore men. The strength and liability that water played in the life of NOLA residents was most visible in the number of lives and homes lost during Hurricane Katrina.

With the ever increasing impact of global warming, we need to decrease our carbon footprint, eradicate water pollution and raise the region’s awareness to the fact that coastal wetlands are vital natural storm protections. Like many other sustainability opportunities that have presented itself to our fair city, we have a unique opportunity to take the city to a whole new level of responsible, efficient, and effective storm water management.

In this issue of Trumpet we are introduced to and engaged with how we can create sustainable environments in our neighborhoods and become leaders in the development of sensible water policy and management. Since we know we will always have water with us as long as we have life, it is time that New Orleanians start to see water as a resource that can be captured and reused, instead of simply viewed as a nuisance to be disposed of as quickly as possible.

Find Out More at NPNnola.com

NPN Board Members Victor Gordon, Board Chair, Pontilly Neighborhood Association Angela Daliet, Treasurer, Parkview Neighborhood Association Benjamin Diggins, Melia Subdivision

P A R T N E R S H I P

Contents

The Trumpet

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5 Cafe Dauphine Signals the Lower 9 is Open for Business 7 Global Green’s Holy Cross Project 9 More Food, Less Miles 13 Water Management Solutions 19 NOLA MIX Classes Expand 21 Rain Barrels for Homeowners 27 Learning to Manage Your Finances 29 CeCe Gets 20 Thoughts Cafe Dauphine is Open for Business in the Lower 9

Katherine Prevost, Upper Ninth Ward Bunny Friend

Neighborhood Association

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16 NEIGH B SPOT ORHOOD LIGHT Ho

Leslie Ellison, Tunisburg Square Civic Homeowners

Improvement Association Tilman Hardy, Secretary, Leonidas/Pensiontown

Neighborhood Association

ly Cr oss

Wendy Laker, Mid-City Neighborhood Organization Sylvia Scineaux-Richard, ENONAC Karen Chabert, Irish Channel Neighborhood Association

Third Party Submission Issues Physical submissions on paper, CD, etc. cannot be returned unless an arrangement is made. Submissions may be edited and may be published or otherwise reused in any medium. By submitting any notes, information or material, or otherwise providing any material for publication in the newspaper, you are representing that you are the owner of the material, or are making your submission with the consent of the owner of the material, all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete.

Seeking Water Entrepreneurs Non-Liability Disclaimers The Trumpet may contain facts, views, opinions, statements and recommendations of third party individuals and organizations.

The Trumpet does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information in the publication and use of or reliance on such advice, opinion, statement or other information is at your own risk.

Copyright Copyright 2012 Neighborhoods Partnership Network. All Rights Reserved.

Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Neighborhoods Partnership Network is expressly prohibited.

Timolynn Sams

The Trumpet Editorial Board

The Trumpet Editorial Staff

Jim Belfon, Gulf South Photography Project

Scott Bicking, Art Director

Jewel Bush, SEIU Local 21 LA

Tara Foster, Policy and Advocacy Editor

Christy Chapman, Author Heidi Hickman, Resident

Melissa Garber, Editor

Elton Jones, New Orleans Rising

Remeka Jones, Julia Kahn & Greg Lawson, Associate Neighborhoods Editors

Naomi King, Prevention Research Center

Nora McGunnigle, Local History Editor

Mike Madej, Resident Linedda McIver, AARP Louisiana Ray Nichols, Maple Area Residents Inc. Brian Opert, Talk Show Host, WGSO 990AM Valerie Robinson, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation Melinda Shelton, Xavier University School of Journalism

NEIGHBORHOODS PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

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N E T W O R K

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4902 Canal Street • #301 New Orleans, LA 70119 504.940.2207 • FX 504.940.2208 thetrumpet@npnnola.com www.npnnola.com 3

Water Management Following a Natural Disaster

Café Dauphine 5229 Dauphine St., New Orleans www.cafedauphinenola.com For catering information or private parties you can contact them at 504.309.6391 or e-mail cafedauphine@yahoo.com

By The HealthyNOLA Team

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Café Dauphine offers delivery to Holy Cross, Lower Ninth Ward, Bywater and the Marigny.

ollowing a natural disaster several risks are present. One risk is the spread of disease through contaminated water supply.

New Orleans has weathered several disasters and immediately following we are usually cautioned not to consume or bathe in the public water supply. Though our water goes through a seven step purification process (found on the Sewerage and Water Board website) before becoming available for use, these systems are often compromised during natural disasters.

A compromised water system presents the opportunity for several diseases and/or epidemics to occur. In New Orleans, following Hurricane Katrina an increase of Salmonella was identified among evacuees.

Additionally dysentery, Hepatitis A and E, Cholera, and Typhoid fever are all spread through compromised water supply.

Stock Up

Below are a few tips from the HealthyNOLA Team to avoid waterborne illnesses following a natural disaster.

The CDC recommends breastfeeding or ready-to-feed formulas if possible. If these products are not available, prepare formula with bottled or boiled water.

When stocking up on water prior to a natural disaster, most consider getting enough water to keep them hydrated. However, in a situation where the water system is compromised, water for drinking, cooking, and bathing will be required. FEMA recommends a one gallon supply of water per person per day for at least three days.

Get Vaccinated Waterborne pathogens as well as other illnesses spread quickly following natural disasters. Maintaining vaccinations may prevent unnecessary exposure and/or transmission of communicable diseases.

Remember Infants and Children

Follow Instructions Electricity and clean water may be unavailable in the disaster area for extended amounts of time, and though it is not impossible to survive these conditions, it is unpleasant. Heed all evacuation orders and Boil Water Advisories. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting to know your community’s emergency plans, warning signals, evacuation routes, and locations.

For additional information regarding post-disaster water precautions and emergency preparedness visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/ or http://new.nola.gov/ready/

Monday – Thursday: 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Friday – Saturday: 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Co-Owners Keisha Henry and Tia Moore-Henry (Not pictured Fred Henry)

Café Dauphine Proves Holy Cross and the Lower Ninth Are Open For Business

By Mike Madej

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esidents of Holy Cross and the Lower Ninth Ward have gone too long without a quality dining option. Siblings Keisha and Fred Henry, who grew up in Holy Cross, along with Fred’s wife Tia Moore-Henry, sought to fix this problem when they opened Café Dauphine in June 2012.

Opening the restaurant meant more than offering good food for people in the community, the Henry family was out to prove that Holy Cross and the Lower Ninth Ward is prime for investment. “There were lots of naysayers out there,” Tia said, “people were saying we wouldn’t last, but we’re showing them wrong. Our goal is to show that good businesses can succeed here and attract new people to this neighborhood. We feel like we’re pioneers.”

Located at the corner of Dauphine and Egania, Café Dauphine is nestled within the Holy Cross neighborhood. The building has six large windows that provide ample natural light and give diners a pleasant view of the surrounding neighborhood. Keisha mentioned that one of the goals is to give diners a comfortable place to enjoy a meal. “The atmosphere is so relaxed people feel like they are at home,” she explained.

With the help of their head cook, Shawn Smith, Café Dauphine developed a menu that offers everything from quintessential New Orleans dishes to grilled seafood and chicken, burgers, steaks and BBQ ribs. One of the signature dishes, the Lizardi Rolls, caught my eye. Tia and Keisha explained that they both enjoy Chinese food and the Lizardi Rolls are a New Orleans twist on the egg roll. Filling them with cabbage, crab meat, shrimp and crawfish a CajunAsian fusion was developed.

“I used to do theme night cooking sessions with my son,” Keisha recalled.

“As someone who worked a lot these nights were a great way for the two of us to spend time together. I always enjoyed cooking Asian food for my son and I eventually came up with the Lizardi Roll which has become a signature dish.”

Another signature dish is the Deep Fried Stuffed Bell Pepper which Tia said is a recipe inspired from her mother’s cooking. Developing creative dishes is not only something they enjoy, it’s a necessity. “Our goal is to offer a diverse menu. We have regular customers who have tried everything on the menu,” Tia said, “so we like to keep coming up with new ideas and dishes for our customers.”

Tia pointed out that as the demographics of the neighborhood change new ideas and cuisines are brought into the area, which helps them remain creative. In addition to serving their loyal regulars Café Dauphine attracts

customers from all over New Orleans and southeast Louisiana.

For the Henry family, opening Café Dauphine is an investment in the community. “I love to cook and getting a positive response from customers really makes me happy,” Tia explained. “The work is hard and the hours are long but it’s all worth it.” They hope that their business will entice more people and businesses to move back into Holy Cross and the Lower Ninth Ward.

“What inspires us is making customers happy,” Keisha said. “We want to show that this neighborhood can keep businesses that do well.”

“We want to show that this neighborhood can keep businesses that do well.”

Café Dauphine Red Fish Florentine Recipe [Ingredients/serving size: 4]

• 4 red fish fillets • 2 teaspoons minced garlic • 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) • ½ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon of white pepper • 2 ounces white wine 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 cup of fresh baby spinach 4 ounces of crawfish tails 1/3 cup of Red Onions Julienne 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

–Keisha Henry

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• • • • •

Red Fish

• Salt and pepper fish to taste.

• Add EVOO to sauté pan on medium heat.

• Add fish and sear 3 minutes on each side.

Sauce

• Heat sauce pan on medium heat.

• Add EVOO, chopped red onion and crawfish tails to pan and cook for 2 minutes • Add minced garlic and cook for another minute.

• Add white wine and reduce by half.

• Once reduced, add heavy cream, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and reduce by half or until sauce begins to thicken.

• Then add spinach and cook until wilted.

• Plate fish and top with sauce.

• Serve with French bread and lemon wedges.

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John Taylor, CSED Wetlands Specialist, overlooks Bayou Bienvenue in the Lower Ninth Ward.

swamp filled with cypress trees, water lilies, and freshwater wildlife such as fish, alligators, otters, birds, and crawfish.

John Taylor, CSED Wetlands Specialist and Bayou Bienvenue historian, said, “I have lived next to Bayou Bienvenue most of my life. It used to be so thick with cypress trees that we could boat without paddles by just by pulling ourselves forward. The water used to be full of crawfish and cypress trout or mud fish.”

This area was once a resource-rich freshwater swamp where residents could fish, go crawfishing, and explore, but now it is a saltwater ghost swamp with few remaining cypress trees. Restoring the Bayou not only contributes to storm protection but is important for the community in other ways as well. The Lower Ninth Ward lost a considerable portion of its residents and homes to Hurricane Katrina and recovery has been a slow process.

The Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development and the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association work closely with the Sierra Club and other Lower Ninth Ward groups, along with national and local environmental groups, to rebuild and renew the area. The restoration of Bayou Bienvenue is an important part of the rebuilding of the community. It provides opportunities for fishing, canoeing, and other activities for Lower Nine residents where they can come and learn about the environment, history and culture of the area.

Taylor gets excited when he talks about the Bayou, “It’s such a popular spot now with locals, tourists and researchers. We have lots of plans for the bayou’s recovery but little money. We need all the public awareness, recognition and participation we can get.”

Shortly after Katrina, a number of Lower Ninth Ward residents expressed that they also wanted to see the degraded Bayou Bienvenue cypress swamp restored and regenerated into the thriving ecosystem it once was over 40 years ago. Residents expressed that they wanted this restoration, not just for immediate flood protection, but also for a host of ecosystem services and other benefits for the community at large.

The CSED has continued to engage residents on this issue at regular neighborhood and homeowners association meetings as well as larger meetings held within the Lower Ninth Ward community. CSED’s partnerships with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Gulf Restoration Network and others have helped create the initial political will to influence leadership at the local, state and national levels. The state has included restoration of Bayou Bienvenue in its Coastal Master Plan but currently there has not been any immediate timeline for implementing the restoration project.

Global Green USA’s Holy Cross Project

Bayou Bienvenue

A Center for Sustainabale Engagement and Development (CSED) Community Waterway

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he Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), a post-Katrina entity, working in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, helps its residents chart a path toward energy efficiency and sustainable recovery. CSED focuses on an environmentally conscious and sustainable recovery of the Lower Ninth Ward by engaging community residents and leaders on a host of issues, including ecosystem restoration.

“CSED acknowledges that floodwalls and levees cannot be the only forms of flood protection in our community,” Arthur Johnson, Executive Director of CSED said. “There must be significant work done to restore our state’s coastline and implement non-structural measures to offer sustainable flood protection in our communities.”

The organization has worked to communicate this urgent issue to Lower Ninth Ward residents who have increasingly embraced the importance of ecosystem restoration as well as the implementation of other non-structural measures of flood protection.

Bayou Bienvenue serves as a fishing and recreation haven for Lower Ninth Ward residents. What is now open water used to be an old growth

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Sights and Sounds of Progress

By Michelle Pyne, Green Building Program Associate, Global Green USA

Be sure to visit our website at

Single Family Homes Six years after Brad Pitt and Global Green CEO Matt Petersen led a design competition for the organization to create a sustainable village in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, five LEED Platinum homes have been completed, four sold, and over 25,000 visitors have been educated at the first home, which has served as a Visitors Center since its completion in 2008.

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he goal of the Holy Cross Project is to serve as a model of sustainability by demonstrating resilient construction practices and clean energy technologies, and to serve as a catalyst for green workforce development. The Project’s home owners are teachers, architects, and nonprofit professionals, all enthusiastic about living in the evolving Holy Cross Neighborhood. They are also very patient with the ongoing construction and supportive of Global Green’s efforts to build an affordable apartment building on the site.

Communuty Center Construction is under way for the Community Development and Climate Action Center (CDCAC), the architectural gem and capstone of the Holy Cross Project, with an expected completion date of summer 2013. The CDCAC is an 8000 plus square foot high-performance green facility that will be energy and water efficient and equipped with solar electric panels and a rainwater cistern. It will open onto public green space with a beautiful Continued on page 8

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Continued from page 7 bioswale (large rain garden). The CDCAC will house Global Green’s offices, as well as a visitor center, ATM, corner store/fresh food vendor, community meeting space, and passive survivability features (for first responders in case of future storms).

Seeking Fresh Food Vendor for CDCAC Rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward requires more than just living space. The neighborhood needs businesses, essential services, functioning infrastructure, public transportation, and a thoughtful collaboration between public and private interests to ensure a high quality of life. Global Green intends to seed these essential components through the CDCAC. Fresh food access is a basic necessity for residents and communities to thrive and grow.

Global Green is seeking a fresh food retailer for the CDCAC to provide fresh produce and healthy prepared foods to community members and visitors.

The vision for the fresh food store includes runners and bikers from the adjacent river levee coming by to re-fuel their bodies, school children stopping in for an afternoon snack, families picking up staples for a healthy diet, and visitors supporting local business in the Lower Ninth Ward.

A Request for Proposals (RFP) for the fresh food vendor is available at http://globalgreen.org/blogs/global/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ Global-Green-CDCAC-Retail-RFP_2012.06.05.pdf. Submissions will be accepted until an appropriate vendor has been identified (please contact Michelle at Global Green for more information at 504.525.2121 or e-mail mpyne@globalgreen.org).

Affordable Apartments The third phase of the Holy Cross Project is an 18-unit affordable apartment building. This multi-family building would be the first affordable rental housing in the Lower Ninth Ward since Hurricane Katrina and is desperately needed. Not only will the project serve to house those who wish to return to the neighborhood but are not ready or able to buy, but it will serve as a demonstration of how to build healthy, sustainable, storm-resilient apartments. The project will use solar power and environmentally-friendly materials for superior indoor air quality that will decrease illness from upper

respiratory diseases such as asthma. The estimated 80 percent energy savings from solar power will go directly to residents, who will pay drastically lower energy bills. Monthly rent for these one and two bedroom apartments will range from $161 to $850. Twelve of the 18 units will be reserved for families 0-60 percent average median income (AMI), while six units will be market rate.

We need your help to make the multi-family a reality!

Unfortunately, progress on the multi-family building has been held up by local and state politics for over three years. The funding allocated for the project years ago is sitting unused because the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) and the State Bond Commission will not put the project on their respective meeting agendas because they say the cost per unit is too high. The slight increase in cost per unit is due to economies of scale. The small size (18 units) is in keeping with the quiet, historic nature of Holy Cross, and the cost, which has decreased by $3.2 million since the last approved proposal, ensures it will be high quality construction and an excellent place to live for tenants. The leadership in Baton Rouge is failing Lower Ninth Ward residents by bickering over costs and blocking this impactful project from breaking ground.

We need your support in helping to provide affordable housing to hard-working Lower Ninth Ward families. Join us in urging the LHC and State Bond Commission to approve the 18-unit affordable apartment building.

1. Sign the petition online by going to this website: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/global-green-lower-9th-wardaffordable-apartments/ 2. Call the Executive Director of the LHC, Don J. Hutchinson, at 225.763.8700 to express your support for the 18-unit Global Green apartments in the Lower Ninth Ward.

3. Email the Executive Staff at the LHC to tell them the Lower Ninth Ward needs these affordable apartments for hard working families.

E-mail address is: executivewebinfo@lhc.la.gov

Art in the 9

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By Jenga Mwendo

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ccess to fresh and nutritious food is critical to the health, sustainability, and economic redevelopment of the Lower Ninth Ward. On Saturday, February 23, 2013, the Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition (LNWFAC), a project of the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), announced the launch of the Lower Ninth Ward Food Action Plan. The plan was written by Lower Ninth Ward residents and community leaders and tackles the food access issues of the Lower Ninth Ward, considered a “food desert” by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In April 2012, CSED launched a Food Action Planning Initiative, organizing Lower Ninth Ward community leaders and residents to develop a Neighborhood Food Plan. The Food Action Planning Initiative began as an opportunity for Lower Ninth Ward residents to participate in the creation of a plan to facilitate action, firmly rooted in the belief that only the community itself can decide what the community wants and needs with regard to food access. The initiative entailed a series of eight planning meetings, each focusing on a different set of issues agreed upon by Lower Ninth Ward residents. Professionals in the areas of planning, business and food, as well as representatives from the City, were invited to serve in support and advisory roles.

Lower Ninth Ward residents articulated the need for improved access to healthy and affordable food by defining the issues, creating a process to address such issues, analyzing the current situation, proposing potential solutions, and dictating minimum quality standards for food operators.

To ensure that the food action plan reflected the needs and desires of the neighborhood, all Lower Ninth Ward residents were invited to these meetings, and only Lower Ninth Ward residents had decision-making powers in regards to the Food Plan.

The LNWFAC empowered an already strong community to assess and champion the needs of its residents. Lower Ninth Ward residents voted for a mobile grocery store as the most appropriate and feasible short-term solution to improve neighborhood access to fresh foods. The implementation of a healthy corner store was chosen as the best intermediate intervention due to existing infrastructure and evidence of success from similar initiatives in other

By Greer E. Mendy

he mission of Tekrema Center for Art and Culture is the maintenance, development and perseverance of African and African Diaspora art and culture through the performing and visual arts, humanities and educational programming related to issues which particularly affect the African-American community. Its founder, Greer E. Mendy, is a licensed attorney, choreographer, writer, and independent scholar of African and African Diaspora art and culture. She is currently completing a book and film project about dance in Louisiana. As a child, she was taught that self-respect and interdependence were paramount to the Lower Ninth Ward community of family, friends, elders, and teachers that helped shape her view of community, life and the arts. She established Tekrema Center in the Lower Ninth Ward because of her love for the arts and dedication to her childhood upbringing.

Located at 5640 Burgundy Street, the principal activities of Tekrema Center are the creation, acquisition, preservation, and research of arts, the creation of knowledge through arts education, training and research in the arts, and the dissemination of these resources through presentations, exhibitions, publications, and public lectures. Tekrema Center is an artist driven organization, where professional artists are integral in programming and service to the community.

Tekrema provides ongoing classes in the arts and wellness activities to adults and children. Tekrema currently implements “Visions,” a multi-disciplinary “Out of School Time, (OST)” arts immersion program that was developed for homeless, underserved and at- risk adolescents and youth from seven to 17 years old residing in the Lower Ninth Ward. However, the program provides equal and open access to all children seeking enrollment in the program, regardless of the area in which they reside.

SoulSpeak Afrobeat is Tekrema’s quarterly performance series presented at Tekrema’s Aya Garden, a community green space and performance venue.

Tekrema has presented artists such as renowned jazz musician Donald Harrison, Jr., Africa Brass, Sheldon “Shakespear” Alexander, Michael Guinn, and Talaam Acey. Annually, Tekrema presents Dance Forever!, a dance and music conference. This year, Tekrema Dance Theater will be featured in concert at the conference, as well as in a repeat performance of “Fulfillment of My Fantasy,” a dance, photography and poetry collaborative.

For more about Tekrema Center for Art and Culture, please visit http://tekremacenter.wordpress.com/ 8

More Food, Less Miles

THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

resource-poor communities. Lastly, a school-based grocery store was voted as the preferred long-term intervention by the community due to the potential for sustainability, collaboration, learning, and growth.

National examples of these projects include Fresh Moves: Chicago, IL (www.freshmoves.org) and National Mobile Market: Nashville, TN (www. nationalmobilemarket.org); Healthy Bodegas: New York, NY (www.nyc.gov/ html/ceo/html/programs/bodegas.shtml); and Bulldog Express: Leeton, MI (http://www.leeton.k12.mo.us/bulldogexpress.htm) The main goal of the LNWFAC moving forward is to support the development of projects outlined in the Food Plan by partnering with stakeholders to address the short-term (mobile grocery store), interim (healthy corner store), and long-term (school-based grocery store) solutions to our community food needs.

The release of the Food Action Plan marked the end of Phase 1 of the Food Action Planning Initiative. In Phase 1 we held eight community planning meetings, organized an “Undoing Racism In The Food System” workshop and hosted a roundtable discussion with the Food Trust, Hope Credit Union (Fresh Food Retailer Initiative), and Sterling Farms. We established the Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition, and successfully planned and implemented a Grocery Store For A Day event/ It was a oneday pop-up grocery store in October 2012 designed to draw attention to the issue of poor food access in our neighborhood and obtain support for our efforts to improve the food landscape.

The full version of the Lower Ninth Ward Food Action Plan will be distributed directly to community leaders, elected officials, and national supporters. LNWFAC will also be accessible as a web-based document (online at sustainthenine.org in the What’s New section at the bottom of the home page). Readers of the plan are encouraged to use it to progress the goals of increased food access in the Lower Ninth Ward.

For more information about the LNWFAC, contact the CSED at 504.324.9955 or e-mail foodsecurity@sustainthenine.org.

The Trumpet is New Orleans only community newspaper written by neighborhood residents, for neighborhoods, and about New Orleans neighborhoods.

The bi-monthly newspaper, with a circulation of 5,000 copies throughout greater New Orleans, has over 110 contributors from our network who are fulfilling our vision of “community voices orchestrating change.”

And, We Would Like to Invite YOU to Be a Part of This Symphony!

As an advertising partner, can choose from either a quarterpage, half page, 3/4 page or a full page.

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Whether you want to write something “article style,” or use the full space for a single graphic to highlight a serviceor event, you are welcome to shape your advertising space to best communicate your message.

In addition, you will also have access to our other communication outlets, including our website, www.npnnola.com, The Trumpet Blog and our weekly newsletter, Trumpet Tidbits, which currently reaches 3,500 readers.

To Advertise email melissa@npnnola.com 9

Dr. Euler wants Christ Community Health Services to become a fixture in the community much in the same way that it is in Memphis.

Health Services in the Lower Nine

By Remeka Jones, Associate Neighborhoods Editor, NPN

Driving through the main arteries of the Lower Ninth Ward, there are evident signs of progress and hope. Palm trees decorate the neutral ground along North Claiborne where two kids watch construction workers driving piles in to the ground for the construction of the new fire station. Yet crisscrossing through the neighborhood streets, vacant lots remain next to reconstructed homes.

The City is slowly breathing life in to the Lower Ninth Ward, with much of the recovery spearheaded by neighborhood residents. However, the most important aspect of recovery, especially after a natural disaster, has not been a priority for the city: Health care services in the Lower Ninth Ward.

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fter Hurricane Katrina health clinics popped up across the city thanks to funding from the Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant (PCASG).

This money supported many of the clinics that serviced the Lower Ninth Ward, including the Lower Ninth Ward Clinic and the LSU clinic at Jackson Barracks, as well as other parts of the city that do not have immediate access to health care services.

The clinics filled a void for primary care services in areas that were hardest hit by the storm and whose residents were considered to be among the most impoverished in the city. According to Alice Craft-Kerney, the former executive director of the Lower Ninth Ward Clinic, many of her patients suffered from the “unholy trinity” - diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The Lower Ninth Ward Clinic not only provided medical services but also health promotion and disease management. A victim of its own success, the clinic provided care regardless of ability to pay and the Lower Ninth Ward Clinic was forced to close its doors when funding from the PCASG ran out.

Despite the success of the Lower Ninth Ward Clinic and the apparent demand for these services, investment in health services in this region has not been a priority for the city. Almost eight years after Katrina, construction on a hospital in Eastern New Orleans has begun. For seven and half years, residents from the Lower Ninth Ward, Holy Cross, and Eastern New Orleans have had to travel Uptown for services beyond the capability of primary care clinics, such as emergency and obstetrical services.

Presently, there is only one facility in Orleans Parish that provides scheduled labor and delivery services. A hospital in New Orleans East is great news for residents in the Lower Ninth Ward/Holy Cross neighborhoods. Residents shouldn’t have to cross the Industrial Canal or parish line to obtain primary and preventative services. A significant number of residents do not have access to a vehicle, and currently, there are only two bus routes that service the Lower Ninth Ward.

Fortunately, there are plans to bring primary care services to the neighborhood. Christ Community Health Services based out of Memphis, Tennessee began development of a new facility to provide primary care services to residents of the Holy Cross and Lower Ninth Ward neighborhoods. According to medical director Dr. Steven Euler, the organization is currently in the process to obtain all the proper permits to begin construction on a modular clinic. The clinic is planned to be open by the summer or fall of 2013 and will provide immediate services to the community. A larger permanent facility will be constructed on portions of the old Holy Cross campus, thanks to financial support from the New Orleans Baptist Ministries Inc. Dr. Euler wants Christ Community Health Services to become a fixture in the community much in the same way that it is in Memphis. Christ Community Health Services is a faith based non-profit that provides a full range of health services including primary care, dental, obstetrical and gynecological services, pediatrics, health promotion and education with a goal of reducing health disparities. The goal of the facility in New Orleans is to eventually be able to provide the same range of services that are provided in the Memphis locations.

Further impeding good health is not only the lack of primary care services but also environmental factors such as food security. Investments in primary care and health promotion services are futile if residents do not have access to the fresh foods and vegetables to practice healthy eating habits. Dr. Euler understands the importance of the greater community and environment in determining health and the clinic wants to the help the community create healthier neighborhoods.

For more information about Christ Community Health Services visit their website at www.christcommunityhealth.org THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

Spotlighting the Lower Nine’s Chameleon Power

By Mary Gale

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continue to be enchanted by the magic that is New Orleans, from the moment I experienced my first celebration I was spellbound. It’s the fine blend of southern charm, laced with suffocated gala, served up in heaping portions of delectable food, soul satisfying music, the best friends in the world, and tradition.

I’m originally from the Midwest. I came to Louisiana via the West Coast. I’ve made my home here and raised my family for almost 20 years. When Katrina hit I thought I could start over in another part of the country, after all, I had once already. I quickly learned, “What it means to miss New Orleans.”

Coming back home was the best thing I could do for my family, Artwork titled “Oh yeaah” but keeping my head above water was a perpetual grind with no end in sight, intensified by alienation when the reality of it all just got to be too much for some. While displaced I visited friends and relatives outside of Louisiana. The hospitality and encouragement was priceless.

For all its devastation, the hurricane cemented a bond that only we who had experienced her, truly understand. Outside of New Orleans folks were just simply oblivious. Not that they didn’t care but in some people’s opinion we should be over it or move somewhere more suitable. No thank you.

Whether it was talking with a neighbor about losing a dear friend due to a stress related illness she didn’t have before, or that treasured string of little things that couldn’t be replaced, or sharing the details of being ripped off by

yet another contractor without having to endure the probing eyes that beg the question “how could you be so foolish” was the salve to apply while the wounds healed.

Therapy has its place, but it couldn’t compare to a nurturing community and a Holy Spirit filled worship experience. I love my church, shout out to Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. If the community is the salve, the church is the hospital, where we leave it all at the altar and live to tell this story another day. Even now, years later we still have our Katrina stories that conjure up a hush and command consideration.

After we rebuilt our home, in an effort to give back to the city that had come to mean so much to me, I purchased a commercial lot in the historic Lower Ninth Ward. While progress is evident, the Lower Ninth Ward remains an area of extreme devastation and is the most under serviced community in the city. Crossing the parish line on Claiborne Avenue from St. Bernard Parish to Orleans Parish, well let’s just say you know when leave St. Bernard.

Finally, opportunity meets preparation at the corner of Caffin Avenue and North Johnson. The plan is to return to my first love, art. I’m developing a two story retail space and gallery. I’m reaching out to the universities for assistance with concept development, design and green construction as I burrow through limited institutional funding opportunities for small business. Caffin Avenue, the notable business corridor, is a designated arts district and home to a wealth of homegrown talent. Visual artist, musicians, skilled craftsmen and entrepreneurs are returning to their beloved, pride and joy in pursuit of their dreams to revitalize their communities. The use of the retail space on the first floor is to be determined, I‘m feeling refreshments, to accommodate the $2.5 million Oliver Bush Playground along with the MLK School/Library and the Sanchez Multi Cultural Center.

These three major developments encompass 1943 Caffin Avenue.

The upstairs loft/art gallery and anchor will provide a venue for local visual artists. I hope to attract Hollywood South enthusiasts to invest in the community by spotlighting the Lower Nine’s chameleon power to transform seasons and geography, an excellent location for any backdrop.

The plan is to return to my first love, art.

I’m developing a two story retail space and gallery.

Committee for a Better New Orleans

Releases Neighborhood Association Manual

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great new tool is now available for neighborhood groups: the Committee for a Better New Orleans Neighborhood Association Manual. Whether you are starting a new neighborhood association or looking for ways to enhance the effectiveness of an existing association, the Manual provides a wealth of information and resources. Some of the topics covered in the Manual include: • Outreach and recruitment • Managing committees • Creating partnerships with businesses and nonprofits • Managing conflict The Manual also includes an extensive listing of trainings and resources available to neighborhood associations. In the appendices, you will find

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sample neighborhood association bylaws, tools for conducting neighborhood needs assessments, and much more.

In addition, the Manual contains information about the proposed New Orleans Citizen Participation Program, which will be a great framework for neighborhood associations to communicate with government and businesses, and provide input into city decision-making.

The CBNO Neighborhood Association Manual can be downloaded and printed from the Citizen Participation Project website, www.nolacpp.wordpress.com.

A limited number of printed copies will be available soon. To request one, please email nolacpp@gmail.com 11

Floating an Opportunity Community Focused Design – or Drowning In It FutureProof

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he post-Katrina period has brought opportunity and attention to many innovative and socially minded companies located in our City. Among them is FutureProof, L.L.C., a biosciences-led design firm headquartered in New Orleans that works nationally at the nexus of natural and built systems to create regenerative environments and empowered communities.

Established in February of 2005, FutureProof’s multi-disciplinary team has led the sustainable planning and feature design for many post-Katrina, community-focused design projects such as master planning for developments, LEED and other green buildings including schools and libraries, and green infrastructure projects.

Located at The Healing Center in the Marigny, FutureProof is launching a nearby project in Treme/Seventh Ward called The Homestead.

This multi-purpose community hub will act as a green product research and development facility and urban farm. The Homestead will be an interactive center where school groups, neighborhood groups, non-profits and others can connect with and learn about regionally appropriate sustainable living practices that are practical, affordable, replicable and measurable.

For Global Green’s Holy Cross Project, FutureProof designed and supervised the volunteer installation of a one acre, engineered floodmitigating ecosystem that serves as a social space and garden for the housing on the site. This design includes wetland and micro-forest features that retain, cleanse and release stored water into the air through evapotranspiration (the combined processes of evaporation, sublimation, and transpiration of the water from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere).

This reduces pressure on local infrastructure while nursing the protective urban canopy and providing a beautiful landscape and walking area. The Holy Cross project was the result of an extensive stakeholder engagement process that included the surrounding community as well as City and other agencies such as the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board. It stands as a precedent for other neighborhoods in the city on how to proactively mitigate local flood risk, leverage existing infrastructure, and implement lowimpact development practices. It is enjoyed by residents throughout the Lower Ninth Ward as well as by visitors to the site.

Most recently, FutureProof has been working as part of the team led by local architects Waggonner and Ball on the region’s first multi-parish integrated water management strategy (WMS), also known as The Dutch Dialogues.

The WMS is a comprehensive approach to water management in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard Parishes which is focused on more effectively living with water, and which provides local and sustainable solutions for stormwater, wastewater, groundwater, flood control, and water infrastructure.

For more information about FutureProof visit our website: www.futureproofsustainability.com

A Peaceful Bayou Retreat in the Lower Ninth Ward

By Tara Foster, Policy and Advocacy Editor, NPN

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ecently, I was asked to name my favorite place in the city. Without a moment’s hesitation, I responded, “the viewing platform at Bayou Bienvenue on Florida Avenue.” For me, the idea of a ‘favorite place’ is a place where I can feel calm and contemplative. The pathway from Florida and Caffin Avenues and the viewing platform over Bayou Bienvenue offers me just that.

In an urban design class at UNO in Fall 2011, I first learned about the efforts the Lower Ninth Ward made to re-engage with the natural beauty of their neighboring bayou through wetlands restoration projects with the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement (CSED). Despite the overcast day and rain on my first visit, I was elated that this special place existed and was so close to my home. I’ve since found myself there

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whenever I needed a retreat, some time to reflect, or merely just to quietly read a book in the bayou breeze.

Prior to the construction of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), Bayou Bienvenue was a thriving wetland area and natural protection against storm surge from the Gulf. Decades of industrial intervention have stripped the Bayou of many of those assets. The Lower 9th Ward CSED has been working hard to reverse that damage, with extensive plans to harvest cypress and rebuild natural storm protection for the Lower Ninth Ward.

As the CSED puts it, “Restoring the Bayou not only contributes to storm protection but is important for the community in other ways as well. The restoration of Bayou Bienvenue is an important part of the rebuilding of the community because it can provide opportunities for fishing, canoeing, and other activities for local residents.”

The restoration of these wetlands can also further serve as a way to connect outdoor recreation activities across the Lower Ninth Ward, from the eventual Reinventing the Crescent river-side park to Bayou Bienvenue. Learn more about the work residents and organizations have been undertaking at Bayou Bienvenue at www.sustainthenine.org. And if ever you need a peaceful place to retreat with the city, take a trip over to Florida and Caffin.

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By Keith G.C. Twitchell, President Committee for a Better New Orleans

Water is the reason New Orleans exists. Water has also been our biggest nightmare for almost three centuries. Leaving aside the post-Katrina levee breaches, water has caused problems for our city since we started draining the swamps. With recent changes in the climate, many experts forecast that New Orleans can expect at least one storm per year that will overwhelm our drainage systems.

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ithin the next very few years, New Orleans will spend close to two billion dollars on various aspects of our water and drainage systems. Indeed, some of these projects are already underway, and many more are in final design stages.

How we design and build these projects will determine the future of our city for many generations. Unfortunately, the present direction taken for many of these projects is more a step back into our past than a leap forward into a better future.

Even the leadership at the Sewerage and Water Board (S&WB) acknowledges that no matter how much we increase our pumping and drainage capacity, we will still have flooding in many parts of the city. In a recent presentation, a S&WB representative stated that present plans call for increasing pumping/drainage capacity in the main city to 38,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) – then added that this will not be enough to prevent flooding in major rainfall events.

Amazingly, in this same presentation, the S&WB talked about how different things are in New Orleans East. In the East, we have built a system of man-made lakes and waterways. The East currently has pumping capacity of a mere 6000 CFS – but flooding is much rarer here.

If a newer, more advanced approach works in one part of the city, why would we resort to old, failed strategies in another part of the city?

Especially with two billion dollars on the table? The old approach to water management – the one still being used in much of New Orleans – is when the rains come, pump as much of it as possible as fast as possible. But we will never, ever be able to build a system here that pumps fast enough to prevent flooding of streets, homes, cars, and businesses.

In addition, pumping out so much water causes the land to subside, which in turn lowers our houses and streets, which then makes them even more vulnerable to flooding. This is a vicious cycle that we simply have to break out of. The new approach – the one being used in cities just like New Orleans all over the world – combines three tactics to manage rainfall: delay it, store it and drain it when necessary.

Delaying rainwater means slowing its progress into the drainage systems, through methods like short-term storage and other diversionary tactics.

Storing rainwater means creating places where the water can remain safely after it falls, until it either seeps into the ground or evaporates into the air.

Draining rainwater acknowledges the fact that we still have to move a lot of the water that falls out of the city.

What could this new approach look like in New Orleans? Picture a city where vacant lots have turned into small community gardens, landscaped with plants that absorb high volumes of water and designed to become temporary ponds during major storms. In fact, picture a city where many individual properties have small versions of these “water gardens.”

Picture a city with less paved area, where parking lots have islands of trees and plants (which also helps to reduce the summer heat), and with

linear versions of these water gardens to capture runoff from the paved areas. And imagine that instead of regular concrete and asphalt, where we do pave the land, we use water permeable paving materials so water can seep through into the ground.

Picture a city where instead of building limited-capacity, below-ground drainage culverts, we have flowing canals, with trees, benches, cafes, water sports activities – maybe even tour boats. Wait, you say: “I don’t want a ditch in front of my house!

What about mosquitoes? Won’t kids fall into these canals and drown?”

Picture a city where we have multiple Bayou St. Johns weaving through our neighborhoods. Not only would this help us reduce flooding in New Orleans, here are some of the many other benefits this type of system would bring:

Your opportunity right now is to talk to your elected officials about how you want the future of water management to look in New Orleans.

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• Reduced subsidence of houses and streets. The reason we have so much trouble with (and spend so much money dealing with) subsidence is because the soil much of New Orleans is built on actually needs water in it. Without water, it dries up and subsides. If we drain less water and allow more of it to seep into the ground, we will replenish the water table, and subsidence will lessen. Imagine New Orleans streets without potholes.

• Increased economic opportunity. If we had beautiful waterways throughout the city, we would have more opportunities for waterside restaurants and cafes. This means canoe and kayak shops, increased property values, more tourist attractions in more parts of the city and myriad other economic development opportunities.

• Reduced insurance costs. This is simple math: less flooding means cheaper insurance.

• More recreational opportunities, and better health. While swimming might be a possibility in a few of these waterways, the greater opportunity is kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, walking paths, etc. The banks of Bayou St. John are home to many small watercrafts, and there’s nothing like paddling around on a beautiful day. And more exercise directly equates to being healthier and happier.

Fundamentally, we have the chance of a lifetime to make our city much safer, to create great new opportunities, and to enhance our overall quality of life significantly. And it will not cost one penny more to do it this way.

Decisions about all this are literally being made as you read this article.

It’s a simple question: do we spend our money the old, failed way, or do we invest in the new, exciting way of opportunity? As a taxpayer, this is your money that is being spent. So your opportunity right now is to talk to your elected officials about how you want the future of water management to look in New Orleans.

Check out www.livingwithwater.com for more information and resources.

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Lowernine.org Helps Residents Return Home

By Laura Paul, Executive Director, Lowernine.org

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owernine.org is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization committed to helping the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans recover from the effects of the levee breaches of August 29, 2005. Because of its proximity to the Industrial Canal levee, the Lower Ninth Ward was among one of the most devastated neighborhoods in the city, and population return here remains lower than any other area of Orleans Parish – only 24 percent as of the 2010 Census neighborhood-wide, though Holy Cross was slightly higher than 50 percent at that time.

The federally-funded Road Home Program, put in place to help homeowners return to New Orleans, was found to be discriminatory against African-Americans in a federal court of law in 2011, and many other impediments to recovery have been felt here. For one homeowner’s story, look to the recent New York Times article, “Routed by Katrina, Stuck in Quagmire of Rules.” Lowernine.org hopes to complete this project in 2013, amongst others. Our mission is to help rebuild and revitalize this historic neighborhood, and to return the original residents of the community to their homes whenever possible.

Incorporated in 2008, lowernine.org had already been working in the Lower Ninth Ward for a full year, volunteering alongside Emergency

Communities workers out of their site building on St. Claude Avenue between Tupelo and Gordon. Lowernine.org now operates a volunteer house and office space behind that building on El Dorado Street (at 6018 El Dorado).

Through the use of volunteer labor, lowernine.org is able to help homeowners rebuild their flood-damaged homes for approximately 30 percent of open market rate. Homeowners are responsible for materials funding, and lowernine.org brings the hard work of our volunteers to projects. We often train unskilled volunteers with the skilled leadership of crew leaders who have been volunteering with us for months, and even years. In 2012, lowernine.org worked with volunteers from 16 different countries, and fully rebuilt 10 homes, bringing the organization’s total of full rebuilds to 58. We have also completed smaller projects on over 100 other properties.

From our six years here, we have learned that by working together ordinary, committed citizens can have a positive impact on the lives of the people in the Lower Ninth Ward. Still, much work remains to be done.

Consider volunteering with us, donating funds or materials, or reaching out to your elected officials to remind them that Katrina recovery is not complete.

And please reach out if you know homeowners in the Lower Ninth Ward who need our assistance.

For more information on how you can help support our efforts in the Lower Ninth Ward, contact executive director, Laura Paul at laura@lowernine.org or, for information about volunteering your time, contact our volunteer coordinator, Emily Steiber at emily@lowernine.org. or visit our website at www.lowernine.org

Get Water Wise

Save Water, Energy AND Money

By Monica Rowand, Community Outreach Coordinator, NOLA Wise

Fix a Leak Week Did you know? The average US family wastes more than 11,000 gallons of water each year due to household leaks! March 18-24th is Fix a Leak Week. Pledge to save water, energy, AND money by fixing your leaky faucets, showerheads, and toilets.

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lobal Green received a Surdna Foundation grant to add water efficiency to its NOLA Wise retrofit services. NOLA Wise provides wrap-around project management and quality oversight for home weatherization projects, as well as workforce development. Local contractors are trained in green building techniques to upgrade homes and businesses to be safer and healthier as well as more comfortable and energy efficient. This creates significant savings for building owners. Special low interest loans are available from Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank for participating building owners. Program staff also ensures that clients access all available incentives, including a new limited time only $750 cash back offer exclusively for NOLA Wise clients.

The introduction of “Water Wise” into NOLA Wise will allow the program and its contractors to make homes and gardens more water efficient. This saves building-owners additional resources and money while also reducing street flooding. This comes at a time when Sewerage and Water bills are on the rise—starting this year, they will go up annually until they are almost doubled in 2020. Water Wise provides resources that make it easy for home and business owners to install water saving and management measures. Water Wise addresses water conservation inside the home or business as well as storm water management - an important issue in New Orleans.

Many plumbing fixtures and appliances run through water at an alarming rate. NOLA Wise contractors are equipped to upgrade or replace fixtures such as toilets, faucets, and showerheads to use less water without

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compromising performance. They can also change out old, wasteful, dishwashers and washing machines to save both energy and water.

Converting these fixtures and appliances stabilizes and lowers water bills in the face of annual rate hikes. They will also save on energy bills because less water needs to be pumped and heated.

Storm water run-off is the biggest contributor to poor water quality because sediment, debris, and other pollutants are picked up by water before going down a storm drain. Use of storm water Best Management Practices (BMPs) like rain barrels and bioswales significantly decreases runoff and accumulation of pollutants in our water bodies. By improving water quality and increasing resistance to flooding we enhance the Orleans Parish watershed. NOLA Water Wise will offer building owners a resource guide and directory with information on local nonprofits and businesses who work in stormwater management, as well as do-it-yourself methods for installation of green roofs, rain gardens and rain barrels.

To learn more about creating an energy and water efficient home, contact Global Green’s NOLA Wise program at 504.523.WISE (9473), nolawise@ globalgreen.org, or www.nolawise.org THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

A Portrait of the Lower Ninth Ward and the Holy Cross Neighborhood

By Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy

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nce visitors get past the French Quarters and the Garden District, they are most curious about the Lower Ninth Ward.

For people watching the fury of Katrina coverage, the Lower Ninth Ward became the poster child of New Orleans destruction and disaster, and it was the neighborhood hit hardest by hurricane Katrina. The Lower Ninth Ward is much more than those typical responses.

It is a neighborhood of families, with a majority of home and land owners with interesting origins. And like other neighborhoods, the Lower Ninth Ward has its own musical greats and traditions, cultural treasures like the Black Indians, Social Aid and Pleasure club activities, a museum, bold innovations, along with residents working diligently to make the Lower Ninth Ward, “The best place in the city to live and raise a family,” according to Bill Waiters, President of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association.

It was the significance of the Mississippi River that fueled President Thomas Jefferson to purchase Louisiana. From river docks up through Jackson Square to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) remodeled French Market, there were cotton sales, shippers, cotton mills, grain elevators, cotton warehouses, coal and bulk commodity handling plants, and distillers lining the river for centuries.

Downtown river shipping activity continued to thrive with the advent of military outposts, most notably Jackson Barracks constructed during the administration of President Andrew Jackson. Though it was used to defend New Orleans, it was also constructed to resist attacks by local unpleasant Creoles. (See the WPA Guide to New Orleans, 1938, for interesting neighborhood tours and cultural tidbits).

As a result, the earliest residents of the Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods were a combination of stevedores, longshoreman, other dock workers, and retired Federal troops. The War department abandoned Jackson Barracks as a garrisoned post around 1920. In addition, the constant commerce along the river drove workers downtown, raising property values in the Seventh and Eight wards, and pressing Black workers to the Lower Nine, where property values were more affordable. Early residents built homes out of make shift materials in nearly still swamp lands, but they built homes.

Today, the neighborhood facts might surprise people. Greater New Orleans (GNOCD) 2010 census data reports that in the Lower Nine, 24.6 percent of residents own land with a mortgage or loan, and 65.4 percent own land free and clear. Why then did the city want to turn this land into green space when most of it is private property?

Mr. Bill Waiters explained, “Blacks were largely pushed to this part of the city. This was the only place their parents could come and own property. They struggled through the wilderness to build homes, some poorly constructed, some built by carpenters who hadn’t held a hammer, but these properties are owned by someone.” For residents, according to Mr. Waiters,

“It will be a cold day in hell and over our dead bodies before residents will allow the Lower Nine to become entirely a green space.”

Lower Nine residents are home, but they know they have not received their fair share of Federal funds allocated to the region. One exception is the Make it Right Foundation, a brainchild of actor Brad Pitt. Residents are thankful for the affordable bold green designs, the generosity, innovation, and sustainable housing made possible by Mr. Pitt’s efforts. Those clever and originally designed homes are made to withstand category two storms, far better buildings than pre-Katrina homes.

The place to go for New Orleans traditions like Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, Indian activity, and musical traditions, is the House of Dance and Feathers museum, curated, founded, and run by Ronald W. Lewis. It began as a backyard shed, barber shop, and gathering place for folks with his personal archive of cultural objects and photographs.

The museum was constructed by architecture students from around the country, with a majority from Kansas State University, and the cooperation of Tulane City Center and Project Locus. It was completed on August 15, 2006. The House of Dance and Feathers is located at 1317 Tupelo Street.

“The House of Dance and Feather: A Museum” is a beautiful book by Ronald Lewis, Helen Regis and Rachel Berunlin, produced by the Neighborhood Story Project and UNO Press in 2009.

The Lower Nine also boasts its own musical greats from Jessie Hill to the elders of the Andrews brothers (James and Troy “Trombone Shorty”) to Fats Domino to Al “Carnival Time” Johnson. Even trumpeter Kermit Ruffins began his early life in the Ninth Ward attending Alfred Lawless before going to Joseph S. Clark. Even Mississippi born Boogie Bill Webb lived in the Lower Nine, flooded in Betsy, and lived there until he passed away in 1990 in New Orleans. There are probably many others less known, but clearly, the Lower Nine percolates the creative culture we know of as unique to New Orleans.

Special Thanks to Mr. Bill Waiters, President, Holy Cross Neighborhood Association.

Editors Note: In the January/February issue of the Trumpet the photo accompanying Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy’s article, “Irish Channel Folklore” was mistakenly labeled “St. Alphonsus.” Thank you to Fr. Richard Thibodeau, C.Ss.R for this correction: “The name of the church in the photo is St. Mary’s Assumption Church. Naming here is always confusing because we are named St. Alphonsus Parish but within the parish we have two churches: St. Alphonsus Church and St. Mary’s Assumption Church. At one time we had three! St. Alphonsus church was built by and for the Irish, St. Mary’s Assumption for the Germans, and Bon Seccour for the French. The French church has been gone for many years. The only church now used for Mass is St. Mary’s Assumption Church, the one featured in your article.”

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NEIGH SPOTBORHOOD LIGHT Ho

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NEIGH SPOTBORHOOD LIGHT Ho

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History of Holy Cross

By Nora McGunnigle, Local History Editor, NPN

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A Doullut steamboat house. Influences on the architecture draw from steamboat, plantation, and Japanese architectural design, from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

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oly Cross is within the Lower Ninth Ward boundaries, separated from the rest of Orleans Parish by the Industrial Canal which was built between 1912 and 1923. The area got its name from the Holy Cross private school that was chartered

by The Order of the Holy Cross within its boundaries in 1890, originally located on the Reyes Farm, a former riverfront plantation. After Katrina, Holy Cross School relocated to Gentilly, where it remains.

The Order of the Holy Cross is not the only religious order to establish an institution in the Holy Cross neighborhood. The Ursuline order of nuns owned 80 acres at one time, and in the early to mid nineteenth century built a convent, an orphanage, and a girl’s school. However, it was demolished in 1912 to make way for the Industrial Canal.

The boundaries are defined as the Mississippi River, St. Claude Avenue, the St. Bernard Parish line, and the Industrial Canal. Its access to the river was an important reason why plantations were developed in this area, early nineteenth century maps show the land parcels as long and narrow, which were typical of the plantation society and economy. The legacy of several original plantation owners remain as street names: Deslonde, Caffin,

Forestall, Delery, and more. Its isolation from Orleans Parish has resulted in increased social, cultural, and business ties to St. Bernard Parish instead of its own parish.

By 1834, the plantation lots were cut up into smaller lots allowing for residential development, increasing steadily through the nineteenth century.

This transition to a residential community was also encouraged by the construction of the Jackson Barracks in 1832. Today, the barracks house the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard.

Holy Cross was not only hard hit by the levee failures in 2005, but its socioeconomic shifts dates back to the biggest hurricane before Katrina, Hurricane Betsy. The devastating flooding in the Lower Ninth Ward and the insufficient help in rebuilding led to lower residency rates. These same conditions occurred after Katrina in 2005. As of July 2012, Holy Cross’s post-Katrina repopulation is 67.9 percent, from the GNOCDC Neighborhood Growth Rate chart based on number of households receiving US Mail.

The 2010 census numbers indicate that Holy Cross demographics are made up of 89.3 percent African Americans, 6.9 percent whites, 1.4 percent Hispanic, with the remaining 1.5 percent divided among Asian, Native American, and two race categories. These percentages are about the same as the 2000 census data. There is a greater percentage of owner occupied housing in 2010 (55.5 percent) than in 2000 (41.8 percent).

There are still vestiges of the beautiful “Steamboat Gothic” architecture typical of the neighborhood present, the most famous ones are the two Doullut steamboat houses located on either side of Egania Street. The first house, closest to the river, was built in 1905 by Captain Milton P. Doullut, a riverboat pilot. The second was built in 1913 for his son. In 1977 both houses were designated historic landmarks. The influences on the architecture draw from steamboat, plantation, and Japanese architectural design, specifically from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Holy Cross, without its namesake school in the area, is redefining itself in a post-Katrina environment. Its residents meet to discuss proposed development of the old Holy Cross school grounds at the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association meetings. Children and adults alike spend time at the Lower Ninth Ward Village Community Center, recently the site of the construction of an indoor skateboard park, sponsored by rapper Lil’ Wayne and soft drink company Mountain Dew. As its population continues to return and rebuild, Holy Cross continues to face challenges like inadequate grocery stores, health care, and schools. Its historical isolation from the rest of the city continues to impact its recovery. Residents know it’s up to them to move forward.

Highlights of the BRW IV • Building Resilience Professionals Discussion • Decision Making in the Face of Uncertainty • Resilience and Implementing the Coastal Master Plan • Resilience Economics: Funding Mitigation Measures • Are Levees a Sustainable Strategy for the Future?

• Sheltering in Place vs. Evacuation • Louisiana’s Historical Legacy of Living with Water • Communicating Resilience • Case Study: Terrebonne Parish Schedule of the BRW IV

Elizabeth C English The Building Resilience Workshop IV was held Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon, March 7-9, 2013. This year’s workshop continued the tradition of fostering peer learning, with a focus on implementable solutions. BRW IV brought together resilience professionals, policy makers, and community members in an opening discussion on the challenges to implementing resilience measures, setting the stage for panels and keynote speakers on these considerations and how to move forward towards implementation. The workshop explored how to make decisions that affect community safety in the face of uncertain future conditions, grounding discussions in real world applications on how best to implement, fund, and communicate these decisions.

NOLA MIX Classes Expand

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OLA MIX is a music education program that provides training, mentoring and performance opportunities for aspiring DJs of all ages and skill levels. The program was launched in 2011

by Press Street—a New Orleans based 501c3 literary and visual arts organization, and is coordinated by New Orleans artists Ben Epstein (DJ Yamin) and Jerald L. White, with support from Charitable Film Network.

NOLA MIX students learn about the history of DJ-ing, basic mixing, scratching and beat making, and produce a group music CD. Students are also exposed to new DJ technology including Serato Live software, and art activities that reinforce their emerging DJ skills.

Press Street will soon offer a new round of DJ and Music Production classes to youth at Antenna Gallery, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, and Freret Neighborhood Center during the next few months. The free DJ classes were made possible through a grant from the Arts Council of New Orleans, and will be coordinated by Press Street member Jerald L. White.

Implementing Resilience in Times of Change

By Elizabeth C English, PhD, Founder and Organizer, Building Resilience Workshops I, II, III & IV

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change. The 2011 BRW II focused on the role that innovative, sustainable infrastructure can play in mitigating catastrophic disaster, both by reducing the risk of harmful consequences from extreme events and by facilitating rapid recovery. Experts from across the globe shared innovative disaster mitigation approaches and transition methodologies that facilitate implementation.

The 2012 BRW III again brought together a diverse group of participants, including members of the pan-European research project FloodProBE, which focuses on developing innovative technologies, methods, and tools for urban flood risk assessment and reduction. Discussions were devoted to the Louisiana Draft 2012 Coastal Master Plan and its implications for coastal Louisiana communities, as well as national and international flood risk reduction strategies and their compatibility with our unique local ways of life.

Continued on page 19

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The Building Resilience Workshop IV is a unique forum that brings together planners, scientists, environmentalists, city officials, entrepreneurs, architects, engineers, representatives of federal agencies, politicians, grass-roots community organizers, local business interests, academic researchers, students and other stakeholders.

For more information and to attend the next workshop, visit www.resilienceworkshop.org

Adapting to Uncertainty

he challenge of living with water is one shared by deltaic communities around the world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in post-Katrina New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region, where people live with a daily awareness of the threat, and opportunities, of water. The series of Building Resilience Workshops (BRW) I, II, III, and IV are organized to identify and foster the implementation of innovative and sustainable strategies to reduce New Orleans’ and South Louisiana’s vulnerability to potentially catastrophic hazards, both natural and man-made, particularly those resulting in severe flooding.

The 2010 BRW I addressed a broad range of water and flood related issues. The discussions centered on sustainable approaches to rebuilding a culture of resilience in southern Louisiana, spurred by impending climate

• BRW IV began Thursday, March 7, with an evening social networking event.

• The program on Friday, March 8, mixed plenary speakers, moderated panel discussions and open conversations involving the workshop audience. Discussions focused on the challenges of implementing forward-thinking strategies in the face of uncertainty, particularly as applied to the Coastal Master Plan and the larger question of the economics of resilience.

• Saturday, March 9 focused on Louisiana’s tradition of living in harmony with water, on identifying the core elements of coastal community resilience, and on examining critical issues facing Terrebonne Parish.

A closing discussion synthesized lessons learned at BRW IV and opportunities for next steps.

For more information contact info@press-street.com.

Also on the horizon is a separate partnership between DJ Yamin and 1239 Congress Street—a multi-use community art space.

DJ Yamin will offer NOLA MIX DJ training to Upper Ninth Ward youth on Saturdays—March 2 to March 30 from 12–1:30 p.m. Students who complete the four to six week DJ training receive a Certificate of Achievement, a NOLA MIX t-shirt, and are invited to perform at community events throughout the city.

Space is limited- sign up now at www.nolamix.com.

Josh, aka “DJ Smooth Criminal”

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Seeking Water Entrepreneurs to Restore Our Environment and Build our Economy

By Steve Picou & Grasshopper Mendoza, DeSaix Neighborhood

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f all the gifts bestowed upon us daily, one of the most important is also one that we take most for granted: water. We expect it to be there when we turn on the tap. We expect it to be safe to drink, that there is plenty enough to wash our dishes, clothes, cars and bodies. Here in New Orleans, we tend to use it without thinking about the cost--though that might change now that the rates are going up.

We often fear water, since its power over us is so great. But water is also an asset.

It’s something we have in abundance. If we think of water that way, we can turn threat into opportunity.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation and The Idea Village recognize that if we are to live successfully in coastal Louisiana, we need to learn live with water, and that entrepreneurs can help lead the way. In 2011 they created the Water Challenge, a business development competition that awards $50,000 to a local entrepreneur whose idea addresses our water issues, and that has potential to grow into a global industry. The hope is that this annual event will stimulate new ideas, new businesses, and new jobs that will make our region more resilient.

On Monday, March 18, as part of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, five local entrepreneurs whose businesses address coastal protection and restoration, erosion management, flooding, storm water, sustainable fish production, and water quality will pitch their ideas during the Water Challenge Day at historic Gallier Hall. A panel of expert judges will determine the winner and award the $50,000 investment prize.

The all-day event will also feature regional leaders and expert panels focused on important new developments such as projects that protect, improve and beautify our communities, along with business opportunities and regional partnerships that create jobs.

More than 30 water leaders from government, business, nonprofits and higher education will share their ideas and plans in a day of inspiration, innovation and leadership.

Attendance is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Visit http://waterchallenge2013.org to register and learn more. Water is an asset that we all share.

It’s time we learn to live — and work — with water in new ways that ensure our quality of life for generations to come. The Water Challenge team believes Louisiana has the experience, the expertise and the resources to be a global water leader. Take part in the 2013 Water Challenge Day and you’ll be joining that team!

Archon Information Systems’ CivicSource® platform is a leading provider of: • delinquent tax collection, • online property tax auctions • and tax collection software We provide all levels of governmental agencies with comprehensive tax and treasury management solutions at no cost to the department.

If you have questions about any of our services please contact us at 504-267-0065 or info@archoninfosys.com We are a proud supporter of Neighborhoods Partnership Network and the Trumpet.

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THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

What Does ‘Neighborhood School’ Really Mean?

By Julia Kahn, Associate Neighborhoods Editor, NPN

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he need for ‘neighborhood schools’ is a frequent theme in discussions of school reform in New Orleans. But even as we make arguments for the nostalgia of the intimate local schoolhouse, we are also pulled by another great American myth: the hallowed American value of individual determinism. The debate between Neighborhood Schools and Real Choice, however, carries very real consequences for school culture across the city. I have found that arguments on both sides of this issue often get muddled. I have done my best to lay out the positives and the negatives on both sides, so the community can continue to have an informed debate on this central issue of education.

Before Hurricane Katrina, most schools in New Orleans – like most schools in the country – were zoned by area with the student body pulled from households within a certain geographical radius. Among teachers who taught in New Orleans before 2005, there is a common refrain that the neighborhood school helped with discipline.

“I used to be able to call a parent and they would be at the school in five minutes,” I have heard often. “Students wouldn’t misbehave as much if they knew their mamma was right down the street.” While this might be true, there were also more positive advantages for having parents and families close to the school building. They are five minutes away from report card conferences, award ceremonies, concerts, and sporting events. The vital partnership between teachers and parents is easier to nurture when in-person interactions are not saved for special occasions, but rather daily, casual occurrences.

Furthermore, at their best these neighborhood schools were truly part of the cultural fabric of the neighborhood. The school and the school building were not supposed to just serve children and their parents, but all members of the community. While I certainly know of examples of schools today who have rich partnerships with nearby churches and other institutions, or host neighborhood association meetings, there is certainly a sense that the disassembling of the neighborhood school has hurt neighborhood investment. Someone is more likely to invest in the quality of a school if it is where their child attended a decade before, or where they plan for their child to attend in the future, or simply if their next door neighbor attends.

The dismantling of the neighborhood school began as a very particle response to the post-storm environment as residents and schools began to return to the city with uneven distribution. There is also great variation in the quality of schools across the city, and there was increasing concern that students could be trapped in zones of failing schools. In an effort to guarantee equity to all

students, virtually all schools in Orleans parish became open-enrollment.

The merits of ‘Choice’ surged into the public discourse. This new policy allows for the democratic right of choice. It also causes school to operate – for better or worse – on a free market model where they must compete with one another (via academic quality, safety, and extracurricular activities) to secure their share of the consumers (e.g. student enrollment).

It allows parents to match their child’s interests and needs with a particular school’s strengths, like math/science, sports, arts, or special education. It allows for more equal distribution of students between areas with few operating schools (like New Orleans East or Lower Ninth Ward/Holy Cross) to ones that are highly saturated with school buildings.

It also can equalize resources of school across the city, to counter the trend of wealthier areas amassing the lion’s share of resources. Furthermore, there are advantages to dissolving neighborhood borders. At its best neighborhood solidarity creates strong, nurturing, and positive communities, but can also foster isolationism and antagonism between areas. In a city with a long history of segregation (on racial, ethnic, religious and economic lines) there is value in exposing kids to the great breadth of New Orleans’ cultural landscape.

In the reality of school choice as it exists today, however, all these things have not come to fruition. New Orleans schools still tend to be highly segregated. Quality of education continues to vary widely between schools.

Children can spend many hours on school buses each day. And ‘Choice’ becomes more a piece of rhetoric than a reality, as school enrollment is largely decided by complicated matrixes of preference and lotteries.

It is not uncommon for students to end up at second or third choice schools – lower in quality and further from home – because of bad luck pulls or confusing application processes. But before we begin to idealize neighborhood schools too much, let us remember that the Recovery School District was actually established before Katrina in an effort to reverse the long-term trend of low academic performance in New Orleans’ public schools. Schools that at the time were, of course, zoned and neighborhood based.

It is clear that in education, there are no easy fixes. Neither neighborhood schools nor real choice will suddenly transform school cultures and academics.

But this is a debate that should continue. It would continue in Editorial sections of newspapers, teacher break rooms in school, sessions of the state senate, and parent gatherings in neighborhoods. With the contributions of the entire community, we can create a school system that serves every child fully.

Rain Barrels for Homeowners

Water Bill Savings and Environmental Benefits

By Rosalie Torres, founder, New Orleans Green LLC. Find New Orleans Green LLC on Facebook at NewOrleansGreen or call 510.681.6567

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any of you may have been stunned, as I was, at the amount of your latest water bill. This is due to an increase voted in by the city council to cover the costs of upgrading the New Orleans sewer and water system. Residents and businesses will see their rates more than double over the next eight years. Nothing talks like money. Doing all we can to save money on our water bill has now become a “must-do!”

The good news is that we can do just that, and help the environment, by harvesting and using rainwater from our roofs before it reaches the city’s storm drains.

The less water that travels off our roofs and across our yards and driveways to the storm drains, the better. This runoff collects chemicals and pollutants along the way as non-point source pollution (http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/whatis.cfm), which ultimately contaminates our lakes and rivers, threatening fish and other wildlife.

Rain barrels with spigots and top filters are becoming increasingly popular and are readily available in the New Orleans area. The idea is simple and most homeowners can handle the set-up. In addition to the rain barrel, all you need

THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

are three to four cinder blocks, tin snips, and a flexible downspout extender.

You position the barrel on cinder blocks (or other means of stable elevation) near a downspout along side your house. Use the tin snips to cut off the downspout a few feet above the barrel and attach one end of a flexible downspout extender. Anchor the other end on top of the rain barrel. Voila! All you need now is rain and in New Orleans, that’s not usually a long wait.

Free water, untreated with chlorine and other chemicals, is now available to water your garden. Another bonus: the exercise involved in filling a bucket from the spigot and transporting it to your plants. More involved set-ups transport the water directly to your garden with a gravity-fed irrigation system – available with professional help from sustainable landscaping companies like EcoUrban LLC. Watering gardens and other outside water usage is estimated to be approximately 35 percent of all water used at an average home. At this time rain barrels with spigots (50-60 gallon capacity) are available in the New Orleans area from retailers like NOLA Green Roots for $65-$75, EcoUrban for $85, Hollygrove Farm and Market for $85, Whole Foods (available seasonally), and Freret Hardware for $49.95. Like other environmentally sound improvements to your home, the expense of the rain barrel is recouped over time in water bill savings.

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H&R Block Answers Six Essential Tax Questions for First-Time Filers First job. First car. First apartment. First tax return. These signal some of the rites of passage into adulthood. More than five million taxpayers will file their own individual tax return for the first time this tax season and they may not know where to start. Many first-time filers have been dependents on someone else’s return for close to two decades, but circumstances now dictate they are required to file a tax return.

To lessen the confusion, H&R Block offers this Q&A to help taxes make sense.

Q. When is a taxpayer required to file a tax return?

Generally, anyone earning income should consider filing a return.

However, filing requirements depend on a combination of circumstances, including filing status, income, and age. For individuals just starting out, one of the biggest determining factors will be whether they are claimed as a dependent by their parents. This means taxpayers with nearly identical circumstances may have different requirements.

For example, a single 18-year-old who is claimed as a dependent, worked part-time jobs and earned $9,000 in wages and tips must file a tax return because this worker is not allowed to claim their personal exemption and only benefits from the standard deduction.

Yet, if this person was not claimed as a dependent, filing would not be required because gross income did not exceed $9,750, which is the 2012 filing threshold for someone who files a return as a non-dependent single individual. The filing threshold for non-dependents is determined by adding the personal exemption and the standard deduction for the applicable filing status.

Workers who are not required to file a tax return because their income is below their filing threshold should file a return to get a refund of all taxes withheld and/or to claim other tax benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Q. What is the difference between a W-4 and a W-2?

Form W-4 is completed by the employee and is used by the employer to determine how much income tax is withheld from paychecks to cover tax liability. The amount of tax withheld is based on the number of withholding allowances an employee claims. Employees should adjust their withholding allowances when major life changes occur (e.g., change in household income, having a baby or buying a house). The number of withholding allowances is generally close to the number of exemptions claimed on tax returns.

Form W-2 is prepared by employers at the end of the year and reports wages paid and taxes withheld for the year so employees can use the information to file their tax returns. Employers mail Form W-2 in late January and some provide them online. W-2 information also is sent to the IRS and the Social Security Administration.

Q. Which 1040 federal income tax form do I use?

There are three versions of Form 1040: 1040EZ, 1040A and Form 1040.

Form 1040EZ is for the least complex individual tax situations and Form 1040 is for the most complex.

Form 1040EZ may be used by taxpayers with no dependents, no itemized tax deductions, income from wages and unemployment compensation, and $1,500 or less in interest income. The only tax credit that can be claimed on Form 1040EZ is the Earned Income Tax Credit. Form 1040EZ can be filed for free using any H&R Block resource – on a smart phone, online, in the office or via the new Block Live online assisted tax preparation format through Feb. 29.

Form 1040A accommodates dependent exemptions, pension income and education credits.

Form 1040, “the long form,” may be used for any income level, selfemployment income and all other types of income, itemized deductions and all personal credits.

Q. When are federal tax returns due?

The deadline for filing federal individual tax returns is typically April 15.

This is also the deadline to request an automatic six-month extension to file, generally allowing taxpayers until Oct. 15 to submit a return without a latefiling penalty. To avoid late payment penalties and interest, any taxes owed must be paid by the April deadline.

Q. What do I do if I forgot to claim a tax benefit or omitted income?

An amended tax return can be filed any time of year to claim overlooked credits and deductions, include omitted income and correct the number of dependents claimed. To claim a refund, the original or amended return must generally be filed three years from the original due date of the return. For example, an amended return for tax year 2009 must be filed by April 15, 2013.

Q. Which is the better filing method – DIY or with a tax professional?

Do-it-yourself software and online tax programs select the appropriate forms and use everyday language, making tax law easier to understand.

However, the assistance from a qualified tax professional can help put taxpayers of all income levels at ease and does not require any understanding of taxes. Ultimately, it is the taxpayer’s comfort level and personal preference that determine the best method.

Super Bowl Provides a Super Learning Experiences for Local Youth

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rleans Parish School Board Vice President Leslie Ellison worked closely with Rebuilding Together New Orleans, the Tunisburg Square / McClendonville Homeowner’s Civic Association, HGTV host and founder of Carter’s Kids Carter Oosterhouse, and NFL players to ensure that local youth learned the value of community engagement during the 18th Annual Kick off to Rebuild, which served as the only NFL sanctioned charity event on the west bank during Super Bowl XLVII. Student athletes from O. Perry Walker College and Career Preparatory High School and Edna Karr’s football teams, youth from the community and Walker’s internationally traveled Chosen One’s Brass Band participated

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in the event’s community services activities and interacted with current and former NFL players and celebrities.

“I believe this experience has broadened the youth’s understanding of community investment and service, while also exposing them to role models who launched their careers in our community and public schools,” Ellison said.

Kickoff to Rebuild is a project of Rebuilding Together and Lowe’s with support from Carter’s Kids and the Robert Royal Foundation. The project resulted in enhancements to several homes in the Tunisburg community as well as the installation of new playground equipment at Donsereaux & Harrison playground.

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Smart Money

Learning to Manage Your Finances

By Denise Bottcher, AARP Louisiana, Communications Director

E Drawing of potential public space and water storage on a city outfall canal. Credit: Waggonner & Ball Architects/Dutch Dialogues

Campaign for a Flood-Less New Orleans

By Dan Favre, Communications Director, Gulf Restoration Network

The City of New Orleans currently has an incredible opportunity to reduce localized flooding, increase our city’s ability to deal with the impacts of climate change while decreasing our carbon footprint, minimize water pollution, and slow the city’s sinking, all while making our communities drier, cooler, and more attractive.

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ulf Restoration Network has joined others in the community in a campaign for a Flood-Less New Orleans. We are calling for progressive policies and infrastructure initiatives that encourage a more resilient storm water management system for the city of New Orleans. The City of New Orleans’ leadership, especially Mayor Landrieu and the City Council, has a unique opportunity to take the city to a whole new level of responsible, efficient, and effective storm water management thanks to funding sources that are unlikely to be repeated.

New Orleans is one of the rainiest cities in the country with over 62 inches falling per year, and it’s time we learned to live with the water. Moreover, it is time for the city to implement a better strategy to manage its vast storm water drainage system.

We’ve all seen drains back up and streets fill up around the city. Localized street flooding in many neighborhoods inundates cars, makes transportation impossible, and damages homes and businesses.

The city’s current strategy involves quickly moving rainwater from the street to canals and out to Lake Pontchartrain, but pumping capacity is only 4.2 inches of rain in 24 hours, which is often exceeded.

Rain picks up dirt and debris, oil and gas leaked from automobiles, lawn fertilizers and pesticides, and chemicals from industrial and commercial activities. With the current drainage, the water and these pollutants are pumped directly out into Lake Pontchartrain. Furthermore, it costs New Orleans over $50 million per year to quickly move rainwater into the city’s 1,500 miles of drainage pipes and ugly canals to giant pumps that lift the water (and pollutants) over to the other side of the hurricane protection levees. The energy to run the pumps emits considerable carbon dioxide to the

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atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Drying out the soil also causes the city to subside and sink.

It’s time for a new way of thinking about what to do with the rain that falls in our city. Storm water is a resource that can be captured and used, not a nuisance that must be disposed of as quickly as possible. Rain gardens can capture water, filter it of pollutants, and slowly release it into the soil and drainage system. Pervious roads will allow rain to make it into the soil before picking up pollutants. Rain barrels can store runoff water for later purposes, like watering the lawn. The city’s canals and their surroundings can be redesigned to hold and slowly drain water, all while creating water-front green spaces and parks for our community to enjoy.

Over $2 billion dollars will soon be spent to improve drainage in New Orleans, and that money can be used to enhance our lines of defense against local flooding. Investment in an integrated storm water management plan can help retain, safely store, and naturally filter water before it is drained to Lake Pontchartrain and surrounding wetlands. Both natural and man-made land features are necessary to protect New Orleans’ unique culture and productive economy.

By building up our storm water management system we will add strength to our coastal lines of defense while reducing risks and protecting our homes, community, and economy. It will help to alleviate street flooding in neighborhoods throughout the metro area that have become commonplace during regular bouts of severe weather. Detailed plans have been created for New Orleans to better live with water and become floodless, and now it’s time for Mayor Landrieu to lead us to a Flood-Less New Orleans.

Over $2 billion dollars will soon be spent to improve drainage in New Orleans, and that money can be used to enhance our lines of defense against local flooding.

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very day hardworking people struggle to make ends meet. In fact, almost 20 million people 50 and older are feeling overwhelmed by mounting debt, poor credit or lack of savings. It doesn’t have to be that way. AARP Foundation and Charles Schwab Foundation believe that everyone can benefit from smart money habits. That’s why we’re offering AARP Foundation Finances 50+ in New Orleans. Whether you are trying to meet your everyday needs like rent and food or planning a family vacation, being smart about your money is critical.

“Many people aged 50 and over in our community are struggling to get by financially,” said Gary Ostroske, President and CEO of United Way of Southeast Louisiana. “Many are facing long-term unemployment, or caring for elderly parents, or supporting children and grandchildren who have been cut adrift by joblessness and other circumstances themselves. This program will provide the practical tools and resources needed to help them regain financial control.”

Finances 50+ consists of three educational sessions divided into the following topics: 1) assessing financial standing, budgeting and goal-setting; 2) taking control of credit and debt; and 3) building and protecting assets.

Each 90-minute workshop provides participants with a solid foundation in the topic. As a series, the workshops are designed to enable participants to holistically assess where they are and create a plan to make immediate and long-term changes for the better.

But what happens in the workshops is just a starting point. Participants are also encouraged to sign up for one-on-one follow-up sessions with a Money Mentor to help them stay on track. The Money Mentor will provide support and motivation over the phone and via email, and will help

participants create an action plan.

“We know that stabilizing a person’s financial situation and increasing their financial capability can be a prerequisite for success in finding and retaining a job. This program is about empowering individuals to take control of their finances regardless of their circumstances,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, president of AARP Foundation.

Sign up today by calling Chiquita Lattimore at 504.827.6881 Event Location

AARP Community Resource Center 3502 S. Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans

Workshop Dates & Times March 14 5:30 – 7 p.m.

March 21 5:30 – 7 p.m.

March 28 5:30 – 7 p.m.

SweetCakes & Candy Emporium creates the most beautiful and delicious cakes, pies, cupcakes, & candy for your personal needs. We also offer the following services for local businesses, organizations & associations.

• Business gift giving programs • Special occasion dessert catering services (holidays, birthdays, client recognition, & customer development days)

• Very interactive & engaging dessert cooking classes (which serve as great team building activities)

• Custom orders

(we can create cakes that match your organizations events & themes)

Give us a call at 504-383-4059 or www.sweetcakesandcandy.com to place an order &/or to book a date.

Your Personal Baker...For All Your Baking Needs THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

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NOLA TimeBank and Freret Neighborhood Center Support Job Seekers

By Gretchen Zalkind

Freret Center volunteer, Carolyn Jackson, received many hours in TimeBank credit for the work she did helping to plan and run a Halloween Party for the neighborhood children. At the time Mrs. Jackson was also looking for a new job. She decided to use her TimeBank credits for assistance refining and expanding her internet job search. Through NOLA TimeBank, Mrs. Jackson found two different people who offered computer coaching services in exchange for hour credits.

Posting profiles at care.com, advantagenursing.com, and ochsner.org, plus refreshing her resume resulted in full time work for Mrs. Jackson. “Now I have so much work, I don’t know what to do with it” she said.

The NOLA TimeBank has services available to help with job searches and with growing small or part-time businesses also. TimeBank services include: • Resume writing • Internet Job Searches • Internet Job Applications • Selling items on Ebay or Craigslist • Setting up an Etsy shop • Social Media techniques for small business

Membership in NOLA TimeBank is free and open to all residents of Orleans Parish. Come to one (or more) of these upcoming NOLA TimeBank events:

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he NOLA TimeBank is a community skills exchange that offers a way for people and groups to exchange skills and services without using money. Members earn credits by volunteering time to other members or to non-profit partners. Some of the most popular services include home repairs, cooking help, pet sitting and transportation.

The Freret Neighborhood Center (FNC) opened in the summer of 2007 to help neighbors in the Freret/Milan community create their own programs and events, and work together to share and solve community concerns. The Center offers a free computer lab and computer classes.

The Freret Neighborhood Center and NOLA TimeBank joined forces last May. TimeBank members appreciate the use of the FNC lounge and computer lab and the NOLA TimeBank holds monthly meetings there. The Freret Center offers TimeBank hour credits to the community volunteers that run the center’s programming.

Sunday, March 24 Picnic in City Park from noon – 3 p.m., under the “Singing Oak” Wednesday March 27 Meet, Mix and Mingle 6 – 8 p.m. at Rosa Keller Library Community Center, 4300 Broad St.

Many divorced women struggle to raise children without any assistance from a partner, and some compromise their financial security by supporting grandchildren. With all of those gender-specific challenges, my audiences wanted to know how women can still build a secure retirement, especially if they’re a little late to the game. It boils down to six major action items:

Define what retirement means to you.

These days, it rarely means a condo in Sunny Isles, Florida. For most of us, it means slowing down and scaling back, maybe spending more time with family or outdoors. For many, it means continuing to work. The important thing is to write your retirement objectives down, listing the most important goals first.

Figure out your Social Security benefits and when to claim them.

For many of us, Social Security provides the biggest piece of our retirement income. In fact, it’s the only source of income for half of unmarried AfricanAmerican and Hispanic women over 65, and for a quarter of unmarried white women over 65. Almost universally, working a little longer and delaying your claim will provide a much more secure retirement for life. Your benefit will automatically increase eight percent for each year you delay claiming. Plus, by adding more working years to your Social Security earnings record, you could increase your benefit. And of course, the longer you work, the more opportunity you will have to save for your retirement instead of dipping into your retirement savings.

Calculate how much monthly income your personal retirement savings will generate for you.

There are basically two ways you can create income out of the lump sum sitting in your 401(k) or similar account. First, you can try to live off of the interest and preserve the principal so that it continues to earn interest for the rest of your life. As a rule of thumb, financial planners suggest withdrawing no more than four percent of your savings each year. But really, you shouldn’t withdraw any more than the interest actually earned. Alternatively, you can use part of the lump

sum to build your own “pension” of sorts, by buying an income annuity through an insurance company. The annuity will provide you a guaranteed monthly check for life. There are a lot of complicated annuity products out there, but a simple annuity may be good for many people. There are several different options: (1) you pay for in one lump sum; (2) the annuity starts paying you immediately, and (3) the annuity pays you a fixed amount for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. AARP offers an online retirement calculator at aarp.org/ readyforretirement.

Set your budgets.

You need a current budget – to help you cut costs and pay off debt before you retire – and you need a retirement budget to make sure your monthly expenses don’t exceed your monthly retirement income.

Fill the gap.

For many of us, there will still be a gap between the money we will need in retirement and the income we will have in retirement. We may need to downsize or work longer, or work an easier part-time job, or convert our hobbies into money-making enterprises.

Consider change.

LifeReimagined.org is an AARP project that aims to help you reflect on your gifts, explore new possibilities and connect you with a community of likeminded people to support you on your journey. You’ll find all kinds of stories of life-change, from an exhausted former Broadway performer who became an acupuncturist, to a former office worker who started her own pet-sitting business so she could have the flexibility she needed to take care of her aging mother. Another related AARP initiative is WorkReimagined.org, which connects older workers with job openings at companies that value older workers and their experience and provides resources for people looking to reenter the workforce. Check out our website for upcoming and archived webinars about WorkReimagined and general work issues.

Saturday, April 6 Open House from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Freret Neighborhood Center, 4605 Freret St. Monday, April 8 FIX MIX repair workshop from 6 – 8 p.m. at Rosa Keller Library Community Center, 4300 Broad St. Saturday, April 20 TimeBanking Workshop from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., at Freret Neighborhood Center, 4605 Freret St.

Find out more at www.nolatimebank.org or call 504.439.4530

Women More Often Face Retirement Insecurity

By Jean C. Setzfand, Vice President of the Financial Security Team in the Education and Outreach group at AARP. She leads AARP’s educational and outreach efforts aimed at helping Americans have a financial ‘peace of mind’ in retirement. She can be reached at jsetzfand@aarp.org or on Twitter at @JSetz.

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n the span of a month late last year, I was asked by three separate groups to talk to female audiences about the special challenges women face while trying to build secure retirements for themselves. Studies show that 60 percent of boomer-age women say they aren’t confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement.

The problem isn’t unique to boomers – it’s a woman thing. Some of our greatest strengths as women also make us more economically vulnerable. Specifically, our

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tendency to take care of others first – including taking time out of the workforce to care for children and ailing parents – can compromise our own financial futures.

Time out of the workforce not only lowers women’s lifetime earnings and savings – it also lowers their ultimate Social Security and pension benefits.

Leaving the workforce to care for an aging parent costs the average woman more than $324,000 in lifetime wages and benefits, substantially increasing her risk of living in poverty in her own old age.

Continued on page 27

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Beauty Shop Talk

CeCe Gets

By: Christy “CeCe” Chapman

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ey DIVAS, well it has been an awesome time since we last “talked in the Beauty Shop.” Our great city of New Orleans had the pleasure of hosting the Super Bowl with great festivities and celebs all over the city. One thing that didn’t change was us tending to our families and careers in the midst of it all. One of the questions emailed to “Beauty Shop Talk” was: How can I improve on my relationship with my sister-in-law?

I know this is something that a lot of our readers can relate to or may even be experiencing now.

Sit back, grab your cocktail and elaborate on this one.

My sister-in-law calls all day. Why doesn’t she like me? What did I do to her? Why is she disrespectful towards my relationship?

Does any of this sound familiar? Is it true that to have him, the family has to love you? Everyone isn’t fortunate enough to have a loving, welcoming or supportive family, especially when it comes to sisterin-laws. Sister-in-laws can be very challenging. You may have gotten off on the wrong foot or she may be uneasy that another woman is in her brother’s life.

Whatever the case may be, you love him and want peace with his family and just want to love that sister to pieces. Here are four quick tips that may help.

1) Talk with your significant other first.

Explain to him that you want peace and want to move forward. That way you have his support and he is fully aware of your intentions.

2) Talk with her . Ask her to meet for lunch.

Be direct and genuine with the issues you want to discuss. Sometimes face to face can be a bit confrontational, so maybe writing a letter or sending an email might be better.

rtie a m o r C us c r a M t c rospe p L F

By Christy “CeCe” Chapman, the author of the book, 20 Thoughts N from Every Woman Should Have. She is a New Orleans native who is

3) Spend quality time with her. If she is younger than you, try to build an honest relationship with her. Go shopping or some type of activity where you can positively focus on something else.

4) Understand her point of view. Even though this may be hard, there are three sides. Your side, her side and the right side. Do not play the blame game. Think about any good moments that you may have shared with her. Find positive points about her and tell her those things, but only if they are true. Recognize her achievements.

Also, understand that just because you are making attempts to resolve the problem doesn’t mean she is open to it. But knowing that you tried should put your feelings at rest. Be respectable of her decision. All you can do is wait for the day that she is ready. This day may not come as soon as you’d like but remember as women we can’t control how others feel. Have hope that it will get better because your man is her brother and having him in the middle is an uncomfortable place, so hopefully things will get better for all three involved.

“twenty something years of age.” Follow her on Twitter at @CeCetheAuthor.

“ How can I improve on my relationship with my sister-in-law?”

If you would like to ask a “Beauty Shop Talk” question email beautyshoptalkNPN@rocketmail.com

This interview with New Orleans native and NFL prospect Marcus Cromartie was fun and very informative for me. It was an honor to interview this young man, especially on the heels of a great Super Bowl win from another New Orleans native, Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens. So let’s get 20 Thoughts from one of the University of Wisconsin’s top cornerbacks.

1. What college did you attend?

I attended the University of Wisconsin. I started in 2008.

2. What high school did you attend?

In 2004 I started as a freshman at Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and I went to Mansfield-Timberview High School in Mansfield, Texas.

3. What position do you play?

I play the cornerback position.

4. Do you remember the first time you held a football?

No, I do not remember the first time I held a football, but I do remember the first time I ever played, I was a small kid at Terrytown Playground.

5. How was it playing in the Rosebowl ?

It was one of the greatest times in my life.

I was excited and anxious. I made four tackles. The experience at the Rose Bowl was amazing because so many great players played there before me.

6. How old are you?

I am a young man. I am 22 years old.

7. What keeps you focused?

I have goals. I understand what it takes in life so far. I have great parents that support me and everything that I believe in. The opportunity to accomplish my dreams will push me to go harder.

8. What is one obstacle that you have overcome?

The move from New Orleans to Dallas was hard for me. Change is hard. I had to start over in a new, unfamiliar state. I had to

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meet new people and make new friends.

It was a challenge but I overcame it. It all worked out for me.

9. What was your best win yet?

My best win was Michigan State in 2011, that was the game that actually allowed us to play in the Rose Bowl in 2012.

10. Who did you look up to in the NFL growing up?

Growing up I liked Champ Bailey and Deion Sanders. They were definitely inspirations to my career. They are like the Michael Jordan’s in the NBA, but for the NFL. 11. How did it feel when you got the call to be an NFL prospect?

Overjoyed. It gave me hope. It just fueled me to work harder because I want to make a better living for myself.

12. Tell us about any awards you have received?

I have received an “All Big Ten” honorable mention and I recorded my first interception which I returned for a 29-yard touchdown my senior season.

13.

What team would you want to play for?

Any team, it really doesn’t matter to me.

I am ready to play.

14. You are to scheduled to play in the 2013 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, what is that?

It’s an all star game for college football players that allows them to showcase their skills in front of scouts.

15. What is the worst part of the NFL draft process?

The change again. The uncertainty in what city you would end up in.

16. What is your motto?

My motto I live by is: “Hard work pays off.”

17. Did you always want to play football?

I was kind of into all sports. It just so happened that football was a sport that always was number one on my mind.

18. How do you stay true to yourself?

By just staying humble, and knowing things can always be worst. So I cherish where I am at in my life and career and I don’t take anything, nothing, or no one, for granted.

19. How does having a cousin in the NFL, Antonio Cromartie of the New York Jets, help your game?

He helped me get a understanding on how hard I must work to reach my goals and to stay determined on that.

20. What is something that you want our readers to know about you?

That I’m a humble guy from a humble beginning. I never had a lot. I know what it takes to grind. I understand what it is to have to work hard. I am like everyone else working towards my dreams. I work hard every day towards better.

We have a bonus question: Do you like zone coverage or man coverage?

I prefer man coverage, it gives me a chance to showcase my skills more.

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Algiers Point Association Every 1st Thursday of the month @ 7 p.m.

Location changes each month www.algierspoint.org Broadmoor Improvement Association 3rd Monday of every other month @ 7 p.m.

Andrew H. Wilson Charter School Cafeteria 3617 General Pershing St. New Orleans, LA 70125 http://www.broadmoorimprovement.com Bunny Friends Neighborhood Association Every second Saturday of the month Mt. Carmel Baptist Church 3721 N Claiborne Ave Bywater Neighborhood Association Every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.

Holy Angels Cafeteria 3500 St. Claude Ave. www.bywaterneighbors.com Carrollton Riverbend Neighborhood Association Every 2nd Thursday of the month Parish Hall of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Corner of Carrollton and Zimple Carrollton United Every second Monday at 5:00p.m. every other month St. John Missionary Baptist Church, corner of Leonidas and Hickory Central City Partnership Every last Friday of the month @ 1 p.m.

Allie Mae Williams Center 2020 Jackson Ave. http://www.centralcitypartnership.org

Neighborhood Meetings

Neighborhood Meetings

Neighborhood Meetings

Central City Renaissance Alliance (CCRA) 1809 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. http://www.myccra.org Chapel of the Holy Comforter Every 4th Thursday of the month @ 6:30p.m.

2200 Lakeshore Drive Claiborne-University Neighborhood Association Quarterly Meetings, time and date TBA Jewish Community Center 5342 St. Charles Ave Downtown Neighborhood Improvement Association (DNIA) Every last Tuesday of the month @ 7p.m.

Joan Mitchell Center 2275 Bayou Road (the corner building on Rocheblave and Bayou Road) DeSaix Neighborhood Association Every 2nd Saturday of the month @10a.m.

Langhston Hughes Academy 3519 Trafalgar Street http://danadesaix.org East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Committee (ENONAC) Every 2rd Tuesday of each month @ 6 p.m.

St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church http://www.enonac.org Faubourg Delachaise Neighborhood Association Quarterly meetings, time/date/ location TBA http://fdna-nola.org

Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association Board Meeting: Every 2nd Monday 7p.m. Holy Rosary Cafeteria 1638 Moss Street General Membership: 3rd Wednesday, every other month 6:30 p.m.

Black Gold Room at the Fairgrounds http://www.fsjna.org Faubourg St. Roch Improvement Association Every 2nd Thursday of the month @ 6:00p.m.

True Vine Baptist Church 2008 Marigny St. Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Association (meets every two months) 5506 Wickfield Street Project Home Again 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Garden District Association 1 annual meeting per year, time/date/ location TBA Gentilly Civic Improvement Association (GCIA) General Membership- Every 3rd Saturday of the month 10am Board Meeting - Every 3rd Wednesday of the month 6:30p.m.

Edgewater Baptist Church 5900 Paris Ave. Gentilly Heights East Neighborhood Association Every 3rd Monday of the month @ 6p.m.

Dillard University Dent Hall – Room 104 Gentilly Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association Every 3rd Monday of the month @ 6:30p.m .

VOA – 2929 St. Anthony Ave. (meetings on hold until further notice)

Gentilly Terrace and Gardens Improvement Association Every 2nd Wednesday of the month @ 7pm Gentilly Terrace School 4720 Painters St. http://www.gentillyterrace.org Hoffman Triangle Neighborhood Association Every 2nd Tuesday of the month @ 5:30 p.m.

Pleasant Zion Missionary Baptist Church 3327 Toledano Street Hollygrove Neighbors Association Saturdays at 12:00 (noon) St. Peter AME Church 3424 Eagle St. (Eage St. and Edinburgh St.) www.neighborhoodlink.com (type in 70118 and click on “Hollygrove Neighbors”) blog us at http://www. hollygroveneighbors.blogspot.com/ Holy Cross Neighborhood Association Every 2nd Thursday @ 5:30 p.m.

Center for Sustainability, Greater Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church 5130 Chartres, Lizardi and Chartres http://www.helpholycross.org Irish Channel Neighborhood Association 2nd Thursday of the month at 7p.m.

Irish Channel Christian Fellowship 819 First St. http://www.irishchannel.org Lake Bullard Homeowners Association See website for meeting schedule Cornerstone United Methodist Church 5276 Bullard Ave. http://www.lakebullard.org Lake Catherine Civic Association Every 2nd Tuesday of the month @ 7p.m.

Get connected to the Neighborhoods Partnership Network.

Post news & events for your organization at NPNnola.com 30

THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

Lake Willow Neighborhood Every 2nd Saturday of the month @ 10 a.m.

St. Maria Goretti Church Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association (NENA) Every 2nd Saturday @ 12 noon NENA – 1120 Lamanche St. http://www.9thwardnena.org Melia Subdivision Every 2rd Saturday of the month @ 5 p.m.

Anchoren in Christ Church 4334 Stemway Drive Mid-City Neighborhood Organization General Meeting – Second Monday of every month @ 6:00 p.m. meet-and-greet @ 6:30 p.m.

Neighborhood Meeting Warren Easton High School 3019 Canal St. http://www.mcno.org Milneburg Neighborhood Association Chapel of the Holy Comforter 2200 Lakeshore Dr. 6:30 p.m. Monthly meetings are every 4th Thursday of the month Oak Park Civic Association Every 3rd or last Tuesday of the month

Ask City Hall

Paris Oaks/Bayou Vista Neighborhood Association Last Saturday of every month @ 4p.m.

Third District Police Station 4650 Paris Avenue

Seabrook Neighborhood Association Monthly meetings are every second Monday Gentilly Terrace School 4720 Painters Street

Pensiontown of Carrollton Neighborhood Association Every 1st Saturday of the month @ 2p.m.

Leonidas House Community Center (under renovation) 1407 Leonidas St. Temporarily housed at St. Paul AME Church, 8540 Cohn St. (corner of Leonidas and Cohn)

Tall Timbers Owners Association Semi-annual meetings: Second Wednesday of October & April 7p.m.

Board meetings: Second Wednesday of every other month 7 p.m

Pontilly Association Pontilly Disaster Collaborative – Every 3rd Wednesday of the month General Meeting – every 2nd Saturday of the month http://www.pontilly.com Rosedale Subdivision Last Friday of every month @5:30 Greater Bright Morning Star Baptist Church, 4253 Dale Street Seventh Ward Neighborhood Association Quarterly, 3rd Saturday @ 1 p.m.

The next Meeting is March 20, 2013 St. Augustine High School 2600 A.P. Tureaud Ave (A.P Tureaud and Law Street) Contact: seventhwardassoc@aol.com

Tunisburg Square Homeowners Civic Association, Inc. Every 2nd Monday of the month @ 6:30 p.m. http://tunisburg.org Village de l’Est Improvement Association General Meeting - Every other first Tuesday of the month @ 7pm Einstein Charter School 5100 Cannes St West Barrington Association 1st Tuesday of every month @ 6p.m.

Holiday Inn Express 70219 Bullard Avenue

Send your neighborhood meeting details to: melissa@NPNnola.com

Neighborhoods Partnership Network 4902 Canal Street • #301 New Orleans, LA 70119 504.940.2207 • FX 504.940.2208 TheTrumpet@npnnola.com

THE TRUMPET | MARCH/APRIL | 2013

District A Susan G. Guidry City Hall, Room 2W80 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1010 Fax: (504) 658-1016 Email: sgguidry@nola.gov District B LaToya Cantrell City Hall, Room 2W10 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1020 Fax: (504) 658-1025 lcantrell@nola.gov District C Kristin Gisleson Palmer City Hall, Room 2W70 1300 Perdido Street Phone: (504) 658-1030 Fax: (504) 658-1037 Email: kgpalmer@nola.gov District D Cynthia Hedge-Morrell City Hall, Room 2W20 1300 Perdido Street Phone: (504) 658-1040 Fax: (504) 658-1048 E-mail: chmorrell@nola.gov District E District E James Austin Gray II City Hall, Room 2W60 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1050 Fax: (504) 658-1058 Email: jagray@nola.gov Council Member-At-Large Stacy Head City Hall, Room 2W40 1300 Perdido Street Phone: (504) 658 -1060 Fax: (504) 658-1068 Email: shead@nola.gov Council Member-At-Large Jacquelyn Clarkson City Hall, Room 2W50 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1070 Fax: (504) 658-1077 Email: jbclarkson@nola.gov

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