Eddie J In Court

T-P:

Jordan, along with his live-in girlfriend Cherylynn Robinson, is due in court Monday for the armed robbery trial of Elton Phillips, who prosecutors say wound up at Jordan's Algiers home Oct. 11, 2007, moments after he robbed a man at gunpoint. Because Jordan was still DA at the time of the incident, the state attorney general's office has taken over prosecution duties.

Jordan and Robinson are on both the state's and the defense's witness list, because they admittedly crossed paths with Phillips the day he was booked with the robbery.

Phillips' trial is set to open in Section F of Criminal District Court, where Judge Dennis Waldron is known for running a tight docket. But trial dates are subject to change.

Will They Try And Sell The Levees Next?

Some things are just totally ridiculous:

At least three meetings have been held in recent months to discuss selling or leasing the Causeway to The Shaw Group, a Baton Rouge engineering, design and management firm that has had a high profile in Jefferson Parish since Hurricane Katrina.

The talks have included Broussard, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, Causeway General Manager Robert Lambert and Shaw representatives, but the Parish Council members said they were not privy to the discussions.

Aaron Broussard needs psychological counseling.

Much Needed Bill

Let's hope this bill passes.


The 144 Tulane University scholarships awarded by legislators each year would be history if a freshman lawmaker gets his way in the regular session that opens March 31.

Rep. Dee Richard, I-Thibodaux, said his House Bill 272 is a follow-up on legislation passed at the recently ended special session called by Gov. Bobby Jindal to revise the state ethics code.

Katrina Relief Network To Close

A network of private relief workers that helped thousands of battered families put their lives together after Hurricane Katrina has begun unraveling with thousands of families still on waiting lists, even as its managers cast about for new sources of money to keep it going at a reduced level.

As the network shrinks, about 4,600 families will have to wait longer for help, officials of the network said. Some might become entangled in more red tape -- and face longer waits -- as their files are shifted from laid-off workers into new hands.

Members of the network are sorting through their cases, trying to prioritize which families need immediate help before the program shuts down March 31 and their cases are transferred, said Tom Costanza, a local Catholic Charities relief executive who leads the board of the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership, a coalition of private relief groups.

New Orleans Homeless Rate

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin appealed to federal lawmakers this past week to provide funds and housing vouchers to help the city's homeless problem.

The percentage of New Orleans' homeless is one of the highest recorded since U.S. housing officials began tracking homelessness in the mid-1980s, said Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor who has studied homeless trends for more than 20 years.

Many of the homeless are Katrina evacuees who returned to unaffordable rents or who slipped through the cracks of the federal system designed to provide temporary housing after the storm, said Mike Miller, UNITY's director of supportive housing placement.

There are also out-of-state workers who came for the post-Katrina rebuilding boom but lost their jobs, and mentally ill residents in need of services and medication, he said. Many of the city's outreach homeless centers and public mental health services have been closed since Katrina.

Nagin has suggested reinstating a city ordinance that would make it illegal to sleep in public places. Homeless advocates say the law would just crowd the jails.

New Orleans Jazz Fest

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is back in full swing with the first appearance of the Neville Brothers since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. New Orleans' first family of funk closes out the festival on May 4 at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course.

This year's jazz fest also returns to its pre-Katrina seven-day schedule.

The 39th annual festival's opening weekend is April 25-27. The traditional laid-back Thursday, May 1, kicks off the second weekend of performances, ending May 4. Besides the Nevilles, other May 4 acts include Santana, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, the Derek Trucks Band, Keb Mo and a Tribute to Mahalia Jackson featuring Irma Thomas (the subject of this year's beautiful jazz fest poster). Thomas headlines her own R&B revue on April 27.

Stevie Wonder makes his jazz fest debut May 2. Also on May 2, Michael Franti and Spearhead are sure to deliver a spiritually uplifting show and Chicago's John Prine will take the stage. Don't miss Aaron Neville's Gospel Soul on May 3, the same day Parrothead nation takes over the fairgrounds with the appearance of Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band.

Bill Clinton: On Green Building In New Orleans

Former President Bill Clinton said energy efficient, green building can be a key part of New Orleans' comeback from Hurricane Katrina.

Clinton, here for a gathering of college students as part of his Clinton Global Initiative University, said the city's history and culture, combined with a commitment to a sustainable economic future, would allow for "the complete ascendancy, its return, as the most unique city in the country."

Mayor Ray Nagin said Clinton — who in 2006 named the New Orleans metro area as part of his Clinton Climate Initiative focused on addressing global warming — has been providing advice on how best to move forward from the August 2005 storm. He called Clinton a friend and "wonderful man."

The city has pledged to follow what Nagin in January called a "greening road map," a 10-year plan that he said would, among other things, incorporate so-called green technology and building techniques into the repairs of city buildings damaged by Katrina. Nagin also has said he has committed to green living in his personal life, taking steps including having solar panels installed at his home.