positive-press-daily: New Orleans sees revival of historic streetcars New Orleans, once crisscrossed by sprawling streetcar lines, is embracing anew the rumbling reminder of the city’s storied and elegant past by restoring old lines and seeking to build new ones. In January, a mile-long (1.6 km) streetcar line connecting the tourist area of the French Quarter to the city’s Amtrak terminal is scheduled to open, becoming the fourth streetcar corridor in the city. Two more are proposed, the first of those anticipated to break ground in early 2014. For a city where daily life was changed by the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, the new streetcars are a way to connect to history. The more than 150-year-old line that sails down St. Charles Avenue is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, according to the city. Revitalizing the New Orleans streetcar system has been a slow, arduous process. The city’s two other existing lines were built in 1988 and 2004. “New Orleans has not had an incredibly extensive network of streetcars for decades,” said Rachel Heiligman, executive director of Ride New Orleans, an advocacy organization that has been pushing for more streetcars in the city. “This is the first time in almost a decade we’ve seen an investment in public transit, so it’s a very exciting time for New Orleans,” she said. As cities across the country explore ways to break gridlock or rejuvenate deadened commercial corridors, streetcars have become an attractive alternative to buses or subways for their affordability to build and maintain. In 2013, inaugural streetcar lines are scheduled to launch in Atlanta; Dallas; Salt Lake City; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. Cities considering or planning streetcar lines include Cincinnati; El Paso, Texas; Honolulu; Kansas City, Missouri; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; and Sacramento, California, according to the American Public Transit Association APTA.L. Streetcars already operate in cities including: Boston; Denver; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Tampa, Florida; San Francisco; and Savannah, Georgia. Besides their charm, streetcars are being embraced because of the availability since 2009 of grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation meant for long-term projects. The funds helped make streetcars “a growing movement,” said Mantill Williams, a spokesman for APTA, a research group in Washington. “For cities that had plans for streetcars on the books for years, this helped lead it to fruition,” Williams said. New Orleans received a $45 million grant for its new line and is seeking a second grant to build another line, which would cost $98 million. The city sold $75 million in sales tax revenue bonds to pay for a third new line. The majority of these lines will run along historic streetcar routes that were uprooted in the 1960s, leaving only the St. Charles Avenue line in place by 1973, the year it was awarded a listing on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. Williams said cities with streetcars are finding that they help strengthen property values and spur economic development. “What it shows to your potential business customers is there is a sense of permanency there,” he said. For the line set to open next year, that is already happening: A $90 million apartment and retail complex that received city approval in late August and is expected to be built along the streetcar line in the next two years.
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positive-press-daily:

New Orleans sees revival of historic streetcars

New Orleans, once crisscrossed by sprawling streetcar lines, is embracing anew the rumbling reminder of the city’s storied and elegant past by restoring old lines and seeking to build new ones.

In January, a mile-long (1.6 km) streetcar line connecting the tourist area of the French Quarter to the city’s Amtrak terminal is scheduled to open, becoming the fourth streetcar corridor in the city. Two more are proposed, the first of those anticipated to break ground in early 2014. For a city where daily life was changed by the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, the new streetcars are a way to connect to history.

The more than 150-year-old line that sails down St. Charles Avenue is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, according to the city. Revitalizing the New Orleans streetcar system has been a slow, arduous process. The city’s two other existing lines were built in 1988 and 2004.

“New Orleans has not had an incredibly extensive network of streetcars for decades,” said Rachel Heiligman, executive director of Ride New Orleans, an advocacy organization that has been pushing for more streetcars in the city. “This is the first time in almost a decade we’ve seen an investment in public transit, so it’s a very exciting time for New Orleans,” she said.

As cities across the country explore ways to break gridlock or rejuvenate deadened commercial corridors, streetcars have become an attractive alternative to buses or subways for their affordability to build and maintain. In 2013, inaugural streetcar lines are scheduled to launch in Atlanta; Dallas; Salt Lake City; Tucson, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. Cities considering or planning streetcar lines include Cincinnati; El Paso, Texas; Honolulu; Kansas City, Missouri; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; and Sacramento, California, according to the American Public Transit Association APTA.L.

Streetcars already operate in cities including: Boston; Denver; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Tampa, Florida; San Francisco; and Savannah, Georgia. Besides their charm, streetcars are being embraced because of the availability since 2009 of grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation meant for long-term projects. The funds helped make streetcars “a growing movement,” said Mantill Williams, a spokesman for APTA, a research group in Washington.

“For cities that had plans for streetcars on the books for years, this helped lead it to fruition,” Williams said.

New Orleans received a $45 million grant for its new line and is seeking a second grant to build another line, which would cost $98 million. The city sold $75 million in sales tax revenue bonds to pay for a third new line. The majority of these lines will run along historic streetcar routes that were uprooted in the 1960s, leaving only the St. Charles Avenue line in place by 1973, the year it was awarded a listing on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

Williams said cities with streetcars are finding that they help strengthen property values and spur economic development.

“What it shows to your potential business customers is there is a sense of permanency there,” he said.

For the line set to open next year, that is already happening: A $90 million apartment and retail complex that received city approval in late August and is expected to be built along the streetcar line in the next two years.

Nine preachers arrested at Southern Decadence

Nine preachers were arrested Saturday after police said they yelled anti-gay slurs over bullhorns during a demonstration at Southern Decadence, an annual celebration of gay culture in the French Quarter. Patrick O’Connell, 45, Rolando Igleasias, 31, Cesar Chavez, 22, Daniel Hoogerhuis, 26, Danny Guevera, 20, Larry Craft, 52, Montes Diego, 32 and Gary Brown, 33 were arrested on suspicion of aggressive solicitation, a city law passed last October.

The ordinance prohibits “any person or group of persons to loiter or congregate on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social, political or religious message between the hours of sunset and sunrise.” Another man, Justin Craft, 31, was arrested on suspicion of battery, resisting an officer and interfering with a law enforcement investigation. Craft allegedly punched an officer when he attempted to confiscate his bullhorn. Witnesses said the incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. outside Tropical Isle.

New Orleans police spokesman Frank Robertson said the men were previously warned not to use bullhorns, but did not comply. Casey Kolosky, a bouncer at Tropical Isle, said the preachers were making slurs against gays and also mentioned Hurricane Katrina victims.

Everyone’s Mardi Gras should be a little more pleasant now, I hope, with less bigotry and shouted accusations.

kudzujulep:

nor-ton:

NOLA Streetview is an interesting project comparing screenshots of Google Street View, which was last updated in 2007, with pictures of the same places taken this year.

Also, the lower purple building is the mill shop for Rebuilding Together New Orleans where I spent my first year here in NOLA. 

(via bradleywarshauer)

Source: norttron

shortformblog: poynterinstitute: If anything is front-page news, it’s that your newspaper is going to stop printing every day. Here’s how The Times-Picayune and three other Advance Publications (and one outsider) told their readers Friday morning about the changes. The “dear subscriber” note at the bottom loses its punch when you consider how blown out it is up top. As pointed out in this story, broadband is not a given in New Orleans — the state of Louisiana lags behind the rest of the country in broadband penetration. Also worth checking is the Blog of New Orleans’ roundup of reactions in and out of the newsroom. Key line: ”My supervisor didn’t even f****** know. My supervisor.”
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shortformblog:

poynterinstitute:

If anything is front-page news, it’s that your newspaper is going to stop printing every day. Here’s how The Times-Picayune and three other Advance Publications (and one outsider) told their readers Friday morning about the changes.

The “dear subscriber” note at the bottom loses its punch when you consider how blown out it is up top. As pointed out in this story, broadband is not a given in New Orleans — the state of Louisiana lags behind the rest of the country in broadband penetration. Also worth checking is the Blog of New Orleans’ roundup of reactions in and out of the newsroom. Key line: ”My supervisor didn’t even f****** know. My supervisor.”

Source: poynterinstitute

notaboutlove:

Mickey Shunick has been missing from Lafayette, La. since Saturday, May 19. She was biking back to her home, but she never made it. It’s been six days, and she could be virtually anywhere at this point. There is currently a $25,000 reward for any information that will lead to her safe return. Please spread this in hopes of gaining the momentum necessary to find her.Every reblog helps. Visit the Facebook page for details on her appearance, the bike’s appearance and ways that you can help. 

UAWOW Rally - Louisiana

Ashley Heyer, Southeast Louisiana Press Liaison for Unite Women, and Ashley Baggett, State Coordinator for Unite Women Louisiana, delivered the opening statements at the Baton Rouge Unite Women’s Rally held on April 28.

Ms. Heyer described her shock at the realization about just how much of the war on women is focused not on abortion, but on restricting birth control. The shock was intensified by the fact that members of her family have been physicians.

She introduced Ashley Baggett who recounted her own experience as a survivor of domestic abuse and how that experience changed her.

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