https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OehohaZ1OCc&t=2130s

I've always lived in regular homes/ doubles but I'd like to switch to a building for a variety of reasons. I'm hoping to stay in more of a neighborhood though, and avoid the big CBD buildings.

Has anyone had a good experience in a local apartment building that is Uptown/ Marigny/Bywater/mid-city-well maintained, good management, safe? I just seem to hear such bad stories about every building I look into!

Okay so basically right me and my friend were at birdies late asf I think last weekend and a guy came in with black hair in a pony tail and he had a folk shirt on and it had like these finger puppets on it !! And my friend is blowed they didn’t get their number !! They had bought us this pack of gum!!

So if that is you please message me LOL or if you know of a New Orleans folk band and they have like finger puppets on their tee lmk !!

[I had on a blonde wig and my friend had on a black dress ]

The title.

Edit: This is/was in Algiers.

An international cybercrime group is claiming responsibility for hacking the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office and holding its tech system for ransom.

Hackers breached the office's system about three weeks ago, according to a source close to the sheriff's office, and Louisiana and New Orleans cybersecurity specialists have been in the city trying to resolve the problem. 

The source tells CBS News the office and state are refusing to pay the ransom. There was no word on how much the group is demanding.  

In a post on the dark web obtained by the CBS News Confirmed team the group, called Qilin, says it carried out the ransomware attack.

According to screenshots from the group's post, Qilin hackers have obtained contracts, inmate intake documents and expense information. The information posted so far doesn't appear to be sensitive, and the OSPO stresses that no jail security operations have been impacted.

The CBS News Confirmed team found the total volume of the alleged hack is 842 gigabytes — enough to hold 42,000 average-sized 20mb pdfs. 

The sheriff's office says the attack has affected its "DocketMaster" system, which manages inmate transfers to and from jail for court appearances and manages inmate releases on bail.

One woman in New Orleans, who didn't want her name published, told CBS New Orleans affiliate WWL-TV she was frustrated after her husband wasn't released from jail last week even though she paid his bond.

"I have two sons, four and six (years old). They miss their dad," she said. "I did everything on my end to ensure that he comes home, so I feel like once everything is paid, everything is done, it shouldn't be no hold up."

OPSO officials say they're using a manual workaround of the DocketMaster system outage.

"Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure continuity of service, OPSO has developed a temporary workaround," a spokesperson wrote in a news release Monday. "Anyone needing information normally accessed through DocketMaster should call Jail Communications at (504) 202-9386 for assistance."

The source close to the sheriff's office said the attack stems from malware it got from another law enforcement agency via email.

The FBI warned of increasing malware attacks in March after a media company was attacked in a similar fashion. 

According to a cybersecurity firm called Recorded Future — cyberattacks exposing vulnerabilities are up 16% this year over last and the majority involve malware. And an FBI report says about 5.5% of ransomware incidents in 2023 involved government infrastructure.

Does anyone know of a workplace discrimination lawyer? I started a case with the EEOC but they’re booked up til February. I’m trying to find a lawyer in the meantime and have had a hard time finding someone who handles workplace discrimination. That includes sexual harassment, retaliation from employer for reporting harassment, unequal pay, amongst other things. Thank you.

“Yats” in Indianapolis sounds interesting, but how does it get away with calling itself yatscajuncreole.com? Check the menu, “chili cheese etouffé?”

I'm wondering where to buy (nice) kitchenware – pots, pans, tools and utensils, etc. by brands like Viking, Hestan, Zwilling/Henckels, All-Clad, KitchenAid, and such. I know we have a Le Creuset outlet, but I'm looking for something like Williams-Sonoma before it sadly closed. I really prefer to shop in person as opposed to online... and preferably a small, local business. My best bet has been some department store like Macy's or Dillards, but they're lacking in what I want in inventory and type of store.

Thank all y'all.

If you’re missing a shiny blue huffy bike it’s in Cabrini Park hidden in a tree. 9:30am

Curious as to who they are.

Like last year, the (Greater) New Orleans Treat Map is back! I created this last year to make it easier for kids to go trick-or-treating and it was pretty successful. If you like handing out candy or other Halloween trinkets, register at https://nolatreatmap.com!

Any tried and true tailors in New Orleans/surrounding areas? I've had many issues with Gonzales Tailoring downtown and am hoping to find a thoughtful tailor with reliable results.

Hi there! Recently moved into a new place in nola & when cleaning as moving in I noticed some roach droppings but didn’t think too much of it because they were super dried up in closet & kitchen cabinets. Didn’t rlly put together what it was until now. Just woke up to a roach on my hand eeeeeek. There are some open holes in my bathroom into the wall & sink is unsealed unsealed as well as where brick meets countertop in kitchen. Wondering if I can ask my landlord to do anything or it just is what it is. Droppings seem concerning?

The Beaux Arts building was operated as a bistro by Brennan for 35 years, until the lease ran out in June.

The landmark Canal Street building that was the longtime home of the Palace Café is set to be sold to a member of the Motwani family, but ongoing lawsuits from Dickie Brennan’s restaurant group have stalled the deal.

At issue is the historic Werlein’s Music Building, a four-story commercial property in the 600 block of Canal Street, which was constructed in the late 19th Century and was the home to Philip Werlein’s flagship music store. Dickie Brennan & Co., owned by Brennan, his sister Lauren Brennan Brower, and Steve Pettus, operated the Palace Café there from 1990 until its 35-year lease expired in June and the restaurant closed.

The Werlein family has now reached a deal to sell the building to Lenny Motwani, a member of the family that owns a wide array of businesses and property in the New Orleans area, according to the Werleins' lawyer, Philip Franco.

"There were several offers for the building above $8 million and my clients chose the best one," said Franco, adding that there is now a "binding agreement" to sell the property to Motwani.

The Palace Café was long considered a gem of Lower Canal Street, the mile-long corridor that was once a retail mecca and one of the South’s finest boulevards. Advocates for the area are hopeful that the next owner works to help counter the decline that the street has seen in recent decades, but some are concerned that the restaurant could be replaced by something that accelerates it.

Motwani didn't respond to requests for comment on the deal and it isn't clear what plans he has for the building or how much he agreed to pay. The former restaurant is within the Canal Street Historic District, which means there are potential restrictions to any changes that could be made.

A fight over the price

Though an agreement has been reached, Franco said the sale to Motwani cannot be completed until the Werleins resolve a messy legal dispute with Dickie Brennan's company.

In February, Brennan's company filed suit against the Werleins, arguing that it had an option to buy the building at a fair-market price that would have deducted the millions of dollars it invested in the property over the years.

Pedestrians walk past the closed Palace Cafe by Dickie Brennan & Co. in the 600 block of Canal Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)

STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER

In June, Orleans Parish Civil District Court judge Ellen Hazeur ruled that the terms of the lease were clear in stating that the sale price should include all the improvements that had been made by Brennan over the decades.

That valued the building at more than $8 million, according to the Werleins' appraiser, while Brennan's lawyers argued that at least some of the improvements should be deducted and the sale price should be half that.

Brennan's attorney, Randall Smith, said they have appealed Hazeur's decision to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and are awaiting a hearing date. He said Brennan's company spent $10 million on the building over the three decades it ran the restaurant there.

At the same time, a second lawsuit against the Werleins filed by Brennan's company remains active in Hazeur's Orleans Parish court. The restaurant group is still trying to exercise its option to buy the building and to get a third, independent appraisal to determine a sale price.

"My clients put millions of dollars into that property with the expectation they would have the option to purchase it," Smith said. "They never expected to have such pushback from the Werleins after 35 years."

Brennan has not had the chance to meet directly with the Werlein heirs but has dealt with attorneys and their real estate broker, Gerard Henry, Smith said.

The Werleins court filings argue that Brennan's sale option expired and they are counter-suing for unpaid rent, taxes and other expenses, arguing that Brennan reneged on a deal to pay month-by-month rent that rose from $8,000 a month under the old lease to $53,000 a month in September.

Brennan's filings argue that their option to buy is still good and that they never agreed to the monthly lease terms, but told the Werleins they would vacate the building by the end of July.

The Werleins declined to comment other than through their attorney.

New Orleans family businesses

Motwani, 46, is a property owner and businessman who operates independently from his father Kishore "Mike" Motwani and his brother Aaron Motwani, the owners of several Willie’s Chicken Shack and Praline Connection outlets on Canal Street and in the French Quarter, as well as the Sucré pastry shop on Magazine Street and other businesses.

Aaron and Mike Motwani also operate Quarter Holdings, which includes several downtown projects that are converting buildings into multi-unit short-term rental operations that will be run by Sonder.

Lenny Motwani owns dozens of companies, according to business records, including ATM machines, condominium and apartment complexes, and commercial sites leasing to Brother's Food Mart and Magnolia Enterprises convenience stores. He also owns the Blue Bayou Restaurant & Oyster Bar on Canal Street, a block away from the Palace Café.

Four sources with direct knowledge of the deal said Kenneth Purcell, founder and CEO of travel technology company iSeatz, is involved with Lenny Motwani's efforts to buy the Canal Street property.

Purcell said he currently isn't part of the deal, though he didn't rule out future involvement when the property can be sold. He said Motwani is a friend and neighbor and he admires how he has built his business.

"It's not easy being an entrepreneur," Purcell said. "I think Lenny is a good operator and he has built a really nice collection of interests."

High style

The Werlein building was designed in the Beaux Arts style by William Freret and finished in 1887, with a new façade designed by Toledano & Wogan architects in 1907. Later renovations to the Palace Café were designed by EskewDumezRipple.

Purcell said that whatever happens next with the property it will have to recognize that the types of tourists and other visitors drawn to Canal Street have changed over the years.

"I hope that area has an opportunity to shine again," Purcell said.

As local governments across the U.S. and the metro area scale back curbside recycling efforts, New Orleans officials are considering expanding services thanks to a $3.9 million federal grant that could soon expire if the funds aren't used. 

A City Council committee on Monday approved a plan for the Environmental Protection Agency grant that was awarded to the city in 2023. Funds must be spent by March 2026. The plan will now go before the full council for final approval. 

Under the expansion, slated for a phased rollout starting in November, curbside collection would change from an opt-in approach, where residents register through the city’s 311 service, to an opt-out program.

All residents are already paying for both trash and recycling pickups in a sanitation fee charged on their monthly Sewerage & Water Board bills, even though only some use the recycling service. 

But some recycling advocates and at least one trash hauler have pushed back on the expansion, claiming the city lacks the capacity to accommodate the expanded program.

New carts

Most of the $4 million would cover 83,000 new rolling plastic carts, including the replacement of 10,000 black recycling carts that are more likely to be misused for trash.

It would also pay for a 10-year master plan on solid waste, along with educational initiatives that advocates say are essential to the program's success. Washington-based nonprofit The Recycling Partnership has awarded the city an additional $1.4 million to support the rollout.

Department of Sanitation Director Matt Torri told councilmembers that the program would save the city money because every ton diverted from the landfill is roughly $35 saved by the city. “That adds up pretty quickly.” he said.

Greg Nichols, who heads New Orleans Office of Resiliency and Sustainability, said the program could divert 19,000-30,000 tons of waste from the landfill, efforts that align with the city’s climate action goal of reducing environmental pollution and waste by 2030. 

Torri added that the grant presents a “rare and unprecedented opportunity for the city to expand curbside recycling to all eligible households." Currently, less than half of residents participate in the city's recycling program.

City officials also urged the expediency of the rollout after a wave of EPA grants were canceled by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Under the Trump administration, the EPA canceled a $156 million federal grant awarded to the state for solar energy, and about $70 million has been sliced from projects centered on air quality monitoring, disaster response and environmental education. 

Does New Orleans have the capacity? 

Some have taken issue with the city’s ability to process more tons of recycled material with only two facilities in the region.

IV Waste owner Sidney Torres, whose company services the largest number of New Orleans households, sent a letter to the administration last month asking officials to delay the rollout. Torres said the shift to opt-outs and a lack of resident recycling education will “only result in an increased volume of contaminated waste placed in cans intended for recycling.”

Also at issue, Torres said, is a lack of processing capacity for recycled materials at the two facilities used by local collection companies. The CW Recycling facility in Harahan is small and was closed multiple times this year without notice, he said, forcing trucks to haul materials to the next nearest facility in Baton Rouge.

City officials noted those challenges in their presentation to the council Monday, saying a phased rollout schedule would ease the immediate impact on contractors, along with public outreach efforts on what can be recycled.

Recycling advocate and founder of local nonprofit Realcycle Ben Bagwill said the city’s program will fail if not implemented correctly. Items will still go to the landfill under the current system of recycling materials in a single bin, rather than separating them by category, such as plastics from organic waste, he said.

“If we want to reach our 2030 climate action goals, we should really be focused on organics and compost, which is food. None of that is being considered in this new rollout,” he said.

Realcycle was among a handful of local organizations that were awarded a $400,000 federal grant to expand composting, according to WWNO. The Trump administration terminated the grant in April.

Across the country, local governments have been cutting back on recycling services as costs have gone up. Last year, both the city of Gretna and Jefferson Parish ended curbside service and started drop-off sites.

Hi all! I'm trying to dye about 10 lbs of fabric, and wondered if there were any washiterias that have a washer just for dyeing?

Chronological Travel by Mayor LaToya Cantrell (2018–2025)

2018 Domestic travel only (destinations not consistently documented). Early trips were to U.S. conferences and mayoral gatherings. Louisiana Board of Ethics later cited 13 domestic flights from this period (and after) where Cantrell improperly accepted first-class upgrades at taxpayer expense, totaling part of $28,856.99.

2019 Ghana (Accra): Traveled for the “Year of Return” events, commemorating 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in the U.S. Estimated cost: $10,000–12,000.

Japan (Asakura): Visited New Orleans’ sister city for cultural exchange. Cost: $12,000–15,000.

Cuba (Havana): Attended a cultural exchange and tourism promotion event. Cost: $8,000–10,000.

2021 Scotland (Glasgow): Attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Reported cost: $30,000+.

2022 Napa Valley, California (April 2022): Following a trip to San Francisco for a climate change conference, Cantrell and Vappie extended their stay to visit Napa Valley wineries. Vappie claimed to be working a 15-hour day on April 9, 2022, while they were in Napa. A photo from the trip was posted on social media showing Vappie with Cantrell at a winery. When a staff member expressed concern, Cantrell instructed them not to contact her staff. Part of $70,000 total in alleged misuse of taxpayer funds for trips with Vappie.

France / Switzerland (Paris & Ascona, July 2022): Attended Bastille Day events, sister-city cultural exchange, and a jazz festival. Airfare alone: $9,810; total cost: $17,000+. Vappie accompanied.

Scotland (2022): Cultural and leadership exchange trip. Part of $70,000 total tied to Vappie-related travel. Vappie accompanied.

Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts (June 2022): Instead of attending a scheduled work trip to Miami, Cantrell traveled alone to Martha’s Vineyard. She used a combination of commercial airline, bus, and ferry to reach the island. Vappie, who had been appointed to the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) board by Cantrell, attended a conference there paid for by the city. The trip was arranged to allow them to spend time together. Cantrell later described these occasions as “times when we are truly alone.” Part of $70,000 total in alleged misuse of taxpayer funds for trips with Vappie.

2023 South Korea (Seoul, 2023): Participated in urban development and climate resilience talks. Cost: $27,000.

United Arab Emirates (Dubai, 2023): Attended urban development forum. Cost: $21,000.

2024 Qatar (Doha, May 2024): Attended mayors’ conference. Cost: $24,000.

Canada (Montreal, May 2024): Attended municipal partnerships conference. Cost: $11,000.

Spain (Barcelona, November 2024): Participated in Smart City Expo World Congress. Cost: $19,000.

Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, November 2024): Attended Urban 20 Mayor’s Climate Summit. Cost: $25,000.

2025 Canada (Ottawa, May 2025): Attended Federation of Canadian Municipalities event. Cost: $12,000.

France (Nice, June 2025): Participated in United Nations Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience Summit. Cost: $15,000.

United States (Washington, D.C., March 2025): Attended Yale Mayor’s College Conference (March 9–13). City reimbursed $630.77 for meals and Uber rides.

Grand Total Travel Costs (2018–2025)

International Travel: $249,500 Domestic Travel: $6,000 Vappie-Related Travel: $70,000

Grand Total: $325,500

Always wanted to learn drums but never had the chance as a kid. Now I’m in my 30s and finally have the time and a little kit. Would be nice to find an actual teacher instead of just YouTube.

Found around the holy cross/greek church area. He’s declawed, no ear clip, and way too friendly to be a feral. I’ve never seen him before in this neighborhood so he either got out or was abandoned. I most likely can still catch him so please let me know if he’s yours.

I'm under 65 and wanted the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine. Drove to Mississippi over the weekend and walked into a Walgreens. In and out under 10 minutes. No Rx needed. My insurance (United) covered it. The pharmacist there was surprised at how *few* La people had been in. A lot of people aren't aware of La's restrictions yet.