Jackie and Alex Dancing Zydeco

One of our favorite New Orleans activities!

Who's on Broad?

This summer, I have been working on a community story and oral history project for Broad Street, a newly designated Main Street in New Orleans.  The corridor is really diverse and houses several different types of businesses including coffee shops, liquor stores, non-profits, law offices, and bail bond services.  Different people from across New Orleans travel to Broad Street everyday for work, school, or recreation.  Through the community photo project, Broad Community Connections is trying to capture the stories and experiences of these individuals to show the history, diversity, vibrancy, and functions of the thruway.  The concept is simple: leave a disposable camera with Broad Street employees or residents, allowing them to photograph important aspects of their day and life in general.  We then interview the participants to learn more about their images and thoughts about working and living on Broad.  Eventually, the multi-media material will be compiled on to an interactive website and exhibition.  Below are portraits of some of the individuals who work on Broad.

From Top to Bottom: Kine invents drinks at Black Coffee.  Mama Jennifer recommends books to her customers.  Knowledge mentors youth who attend the Freedom School on Broad.

Photos of Trumpet

Trumpet

The BCC Office is located in the Trumpet Advertising building, which was once an ice-packing factory.  The structure stands in the middle of a residential street and has been converted into modern, shared workspace with large desks, breakout rooms, and a kitchen.  People who work here are even allowed to bring their pets to work.  Different organizations including non-profits, radio stations, artists, and writers rent desk space at Trumpet.  Recently, acrobats have been renting the work space over above out heads, rehearsing their routines while the rest of us sit at our laptops. 

More of our favorite things in New Orleans

The peach lemonade at Il Posto. There are real bits of peach in it!
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An Energy Efficiency Plan for all of New Orleans

Its been a few days since we posted.  A lot has happened.  We defeated our Mouse Invaders, Aditi's parents and my brother experienced Zydeco dancing, and we all watched the New Orleans Fireworks display on the Fourth of July.  The display is apparently rated one of the top five in the country.  There were two barges synchronized on the river.  I was impressed.

Another big even of the last week was the deadline for Entergy New Orleans to submit its plan for a city wide energy efficiency program.  Tomorrow is the first public meeting for comment on the plan.  I expect it should be filled with some characters, so I will update tomorrow.  For now, I wanted to comment on the time frame New Orleans is meeting in creating the program.  After debating what Energy Efficiency should like during the years since Katrina, since this winter the program has been developing at lightening speed.  It does appear the stimulus money available through the American Reconstruction and Recovery Act was the impetus the city needed to get the program started.  Its hard to quantify an impact like that, but in New Orleans at least, the ARRA will have long term effects on both the efficiency of the city and local construction training programs.  That is exciting to see.