Told my neighbor that whenever she was ready to get her vax, I'd be happy to drive her. She just knocked on the door, and we're going to
@nolaready
this afternoon. We really are all in this together.
Shoutout to everyone else spending Motherโs Day changing The family Netflix and HBO Go passwords so your sisterโs ex-boyfriend canโt watch โGame of Thronesโ tonight.
If youโre like me and feeling like you could hear some good news, here are two things:
1) New Orleansโ local news isnโt going anywhere. Itโs strong. Itโs vibrant. And it belongs to all of you.
2) You can hire me! I work hard and I hustle like hell. Email me cabrasted
@gmail
.com
Just had that weird deja vu when you see a random house and immediately realized youโve used the bathroom there during Mardi Gras but have no idea who actually lives there
For my followers outside south Louisiana, this is what we mean when we say itโs *not normal* here, even for the folks like us who made out pretty darn lucky. Limited hours, limited availability on even the essentials.
I'm the last person to want anyone not to take masking seriously, but the NFL saying you can line up on a field w/out a mask but can't celebrate mask-less in the privacy of your own locker room is some "only the optics matter but not your actual body" next-level nonsense
Sources: Saints are facing significant discipline for not wearing masks during the postgame celebration last Sunday night in Tampa, as seen in the videos they posted on social media:
What a hell of a security breach. La State govt suggesting anyone with a Louisiana drivers license, ID or car reg:
- freeze credit
- change pwds
- get IRS pin
- check SS benefits
- reported suspected ID theft
THREAD | It's my last shift as breaking news editor at
@nolanews
. In my final column, I noted how folks don't usually want to know how the news gets made. Well, I thought I'd share a bit as the final hours of this particular chapter comes to a close.
We're officially one month down, one month to go from our
@NOLAnews
layoff announcement. So please excuse me while I introduce you to the newsroom I grew up wanting to be a part of, and somehow got lucky enough to join.
Still seeing a lot of Qs (inc from New Orleans friends texting me, lol) about saltwater intrusion, so hereโs a thread recap:
โ a low Mississippi River means salt is coming up from Gulf. Thereโs not enough rain in the forecast (we need 10โ across Miss River valley) to stop it.
Yesterday was an indescribably beautiful experience for
@cabrasted
and I as we welcomed our daughter Ada into the world. A lot of people tried to prepare me for it, but there was nothing that could be done. I was and still am completely floored.
A bit of *news* from me: I started today at
@Axios
Local! Soon enough, we'll be launching a New Orleans newsletter, covering the city in 1 email a day, but you can subscribe now to see what we're all about:
Check out that
@brbizreport
cover coming soon to a newsstand near you! I had so much fun getting to know how entrepreneurship runs in
@livvydunne
โs family. Grab a copy to get the details ๐๐๐ฏ
Louisiana is set to legalize raw milk sales as conservative media pushes perceived health benefits โฆ and the risk of avian flu on dairy farms increases.
A lil scoop from me: Preservation Hall is going to 4x its French Quarter footprint with the renovation of a bldg next door. It'll be HQ for the foundation and used for artists in residence, gallery, additional performance space and an unrelated restaurant.
Choppa let me follow him for an entire day, welcoming me and
@emmatscott
to see what being the creator of the
@Saints
' latest anthem has meant for him. The magic isn't lost on him, y'all.
I just donโt know a better New Orleans moment of peace than being on the ferry when the engines go quiet and it slides sideways across the Mississippi.
If you didn't happen to have a reason to love New Orleans today ... Barkus made Sapphire, the pup companion to a man diagnosed with cancer who recently traveled all the way down the Mississippi on a houseboat, a duchess in its parade today.
I occasionally catch myself wondering if *this* โ as in no festivals, few restaurant visits, very little if any live music, no lazy nights at the side of an expert bartender โ must be how the rest of the world lives and I just get so damn thankful for this absurd town.
In case you want to know how extremely from new orleans I am, my mom and I couldnโt figure out what โthat mound of dirtโ was from an airplane on the way into phoenix.
A hill. What we saw was a hill.
A personal life goal is to have a krewe of dancing Britneys and we would be called the Krewe of Kentwood's Finest and all wear different lewks through the years and idk how this hasn't happened yet but someone hold me accountable so I make this happen
๐บ๐ธAt midnight after the show I popped to
@PresHall
to see the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, then jumped up to play 'Time Is On My Side' with her and her amazing band!
#StonesJazzFest
Seriously, the
@nolaready
covid testing setup is the easiest interaction with the American medical system Iโve ever had. In and out on 10 minutes, clear directions, and a washable mask & bagged lunch on the way out. Get tested, New Orleans!!
Donโt mind me being moved to tears over here just bc Iโm wearing a costume and dancing in the street while a high school band plays and Iโm trying to catch a dumb plastic cup from George Porter Jr
Weโre always taught in journo not to accept gifts from sources but today I interviewed a man who hustles selling stuff on Bourbon & when I tried not to accept his gifts he (nicely) yelled at me โdonโt rebuke my blessing!!โ so anyway I have a pink poncho & a great new keychain now
I really wish the fashion world would recognize the southern season known as When We Want To Dress Like It's Fall But Remain Realistic About The Fact That It's 90 Degrees Outside time.
So I guess my sister is the hero of Tulane classifieds rn? Sheโs still got a couple black phones left and if theyโre not claimed soon, theyโll be dropped at NOPD. (They recovered a bag of stolen phones in front of Lafitteโs.) Check FB if you had one stolen yesterday.
There are a million people I want to thank for the love the past 20-ish hours. But a healthy dose of it goes to
@Howlinwolfnola
, the staff of whom didn't bat an eye when a slobbery mass of journalists showed up for midday beers. The cheese fries & crawfish beignets were ๐ฏ, too.
@brynstole
Bryn, if we don't get a live update on America's only remaining Popeye's all-you-can-eat buffet and the only remaining Borden's Ice Cream, I'm demanding a refund on my subscription.
If, like me, youโve ever thought to yourself, โhuh, why is
@ByLukeJohnson
so stubborn?โ well, folks, I give you Lukeโs grandmother in the time of coronavirus (narrated by his mother):
Hey New Orleans, I know weโre a lil preoccupied with Marco and Laura, but you might also be interested in the protests happening out in Lafayette ๐๐ผ
That is New Orleans WWII vet Lawrence Brooks on the next edition of
@NatGeo
, with a little profile written by yours truly inside. Very much looking forward to my copy to read the rest of this package!
If you need me today, Iโll be in the French Quarter celebrating with friends and feeling so lucky to live in a place where itโs normal for adults play a bit.
I would like to take this moment while we still have power to let all of you know that my esteemed husband likes neither board games nor card games and I donโt know why heโs like this.
in all seriousness, I have no idea how what Cantrell is announcing right now isn't the same as we've supposed to have been doing since Monday.
What is different?
Hey all โ we made it through the night just fine. Not sure if itโs just me, but Iโm getting no AT&T cell service. (This is coming from a hotspot on Lukeโs phone for the moment.)
Nearly 7 years into marriage and Iโm ready to say that there are two types of people in every relationship:
โ the people who like the overheard lights on and
โ the pekple who arenโt INSANE
๐Life update ๐: I started this morning as the new content manager for
@assn_success
. However,
@ByLukeJohnson
left for work before me (thanks Saints camp!) so I have no back-to-school photo to prove it.
Extreme lol at โQueer Eyeโ driving on a sunny day to look at an apt for Speedy when the street and sidewalk are just totally flooded while SWBNO works nearby, and Bobby is just like โโฆ and this is just a regular occurrence?โ
I've been working on this story in some form or fashion since October and let me just tell you it's so so so so so so so lovely to see it out in the world. My latest, for
@NatGeo
. And to quote the wonderful Mavis Frugรฉ, "All French is good French."
Introduced our new cub reporter in the newsletter today!!
Beyond thankful for the support from everyone at
@Axios
as I navigate the beginning of motherhood, but especially for
@carlie_kollath
, who is holding down our newsletter like an absolute queen.