NEW ORLEANS – Here’s the week that was:
Monday
Gov. John Bel Edwards was inaugurated for his second term but even he was thinking of other things … roughly 76,000 Fans of the LSU and Clemson college football programs gathered on Monday night in the Louisiana Superdome for the College Football Playoff National Championship. LSU ultimately took control of the game and defeated Clemson by a score of 42 to 25 to claim the trophy. … ESPN said the game attracted 26 million viewers, which is a 4 percent increase over last year. … Meanwhile, Centerplate, the hospitality company in the Superdome, reports it sold 70,000 beers during the game and fried 3,500 pounds of shrimp.
Wednesday
Conservation and community groups sued the Trump administration to challenge environmental permits for a Taiwan company’s planned $9.4 billion plastics complex in Louisiana. … and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority said it will seek bids for 28 projects costing about $1.97 billion in the coming year. “Over the next four years, for the first time in the history of our coastal program, we will break ground on projects that will restore more land than we expect to lose,” said a spokesperson.
Thursday
Organizers of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival announced the music lineup for 2020. Highlights include Lizzo, The Who, Dead & Company, Foo Fighters and Stevie Nicks. The event is estimated to have an annual economic impact on the city of more than $300 million.
Friday
The Port of New Orleans said it moved more containers in 2019 than at any time in its history. It totaled 645,943 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which is up 10% compared to one year ago.
Carnival Time
This week, we published several stories related to Mardi Gras: First we created a video about Nola Craft Culture, the glitter-centric craft store in Mid-City, where Carnival riders go to buy supplies and create their one-of-a-kind throws. Then we reported that Jefferson Parish is experimenting with Mardi Gras Moola, a throw that’s also a coupon redeemable for discounts and services; Ochsner is unleashing its Eat Fit King Cake, made without sugar, dairy, gluten or grain; and Grounds Krewe is debuting its new line of edible throws.
Parks and Rec
Also this week, we reported that the New Orleans Museum of Art received a $1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to for new photography and sculpture initiatives … and, on Wednesday, park officials hosted another round of community meetings to figure out what to do with the section of the park along Wisner Boulevard that used to be a golf course and now is essentially an untamed series of walking trails. The consensus seems to be that the park would like to generate revenue while many in the community would like to keep the area the way it is. … Semi-related news: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing fees for using eight national wildlife refuges in southeast Louisiana, and is also considering lottery alligator hunts on six of its refuges.
Have a great weekend!
