Tag: New Orleans

City Council postpones January meetings by one week due to cyberattack recovery

New Orleans City Hall. Bart Everson | CC Flickr

The New Orleans City Council postponed both of its January meetings by one week due to the ongoing recovery from a December cyberattack, Councilwoman Helena Moreno said on Monday.

The meetings that were scheduled for Jan. 9 and Jan. 23 will instead be held on Jan. 16 and Jan. 30, respectively.

“We are delaying our regular meetings this month by one week to help give staff more time to prepare material and documents in order to give the public the council meeting they expect,” Moreno said in an emailed statement.

The attack, which occurred on Dec. 13, affected more than 4,000 of the city’s computers and devices, including the city council’s, and severely disrupted the city’s ability to conduct business over the internet and phone.

The attack is under investigation.

By Dec. 23, half of the city’s computers were re-imaged partly due to the assistance of nearly 90 volunteers helping the Information Technology and Innovation team in the response effort, said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

About 15 percent of devices that were affected were deemed damaged and put aside, Cantrell said.

Cantrell estimated the recovery at $792,000, which doesn’t include the cost of replacing some equipment, adding that the total cost may double.

Little by little, nola.gov is coming back online, although access to critical documents and information is still limited for many city departments, boards and agencies, Moreno said.

The City Council will meet briefly on Thursday morning in a special meeting to amend the official calendar and put land use and other legal deadlines on hold due to the “ongoing state of emergency,” Moreno said.

Residents can still make 3-1-1 requests for service; pay sales, use, and parking taxes; and pay parking and camera tickets.

Council offices are open for regular business this week, although access to official emails and documents may be limited, Moreno added.

Regular phone numbers and temporary email addresses have been posted on nola.gov for all council-related inquiries.

The city will continue to release updates and information via Facebook and @NOLACityCouncil on Twitter.

Police identify suspect wanted for attempted armed robbery on Ursulines Avenue

David Dixon. Picture courtesy of the NOPD.

An arrest warrant was obtained for a suspect wanted in an alleged Jan. 3 attempted armed robbery on Ursulines Avenue, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) said.

After an investigation, detectives determined that David Dixon, 34, approached the victim at approximately 1:28 a.m. in the 600 block of Ursulines Avenue.

Dixon was armed with a gun and allegedly demanded the victim’s property at gunpoint, the NOPD said. Dixon was reportedly unsuccessful and fled the scene, the NOPD said.

Anyone with information on this incident or the whereabouts of Dixon is asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free 877-903-7867.

New Orleans police search for Bourbon Street robbery suspects who took dog, fanny pack from victim

Courtesy of the New Orleans Police Department.

Three suspects allegedly robbed a victim of their dog and fanny pack in the 600 block of Bourbon Street on Jan. 1, according to the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD).

The alleged robbery occurred at approximately 7 a.m. on New Year’s Day when a female suspect reportedly attacked the victim then took their dog, the NOPD said.

Two more suspects–both male–allegedly ran to the scene and also attacked the victim, this time taking their fanny pack, the NOPD said.

The NOPD released surveillance photos on Jan. 6 that allegedly show the suspects, which are pictured above.

Anyone with information in identifying the three suspects and their whereabouts is asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.

Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc rolls through French Quarter on Jan. 6

Margarita Bergen via Facebook.

The Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc, a Mardi Gras parade inspired by France’s Joan of Arc, will usher in the beginning of the Carnival season on the evening of Jan. 6 in the French Quarter.

This year, the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc will begin its procession at 7 p.m. sharp at Bienville and N. Front streets.

Read: Mardi Gras season begins Jan. 6 with Phunny Phorty Phellows street car ride from Uptown to the French Quarter

The krewe commemorates Joan of Arc, also known as the Maid of Orleans, a peasant woman whose divine visions inspired a French victory over the English for control of France during the Hundred Years’ War in the Middle Ages.

Claiming to be guided by divine visions, Joan of Arc convinced a desperate King Charles VII of France to allow her to tag along with a relief army to the besieged city of Orleans in April 1429, according to historians.

Her mere presence is often credited for inspiring the liberation of the city from the English a week later and subsequently helping the French win several more battles.

The 2020 Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc parade starts 7 p.m. sharp at the corner of Bienville and North Front streets | joanofarchparade.org.

The teenage Joan of Arc was captured by the English at the Siege of Compiegne in May 1430, tried for heresy and eventually executed by getting burned at the stake one year later.

Shortly before the krewe begins its walk, New Orleans City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer will read a proclamation at the parade’s starting point at 6:45 p.m.

Recognizing its connection to New Orleans, France gifted the city with a gilded statute of Joan of Arc at the intersection of Decatur and North Peters streets in 1972.

The first Joan of Arc krewe paraded in 2009.

The Joan of Arc parade route will proceed northwest down Bienville Street before hooking a right on Chartres Street. A brief stop will be made between The Historic New Orleans Collection and Vincent Sciama, Consul General of France in New Orleans, on the balcony of the Williams Research Center at 400 Chartres Street.

Three blocks later, a sword blessing will occur at Saint Louis Cathedral by the Very Reverend Father Philip G. Landry.

The parade continues three blocks later before making a right at Ursulines Street, then another right one block later at Decatur Street.

One half block later, the parade will pause briefly at the Joan of Arc statue to sing happy birthday before continuing down Decatur Street to Washington Artillery Park where there will be a crowning of the king of the krewe along a king cake ceremony.

Individuals are encouraged to bring their own king cakes to share with others in the parade.

Portion of Toulouse Street building collapses

A parapet wall in the 600 block of Toulouse Street partially collapsed on Saturday, dropping bricks from approximately three stories high onto the sidewalk. No injuries were reported. Photo courtesy of the New Orleans Fire Department.

A portion of a French Quarter building crumbled and dropped debris from three stories high onto the sidewalk in the 600 block of Toulouse Street on Saturday morning, according to the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD).

No injuries were reported.

NOLA Ready reported the collapse on Twitter at 10:45 a.m. The NOFD identified the portion of the building that broke apart as the parapet, or a wall at the edge of a roof.

The NOFD identified 627 Toulouse Street as the exact location of the collapse.

Police and fire personnel temporarily closed the 600 block of Toulouse Street for a brief period of time. City code inspectors are evaluating the building.