I simply remember my favourite things…and than I don’t feel so bad!

Ichabod’s New Orleans t-shirt shop on Magazine Street was building a reputation right before the storm and like so many other local favorite shops became one for the nostalgia files. They have risen from the dust through another medium- an entertaining online site including memorable logo designs on cute tee’s and messenger bags framed next to old New Orleans You Tube videos . Everyone has their own personal and special memoirs of former local spots…. Some of mine include: Read the rest of this entry »

In terms of Katrina recovery, much of the national spotlight has focused on Louisiana’s recovery, or the lack thereof. When CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who has kept to his word and returned to New Orleans a number of times since the levees failure, reported on the two-year anniversary, Cooper compared Biloxi to New Orleans. The basic message was: Biloxi was thriving in the post-Katrina world while New Orleans was failing.

Turns out that Mississippi and its governor, Haley Barbour (R) hasn’t really fared that well either when it comes to aiding those most affected by the storm: the poor and vulnerable. As reported by PBS’s Bill Moyer, the casinos, hotels and condos are beginning to re-dot the Mississippi Gulf Coast while Read the rest of this entry »

 by Sam Winston

With all of the over-stuffing on turkey, cranberry sauce, football and hectic travel during the extended Thanksgiving weekend, one may not have seen an extremely insightful article about the future of New Orleans and how the city chooses its urban rebuilding strategies.

“Two cities: One in the midst of a decadelong real estate boom; the other, devastated, depopulated and wondering who will come home. What can they learn from each other?”

The above mentioned cities are New Orleans and Portland. The article was written for The Oregonian, Portland’s daily paper, by a former Oregon state representative that spent Read the rest of this entry »