Eve Abrams

What Would Your Map Of Jazz Fest Look Like?

Eve Abrams — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:48:19 +0000

Helen Regis is a cultural anthropologist who has been studying the Jazz and Heritage Festival for 10 years. In some ways, she says, you can think of the Jazz Fest as a city.

Allison Miner's Spirit Lives On In The Jazz & Heritage Festival Stage Named For Her

Eve Abrams — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:55:00 +0000

When the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival first began in 1969, it was radical. Here in the South, still reeling from the Civil Rights movement and race integration, the festivals’ founders — Quint Davis, George Wein, and Allison Miner — created a safe space for New Orleanians to come together, to hear each others’ music and to party — together. Eve Abrams brings us this profile of Allison Miner, a titan in New Orleans music, and the only person with a Jazz Fest stage named for her.

People vs. Pets? Plans For City Dog Parks Draw Growls From Some Owners

Eve Abrams — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:25:06 +0000

If you own a dog in New Orleans, there are two places where your dog can legally run around off-leash: your yard and City Bark, the private dog park in City Park.

The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission wants to change that. NORD-C has selected two off-leash dog-runs for each district, but with city money tight there’s no telling when they’ll be built.

Marching Bands Battle Before Parades Roll

Eve Abrams — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:54:20 +0000

High school marching bands have two main seasons: football and Carnival. But unlike football season, where bands briefly entertain sports fans during half time shows, Carnival season is a marathon of long songs, marching, and discipline. It’s also a time when the musicians, not the athletes, compete.

Eve Abrams visited two of New Orleans’ rival high school marching bands: MacDonough 35 and Warren Easton.

Growing Home Helps New Orleans Invest Millions to Landscape Vacant Land

Eve Abrams — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:41:07 +0000

You see it in your neighborhood or on your way to work: an abandoned house or empty lot — a small piece of New Orleans which once belonged to someone, but now, is sagging or overgrown or both.

Discovery of Human Remains Delays Iberville Redevelopment

Eve Abrams — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The Housing Authority of New Orleans received a Federal grant last year to redevelop the Iberville Housing Development, the city’s last traditional public housing complex, on the edge of the French Quarter. The plan was to keep about a third of the buildings, demolish the rest, and build new, mixed-income housing.

Grow Dat Youth Farm Nurtures Leaders

Eve Abrams — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:54:32 +0000

When teenagers look for a job, they often seek skills and training just as much as money. But for kids growing up without abundant resources, opportunities for developing confidence, humility, and a good work ethic can be hard to come by. Yet one New Orleans program, the Grow Dat Youth Farm, provides all of this and more in one fell swoop.

State Public Service Commission Considers Lowering "Sinful" Prison Phone Rates

Eve Abrams — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:49:29 +0000

When a prisoner calls home to talk to his mother, son, or daughter, that call costs his family about 15 times more than it would if the same number were dialed outside the prison walls. These costs vary from one jail to the next, but every Louisiana prison receives a hefty kickback from the collect phone calls inmates make simply to stay in touch with their friends and families.

Hurricane Isaac Aftermath Raises Questions About Louisiana Citrus Farming Future

Eve Abrams — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 21:54:18 +0000

When Hurricane Isaac blew through Louisiana, it caused an estimated $100 million worth of losses in agriculture. About 40% of the state’s citrus crop was destroyed, and in Plaquemines Parish, where most of our citrus comes from, nearly half the citrus acres were flooded.

Farmers in the worst hit areas are cleaning up. Meanwhile, the luckier farmers worry about the next time. All of them told Eve Abrams the future of Louisiana’s commercial citrus industry does not look good.

Bard Early College High School Seeks Thinkers Not Numbers

Eve Abrams — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:12:25 +0000

College and high school classes are different. And, surprisingly, what many high schools do in the interest of college prep is out of step with what liberal arts colleges actually want.

In New Orleans, where our successful future depends upon thinkers who can unravel complex problems, there’s one school actively selecting students based on their curiosity and drive, rather than their grades and test scores. Eve Abrams steps inside the admissions process at Bard Early College in New Orleans.