The ongoing marsh fire in New Orleans East is menacing many elderly and asthmatic citizens of New Orleans and may continue for another day. Rain is forecasted over the weekend, but this is a not a simple brush fire, but one that exists above and below ground, making it harder to extinguish.
This is not the first time in recent memory smoke or smells have hit the old city hard, and is at least the third major event since August 2005 (warehouse fires during the levee breaks on the waterfront and the oil spill on the Mississippi in 2008) and of course, who can forget BP’s destruction of the gulf, endangering health far and wide when their shoddy oil rig exploded in 2010.
Interestingly though, the city’s air is quite clear and clean most of the time, which makes the overwhelming smell and sight of thick smoke this week even more unbearable, especially in the drip of summer.
The French Quarter seemed to get a whole bunch of the smoke and made those old houses useful as chimneys for a few hours. Lucky for the residents of the Quarter, there are plenty of air-conditioned bars and restaurants in which to escape…
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Category Archives: news story
Starting a new life in the old city
Perhaps the only Louisiana governor with a first-hand knowledge of the French Quarter-since Huey Long- is back in town and married at the Monteleone:
Edwin is back
Good luck Edwin.
Get Away
Register to win a “Get Away in the Vieux Carre”
The Historic New Orleans Collection is proud to participate in the French Quarter Business Association’s third “Get Away in the Vieux Carre.”
The promotional campaign, which started in June, inspires people to be French Quarter tourists for a few days. Each prize package consists of complimentary hotel accommodations and meals, as well as entertainment gift certificates.
Winners will be chosen at random at the end of the month in July and August. In addition to The Collection, other participating businesses include Hotel Monteleone, Westin New Orleans Canal Place, Bienville House, Acme Oyster House, Antoine’s Restaurant, Cafe Beignet, Palm Court Jazz Cafe, Court of Two Sisters, Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, Pat O’Brien’s, House of Blues, Gray Line Tours, Steamboat NATCHEZ, Creole Delicacies, Feet First, Adler’s Jewelry, and Audubon Nature Institute.
Registration is free and winners will be notified by the FQBA.
Contest
Iron Rail rejuvenates the lower Quarter
June 4, 2011
The new Iron Rail at 503 Barracks St. is now wheelchair accessible.
We also have a phone number: 504-38-DEATH (33284).
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May 27th, 2011, via Nola Anarcha:
80 days after the NOPD broke its own laws to evict the Iron Rail from its location in the ARC at 511 Marigny, New Orleans’ only anarchist bookstore and library has returned…but this time the black flag has unfurled in the French Quarter!Yesterday the Iron Rail opened its doors onto 503 Barracks next to Decatur, across the street from local coffee shop Envie’s, and next door to our friends at Gnome and Riot Supply Co. Well into the night food and wine was served and art displayed. Old and new faces streamed in and out of the boutique as folks celebrated the new space and satiated their suppressed appetites for rebellious readings.
NOFD quick action kept FQ fire from spreading
Ursuline and North Rampart fire
“Buildings at corners are especially important because they really set the tone for four different streets, and to lose another building on Rampart would be devastating,” said Meg Lousteau, executive director of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents Association. “We’ve lost so much. There’s been so much erosion of the character along Rampart.”
French Quarter block by block 