As Mayor Ray Nagin’s final term approaches its conclusion, he has talked about the city entering into personal services contracts and big ticket technology contracts, despite incoming Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s request that he not. One of those possible deals was taken off the table today when Stewart Juneau requested that the negotiations for a public service [...]
Tag Archives: Memorial Auditorium
Mayoral Candidates Agree on Music
January 12, 2010 – 10:27 am
The details of their support may be different, but five of the mayoral candidates agreed on the importance of music to New Orleans at the Music Swings Votes forum at Loyola’s Roussel Hall Monday night. “Music is to New Orleans what oil is to Houston,” John Georges said. Georges, Mitch Landrieu, Rob Couhig, Nadine Ramsey [...]
Shameless
December 31, 2009 – 10:38 am
In early November, we covered the proposed redevelopment of the Memorial Auditorium as CECI – the Center for Entertainment and Creative Industry. Reviewing what I wrote, I feel like I missed something obvious – that the proposed multi-purpose entertainment complex was given its ambitious sprawl to accumulate a broad constituency, which would make it harder [...]
First Signs of Trouble
November 11, 2009 – 10:47 am
After Monday’s blog post about CECI, one commenter responded: When two days after the announcement you get a double barrel assault from both the IG and James Gill blasting the project as corrupt, there is no way even the pliant members of the city council will sign on. For those who missed it, this morning The [...]
More on CECI
November 10, 2009 – 10:16 am
A few disconnected thoughts after yesterday’s press conference for the Center for Entertainment and Creative Arts (CECI): – It feels unkind to raise doubts about it because if it happens, it could be a wonderful thing. What’s not to like? It’ll be a performance space, an interactive jazz museum, a home for cultural non-profits, a [...]
The New All-Purpose Everything
November 9, 2009 – 3:11 pm
At lunch time, Dooky Chase’s was a circus. There were drummers out front and Lenny Kravitz, Irvin Mayfield and Mayor C. Ray Nagin inside. To make the scene properly surreal, a woman was walking around with a young kangaroo. The occasion was the formal announcement of the Center for Entertainment and Creative Industry (CECI), a [...]
