Gambit: June 15, 2021

June 15-21 2021 Volume 42 Number 24

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JUNE 15 — JUNE 21, 2021 VOLUME 42 || NUMBER 24 NEWS

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Da winnas and da loozas That’s a wrap on the 2021 legislative session, and Clancy DuBos is here to break it all down for ya

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CONTENTS

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Touch and go

Byron Asher’s Skrontch Music ON HIS 2019 RELEASE, “Skrontch Music,” saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Byron Asher and his 10-piece ensemble crafted a contemporary five-song suite digging into the history of New Orleans jazz and its radical roots in connection to anti-Jim Crow activism. Asher and Skrontch Music — which includes saxophonist Brad Walker, pianist Oscar Rossignoli, cornetist Shaye Cohn, trombonist Emily Frederickson and others — premiere new works that explore the blues genre and the relationship between the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans jazz. The show is at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, June 16, at the Broadside.

Tickets are $15 at broadsidenola.com.

‘A Crime on the Bayou’ explores Plaquemines Parish resident Gary Duncan’s landmark Supreme Court case

BY WILL COVIELLO WHEN ATTORNEY RICHARD SOBOL VOLUNTEERED to provide legal

assistance to Black people accused of crimes and involved in protests in the South during the civil rights movement, he was disappointed when he was assigned to Louisiana. In “A Crime on the Bayou,” he explains that he had been hoping to go to Selma, Alabama, or Mississippi, where there were numerous landmark civil rights battles — and also danger.

No one could have predicted that Gary Duncan’s case would amount to much. Duncan had tried to break up a confrontation between white and Black teenagers as schools in Plaquemines Parish were being integrated in 1966.

He touched a white teenager’s arm.

Though it was inconsequential, Duncan was later arrested and charged with assault. The penalty could have been a fine and up to 60 days in jail. Though such charges were bogus, Black defendants often had poor legal representation and/or chose to plead guilty rather than drag out the fight if they felt they couldn’t win in what was an institutionally racist system.

Duncan was determined to fight the charges, even though he was facing a judge appointed by the vocally racist and politically powerful Leander Perez, who was president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission Council after decades as the parish’s district attorney.

Duncan was fortunate that he was represented by a talented and determined firm of Black lawyers, Collins, Douglas and Elie, who worked in conjunction with Sobol on the case.

“Just as Leander Perez is trying to make an example of Gary, Sobol is making an example of this case,” says Nancy Buirski, director of “A Crime on the Bayou,” which opens June 18 at The Broad Theater.

As the lawyers fought the trumped-up charges, Duncan was released and rearrested. Even though the case was over a minor assault charge, it went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The parish did not hold jury trials for cases below certain thresholds, and that was a common

Anna Moss & The Nightshades practice in in many states at the time, even though the U.S. Constitution says that people accused of crimes have a right to a trial by jury.

The case got to the Supreme Court quickly, and a 29-year-old Sobol argued on behalf of Duncan’s rights. In an amusing clip in the documentary, a Louisiana attorney glibly states that no one in the state needs a jury trial, since judges are knowledgeable and fair. She even laughs off the Magna Carta, a foundation of the concepts of the law limiting the power of the state to control trials.

“A Crime on the Bayou,” which is being released in select cities this week, is about Duncan’s story. He was the youngest of eight children, and his family worked as fishermen in Plaquemines Parish. His mother was especially determined to fight for his innocence.

One of the issues that particularly resonates then and now is making rights meaningful. A frequent interview subject in the film is Lolis Eric Elie, a former Times-Picayune columnist and son of Lolis Edward Elie, a partner at Collins, Douglas and Elie. Lolis Eric Elie notes that the thinking of the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision still held sway: Black people did not have rights that white people were bound to respect.

Regardless of the law — though Perez, police and courts clearly represented the law — Perez was a political kingpin who was determined to run the parish however he chose. One of the outrageous things he did to intimidate civil rights activists, and deter them from protesting his actions in the parish, was to build a special detention center to hold them on the island holding Fort St. Philip, which he bragged about being full of snakes and alligators. He also had Sobol arrested.

P R OV I D E D B Y S H O U T S T U D I O S

‘A Crime on the Bayou’ chronicles Gary Duncan’s fight for justice.

Perez was outspoken in his grossly ignorant and racist views about people who were Black or Jewish. It’s remarkable that he didn’t become the face of white Southern resistance to civil rights, alongside Birmingham’s Bull Conner or Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

Buirski’s film and Duncan’s case open up a lot of issues, especially about institutional racism, the nature of alliances between Blacks and whites in fighting for civil rights and what roles whites play. It also highlights the lifelong friendship between Duncan and Sobol, who died last year. It connects the dots from the resistance to civil rights in the 1950s and ‘60s to today’s Black Lives Matter movement.

The film has a shrewd sense of irony.

The soundtrack plays native New Orleanian Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927” in a segment showing police trying to disperse Black protesters.

Newman sings “They’re trying to wash us away” as authorities spray firehoses at young Black protesters.

The film also captures the strange world of Perez’s Plaquemines with photos of bayous and alligators.

“As a filmmaker, the landscape has this incredible combination of beauty and danger,” Buirski says. “Those bayous are very seductive and they’re scary at the same time.”

The film opens June 18 at The Broad Theater. On Monday, June 21, there’s a book-signing reception at 6 p.m., a screening at 7 p.m. and then a Q&A with Duncan and Van Meter, who will attend the event, and Buirski, who will participate remotely.

SINGER-GUITARIST ANNA MOSS for the last several years has been onehalf of the duo Handmade Moments with Joel Ludford. Moss recently launched a new solo project, Anna Moss & The Nightshades, creating charming indie pop with flautist Olivya Lee, drummer Fernando Lima and Ludford on bass. The band will play at 5 p.m. Friday, June 18, at Palace Market, the outdoor space run by d.b.a. Tickets are $10 at eventbrite.com.

Walter “Wolfman” Washington GUITARIST WALTER “WOLFMAN” WASHINGTON PERFORMS an afterwork show in Legacy Park, a small park with a recently completed mural at 730 Baronne St. in the Warehouse District. The show is from 5:30 p.m.7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17. Find information about the music series at downtownnola.com.

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas OVER MORE THAN THREE DECADES, Nathan Williams & the Zydeco Cha-Chas have a released a string of live albums, recorded everywhere from Richard’s in Acadiana, Jazz Fest and Rock ‘n’ Bowl. The band headlines a Thursday night zydeco dance party at 8 p.m. June 17. Find tickets at rocknbowl.com.

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V I E W S

Instead of signing bonuses maybe try paying strippers what their labor is worth

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

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The percentage of essential worker women of color who earn less than $30,000 yearly in New Orleans, according to the Data Center.

Will Coviello, Gambit’s

Arts & Entertainment Editor and his partner Erica Seemann, a teacher, got married at City Park last weekend and are now traipsing around New Mexico on their honeymoon. Congrats, Will and Erica!

P H OTO B Y C H R I S G R A N G E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Honestly at this point we’d be shocked if the pumps were actually working correctly.

Hogs for the Cause raised nearly $3 million after its recent 2021 festival return and fundraising efforts in 2020. That money will go toward helping families with children battling pediatric brain cancer and supporting treatment centers. After canceling in 2020 due to the pandemic, the barbecue festival took place June 4-5 in Belle Chasse. A little rain and a lot of mud didn’t deter the crowd and more than 70 participating barbecuing teams.

LeTrainiump and People Museum Last week were

featured on NPR Music’s “Desk of the Day” series on social media, which showcases entries to the Tiny Desk competition.

Tank and the Bangas won that competition in 2017. LeTrainiump submitted his song “Lost?” with a feature by hip-hop duo SaxKixAve, and People Museum performed their song “Bible Belt.” In an unexpected asterisk to LeTrainiump’s week: The Twitter account for Wendy’s also gave him a shout-out.

AS HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS, S&WB SAYS PUMPS AREN’T WORKING PROPERLY, RAIN REMAINS WET New Orleans’ drainage system will be in a vulnerable state well into hurricane season as repairs to two of the Sewerage & Water Board’s main turbines are now set to take several weeks longer than previously expected, utility officials said.

The two turbines together account for more than half the S&WB’s in-house generating capacity. Without them, the public utility is left relying on two smaller turbines, a series of generators and electricity from Entergy New Orleans to power the city’s pumps.

The announcement Wednesday from the S&WB represents a major setback for the utility, which had promised that repairs to Turbine 4 and Turbine 5 would be completed in time for the start of hurricane season, which kicked off last week.

Turbine 4, which went offline before Hurricane Zeta last summer, initially appeared to be on track to meet that deadline, with testing underway last month that was supposed to be a prelude to bringing it back into service.

But in a press release, the S&WB said that Turbine 4 had tripped offline during a relatively minor rain event on June 5. A contractor examined the turbine on Tuesday and told S&WB officials that three pieces of electrical equipment needed to be replaced before it could be used again.

It is expected to take about eight weeks to manufacture the custom parts needed for those repairs.

“We recognize that this timeframe takes us into the thick of hurricane season, which is why we are working with our contractor to investigate all possible options to expedite this process,” the S&WB said.

Repairs on Turbine 5, which has been offline since it exploded in late 2019, have also been delayed. S&WB Executive Director Ghassan Korban said at a board meeting last month that a nationwide steel shortage has pushed back the completion of those repairs.

That was initially expected to delay the repairs by only a few weeks, though S&WB spokesperson Courtney Barnes said Wednesday that there is now no estimate for how long the delay will last.

Lacking those two turbines, the S&WB’s in-house power generation capacity is significantly curtailed. The S&WB now has two working turbines and five smaller generators, which can produce about 31 megawatts of power. S&WB officials have previously said that’s about the amount of power that would be needed to handle storms dropping 2 to 6 inches of rain on New Orleans.

The Data Center defined essential workers as those who work in transportation and trade, production, health care and social assistance, essential systems and services, and retail. 32% of white women who are essential workers make less than $30,000, as do 38% of men of color.

Essential workers who are white men, however, fare much better: only 16% make less than that amount.

C’est What

?

When do you think the Louisiana Legislature will finally legalize cannabis?

20.4% MAYBE IN 3-4 YEARS. THERE’S ALWAYS SOME PROBLEM.

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NEXT YEAR. THE MOMENTUM IS THERE!

15%

THE LEGISLATURE WILL FIGURE OUT A WAY TO CRIMINALIZE WEED FOR ETERNITY

Vote on “C’est What?” at www.bestofneworleans.com

OPENING GAMBIT

Is that a bomb in your lawn or are you just happy to see me?

Jamal Elhayek was cutting the grass in the lot next to his 7th Ward home when he heard a loud pop. Smoke started billowing from under his lawn mower, and when he turned it over to investigate, he found a partially exploded bundle of bullets and shotgun shells, wrapped in cardboard and duct tape with a paper wick.

New Orleans police said what Elhayek ran over Tuesday in the 1600 block of North Robertson Street was an improvised explosive device. The bomb squad removed what was left of it.

Elhayek said the explosion was loud

enough that his partner, Jackie Sumell, came running outside to see what had happened. He moved the mower and began looking at the pieces of the bomb with Sumell and their housemate. When they found a red shotgun shell and the homemade wick, Sumell decided to call the police.

Sumell “said, ‘I thought you were dead,’ ” Elhayek recalled. She was “still shaking” Wednesday, he said, and it has unsettled him as well.

The lot he was mowing is a former children’s play garden known as the Seventh Ward Boys and Girls Rainbow Garden, where neighborhood kids would do homework, make art and learn to garden. It closed during the pandemic.

Elhayek said he thought the explosive device came from a nearby house that was frequented by drug users who were recently evicted and that he called “a hot mess.” He figured the device was probably carelessly tossed from the house.

He said the police, as well as FBI agents and homeland security officers, came to investigate.

If his lawn mower wasn’t metal, he doesn’t know what would have happened. If plastic, the bullets might have cut through the mower and hit

him. Elhayek said an officer told him he was lucky to have his legs.

—GABRIELLA KILLETT / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Senate Republicans block bill to provide better health care to women The Louisiana Department of Health won’t get an Office of Women’s Health anytime soon.

House Bill 193, introduced by Rep. Denise Marcelle (D-Baton Rouge), which would have created within the health department an office “responsible for leading, consolidating, and coordinating efforts across the state that are intended to improve women’s health outcomes” effectively died in the Louisiana Legislature after the bill was moved to committee and never considered.

After passing unanimously in the Louisiana House of Representatives May 27, the legislation was sent to the Senate Finance Committee, but Sen. Mack “Bodi” White (R-Baton Rouge), chairman of the committee, never took it up.

“I’m a little disappointed,” Marcelle told the Illuminator Wednesday. “It

got through all of the hurdles with no opposition. I didn’t think it was going to be that difficult in the last two weeks to get it heard and off the floor… I guess some politics was in play.”

According to the fiscal note on the bill, adding an Office of Women’s Health would have cost the state $1.8 million over five years in additional staff salaries, operating costs and professional services.

Marcelle said she also waited to push the bill because former Sen. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans), who is now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, had identical legislation moving through the legislature in April. That legislation, Senate Bill 72, also stalled out after Carter left for Congress.

Louisiana has the second highest infant mortality rate in the U.S.; 7.6 infants die per 1000 live births. Black women in Louisiana are four times as likely as White women to die from complications related to pregnancy, and the Black infant mortality rate, 10.5 infants per one thousand live births, is more than twice the rate for White Louisianans. — JC CANICOSA / THE ILLUMINATOR

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The ability to produce its own power is important for the S&WB because about half of its pumps run on an archaic standard that is not provided by Entergy and because its current system has lost Entergy power during storms in the past.

Together, turbines 4 and 5 produce about 36 megawatts of power. The S&WB can convert about 20 megawatts of Entergy power to be used by the pumps that are on the older standard. — JEFF ADELSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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COMMENTARY

The ‘parklet’ program works, so let’s keep it LAST WEEK, GAMBIT’S WILL COVIELLO WROTE ABOUT LOCAL BARS

that took advantage of the city’s free “parklet” program during the COVID-19 pandemic — and the growing uncertainty about what City Hall plans to do when the program expires at the end of the month.

We hope the city finds a way to continue this program.

Parklets are basically repurposed parking spaces used by bars and restaurants to create outdoor seating.

During the height of the COVID lockdowns last year, cities across the country began allowing restaurants and bars to set up tables, service stations, heaters and even tents in public parking spaces. It was an elegant, simple way to help these businesses survive the strictest occupancy and masking periods of the pandemic.

COVID hit bars particularly hard because bar owners often got little public assistance. Rather than let the parklet program end — or begin charging local businesses for it — the city should extend it as is through the end of the year. This idea makes sense for several reasons.

First, it would likely cost the city only a small amount of parking revenue, especially compared to the huge benefits parklets bring to local businesses and their employees.

Second, New Orleans came relatively late to the party in terms of adopting parklets, and City Hall’s rollout of the program was slow.

That said, for local bars like Pepp’s Pub (located in the Marigny), the program has offered a lifeline that allowed management to expand outdoor service and remain open.

“At 25% capacity, we could only seat 13 people ... having another 20 outdoors has been amazing,” Pepp’s owner Kait Wurth told Coviello.

Third, parklets have been a hit with customers, so much so that Pepp’s regulars helped build out the bar’s outdoor space.

Fourth, while bars can now operate at or near full capacity, many have only just begun to recoup losses attributable to the pandemic

P H OTO P R OV D E D B Y S A M W U R T H

Pepp’s Pub built wooden table tops and added space heaters to its parklet on Franklin Avenue in Marigny.

— and many still limit indoor seating to protect staff and customers from COVID. Although some folks act as if the pandemic has ended (or never happened), many others are still wary of enclosed spaces filled with strangers. Allowing bars to provide an outdoor alternative will encourage these people to venture out and spend money.

Finally, many bar owners and staff dread the traditionally lean summer months, when New Orleans heats up and business drops off. Giving businesses a proven tool to attract customers addresses a critical need. It makes even more sense with October shaping up to be a non-stop citywide festival destined to draw tens or even hundreds of thousands of tourists to our city.

Extending the parklet program till the end of the year would also give the city more time to determine whether to make it permanent — which we support — and to find ways to make it even better.

Bars are a cornerstone of what makes New Orleans so special. The city ought to help, in any way it can, the thousands of citizens who work very hard to help the rest of us enjoy ourselves in this special place we call home.

CITY HALL

MARQUIS CAPITAL PROJECTS are

a classic, time-honored “legacy” move for politicians. While some settle on modest things like a wastewater treatment plant or Little League stadium, Mayor LaToya Cantrell has set her sights on something a bit … bigger.

And controversial.

To cement her place in the city’s long history in the Things We Spend Money on That May or May Not Ever Get Done Hall of Fame, she’s proposing to spend an eye-popping $100 million on a new City Hall in Treme.

There’s no denying City Hall is a dump. On good days it bears a striking resemblance to an office complex for Soviet podiatrists, it smells kinda funny and it is definitely in need of repair, if not outright replacement.

Still, a $100 million initial price tag — supposedly needed to update Municipal Auditorium and which most certainly won’t be the actual cost in the end — is steep, especially when residents can’t drive down their own streets, drinking tap water is a crapshoot and nobody knows which pumps will work on any given rainy day.

Moving City Hall to Treme is equally odd. The neighborhood has been diced up by one massive and disruptive capital project nobody there asked for (hello, I-10!) and is under siege by gentrification. And residents don’t seem at all interested in having City Hall move to Congo Square.

Still, a cool $100 million could buy a lot of things for the city.

Here’s just a few alternatives for all that cheddar:

F I L E P H OTO

NOBODY PUTS NIGHTMARE KING CAKE BABY ON HOLD IN THE CORNER! YOU WILL PAY BATON ROUGE

• Fund the Orleans Public Defenders office for 14.9 years at $6.7 million a year, which would be the same level as the District Attorney’s pre-pandemic 2020 budget.

• Rehabilitate and pave 724.6 blocks worth of city streets, at a cost of $138,000 per block.

• Fund a needle exchange program — which costs cities on average $160,000 a year — for 625 years. Needle exchange programs are one of the most important tools cities can use to contain the spread of HIV and other communicable diseases.

• Build the Irvin Mayfield Memorial Library at the Orleans Parish Prison, a state of the art $98 million facility named after noted Magnolia Mansion performer and library fund thief Irvin Mayfield.

• Purchase 1.2 million books to support the Irvin Mayfield Memorial Library.

• Fund the entire library system’s average annual $17.5 million in expenditures for 5.7 years.

• Purchase 409 homes at an average price of $244,345 to provide housing for transgender and gender-nonconforming New Orleanians. TGNC New Orleanians continue to face an affordable housing crisis due to chronic, longstanding discrimination.

• Give all 81,572 renting households in New Orleans $1,200 to cover rent for a month.

• Help engorge the still flaccid local tourism economy by buying 124,114 out-of-towner couples tickets for the 2021 Naughty N’ Nawlins swingers convention in August. The $805.71 price tag doesn’t include hotel, meals or food but does include access to dances, contests, Bourbon Street bar takeovers and the “hospitality floor.”

• House every homeless New Orleanian for six years at a cost of $12,800 a year per person.

• Buy five million bottles of Wild Turkey 101 (retail $20) and literally flood Bourbon Street with bourbon. And then cleanse it with fire.

• Fund New Orleans Recreation Development Commission’s $16.9 million budget for 6 years. This would have the added benefit of also helping young New Orleanians lead healthy, active lifestyles.

• Go to She She’s and make. it. rain.

• Make as many King Cake Baby costumes as possible and invade Baton Rouge. They know what they did to deserve this.

• Buy 50,251,256 pounds of live crawfish at $1.99 a pound to host the world’s largest boil ever. The

P H OTO C O U R T E S Y S TAC Y G R A B E R T

$100 million could fill an awful lot of potholes.

event would certainly shatter the previous record of 58,000 pounds, currently held by some herbs in Texas and bring the title back to Louisiana WHERE IT DAMN WELL BELONGS. • Buy kayaks ($250 retail) for every New Orleanian to help navigate the streets during flooding.

• Purchase seven CRAFTSMAN 3-gallon corded portable wet/dry shop vacuums (retail $33.23 from Lowe’s) for every resident of New Orleans, which could be used to clean out the water in their cars resulting from flooding due to our terrible pumping infrastructure.

• Buy 63.9 HUGE ASS BEERS from HUGE ASS BEERS for every person living in New Orleans.

• Purchase Attorney General Jeff Landry 5,662,514 copies of the book Law for Dummies (retail $17.66) or 60,711 copies of the 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary for Women’s Republican Club of New Orleans Chief Q Correspondent Martha Huckabay.

• Pay off $95,000 worth of back taxes for 1,052 New Orleans who might owe that amount we randomly picked out of a hat.

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u n e 1 5 - 2 1 > 2 0 2 1

Things Mayor Cantrell could use $100 million for instead of a new City Hall in Treme

15

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Hey Blake, While in the neighborhood recently, I stopped to pray at the St. Ann Shrine on Ursulines Avenue.

How long has it been there?

Dear reader,

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The St. Ann Shrine in the 2100 block of Ursulines is housed in a beautiful outdoor grotto designed as a replica of the grotto at Lourdes, France where Roman Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858. In the Catholic tradition, St. Ann is venerated as Mary’s mother.

The shrine was built in 1927 near the former St. Ann Church, which was established in 1852. According to a 1950 article in The Times-Picayune, the idea for the shrine came from a French priest named Father Hattias who came to St. Ann one Lenten season to conduct a novena and retreat.

Inside the grotto is an altar, atop which sits a large statue of St. Ann. There are other statues depicting Jesus and St. Joseph. Above the grotto is a niche, a replica of the one at Lourdes, with a statue of the Virgin Mary.

A version of Rome’s “Scala Sancta,” or Holy Stairs, leads from

P H OTO BY B L A K E P O N TC H A R T R A I N

The St. Ann Shrine

the base of the grotto to a large crucifix on top of the structure. A tradition involves ascending the 14 steps of the stairway on one’s knees, praying the Way of the Cross on each step.

Over the years, there have been several local churches and church parishes named for St. Ann, including one in Metairie which was named a national shrine in the 1970s.

The church that was located next to the Ursulines Avenue shrine closed in 1995. A Catholic school also operated there until 1969.

Both properties have since been converted into senior housing.

BLAKEVIEW IT’S BEEN CALLED LOUISIANA’S WOODSTOCK. The nearly forgotten rock

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festival — dubbed “Celebration of Life” — happened 50 years ago this month near McCrea, La., at the Cypress Pointe Plantation. The spot in rural Pointe Coupee Parish is on the banks of the Atchafalaya River, about 40 miles upriver from Baton Rouge.

Advertised as an eight-day music festival modeled on Woodstock and the Monterey Pop Festival, the event scheduled for June 21-28, 1971 promised more than 70 big-name musical acts including the Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, B.B. King and Sly and the Family Stone.

Just 20 or so acts actually showed up, including Ike and Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, Stephen Stills, WAR, John Sebastian, Delaney & Bonnie, Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes and Boz Scaggs.

The event was plagued by problems from the start, and legal squabbles almost prevented it from happening at all. Some 60,000 people showed up for the festival in the oppressive Louisiana heat (with accompanying mosquitoes). Festgoers saw shortages of food, water, medical and restroom facilities.

Fierce local opposition, rampant drug use and skinny dipping in the nearby river all contributed to the festival shutting down after its third day. “It’s very hot and very dusty out here and it’s any wonder the kids stayed out here as long as they did,” a state trooper told The States-Item.

A documentary film, “McCrea 1971,” directed by Nick Brilleaux and Scott Caro and featuring film footage of the event, chronicles the history of the ill-fated festival. Watch it online at mccrea1971.com.

R E M M SU

s t pe

PHOTO CONTEST:

WINNERS

CAT CHAT!

PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS MEOW MEOW JAWSY JAWS

DO’S AND DON’TS

OF CARING FOR YOUR PORCH CAT(S)

PROMOTION

Photo by James Crafton

Photo by Christina Meladine

Photo by Trista Schoonoover Photo by Presley Keller

WINNER MINNIE

PHOTO BY KRISTY SOLIS

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CAT CHAT

w i th

PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS MEOW MEOW JAWSY JAWS

Dear Pretty Pretty Princess Meow Meow Jawsy Jaws,

P H OTO B Y S A E E D J O N E S

Forget the Ides of March, beware the Side Eye of Caesar Jones

came across an alarming story in a human blog called the New York Post, which insinuated that as a result of the emotional strain of “going back to work” humans were preparing some sort of mass deportation of pets to somewhere called The Shelter.

While my human would collapse in an emotional meltdown at the mere suggestion of a long weekend without me, it is nevertheless disconcerting.

What steps can an average pet take to ease their human’s transitions and preserve their domestic bliss?

Yours, Caesar Jones, Esq.

First, it’s a pleasure to correspond with a fellow sovereign. May your reign be long and your human be ever attentive to your needs and whims alike.

I’m not terribly familiar with the New York Post. An old friend of mine, Horatio Hamsterblower the 14th, used to favor it for his paper nibbles. He died rather unexpectedly, having not yet reached the ripe old age of a week when he collapsed, the apparent victim of a diet lacking substance. I have avoided its empty calories ever since.

Still as the best minds of our generation have now shown, even a blind squirrel can find a nut occasionally, and there is certainly concern within the pet community about the general mental welfare of newly adopted humans.

So first, the facts. There is anecdotal evidence suggesting some humans are finding it impossible to do whatever it is they do when they leave and then come home and properly attend to our desires.

Of course, I personally know two parrots and a miniature goat who can “speak” human, but if I were to tell you these examples proved humans capable of complex thought you’d have me institutionalized.

And rightly so.

And even in specific examples of humans being unable to walk and chew cat nip, they could simply be not very good humans. Though they crave domestication, humans are often incapable of completing even the most basic of tasks required for it to stick. Who’s to say these people wouldn’t have been adopted two years from now, only to fail miserably and abandon their loving pet benefactors?

The bottom line is that until we know more about what’s happening as the bipeds continue to randomly wander around outside and rudely not wait on us whisker and paw, there’s no need to panic.

Of course, only fools and Golden Retrievers go blindly bounding into the unknown with their tongues hanging out.

Humans are notoriously fickle and unruly creatures. Mine, for instance, still hasn’t

figured out that 5 a.m. is now my preferred time to be hand fed slices of honey ham.

Every morning when I stand on his chest and yell at him and he finally wakes from his thunderous slumber, he glares at me like I was a dog (no offense).

So here’s a few quick and easy tips to help humans transition into a post-pandemic domestic bliss.

Pee on stuff: Yes, I know I recommend this in many circumstances, but our research shows humans react swiftly to the smell of urine, preferably on something they like a lot. For instance, if you’re nervous your human is losing control, pee on one of the masks they’ve taken to wearing.

Chew on stuff: this is more for dogs than cats, because they have large dumb jaws and teeth. The theory is the same as peeing — if you sense your human is transitioning too quickly or developing bad habits, let them know! In this case, by gnawing on a shoe, their hand-held moving picture box or one of their masks.

Book a couple spa days every week: If your human is suddenly out of the house a lot, it’s understandable that you’d be a nervous wreck. The idea of navigating the world on two paws is just terrifying in and of itself, and it grinds my nerves whenever I think about him out there, alone and bipedal. What to do? Well, treat yourself!

Get the human to use “Google” to find a well rated spa — they call them daycares or kennels — and rack up the charges on their plastic money card! Self-care is critical to self-love, after all.

Get a concierge: Maybe you don’t like leaving the house alone. It’s weird outside and there’s way too many birds trying to distract you so they can pick your pocket.

I get it. I’m the same. Luckily, there are actual rentable humans who will come over to walk you, pet you, feed you honey ham, pick up your poops. Just make sure you get one with references. Because nobody needs a lazy human who comes over and naps after a little “alone time” without picking up your poops.

— Pretty Pretty Princess Meow Meow Jawsy Jaws.

G A M B I T ’ S PETS • S U M M E R 2 0 2 1

Like a lot of pets, I adopted my human during the recent COVID-19 lockdowns. Having spent some time as a traveling poet in the wilds of northern Ohio, I felt it was time to settle down, and the pandemic lockdowns provided a perfect opportunity to properly domesticate a human.

My human and I bonded quickly, spending days lounging about his apartment side-eyeing and casting judgment upon his furnishings, the moving picture box, passing birds and shirtless men running down the street he pretends not to be eyeing from his desk. He’s an excellent snuggler and took to food-fetching almost immediately. I have, all in all, been quite happy with my decision.

Recently, my human has begun leaving the house without me. Initially, I was alarmed, having never seen such behavior out of my companion. I asked the group chat about this, and it turns out humans have things called “jobs” and “social lives” — both of which sound exhausting — which require them to disappear for extended periods of time. Crazy sounding, I know, but it’s true.

In my research, I recently

My Dearest Caesar,

Pretty Pretty Princess Meow Meow Jawsy Jaws sees your soul.

5

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Every block in New Orleans has its own set of cats, prowling the street, lounging on porches and occasionally letting the lucky resident give them a scratch behind the ears. Community cats are just a part of the New Orleans environment — really, they’re a part of every urban environment around the world — and neighbors make up their own nicknames and small dramas for the elusive, feral felines.

Community cats are the undomesticated cats that make up their own colonies in our neighborhoods.

They’re at home outdoors, hunting rats and insects, and are usually skittish toward humans, except for the rare few they deem worthy.

Having a controlled population of feral cats is important for the neighborhood. They help keep the ecosystem in check by hunting rodents and pests — Chicago actually recently released 1,000 feral cats onto the streets to help curb a rat explosion. And larger pests, like raccoons and opossums, tend to avoid areas with a cat colony.

But it’s also easy for a neighborhood’s community cat population to get out of hand. A cat can become pregnant as young as four months and potentially reproduce four times a year. Consider the average cat litter is 3-5 kittens and, well, it’s easy to imagine the day when our cat overlords finally do take over. Trap-Neuter-Return programs are critical in helping limit the cat population (more on that below).

According to the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, research has shown simply removing a colony of feral cats from an area doesn’t work. A “vacuum effect” is created, and a new colony of cats will simply set up shop around the still existing food sources.

Community cats are a fact of life in New Orleans, and some cat-lovers might be feeling the urge to take care of them. Maybe you’re new to a neighborhood or have noticed some new free-roaming cats in the area. Whatever the reason, if you want to support the community cats on your block, local experts have some dos and don’ts to keep in mind.

F I L E P H OTO

Look at this pretty pretty kitty

GET A GOOD LOOK AT THAT CAT Take some time to better understand what the cat colony in your area looks like. Is the cat you see feral or could it be a stray? Feral cats tend to be more wary of humans, aren’t as vocal and usually have better kept coats, according to the Metairie Small Animal Hospital.

Strays on the other hand have been socialized and tend to be friendlier and have matted, dirty coats after being alone outdoors for some time.

If the cat looks well-fed, there might already be a “feeder” — someone actively leaving food out for a cat colony — in the area, says Rachel Goyette, programs director at the Jefferson SPCA. Take a walk around the area, she adds, to see if there are empty food bowls on porches.

And look to see if the area’s cats have the tip of their ears missing.

Ear-tipping — removing a small tip of one ear — is done when a feral cat has been neutered or spayed, vaccinated and returned to an area.

“You might need binoculars to see ear-tips, and you can see eartips better from the back of the head than from their front of their head,” Goyette says.

TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS Before taking steps to feed a cat colony or trap a cat in order to bring it in to be neutered or spayed, it’s important to talk to neighbors about the community cats, Goyette says. It’s possible someone is already feeding the colony or one of the cats belongs to a specific household. It’s best to get to know

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A feral cat walks across the track after eating at Lafreniere Park in Metairie.

the community cats and your neighbors at the same time to understand who is carrying for the colony.

THE HAND THAT FEEDS So maybe you’ve noticed the community cats on your block are looking a little thin, and you’ve talked to your neighbors and nobody is giving out free lunches. You’ve

EXTRA MILE Here are a handful of other things to keep in mind when caring for community cats: • Goyette suggests talking with neighbors about a flea prevention program for the cat colony.

• A plastic bin on the porch with blankets makes for a warmer night’s sleep when the weather dips below freezing.

• If you notice cat droppings everywhere, install an outdoor litter box — and make your neighbors happy.

• Make sure there aren’t holes in your raised home that cats can access.

• The Louisiana SPCA has an “Adopt A Feral Cat” program with no adoption fee for those wanting to home a porch cat or barn cat on their property.

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TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN TNR is the biggest thing the Louisiana SPCA recommends to people wanting to care for their community cats, says Rebecca Melanson, a communications coordinator for the organization, which is based in New Orleans.

The Trap-Neuter-Return method is pretty straightforward: Someone humanely traps a cat, brings them to a vet to be spayed or neutered — and receive a rabies vaccine and tell-tale ear-tip — and returns them to their home area. It helps keep the cat colony from overpopulating an area, which could lead to sickness in the colony or hurting the area’s ecosystem.

It is possible for individuals to rent a trap and do it themselves: Humane traps are available to rent with a security deposit from the Louisiana SPCA for Orleans Parish residents, and Jefferson Parish residents can rent from the Jefferson SPCA. Jefferson Feed also has traps available to rent.

And there are services and a network of area feral cat trappers that will trap a cat for you. A trapping request form can be found on the Louisiana SPCA website, and Trap Dat Cat is an all-volunteer group dedicated to helping trap community cats and finding them medical care.

Both the Louisiana and Jefferson SPCAs also offer spay and neuter services for $35 per feral cat in Orleans Parish and for free in Jefferson Parish.

decided to take it upon yourself to do something and you just took the cat in for the ole snip.

There are a few things to keep in mind when becoming a “feeder.”

Don’t leave food out for more than an hour and change out any water once a day, Melanson says. And develop a feeding routine with that cat.

Also, be careful about changing up the kind of food being given, since that could cause diarrhea.

Make sure trash cans or other food sources are closed tightly to prevent rummaging. And cautiously watch how much food is being given — overfeeding can hurt a cat colony.

There also is a caretaker responsibility with being a feeder. Talk with neighbors, understand if a cat is feral, a stray or an outdoor cat belonging to a home, and make sure sick cats receive proper medical care. In New Orleans, the Louisiana SPCA’s Humane Law & Rescue team can help with inured or sick feral cats.

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Winnas &loozas

CL ANCY D U BOSTHE VICTORS FROM THE VANQUISHED. OUR ANNUAL RECAP OF THE LEGISLATIVEBY CARNAGE SEPARATES OUR ANNUALDUBOS RECAP OF THE LEGISLATIVE CARNAGE SEPARATES THE VICTORS FROM THE VANQUISHED.

BY CLANCY THE FINAL DAYS OF A LOUISIANA LEGISLATIVE SESSION are always filled with political

intrigue and hijinks. Last-minute deal-making on important legislation happens behind closed doors and in hushed tones.

Major issues often fall through the cracks, and only a handful of insiders know what’s really happening in real time.

This year saw lots of that and some new wrinkles in the sausage-making process. The Republican majority in the House and Senate pushed through the operating budget early — more than 10 days before the June 10 final day of the session — to force Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards to make line-item vetoes before lawmakers adjourned. He used his veto pen to punish a few GOP adversaries, and no one made a move to override him.

Other hallmarks of this year’s session included deep divisions within the GOP caused

by Rep. Ray Garofalo’s “good, bad, ugly” comment about slavery; several new gambling measures won easy approval; conservative lawmakers pushed punitive measures aimed at transgender students; and the Legislative Black Caucus flexed its muscle to force Garofalo’s ouster as chair of the House Education Committee.

There’s much more, of course, but one thing never changes: After adjournment, political carnage filled the Capitol’s marbled halls. Which brings us to our annual compilation of the victors and the vanquished: Da Winnas and Da Loozas. Here’s a closer look, starting with …

DA WINNAS 1. LABI & TAX REFORMERS The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) scored some huge wins this year, most notably by securing passage of a package of sales, income and corporate franchise tax reforms. The centralization of sales tax reporting and collections doesn’t change what consumers pay, but it significantly simplifies things for businesses — taking the state from 58 sales tax collectors to one. It’s subject to voter approval of a constitutional amendment in the fall. Lawmakers also lowered personal and corporate income tax rates in exchange for giving up deductions for federal income taxes paid (which can vary significantly depending on Congress’ whims) — if voters approve a separate constitutional amendment. The corporate franchise tax likewise will phase out under another measure. The package, designed to be revenue neutral, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

That took a lot of work.

casino in Slidell, and they okayed a new (to Louisiana, at least) form of gaming called “historic horse racing.” It’s basically video poker with ponies instead of cards — and with proceeds benefiting Louisiana’s horse racing industry by fattening racetrack purses. Note that the Slidell casino is hardly a done deal; Mississippi casinos will likely pour money into the St. Tammany referendum trying to kill it.

3. THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY Someday, weed will officially be big business in Louisiana. Lawmakers approved bills to allow smokable medical cannabis and to decriminalize, but not legalize, possession of less than 14 grams. A bill to fully legalize it for personal use cleared a committee ,which whichisisaafirst. first.

House committee, Many conservative leges quietly concede it’s only a matter of time before Louisiana legalizes — and taxes — cannabis.

Everybody wants mo’ betta infrastructure, which makes one wonder why it took so long for lawmakers to find a way to finance it. This year, they opted to just raid the general fund. Leges hijacked Rep. Tanner Magee’s bill imposing a sales tax on smokable medical marijuana and turned it into an infrastructure financing measure. The reconstituted bill could ultimately dedicate up to $300 million a year in vehicle sales taxes to infrastructure projects — with about $150 million a year dedicated to leveraging bonds for specified large-scale projects.

The bill’s effective date was pushed back a year to give lawmakers and the governor time to gauge its impact on the state general fund, which currently receives vehicle sales taxes. Meanwhile, smokable medical cannabis won’t be taxed at all. Dude!

5. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

2. GAMBLERS AND GAMBLING INTERESTS How do lawmakers love gambling?

Let me count the ways. They gave final authorization to sports betting, which will be available in casinos, racetracks, truck stop casinos, bars, restaurants and online. They approved a local option vote in St. Tammany Parish for a proposed

4. INFRASTRUCTURE ADVOCATES

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Lawmakers passed several significant criminal justice reform measures, even as they killed others that deserved passage. In addition to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis, lawmakers passed a bill making citations rather than arrests the presumptive option for low-level offenses, unless an alleged offender poses a public safety threat. They increased the amount that can be paid to people who have been wrongfully convicted, from $25,000 to $40,000 for each year spent in jail, with a cap

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House speaker SpeakerClay Clay House Schexnayder, R-Gonzales R-Gonzales.

Schexnayder,

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of $400,000. And they approved a measure requiring sustained complaints filed against a police employee or law enforcement officer to remain in personnel files for at least 10 years. Much remains to be done, particularly in the areas of expungements, solitary confinement, qualified immunity for cops and relief for persons convicted by non-unanimous juries.

6. SPEAKER CLAY SCHEXNAYDER I don’t recall ever making an individual lawmaker — even one in a leadership position — a Winna or Looza, but House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, earned the accolade this year.

Schexnayder held the line against Chalmette Rep. Ray Garofalo’s defiant, racially divisive antics after his “good, bad, ugly” comment about slavery — and then pushed through the long-sought sales tax consolidation reform. He did all that even as the head of the state GOP blasted him, and some in the House sought to undermine his leadership, for holding Garofalo accountable.

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Black legislators flexed their collective muscle by holding out on key votes to force the ouster of Garofalo, R-Chalmette, as House Education Committee chair after his racist claims that slavery was good. Garofalo aided their cause by openly defying the Speaker, who had asked Garofalo to make a sincere apology and to refrain from chairing the committee for the remainder of the session.

Garofalo did neither, giving the

caucus the political as well as moral high ground.

8. COLLEGIATE SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIMS It’s too late for past victims, but lawmakers rallied behind a bill that imposes much stricter reporting requirements on colleges and universities for sexual assault and sexual harassment complaints.

This measure was a direct result of hearings by the select committee on women and children, which heard heart-rending testimony from collegiate victims of sexual assault in recent months amid the sex abuse scandal at LSU.

9. NEW ORLEANS This may have been the best-kept secret of the session. Though lawmakers outside the city seriously don’t like Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the city’s delegation — particularly the senators — succeeded in bringing home money for City Park, the Morial Convention Center, the Lakefront Management Authority and various municipal agencies. They even helped the Superdome find a work-around after the House cut $90 million promised in prior years for dome renovations.

10. EDUCATION AND EDUCATORS K-12 teachers got $800-a-year raises, which is less than they wanted but more than Gov. John Bel Edwards proposed, and college faculty got raises as higher-ed saw increased funding overall. That’s a refreshing change, but it’s more a reflection of the state being flush with cash than lawmakers suddenly recognizing the

11. CHILDREN AND YOUTHS This Winna didn’t win them all, just many of the ones that counted.

The biggest loss was lawmakers’ decision to cut early childhood education out of the operating budget, opting instead to carve out a portion of the proceeds from sports betting — but there’s no telling what that might be. The good news: Lawmakers made kindergarten mandatory statewide; adopted a Foster Youth Bill of Rights including rights to privacy, a safe and supportive environment, access to ongoing care information and more; extended the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit through 2030, which greatly helps working class families with children; approved the “pink tax” exception for diapers and feminine hygiene products; approved tax credits for companies that hire youths 18-24; and eliminated court fees in juvenile courts statewide.

12. MISSISSIPPI RIVER PILOTS River pilots associations are perennial powerhouses in state politics.

They convinced lawmakers to kill a pair of industry-backed bills that would change the way Mississippi River pilots are regulated. They even scuttled a House resolution to study pilot regulations. Efforts to trim their sails are becoming perennial showdowns.

13. OCHSNER HEALTH SYSTEM The state’s largest private hospital system beat back attempts by other hospitals and the state medical society to limit the use of its physician non-compete clauses in

FILE PHOTO

That’s the sound of da police.

hospital contracts. This, too, could become a perennial battle.

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importance of education. Community and technical colleges also scored a big win with adoption of a scholarship program named for the late Gov. Mike Foster, a huge supporter of comm-tech colleges.

One glaring loss: Early childhood education got table scraps at best.

14. NEW ORLEANS HOMEOWNERS A proposed constitutional amendment would cap the rate at which property assessments could increase on owner-occupied homes in New Orleans at 10% a year. If approved by voters statewide and in Orleans Parish next year, the amendment would ease the sticker shock felt by local homeowners after quadrennial reassessments.

Thousands saw their home assessments spike by more than 50% in the last two years.

15. PUBLIC DEFENDERS Lawmakers killed a bill that would have eliminated the state Public Defender Board and replaced it with a governor-appointed czar over the state’s public defender system and its funding.

16. EARLY VOTERS A new law will expand in-person early voting for presidential elections to 11 days from the present 7 days.

17. COLLEGE ATHLETES College athletes in Louisiana will soon be able to earn compensation for the use of their names, images or likenesses — subject to some restrictions. Which brings us to …

DA LOOZAS 1. THE REPUBLICAN DELEGATION Their successes were overshadowed by internal strife over Rep. Ray Garofalo’s “good, bad, ugly” comment in the course of touting his bill to outlaw the teaching of “critical race theory” — a decades-old academic term that has become a rallying cry for right-wingers who oppose accurately teaching the history

P H O T O B Y B I L L F E I G / T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette, failed to pass his racist education bill.

and legacy of slavery in America.

At one point, the head of the state GOP railed against House Speaker Clay Schexnayder for ousting Garofalo as Education Committee chair after Garofalo openly defied the speaker. Not a good look for the majority party.

2. WOMEN In a year dominated by headlines about sexual abuse and domestic violence, women deserved to fare much better. While some bills benefitting women did pass, others failed to make it through the process. Most notably, the Senate Finance Committee killed a bill to extend Medicaid coverage for qualifying pregnant women for a year postpartum. They currently receive benefits for only two months. Elsewhere, a bill to create a unified definition for domestic violence failed on the session’s final day. Also killed was a measure that would prohibit employers from requiring prospective employees to consent to pre-dispute arbitration of a sexual harassment claim as a condition of employment.

3. LAID-OFF WORKERS A last-minute deal will end Louisiana’s acceptance of the federal

$300-a-week boost to jobless benefits as of July 31. Under the deal, the state’s regular unemployment benefits will increase $28 a week — starting next year.

Many employers have complained for months that the federal enhancement has caused a worker shortage. Worker advocates say employers should pay a living wage. Employers won that debate.

4. ENVIRONMENTALISTS Lawmakers adopted several fox-in-the-henhouse measures, including one that allows polluters to report and correct their own violations in exchange for reduced fines — and keeping some information under wraps. The same measure also allows the state Department of Environmental Quality not to hold public hearings on applications for new permits for “major source” polluters, or for amendments to existing “major source” permits if no one asks for public hearings. Lawmakers also approved a bill that allows employees of major polluters in the Baton Rouge area to serve on the local groundwater commission without facing ethics violations, even though they are regulating their employers.

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Lawmakers passed several anti-abortion measures, which is not unusual. One bill requires doctors to advise women taking a pair of abortion pills that the process could be halted midway through the process. Another makes it more difficult for teens who seek to “bypass” required parental consent to find a judge legally eligible to hear her case.

6. TRANSGENDER STUDENTS It’s not enough that they get bullied at school almost daily.

Lawmakers had to get into the act by passing a bill that bans transgender girls and women from participating in sports based on their gender identity. The measure literally attempts to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, because the Louisiana High School Athletic Association already has rules in place to address the issue. Moreover, the NCAA has threatened to pull events from venues that don’t guarantee equal rights to all students — and New Orleans is set to host the Final Four next year.

7. SOLAR POWER ADVOCATES Lawmakers passed a concurrent resolution which has the force of law but cannot be vetoed blocking solar projects from being eligible for industrial tax breaks.

At the urging of farmers, they also passed a bill that will delay implementation of a rural solar lease program.

8. AUDUBON PARK Audubon used to be the fairhaired child of governors and lawmakers, but no longer. Its request for state funding was significantly cut this year … again.

9. GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS

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The guv is a small “l” looza this year, mostly because his agenda wasn’t very ambitious. It lacked a defining Big Idea or centerpiece, and on lots of major issues he

remained behind the scenes if not on the sidelines. Lawmakers largely agreed with him on how to spend the federal pandemic relief money, and his early vetoes went unchallenged — but otherwise his agenda was a gallimaufry of proposals on which others, not Edwards, did the heavy lifting. He proposed a $400 pay hike for teachers, but the GOP majority gave them $800. He favored funding for early childhood education, increasing the minimum wage and closing the gender pay gap, but lawmakers balked at all three.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser made a bigger push for early childhood

I LOET P OA S T C O / PFH OHBOYT N G E T Thouse Y I M AG ES The always wins.

Not a good year for solar panels.

education than did Edwards, in fact. A bigger challenge may yet await: If he vetoes some of the controversial bills enacted by the GOP majority in the final days, will they convene a veto override session? And if they do, will they succeed? On that front he could yet become a winna, but for now … not so much.

Overall, I have to agree with Edwards when he said this session, for all its sideshows, accomplished a lot. That’s probably why I count more Winnas this year than ever. Congrats to them all. And to the Loozas: Don’t take it personally. There’s always next year.

On the rise Leo’s Bread opens off Bayou Road

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O AT HER RECENTLY OPENED BAKERY,

Leo’s Bread, Kate Heller offers long loaves of what she calls “party bread.”

But baking wasn’t always a party for her. How Heller went from being a novice baker in a homely wine town in California to opening her own bakery in New Orleans is a story she can’t really believe herself. Let’s just say that a lot of cookbooks and YouTube videos were involved.

Ten years ago, Heller’s baking experience was limited to making pizza dough, but she agreed to run a one-woman bakery in a town called Lompoc, after everybody else said no. Besides a winery, Lompoc had a Home Depot, a state prison and a U.S. Air Force base.

“At the time it was not a cute town,” Heller says. “The winery owner thought maybe a bakery would help attract customers.”

She got started through some trial and error.

“I’m just lucky that bakers are very nice people,” she says. “Anytime I asked a baker for advice, I got it.

Honestly, the first year I sold the bread at the farmer’s market, it wasn’t very good. But it was hot and people bought it anyway.”

Fortunately for her many New Orleans fans, Heller now bakes delicious bread. She opened Leo’s Breads at the end of April, a brickand-mortar follow-up to what started as a pop-up, which transitioned into selling at Crescent City Farmers Market events across the city. During the pandemic, she stayed very busy delivering her bread.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Heller grew up in a family of foodies and worked at a pizzeria, 2 Amys, when she was in high school. After graduating college with a degree in anthropology, employment was elusive. “A guy I used to work with at 2 Amys moved to California and became a winemaker. He asked a lot

of people to come out and run a bakery for him, and I said yes.”

The learning curve was steep. “Once I got it, especially the fermentation part, it started to come together,” Heller says.

Because one of the three farmers markets she frequented was a makers market, she had to mill her own flour from locally grown wheat. “I was selling 200 loaves per market, three times a week,” she recalls.

She’s still making the same loaves, including sourdough and semolina versions.

After three years of nonstop work, she needed a break. “I was 26 and one day I thought, ‘Hey, I need some friends.’ I didn’t really have a plan, but I was exhausted.” She gave notice and took an aimless road trip, which brought her to New Orleans.

Now Heller calls it home, living in the Bayou St. John area near the Fair Grounds.

Soon after arriving in the city, she began baking again at a Bywater commissary kitchen with an old-school, three-deck oven — at the same place formerly used by the founders of Pizza Delicious and the owner of Bellegarde Bakery. She worked at Croissant D’or in the Quarter and baked one day a week, selling bread out of her car in front of Pagoda Cafe, near where Leo’s Breads is now.

Heller had wholesale accounts with the Mediterranean restaurant 1000 Figs. Plans for a pizza place in partnership with the 1000 Figs team didn’t work out, and the space briefly occupied by their Echo’s Pizza now holds a Pizza Domenica. A pivot from farmer’s market sales to pandemic home delivery sales left her with more business than she could handle.

Leo’s Breads occupies a former sheet metal shop at 2438 Bell St., now an inviting space with butcher block tables and seating on a small outdoor patio. Bagels are available plain or coated with sesame or a

Smashing success BUB’S BURGERS OPENED ITS NEW RESTAURANT IN MID-CITY on June

8 with a short menu of smash burgers and a remarkable story of a business that has thrived, not just in spite of the pandemic, but perhaps because of it.

The new restaurant is a small, counter-service operation housed in the side building attached to Banks Street Bar. Open to all ages, it has its own dining room with a handful of booths, and it has a service window opening to the bar.

P H OTO B Y C H E R Y L G E R B E R

Kate Heller with a tray of croissants at Leo’s Breads.

mix of toppings. There are plain croissants and versions filled with chocolate, strawberry jam or pecans.

The bread selection includes crusty loaves of semolina sourdough, sesame semolina, wheat sourdough and tomato and olive focaccia. Then there’s the party bread.

“I don’t do baguettes, but this is a super long, three-pound loaf that’s great for a party,” Heller says.

Whole loaves range from $6 to $10 each. She also offers a few sandwiches on bagels or her breads with fillings such as ham, avocado or roasted vegetables. The small drinks menu includes coffee, tea and kombucha.

“I’m keeping the menu simple for a while,” she says. Looking ahead, she’d like to expand her reach into sweets. “I’m a bread baker but I’m all about lifelong learning.”

Leo’s Breads is open Wednesday through Sundays and she sells goods at a couple of weekly Crescent City Farmers’ Markets.

“I’m working seven days a week but at least I can hang out and have dinner with my friends,” Heller says. “I actually have a life!”

?

What Leo’s Breads

Where 2438 Bell St.; leosbread.com

When 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wednesday through Sunday

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

How At the shop, online ordering and farmers markets

Check it out Breads, bagels and a short menu at a new bakery

P H OTO B Y I A N M C NU LT Y/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

The menu has a handful of burgers, including a veggie burger, a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, cheese fries, Brussels sprouts and soft drinks.

Bub’s Burgers got its start this time last year as a pop-up. It was a business plan cooked up by a group of tight-knit friends who found themselves unemployed or underemployed in the early phases of the pandemic.

A Bub’s burger is a smash burger, a style best known for its thin patties. Cooks “smash” loosely formed balls of ground beef on hot griddles, yielding crisp-edged burger patties to slide either solo or stacked up on a soft bun.

Bub’s popped up at locations including local breweries, like Zony Mash Beer Project and Second Line Brewing, and bars, like Pal’s Lounge.

It quickly developed a following, when bars were closed and many restaurants were not seating customers indoors.

“The opportunity was there,” says Tristan Moreau, one of the Bub’s Burgers founders. “People wanted to do something, anything.”

The name Bub’s is a tribute to the memory of the late Rand Owens.

In this Lafayette native’s lexicon, PAGE 32

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a “bub” denoted a quality human being, a good friend.

“It was a term of endearment. If he called you a bub, you knew you were good,” Moreau says.

Owens had many bubs in this life.

He was the founder of Mid-City Pizza and, to many of his friends, he was the generous nexus of an interwoven community of music, art, food and mutual support.

Owens died in February 2020 at age 33. His friends organized a Festival of Pizza block party in his honor in March of that year, shortly before the coronavirus shutdowns began.

A few months into the pandemic, Moreau and his friends Aaron Amadio, Peter Pervot and the brothers Ron and Josh Richard were ready to unveil Bub’s Burgers. By then, Moreau had started working with Owens’ family on ways to bring back Mid-City Pizza and keep the business in the family. They agreed to host Bub’s first pop-up at the then-shuttered pizzeria. It lasted 10 hours and the crew served hundreds of Bub’s burgers.

Mid-City Pizza reopened later that summer, and after a year of building the Bub’s name through pop-ups, the burger concept has come full circle back to Banks Street.

The new restaurant sits at 4413 Banks St., across the street from Mid-City Pizza. This small spot has seen many restaurants through the years, most recently Trilly’s Cheesesteaks. Previously it was home base for boiled seafood specialist Clesi’s Restaurant & Catering, which now has a big space on Bienville Street.

Rand Owens got his start in the pizza game. He was an employee at Lazaro’s Pizza, once based in the same address Bub’s now calls home. He eventually bought Lazaro’s, changed it to Mid-City Pizza and expanded to a bigger spot across Banks Street. He later opened a second location Uptown.

Today, Owens remains the inspiration at Bub’s.

“Rand really is the reason any of this is happening,” Moreau says.

Opening the restaurant doesn’t mean the end of Bub’s Burgers pop-ups. Moreau says they plan to continue a regular Friday pop-up at Zony Mash and do off-site catering.

Bub’s Burgers is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Back in the fold ADD TOP TACO TO THE LIST of

local festivals and events staging comebacks this fall, and this annual extravaganza of tacos and tequila drinks will have a new location too.

Top Taco is now scheduled for Sept.

23 at Lafreniere Park in Metairie.

As usual, it will gather many different types of restaurants, spirits brands and other participants for a one-night, pay-one-price party.

For its first three years, Top Taco was held in New Orleans along the riverfront, first at Spanish Plaza in 2017, and then at Woldenberg Park for the next two editions.

Moving to Jefferson Parish allowed greater flexibility with attendance numbers when the event’s planning started a few months ago, says Top Taco founder Shane Finkelstein.

Lafreniere Park will have lower operational costs and more room to spread out than past locations.

He says those factors combined to give the event more certainty in its comeback year.

The coronavirus crisis forced Top Taco to cancel just a week before its scheduled March 19 date last year. Finkelstein says he was at first unsure if he could bring the festival back, but sponsors and participating restaurants were eager to take part again.

People who bought tickets for the 2020 event will be issued new ones to use this year, and the event is selling additional tickets for the same prices as the 2020 event.

This year a portion of proceeds from Top Taco benefits the PLEASE Foundation, a nonprofit that serves young people with mentoring and scholarships.

At the festival, restaurants and bars from around the area put out a spread of tacos and cocktails, both traditional and creative, with unlimited sampling of both around the grounds.

Participating restaurants also compete for awards from judges and the crowd in various categories for tacos and cocktails.

The 2019 event’s winner was Johnny Sanchez, the modern taqueria from chefs Aaron Sanchez and Miles Landrem. For the second year in a row it claimed the overall championship title, the David Montes de Oca Ultimate Top Taco Champion, named for the late founder of Kenner’s Taqueria Chilangos, who swept Top Taco in its debut year.

Finklestein was the longtime proprietor of Nacho Mama’s, a Mexican restaurant in Elmwood that closed early during the pandemic. Now, he’s developing a new restaurant called Mama’s Cantina that is slated to open next fall in Metairie, in the former Puccino’s Coffee location at 5200 Veterans Memorial Blvd.

For information on tickets, visit toptaconola.com. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

EAT+DRINK

COLD DRINKS & WARM FEET

3-COURSE INTERVIEW

Abby Boone Ice cream maker ABBY BOONE LOVED TO BAKE

while growing up in Iowa and pursued a pastry specialty at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

After working at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and elsewhere, she moved to New Orleans. She started an ice cream business named for her daughter, and it took off during the pandemic. She and her husband and business partner recently moved Lucy Boone Ice Cream out of the former Thalia restaurant, and they are working on opening a brick-and-mortar location in summer which will offer scoops, shakes, sundaes, off-site catering and more.

How did you get interested in sweets?

ABBY BOONE: I’ve always loved baking. My grandma was a really good baker. My mom baked some, but during grade school, she was always buying me cake decorating sets and I was always baking cookies with her on weekends. In high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I didn’t really like (high school). My mom was the one who found the culinary program, so I went to the Des Moines Area Community College culinary arts program my junior and senior year.

I didn’t know you could focus just on pastry, and my teacher encouraged me to go to pastry school.

What kind of ice cream do you like to make?

B: I like doing nostalgic flavors and things that are similar to desserts. This spring, we did a strawberry pavlova ice cream. I love pavlova. We made pavlova and a strawberry jam and put that in a salted vanilla base.

I like to make flavors that are familiar with a slight twist to them.

Our Cold Brew is our coffee ice cream with chocolate cookies and caramel. One of our big sellers is Key lime pie with lime buttermilk ice cream with Key lime pie and graham cracker streusel. S’mores was one of our biggest sellers. It has homemade marshmallow fluff, chocolate and a graham cracker crumble as well. We make everything from scratch.

P H OTO B Y C O N S TA N Z A G A J A R D O

Mon-Fri 10am-6pm | Sat 10am-4pm

Abby, Lucy and Aaron Boone

There’s a local ferment company called Farm to Funk and we’re using their tepaches in some of our ice creams. This spring we did strawberry tepache sorbet with fresh pineapple, local strawberries and their tepache.

We usually have one or two vegan flavors. Our vegan recipe uses coconut milk and coconut oil.

So they’re coconut-based and we make coconut coffee pretty often.

How did you start Lucy Boone Ice Cream?

B: The pandemic accelerated our plan. We began selling our ice cream last April. We bought our commercial grade ice cream machine a year prior, and it had been sitting in our kitchen unused.

I was testing recipes when we were home and not doing anything. I asked my husband to buy some milk and cream to test some recipes and he said, “I’ll only buy milk and cream if you put it on Instagram and try to sell it.” That’s how it started. I posted some pints on Instagram and they sold, and it grew from there.

My husband was furloughed at the time. He ended up not going back to work, and we’ve been doing this together for the last year.

We were doing home deliveries for a couple weeks. Then the Thalia and Coquette markets started. We moved into pop-ups after that.

We go to all the ice cream popups. There’s a fun little ice cream community now. The more smallbatch ice cream the better. We can all succeed and be friends and build this ice cream community together. — WILL COVIELLO For information, visit lucybooneicecream.com.

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Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159 C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers.

Unless noted, addresses are in New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $21 or more

Notice: Due to COVID-19, dining at restaurants is impacted. Information is subject to change. Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

CARROLLTON Mid City Pizza — 6307 S. Miro St., (504) 509-6224; midcitypizza.com — See MidCity section for restaurant description.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; breauxmart.com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. Lunch and dinner daily. $

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 3834328; kebabnola.com — The sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries. A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce. No reservations. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Mon. $

FRENCH QUARTER Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 5860300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary Creole dishes, poboys and more. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter.

Reservations recommended. Takeout available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 7333803; theospizza.com — There is a wide

variety of specialty pies and toppings to build your own pizza. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 2842898; thebluecrabnola.com — The menu includes sandwiches, fried seafood platters, boiled seafood and more. The Blue Crab platter has fried shrimp, oysters, catfish and crab claws and either fried stuffed crab or soft-shell crab. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Tue.Sun. $$ Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; lakeviewbrew. com — This casual cafe offers coffee, pastries, desserts, sandwiches and salads. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with Monterey Jack and Parmesan. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. Breakfast and lunch daily. $

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; andreasrestaurant.com — Chef Andrea Apuzzo’s speckled trout royale is topped with crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce.

Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in cream sauce. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 835-2022; gumbostop.com — The Seafood Platter comes with fried catfish, shrimp, oysters and crab balls and is accompanied by fries and choice of side. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 888-2010; koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available.

Lunch Sun.-Thu., dinner Mon.-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. Lunch Tue.-Sat., dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Nephew’s Ristorante — 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 533-9998; nephewsristorante.com — Chef Frank Catalanotto is the namesake “nephew” who ran the kitchen at his late uncle Tony Angello’s restaurant. The Creole-Italian menu fea-

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; brownbutterrestaurant.com — Sample items include smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun. Dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic and scallions. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Mid City Pizza — 4400 Banks St., (504) 483-8609; midcitypizza.com — The neighborhood pizza joint serves New York-style pies, plus calzones, sandwiches and salads. Signature shrimp remoulade pizza includes spinach, red onion, garlic, basil and green onion on an garlic-olive oil brushed curst. Dine-in, takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes New Orleans favorites such as red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as grilled or fried seafood plates, po-boys, raw or char-grilled oysters, pasta, salads and more. Dine-in and takeout available. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer features chicken breast, spinach in red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. Dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

NORTHSHORE Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN CR Coffee Shop — 3618 Magazine St., (504) 354-9422; crcoffeenola.com — The

selection includes Coast Roast coffees made with beans roasted in antique roasters, and the sweet vanilla cream cold brew is a signature item. There also are pastries and snacks. Indoor and outdoor seating, online ordering and delivery available. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. $ Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 8910997; joeyksrestaurant.com ­— The menu includes fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and red beans and rice.

Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Red Gravy — 4206 Magazine St., (504) 561-8844; redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with chocolate. The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more.

Takeout available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — The Peruvian menu includes a version of the traditional dish lomo saltado, featuring beef tenderloin tips sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, and served with fried potatoes and rice. Dine-in, outdoor seating and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in Creole, Cajun and Southern dishes.

Fried oysters and skewered bacon are served with meuniere sauce and toasted French bread. Reservations required.

Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$$ NOLA Caye — 898 Baronne St., (504) 302-1302; nolacaye.com — The menu features Caribbean-inspired dishes and Gulf seafood. Seared ahi tuna is served with mango, avocado, mixed greens, citrus vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Takeout, delivery and outdoor seating available. D daily, brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$

WEST BANK Asia — Boomtown Casino & Hotel, 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, (504) 364- 8812; boomtownneworleans.com — Restaurateur Tri La’s menu serves Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. The Lau Hot Pot for two comes with choice of scallops, snow crab or shrimp. Reservations accepted.

Dinner Fri.-Sun. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant. com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Paneed chicken piccata is topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

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tures dishes like veal, eggplant or chicken parmigiana, and Mama’s Eggplant with red gravy and Romano cheese. Reservations required. Dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Short Stop Po-Boys — 119 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, (504) 885-4572; shortstoppoboysno.com — The menu includes more than 30 po-boys along with other Louisiana staples. Fried Louisiana oysters and Gulf shrimp are served on a Leidenheimer loaf with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $

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MUSIC

STAY ISSUE ISSUE CALL NOW! COMING JUNE 22 AD SPACE

JUNE 11

EVERYTHING LOCALS NEED

TO REDISCOVER NEW ORLEANS! F E AT U R I N G

Museum Preview Promote your museum exhibits & special events in this special section of Gambit.

To advertise call Sandy Stein at 504.483.3150 or email sstein@gambitweekly.com

Straight-talk

BY JAKE CLAPP SOMETIMES GABRIELLE WASHINGTON GETS ANNOYED when people call

the music she makes as part of Sexy Dex and The Fresh or under her own solo moniker, Delores Galore, “’80s music.” Except, she immediately admits with a laugh, she was inspired by the ‘80s for the cover art on her new Delores Galore EP, “Don’t Get It Twisted.”

The art, made by Malik McCoy, incorporates similar line work as Janet Jackson’s “Control” album, and elements hint at artist Patrick Nagel and city pop, a Japanese genre inspired by funk, R&B and jazz that has had a recent digital resurgence with vaporwave musicians. Washington is wearing a vintage outfit from her mother, holding the phone and looking unamused.

“I wanted to take a picture of me on the phone and have a face like, ‘The fuck are they talking about?’ ” Washington says. “That’s why my album is called ‘Don’t Get It Twisted.’ Because, especially being a Black woman, people just get us twisted. Sometimes they get our messages crossed. That’s not what I mean and don’t think you can come at me a certain way just ’cause I’m a Black woman.”

Washington released her new Delores Galore EP earlier this month. The five-track synth-pop project came together over the last year, and includes her song “Continue?” which was featured on Community Records and Strange Daisy’s “Works on Progress,” released in February.

A week or two into quarantine, she noticed the days were being filled with too many video games and snacks. “And then I was like, I can’t live like this, I need to do music again,” Washington says. She wanted to make an escape.

The song she started writing ended up becoming the synthheavy, dreamy track, “Lova Girl.”

“That song was kind of a fantasy song because me and Dexter [Gilmore, singer for Sexy Dex and The Fresh] felt like we were trapped,” Washington says. “It was kind of to get out of this world. I wish we were on the beach together, enjoying life, being free.”

The last track on the album, “DROP,” was also the final song to come together for the EP, a body-moving house track urging the dancer to “keep on growing.”

P H OTO B Y D E X T E R G I L M O R E / P R OV I D E D B Y D E LO R E S G A LO R E

Delores Galore recently released her latest EP, ‘Don’t Get It Twisted.’

Washington wrote, played and produced “Don’t Get It Twisted,” with co-production, mixing and mastering help from Gilmore and SDTF bandmates Andrew Landry and Evan Cvitanovic.

There’s an underlying message to “Don’t Get It Twisted:” The music on the EP is an expression of frustration for Black female artists in a whiteand male-dominated music industry fighting for visibility, Washington says. The Black women who were pioneers of pop music inspired the music on the EP. And in the past, Washington has spoken about Delores Galore being inspired by the women in her life — the musician also recently hosted a Worldwide FM mix featuring to artists like Minnie Riperton and Vicky D. But “Don’t Get It Twisted” is about holding on to those dreams and continuing to fight for them. “This album is a resistance to the obstacles and expressing yourself by any means necessary,” the liner notes say.

“Black female artists have been pioneers for a lot of music we listen to today and they deserve to be recognized,” Washington says. “They deserve to be heard, to be supported.”

“Don’t Get It Twisted” is available at deloresgalore.bandcamp.com.

Washington also recently launched a $5 a month new music subscription on Bandcamp, which includes her recent Worldwide FM mix.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT African Dance, speakers and more at a free event in Louis Armstrong Park from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 19. Find a full schedule and details at nolajuneteenthfestival.org.

Mikayla Braun

Juneteenth New Orleans

LOCALS MAY KNOW SINGER-SONGWRITER MIKAYLA BRAUN from her time as the lead singer of funk pop group The Crooked Vines. Faith Becnel, who made it to the top 20 of American Idol’s 2020 season, now heads that group. Braun performs solo Thursday, June 17 at 8 p.m. at Gasa Gasa. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on ticketweb.com

TONYA BOYD-CANNON HOSTS A CELEBRATION featuring DJs Raj Smoove and Captain Charles, Congo Nation with Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sporty Brass Band, Nguvu African Dance and Drum, Nique’o and Tiffny “Poeticshortee” Harris. There also are food vendors and a market.

From 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at Vybes Nation (1681 Religious St.). Tickets are $10-$25, available via nolajuneteenth.com.

The Low End Theory Players HIP-HOP TRIBUTE BAND THE LOW END THEORY PLAYERS takes its name from Queens-based group A Tribe Called Quest’s second studio album “The Low End Theory,” which was released in 1991. The group performs at Tipitina’s at 9 p.m.

Friday, June 18. Tickets start at $22 at eventbrite.com.

Comedy Zone THIS DOUBLE BILL FEATURES SHAUN JONES, a veteran of B.E.T. comedy shows and BounceTV’s “Off the Chain,” and Moody Molavi, who was born in Iran, raised Southern Baptist in Tennessee and went into comedy. At 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 18-19, at the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre.

Find tickets at jpas.com.

“Summertime” TO CELEBRATE FATHER’S DAY, classical vocal ensemble Bon Operatit performa opera and musical theater hits, including songs by George Gershwin and Rodgers and Hammerstein. The group features opera singers Lauren Mourney Gisclair, Mary Penick Akin, Joseph Akin and Jacob Penick. The program, called “Summertime,” also includes a cocktail from Beattie’s Distillers. At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 20, at the Beauregard-Keyes House.

Tickets start at $35 at bkhouse.org.

JUNETEENTH EVENTS IN NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans Juneteenth Festival THE FESTIVAL FEATURES A SERIES OF EVENTS FRIDAY, June 18, through Sunday, June 20.

Highlights include singer Casme, spoken word artists Sunni Patterson and Deuce the Poet, Nkafu West

Liberty and Love — The Hope for America THE EDGAR “DOOKY” CHASE & LEAH CHASE FOUNDATION hosts a fundraiser to support scholarships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. There’s a five-course dinner and musical entertainment at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 19.

Find tickets on eventbrite.com.

New Orleans Museum of Art THERE ARE PERFORMANCES BY EDWARD SPOTS AND MAGNOLIA DANCE COMPANY, art activities and more at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Admission to the museum and sculpture garden is free on Saturday, June 19. Visit noma.org to reserve admission tickets.

Rejoice Juneteenth Community Festival THERE’S LIVE MUSIC, an art market, crafts, speakers, a children’s tent and more at the Juneteenth celebration at Rivertown Heritage Park in Kenner. Performers include Charmaine Neville and Amasa Miller, Linda Wright, Zena Moses, Gina Brown, Vernon Ward and more.

There’s also a 5K run/walk. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 19. It’s the fifth annual Juneteenth celebration hosted by Rejoice Inc., a nonprofit that serves families in Jefferson and the River parishes.

Find information at newbirthcatherdalofglory.org/Juneteenth.

Water Seed LOCAL FUNK BAND WATER SEED headlines a Juneteenth celebration at Broadside. Rapper Alfred Banks and DJ Raj Smoove also perform. At 7 p.m. Saturday, June 19. Find tickets at Broadsidenola.com.

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R&B sounds. The band performs a free early show at Zony Mash Beer Project. At 1 p.m. Saturday, June 19. Find information at zonymashbeer.com.

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THIS IS

FREE Making it is not.

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FILM

Behind the scenes

BY WILL COVIELLO FOR HER DOCUMENTARY “Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation,” director Lisa Immordino Vreeland draws on British TV host David Frost’s remarkably similar interviews with writers Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. Both are forthcoming, though they choose their words carefully, especially when discussing sex and love. But there’s something odd about each interview, and at times Vreeland’s film leaves questions about her framing of her side-by-side portraits.

Capote and Williams were friends for decades, and Vreeland explores similarities in their lives and careers.

She unearthed excellent video of interviews and photos from throughout their lives, and it’s refreshing to hear both men in their own words.

Locally, we frequently celebrate Williams because of his association with New Orleans, and often overlook Capote, who was born here.

In a 1970 interview with Frost, Williams seems like he’s inebriated, and at the time the interview aired, some critics accused Williams of being drunk on camera. Frost asks Williams about his drinking, and the film later addresses Williams’ struggle with alcohol and prescription drugs.

In his interview, Capote appears to have a scar on his forehead. He’s talkative but seems nervous. Perhaps Vreeland used the footage to point out that we have an incomplete understanding of their private lives.

Though Williams was 13 years older, their careers took off at about the same time. Williams had breakout success with “The Glass Menagerie” in 1944. Capote had been a literary prodigy and his 1948 novel “Other Voices, Other Rooms” became a best-seller and was considered risque, in part because of a provocative photo of the author.

Their young lives were glamourous, and they traveled extensively, at times vacationing together in Europe.

Capote always loved the vibrant social life of New York, and there are photos of them partying with Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and others at Studio 54 in the 1970s.

While the film notes the critical and financial success of their early careers, it leans on film clips and the celebrity of their stars to illustrate it visually, which is a distorted way of viewing their work. Audrey Hepburn starred in the 1961 adaptation of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (though Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly Golightly). There are clips of Elizabeth Taylor in “Suddenly, Last Summer” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” opposite Paul Newman. Williams notes changes that needed to be

P H OTO B Y G E T T Y I M AG E S

Tennessee Williams

made for film adaptations, and it’s not mentioned here but earlier in his life, he didn’t like writing for studios.

Vreeland focuses on whether their stories were autobiographical.

It’s well established that elements of Williams’ plays reflected his life, including his sister’s lobotomy and the plot of “Suddenly, Last Summer.”

Capote says his first novel was his only work largely based on himself.

The film doesn’t spend enough time on Capote’s true crime and literary nonfiction landmark “In Cold Blood” — and doesn’t dig deep enough into the complexity of that work for Capote.

To give voice to print interviews, Vreeland turned to Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto. While Capote had a distinctive voice, it’s unfortunate that Parsons tries to effect something similar, and he often sounds like a despondent version of his character Sheldon from “The Big Bang Theory.”

A more neutral tone or inconspicuous narrator would have been better.

The film is candid about their later lives, when their work was generally less well received than earlier periods.

Vreeland seems stuck on cliches of tortured artists struggling with loneliness and drugs, as opposed the pressures of living up to the heights of past success. She shows them responding to questions about their homosexuality, but barely addresses the homophobia they overcame after childhood. She’s doesn’t break much in the way of new ground, but her source materials make the film worth watching.

“Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation” opens at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge and is available virtually on June 18.

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FRONT PAWS

By Frank A. Longo the Indian Ocean 66 Greek deity of wisdom 68 “Kate & —” (old sitcom) 69 Uncultured 70 Ivy League school in Providence 75 Backless sofa 76 Lavs, to Brits 77 Prefix with drama 78 Scots’ refusals 80 Bird-built home 81 Kin of -ette 82 Left-leaners 86 “Tomb raider” Croft 88 Sister, say 89 2016 Best Director winner for “La La Land”

95 Zoo collection 99 Letters after alphas 100 Localities 101 Certain letter-shaped pattern, to Brits 104 Set free 106 Touch down 107 “Yes —!” (“You bet!”)

108 Shortcoming 109 Compadre 111 Arctic bird 112 Ancestor ... or what the first word of seven answers in this puzzle can have?

116 Cab ticker 117 — -Z (’80s Camaro) 118 Fountain of Rome 119 Architect Saarinen 120 People staring 121 Parched, old-style 122 Pfeiffer of “Cybill” 123 Drearily dull DOWN 1 Baseball great Mel 2 — -Town (the Windy City) 3 Pet in an exercise wheel 4 “Popeye” tot 5 Compass 6 Color variations 7 Did superbly on 8 Corn core 9 Ell preceder 10 Attaches, as a seat belt 11 Dog tether 12 Chichi 13 Sporty 1990s Toyotas 14 U.S. snoop gp.

15 Nabs 16 Hoi — (the masses) 17 Like single-person bands 18 B-board overseers 24 Kimono-clad hostess 28 “Baywatch” actress Bingham 29 Of formal public worship 31 School org.

32 Space sphere 33 Med. scan 34 Big tea holders

35 Use a surgical beam on 37 God of Islam 40 Circle section 41 “I Need to Know” singer — Anthony 42 “Open this door!”

43 March Madness gp.

47 Little — (tykes) 48 Diet drastically 49 Oklahoma neighbor 50 Use the tab key, perhaps 51 Not too hard to carry out 52 Houston baseballers 53 Loutish types 54 Distorts 56 Display of great daring 58 Killed, as a dragon 60 Shaker Lee 62 Ending for project 63 35mm camera type 64 Seventh scale notes 65 Lawn turf 67 Quarterbacks’ called changes 71 — Hill, San Francisco 72 Like cold tea 73 Powder room powders 74 “Awright!”

79 Mexican Mrs. 82 Fact falsifier 83 Aura 84 Manorial lord 85 Meyers of late night 87 Funnel-shaped flower 88 One leaving a smear 90 — “King” Cole 91 Built 92 Suede, e.g.

93 — Vegas 94 Ending for Siam 95 On fire 96 Capital of Niger 97 Set on fire 98 “You are right about that” 102 “— Jacques” (kids’ song) 103 Misstep 104 Christopher who played Superman 105 Chaperone in “The Hunger Games” 108 Historical plaintiff — Scott 110 Surgery ctrs.

112 Bouquet-bringing gp.

113 Tram cargo 114 Period 115 Rip off

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

33 Wood-cleaning product 36 Forest array 37 Rich wall tapestry 38 Cholesterol-lowering drugs 39 Predecessor of Andrew Johnson 44 Naval vessel inits.

45 — Sea (Asian lake) 46 Gravy-train job 48 Take on moguls 51 Week’s seven 55 Grouchy type 57 Zingy flavor 58 Hockey great Mikita 59 Japanese city 61 Australian territory in

PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Publisher Adolph 5 Pile up 10 Hit with an open hand 14 Mafia heads 19 Defrost 20 Fireside drink 21 Lead-in to byte 22 O. Henry literary device 23 Yore 25 Finks 26 City in France 27 Trickled out 28 Graduation cap dangler 30 Tickled Muppet 31 Entrees with pastry crusts

39

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