In celebration of NOELA Services’ 10 year anniversary, items from previous editions of the NOELA Newsletter will be reintroduced. This week’s focus is on the year 2012.
- Fannie C. Williams school reopened with a newly built building
- Councilman Jon Johnson resigned from the District E Council seat amid federal charges of conspiracy. Ernest “Freddie” Charbonnet completed the remainder of the term.
- James Gray was elected as District E Councilman
- Pastor Fred Luter was elected as the first African American President of the Southern Baptist Convention
- NASA announced that hundreds of jobs would be added to work on a mega-rocket designed to transport astronauts to deep space
- Eagle Family Dental opened on Read
- Voters turned down a property tax of 20 mils for 20 years that would have been used for upkeep and road improvements at the 7,000 acre New Orleans Regional Business Park, formerly known as the Almonaster-Michoud Industrial District
- Mayor Landrieu announced that full funding for the New Orleans East Hospital had been secured
- Kingswood Playground was one of the playgrounds to get an upgrade prior to the Super Bowl
- Lisa Marie Manning Ambrose was the first recipient of the Johnny Meade Memorial Award presented by the New Orleans Toastmasters Club 234
- The City Council passed a resolution for the Eastern New Orleans Residential Parcel Fee. a special tax for levying and collecting a special tax for residential properties in New Orleans East beautification, economic growth and overall betterment of the area.
- Xtreme Physical Therapy opened on Bullard Avenue
- Twentieth Century Fox’s Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters wrapped filming at the former Six Flags site
- Category 1 Hurricane Isaac battered the area with two days of strong winds which damaged several roofs and downed many trees
- Residents and representatives of the Sierra Club toured local tire shredding facility Colt, Inc. at the invitation of Interim District E Councilmember Ernest Charbonnet
- NOLA Copy and Print opened at 9301 Lake Forest Blvd
- Three million dollars worth of Streetscape projects were announced: new sidewalks on Lake Forest to provide access to the East New Orleans Regional Library and Joe Brown Park, new seating and receptacles at the small park at the corner of Lake Forest and Wright, a new walking path on Lake Forest from Wright to Read, 140 additional lights and 350 new trees and dedicated bike lanes on Read, Crowder and Lake Forest
- Several readers shared their comments and desire to continue receiving the NOELA Newsletter after the announcement that it would cease publication
- Councilman Jon Johnson held a community meeting to gauge support for new Family Dollar stores in the East. He also authored a resolution that was passed by the City Council to reopen an Entergy Service Center in the East
- State Rep. Austin Badon reported that Lake Forest Blvd. would be widened near I-510. He also reported that he was working to rename I-510 in honor of the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility
- Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the City Council announced a strategy to repair every streetlight outage in the city by the end of 2012 by identifying $8 million in additional funding from one-time Federal recovery funds (D-CDBG).
- Lake Willow HOA and Lower Ninth Ward Community Voice received “Love Your Block” grants for park benches, landscaping and neighborhood cleanup
- Joseph Shorter was selected as Executive Director of the New Orleans Regional Business Park
- The New Orleans East Regional Library reopened in April
- Several employees of the National Finance Center posed with Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger who was in the area filming The Tomb movie
- Mayor Landrieu was joined by Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Nike North America Vice President and General Manager to announce new development to transform Joe Brown Park into a “world-class regional park” as one of his 100 Committed Projects. The new hardwood basketball court and Victory Football Fields were constructed with Nike Grind, a premium-grade raw material comprised of recycled athletic shoes.
- Pride College Prep school was slated to open in the fall at 6701 Curran Blvd
- A vintage car show was held in March
- A family of Great Horned Owls nested in a tree next to Joe Brown Park gym
- A Motor Vehicle Office was proposed to open in the East
- Fort Pike Fire Department received a fire truck
- Provident Realty Advisors and DAG Development proposed development of an upscale open-air outlet mall, complete with a boardwalk entertainment area, restaurants, refurbished rides from the former Six Flags amusement park, and eventually a hotel, big box retailer, sporting center, sports field, amphitheater and water park
- Actor Harrison Ford surprised employees of the National Finance Center as he appeared on site while filming Ender’s Game
- NASA announced that the new Orion spacecraft, built at the Michoud Assembly Facility would launch into space for the first time in 2014
- Commander Michael Harrison was appointed as Commander of NOPD’s Seventh District
- The City reopened the new $6.2 million Seventh District Police Station on Dwyer
- 7931 Chef Menteur Highway was sold for $2.5 million; Versailles Arms Apartments, Parcel 7-F at Dwyer and Alcee Fortier sold for $1.625 million; and Versailles Gardens sold for $1.625 million
- Justin Augustine was selected as a Champion of a change by President Barack Obama’s Administration