The sister of former U.S. Congressman William Jefferson and her daughter have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and tax evasion.

Betty Jefferson and her daughter Angela Coleman admitted Thursday they used political offices and nonprofit groups they controlled to enrich themselves over the course of seven years.

The deal worked out with federal prosecutors allows Jefferson, a 70-year-old New Orleans assessor, and her 53-year-old daughter to avoid a trial that would have started next month.

In a separate case, William Jefferson is out on bond appealing a 13-year federal prison sentence for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

From the Washington Post

Beer
On the beer festival front we have two coming our way. Not sure who was in charge of scheduling these two events but they are being held on the same day. Yup, you read it correctly. The. Same. Day. Since the Zapps International Beer Festival has been around longer we can only assume it is was the newbie festival that didn’t check its dates. That newbie festival is called Top of the Hops and looks pretty interesting. They have some interesting vendors like Defend New Orleans and New Orleans Craft Mafia and also a nice beer list as well. I would give you more info on the Zapps beer festival but their website doesn’t give me any. Anyways here is the dates, times, places and prices:

Zapp’s International Beer Festival
March 20th 2010
3:30-6:00pm
Rural Life Museum/Baton Rouge, LA
Price: $30


Top of the Hops Beer Festival
March 20th 2010
2pm-6pm
Fontainbleu State Park/Mandeville, LA
Price:

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS

$35 – Advance
$40 – Day of Festival

* General Admission Tickets Include the Following:

* Souvenir, Two-Ounce Sampling Mug
* Full Color Festival Guide
* Unlimited Sampling of 100+ Craft Beers
* Live Entertainment on the Full Sail Brewing Stage
* Free Parking
* Games
* Access to the Samuel Adams Brew University Tent with Seminars Such as Cooking with Beer, Brewing 101, Pairing Food with Beer and More!

Amid cries from residents accusing the New Orleans City Planning Commission of being a rubber stamp, commissioners voted 5-1 Tuesday to approve the eventual closure of Mid-City streets within the footprint of a planned federal hospital for veterans.

The vote, which sends the matter to the City Council, typically would be an arcane procedural step in such a large undertaking as a 200-bed hospital for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. But the proceedings carried significance as the first public hearing and formal action by any municipal body on either the federal hospital or the adjacent 424-bed teaching hospital the state proposes. 

Calling for the final vote, Commissioner Joe Williams acknowledged the body’s previous lack of input — at least publicly — in planning that started months after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. He said, however, that it wasn’t enough to risk delay. 

“I for one can say I’m not happy about involving the Planning Commission so late in the process,” he said. “But we sit here almost five years after the storm. … At some point, we have to sit here and say it’s time to move on.” 

Deputy City Attorney Brenda Breaux described the vote as necessary to help restore health care services to veterans in the region. 

Commissioner George Amedee unsuccessfully called for delaying action, then cast the lone vote against the plan. Amedee cited arguments that the vote was premature, given questions about traffic and drainage studies, the city’s master plan and complaints about the timing of the written comments phase before Tuesday’s hearing.

The affected streets are those inside a perimeter of South Rocheblave Street, Canal Street, South Galvez Street and Tulane Avenue. Street closures on the state footprint — across Galvez to South Claiborne — are expected to be on a future agenda.

The hearing comes as an Orleans Parish court considers a lawsuit asserting that Mayor Ray Nagin exceeded his authority when he signed a November 2007 deal with the VA promising to give the federal government the land in “construction ready” condition.

Part of the city’s defense in that suit is that Nagin always planned to hold public hearings and votes required by the City Charter, though they now must take place as state contractors continue buying and expropriating the land.

Coninue reading at the TP

‘The Arts’ Movie: “Black Orpheus”

Wednesday, Feb 24 6:00pat University of New Orleans – UNO, New Orleans, LA

**LOCATED: Geology & Psychology Building, Room 1000 on the Lakefront Campus.

“The Arts” is the theme for the spring 2010 semester as the University of New Orleans, Department of Foreign Languages once again presents free film screenings.

The Wednesday movies, which are free and open to the public, begin at 6 pm.

From BigFunontheBayou

Making a Sazerac used to be simple. Everyone in New Orleans knew that Herbsaint was the crucial ingredient for rinsing the glass. Not Pernod, Ricard or any other anise-flavored spirit. Then the ban on absinthe was lifted, and arguments arose between traditionalists and wormwood enthusiasts. And last year, the Sazerac Co. further complicated the cocktail when it released Herbsaint Original, a faithful recreation of the 1934 recipe.

New Orleanian J. Marion Legendre first produced Herbsaint after Prohibition as a legal substitute for absinthe. In 1949, he sold the brand to the Sazerac Co., which changed the recipe in the 1950s.

“It’s a lot simpler,” said historian Jay Hendrickson about the post-Legendre recipe. “It’s not as complex or as herbal as the vintage Herbsaint.”

Hendrickson, who tracks Herbsaint history at the Website New Orleans Absinthe History, says the new Herbsaint Original tastes the same as vintage samples in his collection.

“They followed Marion Legendre’s recipe to the letter,” he said.

When it comes to Sazeracs, Hendrickson, as a true Herbsaint lover, shows no favoritism.

“The Herbsaint Original is a little bit smoother in a Sazerac,” he said, “but actually I like a Sazerac with both.”

To help make sense of Herbsaint, Arnaud’s (813 Bienville St.) and the New Orleans Cultural and Culinary Preservation Society will sponsor lunch-time seminars and tastings on both Friday, March 12, and Friday, March 19. Each class includes a three-course meal. Tickets are $35. For reservations, call 504.523.5433 or email katy@arnauds.com.

Nola.com

When Prohibition ended in 1933, absinthe could not be imported. So in New Orleans, J. Marion Legendre concocted his own version, without wormwood. The federal government made him take the word “absinthe” off the label. He renamed it Herbsaint.

In 1949 he sold it to Sazerac, which tweaked the formula, reducing the proof to 90 from 100. The label also changed.

Now, Sazerac has reintroduced Mr. Legendre’s original, with the original label, left. It is a murky chartreuse, not the bright green Herbsaint had become. The flavor is more complex and herbaceous. It also makes a much better Sazerac cocktail.

NYTimes

NEW ORLEANS, LA.- U.S. Biennial, Inc., the organization that produces Prospect New Orleans, announced today the new dates for the biennial, which was previously scheduled to open in November 2010. Due in large part to the current economic conditions and decreases in funding for the arts nationally, U.S. Biennial has elected to postpone Prospect.2, the second iteration of one of the United States’ largest biennials of international contemporary art, by one year. The biennial is now scheduled to be on view November 5, 2011 through February 3, 2012. 

According to Dan Cameron, Founding Director for U.S. Biennial and Artistic Director for Prospect New Orleans, “We have fallen behind schedule in meeting our fundraising goals. Realizing that going forward would put a strain on the organization and our partners in the community, we have decided to focus our efforts in 2010 toward developing a strong financial footing that will allow us to fully realize our ambitions for Prospect.2 in 2011.” 

Despite the new date, other details and plans for the biennial remain largely unchanged. Prospect.2 will present the work of some 60 local, national, and international artists from more than 20 countries and with diverse cultural, generational and artistic backgrounds. Many of the world’s most promising and/or recognized artists are developing major new projects to be premiered in both individual and group exhibitions in some 20 sites throughout the city. 

In addition, Prospect New Orleans will remain active in the New Orleans community over the course of the next 18 months, presenting programs, soloexhibitions, and other art-related events in cooperation with future venue partners as well as other local institutions and organizations.

From ArtDaily

Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films – The New Orleans Film Society presents all five of the Academy Award-nominated animated short films: French Roast, Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, The Lady and the Reaper, Logorama and A Matter of Loaf and Death. The screening includes three bonus shorts: Partly Cloudy, The Kinematograph and Runaway. Tickets $8, $6 NOFS members. 2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. Prytania Theatre, 5339 Prytania St., (Uptown), 891-2787, www.theprytania.com.

from gambit