Saturday, June 1, marks the first official day of the time of year New Orleanians dread most: hurricane season.  While the city should always take a stirring cyclone seriously, why not combat the chaos and ring in the new season with what the city does best: a festival.  This Saturday from noon to 5 pm, the Goodchildren Social Aid and Pleasure Club hosts StormFest at Holy Angels (3500 St. Claude Ave., Bywater).

Though the city’s collective memory of the flood may not need sharpening,  the final play of John Biguenet’s Rising Water trilogy, Mold, transports audiences to New Orleans one year after the disaster, when the city stagnated in its quiet ruin.

Randy Hamilton worked at the Food Circle Store for 22 years until Katrina hit and five feet of water forced the downtown New Orleans one-stop-shop to shut its doors. Since then, denizens of the 7th ward have been asking one thing about the iconic building at N. Claiborne Ave. and St. Bernard Ave.: Are you coming back? Now, after years of waiting, residents finally get their answer. On Monday afternoon, the mayor, media, council members and loyal customers all gathered at the blighted corner store to announce its return.  

Updated 4:30 p.m.

Washington name-calling is at a new high in the new year, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In addition to twice being told, "Go fuck yourself" by House Speaker John Boehner, the Nevada Democrat attracted scorn from these parts when he sized up Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy on the Senate floor last week, and decided the mid-Atlantic's devastation was worse than the Gulf's.

Jim Richard’s “Make Yourself at Home,” on view at the New Orleans Museum of Art through February 24, 2013, remains one of the best shows of the year. A modernist journey through the colorful interiors of homes filled with a mix of high art, tchotchkes, and period furniture, Richard’s twelve-work exhibit showcases his deep knowledge of contemporary and historical art alongside refined technical skill, and pokes a little fun at modern art in the meantime.

It isn’t often that one hears the word “beautiful,” associated with Katrina or Angola State Penitentiary, but Carolyn Jones’ latest book, The American Nurse, shifts the perspective on turmoil and loss.

One of the last remaining quiet spaces inside Armstrong Park is getting millions to help it make some noise again. FEMA awarded the City a $3.5 million grant earmarked specifically to help Municipal Auditorium reopen. The grant will cover roof damage that was recently deemed necessary to repair, according to FEMA.

Since having a hurricane fall on the anniversary of K wasn't enough, conservative pundits have once again invoked the spectre of The Storm and the Federal Flood. The method this time was through a 2007 video of President Barack Obama that a lot of people already saw during the 2008 campaign. In the speech to a group of ministers, Obama says the feds didn't waive the Stafford Act after the 2005 levee failures, contributing to the slow response and wayward recovery.

At least for now, a group of federal judges washed away hopes of recouping damages after the Federal Flood for residents in the Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish. The Army Corps of Engineers is not liable for damages along the MR-GO that occurred during the Federal Flood, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.

The following is a letter to Entergy rate payers from New Orleans resident Virginia Brisley. She submitted the letter to NOLA Defender unsolicited. Her opinions do not reflect the official views of the NoDef editorial board.

Dear Entergy Stakeholders:

After Hurricane Katrina, the City of New Orleans had no federally mandated consumer protection against the monopoly power company from transferring repair costs directly to the ratepayers.  With the massive amount of infrastructure damage coupled with the loss of a significant portion of their customer base, Entergy New Orleans (ENO) accrued losses equaling roughly $1 billion due to the storm.