Once again, a national magazine writer has seen fit to opine the "gushy magazine coverage" given Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation with some not-so-gushy magazine coverage. Writing in The New Republic, Lydia Depillis says the Lower 9-focused organization could be doing more if its attention were instead turned to other New Orleans neighborhoods.

by Elaina Patton

At the corner of North Claiborne Ave. and Caffin St. in the Lower Ninth Ward, Mayor Mitch and city officials on Wednesday marked the groudbreaking of four new projects focused on improving the neighborhood's quality of life in  the wake of the Federal Flood. To a crowd mostly made up of local politicians, fire fighters and the occasional onlooker, Landrieu described the projects as efforts to “reaffirm commitment to the Lower Ninth Ward and the city of New Orleans.”

If you look like a cat, New Orleans Police want to talk to you. NOPD Detectives are searching for a woman known only as “Cat Eyes,” who may have information about a grisly February homicide in the Lower 9th Ward.

A man was shot to death in a car and another man was injured Sunday night in a Seventh Ward shooting, according to NOPD. About 10:40 p.m., a 25-year-old man was found dead inside a Nissan Maxima in the 1900 block of N. Tonti St. The man's identitiy is being withheld pending notificaton of family members.

Before a St. Bernard Parish judge could throw the book at Cyprian Robertson, he booked from the courtroom. The 37-year-old was mulling over a plea deal for his third drug possession offense, which would have put him in prison for seven years. But Robertson decided to flea the courtroom, and made it to his car where he lead police on a chase onto St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans, according to the St. Bernard Sheriff's office.

Hollygrove native Lil Wayne returned home today for the Isaac-delayed opening of his Mountain Dew sponsored skate park to the Ninth Ward community. The centerpiece of the “DEWeezy Project,” the park is located in the Lower 9th Ward Village, and is a cooperative venture between Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation, California Skate parks, and Weezy F Baby himself.

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.

by Mary-Devon Dupuy

LOWER 9th WARD -- The Lower Ninth was one of the areas hit hardest in the federal flood, but Mayor Mitch and his team officially reopened the Oliver Bush Playground today in an effort to continue to transform the tragedy into a success story. The shiny facilities at 2500 Caffin Avenue were already full of children climbing on the equipment and dribbling basketballs even before the ribbon cutting ceremony. It was such a joyous occasion that Da’ Mayor himself decided to take a ride down the slide.  

This weekend, debris won't make us think of po-boys. Except for the one area outside the federal levee system around Venetian Isles that is sadly struggling today, Hurricane Isaac's extended stay didn't leave floodwaters in New Orleans. But it left us with plenty of unwanted parting gifts in the form trees, power lines and other items down all over the city. The storm delivered a gut-level punch that we'll be working through the weekend to clean up. When the storm finally passed, NoDef took to the streets to survey the damage. Click through to view some photos from the journey:

Today, we celebrate the birthday of New Orleans' foremost jazzman, Louis Armstrong with Satchmo Summer Fest at Old U.S. Mint. Elsewhere, White Linen Night steps out on Julia Street, the Lower 9th Ward Creative Arts Festival in Sam Bonart Park, and Ladies Arm Wrestling at One Eyed Jack’s. It's also the birthday of Frankie Ford (1939), and the day when Wynton Marsalis and Buckwheat Zydeco were among the performers at the closing ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Now for today's full rundown: