Mayor Mitch took a break from lighting up the clubs long enough today  to address more practical issues of illumination. Da Mayor said the city will fix every streetlight that is out in the city by the end of the year. Since it's a Landrieu Administration plan, get ready for some numbers: Fixing every outage means fixing a total of 10,917 of the city's 54,400 streetlights in roughly seven months. And, there's more!

It's almost time to throw open the gates of the Fair Grounds, and that means it's time once again to lock down the surrounding areas and institute the Clean Zone. Though the area of Bayou St. John and Fair Grounds isn't on the docket to become a Hospitality Zone, the city is still sending agents to the area to keep all the outside-the-gates commerce on the up and up. "The City will aggressively enforce the rules against transient vendors (carts, trucks, etc.) from improperly selling their products within the festival’s 'clean zone,'" a statement issued late Tuesday by the Mayor's office said.

by Mary-Devon Dupuy

Immediately following the very unfortunate news about The Saints, New Orleans sports fans can take a little relief knowing that the Hornets are here to stay, until 2024, at least. And if the new owner has his way, they might not be The Hornets forever.  

by Dana Bialek

MARIGNY -- With the race for the vacant NOLA-wide seat on the City Council down to two candidates, it's time for political heavyweights to answer the age-old refrain: "Which side are you on?" For Mayor Mitch, that answer seemed to be borne in a past campaign of his own. At the New Orleans Healing Center's Cafe Istanbul, Landrieu stepped up to endorse former state senator Cynthia Willard-Lewis - a political ally who worked for him in 2006 - at an afternoon press conference celebrating the candidate, the  Lord and the City. 

Mayor Mitch's moves were the talk of the Fair Grounds last week, as Landrieu demonstrated his skills in preparation for JazzFest. Turns out, da Mayor was just warming up for a tambo turn on national TV. Landireu joined Trombone Shorty and some other local luminaries on the CBS Final Four intro video, which aired Saturday night as the basketball extravaganza was kicking off. As we all noticed the other night, NOLA was lookin' pretty sharp in the video, which was set to Shorty's "Do To Me."  Just like the Convention and Visitors Bureau likes it. Watch it again after the jump.

by Mary-Devon Dupuy

Anyone that needed a reminder that New Orleans is still American should have all the patriotism they ever wanted by the time JazzFest rolls around. With tall ships, the Blue Angels, active Naval ships and sailors scouring the City, and fireworks, Navy Week 2012 will offer all the patriotic fervor of a John Phillips Sousa march. But don't worry, there will still be some Louisiana flavor, as a seafood cookoff will also be on the schedule.

Nothing sends us into an uncontrollable, expletive-laced tantrum quite like getting a ticket from the dispassionate eye of a traffic camera. After a couple solid years of complaining, it appears Mayor Mitch and the boys at City Hall finally heard our pleas, sort of. The city isn't getting rid of the dreaded flashes altogether, but they are making a few tweaks to attempt to get everybody's dander down. The changes boil down to four categories: 10 mph, school zones, appeals and collections.

CBD -- Mardi Gras is a feast of creativity and a triumph of the human spirit. But, as any city worker can tell you, it's also a public works windfall. Whether it's picking up trash or getting the streets closed to make the parade run on time, city workers are involved at all levels to help The Greatest Free Show on Earth go off without a hitch. Today, Mayor Mitch, NOPD Chief Ronal Serpas and other brass stepped back to the podium once again to run down the stats from this year's Carnival season.

by Shay Sokol

MID-CITY - Mayor Mitch is already on the record as a singer, but today he revealed another key to his soulful side: a turn on the trumpet. Da Mayor and Trombone Shorty made a surprise appearance at a Warren Easton High School pep rally this afternoon to drop off 200 professional-level trumpets and trombones for the school. At about 2:45 p.m., while school brass were reading the current honor roll, Landrieu and Shorty entered the school's gym fronting a brass band.

by Shay Sokol

“All eyes are on New Orleans,” Mayor Landrieu said today as he returned to the podium to remind everyone that a lot of football is about to be played. “And for good reason.” The city will host the Saints vs. Lions game this Saturday and the BCS Championship game between LSU and Alabama on Monday. New Orleans just hosted the N. O. Bowl, New Year’s Eve, Sugar Bowl, and the Hornets season opener, and we're set to host the NCAA Final Four at the end of March Madness.