NEW ORLEANS – Putting 2020 in the rearview mirror is a relief for the New Orleans area, which has endured the illnesses and deaths of Covid 19 along with the rest of the nation. But locally important stories of the past year are worth revisiting– just one more time– before they join the other disappointments and hopes of the past year.
1. HARD ROCK HOTEL BODIES’ REMOVAL: After remaining in the collapsed building for nearly a year, the bodies of construction workers Quinyon Wimberly and Jose Ponce Arreola were removed by the Fire Department-EMS “Urban Search and Rescue” team on Aug. 8 and 17. The cause of the collapse, and the blame for it, are likely to be scrutinized in several pending lawsuits against the hotel’s developer and sub-contractors. The City has also fired two code enforcement inspection workers who are accused of failing to do their jobs to ensure that the hotel was properly constructed.
2. MARDI GRAS FATALITIES, AND CONTROVERSY, IN A “SUPER SPREADER” EVENT: For the first time in recent memory, two people were killed by getting too close to a moving float– in two different parades– Nyx and Endymion. Both parades were halted and disbanded after the fatalities. In the meantime, many NYX members revolted against the krewe’s founder, Julie Lea, after she posted the phrase “All Lives Matter” on social media during the “Black Lives Matter” protests. And when Mardi Gras ended, local and state health leaders concluded that the unknowing crowds during Carnival caused an initial surge in Covid 19 cases in the New Orleans area, making Mardi Gras a “super spreader” event. Mayor Latoya Cantrell has announced that all Orleans Parish parades are canceled in 2021.
3. PROTESTERS CLASH WITH NOPD ON CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION: During a Black Lives Matter march on June 3, the NOPD prevented hundreds of mostly peaceful protesters from crossing to the West Bank on the Crescent City Connection. A skirmish broke out as protesters met the line of police officers. In the chaos, some officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the unarmed protesters. Superintendent Shean Ferguson, who was not on the bridge that night, initially denied that officers had deployed those weapons, but he was later contradicted by evidence from the scene and apologized. Since then, the New Orleans City Council has passed an ordinance banning the NOPD’s use of tear gas and rubber bullets as a form of crowd control during peaceful gatherings.
4. HURRICANE ZETA: It was a record-breaking year of 30 named storms, of which 13 were hurricanes. Hurricanes Delta, Laura, and Sally all struck Louisiana, but it was the last one– Hurricane Zeta, a Cat 2 on October 28th– that delivered a blow to New Orleans. The hurricane tore through power poles, lines, and transformers, knocking out power to more than 80-thousand Entergy customers– many of them frustrated when they were still in the dark, more than a week later. Surveying the damage left by Hurricane Zeta
5. “MR. MARDI GRAS,” BLAINE KERN, PASSES AWAY AT AGE 93 —The artist who became Carnival’s number one float-builder and fan, was 93 years old when he died on June 26. Starting with a few floats, Kern turned his business into an empire and is credited with making New Orleans Mardi Gras the spectacle it is today. “Mardi Gras World,” which opened in 1984, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, giving them an up-close look at what it takes to construct Mardi Gras floats. Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who spoke at Kern’s funeral, said “generations of people have been touched by the magic of ‘Mr. Mardi Gras.’… (It is) impossible to overstate his contribution to our Carnival, to our culture, & to our City. He did it his own way, until the very end — and our City was better, bigger, and more beautiful for his efforts.”