• Anti-crime gathering all comes together
Our lakefront neighborhoods really know how to have a great Night Out Against Crime. This year, there were more than 19 gatherings throughout the area. Craig and I went to our Night Out in the 6100 block of Louisville St., where we saw neighbors Sharon and Stewart Schmidt, who did an awesome job grilling burgers and chicken as well as setting up lots of tables and tents.

• ARMED FORCES
GRADUATED

• Betsy stole thrill of first day of school
I remember how excited I was about going to school for the first time. I was 6 and living in Harahan. As the youngest child in the family, I had watched my siblings go off to school while I stayed at home. Now it was my turn.

• Black-and-white TV was colorful in N.O.
Images on the tiny early television screens may have been in black and white, but the characters were a colorful lot, including hosts Bob and Jan Carr, theater commentator Al Shea and children's favorite "Miss Linda" Barnett Mintz. These four special guests will help celebrate the publication of Dominic Massa's book "New Orleans Television" Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St. The book features vintage photographs from the earliest days of television in New Orleans.

• Bookstore purchases to help libraries grow
I suspect that some of my Children's Room patrons enter bookstores now and then. When they refer to "buying" books in front of me, I blush and turn my head, imagining that if they catch me in a bookstore I'll say, "I'm just here with a friend."

• CHARITY LETS NIA'S SPIRIT LIVE ON
It's been almost a year since the life of young Nia Robertson was brutally taken by an unstable drifter in a random act of violence that shocked and saddened the city. Only 28 with a bright future ahead of her, Robertson is being honored and remembered by family and friends with a nonprofit foundation established in her name. Iggie's House was created with the primary mission of mentoring New Orleans youth and encouraging them to develop leadership skills, build confidence and engage in collective endeavors that better their community. A scholarship bearing Robertson's name will help to ensure that her spirit will live on.

• COLLEGES
--- University of New Orleans ---

• COMMUNITY REPORT
--- Audubon Zoo book club ---

• Companionship option for those needing help
When someone becomes unable to cope with living alone, the choices include leaving familiar surroundings and moving into an assisted living facility or nursing home. These difficult choices often involve family members who are unable to have the person move into their home. Sometimes assisted living or a nursing home is chosen because the person has no family.

• Companionship option for those needing help
When someone becomes unable to cope with living alone, the choices include leaving familiar surroundings and moving into an assisted living facility or nursing home. These difficult choices often involve family members who are unable to have the person move into their home. Sometimes assisted living or a nursing home is chosen because the person has no family.

• Companionship option for those needing help
When someone becomes unable to cope with living alone, the choices include leaving familiar surroundings and moving into an assisted living facility or nursing home. These difficult choices often involve family members who are unable to have the person move into their home. Sometimes assisted living or a nursing home is chosen because the person has no family.

• END OF SUMMER BASH
Three years ago today, the announcement that a youth development center was about to open in eastern New Orleans, offering after-school and summer programs, was welcome news. But Hurricane Katrina and flooding wrecked the center and everything around it.

• Fighting crime takes involvement of all
We've read about witnesses who get too scared to testify in court because of intimidation and fear. Here's a story about two brave Quarterites, Betty and Bill Norris, who were held up at gunpoint not once but twice. One of the gunmen was a skinny woman who waved a gun, then pointed it at Betty, then Bill, then Betty.

• Groups create disaster plans for Latino residents
With hurricane season in motion, several organizations are reaching out to the local Latino population. One Economy is an international nonprofit with an office in New Orleans to help people with emergency-preparedness plans.

• Groups help create disaster plans for Latino residents
With hurricane season in motion, several organizations are reaching out to the local Latino population. One Economy is an international nonprofit with an office in New Orleans to help people with emergency-preparedness plans.

• Groups help create local disaster plans
With hurricane season in motion, several organizations are reaching out to the local Latino population. One Economy is an international nonprofit with an office in New Orleans to help people with emergency-preparedness plans.

• Groups help create local disaster plans
With hurricane season in motion, several organizations are reaching out to the local Latino population. One Economy is an international nonprofit with an office in New Orleans to help people with emergency-preparedness plans.

• New crop of master gardeners welcomed
More than 30 people recently earned the title master gardener after completing the Louisiana Master Gardener Program, a service and educational activity offered each year by the LSU AgCenter at City Park's Botanical Garden.

• N.O. Head Start program accepting eligible students
As children head back to school this month, some 3- and 4-year-olds may be eligible for Head Start classes offered through a partnership between the Hume Child Development Center and Total Community Action. Classes will begin in September for 30 students whose families meet income and other guidelines determined by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Nontraditional pets need special care when at home
When we talk about pets, dogs and cats usually come to mind, but some of us choose other critters as companions of choice, such as rabbits, birds and guinea pigs. I heard from an Uptown couple who has both cats and a guinea pig. They find that their guinea pig is a great companion for their grandchildren, especially because it's "a very, very sweet animal and does not bite."

• PET OF THE WEEK
When we talk about pets, dogs and cats usually come to mind, but some of us choose other critters as companions of choice, such as rabbits, birds and guinea pigs. I heard from an Uptown couple who has both cats and a guinea pig. They find that their guinea pig is a great companion for their grandchildren, especially because it's "a very, very sweet animal and does not bite."

• Ridding area of code violations will take time
I took on the task of chairing the Code Enforcement committee at the recent monthly meeting of the East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission. I eagerly got online to begin reporting violations and was advised to contact the city's Code Enforcement office to get a tracking number. I did so, and was told that my violation reports had not been reviewed yet because there were at least 7,000 violations filed before mine.

• Teaching career had an early start
As the children of our community head back to school, let's remember that the classroom of life encompasses more than a school building.

• Uptown church opens doors to eastern N.O. congregation
A dispersed eastern New Orleans church is about to return to the city through a joint venture with a Broadmoor congregation.

• Animals find niche in urban settings
When dealing with wildlife in our neighborhoods and backyards, the first step is to recognize that humans created a situation where we have to find positive solutions to co-exist. Almost every community resulted from urban sprawl. Our backyards at one time were more than likely their front yards.

• ARMED FORCES
GRADUATED

• COLLEGES
--- Loyola University ---

• COMMUNITY REPORT
--- Senior caucus ---

• Contract is awarded for park walking path repairs
Good news! The city's department of public works has begun repairing the Joe W. Brown Memorial Park walking path. Every time I'm out there I'm reminded of the damage the 35-acre park suffered from Hurricane Katrina and flooding.

• Gentilly Fest seeks sponsors, vendors
Have you heard the expression "If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person?" Well, that's me these days, along with everyone else working on the Gentilly Fest committee.

• High school students earn college credit
Several De La Salle High students earned grades high enough to earn college credits in recent Advanced Placement exams.

• Iowa is getting its own Beacons of Hope
Thanks to great work by Beacon of Hope, the Episcopal Diocese and the Lakeview Civic Association, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is getting its first Beacon of Hope, with more to come .

• Lakeview Christian Center is ready to come home
As construction nears completion for Lakeview Christian Center's new facility at 5885 Fleur de Lis, the congregation awaits their homecoming and the resolution of a parking issue.

• MARDI GRAS INDIANS COME TO LIFE
A closing ceremony recently was held for Xavier University of Louisiana's Mardi Gras Indian Arts Intensive, an eight-week program for children ages 11-14. Mardi Gras Indian art and culture is taught through hands-on sessions with bearers of the tradition who share what it takes to create a costume in the Uptown and Downtown styles.

• Muscular dystrophy group active locally
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a term that refers to a group of diseases that cause degeneration of muscles that control movement. MD is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins and the death of muscle cells and tissue.

• Muscular dystrophy group active locally
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a term that refers to a group of diseases that cause degeneration of muscles that control movement. MD is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins and the death of muscle cells and tissue.

• Muscular dystrophy group active locally
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a term that refers to a group of diseases that cause degeneration of muscles that control movement. MD is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins and the death of muscle cells and tissue.

• Muscular dystrophy support group is active around here
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a term that refers to a group of diseases that cause degeneration of muscles that control movement. MD is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins and the death of muscle cells and tissue.

• NORTH RAMPART STREET SALUTES SATCHMO
Restaurants along the North Rampart Street corridor were places to be seen recently when the Friends of North Rampart sponsored a progressive dinner that included Meauxbar Bistro and Peristyle Restaurant. Supporters of the nonprofit group were out in force, celebrating their community and the 107th birthday of the great Louis Armstrong.

• Pontchartrain Kiwanis gives schools $50,000
The Kiwanis Club of Pontchartrain presented financial gifts totaling $50,000 to six New Orleans schools: St. Mary's Academy, Ursuline Academy, Xavier Prep, and George Washington Carver, Joseph S. Clark and St. Augustine high schools.

• Put in a good word for reading tutors
Sara Woodward, who heads Start the Adventure in Reading, the tutoring program for public school second-graders who read below grade level, wrote to report on STAIR achievements for the past scholastic year. She wrote that "tutors worked with more than 200 students from 27 area public schools, either after school or on Saturday mornings, at 23 tutoring sites around Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes."

• Restaurants promote cool summer specials
When the dog days of August press down on us like a blistering iron, we give thanks for air conditioning and wonder how our forefathers and mothers did it.

• Self-esteem for girls at library
Award-winning television producer and writer A'Lelia Bundles will deliver a free mother-daughter talk Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Main Library at 219 Loyola Ave. as part of a six-city tour promoting girls' self esteem and confidence. The talk is sponsored by the library's African American Resource Center.

• Tulane and Broad, here I come
Every Tuesday and Thursday during this sweltering month of August you'll find me at Tulane and Broad, in the bowels of the city's Criminal District Courthouse. Yep, they finally caught up with me, and I am hereby summoned to appear for jury duty.

• Welcome a new crop of master gardeners
More than 30 people recently earned the title master gardener after completing the Louisiana Master Gardener Program, a service and educational activity offered each year by the LSU AgCenter at City Park's Botanical Garden.

• Welcome a new crop of master gardeners
More than 30 people recently earned the title master gardener after completing the Louisiana Master Gardener Program, a service and educational activity offered each year by the LSU AgCenter at City Park's Botanical Garden.