10/13/2007 Community Gumbo

Listen | Democracy Now (10/12/07)

• Al Gore, UN Climate Change Panel Share Nobel Peace Prize
• Oil Giant Chevron Urged to Cut Ties with Burmese Military Junta
• Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy

Listen | Left Behind: The Story of the New Orleans Public Schools (rebroadcast)

Left Behind documents a school system which had a dropout rate as high as 70 percent, with only half of the students passing math and reading proficiency tests. Before Hurricane Katrina, there were approximately 60,000 students in the New Orleans public school system, and the school budget was more than $500 million. Post-Katrina, the operating budget is about half as large, the school system has about half the number of students, and – the biggest change – about half of the schools are now being operated by private charter schools, with the majority of the remainder being operated by a Recovery School District after a state takeover. Only a small handful of schools are still being operated by the New Orleans Public School System.

Vincent Morelli is a writer, producer, and co-director of the film (along with writer Jason Berry and executive producer Bobby Moresco).

Related:

Ellenese-Brooks Sims accepts bribes

Brooks-Sims secretly recorded conversations with Mose Jefferson

Announcements:

Helen Hill
48 Hours airs at 9:00 p.m. on WWL TV New Orleans, Channel 4.

New Orleans Film Festival
Times-Picayune Lagniappe Best Bets

New Orleans Musica da Camera
Sing a Tapestry Weave a Song
The Fabric of Early Music
Sunday 14 October 3:00pm
Holy Name of Mary Church - 500 Eliza St. - Algiers Point
NOMDC.ORG, or 895-1972, for more information.

Big Easy Roller Girls
Bout Season starts on Saturday, Oct. 20 -- A double header featuring the Crescent Wenches v. the Marigny Antoinettes, and Confederacy of Punches v. the StoryVillains. Doors open at 6 p.m. at Mardi Gras World. BigEasyRollergirls.com for more information.

New Orleans Opera Association
Charles Gounod's Faust
McAlister Auditorium
Friday, October 19, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 20, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 21, 2007 @ 2:30 pm

Secluded in his study at dawn, the old philosopher Faust contemplates the meaning of life. Determined to bring his own to an end, he defiantly challenges both God and the Devil. Mephistopheles magically appears with a tempting offer: eternal youth and the love of the beautiful Marguerite, in exchange for only one thing–Faust's soul!