The Times-Picayune | Nola.com

We're on the lookout for a sharp business reporter interested in writing about #innovation, #entrepreneurship and new ideas in the New Orleans economy. 📝 This is an expansion of our local business coverage and will add another reporter to The Times-Picayune's growing newsroom. 📝 Join us or share with candidates who might be interested! #businessjournalism #journalism Greater New Orleans, Inc. – GNO, Inc., New Orleans Business Alliance, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) https://lnkd.in/gtWUHKKz

Louis David was named CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance in January, nine months after he moved into the job on an interim basis following the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Norman Barnum. The nature of Barnum's departure was disputed, though some senior staff and board members of the agency felt he was forced out because of his complaints about lack of support from city officials and their failure to understand its mission. Indeed, the role of an outfit like the New Orleans Business Alliance, which has been around since 2010, is part art, part science. In the New Orleans context, its role is further muddled by the fact that there is a plethora of individual parish agencies like it, such as St. Tammany Corp., St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, as well as a strong regional agency, GNO Inc., and a state-level agency, Louisiana Economic Development. Do they cooperate? Sure. Do they compete to attract companies, federal funding programs, private sector investment backers? You betcha. David has been with the agency for nine years, mostly as its director in charge of encouraging companies to invest in the city. Previously, the Tulane University MBA graduate was an account man at iSeatz, a New Orleans-based travel tech company. He is also a reformed journalist, having worked for KATC-TV in his native Lafayette for five years after earning his journalism degree from LSU. In this week's Talking Business, David discusses the upcoming Super Bowl and its impact on small businesses and how his agency differentiates itself from other economic development agencies.

Where else can you get top-tier boiled seafood ... inside of an outlet mall with a riverfront view? Only in New Orleans! Food writers Ian McNulty and Chelsea Shannon took a trip to Mr. Shrimp for a massive, delicious lunch. Check out The Times-Picayune | Nola.com's new video series here:

Reconcile New Orleans has received the largest gift in its history from MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the nonprofit group announced Wednesday. #ReconcileNewOrleans #NewOrleans #MacKenzieScott

Hand-decorated sunglasses and toilet paper will be flying today as the krewes of Iris and Tucks parade. Catch them on the NOLA.com Parade Cam sponsored by NewOrleans.com.

It's official Mardi Gras weekend! If you can't make it to the New Orleans parades, don't miss the action with our livestream. Catch the krewes of Hermes, D'Etat and Morpheus on the NOLA.com Parade Cam sponsored by NewOrleans.com #MardiGras #NewOrleans

It’s a bonanza for New Orleans. Next year the Super Bowl will be held in the Superdome during the Carnival season. That means the hospitality industry will be booming. #NewOrleans #SuperBowl #MardiGras

When I first started at The Times-Picayune | Nola.com, I wrote a story about a couple who fell in love during New Orleans Mardi Gras and were featured on Humans of New York. I asked people to share their Carnival love stories with me. And like the smell of trash on Bourbon Street, true love always persists. A Texas school teacher and NYC flight attendant met by chance at a club and he knew from the moment she took off her Mardi Gras mask that she was the one. It was 1998, and she convinced him to stay in the city longer. In Taylor Swift fashion, he "canceled his plans just in case she called" from her hotel. And she did. That's where this love story begins. I so enjoy engaging with the community in this way, and it's small stories like these that show how truly magical New Orleans really is.

People will be screaming for shoes tonight on the Uptown parade route as Muses anchors a night of Mardi Gras parades. Babylon and Chaos kick off the action. Catch it all on the NOLA.com Parade Cam sponsored by NewOrleans.com. #MardiGras #NewOrleans #Carnival #Muses #Babylon #Chaos

Can't make it to the parades? Catch the krewes of Druids and Nyx on our livestream on Wednesday night. The NOLA.com Parade Cam is sponsored by NewOrleans.com. #MardiGras #Carnival #Druids #Nyx