Harry Shearer sues DJ over hearing loss due to performance on 2012 Bacchus Mardi Gras float
A local actor who participated in the 2012 Bacchus parade is suing the disc jockey hired to provide music on the float after allegedly sustaining injury to his hearing following the parade ride. Harry Shearer filed a lawsuit against Rock-It Productions Inc., Global Indemnity Group Inc. and Penn-America Insurance Co. in the Orleans Parish Central District Court on Feb. 13. Shearer claims that he was unable to move from his assigned position on the Bacchawhoppa float in the Bacchus parade after being strapped in behind a loudspeaker. He claims he was diagnosed with a case of tinnitus due to the defendant’s negligence and refusal to lower the volume or supply ear plugs. The defendant is accused of failing to provide any type of ear protection to the plaintiff and other float riders, failing to provide an alternative position on the float so as not to be in direct contact with the loud speakers and failing to take corrective action when asked multiple times by plaintiff prior to plaintiff’s injury. An unspecified amount is sought for medical expenses, loss earnings, physical and mental pain and disability. Shearer is represented by Andrew S. de Klerk of New Orleans-based Frilot LLC. This case has been assigned to Division L Judge Kern A. Reese. - LOUISIANARECORD.COM

A Look Back: 2013 Courts of Carnival
For an evening, the spotlight was all theirs. Though the anticipation spanned years, often beginning at birth, the moment was fleeting – but what a moment it was. Ahead the challenges of the real world awaited them, but for the night, and the days and events that built up to it, there was a chance to reign. We present here St. Charles Avenue’s inaugural chronicles of Carnival’s courts. They are arranged in reverse chronological order from Mardi Gras to Twelfth Night, as though marching into time.Somewhere the polished limousines now await next season, but the memories of Carnival past offer their own joy ride. The season has passed; long live the season.Balls are presented in reverse order by date. - MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Krewe of Alla Could Be Forced to Move Parade From West Bank
The Krewe of Alla says it needs new members or it will be forced to consider moving its parade route from the West Bank.The krewe says without 200 new members by June 1 it may be forced to parade on the more popular St. Charles Avenue route on the East Bank. The organization says it understands it must be self-sufficient. Board members say if it doesn’t meet its goal it will have no alternative but to consider options to save the Krewe of Alla for future generations. Membership has been declining for several years. Alla’s annual dues are $450. The krewe says it’s been affected by an economic downtown and the allure of parading uptown.. - WGNO.COM

Changes to Mardi Gras ladders, toilets and parking all under consideration for 2014 parades
New Orleanians could see clearer laws about the placement of ladders, more control over the locations of portable toilets, and more efforts to clear public spaces during and between Mardi Gras parades next year, based on a number of ideas Uptown residents discussed with their City Councilwoman on Saturday afternoon. The city already has laws governing parade-route conduct, but a lack of enforcement over the years has meant growing encroachment of shared spaces by “homesteaders,” as some Uptown residents called the people who stake out large areas of the sidewalk or neutral ground, roping off areas, erecting tents or creating a wall of ladders along the curb. City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell agreed with those residents Saturday that she would support more citations for violators, but the bulk of the discussion was on ways to increase voluntary compliance — leaving police to the more important public-safety functions like taking guns off the route. Among the ideas pitched: Creating a fixed distance between ladders and the curb, Signs showing that distance, Holding toilet companies responsible for the burden for illegally-placed portable toilets, Creating more public places to go to the bathroom, Disposing of furniture and other items left on public property after parades, Resuming normal street car service quickly after parades, Making both sides of St. Charles a “no parking” zone during parades.. - UPTOWNMESSENGER.COM

6 Mardi Gras krewes fined by Jefferson Parish for parade violations
Six Mardi Gras krewes were fined from $100 to $2,500 for violating Jefferson Parish's parade ordinance during Carnival 2013, according to public records released Tuesday. Most of the infractions involved unmasked riders and smoking on floats, although two krewes were cited for having too few marching bands.The citations come in the second year of the latest crackdown on Carnival krewes as Jefferson Parish tries to enforce its parade standards and gradually raise them. The parish attorney's office released reports on six of Jefferson's 14 parades, in response to a public records request from NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. - NOLA.COM

Metairie Mardi Gras parade route, schedule could see changes
The Metairie Mardi Gras parade route and schedule could be coming in for some changes. The Jefferson Parish Council established a committee last week to consider altering the course up Veterans Memorial Boulevard and providing an alternative route, as well as doubling up parades on some days. Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng, whose district includes the Veterans route, said some krewe captains wanted changes this year but that there was not enough time. With an eye on 2014, she said the new committee will bring together representatives of the Citizen’s Affairs Office, the Sheriff’s Office, the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department, East Jefferson General Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Civic of East Jefferson and two krewes, to be picked from among the 12 East Jefferson parading organizations. “That should be chosen by them,” she said. Lee-Sheng said she’s not pushing specific changes but that among the ideas floated in recent years have been eliminating the route’s loop on Bonnabel Boulevard, extending the route west, beyond Clearview Parkway Reversing the Veterans route, so that parades run east to west, making Metairie Road an alternative route and running parades back to back more often, so that no day has a single parade. - NOLA.COM

Councilwoman pledges to seek more enforcement of Mardi Gras safety laws
The use of public space on the Mardi Gras parade routes improved slightly this year, City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell said Wednesday night, but the city laws need to be reviewed starting now to make sure that less of the sidewalks and neutral grounds are unfairly co-opted by furniture, ropes and improperly-placed ladders. Parade-route conduct has long been a sore spot for some New Orleanians, and the proliferation of living-room furniture and portable toilets definitely seems to have worsened in recent years, said Cantrell, whose City Council district includes almost the entirety of the Uptown route. But her direct involvement as a councilwoman began just before the parades did, when she told a Gambit reporter that she had yet to hear from her new constituents specifically about that issue. - UPTOWNMESSENGER.COM