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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting New Orleans.

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New Orleans' worst blighted properties, according to the city

Plaza Tower, Lindy Boggs and Canal Street Hotel topped the list.

News

Where to eat for Hanukkah in New Orleans

Holidays

Your guide to Christmas and holiday events in New Orleans

We go big with special meals, picture-perfect hotel lobbies, giant menorahs and bonfires.

10+ New Orleans Christmas parades and light shows

Celebration in the Oaks, a boat parade, creepy Krampus  and more.

"Queer Eye" returns to New Orleans for 8th season

The season is also the last for Fab Five member Bobby Berk.

Culture

The Fab Five isn&#x27;t done with New Orleans yet.What&#x27;s happening: Netflix is dropping round 2 of its New Orleans episodes of &quot;Queer Eye&quot; on Jan. 24.

Marrero man's hip-hop Christmas lights go viral on TikTok

<figure><img alt="image shows Christmas lights on a house" height="450" id="a6c3b478-59ce-4632-bef4-c35f43661d4d" src="https://images.axios.com/Kz6f99r5dxl1GBigbWWC5_9HyYw=/2023/12/04/1701725802545.gif" width="800"/><figcaption>Millions of people have seen EJ Watkins&#x27; video of his Christmas lights synchronized to Juvenile&#x27;s &quot;Back That Azz Up.&quot; Image: Courtesy of EJ Watkins</figcaption></figure>Marrero resident EJ Watkins synced the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Christmas" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/holidays" data-vars-content-id="efaef9ec-46cc-4964-b414-38bfd0da392c" data-vars-headline="Marrero man&#x27;s hip-hop Christmas lights go viral on TikTok" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/holidays" target="_self">Christmas</a> lights at his home to hip-hop songs — and the internet can&#x27;t get enough of his videos.Why it matters: It&#x27;s a fun slice of metro New Orleans.Driving the news: Watkins, who goes by <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="@ej504" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tiktok.com/@ej50428/video/7304014835602214174?_r=1&amp;_t=8hucWaroWtP" data-vars-content-id="efaef9ec-46cc-4964-b414-38bfd0da392c" data-vars-headline="Marrero man&#x27;s hip-hop Christmas lights go viral on TikTok" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ej50428/video/7304014835602214174?_r=1&amp;_t=8hucWaroWtP" target="_blank">@ej504</a> on TikTok, says he was inspired to do a programmable light show after seeing another TikToker, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="@Htown_Frankie" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tiktok.com/@htown_frankie?_t=8huci2Unooo&amp;_r=1" data-vars-content-id="efaef9ec-46cc-4964-b414-38bfd0da392c" data-vars-headline="Marrero man&#x27;s hip-hop Christmas lights go viral on TikTok" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@htown_frankie?_t=8huci2Unooo&amp;_r=1" target="_blank">@Htown_Frankie</a>, do them in Houston.

Poll: When do you put up your Christmas tree?

Are your halls decked for Christmas before Thanksgiving rolls around?

Are your halls already decked for Christmas? Or do you wait until December to put up your tree?📣 Vote in our survey.

Illustration of a Christmas tree with a clock in the star on top.

New Orleans awarded $25K grant for street safety mural

New Orleans has the highest rate of fatal bicyclist crashes among major metro areas in the U.S.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is giving New Orleans $25,000 to design and install a street mural aimed at improving pedestrian and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="bicycle safety" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/10/30/bicycle-fatalities-map-new-orleans-2023" data-vars-content-id="b8e69ae3-5164-411e-a527-d57da3a82504" data-vars-headline="New Orleans awarded $25K grant for street safety mural" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/10/30/bicycle-fatalities-map-new-orleans-2023" target="_self">bicycle safety</a>, the organization announced Tuesday.Why it matters: New Orleans has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the highest rate of fatal bicyclist crashes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/05/19/new-orleans-bicyclist-deaths" data-vars-content-id="b8e69ae3-5164-411e-a527-d57da3a82504" data-vars-headline="New Orleans awarded $25K grant for street safety mural" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/05/19/new-orleans-bicyclist-deaths" target="_self">the highest rate of fatal bicyclist crashes</a> among major metro areas in the U.S. — on average 9.9 fatal bike crashes for every million residents between 2017-2021.<ul><li>The national average is 2.7.</li></ul>

Photos: Celeb costumes with New Orleans flair

Paris Hilton dressed up like Louisiana's Britney Spears.

We spied these fun Halloween costumes with <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="New Orleans" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans" data-vars-content-id="f4665b41-627a-49f5-b971-3f5e259eccd2" data-vars-headline="Photos: Celeb costumes with New Orleans flair" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans" target="_self">New Orleans</a> connections.<ul><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Drew and Brittany Brees" data-vars-click-url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEMufcLchS/" data-vars-content-id="f4665b41-627a-49f5-b971-3f5e259eccd2" data-vars-headline="Photos: Celeb costumes with New Orleans flair" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEMufcLchS/" target="_blank">Drew and Brittany Brees</a>: Teeter and Rip from &quot;Yellowstone&quot;</li></ul><div><div class="instagram-wrapper"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="true" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEMufcLchS/?hl=en" data-instgrm-version="13"></blockquote></div><div style="display:none"></div></div><ul><li><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Kerry Washington" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/kerrywashington/status/1719370727961555445" data-vars-content-id="f4665b41-627a-49f5-b971-3f5e259eccd2" data-vars-headline="Photos: Celeb costumes with New Orleans flair" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/kerrywashington/status/1719370727961555445" target="_blank">Kerry Washington</a>: LSU sprinter Sha&#x27;Carri Richardson</li></ul>

Photo shows Paris Hilton dressed as Britney Spears

Haunted real estate listings in New Orleans aren't scaring off buyers

Real estate signs in the French Quarter advertise "haunted" locations.

Business

The &quot;haunted&quot; real estate signs in the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="French Quarter" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans" data-vars-content-id="1007b63f-127f-4842-afca-92fd33e36f7f" data-vars-headline="Haunted real estate listings in New Orleans aren&#x27;t scaring off buyers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans" target="_self">French Quarter</a> aren&#x27;t scaring off buyers, says the agent who created them.Driving the news: Finis Shelnutt, the broker behind Finis Shelnutt Real Estate Enterprises, has been hanging his haunted signs for 15 years.<ul><li>&quot;They get a lot of attention, I must say,&quot; he tells Axios.</li></ul>

Here's everywhere TikToker Keith Lee ate in New Orleans

Lee specializes in driving audiences toward little-known, family-owned restaurants.

Social media star and food reviewer <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Keith Lee" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125?lang=en" data-vars-content-id="cea0e29a-5b4a-426a-80d8-6400712ed855" data-vars-headline="Here&#x27;s everywhere TikToker Keith Lee ate in New Orleans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125?lang=en" target="_blank">Keith Lee</a> made a &quot;bucket list&quot; trip to New Orleans last week.Why it matters: Lee specializes in driving audiences toward little-known, family-owned restaurants that don&#x27;t often get headline coverage, and his trip to New Orleans was no different.

Keith Lee stands on an empty basketball court and films a selfie with one hand while smiling and holding up a peace sign with his other hand.

Get ready for Mardi Gras 2024

The length of Mardi Gras celebrations varies year to year.

Mardi Gras 2024 will be Feb. 13.Why it matters: The annual celebration turns New Orleans into a citywide street party, with official and unofficial parades, costumed revelry and out-and-out celebration.

Two women, wearing festooned, glittery hats and pink wigs, smile from a Zulu parade float.

TikTok food star Keith Lee invited back to New Orleans after Atlanta restaurant drama

Lee's Atlanta visit was much more turbulent and ended in his family reportedly getting death threats.

Food and Drink

TikTok star <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Keith Lee" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/08/15/keith-lee-new-orleans-food-reviews-restaurants" data-vars-content-id="7ebe7a3b-d7ab-4a4a-99e4-ea193d77b60c" data-vars-headline="TikTok food star Keith Lee invited back to New Orleans after Atlanta restaurant drama" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/08/15/keith-lee-new-orleans-food-reviews-restaurants" target="_self">Keith Lee</a> is welcome to eat in New Orleans after getting a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="less than warm" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/10/30/keith-lee-tik-tok-real-milk-restaurant-review-rules" data-vars-content-id="7ebe7a3b-d7ab-4a4a-99e4-ea193d77b60c" data-vars-headline="TikTok food star Keith Lee invited back to New Orleans after Atlanta restaurant drama" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2023/10/30/keith-lee-tik-tok-real-milk-restaurant-review-rules" target="_self">less than warm</a> welcome in Atlanta, residents say on social media.Catch up quick: Lee is a food reviewer based in Las Vegas with a massive social media following (14.7 million just on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="TikTok" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125?lang=en" data-vars-content-id="7ebe7a3b-d7ab-4a4a-99e4-ea193d77b60c" data-vars-headline="TikTok food star Keith Lee invited back to New Orleans after Atlanta restaurant drama" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125?lang=en" target="_blank">TikTok</a>).

Photo shows TikTok star Keith Lee taking a selfie on a basketball court

Todd Graves of Raising Cane's is a bourbon and fried shrimp guy

Graves started Raising Cane's 27 years ago with a location near LSU.

Todd Graves is known for founding Raising Cane&#x27;s, but the entrepreneur is making inroads with the Hollywood crowd.Driving the news: His show, &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Secret Sauce with Todd Graves" data-vars-click-url="https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/todd-graves-rides-chicken-finger-fame-hollywood#:~:text=Now%20using%20the%20title%20of,&#x27;t%20Graves&#x27;%20first%20series." data-vars-content-id="e33d9bcc-64f6-4dd5-bf2e-92fe9eb63ee0" data-vars-headline="Todd Graves of Raising Cane&#x27;s is a bourbon and fried shrimp guy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/todd-graves-rides-chicken-finger-fame-hollywood#:~:text=Now%20using%20the%20title%20of,&#x27;t%20Graves&#x27;%20first%20series." target="_blank">Secret Sauce with Todd Graves</a>,&quot; premiered on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="A&amp;E" data-vars-click-url="https://www.aetv.com/shows/secret-sauce-with-todd-graves/season-1" data-vars-content-id="e33d9bcc-64f6-4dd5-bf2e-92fe9eb63ee0" data-vars-headline="Todd Graves of Raising Cane&#x27;s is a bourbon and fried shrimp guy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.aetv.com/shows/secret-sauce-with-todd-graves/season-1" target="_blank">A&amp;E</a> in the spring, and his friendship with musician Post Malone led to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="custom-cup collab" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2023/06/23/raising-canes-post-malone-cups" data-vars-content-id="e33d9bcc-64f6-4dd5-bf2e-92fe9eb63ee0" data-vars-headline="Todd Graves of Raising Cane&#x27;s is a bourbon and fried shrimp guy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2023/06/23/raising-canes-post-malone-cups" target="_self">custom-cup collab</a>.

Remembering Al Copeland on the 40th anniversary of Copeland's

The flamboyant New Orleans businessman also founded Popeyes.

Al Copeland opened the first Copeland&#x27;s of New Orleans restaurant 40 years ago this week.<ul><li>It was at 1001 South Clearview Parkway in Elmwood and is still open.</li></ul>Fast forward: The chain now has 10 locations in three states.

Photo shows Al Copeland in front of the Copeland's sign