By Drew Broach | Deputy metro editor NEW ORLEANS VS. MEMPHIS: Louisiana state Rep. Tanner Magee describes himself as a nerd when it comes to learning about 1950s New Orleans rock 'n' roll. Thus he was a little taken aback when, on a trip just out of college, he visited Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and heard that Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88” in 1951 was the first rock ‘n roll record, thereby making Memphis the birthplace of rock. “This is categorically untrue,” said Magee, a Houma Republican and the House’s second-highest ranking member. “It’s undeniable that Fats Domino released ‘The Fat Man’ in 1949.” Now Magee has taken the first step to right that wrong, with a bill to create the Dew Drop-America’s Rock and Roll Museum in New Orleans and add it the annual state operating budget. WAR ZONE: Lawrence Robinson sat on his porch in New Orleans' 7th Ward on Wednesday night, beer in hand, and watched police investigate a homicide for the second consecutive night. "What is this city turning out to be?" he said. The killing was the third in less than 24 hours along a two-block stretch of North Rocheblave Street, between Allen Street and A.P. Tureaud Avenue. “This ain't a neighborhood no more,” Robinson said. “This a war zone.” TAKING FLIGHT: Breeze Airways took off last year as a low-cost airline with a goal of flying routes that didn't previously exist, linking smaller market airports with destination cities. It made New Orleans one of its four hubs, with flights in and out of Louis Armstrong International Airport. Now it's adding two more direct flights at Armstrong, giving it nine total. Thanks for starting your Thursday with the Front Page. Check NOLA.com for more news throughout the day. D.B. |