sherwood-solomon.jpgMurder suspect Sherwood Solomon, 26A man accused of fatally shooting 43-year-old Braddock Chambliss just blocks from the Krewe of Endymion’s parade route Saturday night was arrested Wednesday evening.

Sherwood Solomon, 26, was booked into Orleans Parish Prison about 8:20 p.m. with one count of second-degree murder, Criminal District Court records showed. He remained jailed early Thursday and was expected to make his first appearance before a judge later in the morning.

Homicide investigators allege Solomon shot Chambliss several times by the roadway of the 300 block of South Gayoso Street about 9 p.m., two blocks from where Endymion rolled down Canal Street, said officer Shereese Harper, a New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman. Someone called 911, and paramedics arrived in time to take Chambliss to LSU Interim Public Hospital.

However, he died there from his wounds later Saturday night, said chief coroner’s investigator John Gagliano. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant naming Solomon as the suspect by Wednesday.

Court records showed prosecutors have convicted Solomon previously of possessing drugs but never for anything violent. He pleaded guilty to possessing crack cocaine in 2002 and received probation. In 1997, officers accused him of illegally possessing Vicodin, a prescription pain medication, but prosecutors decided not to pursue the case.

Solomon would serve a mandatory life sentence if he is eventually convicted of second-degree murder.

Ramon Antonio Vargas can be reached at rvargas@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3371.

Uptown Mardi Gras parades:

Zulu, 8:15 a.m., Central City to Downtown

* mardi_gras_zulu.JPGELLIS LUCIA / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEA Zulu float rider prepares to launch a plush toy on St. Charles Av. Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009. The hand-decorated Zulu coconut or “Golden Nugget” is considered one of the most sought after of all Carnival throws.
* The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club Inc., which dates back to 1909, first hit the streets with decorated floats in 1915. The news-making krewe first paraded along St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street in 1969.
* The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, a benevolent organization that is one of the highlights of Mardi Gras, is composed of men from all walks of life - from laborers and politicians to educators and business owners. Local men and women and visitors from throughout the country also now ride in the annual parade.
Medallion beads and an array of trinkets will be tossed, but of all the throws to rain down during carnival, the Zulu coconut or “Golden Nugget” is the most sought after. From as early as 1910, coconuts were given from the floats in their natural “hairy” state, the forerunner to today’s hand-decorated coconuts.

Rex, 10 a.m. | Watch live

* Did you know: Rex was the first krewe to introduce doubloons in 1960.
* The krewe’s monarch, whose identity is kept secret until Lundi Gras, is always a prominent member of society and his queen is a debutante.
* Rex, King of Carnival, Monarch of Merriment, will rule over Fat Tuesday when he and his entourage parade through the streets of New Orleans as they have for the past 138 years. There will be 27 floats depicting various aspects of the theme “Fables of Fire and Flame,” conceived by iconic local float designer Henri Schindler.
* Approximately 525 riders will toss stuffed special plush riding lieutenant dolls in three colors, stuffed boeuf gras, traditional gold doubloons, krewe-emblemed cups and purple, green and gold bandanas.

Elks Orleanians, after Rex

* Did you know: A variety of Elks officials will be guests of this ever-popular Mardi Gras parade.
* The Elks Krewe of Orleanians will hit the streets after Rex with more than 3,600 riders on 90 truck floats.

Crescent City Mardi Gras, after Elks

* Did you know: Winners from the previous year’s competitions are the leaders for the parade the following year.
* Families and groups have enjoyed riding in the Crescent City Truck parades since 1947.
* For 2010, organizers anticipate 1,800 riders on 60 truck floats.
* Leading the way will be the winners from 2009 competitions, including the Krewe of Kool Breeze, The Gumbo Krewe and Over the Hill Carnival Club I.

Metairie Mardi Gras parades:

Argus, 10 a.m.

* 2010 marks the 38th annual Argus ride through the streets of Metairie.
* Did you know: Argus rules Jefferson Parish on Mardi Gras.
* Thirty floats from the artistic team of float-builder McKinley Cantrell will take to the streets Mardi Gras morning when the Krewe of Argus embarks on its 38th trek through Metairie.
* Louisiana’s own Blue Dog Artist George Rodrigue will ride as a celebrity guest, traveling past his own new sculptural installation at the corner of Veterans and Severn.

Elks Jeffersonians, after Argus

* Grand marshals for this massive parade will be from the Magnolia School.
* The 4,300 riders in the Elks Krewe of Jeffersonians parade will ride 85 trucks and carry out the timely title “It’s A Mardi Gras.”
* Elks Krewe of Jeffersonians is celebrating 32 years and is a committee of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, New Orleans Lodge No. 30.

Jefferson Mardi Gras, after Elks Jeffersonians

* Did you know: Jefferson is the oldest truck parade in Metairie and began with only two trucks.
* For 38 years, the Krewe of Jefferson truck parade has provided a great way for families, friends and groups to celebrate the spirit of Carnival together.
* This year, 3,500 people will take part on 75 trucks in the oldest truck parade in Metairie.

Westbank Mardi Gras parades:

Grela, 11 a.m., Gretna

* Did you know: Grela is the oldest Carnival krewe on the West Bank.
* Grand marshal for the parade will be Irma Thomas.
* The Krewe of Grela kicks the mayhem of Mardi Gras off with its annual street pageant each year.
* This West Bank krewe will boast 320 riders on 23 floats by Phillip Fricano Jr.
Look for such titles as “LeGrand the Florist,” “Mississippi River,” “David Crockett Vol. Fire Co.” and “The Farmers’ Market.”

Bes Mardi Gras, after Grela, Gretna

* Did you know: Bes first paraded in 2009.
* Watch for krewe-emblemed cups.
* Bes, Carnival’s newest krewe, will roll through the streets of Gretna following Grela for the second year with the theme “Gretna Turns the Page on Another Story.”
A dozen floats will carry the theme through such titles as “Charlotte’s Web,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
* The 175 riders will be throwing krewe-emblemed cups and medallion beads.

Northshore Mardi Gras parades:

Lions & Covington Mardi Gras, 10 a.m., Covington

* The Covington Lions brought Mardi Gras to the town in 1959. The Krewe of Covington was founded in 1952 as the Krewe of KaaCee, formed by the local Knights of Columbus.
* The Lion’s theme for 2010 will be “Love Makes the World Go Round” and will be carried out on 40 floats with more than 150 riders.
* Watch and listen for the Covington High School Band and dance team, along with the Imani Steppers and Magic Moments from Bogalousa.
* The grand marshal will be Francis Barker of the Red Cross and Anna Jenkins will be queen.
Krewe of Covington follows with 40 riders on four floats and has the theme “Celebrating Mardi Gras Past.”

Regional Mardi Gras parades:

Chahta Mardi Gras, 1 p.m., Lacombe

* The krewe name honors a local high school. Chief Chahta Estervan Williams and Queen Pauline Cousin will reign over the celebration.
* The krewe is named to honor Chahta-Ima High School, where many of the founding members attended. It played a large part in their lives.

Folsom Mardi Gras, 1:30 p.m., Folsom

* This is Folsom’s 40th year parading. The krewe is open to the public.
* “My Favorite Game” is this year’s theme for this eclectic krewe that invites the public to participate in its parade. Billed as “an old-fashioned country Mardi Gras,” the Krewe of Folsom allows participants to ride everything from 4-wheelers to horseback.
* Entry fees, ranging from $15 to $35, are collected based on the type of vehicle used in the parade. “Floats” signing up on the day of the parade, will be charged an additional $5 fee. To pre-register visit villageoffolsom.com.
* The parade begins and ends at Magnolia Park on Highway 40. Participants are asked to line up by 12:30 p.m.

All information provided by The Times-Picayune’s Mardi Gras section published on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. For copies of the publication, call 826.4650 or 1-800-925-0000.

Valentine’s Day usually ushers in a flurry of chocolate, flower and jewelry sales. But this year the holiday comes in the midst of a citywide love affair with the New Orleans Saints and at the height of the Mardi Gras season, forcing local retailers to resort to creative tactices to keep consumers interested.

harkins.jpgJohn McCusker/The Times-PicayuneSabrina Burns assembles a floral arrangement at Harkins the Florist in New Orleans.”It’s the most challenging Valentine’s Day in 30 years,” said John Harkins of Harkins the Florist on Magazine Street. “But once the Super Bowl game was over, it seems like our newsletter started working and sales began to pick up.”

Recognizing long ago that Valentine’s Day sales would be affected by a double whammy of Saints fever and Carnival merrymaking, Harkins says he tackled the issue head-on in his newsletter by urging his customers to order early.

“The idea is that the later in the week it gets, the harder and harder it’s going to be to deliver orders because of the traffic and parades,” Harkins said. “So the point was to get our customers to order early. And with all the distraction, we’re making courtesy calls to customers who placed Valentine’s Day orders last year, reminding them of the date. Most of them are so appreciative and say they hadn’t even thought of it yet. We probably saved a few marriages that way.”

Ann Streiffer of Blue Frog Chocolates, also on Magazine Street, agrees that male customers tend to wait until the last minute to make Valentine’s Day purchases and then visit the store in desperation.

“They come in without a clue of what to buy, so they buy whatever we tell them to,” she said. “But mommies come in earlier and buy gifts for their husbands and children and their children’s teachers, or something to mail to their college kids.”

Today, the Thoth parade will pass outside the front door of Blue Frog Chocolates, and Streiffer plans to capitalize on that.

“We’ll be open before, during and after the parade,” she said. “Last year we just sold some things outside, so it’s an experiment to see how it works having the store open.”

To combat the distraction of the Saints and Mardi Gras, Streiffer put out a chalk board on the sidewalk this week touting Saints black-and-gold candy, chocolate-dipped strawberries for Valentine’s Day and special treats for Mardi Gras. She also made sure she had molded chocolates in three themes: hearts for Valentine’s Day, crowns for Carnival and fleurs-de-lis for the Saints.

“Our business is very thematic,” she acknowledged. “People come in to the store and want to feel the essence of New Orleans.”

As for how her product positioning and marketing efforts are faring and whether the surge in Saints and Carnival sales will balance out a possibly lackluster Valentine’s Day, Streiffer says the jury is out.

“It’s too early to tell,” Streiffer said. “I’ll know next week.”

And though flowers and chocolate are two traditional sentiments on Valentine’s Day, Joan Biderman of Hiller Jewelry on Metairie Road says that the holiday is also good for jewelry sales.

“Valentine’s Day doesn’t come close to Christmas as far as sales of fine jewelry go,” she said. “But there is usually an upturn even if it is modest. This year the city’s only love affair is with the Saints, so that has taken up a lot of attention that customers might be paying to the Valentine’s Day.”

Like Blue Frog Chocolates, Biderman says she has all three bases covered as far as store décor goes.

“I have a sandwich board outside cheering on the Saints. I have Mardi Gras tinsel rimming the window and I have a big red heart hanging in the door. We figure that at least one of those symbols might spark someone’s interest and lead to a purchase,” Biderman said. “We have a lot of items like diamond fleur-de-lis pendants that can appeal to Saints fans and Valentine’s Day shoppers.”

Biderman reports that at least one customer, recognizing that her husband was simply too distracted by the football hoopla to remember Valentine’s Day, decided to take matters into her own hands.

“She picked something out and then she called him from the store and told him that he had just bought her a Valentine’s present,” Biderman said.

Ben Lazich of the Wine Seller on Prytania Street says that Saints games and Carnival parties have resulted in a slew of orders over the past week or two. But he doesn’t really expect Valentine’s Day sales to make much of a difference.

“Usually some of our regular customers come in and buy a special wine or champagne,” he said. “The rosé champagnes are traditionally especially popular for Valentine’s Day. But this year, to be honest, I don’t think there will be a lot of romantic dinners taking place on Sunday night while Bacchus is rolling and Drew Brees is king.”

Still, Lazich says that there is a possibility that robust sales related to the Saints’ triumph and Carnival season could at least partially make up for what may be a Valentine’s Day deficiency. His store assistant, Laura Eyman, agreed.

“So far this week, I haven’t sold a lot more champagne than usual, but I did last Sunday before the Super Bowl,” Eyman said. “I think a lot of people wanted to have a cork to pop in case they had a reason to celebrate, and they did.”

This is what he will hear:

“DREWWWWWW!!! OHMYGOD!!! OHMYGOD!!! RIGHT HERE, DREW!!! I’M OPEN!!! THROW ME SOMETHING, DREW!!! I LOVE YOU, DREWWWWWW!!! WHO DAT, BABY!!! WILL YOU MARRY ME, DREW?!?!?!? I KNOW YOU’RE MARRIED, SO AM I, WE CAN WORK THAT OUT!!! REALLY!!! MY HUSBAND WON’T MIND, HE’S GOT A CRUSH ON YOU, TOO!!! DREWWWWWW!!! DREWWWWWW!!! OHMYGOD, DID YOU SEE THAT?!?!?!? HE THREW IT RIGHT TO ME!!! YOU DA MAN, DREWWWWWW!!!”

But that’s not exactly what the Who Dats on the parade route want to say.

It’s hard to be eloquent when a float is rolling past. So little time, so much pressure — you wait seven hours on a curb in the hopes of catching something, ANYTHING, directly from the hand of Super Bowl XLIV MVP and Bacchus 2010 Drew Brees. How can you possibly be expected to get his attention AND snag a flying doubloon AND put everything you’re feeling into words in just a few, fleeting seconds?

You can’t. So Drew is going to have to read between the lines. He’s going to have to know that when we say all of that, what we really want to tell him is this:

Thank you.

Thank you for bringing your broken shoulder to town and rebuilding yourself right alongside us.

Thank you for teaching us how to finish strong.

Thank you for always facing adversity with your shoulders back, your head up, your upper lip stiff, your eyes on fire.

Thank you for giving us Feb. 7 to ease the pain of Aug. 29.

Thank you for reminding every woman in New Orleans, and Katie Couric, how it feels to have a schoolgirl crush. (Katie, sweetheart, we know he’s a dreamboat, but try not to be so obvious next time!)

Thank you for making your beautiful family part of our beautiful city. So many star athletes parachute in for the season and catch the first flight out. You put down roots. That means a lot to us. It makes you one of us.

One suggestion: The next time you play in the Super Bowl (Feb. 6, 2011, in Dallas, see you there!), have Brittany and Baylen watch the game on the sideline on a Mardi Gras ladder. Every time you get flushed out of the pocket, he can scream, “Throw me something, Daddy!”

How cool would that be?

drew-brees-baylen.jpgTed Jackson / The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, with his wife Brittany at left, holds their son Baylen, 1, aloft in celebration after the Saints win Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.

If we’re going to go to the Super Bowl every year, we might as well give it a little New Orleans flavor.

Remember how you felt when you held Baylen in your arms after the Super Bowl? How you held him close and saw all of your hopes and dreams for the future in his little face and you cried?

Well, that’s how the Who Dat Nation feels when we look at you. You are a son of New Orleans now. In you we see the best of ourselves, and a future filled with possibilities, and a pride that moves us to tears, too.

This is the part the national media always gets wrong. They see us crying, and they think it’s because you have “given the people of New Orleans a reason to feel good about themselves.”

If we heard that once last week, we heard it a hundred times.

But that’s not it at all. We’ve always felt good about ourselves. New Orleans is home to some of the most fascinating, fun-loving, hard-working, resilient, creative, smart, sexy, generous, loving, tolerant people on the planet. We have some of the richest culinary, musical, artistic and architectural traditions in the world. What’s not to feel good about? Do Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest look like events organized by people with an inferiority complex?

Please.

We celebrate ourselves from January to December. What we have needed is someone worthy to represent us. Someone the rest of the world can associate with New Orleans who is not on the way to jail, hell, or an NFL Films blooper reel.

The national symbols of New Orleans have too often been laughingstocks and losers. We’ve always known we deserved better.

You’re better.

That’s why we get choked up. Not because we don’t think we deserve you. Because we know how much we deserve each other.

saints-parade-brees-throwing.JPGSusan Poag / The Times-PicayuneRight here, big boy. Come to papa.

So, like we said: Thank you. For representing. And for allowing us to go completely overboard about you. We know that nobody could be as good as we’re making you out to be right now. But we’ve been a little bit hero-deprived around here lately. If it’s not too uncomfortable up there, we’d like to keep you on the pedestal a little while longer.

And one last thing, Drew.

You know that fistful of black-and-gold doubloons you’re holding? Right here, big boy. Come to papa. The game is on the line and I’m Jeremy Shockey. Cock that golden arm and let ’em fly. Put them where you’ve put everything since the day you hit town:

Right in the sweet spot.

Uptown Mardi Gras parades:

mardi_gras_bacchus_drew_brees.JPGTed Jackson / The Times-PicayuneSuper Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees will reign as Bacchus. Babylon, 10:15 a.m.

Iconic local designer Henri Schindler envisions Babylon’s classic papier mache floats.

* Did you know: Babylon’s mule-drawn king’s float evokes a nearly forgotten era of Mardi Gras history.
* The Knights of Babylon, founded in 1939, will celebrate 71 years of history this season with a 20-float procession carrying more than 200 riders from Uptown to Downtown. Babylon’s theme is kept under wraps until parade time, and the name of its masked king is never revealed.
* Collectors of Mardi Gras throws are expected to line the route in droves, in quest of Babylon’s exclusive jester heads and hats, Knights of Babylon backpacks, Knights of Babylon lighted disc necklaces, soft baseballs, cups and doubloons.

Okeanos, 11 a.m.

* This clever group matched the theme to the day.
* Did you know: Watch for the Cajun Indian Riding Club.
* With a theme appropriate for Valentine’s Day, the 250 members of Okeanos will ask the question, “Will You Be Mine?” as their 2010 theme.
* Ten bands and 10 marching groups will be in the mix, as will the Cajun Indian Riding Club.
* Look for krewe beads, stuffed animals, footballs and Frisbees to fly through the air to the waiting crowds.

Mid-City, 11:45 a.m.

* Did you know: Mid-City, which originated 77 years ago in the neighborhood for which it is named, now parades Uptown.
* This krewe was the first to use colorful aluminum foil in its float designs.
* “Mid-City Gets Lucky” is the 2010 theme of this historic New Orleans krewe, which originated in the Mid-City neighborhood in 1933. The organization now traverses the traditional Uptown-Downtown route on “Super Sunday.”
* Throws will include Mid-City bags of potato chips, the plush Mid-City Man, fleur de lis beads, footballs, Frisbees, jester hats, “Got Foil?” dice, T-shirts, seven colors of doubloons and cups.

Thoth, Noon

* The 63rd-anniversary version of Thoth’s satirical ride through the Carnival streets promises to be a highlight of the big parade weekend.
* Did you know: Thoth parades past hospitals and retirement homes as a gesture of generosity. That tradition continues this year.
* “Thoth’s All Mixed Up” is the theme of the historic 2010 ride of this Orleans Parish Carnival mainstay organization.
* Thoth’s trek from Uptown to Downtown will also include travels past several hospitals and homes for seniors, bringing much-needed levity to the lives of residents the Sunday before Mardi Gras.
* Riders will throw doubloons of many colors, Valentine-themed plush hearts and beads, plus krewe cups, medallion beads, theme-related plush stuffed olives, hurricane drink glasses and hundreds of thousands of special beads and trinkets in all sizes.

Bacchus, 5:15 p.m.

* Saints quarterback Drew Brees will reign as Bacchus.
* Did you know: This organization was one of the first to have celebrity monarchs.
* Hugely popular Drew Brees will ride in the hugely popular Bacchus parade to cap a sensational Saints season.
* The 1,360 riders will be on floats that carry out the theme “Love Is In The Air.” Look for “Jungle Love,” “Love Those Southern Belles,” “Love Shack,” “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” and “Sweet Sixteen.”
* More than 30 bands will march, including the US Marine Corps Band and the Southern University Band.
* The group parades to the New Orleans Convention Center for a much sought-after party into the wee hours of the night.

Metairie Mardi Gras parade:

Napoleon, 5:30 p.m.

* Corps de Napoleon is named for Napoleon’s troops, called “corps,” a departure from the traditional Greek and Roman Carnival themes.
* Napoleon is known for parading its court in horse-drawn carriages.
* This year’s throws will include doubloons, krewe cups, Frisbees and a variety of Napoleon medallion beads.
* Emperor Napoleon XXX is Ronald Paulin; Empress Josephine XXX is Cindy Paulin.

Regional Mardi Gras parades:

Lions/Dumonde, Noon, Laplace

* This is a parade with a purpose, raising funds for various Lions philanthropies.
* The more than 700 riders of the Lions Club/Krewe duMonde will salute “The Duke” John Wayne when Carnival comes to LaPlace Sunday, Feb. 14. With 31 floats will be the East St. John High School Marching Band and seven other dancing and marching groups.
* The civic-minded group will host a float for children with disabilities. Also look for the Shriners and a variety of throws, including plush lions that will be thrown from the title float.

Des Allemands, 1 p.m., Des Allemands

* Valentine’s Day in the River Parishes will be lovestruck, thanks to the thrill of a parade.
* More than 300 riders will take to the streets on 15 floats.
* Fifteen floats carrying 300 riders will take to the streets of the River Parishes for the annual trek by the fun-loving Krewe of Des Allemands. A number of madcap themes will be carried out by each of the floats, from which riders from throughout the region are expected to throw a wealth of goodies.

Tchefuncte, 2 p.m. Madisonville

* Did you know: This is a boat parade that floats on the Tchefuncte River.
* The king and queen ride on a royal barge.
* The parade will start at Salty’s Marina and head downriver, then turn around and head upriver. The colorfully decorated boats will dock on both the north and south sides of the Highway 22 Bridge.

All information provided by The Times-Picayune’s Mardi Gras section published on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. For copies of the publication, call 826.4650 or 1-800-925-0000.

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Endymion ParadeAdriana Gomez of Pensacola screams as she catches a huge bag of beads with friend Rachel Chapman (R) as they watch the 2,430 riders of the Krewe of Endymion turn off Orleans Avenue onto Carrollton Ave. during the 2009 parade.For a moment, Terry and Paul Theriot feared that New Orleans’ residents had perhaps been paraded out.

Late this morning, with only five hours to go before the Carnival superkrewe of Endymion rolled its parade, the Theriots, who were manning a booth outside Mandina’s Restaurant on Canal Street, had served lunch plates to almost no one.

The Slidell couple, who volunteer to dispense plates of fried seafood to hungry parade-goers in exchange for free beer, wondered if near-freezing temperatures during four New Orleans parades last night had exhausted revelers. Or maybe Tuesday’s Saints’ Super Bowl victory parade in the Central Business District, during which a crowd of 800,000 people braved frigid temperatures and epic traffic gridlock, had defeated the city’s resilient partiers.

But then a woman approached the Theriots’ booth outside the restaurant and ordered eight dinner plates. The plates – fried shrimp, fried oysters, fried catfish, fried chicken and red beans and rice – were not meant to feed her companions on the parade route, however. They were all for her, to last from Saturday until Mardi Gras.

“That’s all she was going to eat,” said Paul Theriot, 58. “People are going to come out, eat and party. It’s been a great year.”

Indeed, it has. As the parade’s start neared and Canal Street came to life this afternoon, all signs indicated that the euphoria reigning over the city since the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV almost a week ago is still going strong.

Dozens of people eating grilled food and enjoying drinks near the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Canal Street wore Saints championship sweatshirts, T-shirts and hats. A massive black banner hanging from a building housing a spa and law firm screamed, “Who Dat!,” in capitalized gold letters, the words split by a fleur-de-lis.

Men and women tossed footballs with their children in the street, though it was still open to traffic. Others danced in driveways as speakers blared Superdome favorites like Aaron Neville’s version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” and the Ying Yang Twins’ “Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk).”

Many of those people staked claims to their spots alongside the neutral ground’s streetcar tracks days ago, some braving even rain and bone-chilling temperatures inside tents.

In a few hours, they will have the chance to toast Saints owner Tom Benson, Endymion’s grand marshal, whose sometimes fraught relationship with fans has now hit an all-time high.

Lakeview resident Mark Silva, 37, lounging in a chair outside a flooring store named “Floor de Lis,” said he is excited not just about the Saints, but also the city’s potential. The city just elected a new mayor, he noted, adding that crawfish season is approaching and in just three years New Orleans will host its 10th Super Bowl.

“There’s so much going on right now,” said Silva, accompanied by his wife and 20-month-old son. “I couldn’t imagine being any other place.”

At least one man expressed his civic pride without relying on Saints gear to do so. Travis Spencer, 25, who lives in Carrollton, wore a New Orleans Hornets Mardi Gras jersey, bearing Chris Paul’s name and number.

“Everyone else is in black and gold,” Spencer explained of his choice to don a purple, green and gold jersey. “I’m just staying fresh, staying festive.”

Shortly after 5 p.m., it appeared that the float immediately behind the one carrying Benson had broken down and been pulled out of the procession, but the merrymarking went on unabated.

By Brendan McCarthy and Laura Maggi, staff writers
and A.C. Thompson, ProPublica

algiers-burned-car.JPGHenry Glover’s burned remains were found weeks after Hurricane Katrina inside an abandoned, nearly incinerated car on the Algiers levee.

A former New Orleans police officer is under investigation for shooting Henry Glover outside an Algiers strip mall four days after Hurricane Katrina, the first act in a bizarre chain of events that has led to a massive federal probe into the city’s Police Department.

Glover’s burnt remains were found weeks after the August 2005 storm inside an abandoned, nearly incinerated car on the Algiers levee.

Over the past year, the U.S. Department of Justice has interviewed scores of officers in an effort to determine how the 31-year-old Glover died, as well as whether officers may have tried to cover up his death.

david-warren.JPGFormer N.O. police officer David Warren is under investigation on the shooting.

William Tanner, an Algiers resident, has described his effort to get medical treatment from police for Glover’s gunshot wound. Tanner has alleged that a group of officers from the SWAT unit detained and beat him and two other men, refused medical care for Glover, and eventually drove off in Tanner’s car, with Glover’s body inside.

But it was never known who had shot Glover. Now, several sources and a defense attorney confirm that federal investigators believe that then-NOPD officer David Warren shot Glover.

It’s unclear if Warren’s bullet killed Glover. It’s also unclear whether another group of officers under investigation for setting the car on fire — including two leaders of the NOPD’s high-profile SWAT unit, Capt. Jeff Winn and Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann — knew that Glover had been possibly shot by a fellow cop.

What is clear is that the shooting was the first in a string of questionable actions by NOPD officers now at the center of a sprawling probe.

Rookie reassigned in days after Katrina

Warren, 47, was a rookie on the force assigned to the 7th District in eastern New Orleans when the storm struck. He was unable to get to his post and was directed to the 4th District in Algiers, according to his attorney, Joseph Albe.

On Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 — four days into the flood — Warren and his patrol partner encountered two men behind a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant near the intersection of Seine Drive and Texas Drive, Albe said.

Glover was at that location that afternoon with a friend when he was shot, according to family members.

Warren, in uniform, saw two men ge out of a truck and “charge” toward a business, Albe said. Warren believed they were going to loot the business.

“He yelled stop, halt, whatever,” Albe said. “They didn’t.”

Warren, an expert marksman, pulled the trigger on his rifle. A shot rang out.

“After he fired, the guys turned around and ran off,” Albe said.

Warren, who Albe said doesn’t know exactly where the bullet landed, then called ranking officers and reported the shooting.

“He did exactly what he was supposed to have done,” Albe said.

Though the location, the date, time and circumstances square with civilian accounts, Albe maintains there is no evidence that shows Warren shot Glover.

“Did David Warren shoot his gun? Yes. He shot one shot. Do we know whether it was Henry Glover? No … We may never know.”

Warren never wrote a report on the shooting incident.

“He was told not to” by ranking officers, Albe said. “Plus, an officer involved in a shooting doesn’t write his own report.”

A report written more than a week after the incident classified the shooting as a “miscellaneous incident,” a designation given to minor matters that typically receive no follow-up, the attorney said.

Albe and other attorneys representing the officers under investigation have said the chaotic circumstances after Katrina need to be taken into consideration when judging officers’ actions.

“It wasn’t ‘protect and serve,’” Albe said Friday. “It was protect themselves. It was a question of survival.”

An unconventional officer

Warren is no longer with the NOPD. He joined the department as a recruit in December 2003 and was sworn in as an officer in May 2004. He left the force in 2008, according to civil service records.

He was an unconventional rookie: He joined the force mid-career and holds several degrees, including a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin, according to his personnel file.

His resume also states he has worked in the armed services, and participated in “use of force and threat assessment” training at the Lethal Force Institute Inc. At the NOPD’s graduation for his recruit class, Warren was honored with a precision shooting award for having the highest cumulative score during firearms training.

Civilian witnesses have already given their version of the events of Sept 2, 2005, to federal agents.

henry-glover.jpgPhoto courtesy of Rolanda ShortHenry Glover with his daughter, Nehemiah Short, sometime before September 2005.

Glover’s fiancee, Rolanda Short, said last fall that Glover had gone out that morning to scavenge for supplies. After Katrina, with no stores open, he had been in charge of getting food, water and charcoal for the couple’s extended family, several of whom lived near their apartment on Garden Oaks Drive, she said.

Short heard someone in the street shout out that Glover, who was known as “Ace,” had been shot. Short said the man on the street indicated a police officer — maybe a state trooper — had shot the father of her young daughter.

Hearing the news, Short ran out into the street and saw Glover lying face down on the pavement with blood pouring from his chest. Short said as she held Glover’s hand, a car pulled up and two police officers got out. They ordered Short to back away from her fiance, but she refused. Eventually they left, said Short, who was interviewed by FBI agents last year.

At that point, a potential savior appeared, Short recalled. Tanner, a maintenance man on a quest for gasoline for his car, stopped his white Chevrolet Malibu at the behest of Glover’s brother, Edward King. Though he didn’t know Glover, Tanner agreed to try to help.

A search for help

Tanner decided that driving several miles to West Jefferson Medical Center, the original plan, was a bad idea. With Glover in the car’s back seat, and the injured man’s brother and another man in the car, Tanner drove to a nearby school where the NOPD’s SWAT unit had set up camp during the storm.

Instead of helping them, Tanner alleges that SWAT team members at Paul B. Habans Elementary School handcuffed the three uninjured men, interrogating them about what they were doing.

The officers jumped to the conclusion that the men were looters, and beat them, with officers kicking Tanner in the ribs, and one officer hitting him in the head with the butt of a gun, Tanner said.

Officers did not tend to Glover, who lay wounded — or possibly dead — in the back seat of the car, Tanner said.

At one point, an officer in a tactical uniform took Tanner’s key chain, removed the key to his car and headed toward his Malibu, with flares sticking out of the front pocket of his cargo pants, Tanner recalled. The officer took off in the car, following other officers who were in a white truck, he said. Glover was still in the back seat of the car.

Eventually, Tanner and the other men were released. They fled the city.

Scorched bone fragments recovered

Soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne recovered Glover’s remains, mostly scorched bone fragments with “minute fragments of metal,” from inside Tanner’s charred car, which had been left beside the levee near Patterson Drive and Gen. Collins Avenue. The site was blocks away from the NOPD’s 4th District station and a U.S. Border Patrol office, about a mile and a half away from the elementary school where SWAT encamped.

Coroner Frank Minyard said DNA from family members helped confirm Glover’s identity. The autopsy shows Minyard did not classify the death as a homicide or flag it for police investigation.

Minyard’s inaction in classifying the death a homicide is one reason police didn’t begin an investigation, Albe said.

Six days after Glover’s shooting, a pair of volunteer first responders from the Pittsburgh area, armed with a video camera, stumbled upon the vehicle. The two men videotaped what they found inside: a skull with two holes in it, according to a Pittsburgh television news report.

The skull went missing sometime between the pair’s discovery and when the 82nd Airborne recovered the remains. No skull is mentioned in Glover’s autopsy, which consisted of an examination of five biohazard bags containing bones and clumps of flesh.

Tanner learned about the location of his vehicle months after the storm from an agent with the federal Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency. The car remained on the levee through early February 2009. A neighbor said it was towed away by an NOPD truck a month later.

Although Tanner made several appeals to the NOPD in the time since Katrina to find out what happened to his car, he never got anywhere.

Two veteran cops also under investigation

Two veteran officers, both highly decorated, are under investigation by federal authorities for playing possible roles in the disposal of Glover’s body. Winn and Scheuermann of the SWAT team are two targets of the investigation, Eric Hessler, an attorney representing Winn, has previously said.

Winn, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, and Scheuermann are widely respected in the department. They have worked in the some of the NOPD’s most proactive and dangerous units, volunteering for harrowing assignments time and again. The SWAT team responded to numerous reports of violence in the city immediately after the storm.

Hessler has defended his client in interviews, saying Winn and the officers he commanded were the ones who stepped up during the chaos after Katrina.

“Jeff Winn addressed everything properly by the guidelines the NOPD was working under during Katrina,” Hessler said Friday. “By all accounts, he did a great job.”

Tanner’s account of what happened to Glover first appeared in a 2008 article published in The Nation magazine and on the Web site of ProPublica, an investigative newsroom. Despite repeated inquiries by Tanner about what happened to his car, the New Orleans Police Department had not previously opened an investigation into Glover’s death or the incineration of his corpse.

The story prompted a federal inquiry. Since then, dozens of officers, including the current and former superintendents, as well as other top brass, have appeared before a federal grand jury. The U.S. Department of Justice, working with the local FBI office and the U.S. attorney’s office, has issued countless subpoenas to the NOPD, and interviewed several officers.

The federal investigation into Glover’s death is one of several active probes into the NOPD. A grand jury examining the well-publicized Danziger Bridge shooting — in which two men were killed by police and four others were shot — commenced last spring. The FBI also has an open investigation into the fatal police shooting death of Adolph Grimes III, 22, who was killed in an encounter with officers on New Year’s Day 2009.

drew brees parade square pass boyd.jpgG. Andrew Boyd / The Times-PicayuneDrew Brees tosses a Bacchus football during the Saints’ victory parade in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2010.When the Krewe of Bacchus rolls Sunday during the final weekend of Mardi Gras, the specially designed king’s float bearing Drew Brees will be stocked with 10,000 commemorative black and gold foam footballs.

That’s not nearly enough.

In a remarkable confluence of timing, events and luck, Bacchus is poised to parade in front of possibly the largest crowd in the superkrewe’s illustrious 42-year history.

The Carnival season’s climax is also a final exclamation point on the Saints’ historic Super Bowl season. Team owner Tom Benson and his granddaughter Rita Benson LeBlanc ride today in Endymion. On Monday, coach Sean Payton lords over Orpheus.

But among Saints heroes, Brees reigns supreme.

And Bacchus got him.

A week ago, the largest TV audience in history watched Brees guide the Saints to a Super Bowl championship. Post-game images of the quarterback clutching the Vince Lombardi Trophy and his one-year-old son Baylen graced scores of newspapers and magazines.

He subsequently embarked on a whirlwind media blitz: A Disney World parade and the Letterman show on Monday; the Saints victory parade on Tuesday; a taping of “The Ellen Degeneres Show” in Los Angeles on Wednesday; and “Oprah” in Chicago on Friday.

Bacchus does not always present celebrity monarchs at the height of their careers. Jon Lovitz in 2003 and Michael Keaton in 2006 come to mind.

By contrast, Brees is, in baseball terms, a grand slam.

The theme of Bacchus this year? “Love is in the Air.” And much of it will be directed at Brees.

Tuesday’s Saints parade triggered a hurricane evacuation in reverse: All major New Orleans area highways were bumper-to-bumper with inbound traffic.

On Sunday, Brees’ Bacchus coronation will draw another epic crowd. And that crowd will clamor for his souvenir throws.

After the Saints won the NFC Championship Game, Bacchus executive director Owen Brennan III sent a text to the krewe’s overseas supplier:

“There’s not enough footballs in all of China. Get me as many as you can.”

drew brees parade bacchus stuff.JPGEliot Kamenitz / The Times-PicayuneThe items Drew Brees and his fellow riders on the Bacchus king’s float will throw include foam footballs, baseball caps with a fiber optic logo, Bacchus medallions, blinking heart-shaped medalliions, gold king’s float beads and black, gold and wine colored doubloons bearing Brees’ likeness.Forty-two years ago, Owen “Pip” Brennan Jr., the founder and current captain of Bacchus, conceived of a celebrity monarch to promote both his new parade and New Orleans. He is still involved in the selection process, along with his son Owen III and a small committee of krewe officials.

They start with such A-list names as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, but “you usually get knocked off that pedestal pretty quickly,” Owen Brennan III said.

The biggest stars tend to be too busy to commit nearly a week to Mardi Gras, especially months in advance. So the committee moves down the list to “who’s popular, who’s been popular in the past and is having a comeback, who still relates to the general population, young and old,” Brennan said. “That’s the process we go through every year.”

Committee members pool their entertainment world contacts and “work through the layers” of agents and managers. Musicians and sports figures have proved especially difficult to book, so actors dominate the ranks of Bacchus royalty.

Past kings often help solicit their successors. Since riding last year, Val Kilmer has called to pitch names of fellow actors. Elijah Wood, Bacchus 2004, offered to recruit his “Lord of the Rings” co-star Sean Austin for 2005, provided Wood was allowed to ride again.

“At the king’s party, Elijah got down on one knee and handed the crown over to Sean, like a passing of the torch,” Brennan said. “Fun things like that happen when past kings get involved.”

Pro wrestler Hulk Hogan proclaimed himself the “final” king, arguing that any aspiring monarch must first beat him in a steel cage match. “They all want to come back,” Brennan said.

The krewe extended its formal invitation to Brees in early December, after weeks of informal inquiries. “It wasn’t a hard sell,” Brennan said. “He was thrilled to death and immediately accepted.”

The Bacchus organization wanted him regardless of how the Saints season ended.
“Truthfully, we’re not honoring Drew for his accomplishments on the football field,” Brennan said. “His philanthropy, what he does for children…he’s an incredible ambassador for New Orleans. He’s a pillar of our community. You could not pick a better man in the city of New Orleans to be the king of Bacchus.

“If the Saints had lost in the opening round of the playoffs, it would not have diminished one iota our excitement to have Drew be the king.”

drew brees parade horizontal toast kamenitz.jpgEliot Kamenitz / The Times-PicayuneThe entire city will toast Drew Brees when he rides as the King of Bacchus on Sunday, Feb. 14. Brees took a practice ride during the Saints’ victory parade on Feb. 9.Selecting a quarterback in the midst of a championship quest presented logistical challenges. Usually a Bacchus delegation meets with the chosen king weeks before the parade to review the schedule and other details.

But there could be no distractions for Brees during the Saints’ playoff run. Instead, Brennan worked with Brees’ wife, Brittany, and his marketing agent, Chris Stuart.

“It’s been very challenging,” Brennan said. “But we’ve always said if the Saints win the Super Bowl, and Drew is the MVP, and he’s king of Bacchus in the same week, nothing else matters.”

Kings help design their costumes to reflect their personalities. Nicholas Cage, for instance, insisted on a black trench coat trimmed with black ostrich feathers.
Brees, too, had input on his royal garment. “It’s sharp,” Brennan said. “It will be really cool.”

No. 9 is only the third homegrown Bacchus. Pete Fountain reigned in 1980, followed by Harry Connick Jr. in 1983. Connick apparently had such a good time that he founded his own krewe, Orpheus.

In 2007, Brees served as the Bacchus grand marshal a week after dislocating his left elbow in the Pro Bowl. His enthusiasm during Tuesday’s Saints parade ­— essentially a dress rehearsal for Sunday — made Brennan nervous: “Several times I had to say, ‘Hey, buddy, I need you back in the float, not hanging off the float.’”

Various krewes loaned floats to the victory parade; Brees was aboard the traditional Bacchus king’s float.

But for Bacchus itself, Brees wanted to ride alongside his wife, the board of directors of his charitable Brees Dream Foundation, and the Saints offensive line. Space was also needed for the Bacchus pages and an enhanced security team.

So for the past three weeks, Blaine Kern Studios has scrambled to build a new, larger king’s float.

On the suggestion of studio president Barry Kern, the design incorporated a piece of Bacchus history: A decades-old chariot once pulled by a horse and ridden by a parade marshal. Exhumed from a warehouse and refurbished, it is mounted atop the new king’s float.

dree brees parade horizontal float kamenitz.jpgEliot Kamenitz / The Times-PicayuneDuring the Saints’ victory parade, Drew Brees and the Saints offensive line rode aboard the traditional Bacchus king’s float. But for Brees’ ride on Sunday, Bacchus designed a new, larger king’s float.It also sports an entirely novel amenity for a Bacchus float: A women’s restroom. Brittany Brees and members of the foundation delegation are apparently the first-ever officially sanctioned female riders in Bacchus.

Despite his globe-trotting schedule, Brees planned to attend this weekend’s Bacchus king’s party and membership brunch, and visit Children’s Hospital.

His Bacchus affiliation has an additional charitable element. The krewe sold a thousand commemorative lithographs depicting Brees and Bacchus floats to its members for $250 apiece. Proceeds benefit the Brees Dream Foundation.

Don’t expect to catch a lithograph during Sunday’s parade. But several throws will be available exclusively from the king’s float.

Look for white Bacchus baseball caps with fiber optic logos; a flashing plastic heart emblazoned with a stylized “B”; gold “King of Bacchus” beads; a ceramic Bacchus logo suspended from a red and gold cord; and black and gold foam footballs emblazoned with a fleur de lis.

As another Saints tribute, Bacchus for the first time minted its commemorative king’s doubloons not just in the traditional wine tint, but in black and gold. The doubloons bear Brees’ likeness and, at his request, his signature.

Around 100,000 will be thrown from the king’s float. “This will be the one doubloon to have,” Brennan said.

Normally Bacchus takes about three-and-a-half hours to complete its route. “But if Tuesday night was any indication, this may be more like six,” Brennan said. “I hope we get in before midnight.”

Not that he’ll mind a long ride before large crowds.

“We’re proud, thrilled and honored to have Drew Brees as our king. This is once in a lifetime. You could not have written a better story.”

Uptown Mardi Gras parades:

mardi_gras_iris_parade.JPGThe Times-PicayuneHands reach out for beads during the Krewe of Iris parade. Iris, 11 a.m.

* What happens when 850 women in costume climb aboard 33 floats? The annual magic of Iris.
* Organized in 1917, Iris is the oldest ladies-only Mardi Gras group in New Orleans.
* Mardi Gras revelers traditionally set up chairs, ladders, barbecue grills and playpens up and down the historic Krewe of Iris route from Uptown to Downtown every year. 2010 should be no different, since the 850 female riders of the 93-year-old krewe are known for their generosity to waiting throngs.
Those seeking exclusive Iris throws will find cups and doubloons specific to the captain and specific floats, thematic beads, ceramic beads and matching bracelets, plush sunflowers, footballs, decals, umbrellas and much more.

Tucks, 12:15 p.m.

* Did you know: Tucks throws toilets that can shoot water.
* The king’s float of this crazy krewe is a toilet.
* Carnival at its most irreverent rolls down St. Charles Avenue in the form of the 800 members of Tucks. Actors Rob Corrdry (”The Daily Show”), Craig Robinson (”The Office,” “Father of Invention”) and Clark Duke (”Greek”) - all in the forthcoming MGM comedy “Hot Tub Time Machine” - will ride in a hot tub float.
* “Tucks Faces Reality” will be shown on the 26 floats, with titles such as “Army Corps - Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,” “The Biggest Loser” and “Pimp My Streetcar.” For every float, there is a band, plus more marching units.
* Following the parade, the group hosts the Tucks Extravaganza at the Sheraton Hotel. Tucks is named for the watering hole popularized by the founding Loyola students.

Endymion, 4:15 p.m., Mid-City

* Did you know: With more than 2,400 riders, Endymion is the largest parade in all of Carnival.
* Known for their generosity, members of the super krewe will throw an array of Endymion items, including a special penguin in honor of Endymion, born at Audubon Zoo last year on parade day.
* Saints owner Tom Benson and his wife Gayle will be the grand marshals and are expected to be joined by several members of the team.
* Celebrity guests include Trombone Shorty and Kellie Pickler. Monarchs for the krewe are Kelly Elizabeth Giardina and Patrick Russo.
* Watch for a lighted medallion bead, footballs with Benson and Endymion doing the Benson Boogie, doubloons and more.
* Endymion parades into the Superdome for the Extravaganza, a staggering party for 15,000 with such name entertainers as Cowboy Mouth, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Party on the Moon.

Westbank Mardi Gras parade:

Nomtoc, 10:45 a.m., Algiers

* NOMTOC is an acronym for “New Orleans’ Most Talked of Club.”
* Did you know: This is NOMTOC’s 40th anniversary. Twelve bands and 12 marching groups will join the parade, as well as 10 horse groups. Local meteorologist Dameon Singleton will be the grand marshal.
* Reining at the annual ball Jan. 23 were King NOMTOC XL Alan Jerome Hendrix and Queen NOMTOC XL Casey Angelle Coleman.

Metairie Mardi Gras parade:

Isis, 6:30 p.m.

* Did you now: Isis is known for its Genie Doll throws.
* Decorated flip-flops are a hallmark throw for this krewe.
* Isis will hit the streets Feb. 13 with 19 floats bearing the theme, “Tell Me A Story” and such titles as “Jack and Jill,” “Hickory Dickory Dock” and “Little Miss Muffett.”
* An estimated 250 riders, joined by five bands and six marching groups, will throw Genie Dolls, flip-flop beads and decorated flip-flops in all sizes.
* King and queen will be Jonathan Holmes and Kristine Connell.

Regional Mardi Gras parades:

Bush, 9 a.m., Bush, La.

* Did you know: This old-fashioned town parade is open to all.
* Look for pickup trucks, antique cars, go-carts and horses.
* Residents of Bush get back to basics when celebrating Mardi Gras with a community parade open to everyone. Those interested are invited to bring their trucks, antique cars, go-carts, horses or tractors (along with throws they can round up) to the Bush Truck Stop at the intersection of La. Highways 40 and 21 at 8 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 13. There is no entry fee. The parade begins at 9 a.m. Approximately 30 to 40 usually participate.

Lul, Noon, Luling

* Look for special throws from the king and queen.
* Did you know: the celebrities and royalty are lifelong residents of Luling.
* A wild mix of more than 30 floats will join in the fun of the Krewe of Lul parade that rolls at noon. Individual groups create their floats for the parade, including the Krewe of Mixed Nuts, Cajuns on the Bayou, Krewe of HBA, Krewe of Rhapsody, Becnel Bunc, Diamond Social Club, Derby Gang and the Millennium Carnival Club.
* The Hahnville High School Band will lead the parade. Watch for the Westbank Divas, several local fire departments, festival queens (including the Des Allemands Catfish Festival queen), the St. Charles Community Health Center Mobile Unit and the Mr. Peanut and the Peanut

Towahpasah, 1 p.m., Reserve

* This River Road community parade celebrates Carnival with all types of vehicles and floats.
* The Krewe of Towahpasah, open to anyone who wishes to participate, will celebrate the 2010 Carnival season Saturday, Feb. 13, when it rolls through the streets of Reserve.
* Featuring a variety of vehicles, each entrant is designed by the individual owners. Riders choose their own throws, which usually includes beads, cups and an assortment of stuffed animals and items.
Royalty for this unique street procession is announced the day of the parade.

MCCA, 1 p.m., Bogalusa

* 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of this much-heralded krewe. MCCA riders build their own lavish floats.
* Nearly 40 floats carrying more than 400 riders will greet visitors in Bogalusa, where the Krewe of MCCA (Magic City Carnival Association) claims the fame of being “the largest Carnival event in a city with a population of 15,000 or less.”
* The captain of the krewe says members pride themselves on attracting more than 50,000 parade watchers annually.
* Special anniversary-themed throws will descend on the throngs, including krewe-emblem beads, doubloons, cups, plush figures and much more.