Jazz Fest retains Local Charm and Caps Off a Profitable Decade since 2004

After the 2004 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lost money, there was talk of slashing the next year’s budget. But longtime Fest producer Quint Davis’ new partners at AEG Live advocated for the opposite strategy. They said you can’t cut your way out of this.

“This” refers to financial straits Jazz Fest found itself in, and some wondered if the show would go on.

David Oestreicher, who was acting president of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation immediately after that “tipping point” year, says, “desperate times call for desperate measures.” Oestreicher and the Board worked behind the scenes to rescue Jazz Fest from it’s financial troubles.

What’s emerged 10 years after the Fest faced it’s most pressing problems is a stronger event, one that retains local charm, but now also brings in big name “guest” acts mostly from pop-rock genres, thanks to the work done during this time, and the financial pockets of AEG, which co-produces the Festival with Quint Davis’ Festival Productions, Inc.

To learn more about this transition of one of the oldest and most revered music festivals, see music writer, Keith Spera’s piece (published in The Times-Picayune and on Nola.com).

Oestreicher wins settlement, and cookie name crumbles

A federal judge signed a lawsuit settlement in which a Los Angeles woman will retain the sole rights to her brand of cookie confections. New Orleans lawyer, David W. Oestreicher, II, filed the suit on behalf of Phyllis Hoffman, who operated a mail order cookie business in New Orleans, where she also delivered to homes…

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Oestreicher garners commendations & service awards from NOPD

During his years of service as a reserve officer in the New Orleans Police Department, attorney David Oestreicher encountered many scenarios. He says his service in the NOPD actually helped him to become a better lawyer — one more attuned to myriad perspectives presented in any given case, rather than as someone who might view…

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Court awards nearly $470,000 to woman in suit against Entergy New Orleans

A judge has ordered Entergy New Orleans to pay nearly $470,000 to a woman who tripped over a piece of plywood that utility crews left in place over a section of sidewalk in the French Quarter, covering work to repair a gas line. Laura Garner injured her shoulder and arm in the accident, which occurred as she…

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