• New Canal Lighthouse top pick in contest
A beacon for generations of New Orleanians, the New Canal Lighthouse on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain is another step closer to shining a welcoming light. A casualty of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the West End landmark was chosen the winner of a contest launched by an Oregon door and window company with a corporate commitment to reviving historic lighthouses.

• Little church shows big heart
For the 12-member congregation of Carrollton Presbyterian Church, an uncertain future in a city with recent church closings hasn't stopped them from trying to change the world.

• Post-Katrina cleanup reveals lost ring
Hurricane losses mourned most include keepsakes, such as wedding and baby photos, family heirlooms and souvenirs. So, when a cherished high-school ring was found three years after Katrina, the grateful owner rejoiced.

• Crystal ball sheds light on playoffs
So, let me guess. Your favorite local high school football team has advanced to the postseason, but you're antsy.

• Counseling centers spread hope around
Celebration Hope Center, a Christian counseling service, has opened two new sites in Orleans Parish making their services available at seven locations.

• Daughter embraces first chance to vote
I have always believed that the privilege of voting -- whether in local, state, or national elections -- is very important. But I have been hesitant about registering my daughter, Carolyn, who has Down syndrome, in this process.

• Daughter embraces first chance to vote
I have always believed that the privilege of voting -- whether in local, state, or national elections -- is very important. But I have been hesitant about registering my daughter, Carolyn, who has Down syndrome, in this process.

• Eating spaghetti can aid senior center
Enjoy a dinner -- spaghetti and meatballs, salad and bread -- for $8 and help support the Uptown Shepherd's Center, which provides noon meals, programs, outings and fellowship to senior adults. Sponsored by the 3ird District Kiwanis Club, the event will be Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the center, 921 S. Carrollton, at Freret Street. Director Sylvia Warren said there also will be desserts for sale, a boutique of gift items, and dinner takeout will be available.

• Fellows Program deadline today
Principals interested in the Student Leadership Center Fellows Program should note the application deadline is today. The Fellows program is seeking principals from Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Tammany and Plaquemines Parishes to participate in its two-year intensive professional and leadership development program, Fellows Director John Brown said.

• Flowers' names tell magical tale
In recent weeks, we have had outstanding "Chamber of Commerce" weather that got me planting a fall garden of snapdragons, pansies, alyssum and daffodil bulbs. I have always been fascinated with plants and the folklore that surrounds them.

• Literacy AmeriCorps volunteers aid library
Literacy AmeriCorps' New Orleans chapter began a new partnership with the New Orleans Public Library about a year ago. We accepted Literacy AmeriCorps members at the main library to help with after-school tutoring and outreach to Central City day-care centers and elementary schools. In 2008, we are again hosting Literacy AmeriCorps members, two of whom are doing new things for the community: Judith Ann Patrick and Kenneth Bryan.

• Neighborhood Watch decals are available
When you drive through Gentilly and see neighborhood watch signs along the way, take note that residents have another tool in their crime prevention chest.

• PET OF THE WEEK
Having multiple pets is like having multiple kids -- especially when you're trying to discipline them. How many times have you called out to your dog to stop stealing food from the kitchen counter and called out the wrong pet's name? Well, imagine how difficult it would be if your pet's name was a tongue-twister. Recently the organization Veterinary Pet Insurance, or VPI, researched a database of nearly half a million pets that are insured nationwide and compiled a list of the wackiest names.

• Rampart Street venue highlights local talent
The beach along the Mississippi River has grown wider since I wrote about this curiosity last week.

• Sacred Buddhist relics on display at Van Hanh
Eastern New Orleans is honored to be one of the stops for the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine relic exhibit as it travels the globe.

• Scholarships let teen pursue dreams of music
Joel Callonia Dyson, a junior at Xavier University Preparatory School and a vocal music student studying classical and operatic music with New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, received scholarships from Walnut Hill Arts in Natick, Mass., and NOCCA-Riverfront that provided the opportunity to attend the Walnut Hill Arts Opera Program, where she furthered her studies in voice technique, vocal coaching, acting and music history. She met teenagers from all over the world interested in pursuing a career in the arts.

• Area chock-full of talent on basketball courts
The biggest star in the Orleans and St. Bernard parishes high school basketball universe may be gone, but that doesn't mean that other stars won't shine this season.

• COLLEGES
--- Xavier University ---

• COMMUNITY REPORT
--- Literacy program launch ---

• Culture of Honduras featured at forum
When the World Cultural Economic Forum was convened last month at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 70 international delegations were represented

• Culture of Honduras featured at forum
When the World Cultural Economic Forum was convened last month at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 70 international delegations were represented

• Exhibit of Buddhist holy relics Monday
An exhibit of Buddhist holy relics will be held Friday to Monday at Van Hanh Buddhist Temple, 13152 Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans.

• MARCH AGAINST VIOLENCE
United Peace in New Orleans set off at Martin Luther King Boulevard on Nov. 1, All Souls Day, on a march to honor the 500 people killed by violence since Hurricane Katrina.

• ORLEANS BASKETBALL CAPSULES
--- BOYS ---

• Photographers sought to help document Fest
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive is looking for volunteers to help document next year's festival by taking part in the Jazz Fest Volunteer Photographer Program. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 30 and should be mailed or delivered to: Volunteer Photographer Program, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive, 1205 North Rampart St., New Orleans, LA 70116.

• Football season is nearing its end
And it comes down to this.

• Program brings tennis to local schoolchildren
Matching tennis lessons and academic tutoring to create student athletes, A's & Aces is reaching hundreds of children in New Orleans public elementary and middle schools.

• Episcopal group to help out library
Last week, I crossed Lake Pontchartrain to pick up nine boxes of books from Susan Griffis, administrator of Christ Episcopal Church in Covington. The books were donated by the Diocesan Lay Professionals of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, which is comprised of all of the Episcopal churches in New Orleans and surrounding cities.

• Future City contest deadline is extended
It's not too late for middle school students to enter the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition. The deadline has been extended to Nov. 14. The focus of this year's competition is the importance of water and water resources in our world.

• Lakeview Fest back on for this weekend
This weekend is the 9th annual Lakeview Fest, and it comes after a postponement caused by hurricane madness. Come out Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. at the St. Dominic School Yard, 775 Harrison Ave., for music by the Blue Meanies and Sha'on and the Girls with Success. There will be crafts, food and drink, a silent auction, a parade of prizes, raffles, children's booths and more.

• LSU nursing students honored
Twenty-three LSU Health Sciences Center School of Nursing students took top honors at the 2008 Louisiana Association of Student Nurses convention, held recently in Alexandria. Honors included Student of the Year, Faculty Adviser of the Year, and leadership seats on the board of directors, as well as scholarships and other awards.

• N.O.'s charms dazzle Argentinian writer
The New Orleans Citizen Diplomacy Council recently hosted five international writers from the Iowa International Writing Program, one of the United States' premier centers for creative writing. One of the participants was Argentinian Carlos Gamerro, a writer and literary scholar. Gamerro is a professor and literary critic who has taught seminars on Joyce and Borges at the Buenos Aires Latin American Art Museum. This was his first visit to New Orleans and he was very impressed by the beauty of the city and its cultural diversity.

• PET OF THE WEEK
For warm-blooded Southerners, a hint of cold weather has us grabbing winter wear even though the thermometer registers only 50 degrees. For some reason, we can't wait to walk down the street sporting our stylish new coat as if we're in New York rather than New Orleans. Pet lovers often extend this clothing fetish to include animals of the household.

• Restoration Fests focus on women's health
National recording rap artist Flame will join the lineup of local artists performing this weekend at two free Restoration Fests that will offer free food, children's entertainment and a special focus on women's health-and-wellness issues.

• RHINO GALLERY DISPLAYS 'HAUTE CRAFT'
The Rhino Gallery, located on the third floor of The Shops at Canal Place, is a nonprofit cooperative dedicated to mentoring and showcasing Louisiana artisans and their work. Recently, the gallery celebrated the opening of "Haute Craft," an invitational, juried art exhibit highlighting the intersection of art and craft. The exhibition features 40 pieces, produced by 24 artists from throughout Louisiana. Four of the artists are from outside the state and one artist is from the United Kingdom.

• Share your knowledge with young minds
Giving as little as eight hours can make a real difference in the life of a New Orleans child. A local nonprofit, Soldiers of Love, will partner with the national program Junior Achievement to teach financial literacy and life skills to children in kindergarten through seventh grade at Lafayette Academy Charter School, 2727 S. Carrollton Ave. Lafayette serves more than 700 children and is staffed with dedicated teachers and assistants.

• Sometimes, fashion requires more than pet's natural coat
For warm-blooded Southerners, a hint of cold weather has us grabbing winter wear even though the thermometer registers only 50 degrees. For some reason, we can't wait to walk down the street sporting our stylish new coat as if we're in New York rather than New Orleans. Pet lovers often extend this clothing fetish to include animals of the household.

• Spiders, snakes scare Irish vampire writer
Best-selling author Darren Shan, who wrote the "Cirque du Freak" vampire series filmed in New Orleans last winter, recently visited the main library. Shan is Irish and lives in Limerick, Ireland. But he sounds English after living in London on and off.

• Starbucks employees help rebuild N.O.
Last week, Starbucks brought more than 10,000 employees to New Orleans to participate in four days of community service projects across the city. Many of the projects took place in our own Gentilly neighborhoods.

• Stipends available for two conferences
The Down Syndrome Association of Greater New Orleans is offering its members assistance to attend two important conferences next year.

• Surprisingly low river level reveals sandbar
We recently left Nickel-A-Dance, where Lionel Ferbos, 98, our oldest jazz musician, played trumpet with the Palm Court Jazz Band, and we took a Sunday stroll along the Moon Walk on the Mississippi River. I don't know if it is a sandbar or a mudflat, but a thin island-shaped horseshoe is rising in the muddy Mississippi, not too far from where the Natchez steamboat docks.

• ARMED FORCES
GRADUATED

• COLLEGES
--- University of New Orleans ---

• COMMUNITY REPORT
--- Benefit concert ---

• Country Day Cajuns heading into playoffs
After running the table to finish 14-0 in District 7-V, the Country Day Cajuns are looking forward to the playoffs.

• ENLIGHTENING VISIT
Brother Martin High School students recently had the opportunity to meet Hampton Sides, who wrote "Ghost Soldiers," the book chosen to launch the Great Read summer reading initiative at the Gentilly school.

• FOOTBALL STANDINGS
District All

• India Association to hold Diwali fest
The India Association of New Orleans will celebrate its 42nd anniversary and the annual Diwali Festival on Sunday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Pavilion of the Two Sisters in City Park.

• Playoff possibilities hinge on final week
It's the last week of the regular season.

• Sacred Heart coach a man with a plan
Sacred Heart's Mike Barnes is the Phil Jackson of state volleyball coaches.

• SPECIAL PROGRAM HONORS VETERANS
In honor of Veterans Day, the National World War II Museum will offer free admission for veterans, active and retired military and their immediate families on Tuesday.

• SWIMMING
West District Championship