Signs of Recovery

Moscow Ballet's prima ballerina Svetlana Todinova danced at Kingsley House Thursday in advance of the company's benefit performance of the Great Russian Nutcracker at Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts on Nov. 28. Proceeds from the performance will benefit Kingsley House, which serves 7,000 children and adults through education and other programs.

Kenner is replacing a wooden fishing pier in Laketown that was destroyed in Katrina with a new concrete pier. The pier will be lighted and include shelters and benches.

Tulane's women swimmers and divers had their first on-campus meet since the storm Saturday. The Green Wave took on the University of New Orleans in the "Fleur de Lis Cup,'' the first meet between the two teams since Hurricane Katrina.

A mural in a flooded Canal Street building has been restored by its new owner. Dr. Sylvi Beaumont rescued the mural, which shows the history of writing, that was painted 68 years ago in a building that first served as a library. New Orleans artist Edward Schoenberger painted the mural for the Works Progress Administration.

Slidell crews erected official Neighborhood Crime Watch signs in four neighborhoods off Pontchartrain Drive, the first new crime watch programs to form post-Katrina. Residents banded together because of concerns about blight and crime and to unify an area that was experiencing an influx of new residents after the storm.

Air Tran Airways added a nonstop flight from Louis Armstrong International to Baltimore-Washington International Airport Thursday. Southwest Airlines, which offers the only other nonstop service from New Orleans to BWI, had two such flights before the storm decreased demand. The new AirTran flight "brings us back to that level of service,'' airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcutt said.

The group 504ward attracted as many as 500 people to homes of well-known civic figures last week in a "dine around'' event marking its first anniversary. The group aims to keep talented young professionals in New Orleans....