Neville buys La. home

Neville buys La. home

NEW ORLEANS — Aaron Neville is finally coming home to New Orleans — almost.

The R B singer, who bought a house in Brentwood, Tenn., after Hurricane Katrina, said he’s buying a home near Covington, across Lake Pontchartrain about 40 miles from New Orleans.

He expects to close on the property in the coming weeks.

“It’s nice,” he told The Times-Picayune newspaper for a story on its Web site Friday. “I can sit outside and watch the sun go down, then drive on in to New Orleans.”

Today’s birthdays

Actor R.G. Armstrong (“Gunsmoke”) is 91. Sitar player Ravi Shankar is 88. Actor James Garner is 80. Country singer Cal Smith is 76. Actor Wayne Rogers (“MASH”) is 75. Country singer Bobby Bare is 73. Singer Charlie Thomas of The Drifters is 71. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 69. Television personality David Frost is 69. Singer Patricia Bennett of The Chiffons is 61. Singer John Oates of Hall and Oates is 59. Drummer John Dittrich of Restless Heart is 57. Singer Janis Ian is 57. Actor Jackie Chan is 54. Actor Russell Crowe is 44. Singer Mark Kibble of Take 6 is 44. Actor Bill Bellamy (“Last Comic Standing,” “Fastlane”) is 43. Actor Conner Rayburn (“According to Jim”) is 9.