| BY BOB WARREN | Staff writer |
Crime drops: Violent crime continues to trend downward in New Orleans, with a big drop in the number of murders. Crime reporter Missy Wilkinson crunched the data and has the details. Which is not say the violence has totally ebbed. A security guard was fatally shot outside a Mid-City bar on Sunday night, our partners at WWL Louisiana report. Bathroom bill: The state Legislature has again waded into the national debate over bathrooms and transgender people. State politics reporter Meghan Friedmann has the latest on a bathroom bill that advanced out of a committee in Baton Rouge. Private school $$$: Another bill, which would make public money available to parents to send their kids to private schools, is also making its way through the process, Patrick Wall reports. What solar eclipse? Were you among the multitudes who trekked outside Monday, special glasses in hand, only to be disappointed when clouds obscured the solar eclipse? You weren’t alone, as these pictures from our Brett Duke attest. Speaking of eclipse glasses (Remember the band Devo? That's what we looked like!), cartoonist Walt Handelsman thinks they might be good for more than just peering into the heavens. Thanks for reading Lunch Line. If you're not a subscriber to The Times-Picayune, check out this great offer. Go be excellent today, Bob | 