| BY CHAD CALDER | Staff writer |
Thanks for starting your day with Morning Headlines. Here are some of our top stories. Gov. Jeff Landry is creating a task force to investigate what he calls "the frequent failures" of the Sewerage & Water Board and propose broad changes to the beleaguered utility, which has struggled to keep New Orleans' streets dry and its customers' bills from spiking seemingly at random. It's the latest salvo in the governor's bid to exert influence on the city that has long been his political foil. Ben Myers has the story. Mardi Gras has always been synonymous with plastic beads, but there's been a growing sense that hurling untold thousands of them off the sides of floats only to have many of them end up in landfills and storm drains is bad practice. Now, one major krewe has decided it will stop throwing plastic beads to help lessen the ecological damage. Doug MacCash has the details. During the ongoing legislative special session, Gov. Jeff Landry and supporters of the proposals to stiffen criminal penalties have been flanked by family members of the victims of violent crime. James Finn has this report on one such family. Check out all the latest news, sports and entertainment coverage from The Times-Picayune. Chad | 