 | BY BOB WARREN | Staff writer |
Downplaying crime? Two New Orleans City Council members on Tuesday took Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the New Orleans Police Department to task for what they contend is the administration’s tepid acknowledgement that there’s a crime problem.
Grading Essence: The Essence Festival just wrapped its live return to New Orleans since 2019. How'd things go? Keith Spera has a look at what went right and what didn't.
Understaffed, overflowing: The area’s animal shelters are reeling. The pandemic. The economy. Hurricane Ida. The result? It's worse than you might've thought.
I'm sorry, Pels fans: Safe to say Kendrick Perkins hasn’t pulled any punches when talking about the Pelicans on TV. Heck, earlier this year the former-player-turned-ESPN-talker even said the Pels ought to move somewhere else. (Yes, Twitter reacted . . .) But now that the team has re-signed Zion Williamson, Perkins has had a very public change of heart. For more Pelicans coverage, please sign up for our Pelicans Insider newsletter
Good things come...: The congregation of St. Stephen waited a long time for the Vatican to declare the iconic Uptown church a basilica, one of only three across Louisiana. As Mike Scott notes today, long waits are nothing new for the St. Stephen congregation.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Lunch Line. Thanks for reading – and remember, you can keep up all day long on NOLA.com. BW | 
