| By Bob Warren
COVID worst to COVID best: Louisiana has moved to the top of a list – and it’s a good one. After months being the state with the most COVID hospitalizations, we’re now the state with the least. Really. On Tuesday, Emily Woodruff reports, 5 people per 100,000 were hospitalized with COVID in Louisiana.
'Gut punch': Folks are wondering exactly what the impact will be when the Alliance Refinery in Plaquemines Parish shuts down. But they know this: It’ll be a hit on the region's economy for sure. Tony McAuley is following that story.
Carnival Time: The city of New Orleans on Tuesday issued its most definitive pro-parade comments to date. So start those pre-parade season workouts. Our Doug MacCash, who loves a parade as much as anyone, has the latest.
Coming back: The Egg Roll House on Veterans Boulevard, which our food guy Ian McNulty calls "a throwback emblem of an older Metairie," is coming back after Hurricane Ida. The place doesn't get much acclaim, McNulty writes, but it has outlasted so many other restaurants in that busy stretch of Metairie.
Where to, Odell? Might the Saints be adding a new pass catcher soon? Odell Beckham Jr., a star with the Giants before having a few up-and-down seasons in Cleveland, is a free agent and mulling a landing spot. The Saints are said to be in the mix – here’s Jeff Duncan’s latest take.
Hope you enjoyed the Lunch Line. Thanks for taking a break with us today. BW | 
