| By DREW BROACH | Deputy metro editor |
ROLLING ON: A two-year-old project to expand and rebrand Harrah’s New Orleans at the foot of Canal Street into a Caesars casino-hotel complex enters a new and more visible phase in early January, when renovations begin to the exterior of the building and to almost one fourth of the gambling space inside. REMAKING OUR STREETS: Fat City failed in the 1980s, but Severn Avenue, the thoroughfare separating Metairie’s former nightlife district from Lakeside Shopping Center, adapted. Now it’s poised for more business, with the completion of a $14 million in drainage and street work and upcoming plans for decorative lighting and more than 200 new trees to give it the “respect that it deserves.” REFUNDING OUR MONEY: Entergy customers in Louisiana will soon be getting refunds from the resolution of two long-running disputes between the utility and its regulators, who have fought to claw back money from complex accounting practices that led to customers being overcharged for years for the Grand Gulf nuclear plant. Thanks for starting your Wednesday with Morning Headlines. Catch the latest news all day on NOLA.com. D.B. | 