| BY BOB WARREN | Staff writer |
Cantrell apologizes: Mayor LaToya Cantrell has apologized for comments she made recently in response to a recent spate of violence -- including five murders -- targeting women over the last month. The mayor said her comments had been "absolutely misconstrued" but that the families had accepted her apology. City Hall reporter Ben Myers has the latest. Nurse shortage: Louisiana’s hospitals are running out of nurses. The shortage really hit home last week when Ochsner Health said it had more than 800 nurse jobs waiting to be filled. And other hospitals and health care systems report similarly grim statistics, Stephanie Riegel writes. Dearth of deputies: An Orleans Parish judge last week ordered the Sheriff’s Office to start transporting prisoners from the jail to Magistrate Court. But Sheriff Susan Hutson declined, citing the continued staffing shortage at her office. It’s not the first time conflicts have arisen over such jail transports, Jillian Kramer reports. No lottery magic for our Pels: The Pels had a super-slim chance of landing a Top-4 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. But the ping-pong balls said otherwise during the draft lottery Tuesday and the Pelicans will pick 14th. Our Pels beat writer Christian Clark says to watch for these names. Twins: A pair of New Orleans twins has rung up an impressive list of academic accomplishments – including a cool $5 million in scholarship offers. Pretty sweet, eh? Kayla and Kyla Frey will be off to Yale and LSU next year, contributing writer Robert S. Wolf reports. Our newest newsletter: Are you signed up for our Jefferson Parish Today newsletter? We think you’ll like it. Here's how to sign up. Thanks for reading Lunch Line. If you're not a NOLA.com subscriber, check out this great deal. Bob | 