| By DREW BROACH | Staff writer |
SCORCHED EARTH: In just the past three weeks, wildfires of the type common in California and Colorado have burned more acreage in Louisiana than in all last year, four times as much as in 2021 and six times as much as 2020. Consider it an omen of what’s to come, as climate change turns one of the country’s wettest states into a tinderbox, with severe repercussions for Louisiana’s natural areas and economy and its residents' health and safety. “Nobody alive in Louisiana has ever seen these conditions,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said Friday after assessing damage in Beauregard Parish. For more environment stories, subscribe to our Louisiana Coastal Watch newsletter, emailed weekly. It’s free. HATS OFF: An Uptown New Orleans restaurant that’s only 12 years old, but feels as familiar as one that might have opened a half century ago, changed hands this week. The new owners don’t plan to change a single thing. Want more restaurant news in your inbox? Sign up for the free Where NOLA Eats weekly newsletter. FINAL BERTH: With a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps and the ceremonial folding of the United States flag, a small group of mourners and military officers on Friday buried a New Orleans native who was killed 81 years ago, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Welcome to the weekend. See the latest news, sports and entertainment coverage at nola.com. - Drew. | 