| By Chad Calder
THE BIG DAY: Last year we had house floats and freezing weather. This year, we got Mardi Gras pretty much back the way it's supposed to be, and communities in and around New Orleans made the most of it. You can read about it here, or check out one of these amazing photo galleries: Rex, Zulu, Argus, the Bourbon Street Awards, the St. Anne parade and the Northside Skull & Bone gang are just the beginning. You'll find a list of galleries put together by our intrepid, award-winning photo staff here.
ANOTHER TRAGEDY: Tuesday brought news that a man shot and killed in New Orleans East Friday was a visitor from out of town. Ramon Antonio Vargas has the story of Brandon Bovain, one of two bystanders killed by gunfire after coming to the city to take part in the Carnival celebration this year. The other was Heaven Nettles, the 15-year-old Houston girl killed just three blocks away from the Endymion parade the following night.
STABBING AT THE BOOT: Mardi Gras morning began with news of a stabbing outside of the popular university-area bar known as The Boot. We've got the details here.
Thanks for joining us this morning, as the Lenten season begins. CC | 
