By Drew Broach | Deputy metro editor PROACTIVE REACTION: A day after a woman was violently carjacked while pumping gasoline at Costco in New Orleans and a City Council member called for new leadership of the Police Department, Mayor LaToya Cantrell stood by Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson as he outlined his crime-fighting strategy amid a surge of violent crime. During a news conference Wednesday where both Cantrell and Ferguson lauded the work of rank-and-file police officers, the chief laid out ideas to "broaden" the department's current plan and "proactive" enforcement teams without rewriting the plan altogether. (Watch the news conference.) Meanwhile, the victim of the Costco carjacking said the crime “makes me terrified for my family and for my children’s future. How long can things go on like this?” And a physician who was in line for fuel behind the victim, and who rushed to help her, said other customers continued filling their tanks - and one even asked a witness to please move her car so he could have a chance at the pump. ROAD TRIP: The Saints are going back to London in 2022 for the first time in five years, with a "home" game scheduled against an NFC South opponent, sources tell us. Who'll be coaching the team remains a question, although candidate Brian Flores hopes his lawsuit against the NFL doesn't disqualify him. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis provided an update on the search for a coach. SIP AND SLIDE: Though it roasts and toasts its coffee on the banks of the Industrial Canal, Folgers has never much touted its ties to New Orleans. Instead, it's developed a stodgy, comfortable reputation over its 170-year history. Who better to shake that up than Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, who is featured prominently in a new Folgers commercial designed to a invoke a "punk-rock rebelliousness." Thanks for starting your Thursday with us. The latest news is available at NOLA.com. D.B. |