By Bob WarrenBUDDY ROEMER DIES. One of the chief players in two of Louisiana’s more rollicking political races (and that’s saying a lot!) has died. Former Gov. Buddy Roemer died Monday after a months-long illness. He was 77. Roemer rose from relative obscurity to beat Gov. Edwin Edwards in the 1987 governor’s race – remember the “Roemer Revolution”? -- only to finish behind Edwards and former KKK grand wizard David Duke four years later.
NON-UNANIMOUS JURY NEWS. Some big news out of the U.S. Supreme Court this morning: The court’s recent ban on non-unanimous jury verdicts won’t be applied retroactively. John Simerman, who has covered the issue exhaustively, has the latest on how the court’s decision might impact as many as 1,500 Louisiana inmates who were found guilty by divided juries.
BOUTIQUE WAVE. The wave of boutique hotel projects in New Orleans continues. The old St. Vincent Orphanage in the Lower Garden District will soon become the Hotel St. Vincent, an Italian-themed 75-room inn, after a $22.5 million makeover.
HOW OUR HISTORIC RESTAURANTS COPED. New Orleans is food city like few others. Heck, that goes for the entire region. But the pandemic has been tough on restaurants. Ian McNulty takes a look at how some of the area's most historic eateries managed to cope through the past year. (Spoiler alert: There's now a burger on the lunch menu at Antoine's...)
All this and much more in today’s Lunch Line. Thanks for taking a break with us. BW | 
