| By DREW BROACH | Deputy metro editor |
THE PRICE OF PROGRESS: Since Hurricane Katrina, the two-mile stretch of St. Claude Avenue that separates Faubourg Marigny and Bywater from St. Roch and the South 7th Ward has evolved from a working-class retail strip into a magnet for bars, lounges and counter-programming that younger crowds crave. But its popularity has come at a price. If New Orleans has a street that epitomizes the thorny intersection of redevelopment and gentrification, this is it. KILLING IN THE QUARTER: The annual Allstate Sugar Bowl second-line in the French Quarter had barely ended Wednesday when a man was shot and fatally wounded near the intersection of Bourbon and Toulouse streets. Police quickly collared a 16-year-old juvenile, and afterward stressed there will be 275 officers patrolling the New Orleans’ world-famous entertainment district and the surrounding area on new year’s weekend. KING CAKE CUSTOMS: Purists insist king cake is verboten before Jan. 6. Ultra-purists insist it’s permitted only on Jan. 6. But it’s not always been that way. Thanks for starting your Thursday with Morning Headlines. Catch the latest news all day on NOLA.com. D.B. | 