| BY CHAD CALDER | Staff writer |
After a couple of brutal years, New Orleans was finally able to post to a dramatic decline in murders in 2023. But murders weren’t the violent crime to drop. Missy Wilkinson and Jeff Adelson have the details on how the city fared when it comes to other violent acts. Jefferson Parish is spending $88 million to replace almost every water meter in the parish with "smart" technology, an initiative that will now be delayed because of a problem with the bidding process. Blake Paterson has the story on how long it will take to replace roughly 144,000 meters. U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is the latest high-profile Republican — and the second top House Republican from Louisiana — to endorse Donald Trump for president. Mark Ballard has the story. Thanks for joining us this morning to start off a short week. Check out all the latest news, sports and entertainment coverage from The Times-Picayune. Chad | 