Mardi Gras brings joy – but also worry over violent crime
By KEVIN MCGILL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sunny skies and warm weather are fueling the fervor on New Orleans streets as the city celebrates Mardi Gras — or Fat Tuesday — the annual, ebullient climax of the city’s Carnival season. Families lined St. Charles Avenue and adjoining streets for parades that began at 8 a.m. By afternoon crowds on the French Quarter’s raucous Bourbon Street were shoulder-to-shoulder. Some among this year’s revelers have politics in mind. They’re gathering signatures to try to force a recall election for New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. There’s also an undercurrent of worry about recurring violent crime after a teenager when gunfire broke out during a Sunday night parade.
