The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale parades Tuesday on the Uptown route in New Orleans to the theme ‘I’m Every Woman.’ Founded in 2013, the parade is composed of female riders that toss collectible hand-decorated compact mirrors that are meant to symbolize ‘a constant inward and outward reflection.’
STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE
Execution date nears for Hoffman
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
Jessie Hoffman’s demeanor
hasn’t much changed since the state numbered his days, say relatives. Hoffman, who has spent well over half his life on death row in Louisiana, was moved last week to an isolated area within
the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola where he can be watched full-time until he’s scheduled to be put to death March 18, said his son, Jessie Smith. A judge in St. Tammany Parish set the date for Hoffman, 46, who is slated to become the first death row prisoner to be executed in Louisiana since 2010, and the first using nitrogen gas under legislation Gov Jeff Landry signed last year Hoffman was convicted and
sentenced to die for the murder of a woman he kidnapped and raped on the night before Thanksgiving in 1996 before he killed her on a dock in remote St. Tammany Parish. He was 18 then. Now 46, Hoffman is “still the same, calm person” he’s become in prison, despite the specter that hangs over him, said Smith, who wasn’t yet born when the murder happened.
“Knowing the day he’s going to die is no easy task for any-
body For the most part he’s really the same guy, putting all his ducks in a row,” Smith said.
“It’s basically making sure everybody else can handle what’s going on.” That image of calm belies a frenzy among Hoffman’s family and lawyers this week as they seek to stop the scheduled execution in federal court, while urging Landry to take a new look at Hoffman and his crime.
La. has one of highest per-capita percentages of residents on Medicaid
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON As Republicans look to cut more than a trillion dollars out of the federal budget, some state leaders and health care officials worry that steep cuts to Medicaid could be on the table, which could blow a hole in the state budget and cause deep cuts in services to the 1.6 million Louisiana residents on the program.
“The Medicaid cuts that are being discussed by think tanks and in Washington, without a doubt, would harm our ability to provide lifesaving care for Medicaid patients across Louisiana,” said Ryan Cross, vice president for government affairs at the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, which operates seven regional medical centers and urgent care centers scattered throughout Louisiana
ä See BUDGET, page 5A
BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer
ä See EXECUTION, page 4A Hutson
Planets in solar system line up at end of month
NEW YORK Seven planets grace the sky at the end of February in what’s known as a planetary parade, though some will be difficult to spot with the naked eye
These planetary hangouts happen when several planets appear to line up in the night sky at once. They’re not in a straight line, but are close together on one side of the sun. The astronomical linkup is fairly common and can happen at least every year depending on the number of planets. A parade of four or five planets visible to the naked eye happens every few years, according to NASA. A similar parade took place last June, but only two planets could be seen without any special equipment. Six planets were visible in January — four to the naked eye — and now a dim Mercury joins the gang.
This month, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are visible to the naked eye. A faint Saturn and Mercury are close to the horizon, making them hard to spot. Uranus and Neptune can be glimpsed with binoculars and telescopes.
Starbucks to cut ‘less popular’ drinks
NEW YORK Starbucks is making cuts to its menu, with some of the coffee giant’s “less popular beverages” set to take their final bow next week.
In an announcement Monday, Starbucks outlined plans to remove a selection of its drinks — including several blended Frappuccino beverages, the Royal English Breakfast Latte and the White Hot Chocolate starting on Tuesday, March 4. Starbucks says these cuts will reduce wait times, improve consistency and “make way for innovation.” The chain says it will continue to introduce a handful of other new items and seasonal specials, such as its Cortado beverage introduced last month and a new “Iced Cherry Chai” set to debut in the spring.
Woman injured on theme park ride awarded $7M
LOS ANGELES A federal jury has awarded $7.25 million to a 74-year-old Arizona woman for a spine injury she suffered in a fall while exiting the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Pamela Morrison was getting seated on the popular attraction with her grandson in September 2022 when she was asked to exit after her harness failed to secure properly Morrison slipped and fell when stepping from a moving walkway onto solid ground, according to her lawsuit.
Her attorney, Taylor Kruse, argued that Morrison’s fall — which caused a spinal compression fracture — was due to employees’ failure to halt the moving walkway and allow the woman to exit safely.
“It would have cost them four seconds to stop it, but instead they wanted to keep the ride moving no matter what, to make its quota of 1,800 riders per hour,” Kruse said Tuesday Lawyers for Universal Studios Hollywood argued that Morrison was focused on her grandson and not on where she was stepping, so the fall was her fault.
A story published Sunday should have said that Dr Cassandra Pillette practiced at the Ochsner St. Martin Community Health Clinic in Breaux Bridge. An article Tuesday about the expansion of Kern Studios provided an incorrect estimate for the float builder’s annual revenue. The company’s revenue was estimated around $100 million in 2023 and has increased since then.
A story headlined ‘Relocation Anxieties’ in the Monday edition stated that the state’s Office of Community Development lacked funding to build a solar farm in the New Isle subdivision. The solar farm was deemed not to be cost effective. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune regrets the errors.
BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip At least six in-
fants have died from hypothermia in the last two weeks in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of people are living in tent camps and war-damaged buildings during a fragile ceasefire, Palestinian medics said Tuesday The coastal territory experiences cold, wet winters, with temperatures dropping below 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night and storms blowing in from the Mediterranean Sea. The last few days have been especially cold.
Yusuf al-Shinbari woke up in his family’s tent just after midnight on Tuesday to find that his 2-month-old daughter, Sham was cold to the touch. He could feel no heartbeat
“Yesterday, I was playing with her,” he said. “I was happy with her She was a beautiful child, like the moon.”
Dr Ahmed al-Farah, the head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where her body was taken, said she did not have any illness but died from severe cold because she was in a tent. He said the hospital treated another two infants for frostbite.
Saeed Salah, of the Patient’s Friends
Hospital in Gaza City, said five infants aged one month or younger have died from the cold over the last two weeks, including a 1-month-old who died on Monday He said another child has been placed on a ventilator
Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department, said it has recorded 15 deaths from hypothermia this winter, all of them children.
The ceasefire that paused 16 months
of war between Israel and Hamas militants has allowed a surge in humanitarian aid, mainly food, but residents say there are still shortages of blankets and warm clothing, and little wood available for fires.
There’s been no central electricity in Gaza since the first few days of the war, and fuel for generators is scarce. Many families huddle on damp sand or bare concrete.
“It’s incredibly cold,” Rosalia Bollen, a spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency, said earlier this month. “I have no clue how people can sleep at night in their makeshift tents.”
Israel’s military offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, was among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history It pounded large areas of Gaza into rubble. The hundreds of thousands of people who have been able to return to northern Gaza under the ceasefire have settled wherever they can amid the ruins.
The ceasefire’s first phase will end on Saturday and may not be extended. If fighting resumes, the current flow of humanitarian aid is expected to drop dramatically Even if the truce endures, it’s unclear when anything in Gaza will be rebuilt. The World Bank has estimated the cost of reconstruction at over $50 billion, and it could take years just to clear the rubble.
Israel blames the destruction on Hamas because the militants positioned tunnels, rocket launchers and other military infrastructure in residential areas.
Hamas has accused Israel of delaying the entry of mobile homes and tents in violation of the ceasefire. Israel denies the allegations and accuses Hamas of violating the agreement.
BY STEPHEN MCGRATH and VADIM GHRIDA Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania A notorious French fugitive who staged a deadly escape that killed two guards last year was extradited Tuesday from Romania to France, days after his arrest in Bucharest ended a nine-month international manhunt.
Mohamed Amra, nicknamed The Fly,” was arrested near a shopping center in Bucharest on Saturday after being identified by Romanian police, despite having dyed his hair red, possibly to evade detection. The Bucharest Court of Appeal approved his extradition request on Sunday
An official at Romania’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the legal case was still ongoing, confirmed to The Associated Press that Amra was handed over to French authorities for extradition Tuesday at an airport near Bucharest — where he arrived in handcuffs, flanked by armed police officers. Upon arrival in France, he was taken to the main Paris courthouse, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. He will be ordered to carry out the sentence he escaped last year, for
burglary, and also face charges in other cases, including murder, attempted murder and escaping from custody
The high-profile search for Amra began last May when armed assailants ambushed a prison convoy in Normandy, killing two guards and seriously wounding three others in the process of aiding his escape. Amra fled after being sentenced for burglary in the Normandy town of Evreux. He was also under investigation for an attempted organized homicide and a kidnapping that resulted in death, French prosecutors said.
The international police organization Interpol issued a notice for his
White House says it ‘will determine’ which news outlets cover Trump
BY LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press
The White House said Tuesday that its officials “will determine” which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close — a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf of regular Americans.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the changes would rotate traditional outlets from the group and include some streaming services. Leavitt cast the change as a modernization of the press pool, saying the move would be more inclusive and restore “access back to the American people” who elected Trump. But media experts said the move raised troubling First Amendment issues because the president is choosing who covers him.
“The White House press team, in this administration, will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office,” Leavitt said at a daily briefing. She added at another point: “A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly of press access at the White House.”
Leavitt said the White House will “double down” on its decision to bar The Associated Press from many presidential events, a departure from the timetested and sometimes contentious practice for more than a century of a pool of journalists from every platform sharing the presidents’ words and activities with news outlets and congressional offices that can’t attend the close-quarter events.
Traditionally, the members of the pool decide who goes in small spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One.
“It’s beyond time that the White House press operation reflects the media hab-
its of the American people in 2025, not 1925,” Leavitt said. The change said one expert on presidents and the press, “is a dangerous move for democracy.”
“It means the president can pick and choose who covers the executive branch, ignoring the fact that it is the American people who through their taxes pay for the running of the White House, the president’s travels and the press secretary’s salary,” Jon Marshall, a media history professor at Northwestern University and author of “Clash: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis,” said in a text.
Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said the organization consistently expands its membership and pool rotations to facilitate the inclusion of new and emerging outlets.
“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president,” Daniels said in a statement. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.” The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called it “a drastic change in how the public obtains information about its government.”
“The White House press pool exists to serve the public, not the presidency,” Bruce D. Brown the group’s president, said in a statement.
Leavitt spoke a day after a federal judge refused to immediately order the White House to restore the AP’s access to many presidential events. The news outlet, citing the First Amendment, sued Leavitt and two other White House officials for barring the AP from some presidential events over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” as Trump ordered. AP has said its style would retain the “Gulf of Mexico” name but also would note Trump’s decision.
arrest, while French investigators alerted counterparts in other countries after they suspected Amra had left France.
After his arrest on Saturday French President Emmanuel Macron hailed his capture a “formidable success” and praised European colleagues who had ended the long crossborder hunt.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has said that Amra had connections with Marseille’s organized crime syndicates and was suspected of heading a drug trafficking network.
As of Monday night, 25 people had been detained in multiple countries suspected of some role in his escape or the aftermath, the Paris prosecutor said.
BY RYAN J FOLEY Associated Press
Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that President Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than onethird of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.
That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.
“It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law
“Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn’t accomplish anything for saving money.”
An administration official said it made sense to cancel contracts that are seen as potential dead weight, even if the moves do not yield any savings. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity The Trump administration says it’s targeting fraud, waste and abuse in the government. DOGE said Monday that its cost-cutting efforts have saved an estimated $65 billion, including canceling leases and grants, cutting employees and selling assets. That figure has not been independently verified.
Some of the canceled contracts were for research studies that have been awarded, training that has taken place, software that has been purchased and interns who have come and gone. Dozens of them were for already-paid subscriptions to The Associated Press, Politico and other media services that the Republican administration said it would discontinue.
Other canceled contracts were to purchase a wide range of goods and services.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a contract in September to purchase and install office furniture at various branches While the contract does not expire until later this year federal records show the agency had already agreed to spend the maximum $567,809 with a furniture company
The U.S. Agency for International Development negotiated a $145,549 contract last year to clean the carpet at its headquarters in Washington. But the full amount had already been obligated to a firm that is owned by a Native American tribe based in Michigan. Another already-spent $249,600 contract went to a Washington, D.C., firm to help prepare the Department of Transportation for the recent transition from President Joe Biden’s administration to Trump’s.
“It’s too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation,” said Tiefer, who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tiefer said DOGE appeared to be taking a “slash and burn” approach to cutting contracts, which he said could damage the performance of government agencies He said savings
BY BRIAN SLODYSKO and BYRON TAU Associated Press
could be made instead by working with agency contracting officers and inspectors general to find efficiencies, an approach the administration has not taken.
DOGE says the overall contract cancellations are expected to save $9.6 billion, an amount that has been questioned as inflated by independent experts.
Some of the canceled contracts were intended to modernize and improve the way government works, which would seem to be at odds with DOGE’s cost-cutting mission.
One of the largest, for instance, went to a consulting firm to help carry out a reorganization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which led the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The maximum $13.6 million had already been obligated to Deloitte Consulting LLP for help with the restructuring, which included closing several research offices.
DOGE’s data update came the same day The Associated Press appeared in court as part of its lawsuit against three White House officials as it seeks to restore the AP’s access to presidential events. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose.
WASHINGTON More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.”
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The mass resignation of engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers is a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president’s tech-driven purge of the federal workforce. It comes amid a flurry of court challenges that have sought to stall, stop or unwind their efforts to fire or coerce thousands of government workers out of jobs. In a statement, White
House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was dismissive of the mass resignation.
“Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits, and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years,” Leavitt said. “President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the
hardworking American taxpayers.” Musk posted on his social media site X that the story was “fake news” and suggested that the staffers were “Dem political holdovers” who “would have been fired had they not resigned.”
The staffers who resigned had worked for the United States Digital Service, but said their duties were being integrated into DOGE. Their former office, the USDS, was
established under President Barack Obama after the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov, the web portal that millions of Americans use to sign up for insurance plans through the Democrat’s signature health care law
All previously held senior roles at such tech companies as Google and Amazon and wrote in their resignation letter that they joined the government out of a sense of duty to public service.
Getready,outdoor enthusiasts. Thehighly anticipatedLouisianaSportsmanShowpresented by Shellismakingits waytoSt. John Parish March28-30 for thefirsttime. It promises to be acelebration like no other. Whether you areadedicated hunter,anavidfisherman, or simply someonewho values nature,thisevent offersthe chance to experience whylifeinthe “Sportsman’s Paradise”offersadventure and delight.
Thereisfreeadmission on Friday,March 28 forall membersofthe armedforces, veterans, police officers,EMS andfirefighters.
TheSportsman Show features Louisiana vendorsand craftsmenwithindoorand outdoor exhibits,family-oriented activities,and afood courtofferingawidevariety of Louisiana-flavoreddishes.
“Louisiana Sportsmanwas foundedinthe RiverParishes, andweare excitedtobring theshowtothe St.Johnthe BaptistParish CommunityCenterand theadjacentThomasF DaleyMemorialParkinLaPlace,” says SportsmanShowDirectorCraig Cuccia.“This year, it is more than aweekend focusonsportsand
boating; it represents resilience.The Center washit hard by HurricaneIda andfaced three yearsofextensive repair andrenovation.”
“The LouisianaSportsman Show is a re-openingand celebration,”saysSt. John Parish CapitalProjectsDirectorDaron Cooper “Thisisthe Center’s first eventafter Hurricane Idaand thefirsttimeour parish hashostedan eventofsuchmagnitude.Welookforward to showcasing ourmulti-purpose facility along with theeconomicboost.”
Cooper points outthatthe facility’s location, largeatrium, andhigh-ceilingmainauditorium were significant sellingpointsfor accommodating theLouisiana SportsmanShow. “We’re directly in betweenNew Orleansand Baton Rouge, notfar from Hammond, at theepicenter of majorareas,” he says.“TheCenterisona main highwaywitheasyaccessfromseveral directions andlotsofroomfor free parking.” Sporting equipment, from hand-crafted fishinglures to luxuriousfishingboats,are traditional highlightsofthe show,along with awidevariety of family activities,including a largekids’ zone with severalinflatables. The LouisianaSportsman Show haspartnered with TheUnitedCajun Navy andTEAMUP 4ALL to offer afreekids’ fishingtournament
wherethe first 100kidstosignupwillreceive fishingrodsand tackle packs. Retrievercompetitionswillalsotakeplace throughout theshow, so attendees areinvited to bringtheir dogs to take part
OnSaturdayandSunday,theWetlandWatchers willbeavailable to allowkids– andadults–to viewandtouchbabyalligators,snakes,andother reptiles for auniqueeducational experience Satisfying theappetiteisnever aproblem at theSportsman Show.River Parishes chefswill be on hand forseafood,barbecue, Cajun-inspired dishes,and Asianfood. “There’s aNetflix connection with food andour facility,” notes Cooper. “The CommunityCenterhas been used as amovie setsoundstagewithnumerous Netflix movies filmedright here in LaPlace. SportsmanShowattendees canenjoy ameal from BigPapi’sSmokehouse, ownedbyGerald VinnettJr.,who wasa finalist on Netflix’s BarbecueShowdown.”
TheLouisiana SportsmanShowoccurs at theSt. John theBaptist CommunityCenterand Thomas F. DaleyMemorialParkonHighway 51 Show timesare Friday,Noon– 7p.m Saturday 9a.m.–7p.m andSunday, 10 a.m. –5p.m VisitLouisianaSportsmanShow.comfor
anddirections.
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
As Louisiana tries to stay competitive in a new college athletics landscape in which players can get paid, it could soon join other states that are considering a new strategy: tax breaks for athletes who get money from NIL deals.
“Name, image and likeness” refers to arrangements in which athletes are paid to appear in advertising, merchandise and other media. Such agreements became legal in recent years, opening up an arms race for athletics programs seeking to attract top players with lucrative deals.
Rep. Dixon McMakin, RBaton Rouge, said he is preparing to file a bill for this year’s legislative session that would exempt compensation student athletes earn from NIL deals from state income tax.
It’s both a matter of attracting athletes to Louisiana and of guarding against other universities luring students away from the state he said.
“Other states — Illinois, Alabama and Georgia have bills right now to make it where NIL compensation is exempt from state in-
Continued from page 1A
Hoffman’s lawyers this week applied for a commutation, and they are asking the governor to put off the execution until it can be heard.
Landry however has been vocal in his desire to stop the delays in death penalty cases. When a federal judge last week reopened a longrunning case from Hoffman and other death row prisoners that challenged the state’s execution methods, Landry said he would continue to fight for justice for the victims.
“These criminals on death row committed some of the most cruel and heinous crimes imaginable,” the governor posted on social media.
And Landry also fought an effort from his predecessor, former Gov John Bel Edwards, to commute death sentences for nearly all of the prisoners on death row in 2023. Edwards’ attempts were rejected by the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole.
With the death over the weekend of Christopher Sepulvado, who was scheduled to be executed on March 17, Hoffman is the lone death row prisoner among 56 in Louisiana whom advocates acknowledge has exhausted his appeals
His petition for mercy focuses on his youth when the crime occurred and a lack of any previous criminal record; a history of abuse and trauma at the hands of his parents while growing
come tax,” McMakin said. “We will be competing with those other states, and we’re not gonna let them outcompete us.”
But the idea of tax breaks for student athletes with major NIL deals — some of whom earn millions of dollars doesn’t sit well with some experts, who warn that doing so uses the tax code to pick winners and losers.
McMakin said the proposed NIL income tax exemption would be for both college and high school student athletes.
He said he initially learned of the idea on Twitter and was then contacted by LSU about it shortly after Other Louisiana universities also contacted him about the idea, he said.
LSU declined to comment on the idea Tuesday
The idea behind exempting NIL compensation from state income tax is aimed at creating either a recruiting advantage — or an even playing filed with states that don’t levy any income tax at all, like Florida or Tennessee, said Mit Winter a business attorney with expertise in college sports and NIL matters.
“I’m sure that has been used before as a recruiting pitch. Whether it’s effective
up in a series of New Orleans housing projects; and a long-held remorse for a brutal crime.
Mary “Molly” Elliott was 28, married and living near Covington when Hoffman abducted her from a parking lot near her advertising job in the Central Business District.
He forced her at gunpoint to drive to an ATM in New Orleans East, where she took out $200, which security footage from the time captured He then brought her to an area near the Middle Pearl River where Hoffman raped her, shot her in the head and dumped her naked body
He claimed soon after to police that the gun went off by accident. A jury took less than two hours to sentence him to death in 1998.
Family members of Elliott have not responded to requests for comment on the pending execution or Hoffman’s plea for mercy
Hoffman’s attorneys say it was his first run-in with police. His older brother Marvin Fields, said the crime came as a shock. Hoffman had just graduated from Kennedy High School, where he played quarterback for the football team. He started the job parking cars weeks before, Fields said.
“He was never a violent kid. He never got into trouble in school, never got into fights,” said Fields.
Hoffman’s attorneys say he was traumatized, however, having grown up in a variety of government housing while withstanding abuse.
Marvin Fields said they grew up with their mother
or not, I don’t know,” said Winter, referring to universities in no-income-tax states that can use tax policy as a selling point.
“If some of these bills pass in states where they’re pending, I guess it would alleviate the concern that that could be a deciding factor in recruiting,” he said.
The money at play is not inconsequential.
Explained Winter: “Especially in football and men’s basketball, there are lots of athletes making high sixfigures, mid six-figures, low six-figures, and some are making seven figures a year in NIL compensation.”
Athletes with lucrative brand endorsement deals like LSU’s Livvy Dunne can also find themselves in those income brackets, he said.
But Winter acknowledged legislation aimed at competitive recruitment may not necessarily amount to sound tax policy
Manish Bhatt, a senior policy analyst for the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan Washington-based think tank, echoed that sentiment.
“Strong, sound policy does not carve up the income tax and create a bunch of exemptions and loopholes such that it prevents broader reform structurally sound reform —
among four siblings. They moved into the Florida housing development when they were young, moved from there to the Desire projects, then others.
He said beatings by their mother, who died last year, were frequent. She would hold their hands over a hot stovetop until their fingers blistered as punishment for stealing, he said. Fields also recalled a thick belt that she’d cut into shreds to whip them.
“She was trying to put fear in our heart, so she could have control over her boys, I guess,” he said.
Hoffman doesn’t talk openly about the crime, said Smith, who has kept close with his father from childhood.
“I’ve asked a million times, me and him by ourselves, and I never get an answer,” the son said. “It probably took a lot for him to get to that point, where he did what he did.”
Fields says it took more for Hoffman to reach where he is now considered by some on death row as a mentor who is devoted to a spiritual life, according to his lawyers and family
“My brother is so much at peace with life” Fields said. “He’s worried about us. He’s sorry for putting a burden on us. They’re about to kill you, and for us, you know, that’s what you get back. He’s like, ‘Don’t worry about me.’”
Fields urged a second chance for his brother, for whom mercy may be the only recourse. Hoffman ran out of legal avenues a few years ago. The U.S. Supreme Court denied him in 2015, and again in 2022.
from taking root,” Bhatt said
Lawmakers should consider whether potential exemptions for NIL compensation would place an undue burden on other taxpayers, said Bhatt, who advised Gov Jeff Landry ahead of a recent overhaul of Louisiana’s tax structure, which ultimately reduced and flattened state income taxes.
“Good policy does not necessarily pick winners and losers in the market,” he said.
Lawmakers should consider whether potential exemptions for NIL compensation would place an undue burden on other taxpayers, said Bhatt, who advised Gov Jeff Landry ahead of a recent overhaul of Louisiana’s tax structure, which ultimately reduced and flattened state income taxes.
“Good policy does not necessarily pick winners and losers in the market,” he said.
Regardless of the approach to taxing NIL compensation, Winter called NIL “the most important factor in recruiting.”
“If you don’t have sufficient NIL funding to offer to athletes and pay athletes, you’re gonna be at a severe disadvantage in recruiting,” he said.
Recent court rulings have opened up a flood of money for players in college sports.
Major universities are preparing to pay players directly for the first time this year through a settlement in three antitrust cases, which must be approved, but there will be a $20.5 million limit to the total each school can pay annually
In the new era, NIL deals could allow universities with prominent athletics programs like LSU to attract players with millions
of dollars on top of what they will be paid by the school. How much LSU players get in NIL money is not publicly reported. But its athletic department has a formal NIL collective, Bayou Traditions, and struck an amended contract with Playfly Sports. The agreement, which would take effect July 1, allows Playfly to find
But some, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, say those fears are overblown.
“Everybody is committed to preserving Medicare benefits for those who desperately need it and deserve it and qualify for it. What we’re talking about is rooting out the fraud, waste, and abuse,” Johnson said. “We can eliminate all these fraudulent payments and achieve a lot of savings. What you’re doing with that is you’re shoring up the program and you’re making sure that the people who rely upon that have it and that it’s a better program.”
The stakes are particularly high for Louisiana, which has one of the highest percapita percentages of residents on Medicare — more than a third of them. The program pays for health care for pregnant women, children, elderly disabled and working adults who rely on the state-federal health care insurance.
Health care accounts for $21.4 billion or 43.4% of the state’s total budget. Louisiana taxpayers will be expected to put up $3.23 billion of that amount through the state general fund during the next fiscal year Any decrease in federal funding would require the state to pay more.
What would get cut?
Johnson and Scalise are pushing for “one big, beautiful bill” that contains Trump’s agenda for tighter border security, increased energy production, more defense, and continuation of tax breaks that are soon to expire. The legislation would add $5 trillion to $11 trillion to the nation’s $36 trillion debt.
Trump said Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security “would not be touched.”
The bill requires the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut
been about the need to reduce Medicaid costs. No details have been released on just how that might be achieved.
But administrators worry that efforts to reduce the Medicaid rolls creates a larger population of uninsured who can’t pay but the hospitals still have to treat in emergency situations.
“It’s all speculative talk and that’s the problem, with so much unknown everyone is anxious,” Reynolds said.
‘I’m not concerned’
Others, however say there’s no reason for alarm
Medicaid enrollees.
“The budget resolution is purely procedural and the first step in a lengthy process of preventing tax increases on families and small businesses,” she said in a statement. “Committees have not drafted legislation, and this is the start of a conversation to ensure programs like Medicaid will always be sustainable.”
Scalise said the budget bill was being misrepresented.
unconscionable to say the least,” Fields said Tuesday A state senator until joining Congress in January, Fields added that state government won’t raise taxes to cover its larger share.
“They’re going to move people off the rolls,” he said. “This is going to dramatically affect health care in Louisiana.”
Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, agreed.
Carolina; and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, listen.
at least $880 billion. Those reductions could come in the form of eliminating regulations for refineries. But some — including some Republicans are concerned that, given the magnitude of the amount needed, Medicaid will be main target. Some have raised the expectation of cutting Medicaid spending through a series of moves, such as reducing federal matching payments. That would increase the amounts the state must pay wreaking havoc on Louisiana’s budget.
House Appropriations Chair Jody Arrington, R-Texas, detailed in a Jan. 25 memo the possibilities of lowering the 90% share the federal government pays for health care provided to states that expanded Medicaid rolls. The memo also discussed the possibility of increasing assessments on hospitals and capping care costs by basically giving states a set amount rather than paying for each service performed.
State Rep. Jack McFarland, who as chair of the Louisiana Legislature’s House Appropriations Committee is just now starting to draft the state’s budget, said he has been receiving worried calls from across the state. And while unsure exactly what, if any, changes are in store, he is preparing for the worst. Last week, he asked the
Louisiana Department of Health to look at the various congressional proposals and estimate how much each could cost the state, then look at what services could be cut and what populations would be impacted.
“It would create some significant challenges,” said McFarland, R-Winnfield.
Basically, the state would have to cut services, reduce Medicaid rolls and find ways to come up with the money
“I don’t know how we would continue to look at reducing income taxes on the state level,” McFarland said.
Louisiana health care providers are also watching nervously
“Such proposals would place immense financial pressure on healthcare providers across the state, particularly small and rural hospitals that often serve as their communities’ primary healthcare providers and leading employers,” Paul A. Salles, president of the Louisiana Hospital Association, wrote Johnson on Feb. 17. “Given that hospitals directly and indirectly support more than 308,000 jobs in Louisiana, the broader economic repercussions would be substantial.”
Jeff Reynolds, executive director of the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition, said Tuesday he’s telling hospital administrators that the only talk in Congress, so far, has
“I’m not concerned about the reconciliation bill one bit,” state Senate President Cameron Henry R-Metairie, said Tuesday “There’s not one mention of the word Medicaid in the entire bill, there are no cuts to Medicaid in the bill, so all of the lying and fearmongering is just that — lies and fearmongering.”
Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, from Start, represents a district with one of the nation’s highest percentage of
“This bill doesn’t even mention the word Medicaid a single time,” he said. “And yet all Democrats are doing is lying about what’s in the budget because they don’t want to talk about the truth of what we’re voting to start.”
But Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields, of Baton Rouge, said it’s disingenuous for Republicans to say they don’t know how the House Energy and Commerce Committee would cut $880 billion when the only item being discussed is Medicaid
“That’s exactly what they say they’re going to do. It’s
“Local legislators will either need to come up with significant new sources of funding to fill the hole left by Republican cuts or — more likely find ways to cut Medicaid spending in Louisiana,” Carter said Tuesday “In my district, there are 291,555 people on Medicaid at risk of losing their health care under their plan That includes 128,121 children under the age of 19 and 33,000 seniors over 65 That’s unacceptable. That’s not a solution.”
Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.
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Hutson said her already understaffed office would need to add at least 43 deputies to operate the so-called Phase III building, according to correspondence filed in the jail’s federal consent decree, the decade-old legal settlement that mandates reforms.
McDonnel Construction Services is erecting the two-story building that will include two housing units, a clinic, infirmary, laundry room and visitation rooms Phase III will adjoin the main jail site on Perdido Street near Tulane Avenue, not far from I-10.
Ideally for the building’s security, the department should add closer to 80 deputies, Hutson said. The sheriff opposes Phase III and spent much of her first term fighting the project in court.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Hutson would make any new hires, or how the Sheriff’s Office would pay for them, only that “a hiring and pay plan is being established,” she wrote in court papers.
Cost to taxpayers
To construct the new jail facility, the city awarded an $88.7 million contract to McDonnel in 2023 and has since authorized $3.1 million in change orders, according to Leatrice Dupré, a spokesperson for Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Officials say they have $39 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency earmarked for the project, leftover funds meant to help the city rebuild its jail after Hurricane Katrina.
Another $26.7 million was set aside after the city sold millions in bonds in 2021.
But it’s unclear where the remaining money — at least $24 million — will come from. Cantrell’s office did not answer questions about the balance
“The city has had zero conversations with us about more funding needed,” said New Orleans City Council member Joe Giarrusso, the council’s budget chair
The long-debated Phase III is sure to be a priority for whoever wins this November’s election for sheriff, which already includes two challengers and another major potential candidate lurking.
Should someone unseat Hutson, Phase III would be scheduled to open just a few months after their inauguration next year Old debates
City officials agreed to build Phase III in 2013 as part of the jail’s consent decree reforms. At the time, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration was at odds with then-Sheriff Marlin Gusman. Gusman had failed to follow an ordinance requiring that reconstruction of the jail, now called the Orleans Parish Justice Center, include space to house mentally ill inmates, a misstep that Landrieu called “outrageous.”
Gusman then proposed a version of Phase III that had as many as 700 beds, while
Landrieu favored a facility with closer to 100 beds.
Though the two parties never came to terms on the building’s size, Landrieu’s administration ultimately agreed to Phase III’s construction, calling it a more efficient solution than trying to retrofit the jail’s existing facilities. In 2017, a compliance director appointed by the courts drafted the 89 bed scaleddown version that remains the project’s blueprint.
After Cantrell was elected in 2018, her administration also changed course. She wanted the city to again consider renovating the jail’s existing facilities and asked the court’s permission to explore alternatives to Phase III
The project was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hutson’s opposition
Then in a stunning 2021 upset, Hutson defeated Gusman after running a campaign centered around her criticisms of Phase III. She has argued the project is expensive, unneeded and goes against her goal of decreasing the jail’s population, particularly mentally ill inmates.
However, Hutson’s legal attempts to block the project fell short after a federal judge ordered construction in 2021 and Hutson’s appeal was denied in 2023. Hutson said last week her position on the project hasn’t changed.
“The Sheriff has consistently maintained that a jail is not the best place to house individuals with severe men-
tal health needs,” said spokesperson Casey McGee.
Michelle Woodfork, a former New Orleans police chief who announced her candidacy for sheriff last week, said she supported Phase III at her campaign launch event.
“I don’t have a problem with Phase III,” she said “We actually need it.”
Asked to elaborate later, her campaign released a statement that struck a similar tone to Hutson’s concerns.
“I agree with many community members and leaders who say this was not the best way to meet the mental health challenges we face in the city and I understand the fears many have that the construction of more beds could lead to a consistent surge in incarceration in our city that is not necessary,” Woodfork said.
A crowded jail
The jail’s population has hovered above 1,400 inmates since last summer, well exceeding a 1,250-inmate cap previously set by the New Orleans City Council. It’s not clear exactly how many current inmates would require special care in the new jail wing.
“A lot of time and money has been wasted fighting something that was ordered years ago,” said Edwin Shorty, the 2nd City Constable in Algiers who said he’s also running for sheriff.
Shorty, a bankruptcy and personal injury attorney, noted that when a federal judge ordered Phase III to be built in 2021, the project had the
NoticeisherebygivenpursuanttoArticle7, Section23(C)oftheConstitutionandR.S. 47:1705(B)thatapublichearingoftheTown OfMadisonvilleoftheParishofStTammany will be held at the regular meeting place, Town Hall CouncilChambers, located at 209 Hwy 22 W.,Madisonville,Louisiana, 70447 on Wednesday,April9,2025 at 6:00 p.m. to consider levying additional or increased millage rateswithout further voter approval or adopting the adjusted millagerateafterreassessmentandrolling forwardtorates not to exceed the prior year’smaximum. The estimated amount oftaxrevenuestobecollectedforGeneral Alimony in thenext tax year from the increased millage is $165200.76 and the amount of increase in taxes attributable to the millage increase is $4631.91.
support of a few key players. That includes federal monitors and attorneys from the MacArthur Justice Center, who represent the plaintiffs in the consent decree.
Gusman, who was sheriff from 2004 to 2022, was a de-
fendant in the 2012 lawsuit brought by a group of 10 inmates, which eventually led to the U.S Department of Justice’s intervention and the consent decree.
Among the many allegations, Gusman was accused of overseeing a jail where mentally ill inmates languished without treatment and were vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse.
Will Gusman, who will be 70 years old in November, add his name to the list of contenders in the sheriff’s race?
Reached for comment, Gusman would only say that he’s “seriously considering” it.
More deputies
The sheriff’s department had planned on staffing Phase III by transferring the deputies who now staff the jail’s temporary detention center Court papers filed last week were the first indication that staffing would have to increase significantly, even double.
“Our recruitment efforts are ongoing, and we are con-
fident in our ability to bring in the necessary personnel in time for the scheduled opening next July,” McGee said McGee said the additional salaries would have to be approved by the City Council Budget documents show the additions would likely increase OPSO’s $58 million annual allocation by 3% to 5%.
The council rejected Hutson’s sizable requests for more money the last two budget sessions, most recently turning down a roughly 37% increase last year. Hutson has said she needs the money in large part to hire more people. It’s too early to say how the council will receive her latest request.
“We are working closely with city leadership to ensure we have the resources needed to meet this requirement,” McGee said Council member Oliver Thomas, chair of the council’s Criminal Justice Committee, and Giarrusso, the budget chair, both said Hutson hasn’t briefed them on her plans.
BY JOSH BOAK and FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that his tariffs on Canada and Mexico are starting next month, ending a monthlong suspension on the planned import taxes that could potentially hurt economic growth and worsen inflation.
“We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly,” the U.S president said at a White House news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
While Trump was answering a specific question about the taxes to be charged on America’s two largest trading partners, the U.S. president also stressed more broadly that his intended “reciprocal” tariffs were on schedule to begin as soon as April.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said.
Trump has claimed that other countries charge unfair import taxes that have come
at the expense of domestic manufacturing and jobs. His near constant threats of tariffs have already raised concerns among businesses and consumers about an economic slowdown and accelerating inflation. But Trump claims that the import taxes would ultimately generate revenues to reduce the federal budget deficit and new jobs for workers
“Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again,” Trump said.
In a interview on the Fox News show “Special Report” late Monday, Macron said he hoped he had convinced Trump to avoid a possible trade war, noting the difficulty of taking on a traditional ally such as Europe while simultaneously using tariffs to challenge China’s industrial might.
“We don’t need a trade war,” Marcon said. “We need more prosperity together.”
Most economists say the cost of the taxes could largely be borne by consumers, retailers and manufacturers such as auto companies that source globally and rely on
raw materials such as steel and aluminum that Trump is already, separately, tariffing at 25%.
Still, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared confident Monday that her administration would reach agreements with the U.S. government before the deadline set by Trump. “We would need to be reaching important agreements this Friday,” Sheinbaum told reporters Monday morning before Trump’s remarks. “On all of the issues there is communication and what we need is to complete this agreement, I believe we’re in a place to do it.”
If necessary, she said she would seek to speak directly with Trump again. In highlevel discussions between both governments, Mexico has insisted that the U.S. also take a hard look at the drug distribution and consumption in its own country rather than pointing only at production in Mexico, Sheinbaum said.
Companies like Walmart have warned about uncertainty, while the University
of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment index plunged by roughly 10% over the past month in part due to fears about tariffs and inflation worsening. In the 2024 presidential election, voters backed Trump on the belief that he could cool inflation that had spiked to a fourdecade high in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic during President Joe Biden’s time in office.
But Trump has persistently threatened tariffs and kept up those calls even as Macron, standing beside him, had previously suggested that talks on trade had produced some common ground.
“We want to make a sincere commitment towards a fair competition where we have smooth trade and more investments,” Macron said at the news conference according to a translation of his French remarks.
Macron said the idea is
to help the U.S. and Europe both prosper, saying that further talks would be carried out by their respective teams to flesh out their ideas.
Investors, businesses and the broader public are still trying to determine whether Trump is merely threatening tariffs as a negotiating tool or if he sincerely backs the tax hikes as a way to offset his planned income tax cuts.
Despite talks the Trump administration has held with Canadian and Mexican officials, the U.S. president signaled Monday that he would end the 30-day suspension of tariffs that were initially set to take effect in February Trump plans to tax imports from Mexico at 25% as well as most goods from Canada, with energy products such as Canadian oil and electricity being tariffed at a lower 10%.
Trump is placing tariffs on Canadian and Mexican
goods with the stated goal of pressuring them to do more to address illegal immigration and the smuggling of illicit drugs such as fentanyl. While relatively little fentanyl comes from Canada, the country announced a czar to address the issue and appease Trump in addition to existing measures. Mexico has relocated 10,000 members of its National Guard to the border with the United States in addition to existing measures. Trump also plans to impose new tariffs to match the rates charged by other countries. Set to begin as soon as April, the tariffs could be higher than what other countries would charge as subsidies, regulatory barriers and the value added tax which is akin to a sales tax common in Europe would be included in the calculations.
BY SUSIE BLANN, HANNA ARHIROVA and VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday
The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that Ukraine urgently needs.
The agreement could be signed as early as Friday and plans are being drawn up for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to travel to Washington to meet Trump, according to one of the Ukrainian officials.
Another official said the agreement would provide an opportunity for Zelenskyy and Trump to discuss continued military aid to Ukraine, which is why Kyiv is eager to finalize the deal. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he’d heard that Zelenskyy was coming and added that “it’s okay with me, if he’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me.”
Trump called it “a very big deal,” adding that it could be worth a trillion dollars. It could be whatever, but it’s rare earths and other things.”
According to one Ukrai-
nian official, some technical details are still to be worked out. However the draft does not include a contentious Trump administration proposal to give the U.S. $500 billion worth of profits from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv Instead, the U.S. and Ukraine would have joint ownership of a fund, and Ukraine would in the future contribute 50 percent of future proceeds from stateowned resources, including minerals, oil, and gas One official said the deal had better terms of investments and another one said that Kyiv secured favorable amendments and viewed the outcome as “positive.”
The deal does not, however include security guarantees. One official said that this would be something the two presidents would discuss when they meet.
The progress in negotiating the deal comes after Trump and Zelenskyy traded sharp rhetoric last week
about their differences over the matter Zelenskyy said he balked at signing off on a deal that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed during a visit to Kyiv earlier this month, and the Ukrainian leader objected again days later during a meeting in Munich with Vice President JD Vance because the American proposal did not include security guarantees.
Trump then called Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” and claimed his support among voters was near rock-bottom.
But the two sides made significant progress during a three-day visit to Ukraine last week by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.
The idea was initially proposed last fall by Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow
Forever 21 could shutter 178 stores
Forever 21 stores in Denham Springs, Lafayette and Lake Charles could close as the popular fashion retailer is headed toward its second bankruptcy filing. The chain filed for bankruptcy Sunday and said it could potentially close 178 stores.
The retailer will try to renegotiate deals with landlords to keep the stores open but will close them if no deal is reached.
If the Lafayette Forever 21 store closes, it would be another big-name retailer to leave the Acadiana Mall. Macy’s announced in last month it will close its 200,000-square-foot anchor space some time this spring.
The three Louisiana stores were slated for closure in 2019 following Forever 21’s first bankruptcy filing.
Shareholders reject Apple DEI proposal
Apple shareholders rebuffed an attempt to pressure the technology trendsetter into joining President Donald Trump’s push to scrub corporate programs designed to diversify its workforce.
The proposal drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research — a self-described conservative think tank — urged Apple to follow a litany of high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives currently in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.
After a brief presentation about the anti-DEI proposal, Apple announced shareholders had rejected it without disclosing the vote tally The preliminary results will be outlined in a regulatory filing later Tuesday The outcome vindicated Apple management’s decision to stand behind its diversity commitment even though Trump asked the U.S. Department of Justice to look into whether these types of programs have discriminated against some employees whose race or gender aren’t aligned with the initiative’s goals.
Tuesday’s shareholder vote came a month after the same group presented a similar proposal during Costco’s annual meeting, only to have it overwhelmingly rejected.
Small-business owners
uncertain about future
Small-business owners felt more uncertain about the future in January, as they continue to deal with labor challenges and lingering inflation.
According to a monthly poll of small-business owners from the National Federation of Independent Business, the uncertainty index in January rose 14 points to 100 — the third highest recorded reading, after two months of decline. The NFIB said small-business owners are feeling less confident about investing in their business due to uncertain business conditions in the coming months.
In the NFIB poll, optimism fell by 2.3 points in January to 102.8, but remained high. Optimism surged after the presidential election, and the index still topped the 51-year average of 98 for the third month in a row
BY MATT OTT AP business writer
WASHINGTON U.S. consumer con-
fidence plummeted in February, the biggest monthly decline in more than four years, a business research group said Tuesday with inflation seemingly stuck and a trade war under President Donald Trump seen by a growing number of Americans as inevitable.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index sank this month to 98.3 from 105.3 in January That’s far below the expectations of economists, who pro-
jected a reading of 103, according to a survey by FactSet.
The seven-point drop was the biggest month-to-month decline since August 2021.
Respondents to the board’s survey expressed concern over inflation with a significant increase in mentions of trade and tariffs, the board said.
The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.3 points to 72.9. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a
potential recession in the near future.
The proportion of consumers expecting a recession over the next year jumped to a nine-month high, the board said.
Consumers’ view of current conditions tumbled 3.4 points to a reading of 136.5 this month, and views on current labor market conditions fell again.
“Views of current labor market conditions weakened,” the group said Tuesday. “Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pes-
simism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a 10-month high.”
Consumers appeared increasingly confident heading into the end of 2024 and spent generously during the holiday season. However, U.S retail sales dropped sharply in January, with cold weather taking some of the blame for a dent in vehicle sales and at retail stores.
Retail sales fell 0.9% last month from December, the Commerce Department reported last week The decline, the biggest in a year, came after two months of healthy gains.
Bill Conway dedicates record numbers to range of programs
BY MARIA DI MENTO Chronicle of Philanthropy
Bill Conway didn’t start out wanting to make a big impact on the nursing profession. In 2011, the financier announced he would give away $1 billion to create jobs for the poor and asked the public to send him ideas. In came around 2,500 suggestions. Most were sob stories, but some people had good ideas, he said, and several suggested backing bachelor’s degree nursing programs.
“It was along the lines of: If we support potential students to get a nursing degree, then they’ll always be able to get a job and take care of themselves, their families, and the rest of us,” Conway said. “My wife and I thought that sounded pretty good.”
Currently, private giving for the nursing profession accounts for only one cent of every dollar given for health care, according to a report from the foundation arm of the American Nurses Association. And giving to nursing isn’t a popular cause among most wealthy donors.
But there are exceptions. Leonard Lauder has given $177 million to nursing schools at the University of Pennsylvania and Hunter College, and Mark and Robyn Jones donated $100 million to expand Montana State University’s nursing program
Yet no other wealthy donor has dedicated as much money to such a wide range of nursing programs as Conway, the 75-yearold co-founder of the private equity giant the Carlyle Group, and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway, who died in January 2024.
BY STAN CHOE AP business writer
NEW YORK Some of Wall Street’s brightest stars lost more of their shine Tuesday after another report said U.S. households are getting more pessimistic about the economy.
The S&P 500 fell. It was the fourth straight drop for the main measure of the U.S. stock market’s health after it set an all-time high last week
The Nasdaq composite sank as several influential Big Tech companies lost momentum and screeched lower But the majority of stocks nevertheless rose, which helped the Dow Jones Industrial
Co-founder of The Carlyle Group, Bill Conway, center plans
nursing programs across the country. He’s pictured here with
from the Catholic University of America in Washington, one of the
nonprofit currently supports.
Those efforts are destined to grow, with Conway only about a third of the way toward his target of giving $1 billion to nursing.
So far, he has donated $325.6 million to support student aid, new buildings, efforts to recruit and retain faculty, and more at 22 nursing schools in the Eastern and mid-Atlantic regions. He also is backing a pediatric nursing program at Children’s National Hospital, in Washington, D.C.
Over the past decade, that money has helped produce more than 7,000 nurses. Now he said, he wants to take his support of nursing programs nationwide
“I expect that of most of the money I leave to charity will go to continuing this mission,” said Conway, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $4 billion. “I see that
Average close higher
The U.S. stock market has been generally struggling since the middle of last week after several weaker-than-expected reports on the economy thudded onto Wall Street. On Tuesday, the latest said confidence among U.S. consumers is falling by more than economists expected.
The U.S. economy still appears to be in solid shape, and growth is continuing at the moment. But for the first time since June, a measure of consumers’ expectations for the economy in the short term fell below a threshold that usually signals a recession ahead, according to The Conference Board. The increase in pessimism was broad-based and
that
we’re starting to make a difference in some places, and I’d like to make more of a difference over time.”
In 2013, the Conways gave $4 million to Catholic University’s nursing school. Since then, their giving to the institution — now named the Conway School of Nursing — has grown to more than $64 million, expanding full scholarships, largely paying for a new nursing school building and backing graduate nursing programs.
The Conways also have supported mentoring efforts and a review course to prepare students for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses.
“Calling his donations transformational is not saying enough,” said Marie Nolan, dean of Catholic’s nursing school.
carried across both higher- and lower-income households, as well as older and younger ones.
“There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019,” according to Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at The Conference Board “Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses.”
For its part, President Donald Trump’s White House said the lower confidence reflects the overhang of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. It also pointed to recent announcements of investment for new U.S. facilities by Apple and of improving
CEO confidence as indicators of upcoming growth.
Wall Street tracks confidence among consumers because solid spending by them has been helping to keep the U.S. economy out of a recession. And Tuesday’s report echoed what an earlier report from the University of Michigan suggested: Consumers see the current situation as OK, but they’re worried about the future.
The pessimism hit high-momentum areas of the market in particular, those that had seen waves of euphoric investors pile in during recent years Nvidia fell 2.8%, for example, while Tesla tumbled 8.4%. They were the two heaviest weights on the S&P 500.
BY LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and MATT BROWN Associated Press
WASHINGTON — With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, had almost no votes to spare in his bare-bones GOP majority and fought on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — to advance the party’s signature legislative package. Trump made calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and invited Republicans to the White House.
The vote was 217-215, with a single Republican and all Democrats opposed, and the outcome was in jeopardy until the gavel.
“On a vote like this, you’re always going to have people you’re talking to all the way through the close of the vote,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said before the roll call.
“We got it done,” the speaker said afterward.
Passage of the package is crucial to kickstarting the process. Trump wants the Republicans who control Congress to approve a massive bill that would extend tax breaks, which he secured during his first term but are expiring later this year, while also cutting spending across federal programs and services.
Next steps are long and cumbersome before anything can become law — weeks of committee hearings to draft the details and send the House version to the Senate, where Republicans passed their own scaledback version. And more big votes are ahead, including an
objective today is to begin the process.”
At the same time, GOP deficit hawks were withholding support until they were convinced it wouldn’t add to the nation’s $36 trillion debt load. They warned it will pile onto debt because the cost of the tax breaks, with at least $4.5 trillion over the decade outweighing the $2 trillion in spending cuts to government programs.
One key conservative, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., ended up the sole GOP vote against.
efforts to rein in wasteful spending and deliver on President Trump’s agenda, it is imperative that we do not slash programs that support American communities across our nation,” wrote Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and several others GOP lawmakers from the Hispanic Conference.
Dem protest tax cuts
unrelated deal to prevent a government shutdown when federal funding expires March 14. Those talks are also underway It’s all unfolding amid emerging backlash to what’s happening elsewhere as billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk is tearing through federal agencies with his Department of Government Efficiency firing thousands of workers nationwide, and angry voters are starting to confront lawmakers at town hall meetings back home.
Democrats during an afternoon debate decried the package as a “betrayal” to Americans, a “blueprint for American decline” and simply a “Republican rip-off.”
“Our very way of life as a country is under assault,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on the steps of the Capitol.
Flanked by Americans who said they would be hurt by cuts to Medicaid and other social programs, the Democrats booed the GOP budget blueprint. But as the minority party, they don’t have the votes to stop it. Even as they press ahead, Republicans are running into a familiar problem: Slashing federal spending is typically easier said than done. With cuts to the Pentagon and oth-
er programs largely off limits, much of the other government outlays go for health care, food stamps, student loans and programs relied on by their constituents.
Several Republican lawmakers worry that scope of the cuts being eyed — particularly some $880 billion over the decade to the committee that handles health care spending, including Medicaid, for example, or $230 billion to the agriculture committee that funds food stamps — will be too harmful to their constituents back home.
GOP leaders insist Medicaid is not specifically listed in the initial 60-page budget framework, which is true. Johnson and his leadership team also told lawmakers they would have plenty of time to debate the details as they shape the final package.
But lawmakers wanted assurances the health care program and others will be protected as the plans are developed and merged with the Senate in the weeks to come.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said Trump has promised he would not allow Medicaid to be cut.
“The president was clear about that I was clear about that,” Lawler said. “We will work through this, but the
Trump had invited several dozen Republicans to the White House, including Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., who joined a group of GOP lawmakers from the Congressional Hispanic Conference raising concerns about protecting Medicaid, food stamps and Pell grants for college.
“While we fully support
Democrats in the House and the Senate vowed to keep fighting the whole process. “This is not what people want,” said Rep. Jim McGovern D-Mass., during a rules debate ahead of planned votes.
“We all know that trickledown economics,” he said about the 2017 tax breaks that flowed mainly to the wealthy, “don’t work.”
Trump has signaled a preference for “big” bill but also appears to enjoy a competition between the House and
the Senate, lawmakers said, as he pits the Republicans against each other to see which version will emerge.
Senate Republicans launched their own $340 billion package last week. It’s focused on sending Trump money his administration needs for its deportation and border security agenda now, with plans to tackle the tax cuts separately later this year
“I’m holding my breath.
I’m crossing my fingers,” said Sen. John Cornyn, RTexas, who said he was rooting for the House’s approach as the better option. “I think a one-shot is their best opportunity.”
Johnson, whose party lost seats in last November’s election, commands one of the thinnest majorities in modern history which meant he had to keep almost every Republican in line or risk losing the vote.
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BY BEN MYERS Staff writer
A two-day trial over whether the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office was negligent in failing to identify Benjamin Pfantz ended Tuesday with no verdict, as a New Orleans judge urged the coroner and Pfantz’s parents to negotiate a settlement.
Civil District Court Judge Kern Reese said he would rule on the
Two killed were grandparents of a Bourbon Street attack victim
BY MICHELLE HUNTER
Staff writer
Stephan Juarez, the suspected drunken driver accused of plowing into three vehicles in Gretna and killing the grandparents of a Bourbon Street attack victim, was ordered held without bail following a hearing in Jefferson Parish court Tuesday
Judge Shayne Beevers Morvant, of the 24th Judicial District Court, rescinded Juarez’s $621,000 bail, saying she had immense concerns about his criminal history.
“The public is not safe with Mr Juarez driving around,” she said Juarez, of Baton Rouge, was arrested and booked with two counts of vehicular homicide in the deaths of Hubert Gauthreaux Sr., 75, and his wife Victoria Gauthreaux, 72
case in one week if no deal is reached between Coroner Dwight McKenna and the parents of Pfantz, who died of a drug overdose nearly three years ago.
“There’s times when this job can be incredibly difficult. This is certainly one of those times,”
Reese said.
State law requires the coroner to fingerprint bodies that arrive at the morgue with no identification, as Pfantz’s body did in Sep-
tember 2022. McKenna delegates that task to the New Orleans Police Department, which misspelled the 34-year-old Pfantz’s last name as “Peantz.”
When a Coroner’s Office investigator ran the misspelled name through a public records search to locate family, the search produced no results. Nothing was presented at this week’s trial to suggest the Coroner’s Office did anything more to find Pfantz’s
family State law requires the coroner to make “every reasonable effort” to notify family of decedents. Reasonable efforts would have included asking the NOPD to double-check the spelling, or to run Pfantz’s state identification number — which had been provided to the Coroner’s Office through a state database, Richard Trahant, the Pfantz family’s attorney, argued in court. But the law allows the office to choose its own methods for identification and notification, and the
office is under no deadline to do so, said Lance Licciardi, the coroner’s lawyer McKenna didn’t appear on the stand this week. But he said in a December deposition that, while the mishap was regrettable, his office wasn’t to blame.
“The Coroner’s Office made no mistake. The Police Department made the mistake,” he said, according to a transcript.
The error wasn’t discovered until eight months after Pfantz’s
KING ARTHUR,ABOVE: The parade floats roll along on the Uptown route in New Orleans on Tuesday CARROLLTON, BELOW: A rider tosses beads.
Truong says arrest ‘politically motivated,’ denies solicitation charge
BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer
In his first interview with a reporter since his Jan. 7 arrest, Bogalusa Mayor Tyrin Truong said Tuesday he believes his arrest was “politically motivated” because as mayor he has sought to upend the status quo in the Washington Parish city
“The charges are not true. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m not a drug dealer,” he said by phone. Louisiana State Police arrested Truong, 25, on counts of transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, unauthorized use of a movable, and soliciting for
Van Vrancken resolution would adopt Trump’s Gulf of America usage
BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer
The Jefferson Parish Council, which oversees Grand Isle on Louisiana’s coast, will decide Wednesday whether to use President Donald Trump’s new name for the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, on parish maps and documents.
At-large council member Jennifer Van Vrancken authored a resolution directing all digital maps and newly printed maps of Jefferson Parish to label the body of water as the Gulf of America after Trump’s executive order last month, titled, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.”
The name change would be mostly symbolic and have no financial impact on the parish or require
the reprinting of old maps, Van Vrancken said. But her resolution is already seeing opposition from the other council members.
The move forces the council, which is mostly Republican, to address national partisan politics that the local body rarely ever wades into. While Van Vrancken has been more outspoken on national Republican politics and the president than her council colleagues, she said in an interview Monday she considers the new name to be a celebration of U.S. industry in the Gulf and not an act of partisanship.
“It’s celebrating all of the great and unique things about Jefferson Parish,” Van Vrancken said later adding, “That should be unifying and not partisan.”
The federal government, as well as Google and Apple maps, have all adopted the new name since Trump issued his executive order on his first day in office, despite the Gulf of Mexico still being the internationally recognized name for
Suspect had victim’s credit cards, authorities say
BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer
New details were revealed in a Jefferson Parish court hearing Tuesday morning in the death of Adan Manzano, the Kansas City sports reporter who was found in his Kenner hotel room while in town to cover the Super Bowl.
Danette Colbert, the Slidell woman who authorities said was found with his debit and credit cards after his death, was ordered held without bail following a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court. Kenner Police Detective Jeffrey Fitzmorris testified that a depressant was found in Manzano’s system. He did not have a prescription for the drug which the detective said is commonly used to facilitate thefts from victims because it can
cause amnesia. While Kenner police say Colbert, 48, has previously been accused of drugging men to steal from them, authorities can’t yet say whether Manzano died of an intentional drugging. Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office officials said Tuesday that they are still awaiting the results of more thorough toxicology testing. In the order to hold Colbert without bail, Jefferson Parish Criminal Magistrate David Wolff called her a flight risk.
find that
Kenner on Feb. 5 after his colleagues asked for a wellness check when he missed a meeting. Surveillance video recovered by investigators, including the U.S.
Morrell sentenced for time sheet fraud
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
Former New Orleans police bomb squad leader Todd Morrell was sentenced to five years of probation Tuesday after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges over allegations that he double-dipped on Police Department time and a steady off-duty detail with the Fair Grounds Patrol, or didn’t show up for either Morrell, 57, pleaded guilty in November to six counts of wire fraud, half the charges that a grand jury leveled against him in a January 2024 indictment. He retired in 2021 after it came to light that he was racing cars on the West Bank while clocked in for duty In some cases, federal prosecutors found that Morrell was at racetracks out of state during hours he’d claimed to be policing the city U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey also ordered Morrell to remain on home detention for eight months, pay $5,000 in fines and perform 150 hours of community service with the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, NORD.
“It’s a very sad day for your family and, in fact, for the entire city,” Zainey said. “You have violated the public trust.”
Zainey declined to send Morrell to prison, however, repeatedly citing the prominent political family from which the defendant hails.
Morrell’s parents, former Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court Arthur Morrell and former City Council member Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, sat in the front row for Tuesday’s sentencing.
A brother City Council member J.P Morrell, was among a slew of supporters who wrote letters on the retired officer’s behalf, many of them citing a decorated career on the force. They included some prominent New Orleanians, including U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, former NOPD chiefs Eddie Compass and Warren Riley; current Clerk of Criminal Court Darren Lombard; New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation head Melanie Talia; and city crime commissioner Tenisha Stevens.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MAX BECHERER
NOPD Sgt. Todd Morrell fires a crowd control weapon during a demonstration in 2020. Morrell was sentenced to five years of probation Tuesday, after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges over allegations that he double-dipped on Police Department time and a steady off-duty detail with the Fair Grounds Patrol, or didn’t show up for either
From rescuing stranded residents by boat and air after Hurricane Katrina to his work on the bomb squad, Zainey lauded Morrell’s 32year career while lamenting his admitted crimes. He repeatedly prodded Morrell to come clean.
“What were you thinking? The government has been very fair with you, in my opinion. You’re not a garden variety criminal. You don’t need the money,” Zainey said. “I just want to hear sincerity.”
Morrell responded: “I’m sure I just stopped paying attention to what I was doing as far as the paperwork I really just stopped caring.”
He added that he considered himself “somewhat a victim of my own success. Nobody looked at my payroll, and I just started gaming the system.”
Morrell stood in a charcoalgray suit as a lawyer for Churchill Downs Inc., the owner of the Fair Grounds, testified remotely over the company’s losses from his alleged absences, before Zainey handed down the sentence.
Morrell was indicted over a dozen alleged instances from 2018 to 2021 in which he was accused of netting ill-gotten bank deposits totaling a little more than $4,000. Total restitution of around $20,000 for his alleged fraud will be decided later
Federal prosecutors, arguing against leniency for Morrell, noted 87 instances where authorities found that he’d submitted bogus timecards. Morrell’s attorney, Billy Gibbens, argued that prosecutors
were trying to overstate their case against the former officer The wire fraud charges carry a maximum 20-year sentence upon a conviction.
Gibbens had asked Zainey to veer below a federal sentencing guideline range of four to 10 months for Morrell, noting his service for the city and a PTSD diagnosis several years after Katrina Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg and Brittany Reed opposed Morrell’s motion.
“Morrell’s crimes are clear, and their prosecution is neither new nor novel,” they wrote last week. “Morrell exploited not one, but two, positions of power and autonomy for his personal gain. As a member of the vaunted, and largely independent, Special Operations Division, Morrell enjoyed even less oversight and more geographical freedom than most officers. He parlayed his rank and privilege into an opportunity to commit fraud.”
Morrell retired in December 2021 after WVUE-TV reported he was racing cars or lounging at his house while being paid for police work. He was among dozens of NOPD officers who came under investigation in late 2021 for allegedly violating department policies on time sheet submissions. A brother, Nicholas Morrell, who remains on the police force, came under similar scrutiny The timesheets of several officers showed overlaps in on-duty and off-duty assignments, or combined hours that blew past weekly or
Continued from page 1B
the basin. Gov Jeff Landry said he supported the name change and would implement it in Louisiana as quickly as possible, the Shreveport Times reported.
Journalists with the Associated Press have been barred from attending presidential events as a result of the news organization declining to change their style to reflect the new name. The Associated Press sued the Trump administration over the restrictions last week.
daily limits created under a 12-year-old consent decree overseen by a federal judge. A time sheet analysis by a University of New Orleans chemistry instructor, Skip Gallagher, prompted an investigation. To date, Morrell is the only one among them to be charged with a crime.
He first blamed “clerical errors” for his alleged double billing. But Zainey referenced a cover up, saying that Morrell was “a great cop” who had messed up.
“The perception is corruption in the NOPD. I hate to hear that,” said Zainey, a nominee of former President George W Bush. “The Morrell name — unfortunately there’s a blemish on it now.”
City officials have acknowledged that NOPD’s payroll system and that of the offduty detail system, which is managed by City Hall, did not communicate, making it difficult to flag double-dippers like Morrell.
In the years before his retirement, Morrell was a consistent high-earner in the department and was among 28 NOPD officers who managed to pad their pay in 2020 by more than $50,000 by moonlighting in uniform.
Federal prosecutors pointed to Morrell’s total hours on duty or on paid details as evidence of fraud. According to the indictment, the tally of hours that he billed rose every year, from 3,800 hours in 2017 to 4,600 hours in 2020. In some years, prosecutors said Tuesday, Morrell averaged more than 80 hours a week on his timesheets.
istered under No Party, said he intends to vote against the resolution.
“I think it’s political partisanship. I’m not going to participate in that,” Marino said.
Byron Lee, the only Democrat on the council, said he felt “baffled” the legislation and would vote against it. He shared concerns that a local jurisdiction renaming a body of water may be improper or redundant.
The other Republicans on the council have indicated they won’t oppose the legislation.
Interim council member Joe Marino III, who represents Grand Isle and is reg-
“I have far more important things on the agenda to do than a symbolic measure such as that,” said council member Deano Bonano.
Continued from page 1B
death, after the Coroner’s Office had cremated the body That deprived Pfantz’s parents of the ability to bury him in a family plot, they have said. In tearful testimony, Theron and Sherry Pfantz described scouring New Orleans underpasses, frequently calling the morgue and area hospitals, and enlisting law enforcement authorities in Beauregard Parish — where they live — to try to find their son. They struck out every time.
“We were worried that he was hurt. We didn’t know It was pure hell to say the least,” Theron Pfantz said.
In May 2023, during one of Sherry Pfantz’s periodic calls to the Orleans Parish morgue, the receptionist searched internal records by Benjamin’s birth date and realized his remains were there.
Sherry Pfantz said in court that she was initially told her son had already been buried in a pauper’s grave. On later calls, including with the coroner’s Chief Investigator Brian Lapeyrolerie, the Pfantzes were told he had been cremated. They said they would have never agreed to that.
“We could have at least had a type of funeral that’s traditional for our family and our religious beliefs, and that was taken away from us,” Sherry Pfantz said.
She said the unsuccessful calls to the morgue had given her hope that her son was still alive. She said she gave his name and date of birth during every call, but the person on the other end never asked about tattoos or other identifying marks.
“It was as if they didn’t even have enough motivation to care, to ask any questions,” Sherry Pfantz said “They just didn’t put forth any effort.”
Though he didn’t say which way he was leaning, Reese said he found it “incredible” that the Coroner’s Office took the initial misspelled name at face value.
In addition to the law requiring coroners make reasonable efforts at notification, Reese is also weighing a qualified immunity law shielding Lou-
Jefferson Parish’s government rarely touches on national issues that don’t concretely impact it, like disaster aid and recovery, but Van Vrancken has been heavily involved in presidential politics over the last year She endorsed Nikki Haley in her bid for president last March before she suspended her campaign.
At a comedy show featuring a Trump impersonator at the Jefferson Parish Performing Arts Center in the fall, she wore a gown covered in Trump campaign logos. She said at the time she supported the president but wishes “he would be more moderate in his comments.”
Continued from page 1B
Department of Homeland Security, showed Colbert drinking with Manzano on Bourbon Street in New Orleans before she drove him back to his hotel. Video at the hotel shows her with Manzano in the lobby and heading into his room, according to Fitzmorris.
No one else entered the room, and Manzano never left, according to police.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Fitzmorris told the court that a preliminary toxicology screening performed during Manzano’s autopsy found the depressant benzodiazepine in his system.
The class of drugs — which includes alprazolam, the generic version of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax can induce respiratory depression, coma
and possible death, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“People would commonly drug victims in order to more easily steal belongs Alprazolam can cause minor amnesia effects to forget the events of the night,” Fitzmorris testified.
A check of his medical records showed that Manzano had not been previously prescribed alprazolam or Xanax, Fitzmorris said.
Manzano’s cellphone, credit and debit cards were recovered from Colbert’s Slidell residence during a search, Fitzmorris said. Authorities also recovered several drugs, including alprazolam, he testified.
Surveillance video shows that Colbert was in Manzano’s room for about an hour before she briefly left and visited a nearby gas station, Fitzmorris said. She returned
isiana coroners from liability for mistakes on the job. Exceptions include mistakes deemed to be outrageous, reckless and flagrant. In his closing remarks, Reese wondered if it “was it outrageous, reckless, flagrant misconduct not to even ask a question?”
McKenna has said that his office has not erred once since his election in 2017.
“For seven years, a hundred percent. We’ve always gotten it right,” McKenna said.
The trial also focused on Lapeyrolerie’s acknowledgment that, unlike other coroners, the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office does not have written policies, protocols or training manuals for identifying bodies and notifying next of kin.
Lapeyrolerie said his actual duties go far beyond his job title. He said he handles all administrative functions, including human resources, payroll, budget preparations and fleet management, in addition to leading death investigations.
Lapeyrolerie said he does not perform evaluations of investigators who work under him. Asked why not, he replied, “Honestly, I don’t have time.”
Lapeyrolerie also said in court this week that the Pfantzes’ ordeal was unfortunate but unavoidable. That differed from his responses in an October deposition, when he said the Coroner’s Office could have done more to get the correct spelling of Pfantz’s name, and agreed that the lack of results from the initial public records search should have been a “red flag.” When Trahant asked Lapeyrolerie on Monday if he had a problem calling the lack of results a red flag, he replied, “Now I do. Now, it’s a different time.”
Lapeyrolerie also appeared to reverse himself when asked if someone should have gotten back in touch with NOPD after the unsuccessful public records search. He replied, “Probably, yes,” to that question in his deposition. On the witness stand, however, he equated that question with “Monday morning quarterbacking.”
Email Ben Myers at bmyers@theadvocate. com.
And during the council’s feud last fall over the construction of a brewpub on a parish-owned parking lot using public dollars, Van Vrancken called upon the Republican Women of Louisiana to speak against the project in an email and drew comparisons to Trump’s recruitment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to cut federal government waste.
about 15 minutes later
Police have said she left for a final time about 6 a.m. Records show Manzano’s debit card was used to make a purchase for $8 at a New Orleans gas station, Fitzmorris said.
Someone also tried to use Manzano’s card at an ATM, but a receipt later recovered from Colbert’s residence shows the attempts weren’t successful because the PIN number was entered incorrectly, according to Fitzmorris.
The search of Colbert’s residence also turned up a receipt from the gas station where Manzano’s debit card was used, a card from his hotel with his room number written on it, and the clothing Colbert was seen wearing in videos while she was with Manzano, Fitzmorris testified.
When asked about Manzano’s credit cards and cell-
“I believe in common sense, and I do believe in government reform that makes government more efficient,” Van Vrancken said of Trump’s policies. She said she believes the Gulf of America resolution marks a “turning point for national pride,” and that “it’s a shame” if anyone sees it as partisan.
phone, she told investigators the cards must have “accidentally dropped in her car, and she accidentally used it instead of her own card,” Fitzmorris recounted. Colbert was arrested two days after Manzano’s body was recovered. She was booked with purse snatching, illegal transfer of monetary funds, computer fraud, bank fraud and simple robbery in Jefferson Parish.
Coroner’s Office says body that of suspect in Bridge City molestation
BY MARCO CARTOLANO and MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer
A man found shot dead in City Park over the weekend was identified by the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office on Tuesday as 35-yearold Reynard Cennett, a former Bridge City Youth Center teacher accused of molesting one of his students.
Cennett was awaiting trial on counts of sexual malfeasance in prison, malfeasance in office and sexual battery He was arrested Oct. 8 after being accused of inappropriately touching a 17-year-old boy housed in the Bridge City Center for Youth.
About 7 a.m. Saturday New Orleans Police Department officers found Cennett shot dead in the 1000 block of Harrison Avenue by Marconi Drive. Police are investigating his death as a homicide.
Continued from page 1B
prostitutes. He was released later that night from Washington Parish jail in Franklinton after posting $150,000 bail.
On the day of the arrest, northshore District Attorney Collin Sims said Truong allegedly “organized entertainment with a prostitute” at an Airbnb in Atlanta where he was attending a mayor’s conference Sims said Truong arranged the alleged Atlanta “entertainment” while still in Louisiana. Sims also accused Truong of purchasing drugs in Louisiana.
“No, I did not. That’s not true,” Truong said of the solicitation charge.
State Police have refused to share the initial report of Truong’s arrest in response to a records request, citing an ongoing investigation. Truong said he is working to secure legal counsel. Some supporters started an online fundraiser to help him pay for legal fees. It had $4,204 as of Tuesday When Truong became mayor in 2022 at 23 years old,
Cennett’s grieving father, Reyna Cennett, a retired Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy, insisted authorities had “no evidence” for the charges.
“I believe the case would have been dropped,” he said. “I had an innocent son. And I know that because I raised him for 35 years. It’s a hurting thing.”
A Marrero native, Cennett had two brothers and two sisters, his father said. He attended John Ehret High School and Southern University at New Orleans.
A member of the Army National Guard with a master’s degree in criminal justice and law school ambitions, Cennett was a regular at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, which will hold his funeral at 10 a.m March 15.
Cennett was an instructor at the juvenile detention facility since 2023. His arrest stemmed from an incident in which he allegedly grabbed paper from the student’s desk and “brushed the victim’s penis” with the back of his hand, Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Otia Bowie said at Cennett’s bond hearing The victim initially thought
he was the city’s first Black male mayor, the youngest mayor in Bogalusa history and tied for the youngest in Louisiana state history
“What’s not lost on me in American politics and Louisiana politics and Bogalusa politics is the fact that there is a clear pattern of when minorities receive representation, it’s always attacked,” he said.
“Our leadership has been focused on making the quality of life better for the average Bogalusan,” he said. He said he has put more police on the streets to reduce crime, revitalized some of Bogalusa’s parks and hosted a mayor’s camp for youth over the summer
“He was not the target of the investigation,” Sims said by phone Tuesday saying the investigation was conducted by multiple agencies and led by State Police “His involvement was not anticipated.”
Truong said his bigger concern is the possible appointment of a fiscal administrator to take control of the city’s finances — the second in six years.
The state Fiscal Review Committee in January recommended a fiscal administrator take control of Boga-
that touch was accidental, she said.
Moments later, Cennett allegedly touched the victim again through his clothing. The youth notified staff, and Cennett was arrested that afternoon at the facility, authorities said.
Advocates for children described the alleged abuse, which followed a spate of escapes and fights at the troubled, understaffed Bridge City facility as the latest indication of deeper dysfunction.
‘We believe that this employee’s arrest is not an anomaly but a symptom of a systemic problem that cannot be ignored,” said Gina Womack, co-founder and executive director of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, in a statement issued shortly after Cennett’s arrest.
Reyna Cennett agreed that the facility had problems. But he believes his son was targeted in a retaliatory accusation by a young detainee, and he regrets that he will not have the chance to clear his name. Cennett’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
lusa’s troubled finances. The city owed over $1 million to the IRS, the state Legislative Auditor’s office found, and did not have enough revenue to cover its expenditures. The city also has not completed its 2022 audit, which is preventing it from completing the 2023 or 2024 annual audits and stopping it from accessing state funding.
Truong initially expressed support of the appointment of a fiscal administrator saying the city needed a “neutral third party” to help the administration achieve its goals. The mayor has frequently clashed with the City Council over the city’s budget.
But on Tuesday, Truong said he changed his mind after the state recommended Robert Neilson, an accountant with offices in Bogalusa and Covington, to serve as fiscal administrator
Neilson was the city’s auditor for years until Truong took over in 2022, when Truong said he “fired” Neilson. Neilson, meanwhile, said his firm was initially going to serve as auditor for Truong, but withdrew from the 2022 audit because bookkeeping was “chaos” under Truong.
The Gauthreauxs were the grandparents of Hubert Gauthreaux III, 21, one of the 14 victims killed when a man intentionally drove a truck down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in a suspected act of terrorism.
“We’re happy with the proceedings that were held today,” said Vanessa Gauthreaux LeBlanc, Hubert and Victoria Gauthreaux’s daughter “I was with them that day and I was very close to going with them, too.”
The Gretna crashes occurred on the evening of Feb. 15 on Fourth Street, according to Gretna police Officer Marion Perret, who testified during the hearing.
Juarez was driving east on Fourth Street, coming from Harvey, in a 2015 GMC truck. Witnesses told officers Juarez was speeding, traveling about 50-70 mph, Perret said.
Juarez ran two stop signs at the intersection of Huey P. Long Avenue and hit a GMC Yukon, injuring two of the three passengers inside and dislodging his tire, Perret said.
He then crossed the center line of Fourth Street and hit a Honda Pilot that was parked along the side of the road. No one was in
that vehicle, Perret said.
Juarez’s truck continued east, slamming head-on into a parked Volvo XC9. Victoria Gauthreaux, who was sitting inside the vehicle, suffered fatal injuries, Perret said.
Hubert Gauthreaux Sr. had been standing next to the vehicle when Juarez hit, Perret said He, too, died. LaBlanc, who had been driving, had just stepped out of the Volvo and was about to help her mother out when the crash occurred. She was not hit, police have said.
Jaurez’s truck ended up in the parking lot behind a coffee shop. Officers found him facedown floorboard of the passenger side, Perret said. Investigators suspect he hit his head on the windshield.
Juarez smelled of alcohol, had extremely bloodshot eyes and was unable to stand, according to Perret.
“He was unaware of the accident. He was unaware that anyone had been injured,” Perret testified.
A preliminary test indicated that Juarez had a blood alcohol content of 0.09%, just over the 0.08% legal limit, according to Perret.
Investigators are still awaiting the results of blood tests to determine if there was any additional impairment.
Police found some mari-
juana in Juarez’s vehicle and a bottle of Crown Royal Black on the ground next to the truck, though police couldn’t not say for sure Tuesday that the bottle came from his vehicle
While speaking with police, Juarez admitted he’d been drinking but later told officers he had not, Perret said.
Juarez has a 2015 conviction for DWI in Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Megan Gorman told the court. He also has convictions for possession of hydrocodone, attempted simple robbery, burglary and obstruction of justice.
Juarez’s attorney Raul Guerra, told the court that Juarez is a father of four and an iron worker who had been working in Belle Chasse.
“I find it most concerning that Mr Juarez came from Baton Rouge to wreak havoc here in Jefferson Parish,” Morvant said. In making her decision on bail, the judge noted the great ripple effect the deadly crash had in the community “Gretna is a tight-knit community,” she said. “Now you see there’s a crowd of people grieving the absence of the victims.”
Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate. com.
Bracey, Marilyn
Brocks, Nathan
Brumfield, Jahsir
Drennan, Yvonne
Dugas, Ernest
Harris, JoAnn
Jackson Sr., James
LaCoste, Brian
Masters Sr., John
Meneray, Wilbur
Morice, Bonnie
Pomfrey, Randy
Vega, Mary
E Jefferson
Garden of Memories
Dugas, Ernest
Leitz-Eagan
Harris, JoAnn
New Orleans
DW Rhodes
Brocks, Nathan
Pomfrey, Randy
Gertrude Geddes
Brumfield, Jahsir
Majestic Mortuary
Vega, Mary St Tammany
EJ Fielding
Masters Sr., John Honaker
Drennan, Yvonne
Mothe
Bracey, Marilyn Morice, Bonnie
Obituaries
Bracey, Marilyn 'Jane'
Marilyn “Jane” Bracey passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 8, 2025 at the age of 95. She was born in New Orleans, LA to the late Imelda Harvey Chisholm and Louis Guy Chisholm. She is the wife of the late William “Bill” Bracey, with whom she cel‐ebrated their 74th wedding anniversary in November of 2024. She is the mother of Michael Bracey (Char‐lotte), Jeffery Bracey (Linda) Timothy Bracey (Brenda), Gregory Bracey (Teresa) and Mary Eileen Pansano (Tommy); the grandmother of Joyce Bracey, William Bracey, Sarah Johnson, Emily Neff, Matthew Bracey, Zachary Bracey, Erin Guidry, Rachel Bracey, Laurie Harmon Jonathan Pansano, Cory Pansano; great-grand‐mother of Tucker Godbold, Eleanor Godbold, Gabriel Godbold; Kipling Bracey, Silas Bracey, Elijah Bracey Adeline Bracey, Arlo Till‐man, Aislyn Guidry, Isaac Guidry, Aubree Wiest, Noah Bracey, Jonah Bracey, Abram Bracey, Amelia Har‐mon, Lily Harmon, Abby Harmon Cullen Pansano and Isabella Pansano; and great-great-grandmother of Stevie-Linn Bracey She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, and wonderful lifelong friends She is preceded in death by her sisters Imelda Mimi” Hoffman Corliss Killeen, and Beverly Chisholm, and brothers Louis Guy “LG” Chisholm and Lester Chisholm As a child, she lived in the Al‐giers neighborhoods of Whitney Ave and General Meyer Ave Janie attended Holy Name of Mary from kindergarten through high school As a
at Gor Jew ers on Canal St From there she went to work for Southern Bell Telephone Company in Algiers where she served as a telephone operator and mastered the art of telephone conversation, which was her lifelong cherished mode of commu‐nication with family and friends alike While em‐ployed by the telephone company, she proudly played on the Algiers Bell Peppers Softball Team She married Bill, the love of her life, in 1950. Bill’s Navy tours brought them to live around the country in cities such as San Diego CA; Bremerton, WA; and Olathe, KS. In the mid1950s, the young family re‐turned to Algiers, where she remained a proud and active resident. She be‐came very involved in the schools her children at‐tended: Holy Name of Mary, St. Joseph and St Ju‐lian Eymard (SJE) At SJE she served as room mother, substitute teacher and fair worker for numer‐ous years Additionally during her years as a homemaker, she took on several side jobs, not only to make ends meet but also to keep her strong connections within the community These jobs in‐cluded serving as a real es‐tate agent for many years developing a small craft business, and making Christmas wreaths for Adrian’s Tree Service until just 15 years ago. From a young age she was called to patriotism. In high school she proudly at‐tended Pelican Girls State She loved politics and worked for several cam‐paigns to assist candidates she felt reflected her tradi‐tional values. She loved lis‐tening to and singing along to songs from various music genres She espe‐cially enjoyed Catholic hymns music of the leg‐endary crooners, and patri‐otic American songs She was a one of a kind individ‐ual who was truly blessed with the gift of conversa‐tions and forming instant relationships that so often lasted a lifetime. Her tal‐ents included a flair for po‐etry and the sharing of seemingly endless stories She had a keen mind and maintained her vivid mem‐ory until the end She was a warmhearted, giving per‐son and an amazing prob‐lem solver who loved to help anyone struggling whether in need of food, shelter, political assis‐tance, or just a listening ear and she actually took in several people in need to live in her home along the way She was generous to her family and friends throughout the years and didn’t miss an opportunity to send a card or gift for virtually every occasion She cherished family gath‐erings and meals with her family She was truly a ma‐triarch to whom family was more of a broad con‐cept rather than a strict lineage. As a cradle Catholic who embraced her faith wholeheartedly, she sought the interses‐sion of many Saints of the Church such as St Lucy Padre Pio, St Jude and the Blessed Father Francis Xavier Seelos. When un‐able to attend Mass, in her latter years, she watched Sunday Mass on television with diligence and rever‐ence. As she aged, she be‐came immobile legally blind and suffered im‐mensely with lower leg and foot pain for years. She prayed regularly for heal‐ing Every night, for the past several years she and Bill would say a litany of different intercessory prayers for their entire ex‐tended family, special friends and themselves It included anointing their struggling body parts (hands, shoulders, knees, legs, etc.) with blessed oils and Lourdes water. She will certainly be missed by the many people she touched with her outgoing personality. The family ex‐presses their deepest grat‐itude to the outstanding care provided by Wolden‐berg Village Facilities and the many dedicated work‐ers in the Azaleas Assisted Living & Skilled Nursing Fa‐cilities there. Special thanks also to her special caretaker Mrs. Joyce Turner, who loved Janie so much, and to Larry Mer‐chant her outstanding home health nurse for many years. In lieu of flow‐ers, please kindly consider a donation to Noah Bracey, her disabled great-grand‐son, to whom she provided
chant, her outstanding home health nurse for many years In lieu of flow‐ers, please kindly consider a donation to Noah Bracey, her disabled great-grand‐son to whom she provided help in so many ways. Rel‐atives and friends are in‐vited to attend the funeral services on Thursday, Feb 27, 2025: Public visitation at Mothe Funeral Home in Algiers from 10:30 am –12:30 pm; Catholic Mass at Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, 400 Verret St. New Orleans LA 70114 at 1:00 pm. Interment will follow the next day at the Southeast Louisiana Veter‐ans Cemetery Mothe Fu‐neral Home has been en‐trusted with funeral arrangements The family kindly invites you to share thoughts, fondest memo‐ries, and condolences on‐line at www MotheFunera ls.com
Brocks, Nathan 'Mop Top'
Nathan “Mop Top Brocks passed away peacefully on February 15 2025, at the age of 76 in Slidell, Louisiana at the residence of his loving daughter Terry Isidore to be with his Heavenly Fa‐ther.He was surrounded by his devoted son-in-law, Grid Sr grandson Grid Jr. granddaughter Terrion Isidore, and great-grand‐son Jakyi Simons Nathan was born on March 25, 1949 in New Orleans Louisiana and raised in Phoenix, Louisiana He was the son of the late Willie “Routine” Sr. and Irene Payne-Brocks He was the grandson of the late Harry and Hannah Payne-Brocks and the late Nathan and Martha Richardson-Brocks. The Godson of the late Alvie Henry and Shirley Mae Johnson. He was the father of Terry (Grid Sr.) Isidore and Trenille “Albert” (Mick‐erria) Bentley. The hus‐band of the late Mary Brocks. He was the grand‐father of six grandchildren: Grid Jr and Terrion Isidore, Tre’Anjalique, Allegra, Isa‐iah and MicKyren Bentley He was the great-grandfa‐ther of six, but had a spe‐cial relationship with his great-grandson Jakyi Si‐mons. He was the brother of Audrey (Sidney) Bentley, Terry (Jeanne) Brocks Myr‐tle (Williams) BrocksParker, Retired Master Sgt Clarence (Cynthia) Brocks, Joann Brocks, Carroll Brocks, Carmen (the late Walter) Brocks-Foley and Charles (Yolanda) Williamson. He was the nephew of Rose Mary (Vernon) Payne-Rapp and Author Payne He was the greatnephew of Bernetta Young He was baptized at an early age at Zion Travelers Baptist Church in the muddy Mississippi River by Rev Emmett Summer Nathan graduated from Phoenix High School in 1971 and was drafted into the United States Marine Corps in 1971. He served in Vietnam and was honor‐ably discharged due to in‐juries sustained during his service. He received the Purple Heart He worked at the Pointe-la-Hache Water Department, Veterans Hos‐pital Lab, and Gaylord’s De‐partment Store He Orga‐nized the first baseball and softball team in Phoenix Louisiana for boys and girls He was a past mem‐ber of the Fishermen and Concerned Citizens and was also a self-employed landscaper and handyman His many talents included nursing studies, concrete work, gutter installation and even attempting to build his own two-story home. Nathan was known for his infectious laughter and vibrant personality He brought joy to every gath‐ering. Everyone loved him and he never met a stranger. Nathan lived in New Orleans, Louisiana for many years before moving to Indianapolis, Indiana where he spent over two decades under the care of his devoted sister Myrtle
stranger v New Orleans, Louisiana for
many years before moving to Indianapolis, Indiana where he spent over two decades under the care of his devoted sister, Myrtle Brocks, affectionately known as “Momma Myrt” He formed countless friendships in Indianapolis that he cherished deeply Nathan was preceded in death by his parents grandparents, siblings: Oc‐tavia (Winston) BrocksThomas and Willie (Cyn‐thia) Brocks Jr his niece April and nephew Sidney “Routine” Bentley III. He leaves to cherish his mem‐ories his loving and de‐voted daughter son-in-law son, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and sib‐lings His Aunt Rose Mary (Vernon) Payne Rapp Uncle, Author Payne, and Great-Aunt Bernetta Young His best friend James Tay‐lor and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and many cherished friends from Indianapolis Club Tri‐angle. Family and friends are invited to a visitation at St John Baptist Church, 136 St John Ln Phoenix Louisiana on February 27, 2025, at 9:00 a.m Followed by funeral services at 11:00 a.m Burial will occur at Slidell Veterans Cemetery on March 5th at 12:30 p.m Arrangements by D.W Rhodes Funeral Home Please visit www rhodesf uneral com to sign the on‐line guestbook
Jahsir Isiah Brumfield age 6 months, was born on August 4, 2024, in New Or‐leans LA He departed this life on Wednesday, Febru‐ary 5 2025. Jahsir was the loving son of Quinnira Brumfield and Michael Davis Beloved brother of Jahseh Brumfield and Ja‐mari Brumfield. Grandson of Qwanta Pellerin Marcus Brumfield, Tammy Brum‐field, Michael Davis and Zakiya Perry Great-grand‐son of Janice Pellerin and Dennis Pellerin Greatgreat-grandson of Herman Williams Nephew of Qwanzireyah Brumfield, Qworyiana Pamp Qwansarh Thomas, Qwantrella Pellerin Quinyaddo Williams, Zyron Davis and Sharmaine Williams Relatives and friends of the family are in‐vited to attend the Cele‐bration of Life Service on Friday February 28, 2025, at Gertrude Geddes Willis Fu‐neral Home, 2120 Jackson Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113 at 11:30 a.m Visita‐tion from 10:30 a.m until 11:30 a.m Interment St Patrick #1 Cemetery, 5000 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119. You may sign the guest book on http://www gertrudegeddeswillis com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Fu‐neral Home, Inc in charge (504) 522-2525.
Yvonne Davis Drennan of Gretna, LA, passed away on Wednesday February 19th, 2025, in her home at the age of 93. Beloved Wife of 56 years to the late Estus Drennan, Jr. She was preceded in death by her father Lester Davis by her mother, Olivia Quave, by her daughter, Sandy Dren‐nan Breaux (Mel), and by her grandson, Sean Breaux Yvonne is survived by her son, Wayne Drennan (Laura) and Mike Drennan (Sharleen). She is also sur‐vived by 6 grandchildren and 22 Great Grandchil‐dren. Born on April 1st 1931 in Mandeville, LA Yvonne was a dedicated Housewife, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother, who dearly loved to babysit and have her grandchildren go on vacation with her Rela‐tives and friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral services at Honaker Funeral Home, 1751 Gause Blvd West (In Forest Lawn Cemetery), Slidell, LA on Friday, Febru‐ary 28th, 2025 at 11:00 A.M Interment in Forest Lawn Cemetery Visitation will begin Friday morning from 9:00 A.M. until funeral time In Lieu of Flowers, please donate to St Jude Chil‐dren’s or Shriners Chil‐dren’s foundation. Please visit www honakerforestla wn.com to sign guestbook Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell, LA.
Ernest Joseph Dugas age 84, was called to his heavenly reward sur‐rounded by loved ones on Thursday, February 20 2025. Ernie was raised in Ponchatoula Louisiana and graduated from Poncha‐toula High School in 1959 He retired from the LA Wildlife and Fisheries oys‐ter survey section after 33 years Ernie is survived by his loving and devoted wife of over 56 years, Joan Everett Dugas, his loving daughter Michelle Dugas Pomes (Scott) son Paul Everett Dugas (Mary), his adored grandchildren Katie Marie Pomes, Patrick Everett Pomes, Beau Everett Dugas, Bailey Dugas, and Emma Dugas; Siblings Alfred Dugas Marie Ernest, Mary Alice Costanza and numerous godchildren, nieces and nephews Preceded in death by his parents Louis and Alice Dugas siblings Noah, Paul, Louis, Albert, Inez Denise Doris, Ann and Cecile Ernie was a parishioner of St. Christo‐pher the Martyr Catholic church where he served as an extraordinary minister of the Holy Communion, an Usher and
Funeral Home, 2260 West
time he could. He will be dearly missed. Relatives and friends are invited to join us at St. Christopher the Martyr Catholic Church, 3900 Derbigny St Metairie, LA. 70001 on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Visitation will begin at 12:00 PM followed by a Mass at 1:30 PM Interment will follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery, 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA 70001. In lieu of flowers, masses are preferred
Harris, JoAnn Fleming
With much sadness, the family of JoAnn (Jodie) Fleming Harris announces their mother’s passing on February 19, 2025, after a short illness. She lived a full life of 92 years. Jodie was born on June 23, 1932, in Roswell, New Mexico the oldest of eight chil‐dren. She married Richard Harris, her husband of 62 years after a chance en‐counter in a cantina in Juarez, Mexico They began their marriage in El Paso, Texas, where they started their family From there, they moved to Metairie, Louisiana until their retirement. Jodie’s greatest joy was spending time with her children, grandchildren and eventu‐ally great-grandchildren She was affectionately known as YaYa to them and to others who knew her and loved her like a mother. Jodie was a loving, hard-working and gener‐ous woman with a self-ef‐facing sense of humor Her big heart led her to many volunteer opportunities in her life. Night classes af‐forded Jodie the time to at‐tend Tulane University earning a Degree in Bache‐lor of Business Studies the field in which she spent her career Not only was she a Tulane graduate and fan but was elected presi‐dent of the Tulane Alumni Association one of her first forays into volun‐teerism. She was a lifelong member of First Chris‐tian Church of Greater New Orleans, where she gave her time as the head of the Hospitality Committee and was a member of the Women’s Circle An avid reader, Jodie could often be found on her sunroom sofa with her cat nearby and a book in hand She also loved writing and joined a writing group that would support her en‐deavor to pen a novel In‐spired by the many mys‐teries she’d read, she wrote and had published her own local mystery, Body at the Bonfire it was not surprising that she found much joy and satis‐faction as a VITA -Volun‐teer Instructor Teaching Adults to read. Another special organization for which Jodie volunteered was The Ulster Project New Orleans. She and Dick hosted exchange students from Ireland helping them to develop leadership skills and interact peacefully with teens in Northern Ire‐land and America Jodie loved traveling with her husband whenever possi‐ble not only to spend time with their children, grand‐children and friends but to explore the world. They visited countries in four continents across the globe Jodie is preceded in death by her beloved hus‐band Dick Harris; her par‐ents, Martin Van Buren Fleming and Margaret Lair Fleming; and brothers William Fleming and Jack Fleming. She is survived by family who will greatly miss her, her children Steve Harris (Patsy), Keith Harris (Anne), Rick Harris (Charo), Wendy Hymel (Jef‐frey) Toni Jennings; her eleven grandchildren, her nine great-grandchildren, and her siblings Sue Scott Carol Fleming, Patricia Fleming (Hack) Mary Fleming, and Jeri Ruth Fleming Lawrence (John) Please join us for Memorial Services at noon Saturday March 1, at the Ministerio Nuevo Jerusalem Church (new Jerusalem), formerly known as First Christian Church of Greater New Or‐leans, 8121 Airline Drive, Metairie.
Jackson Sr. MD, James William 'Jim'
James William "Jim" Jackson, Sr., MD, 92, died peacefully on February 22, 2025. He was marriedtohis beloved wife,Ann Long Jackson, MD, for almost 66 years. She precededhim in death by 3weeks. Avisitation will be held at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral on Friday February 28th, 2025 from 9:00 am until 10:00 am. AMass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:00 am with burial following at St. Joseph Cemetery. Jimis survived by hissix children, James William, Jr "Will", John Guider Jack (Alma), Stacy Ann (Bubbie), Edward Ray, II "Ted" (Carolyn), Mary Zita "Mitzi" (Nolan), and CourtneyCarol CeCe", his grandchildren, James William, III "Jaime", Carolyn Ann Cara", Abigail Lauren "Abby" (Jacob), Elizabeth Renee "Lizzie", and step grandchildren Lan (Mollie), Jesse,Taylor (Dan), Ross, Rachel, Nolan, Jr, and Allie (Bernard), and his sister, Janet Hughes, and sister in law Zita Sandmeyer (Richard) as well as numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins. Jim was born on April 18, 1932 in Baton Rouge, LA to parents Lillie Veronica Mathews and Edward Ray Jackson. He startedschool at the age of 3ina one room school house. At age 11, he began delivering The Morning Advocate to Tiger Town, LSU campus, and University Acres. Since his father printedThe Reveille, he proudly attended LSU University Laboratory School. Whenhis father bought the Lafourche Comet, the family moved to Thibodaux where he attended Thibodaux High School, graduating in 1948. At the age of 15, he had a wonderful and welcomed surprise in going from an only child to aproud big brother. At THS,hewas a cheerleader and playedon the football, basketball, and undefeated 1948 baseball team. Jim attended Francis TNichollsJunior College where he was a memberofthe weight lifting and baseball teams and graduatedinthe first class of 1950. He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge,majoring in Chemistry. He went on to Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, graduating in 1956. He did an internship at Charity Hospital of New Orleans. It was during the first week of his internship that he met his future wife,Ann, on the front porch of the Intern's Quarters. He was an Ob-Gyn resident on the Independent Service at Charity Hospital.Jim and Ann datedthrough this time and were married in 1959. All six of theirchildren loved to hear the stories of their time in medical school and residency at "Big Charity".After completing his residency, Jim entered the US Air Force and was stationed at Walker AFB in Roswell, NM from 1960 -1962. Afterward, they movedto Thibodaux and begantheir practices. Jim was acompassionate and caring physician who was dedicated to the health of expectant and new mothers. During his time in private practice in Thibodaux, he delivered 8444 babies. Jim had an adventurous spirit. At the age of 13, he and a friend took aclandestine overnight bus trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. This tripremained secret until he was 85 and regaled his children with the antics over aholiday dinner. WhenJim was 18, he and 2friends took a road trip with stops in Chicago, Canada,Niagara Falls, New York City, and Atlanta. In the summerof 1952, and camp his Jim and led Grand wonderful whole people. from and kept up with all of them. He enjoyed reading, fishing, golfing, and going to lunch with "The Leftovers". Jim wasa devoted husband and father. He said to hischildren, "You mothercould have married anyone.I'll never know why she chose me but Isureamglad thatshe did." Jim and Ann were a strong parenting team and their children knew to turn to each as needed. They instilled in their childrenre-
dinner. When Jim was 18, he and 2friends took a road trip withstops in Chicago, Canada, Niagara Falls, New York City, and Atlanta. In the summer of 1952, he taught swimming and driving at aboy's camp on CapeCod. When his sons wanted to fish, Jim bought rods and reels and learned to fish. This led to aboat, acamp on Grand Isle, and years of wonderful times for the whole family. Jim loved people. He had friends from each stage of his life and keptupwith all of them. He enjoyed reading, fishing, golfing, and going to lunch with "The Leftovers". Jim was adevoted husband and father. He said to his children, "You mother could have married anyone. I'll never know why she chose me but Isure am glad that she did." Jim and Ann were a strong parenting team and their children knew to turn to each as needed.They instilled in their children respect for others and the Lord,the value of education, and importance of family and community. The Jackson children were blessed to have wonderful, loving parentsfor so very long. In lieuofflowers, please consider donations to St.GenevieveCatholic School, E. D. White Catholic High School, or LSUSchool of Medicine. Online condolences can be made at http://www.ordoynefuner als.com/. Funeral arrangements were trusted to Ordoyne Funeral Home, 1489 Saint Patrick Street Thibodaux, LA 70301.
LaCoste, Brian Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 60: Funeral services will be held for our late Brother Brian LaCoste on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. at Garden of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA.Byorder of John J. Sabathe, President Attest: Ronald R. Rosser, Business Manager Masters Sr., John William
John William Masters Sr entered eternal rest on Sunday, February 23, 2025 He was born on November 1, 1932 to the late Joseph Al Masters and Edna Reuther Masters. John was pre‐ceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Sandra David Masters; his brothers, Roland and Robert Mas‐ters; and his sister-in-law, Sandy Masters. John served in the United States Army during the Korean War and was a member of the 56th AAA Defense Sys‐tem He was a lifelong resi‐dent of St Tammany and was a resident of Lewis‐burg for over 60 years. He was a Construction Super‐intendent for Becker and Associates New Orleans Prestress Concrete Com‐pany for many years until his retirement in 1985. He loved dancing and the out‐door life, where he worked, fished and shrimped with his beloved wife Sandra He enjoyed throwing many parties, crawfish boils and fish frys with friends and family at his family fishing camp in Hopedale and also enjoyed spending time with family and friends at the Roving Bucks hunting camp in Mississippi He is survived by his daughter, Samantha Moley (Ronald) and his son, John W. Mas‐ters, Jr. (Ladette), his lov‐ing grandchildren, Dante and Sabrina Moley and Karlie Masters, step-grand‐daughter Kelsie Gassen his brother, Richard Mas‐ters and his sister, Helen Stevens and many nieces and nephews Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the Funeral Service on Thurs‐day, February 27, 2025 at 11:00 am from E J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 West 21st Avenue Covington, LA and the visitation will begin at 9:00 am until ser‐vice time. Interment will follow in Garden of Pines Mausoleum in Covington, l d s. ok
21st Avenue Covington, LA and the visitation will begin at 9:00 am until ser‐vice time. Interment will follow in Garden of Pines Mausoleum in Covington, LA. E.J Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements Please sign the guestbook at www ejfieldingfh.com
Meneray, Wilbur Eugene 'Bill'
Dr. Wilbur Eugene "Bill" Meneray, Jr., passed peacefully on February 22, 2025, surrounded by the family he loved.
Dr. Meneray was an extraordinary human being,a humanitarian and learned scholar, who enriched every life he touched withhis knowledge, his kindness, his humor and his warmth.
Adistinguished expert in the field of Colonial Louisiana and theCivil War, Dr. Meneray was an archivist,historian and professor at Tulane University for over 30 years, where he retired as Assistant Dean of Libraries in 2009. Dr. Meneray authored many articles for scholarly publications, books and collections including, "Kingdom of Guatemala during the Reign of Charles III." He curated the family papers of many political figures, including U.S. Representative Hale Boggs, and was the editor of the 12 volume "Favrot Family Papers."
Bill was atrusted resource to students, authors, historians and journalists throughout his career.
Bill was active in civic organizations, including Friends of the Civil War Round Table, theCivil War Museum, and the Louisiana Historical Society. His commitment to civil rightsbegan in the 1950's and continued throughout his life, which included facilitating voter registration drives in Alabama in the 1960's.
Bill was an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed whitewater canoeing, backpacking, mountain climbing and summitted a number of "The Fourteeners."
Bill was the only son of six children born of the late Julia Iona Campbell and Dr. Wilbur Eugene Meneray, and aloving brother to his sisters. He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty years, Jane Yeuell Meneray, his son Eugene Yeuell Meneray, daughter in law, Elizabeth Meneray, and grandson, Campell Stevenson Meneray, preceded in death by his siter, Patricia Ferguson, and survived by sisters Jean Mestier, Michele Meneray, Mary Schumann (Terry) and Jacque Ames(Ray). The family plans to hold acelebration of Bill's life and legacy later thisyear. Please consider adonation to theTulane University Special Collections in Bill's honor.
Bonnie Bundy Morice a cherished member of her family and community passed away on February 23, 2025, at her residence in Gretna, Louisiana She was born on June 5 1949, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the late Forrest and Gladys Bundy. Bonnie lived a life full of love and adventure She was married to her beloved husband, the late Dr. Natchez Morice, Jr. for 45 years. Together, they shared countless memo‐ries and built a family that will carry on her legacy Bonnie is survived by her step-sons Natchez "Trey" Morice, III and Mark Morice; her brother Ken‐neth Bundy (the late Belv‐ina). She was a beloved aunt to her nephews Grant Bundy (Lisa) and Kenneth Bundy Jr. (Kristen), and she adored her great nieces and nephews—Amber Courtney, Krista, Grant, Ken Kolin, Brody and Brooke. She is preceded in death by her brother Ricky Bundy. Bonnie had a pas‐sion for travel and took great delight in shopping and spending time on the beautiful beaches of Florida She was also a de‐voted pet owner cherish‐ing her dog Wifi, who was a source of companionship and joy in her life The fam‐ily would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to Heart of Hospice for their compassionate care during Bonnie's final days, as well as to her caregivers Deione Taylor and Mona LeSalle whose support was invaluable. Bonnie will be remembered fondly by her very true friends Rose Gullo Tina Borne Jaulet Corte, and Rahim Ebrahim‐pour, who brought joy and laughter into her life Visi‐tation will be held on Feb‐ruary 27, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Mothe Funeral H bank Exp funeral s at 11:00 with inte lawn Me nie's spir be deep who kne rest in pe
Garland Pomfrey age 57, passed away on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Capitol House Nursing Home, in Baton Rouge, LA Randy attended both Abramson Senior High School and John McDo‐nough High School, gradu‐ating from the latter He also attended Delgado Community College and Southern University of New Orleans. Randy worked at Stage Right Productions and multiple other produc‐tion companies, where he took pride in building stage sets for major events for locals to enjoy. Growing up, Randy was a lover of martial arts and taught younger family members his favorite moves He was an enthusiast of reggae music and the New Orleans Saints. Randy loved his daughter Shanika, and en‐joyed sharing stories about her After surviving a major stroke in 2011, Randy was left with deficits that lim‐ited his ability to speak and move as he once had However, that didn’t stop him from attending his New Orleans
loved Randy, are invited to attend a Funeral Service at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church on Thurs‐day, February 27th, 2025 at
For years, the few dozen residents of Isle de Jean Charles saw firsthand the effects that rising sea levels are having on coastal Louisiana Located in lower Terrebonne Parish, the island was gradually but unmistakably disappearing. What once was 35 square miles is now less than one.
State government, with a $48 million grant from the feds, launched a radical solution: It built a new community New Isle, further inland and on higher ground The state offered to resettle residents there for free, giving them houses as a pilot program that made islanders the nation’s first “climate refugees.”
Many of the residents who accepted the offer were given new and more valuable houses less threatened by rising seas. But that came with new and higher costs. For some, like retired carpenter Wallace “Johnny” Tamplet, it’s the tax bill that has them worried.
Tamplet told reporter Alex Lubben that he was planning to sell his truck to clear his $4,000 property tax bill. Health issues had left him unable to pay his taxes in 2023, and a Nebraska company purchased a lien on his home that will allow it to claim the house if he doesn’t pay his taxes within three years
Tamplet isn’t alone. As of last year, at least five other households in New Isle were behind on tax payments. Residents have also noted that utilities are more expensive in the new settlement And there is the insurance. The Louisiana Office of Community Development estimates that when residents there are required to begin paying for their own insurance next year, the average yearly premium will be almost $4,100. That’s a daunting prospect for many. It may seem as if what has happened to the residents of Isle de Jean Charles is extreme, but it’s a situation that many more Louisianans may confront in the next couple of decades The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that about one-fifth of the state’s homes, more than 300,000, may face chronic flooding problems by 2045. And homeowners across South Louisiana are already familiar with rapidly rising insurance costs
We are gratified to see OCD exploring ways to solve the problems in New Isle, such as seeking permission to give the last $1.4 million left in the original grant to a local development district that is looking for ways to help the relocated residents adjust to their new reality. Creative solutions will certainly be needed. The cost of relocating approximately 37 households has been almost $50 million That level of investment is a nonstarter when we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people or more. We know this project was envisioned as a learning experience. We hope that one of the lessons learned is that projects to rebuild the coast or address climate change before relocation is required are not only cost-effective, but wise.
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The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.
Invest in expanding access to early education, which pays off
Education Superintendent Cade Brumley is right — anyone who still believes Louisiana is last in education “isn’t paying attention.” The state’s steady rise in national education rankings reflects bold policy choices and a commitment to early learning, particularly for 4-year-olds.
As Elena Lotano highlighted in a recent guest column, Louisiana has made remarkable strides in expanding public preschool and Head Start access, ensuring that over 80% of 4-year-olds benefit from quality early education. This success is worth celebrating. But to sustain and accelerate Louisiana’s progress, we must take the next step: investing in our youngest learners, from birth to age 3. Research is clear — the foundation for lifelong learning is built in the first three years of life, a period of rapid brain development that shapes future success. Yet, unlike the widespread access we’ve achieved for 4-year-olds, families with younger children face an entirely different reality. Less than 16% of children under 4 in economically disadvantaged
families have access to any publicly funded program. High-quality early education for infants and toddlers is scarce and expensive, leaving many families without options. Without greater investment, too many children enter preschool already behind a gap that can persist through K-12 and beyond.
Lotano’s column rightly points out that high-quality preschool yields strong economic returns, particularly for lowincome children. The same is true for birth-to-3 programs. The sooner we invest, the greater the impact on academic achievement, workforce readiness and economic mobility.
Louisiana has proven it can build highquality early childhood programs. Now, it’s time to complete the puzzle. Sustainable funding for birth-to-3 programs will ensure every child, regardless of age or family income, has access to the opportunities they need to thrive. Louisiana has led the way before — let’s do it again.
SARINTHA STRICKLIN executive director, Jefferson Ready Start Network
Remember that Cassidy put politics over duty
As a fellow physician, I am mad as hell at U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is a socalled doctor He voted to confirm Robert Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
He did so in hopes that the president would back him for reelection instead of representing and protecting the citizens of the United States, especially our children who are our future.
He knew that Kennedy is an anti-vaxxer and that his medical beliefs have no scientific proof; they’re only conspiracy theories.
I wrote Cassidy several times on this issue, and neither he nor his staff ever
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According to Merriam-Webster, ethnic cleansing is defined as “the expulsion, imprisonment or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity.” Recently, convicted felon Donald J. Trump has expressed support for the forcible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to an unspecified location. This proposal fits the definition of ethnic cleansing. History provides numerous examples of ethnic cleansing. In the United States, the Trail of Tears forced tens of
responded. In addition, Kennedy has no medical background. This would be like taking someone off the street to do your brain surgery Cassidy broke his Hippocratic Oath that says do no harm. He should lose his medical license and privilege to be called doctor Now that Kennedy is in office, Cassidy will have the health issues, especially any deaths, of Americans on his hands because he knew better by his medical training. I hope the people of Louisiana wake up and do not reelect Cassidy
DAVID W. SPRIGGS, M.D New Orleans
thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands under government policy The Armenian Genocide saw the Ottoman Empire forcibly remove and massacre Armenian Christians. The Nazi regime systematically removed and exterminated Jews across Europe during the Holocaust. The Bosnian Genocide involved the mass expulsion and killing of Bosnian Muslims by Serbian forces.
Forced relocation is ethnic cleansing.
DOMINIC MARCELLO Baton Rouge
Second Harvest leaders should return to its mission
Second Harvest Food Bank is a shining example of functional philanthropy, providing food to people who need it across south Louisiana. It does not define “need” with reference to religion or race, circumstance or condition.
And while it is true that Second Harvest came into being (over 40 years ago) under the wing of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, it has functioned, fundraised and fed as a stand-alone, independent, transparent and wholly accountable nonprofit corporation for decades. It serves 23 civil parishes in Louisiana, from St. Tammany to Cameron, most of which are not located within the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond should rescind his Jan. 30 firing of CEO Natalie Jayroe and three leaders of the board of directors, return control of Second Harvest Food Bank to its board of directors and completely withdraw from any involvement with, control of or claims against the assets of Second Harvest, allowing Second Harvest to return its finances and focus back to its only mission: feeding the hungry PATRICIA WEEKS New Orleans
President Trump has imperialistic ambitions
President Donald Trump wants to return to the 19th century and those years of acquisitive, imperialistic greed. In that century, the U.S. acquired the Louisiana Purchase, half of Mexico, the Oregon Territory, Hawaii, Alaska, the Philippines, Guam, Samoa and Guantanamo Bay Trump now covets Greenland, Canada, Panama and the Gaza Strip. What’s next? I suggest he invite his handler Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who has already bought some of the U.S. government (including the presidency) and is dismantling what is left, to purchase his home country of South Africa and then to donate it to the U.S. Make Imperialism Great Again!
EARL HIGGINS River Ridge
If you’re African American or in certain organized or social groups, you know there’s a national DEI boycott planned for Friday If you haven’t heard about it, know that some Black folks — along with allies — will be living their normal lives without buying breakfast, lunch or dinner out, without buying coffee, snacks and soda at a neighborhood convenience store and without going to a local or big box store to shop for clothes or groceries. The idea is for enough Black people to withdraw from commerce while standing together in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion and against companies that have moved away from DEI, a valuable business approach and strategy that works to make things better for everyone.
It’s not clear where the idea started, but it caught on like a piece of tinder lit by a match and spread like a wildfire
In recent days, I’ve received calls, texts, emails and social media notes from Louisiana and across the nation inviting me or reminding me to participate. There is the targeted 40-day Target Fast pitched by Atlanta Pastor Jamal Bryant. Some of them suggested a total financial boycott: Don’t spend any money anywhere so business people will feel the impact of losing Black customers for even one day Some say spend with Black, small and local businesses and not the group of companies that have announced that they’re stopping DEI efforts.
After the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, businesses rushed to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive At different points last year and in the short few weeks of this year, some of these same companies announced they don’t want anything to do with DEI. They include Amazon, Ford, HarleyDavidson, John Deere, McDonald’s, Meta, Microsoft, Target and Walmart. Some companies, like JPMorgan Chase, have expressed an ongoing commitment to diversity while changing corporate employee diversity filing language from “diversity, equity and inclusion” to “workforce composition.”
Still other companies, like Costco, have doubled down on their diversity commitments. National Action Network founder and president Al Sharpton quickly organized a “buy-in,” or “buy-cott,” to support Costco and to send a message that diversity matters. There was a lot of Costco attention and support. Conservative red state
attorneys generals, including our own Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, sent the company’s CEO a January letter suggesting that it stop all DEI efforts and programs. A general boycott of the major brands is commendable, though misguided.
In a recent interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, a network weekend anchor until a few days ago, Sharpton expressed support for Friday’s boycott, though he didn’t say which one. Though he didn’t slam the lack of clarity, specifics and strategy for the growing boycott idea, he noted that he had announced on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr.’s federal birthday holiday and inauguration day for President Donald Trump’s second presidential term, that he would lead a 90-day assessment of companies dropping DEI and companies sticking with it then an announce a more specific company boycott strategy New Orleans businessman Troy Henry favors more DEI business efforts, but he doesn’t think Friday is likely to be successful.
“I’m not sure what good that does,” he told me. “I think it’s more strategic to select a company and boycott that company.”
Henry is one of four Equity Media owners of WBOK, a Black talk radio station. His Henry Consulting company is best known as one of the Bayou Phoenix investors remaking the old Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans
East. His consulting company staffs about 200 people with private and public businesses and companies. One of his companies owns nine Shell gas stations. Another owns nine companion Sterling Express convenience stores.
“I’m not worried,” he said. “If people don’t buy gas on Friday, they’re going to buy gas Saturday.”
The companies shifting away from DEI have taken the temperature of the country and the Trump administration. Watching the slew of executive orders and actions that resent diversity, equity and inclusion, they’re making changes to stay in favor and to stay in line with the law I get it. No good business professional wants the government to knock down something they’ve built to be financially successful.
Rather than an unmeasurable “boycott,” I suggest an individual “Buy Black Day.” Be intentional.
I’ve been a diversity advocate for decades, in its various forms. Though I have issues with diversity and affirmative action efforts being compared to DEI and with DEI I’ll honor the spirit of the day and look forward to a more thoughtful, specific, actionable and measurable boycott or buy-cott before we’re taken back to 2020 — or worse. Costco, here I come. Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.
The Trump administration is not just trying to get the government under control or save taxpayers money It is mounting a frontal assault on every center of left-wing institutional power it can reach: academia, the civil service, nonprofits. The object is to break these institutions so badly that the next Democratic administration will not be able to put them back the way they were. I probably don’t have to tell our readers why this is bad They understand that the slash-and-burn approach to the bureaucracy will leave it understaffed, demoralized and mired in chaos, endangering services that voters depend on. They know that many nonprofits do valuable work, often for society’s most vulnerable. They’re aware that a research project is not like a car, which can be safely turned off and started again when you’re ready to use it, so making ham-fisted cuts to science funding risks setting society back by years. Since you know that, let me make a less obvious and probably less welcome point: The left, not the right, picked this fight. Too many institutions set themselves up as the “Resistance” to Trump and tried to make a lot of mainstream political opinions anathematic, while expecting to be protected from backlash by principles such as academic freedom that they were no longer honoring. This was politically naive and criminally stupid for institutions that rely so heavily on U.S. taxpayer support Academia at least should have known better, given that it has entire departments devoted to studying how politics works. It has long been clear that cuts to research funding could be the first
step if Republicans were so minded. The student loans and Pell Grants that subsidize tuition could be slashed, the tax rules that let elite institutions accumulate massive endowments could be changed, and in red states, government aid to public schools could be reduced. The resulting budget holes would be calamitous in many cases and would filter through the ecosystem even to schools that survived: If small schools stop hiring new faculty, that means fewer jobs for graduate students from large research universities. Nonetheless, school administrations began issuing left-wing hot takes on news that played to the culture war, and students agitated, often successfully, to de-platform rightwing speakers and punish students or faculty who deviated from progressive orthodoxy Milquetoast professional opinions and legitimate research were retracted under pressure from activists. Scientists marched against Trump — not as private citizens but as scientists, as if lab work gave them some special moral authority Public health experts issued a “get out of lockdown free” card to George Floyd protesters, and the American Anthropological Association issued a statement explicitly conceiving its discipline as a form of progressive activism. What was going on in the rest of academia made it clear anthropologists weren’t alone in thinking that way Even if you think this was a move in the right moral direction, it was dangerous behavior By presenting their expertise as part of a political fight, academics were not only squandering their credibility They were asking to
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE
be treated like political adversaries. And in a real political fight, the ability to get your opponent’s journal article retracted is way less important than his ability to cut off your supply lines. This danger has been evident for years, yet when I asked academics if this was really wise, most were curiously oblivious to the risks. Though they complained about stingy state legislatures and meddling Republican politicians, many bizarrely took them as evidence that there was little cost to politicizing academia essentially, “They’re already attacking us, so there’s no point in trying to placate them.” They did not seem to grasp how much worse it could get.
Fundamentally, they took their prestige and public support for granted and seemed unable to imagine a world where the word “education” no longer conjured reverent deference among most of the population. Like children throwing rocks from an overpass, they felt protected by their elevated position, assuming their targets could do little but yell back. They weren’t expecting one of the drivers to get out of the car and grab a baseball bat from the trunk.
None of which justifies what Republicans are doing now It is crude, destructive and — like a baseball bat unconscionably disproportionate. But complaining about Republicans, while emotionally satisfying, isn’t very useful. The institutional left can’t control what Republicans do. It can only control its own behavior And that behavior, however well-intentioned, was reckless in the extreme.
Megan McArdle in on X, @asymmetricinfo.
After four disorienting first month, the Trump administration’s foreign policy has become crystal clear: Screw the rest of the world, allies and adversaries alike.
Who cares if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gets to keep the wide swath of Ukraine’s territory he seized in a brutal, unprovoked invasion? Why should the Ukrainians even be at the table when we talk to the Russians about a peace deal? After all, President Donald Trump promised to quickly end the war; he and Putin can decide the terms. Maybe the United States would be more concerned about Ukraine’s sovereignty if we were given half of the country’s valuable mineral resources. Does that make us sound like mobsters running a protection racket? Well, the world is a tough place.
Who cares if the newly contemptuous U.S. stance toward the democracies of Europe makes them feel abandoned and vulnerable? Who cares if the leaders of wealthy, technologically advanced nations such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy — effectively demilitarized, beneath the U.S. umbrella, since the apocalypse of World War II decide they now have no choice but to massively rearm? What if Europe is soon bristling with weapons, and what if Putin sees this buildup as a threat? What could possibly go wrong?
Who cares if the Palestinians are permanently denied their dream of an independent state? Now that more than a year of scorched-earth Israeli bombardment — in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack and hostage-taking has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, why doesn’t the United States just seize that seafront property and turn it into a lucrative Rivierastyle resort? The Palestinians can go live elsewhere, all 2 million of them, and we don’t care where, as long as it’s not here.
Who cares if children die in regions of Africa ravaged by war, famine and disease? Trump promised to cut federal spending, and although foreign aid is just 1% of the budget, the U.S. Agency for International Development is an easy target for Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency.”
Who cares if our allies in the Western Hemisphere are alarmed by sudden new demands for territory and tribute? Trump insults Canada, our most steadfast partner in war and peace for more than a century, by calling it “the 51st state” and referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor.” He threatens Canada and Mexico, our biggest trading partners, with crippling tariffs. Displeased with the way the Panama Canal is being run, he vows to “take it back.”
All Americans should care about these radical departures from long-established policy toward the rest of the world. Trump promised to make America great again, but he is doing the polar opposite. His bellicose chest-thumping makes this nation smaller, weaker, more isolated and negates the concept of American exceptionalism
Bullying is a behavior that can intimidate, as anyone who has spent time in a schoolyard knows. But it does not project genuine strength. Trump’s foreign policy is that of a paper tiger, not a real one.
Since the postwar Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe was launched in 1948, generations of U.S. leaders have been guided by the principle that encouraging the spread of democracy and free markets makes our own nation safer and more prosperous. We have made terrible mistakes along the way — the Vietnam War, interventions in Latin America, the invasion and occupation of Iraq — but we have never abandoned the idea of the United States as a “shining city on a hill.” Presidents from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama have used that metaphor to describe America’s place in the world. Trump evidently has a meaner, more constricted vision. He reduces the United States to just another cynical player in a zero-sum game. For us to win, in this view, others must lose. This is an abdication, not an assertion, of American leadership, and it invites other nations to fill the vacuum. China is the obvious main beneficiary European Union officials have already talked about expanding trade with Beijing in light of Trump’s myriad tariffs. China has spent years expanding its influence in Africa and reportedly has offered to take over halted USAID projects in Nepal, Colombia and the Cook Islands. The BRICS trade group founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has grown to include 10 nations including Indonesia, which joined in January Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spends his time uselessly trying to end diversity efforts in the U.S. military rather than planning to counter the Chinese military’s growing power and sophistication.
Trump is leading us not toward greatness, but toward surrender
Eugene Robinson is on X, @Eugene_Robinson.
Randy Garland Pomfrey, age 57, passed away on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Capitol House Nursing Home, in Baton Rouge, LA Randy attended both Abramson Senior High School and John McDo‐nough High School, gradu‐ating from the latter. He also attended Delgado Community College and Southern University of New Orleans Randy worked at Stage Right Productions and multiple other produc‐tion companies where he took pride in building stage sets for major events for locals to enjoy Growing up Randy was a lover of martial arts and taught younger family members his favorite moves. He was an enthusiast of reggae music and the New Orleans Saints Randy loved his daughter, Shanika and en‐joyed sharing stories about her. After surviving a major stroke in 2011, Randy was left with deficits that lim‐ited his ability to speak and move as he once had. However, that didn’t stop him from attending his New Orleans favorites such as second lines, Super Sun‐days festivals, and pa‐rades during the Mardi Gras season Randy was an amazing person, a kind soul, and loved to laugh! Those left to cherish his memory include his mother Ella Pomfrey (Arthur), his only child Shanika Hall, two sisters, Anita Watkins and Rhonda Pomfrey, 3 brothers Regi‐nald, Roderick, and Rayshawn Pomfrey (Peatrice). A God daughter, Christy Kisack and good friend, William Bell. He is also survived by a host of uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews cousins, and many other relatives and friends Randy is preceded in death by his father Arthur Pomfrey (Ella) and his sister Theresa Cooper Relatives and friends of the family and all those who knew and loved Randy, are invited to attend a Funeral Service at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church on Thurs‐day, February 27th, 2025 at 10 am, with viewing at 9 am. Interment will be pri‐vate. Arrangements by D.W Rhodes Funeral Home 3933 Washington Ave Please visit www rhodesf uneral com to sign the on‐line guestbook
Vega SSF, Sister Mary Tekakwitha
Sister Mary Tekakwitha Vega, SSF (nee Teresita Lelia Vega), the daughter of Mr Gregorio Vega and Mrs Margarita Vega, en‐tered
Vega SSF, Sister Mary Tekakwitha
Sister Mary Tekakwitha Vega SSF (nee Teresita Lelia Vega), the daughter of Mr. Gregorio Vega and Mrs. Margarita Vega en‐tered eternal life on Wednesday February 19, 2025. She was born on Au‐gust 5 1928, in Belize City Belize, Central America She was 96 years old. Sis‐ter entered the Congrega‐tion of the Sisters of the Holy Family on March 4, 1945, made her First Vows on September 8, 1947, and Perpetual Vows on August 16, 1952. Sister Tekakwitha had spent almost 80 years as a Sister of the Holy Fam‐ily. In her initial entrance to the ministry in education, Sister Tekakwitha taught at All Saints Elementary School in New Orleans from 1949 – 1951 and St Nicholas in Houston, Texas from 1952-1958. From there Sister Tekakwitha studied at Mary Mount College in Salinas, Kansas,1958-1961 earning a BA in elementary and high school education Upon the completion of her studies, Sister was as‐signed to Regina Caeli High School in Compton Califor‐nia For the next 12 years, 1962-1974, sister taught young ladies, earned a life Specialization in Sec‐ondary Teaching in Span‐ish and History, etc., from the state of California, was local leader and rose to the Vice Principal position With her election to Vicar General of the Congrega‐tion of the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1974, Sister Tekakwitha returned to New Orleans. She served as Superior General (Con‐gregational Leader) from 1978-1986. In her tenure the project for St John Berchmans Manor, a HUD project for the elderly and disabled residents was un‐dertaken At the end of her second term in office, the Delille Inn, a smaller hous‐ing unit, was on the draw‐ing board with good prospects for completion When Delille Inn was com‐pleted in 1987, Sister Tekakwitha took the helm and served as Administra‐tor for the next 25 years From 2011- 2022, Sister Tekakwitha was consultant for Delille Inn and St. John Berchmans Manor In addi‐tion Sister Tekakwitha joined the Prayer Ministry Group at the motherhouse until she moved to Lafon Nursing Facility almost two years ago where she con‐tinued her ministry until Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Sister Tekakwitha was preceded in death by her parents, three broth‐ers: Miguel, Ignacio, Rutilio and two sisters: Angelita Vega and Melva Vega. She is survived by one sister: Ms Carmelita Vega Sister is also survived by her nieces nephews, cousins beloved students, friends, and Sisters of the Holy Family. Rest in peace, Sis‐ter Tek, as we lovingly called her Mass of Christ‐ian Burial will be held on Wednesday February 26, 2025, at the Chapel of the Sisters of the Holy Family on 6901 Chef Menteur Hwy. NOLA 70126. Visita‐tion begins at 8:00 a.m. Wake services begin at 9:15 a.m and Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. Interment at St Louis Cemetery # 2. Arrange‐ments entrusted to Majes‐tic Mortuary 504-523-5872.
Sister Mary Tekakwitha Vega SSF (nee Teresita Lelia Vega), the daughter of Mr. Gregorio Vega and Mrs. Margarita Vega, en‐tered eternal life on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. She was born on Au‐gust 5 1928, in Belize City Belize, Central America She was 96 years old. Sis‐ter entered the Congrega‐tion of the Sisters of the Holy Family on March 4, 1945, made her First Vows on September 8, 1947, and Perpetual Vows on August 16, 1952. Sister Tekakwitha had spent almost 80 years as a Sister of the Holy Fam‐ily. In her initial entrance to the ministry in education, Sister Tekakwitha taught at All Saints Elementary School in New Orleans from 1949 – 1951 and St Nicholas in Houston, Texas from 1952-1958. From there Sister Tekakwitha studied at Mary Mount College in Salinas, Kansas,1958-1961, earning a BA in elementary and high school education. Upon the completion of her studies Sister was as‐signed to Regina Caeli High School in Compton Califor‐nia. For the next 12 years, 1962-1974, sister taught young ladies, earned a life Specialization in Sec‐ondary Teaching in Span‐ish and History, etc., from the state of California, was local leader and rose to the Vice Principal position. With her election to Vicar General of the Congrega‐tion of the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1974, Sister Tekakwitha returned to New Orleans She served as Superior General (Con‐gregational Leader) from 1978-1986. In her tenure, the project for St. John Berchmans Manor a HUD project for the elderly and disabled residents was un‐dertaken. At the end of her second term in office the Delille Inn, a smaller hous‐ing unit, was on the draw‐ing board with good prospects for completion
When Delille Inn was com‐pleted in 1987, Sister Tekakwitha took the helm and served as Administra‐tor for the next 25 years. From 2011- 2022, Sister Tekakwitha was consultant for Delille Inn and St John Berchmans Manor In addi‐tion, Sister Tekakwitha joined the Prayer Ministry Group at the motherhouse until she moved to Lafon Nursing Facility almost two years ago where she con‐tinued her ministry until Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Sister Tekakwitha was preceded in death by her parents, three broth‐ers: Miguel, Ignacio, Rutilio and two sisters: Angelita Vega and Melva Vega She is survived by one sister: Ms. Carmelita Vega. Sister is also survived by her nieces, nephews cousins beloved students, friends, and Sisters of the Holy Family Rest in peace, Sis‐ter Tek as we lovingly called her. Mass of Christ‐ian Burial will be held on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at the Chapel of the Sisters of the Holy Family on 6901 Chef Menteur Hwy NOLA 70126. Visita‐tion begins at 8:00 a.m Wake services begin at 9:15 a.m. and Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m Interment at St. Louis Cemetery # 2 Arrange‐ments entrusted to Majes‐tic Mortuary 504-523-5872.
half of Tuesday night’s game in the Smoothie King Center Williamson
BY ROD WALKER Staff writer
Willie Green wanted his New Orleans Pelicans to answer one question Tuesday as they played their second game in three nights against the San Antonio Spurs.
“Can you come back the next game against the same opponent and do it again?” Green said before Tuesday’s game.
“Can we come out with the
When Kenny Brooks arrived at Kentucky last year, he called its women’s basketball program a “sleeping giant.”
It’s a popular aspiration Shoot for the moon, land among the stars, get a new and more lucrative contract That type of thing. And maybe it will happen one day for UK women’s basketball under Brooks, an excellent coach with 500plus career wins to his credit. On Sunday, Kim Mulkey ran her record to 5-0 against Brooks in two games at Baylor and now three at LSU. That includes a win over his best Virginia Tech team in the 2023 Women’s Final Four semifinals.
While Brooks, and many other coaches, strive to prod their potential giants to life, Mulkey already has done it.
Twice. In a sports world where criticism is king and detraction is
right mindset to start the game, because they are going to make some adjustments.”
The Pelicans answered with a “yes”, rallying yet again before holding on to beat the Spurs 109-103 at the Smoothie King Center
Trey Murphy and Zion Williamson led the way Murphy finished with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Williamson finished with 18 points to go along with six re-
dogma, excellence often goes underappreciated Which is why taking a moment to recognize Mulkey’s brilliance on the stiletto heels of yet another milestone victory — Sunday’s 65-58 win at Kentucky was her 750th feels appropriate. There have been questions for centuries
bounds and three assists.
The victory came on the heels of Sunday night’s 114-96 victory over these same Spurs.
The win 48 hours earlier was the Pelicans’ most lopsided victory of the season in a year where wins have been hard to come by In that game, the Pelicans outrebounded the Spurs 69-46 and outscored them 58-34 in the paint to erase a 17-point first-half deficit.
This time, the Pelicans found themselves in a 19-point firsthalf hole before climbing out.
The Pelicans made just 3 of 16 shots and trailed 24-8 with 3:17 left in the first quarter They also missed their first nine 3-point attempts before Karlo Matkovic and Antonio Reeves buried back-to-back treys in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 39-28 with 6:38 left in
ä See SPURRED, page 5C
BY LUKE JOHNSON and MATTHEW PARAS Staff writers
INDIANAPOLIS As the NFL season stretched toward its conclusion with Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton grabbed his phone and sent a text to his old boss, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
“I t ex t Mickey and I say, ‘Hey, when are you guys hiring your head coach?’ ” Payton recalled Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine. “And he texts me back and said, ‘When are you hiring your special teams coordinator?’ ” Those two things were connected, of course. Former Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi was one of four finalists for the Saints full-time head coaching job, but Payton also had been holding open a job on his staff for special teams coordinator Not long after the Saints hired Kellen Moore to be their next head coach Payton hired Rizzi to coordinate his special teams, making him the latest coach who worked with Payton in New Orleans to join him in Denver Payton hired Rizzi in 2019 to coordinate his Saints special teams units, and the two worked together for three seasons before Payton stepped away after the 2021 campaign. Their relationship started, in part, because of a recommendation from Payton’s friend, the late Tony Sparano.
“You had to know Tony, but for him to rave about somebody, that might be once every three years,” Payton said. “I know how Tony felt about him He’s a tremendous teacher, he’s thorough.
“With respect to the process, he was a very serious candidate (in New Orleans) and I think he will be a head coach in our league as well.”
Allen enlightened
The new coaching staff for the Chicago Bears has a lot of ties to the New Orleans Saints, none bigger than how they now employ the former head coach of the Saints. Bears coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday he and former Saints coach Dennis Allen “share the same mindset” as they look to upgrade at pass rusher in Chicago. Allen, who the Saints fired in November, landed in Chicago as its defensive coordinator last month after the Bears hired Johnson from the Detroit Lions. Johnson was asked about possibly trading for Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett when he brought up Allen’s influence on his decision-making.
“Listen, talking with DA has been very enlightening because we share the same mindset when it comes to defense overall, which is we want to affect the passer,” Johnson said. “And there’s a lot of different ways you can do that.”
Allen had a less-than-successful tenure with the Saints as he went just 18-25 in two-plus seasons at the helm. But he has had a strong track record as a defensive coordinator Allen isn’t the only person on Johnson’s staff with connections to the Saints. Johnson hired Declan Doyle a protege of Payton — to be his offensive coordinator, as well as Dan Roushar (offensive line) and Matt Giordano (assistant defensive backs). All three had stops in New Orleans, albeit not all at the same time.
Philadelphia to adjust lineup as team begins quest for repeat title
BY ROB MAADDI AP pro football writer
INDIANAPOLIS Howie Roseman’s forehead has healed from the beer can that left him bloodied at the Philadelphia Eagles’ victory parade, and the general manager is working on getting the team in position to repeat.
Less than two weeks after the Eagles and their fans celebrated the franchise’s second Super Bowl title, Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni joined their peers at the NFL’s scouting combine as teams get set to evaluate college prospects ahead of the draft in April
Sirianni spent a lot of time defending the tush push play after the Green Bay Packers proposed banning it.
Roseman discussed the team’s offseason priorities and asked the fickle Philly faithful for patience.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy
Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Roseman
“It may look different — some of the moves that we may have to make here may not be what are necessarily on other people’s minds,” Roseman said Tuesday “It’s probably not going to look like maybe the conventional wisdom thinks it should look. I would just ask our fans to just have patience throughout the offseason. The offseason doesn’t stop in free agency The offseason doesn’t stop in the draft.”
Roseman hit a grand slam last offseason, signing All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley and All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun in free agency and selecting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds
Continued from page 1C
Johnson also branched out to hire a number of other coaches from different backgrounds, whether that’s hiring former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to coach running backs or hiring former Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris to do the same thing in Chicago. He also brought some other assistants with him from Detroit to Chicago, such as wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El.
“What’s so beautiful about the coaching staff we put together is I didn’t hire a bunch of my friends,” Johnson said. “I went outside of my circle, on purpose because I wanted to collect a different mix of experience, energy, ideas. And we’re all going to make it come together for the Chicago Bears moving forward.”
Retirements coming?
For years, Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk served as anchors on the New Orleans Saints offensive line Now it’s possible they both retire in the same offseason Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday the team is operating as if Armstead won’t be back with Miami next season, but he added the former Saints tackle has yet to make a formal decision about retirement.
And hours after McDaniel spoke to reporters, the NFL Network reported that Armstead who has been with Miami since leaving the Saints in 2022 — reduced his $28.6 million base salary to the league minimum of nearly $1.3 million, a move that typically proceeds a player’s retirement to lessen the burden of his salary-cap hit
“I think we have to operate as though he won’t play just because
of the draft. Every team aims for that kind of success It’s not easy.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who fell short of a three-peat by losing to the Eagles in the Super Bowl, are planning on having star tight end Travis Kelce back for a 13th season.
Coach Andy Reid said All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney will return to that spot after finishing the season at left tackle.
The team will look to build through the draft to supplement its roster after reaching the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years
“It looks like the defense is fully loaded here,” Reid said of this year’s draft class.
“It looks like a defensive strong
draft. Not that there’s not going to be some great offensive guys, but it really looks like it’s strong on the defensive side.”
Myles Garrett’s future with the Cleveland Browns was a hot topic after the 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year requested a trade earlier in the month.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry insisted the team has no interest in trading Garrett. Cleveland holds the No. 2 pick in the draft after Tennessee. Berry said the Browns would use 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter mainly as a wide receiver if he is their pick. Hunter also was the nation’s top cornerback at Colorado.
“We would see him as a receiver primarily first, but I think part of, again, what makes him a bit of a unicorn is the fact that he can do both at a high level,” Berry said.
The Titans need a quarterback, so they could choose either Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at No. 1. They could also trade down and add more draft assets or take a potentially generational player on defense
“They’re both worthy of the conversations that they’re in right now They’re both good players,”
Titans coach Brian Callahan said of Ward and Sanders. “I think they’ve earned the right to be in the conversations they’re in. As far as where I see them and how I stack them, that’s for me. But I do think they’re worthy of those conversations.
“There’s some other good players in this class, too And I do think that one of the things that’s most important is that you never make an assumption when you’re in this process, and you treat every prospect, whether you think they’re the first pick or the 200-and-something pick, that you go through that evaluation phase with the same intensity regardless of where you think they fall.”
The New York Giants have the third pick. They tried moving up last year but couldn’t make a deal. They need a quarterback, so they’ll consider trading up again.
“This is a great opportunity for us obviously in Indy, the first time to get around some of the prospects and have conversations with them, first time meeting them,” Giants GM Joe Schoen said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do on the No. 3 pick. We’ve done a lot of work throughout the fall with the college prospects. We have an idea of three to five players, six players, seven players, whatever it may be, move-back scenarios, you can do that. We’ll also look at moving up if that’s a possibility It’s an exciting time of year for us.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk goes against New England Patriots defensive end Keion White on Oct. 8, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. Ramczyk has not said whether he will retire, but signs are pointing that way
The Saints are in the process of hiring University of California defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon to be their linebackers coach, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Sirmon would replace Michael Hodges, who left the team this offseason to take the same role with the Cincinnati Bengals. Sirmon, 48, had been the defensive coordinator at Cal since 2020. He becomes the
you have to prepare for things that you can’t control,” McDaniel said.
The pay reduction is also what the Saints did with Ramcyzk, who cut his pay in January to the league minimum in 2025 and 2026 after missing all of last season be-
latest Saints assistant to leave a college program to work under first-year coach Kellen Moore.The Saints hired Terry Joseph to be their defensive backs coach after he held the same position at the University of Texas. Moore has spent the week filling out his defensive staff after he hired former Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley as his defensive coordinator last week. MattParasandLukeJohnson
cause of a chronic knee injury Ramczyk has not said whether he plans to retire, but he has appeared noticeably slimmed down from his playing days and was seen loading boxes into his car at the Saints’ practice facility after the season.
Bengals plan to make Chase top-paid receiver
INDIANAPOLIS — The Cincinnati Bengals plan to make All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
“He is going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine. Chase led the league in receptions (127), yards receiving (1,708) and touchdown catches (17) this season, becoming just the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to achieve the receiving triple crown. The Bengals picked up his fifth-year option of $21.816 million, but will give him a long-term deal in the range of $40 million per year The Bengals have finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.
Browns GM is adamant about not trading Garrett
INDIANAPOLIS Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry insisted the team is not interested in trading star defensive end Myles Garrett despite his request to be dealt.
Garrett went public with his trade request just over three weeks ago, saying he wanted “to compete for and win a Super Bowl.” The Browns finished last in the AFC North at 3-14 this past season. Garrett, the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, was a finalist for the award again. His 14 sacks ranked second in the league, and he became the first player in NFL history to have 14 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons. He holds the franchise record with 1021/2 sacks.
Commanders give Allen permission to seek trade
The Washington Commanders have given two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen permission to seek a trade. General manager Adam Peters confirmed the decision at his news conference Tuesday in Indianapolis at the NFL scouting combine. Peters said he wanted to give Allen and agent Blake Baratz a chance to figure out the best path forward.
“We just talked about and said they wanted to be able to explore opportunities,” Peters told reporters. Allen is going into the final season of a four-year, $72 million extension signed in 2021. There is no guaranteed money owed to the 30-year-old veteran, making him a candidate to be released this spring if an extension is not in place to reduce Allen’s 2025 salary
Davis gets extension, hires Tanner as Tar Heels’ GM North Carolina coach Hubert Davis has two more years on his deal and a new general manager to help the blueblood men’s basketball program deal with the changing landscape of college athletics. Davis has signed a two-year extension running through the 2029-30 season to lead his alma mater And on Tuesday, the school announced Davis had hired basketball agent Jim Tanner as the program’s first executive director and GM UNC also posted an updated contract for Davis on its official athletics website, with that deal reached in July and signed in December
It pays Davis an average of $3.2 million in base salary and supplemental pay, up from about $2 million on the previous deal.
Armstead, a third-round pick in 2013, spent nine seasons with the Saints, six of which overlapped with Ramczyk a 2017 firstrounder
He left to join the Dolphins on a five-year, $75 million contract in 2022, a year after Ramczyk signed his five-year $96 million extension.
They were both among the league’s top linemen until injuries hampered their careers. Though Armstead played in 15 games last season, he missed 11 games across his first two years in Miami and played in only eight during his final year in New Orleans. Ramczyk’s knee injury forced him to miss the the last five games of the 2023 season, and he was unable to return after undergoing surgery the following offseason.
If Ramczyk waits until June to retire, the Saints can spread his $23 million dead cap hit over the next two seasons rather than take it all at once.
Finnegan agrees to deal to return to Nationals
Closer Kyle Finnegan agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract to return to the Washington Nationals, pending the successful completion of a physical exam, two people with knowledge of the deal confirmed on Tuesday
Finnegan, a first-time NL AllStar in 2024, became a free agent in November when the Nationals failed to offer him a contract. He had a $5.1 million salary last year and was projected to earn about $8.5 million had he remained eligible for arbitration. The
and
country season as a junior Reichard, also the state champion in the indoor and outdoor 3,200-meter events and the outdoor 1,600 when she was a sophomore, usually took a three-week break after cross country ended.
BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
Mount Carmel senior Catalina Reichard had big plans after she became a four-time individual state winner in cross country and track and field in 2023. She envisioned racing against national-level runners while also winning more LHSAA championships. But the left knee pain Reichard felt during a training session before the 2024 season only worsened. Suddenly she could no longer run.
“I thought I was done with the sport,” Reichard said. Fast forward a year, and Reichard is again among the fastest distance runners in the state.
Reichard returned to competition during the indoor track and field season and won her second indoor state title in the 3,200-meter run in 11 minutes, 11.33 seconds on Saturday in Baton Rouge.
“To see her go out and just race again was a joy to watch,” Mount Carmel coach Rob Farrell said “Just to see her kind of be back to her old self, that was kind of cool to see.” That moment was a year in the making.
The sharp knee pain — “almost like a tack,” Reichard said — started when she began training after her state championship cross
But she began training sooner than that “because I was really locked in on the next season,” she said “I think that maybe training too hard in the offseason is what did it.”
Reichard, who doctors initially said had patellar tendinitis from overuse, missed the entire outdoor track and field season. She began training again in the summer to get ready for cross country, but the knee pain returned on the day before the first meet, ultimately causing her to sit out that season too.
By November, Reichard thought her high school running career might be finished.
“It was toward the end of that month, and I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to go on a run and see what happens,’ ” Reichard said.
“And I had no pain on that run. And I was like, ‘Huh, that’s different.’
“And so, from then on, I was a lot slower with my progression Maybe two miles one day and then take a day off. Then 2.1 and take a day off.”
She ran a competitive race for the first time after the injury Feb 8 at the Last Chance Qualifier in Baton Rouge. She finished third, but 17 seconds ahead of her targeted time. At the state meet, she did not expect to win. She began the race in the middle of a
BY GUERRY SMITH Contributing writer
After saying he would consider a lineup change at the end of a frustrating second half at Wichita State, Tulane men’s basketball coach Ron Hunter softened his stance on Tuesday
Top substitute Mari Jordan may or may not be in the starting five when the Green Wave (15-12, 9-5 American Athletic Conference) faces Charlotte (10-17, 3-11) at home on Wednesday (6:30 p.m., ESPN+), but either way there will be no drastic change.
ä Charlotte at Tulane. 6:30 P.M.WEDNESDAy ESPN+
pack of runners and moved to the front after two laps.
“I didn’t want to be in front,” Reichard said. “I’m not the type of person that likes to be leading. I like to sit back. But I knew I had to pass her up and get a faster time. Once I did that, I was like, I got to stay here.”
The distance between Reichard and the other runners widened as she neared the last of her 16 laps around the 200-meter track.
Reichard felt no pain during the race. A running imbalance that puts more pressure on one leg than the other had been resolved.
“When I look back at pictures from my sophomore year, you can see in the pictures I’m leaning one way,” Reichard said. “I can’t believe I never knew that.”
She changed her running posture, and “now that there’s been a shift, there’s a lot less pressure on my legs,” she said.
During the race, Reichard could hear teammates screaming their support from the far side of the track.
“I have this connection
to all these girls,” Reichard said. “And it’s really because of them that I got back here.”
When Reichard crossed the finish, she raised her arms and then lay flat on her back in exhaustion.
“I was so happy,” Reichard said.
The win capped a year when Reichard “went through a lot of phases with the knee,” she said, “and a lot of doctors didn’t know what was going on.”
Reichard’s goals remain what they were before the knee pain began. Her plan is to run the 1,600 and 3,200 during the outdoor season. She would like to win the state championship in those events, just as she did two years ago as a sophomore.
Once again, Reichard can have big plans when it comes to running.
“Just to be free from that,” Reichard said about her struggles from the past year, “it opens your mind a lot.”
Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate. com
“I am going to give myself another day to think about it,” Hunter said before practice. “I never try to overreact after a game, so I look at the big picture. We’ll see. If I did it, it would be something to either ignite us early or ignite a player so I haven’t really decided. The minutes won’t change regardless of what I do.”
Hunter is looking for a spark at the start. Tulane failed to score in the first 4:45 against the Shockers, forcing him to burn a timeout to settle down everyone. The same issue cropped up to begin the second half, when the Wave went scoreless for nearly the first four minutes.
It was not the first early funk, either Tulane went almost three minutes without scoring at North Texas on Feb. 8 and scored 10 points in the first 12 minutes at TexasSan Antonio on Feb. 5.
The solution, Hunter said, could be as simple as a little home cooking for his seniorless roster
“Really on the road we’re just a different team than we are at home,” he said. “That’s what happens when you are a young team. It happens to young NBA and college players. When you get home you feel comfortable and play a lot better.”
Charlotte knows the feeling. The struggling 49ers are 0-6 on the road in AAC play and have won on an opponent’s home court only once all season—at Georgia State on Dec. 14. Although they beat Temple last Wednesday and will be well rested after not playing over the weekend, their woes away from home cannot help their confidence.
Neither will the fact Tulane jumped out to an 18-2 lead in the conference opener on the way to a comfortable 83-68 victory in Charlotte.
“It seems like it’s been six months since we played them,” Hunter said. “By now both teams are probably a little different, but we’ve got to get back to being one of the top 20 teams defensively in the country We didn’t do that at Wichita State. No blocked shots, guys were driving all over the place, so that’s been our whole focus the last day or so.” Point guard Rowan Brumbaugh pointed to Tulane’s season-low five assists for why two-point halftime lead dissolved into a double-digit defeat.
“We played selfish,” he said. “They made us play one-on-one basketball. They played deep drop coverage and they took away shooters. The crowd and environment sped us up.”
No player is more reflective of the home/road disparity than freshman Kam Williams. He scored 13 points and blocked two shots while tying his season high with 10 rebounds against Charlotte last Wednesday before taking only three shots in 27 minutes at Wichita State, tying his AAC lows for points and rebounds with two each. After hitting three 3-pointers in the first 5:12 against Charlotte on New Year’s Eve, he has faced much tighter defense as opponents dare him to beat them off the dribble.
“He’s still a teenager,” Hunter said. “He just played against eight (Wichita State) seniors that were 24 or 25 years old. The next part of his development is being able to find different ways to score.”
With four games left, Tulane still is in fourth place in the AAC and in good position to get an all-important double bye to the quarterfinals of the league tournament. The Wave is a game in front of fifth-place Florida Atlantic and two games ahead of Wichita State and East Carolina but cannot afford a slipup against last-place Charlotte if it wants to make a run in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We can’t worry about next year or what anybody’s saying in our ear,” Brumbaugh said.
“We just have to take it game by game and understand we have a chance to make the (NCAA) tournament (by winning the AAC tourney) if we really lock in.”
Tulane forward Greg Glenn tries to maintain possession of the ball against Memphis on Jan. 30 at Devlin Fieldhouse.
AP PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS
BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer
NEW YORK The Los Angeles Dodgers owe $1.051 billion in deferred pay to eight players from 2028-46 following Tanner Scott’s $72 million, four-year contract and Teoscar Hernández’s $66 million, three-year deal.
Los Angeles’ high payment point is $100.95 million in both 2038 and ’39, according to details obtained by The Associated Press.
Major League Baseball proposed during collective bargaining on June 21, 2021, to put an end to the practice, but the players’ association rejected the change.
“The Dodgers have gone out and done everything possible, always within the rules that currently exist, to put the best possible team on the field and that’s a great thing for the game. That type of competitive spirit is what people want to see,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week.
“By the same token,” he added, “it’s clear that we have fans in some markets that are concerned about the ability of the team in their market to compete with the financial resources of the Dodgers. And I think if we’ve been consistent on one point it is we try to listen to our fans on topics like this
and I have heard people on this, believe me, I get a lot of emails about it.”
Scott’s contract includes $21 million in deferred money and Hernández’s $23.5 million.
Hernández is owed a total of $32 million in deferred pay from the team. He already was due $8.5 million as part of his $23.5 million, one-year deal for 2024, to be paid in 10 equal installments each July 1 from 2030-39.
Ohtani, Betts, Snell and Freeman among others owed deferred.
Los Angeles also owes deferred payments to two-way star Shohei Ohtani ($680 million from 203443), outfielder/infielder Mookie Betts ($115 million in salaries from 2033-44 and the final $5 million of his signing bonus payable from 2033-35), left-hander Blake Snell ($66 million from 2035-46), first baseman Freddie Freeman ($57 million from 2028-40), catcher Will Smith ($50 million from 2034-43) and utilityman Tommy Edman ($25 million from 2037-44).
“It’s just how you account for it,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said when Snell was introduced. “We’re not going to wake up in 2035 and (say): ‘Oh my God, that’s right. We have this money due.’ We’ll plan for it along the way.”
Dodgers deferred obligations reach peak in 2038 and 2039.
The Dodgers’ deferred obligations total $4 million each in 2028 and ’29, $7.2 million annually from 2030-32, $17.2 million in 2033, $90.2 million in 2034, $98.95 million a year from 2035-37, $100.95 million in 2038 and ’39, $98.75 million in 2040, $93.75 million annually from 2041-43, $20.75 million in 2044 and $7.25 million a year in 2045 and ’46.
Los Angeles must fund the deferred money in an amount equal to its present-day value by the second July 1 following the season in which it is earned, according to MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.
Hernández received a $23 million signing bonus payable on Feb. 1 as part of the deal announced by the World Series champions on Jan. 3. His agreement includes salaries of $10 million this year, $12 million in 2026 and $14.5 million in 2027.
The Dodgers will defer $7.5 million from this year and $8 million in each in 2026 and ’27, and that $23.5 million will be paid in 10 equal installments each Dec. 1 from 2030-39. Scott’s deferred money is due in a dozen $1.75 million payments each Dec. 1 from 2035-46.
BY JAY COHEN AP baseball writer
PEORIA, Ariz. — Shortly after his playing career ended, Jerry Dipoto took in a game at Wrigley Field with former big league manager Jim Fregosi. After a particularly nasty strikeout by Eric Gagne, Dipoto laughed. Fregosi promptly slapped Dipoto on the back of his head.
“He said, ‘I’m just going to remind you today. Don’t ever forget how hard that it is to play,’ ” Dipoto recalled. “And that’s what I think is the thing I remember most, and I think the benefit of the guys who have gone through it, is that they recognize that it is a really hard game.” That lesson stayed with Dipoto as he made his way to his current job with the Seattle Mariners — and membership in an exclusive club.
Dipoto is one of five former major leaguers serving as the top baseball executive for a big league franchise at the moment Dipoto, 56, has been the president of baseball operations for Seattle since Sept. 1, 2021. Like Dipoto, Chris Young, 45, was promoted from general manager to president of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers on Sept 13. Craig Breslow was hired as the chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox on Oct. 25, 2023, and Chris Getz was promoted to GM of the Chicago White Sox on Aug 31, 2023. Buster Posey, 37, joined the list when the former All-Star catcher was hired as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants in September
“There are a ton of incredibly successful executives who didn’t play baseball,” said Breslow 44. “I don’t think it’s a prerequisite, but I
do think it provides a level of credibility and empathy given I’ve kind of been on every side of a transaction, or every side of a conversation I’ve had to have with a player or coach. And credibility in terms of really being able to understand what players are thinking about, what they’re going through.”
Under Breslow’s leadership, Boston used a complicated contract structure to add Alex Bregman in free agency Bregman also was being pursued by the Cubs and Tigers before he agreed to a $120 million, three-year deal with the Red Sox.
San Francisco had been struggling to land a major free agent before shortstop Willy Adames agreed to a $182 million, sevenyear contract with the Giants in December
Adames said Posey played a major role in his decision.
“My meeting with the team, it was me and him, basically No agent Nobody,” Adames said. “So we had a really, really good conversation, and I bought into his plan for this organization, for what he wants to build here in the near future.”
Breslow has a degree from Yale and Young graduated from Princeton, so the five players in charge of major league teams doesn’t exactly represent some sort of counterrevolution when it comes to Ivy League grads in baseball.
But today’s major leaguers are increasingly savvy when it comes to the business side of the game, and they have firsthand experience with the data used by front offices as part of their decisionmaking process.
“Where we were a decade ago to where we are now, there’s just so much opportunity to make better decisions nowadays based on the information that we have,” said
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sportswriter
DALLAS Conference commissioners who are part of the College Football Playoff had discussions Tuesday about possible changes for next season, including how the 12-team field is seeded.
Several members of the CFP Management Committee, which is made up of all 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, said they need more data and information before deciding on any adjustments.
“We had a really good discussion,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Good heartfelt conversations. Everyone gave their point of view and we’ll vet it out and see what happens.”
The committee is expected to meet again in March, a possible virtual session when it could review seeding models and other information. Another meeting is scheduled in North Texas in April.
Any changes to the playoff system or the upcoming 2025 season, the final year of the current CFP contract, would have to be approved by a unanimous vote.
Rich Clark, executive director of the CFP said much of Tuesday’s meeting, which lasted about seven hours in a hotel at DallasFort Worth International Airport, included a review of last season’s playoff, the first after the field tripled in size from four to 12 teams. Clark said there was talk about next season’s format, including seeding. But he said there was no talk about the format beyond that, when the CFP’s new contract with ESPN goes into effect through 2031.
“You’ve got to look at it in totality,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “Yes, it’s one contract coming to an end and a new set of a new six-year cycle. But those things have some linkage to them as well.”
The SEC and Big Ten will have the bulk of the control over what happens with the playoff in that new contract.
Tuesday was the first time the entire CFP committee was together in person to discuss any potential changes, but the meeting came a week after SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti met together with their 34 athletic directors and came out in favor of seeding changes.
Sankey and Petitti were among several commissioners who left Tuesday’s meeting without speaking to reporters while on the way to catch flights.
“We need more information, but it was good conversation,” American Athletic Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti said. “I thought it was really productive in there a lot of good listening that went on from everybody.” Pernetti said the group looked at how last season played out, and then how things would have been with straight seeding.
Under the playoff format that began last season, the four highest-ranked conference champions were guaranteed the top four seeds that come with first-round byes That means the seeding will not always be the same as the final rankings done by the CFP selection committee.
That was probably the most controversial and confusing aspect of the expanded playoff, and the scenario happened in the first season.
After Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC winner Georgia filled the top two spots, coinciding with them being 1-2 in the CFP’s final rankings, ninth-ranked Mountain West champion Boise State got the No 3 seed, and 12th-ranked Big 12 champion Arizona State got the fourth seed.
The 12-team field included four from the Big Ten, three from the SEC and two from the ACC. While straight seeding last season would have changed the matchups and byes — including Boise State and Arizona State having to play first-round games — it wouldn’t have altered the actual makeup of the field when still including five automatic qualifiers for conference champions and seven at-large berths.
BY JOHN MARSHALL and DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writers
Getz, 41. “But being well-versed in it now you know having a former playing background is only going to position you, your résumé is just stronger.”
While that big league career is an asset in a variety of ways, it also creates a unique set of blind spots. Building out a front office that complements one another is key, Dipoto said.
“I learned to adapt along the way to things I didn’t know and to trust people who are smarter than I am to fill in those gaps,” he said, “and to recognize when I’m allowing my want to be a good teammate and my want to love the good teammate, sometimes, you have be able to discern when that doesn’t equal best player fit for this situation.”
There are several more people in position to join the club one day Brandon Gomes helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series last year, serving as the team’s GM under Andrew Friedman. Ryan Garko was promoted to assistant GM with the Detroit Tigers in May Cole Figueroa is an assistant GM for the Rangers.
Kevin Reese and Tim Naehring work for longtime New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, and Josh Barfield is part of Getz’s front office with the White Sox.
When it comes to his discussions with players interested in working in baseball operations, Breslow said the conversations provide an indication of the potential for success. “It becomes pretty clear, generally who has the curiosity who asks a lot of questions,” he said.
“Who wants to learn why we make decisions not just what decisions are being made. Those are the people (that could make the transition).”
PHOENIX Diana Taurasi is retiring after 20 seasons, ending one of the greatest careers in women’s basketball history
Taurasi
The WNBA’s career scoring leader and a three-time league champion, Taurasi announced her retirement on Tuesday in an interview with Time magazine. The Phoenix Mercury the only WNBA team she played for — also confirmed her decision.
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi told Time.
“That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.” With her taut hair bun and supreme confidence, Taurasi inspired a generation of players while racking up records and championships. Taurasi led UConn to three straight national titles from 2001-04 and kept on winning after the Mercury selected her with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 WNBA draft.
“It’s hard to put into words, it really is, what this means. When someone’s defined the game, when someone’s had such an impact on so many people and so many places,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
“It’s a life that is a novel, it’s a movie, it’s a miniseries, it’s a saga. It’s the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.”
The 42-year-old won her sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games and finishes her WNBA career with 10,646 points, nearly 3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles.
“I thank Diana for everything that she has brought to the WNBA her passion, her charisma and, most of all, her relentless dedication to the game,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “She leaves a lasting legacy and the future of the WNBA is in a great position because of her impact.”
In addition to her three WNBA championships with the Mercury, Taurasi won six Euroleague championships while playing yearround most of her career She was the 2009 WNBA MVP and is one of four players to earn WNBA Finals MVP honors more than once (2009, 2014).
“She’s had an incredible impact on our franchise, our community and the game of basketball Her name is synonymous with the Phoenix Mercury and she will forever be part of our family,” Mercury owner Mat Ishbia said in a statement.
Taurasi made the all-WNBA first team 10 times and was on the first or second team a record 14 times.
She’s also an 11-time WNBA AllStar four-time USA Basketball female athlete of the year and was the 2004 WNBA rookie of the year
“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport,” Auriemma said.
“For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball, Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period.”
The Glendale, California, native holds numerous WNBA records, including playoff scoring, field goals, 3-pointers and 30-point games. She also holds 16 Mercury records. Now that she’s retired, Taurasi will be able to spend more time with her wife, Penny Taylor — a former Mercury teammate — and their two children.
For her career, Taurasi averaged 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds.
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Mulkey has been to five Final Fours, 22 NCAA tournaments (plus one WNIT) She’s had 12 30-win seasons and won 12 Big 12 regularseason and 11 Big 12 Tournament titles at Baylor
Last season she quietly passed former LSU coach and fellow Naismith Hall of Famer Sue Gunter (708 career wins). Going into Thursday’s game at Alabama (8 p.m., SEC Network), she’s the 14thwinningest coach in NCAA women’s Division I history (a victory will tie her with retired North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell for 13th) and fifth among active coaches. Every coach ahead of Mulkey on the all-time list coached 31 or more seasons.
The only D-I coach with a better winning percentage than Mulkey’s .862 is Geno Auriemma (.882).
It’s easy to get lost in the glare of her purposely outlandish on-court outfits, the withering glares, the flinty moments with the media when Mulkey wants to not answer questions but instead control the narrative. But you can’t ignore the winning. Find someone who has been a bigger winner? I’ll wait. Sleeping giants? How about forgotten giants?
LSU went to five straight Women’s Final Fours from 2004-08, but the program’s championship banners had grown dusty by the time Mulkey arrived. As she noted at her introductory news conference, the Tigers never had been to an NCAA final, much less won it all.
“That’s what I came here to do,” Mulkey said that day She did. And she’s not done. At 62, it’s fair to ask how long she will coach. Mulkey
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the half. That ignited things as the Pelicans outscored the Spurs 21-12 the rest of the quarter and trailed just 51-49 at the break.
Pelicans newcomer Bruce Brown, who had struggled in his first few games since being acquired in the Brandon Ingram trade, provided some big minutes down the stretch of the quarter with four points, five rebounds and three assists. He finished with eight points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Pels took their first lead (85-83) on a Jordan Hawkins layup with 10:21 left. The Pelicans (15-43) improved to 2-1 with their starting lineup of CJ McCollum, Murphy, Williamson, Kelly Olynyk and Yves Missi. They have won three of their last four games, with a four-game road trip (Phoenix Suns twice, Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers) up next.
shows her frustration at times, like last year when she was on the receiving end of ridiculous criticism from Gov Jeff Landry about her team not being on the court for the pregame national anthem. Mulkey’s team, by the way, is still in the locker room for the anthem having a team prayer Another unofficial win in her column
Her fire seems unabated The same for her success. This year’s team is 27-2, having already tied the school record for single-season victories in the Southeastern Conference era (since 1982) and is projected to be a No. 2 NCAA tourney seed The Tigers have a far less than ideal point guard situation, but in a wide-open year for the NCAA title — LSU,
Texas, South Carolina, USC, UCLA, UConn and Notre Dame all have legitimate net-cutting hopes — the Tigers have a shot.
If not this year? Well, Mulkey and her staff have the No. 1-ranked recruiting class inbound this fall.
I’ve covered absolute coaching greatness at LSU twice before with Skip Bertman and Nick Saban.
Mulkey makes three, someone who would deserve a place on a “Swamp Rushmore” of greatest sports figures in Louisiana history if there were ever such a thing.
Appreciate her while she’s here. Her kind, her quality, is exceedingly rare.
For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate. com/lsunewsletter
New
Antonio
Tuesday night in the
De’Aaron
Olynyk recorded 12 rebounds, marking the first time in his career he’s re-
King Center
corded 12 boards in backto-back games.
BY DAN GELSTON AP sportswriter
PHILADELPHIA Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers played without two-time NBA scoring champion and the alwaysinjured Joel Embiid. Yes, they haven’t been a playoff contender this season, even with two other All-Stars in the starting lineup.
Yet, there it was, on the scoreboard, on all the social media derision, on the top of the implausibility-meter when the 76ers broke camp for the Bahamas.
That was no misprint on the ticker in the fourth quarter: Bulls 136, 76ers 86.
Down 50!
Did the Sixers quit? Do the Sixers realize with or without whatever Embiid and his balky left knee can give them their season is over?
“I don’t want to believe that,” nine-time All-Star Paul George said. “I don’t sense that in the locker room and I don’t believe that.”
George has little choice publicly but to stand by the Sixers, even as they lost their eighth straight game and 10th of 11 overall — 142-110 on Monday night to the 23-win Chicago Bulls — and see even the odds of a play-in tournament berth dip to the point where fans are already looking at next season.
Not that it promises anything better than the mess that’s unraveled in South Philly this year
“I’m not quite sure what fell apart to give up 140 points, at home, against the Chicago Bulls,” George said.
The real bad news — you know, before six Bulls scored at least 15 points — came hours ahead of this debacle when the Sixers offered no real update on Embiid. Embiid missed his 38th game of the season for
the sagging Sixers, and all options — from rest to potential surgery to playing through pain — remain on the table, depending on the results of continued testing and imaging. Embiid has played in just 19 of 57 games for the Sixers, who fell to 20-37 an have only a faint shot at earning a berth in the NBA play-in tournament. Embiid has averaged 23.8 points he averaged at least 30 and won two scoring titles the last three seasons — and scored only 29 points combined in his past two games.
“I don’t think anybody envisioned it going like this,” coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s disappointing on a lot of levels. He wants to play We want him to play Our best version is of with him playing. It hasn’t worked out like that. Yet.”
The 76ers are a franchise in turmoil and suffering through an internal tug-ofwar when it comes to Embiid. Can he play through the pain and should he, even with the woeful record? Why not just shut him down and try again next year?
Even George — who left the Los Angeles Clippers to sign a four-year $212 million free-agent contract — conceded the juice might not be worth the squeeze when it comes to a potential Embiid return. The 76ers are one of the worst teams in the league and are trending closer to Toronto, Charlotte, Washington and a lottery pick than making a serious run in the postseason.
Maybe sitting Embiid is for the best just as it was seemingly early in the process. The 76ers’ first-round pick is top-six protected or else it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder perhaps one more reason the Sixers could shut down Embiid and cut their losses on the
season.
“We’re showing no signs of a team that will compete,” George said. “We just don’t have the habits of a championship or a playoff-contending team would have. To be honest, right now, it’s a little farfetched. All we can do is work hard. Try to just keep going for one another We’ve shown no signs of, forget championship, but a playoff contending-team here.” Does Nurse survive and earn a third season on the bench?
What about team president Daryl Morey, who built this mishmashed roster full of patchwork free agents and needlessly gave Embiid a three-year, $193 million contract extension ahead of training camp. Just as former Eagles running back Ricky Watters once said: For who? For what?
“We’ve got to be more dialed in. More effort. More energy,” George said. “More pride on the defensive end.” Join the club. So where is the next win on the schedule? Wednesday night against a Knicks team winning at a 65% clip at Madison Square Garden? Against Steph Curry and the Warriors?
“It’s hard to see a vision, but we have a lot of games left,” 2024 All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey said. Not really Certainly not enough to make anyone who watched a
BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer
There will be a familystyle menu of New Orleans flavors, a brass band, an artist painting the scene live and, proprietor Brian Weisnicht knows well, there will be glitter So much glitter That’s because his restaurant Plates in the Warehouse District is hosting a special luncheon on “Friday Gras,” as the Friday before Mardi Gras is increasingly being called.
with specific restaurants. Celebratory lunches before their parades and other events throughout the year are part of krewe custom. With bookings locked in far in advance, and perhaps in perpetuity landing a table at some of these restaurants on the big days could be almost as hard as joining the krewes.
BY IAN McNULTY Staff
“I think it took us three weeks to get rid of all the glitter last year,” Weisnicht said. “It’s such a fun day, and everyone will be feeling good by the time they roll out of here. I mean, no one is going to work after lunch.”
Plates is a new restaurant join-
ing a very old tradition in the New Orleans dining scene that flows through Mardi Gras. It’s part of a growing number of restaurants upping the access and offerings for a day that has long been the domain of old-line krewes. Many Carnival organizations have long-standing relationships
But with more people participating in Carnival — in newer krewes, in marching and dance groups, or simply gaggles of friends out for a good time — more restaurants are stepping in as stages for their Mardi Gras revelry, broadening the tradition. This plays out through the season as the calendar marches toward Mardi Gras itself. But Friday has lately become a more robust display, on a level with Lundi Gras as a grand prelude to Fat Tuesday People bust out the bustiers, spack-
le on the glitter and turn lunch into rollicking costume-clad parties in the name of Friday Gras, the kickoff to a weekend that lasts until Ash Wednesday
Setting the tradition
Antoine’s, the oldest restaurant in the city, is the peak intersection of Carnival and dining. Rex takes over its entire maze of dining rooms the Wednesday before Mardi Gras for its luncheon, Proteus has Lundi Gras and Friday belongs to Hermes, with each lunch seating about 1,000 people. On Bourbon Street, Galatoire’s long ago turned the frenzied demand for tables at its Friday before Mardi Gras service into a charitable campaign. As it does for the Friday before Christmas lunch, the restaurant holds a live auction
“All That Jazz” was the theme of the 74th annual Carnival tableau and ball of the Mystic Krewe of Covington recently at the Covington Lions Club Hall. The king was attired in a gold lamé tunic embellished with rhinestones, sequins and appliqués and the krewe’s crest. His collar was studded with rhinestones and gold and black sequins and his gold crown was inlaid with rhinestones. Completing the ensemble
Continued from page 1D
ahead of time with people bidding on table reservations, not including whatever tab they might rack up. This year that auction brought in $284,000, with one table of eight going for $22,000.
At Arnaud’s, the Friday festivities have grown organically to become the busiest lunch of the year filling with people who book the same tables or rooms each year, said Arnaud’s co-owner Katy Casbarian. In a way, the restaurant can mimic the house parties and parade route party spots that people maintain annually like a microcosm of Mardi Gras playing out in its dining rooms.
“It’s always the same people, and eventually it turns into table hopping; everyone knows each other from the year before,” said Casbarian. “It’s many krewes and it’s chaos and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
New to the party
The traditions established at historic restaurants have set the tune that newer restaurants and their patrons are riffing on with Friday Gras. Palm & Pine, located on the edge of the French Quarter, is a modern expression of a New Orleans restaurant, hosting burlesque and drag events through the year and a monthly lesbian pop-up bar At Carnival, it also channels the spirit of what its owners saw at the older restaurants where they previously cooked, including Arnaud’s. Friday Gras lunch has been on the books since Palm & Pine opened in 2019, and continuing the tradition on their own terms felt like a natural move, said chef Amarys Koenig Herndon, who runs Palm & Pine with Jordan Herndon.
“It feels like a birthright as a French Quarter restaurant, but as a Rampart Street restaurant we’d do it our way, make it for everyone, be accessible,” she said. “Our restaurant is always exuberant and vibrant, but it’s just so much fun to the see how high energy and cheerful it gets when people really cut loose.” More are getting in on the action. For instance, Nina Compton’s upscale/casual restaurant Compère Lapin opens for a rare special
were gold boots, white gloves, and a golden scepter Page to his majesty was Master Ryan Alford. Reigning over the ball as queen was Mrs. Tiffany Hudson. She wore a lavender lace and tulle gown embellished with appliqués of flowers and leaves. The collar was made of white colored ostrich feathers The ensemble was completed with a silver crown of rhinestones and a silver scepter with
orchids. Maids in the court were Mrs. Kallie Stuard, as Rag Time Jazz; Mrs. Danielle Wagner, as Dixieland Jazz; Miss Elise Carter as Smooth Jazz; and Mrs. Kayla Adams, as Straightahead Jazz. Mrs. William Ellis Simpson, the 2024 queen, and her court were presented. The krewe members began the evening as they entered the ballroom and danced to traditional Mardi
lunch service for Friday Gras this year, and nearby the French restaurant Couvant has a Friday drag brunch on the books with performances orchestrated by Trixie Minx Productions and bottomless mimosas on offer
The two restaurants run by chef Justin Devillier and his partner Mia Freiberger-Devillier show how the Friday Gras tradition is expanding from its roots in the French Quarter Justine, the sexy, neon-trimmed French brasserie in the French Quarter, hosts a ticketed event that day, with a buffet, open bar and live entertainment. As usual, this has sold out, though the waitlist sometimes shakes loose a few spots, closely watched by people eager to join the party
Meanwhile, the couple’s first restaurant, La Petite Grocery, is just a block from the Uptown parade route. Here, it’s more about people with looser schedules, unaffiliated with formal krewes and making their own parties before hitting the parades.
“There’s so much eye candy,” Freiberger-Devillier said. “Everyone is dressed up, headpieces and costumes; it’s a party that takes over and everyone rolls with it.”
At restaurants around the city, people with more impromptu plans have been making Friday Gras their own. That’s the case at Ralph’s on the Park, the Mid-City sister restaurant to Brennan’s in the French Quarter, another historic restaurant always packed on Friday with annual returning tables and krewe events.
“It’s an amped up Friday lunch,” said Charlee Williamson, the parent company’s executive vice presi-
dent. “It’s marching groups, the queens of past parades or people making an excuse to get together. The party goes all day — you’re not getting another turn on those tables.”
Royalty at restaurants
Even restaurants that have long been part of Carnival customs are adopting new ways to rev up the fun as more people take part.
“Lunch on Friday used to be the old New Orleans set,” said Kenny Meyer, manager of the Garden District landmark Commander’s Palace.
“But just like Carnival has transformed, with more groups, becoming more accessible to everyday folks, the crowd we see coming out is much more egalitarian.”
Patrons who bring the right kind of spirit and flair to lunch on the days leading up to Mardi Gras, including Friday, could find themselves named royalty Each day, Meyer and restaurant co-owner Lally Brennan survey the restaurant and dub kings and queens for each of the dining rooms. They don crowns made from chef hats and tablecloth capes, and get scepters made from hand-painted kitchen spoons to mark their reign.
Meyer said it was a spontaneous idea that came about during the pandemic when parades were on hiatus. It has stuck around to become part of the freewheeling spirit at the restaurant in its most festive season.
“It looks like the parade route inside the restaurant with everyone dressed up,” Meyer said. “It’s just so fun and so New Orleans, and it’s because of the way people embrace it.”
Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate. com.
Gras tunes. The captain then appeared from a cloud of smoke in the middle of the room and began the tableau with the sound of his golden whistle. As the ball commenced, Brad Sapia Band provided the dance music. Chairman of the tableau committee was Mr Lee Roy Jenkins. Chairman of the court committee was Mr Robert C. Lynch. Chairman of the reception committee was Mr Philip E. Beckham
Dear Heloise: I recently bought a dozen eggs, and the yolks were a much deeper yellow — in fact, an almost orange color Are they OK to eat, or is something wrong with them? — Cassie
J. Forest Grove, Oregon Cassie, a deeper color of yolk simply means that the hen had a diet high in “carotenoids.” The hen may have had a varied diet but specifically one that was rich in yellow corn and alfalfa. However, the nutritional value of the egg remains basically the same as eggs that contain paler yolks.
Heloise
Hearing the warnings
—
Dear Heloise: The recent fires in Southern California left people without homes, but it also left many areas without power for several hours or days. One elderly citizen was rescued by sheriff deputies from her unburned residence within the burning area. She said that her hearing aids had run out of power, and she could not hear the evacuation advice. Since many of us hearing-aid wearers have devices that are recharge-
able (as opposed to battery-operated), I suggest having a fully charged, small portable battery station to keep your hearing aids and cellphones charged up in case your power goes out. — Paul H.,Torrance, California Paul, this is an excellent idea. Many people, both young and old, need hearing aids. We usually don’t think about it, but the ability to hear is essential to our safety and overall enjoyment of life.
— Heloise
Checking car lights
Dear Heloise: In response to the person who wrote about checking a car’s lights, I recently discovered that when I press the clicker to unlock my car doors, all the lights (except the headlights) come on for a few seconds. So, I can actually check them all myself and do it every time I get in the car
I don’t know how many cars have this feature, but it is very handy — Steve H., in California
Spinach drawback
Dear Heloise: I love spinach and used to eat it almost
daily However, I have learned that spinach is not good for people with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Apparently, it contains oxalates that makes it hard for the calcium to be absorbed. I wish my doctor had told me this. — Joan B., Kenosha,Wisconsin
Joan, yes, this is correct. Some other foods containing oxalates are dried figs, kiwi, oranges, grapefruit and pineapple. There’s also tofu, black olives, dark beer, beets, rhubarb, green beans, cashews, peanuts, cocoa and chocolate milk, to name a few — Heloise
Yearning for spring
Dear Readers: This is an excellent time of year to get your closets cleaned out, give away or sell all those books you’re not reading, donate the clothing you never wear, and get rid of broken toys and tools. Since many of my readers are snowed in or hate going out in the cold, you can start getting ready for those warm, sunny days of spring so that they’ll be here before you know it! — Heloise
Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.
n New Eras
What’s old was “new” again at the 130th grand masked ball of the Krewe of Nereus, which commemorated the 125th anniversary of the world’s first electric parade: the krewe’s!
History repeated itself royally in the selection of the 2025 queen, Miss Madison Elizabeth Hales, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Stephen Benjamin Hales and granddaughter of Mr and Mrs. Glenn Gill Goodyear Her majesty’s maternal great-grandmother reigned as Miss Louise Georgette Tusson (later, Mrs. Gensler) in 1929. The theme was “Court of Versailles, Louis XIV.” Then in 2006, Madison’s aunt Lindsey Merilh Goodier (Mrs. Hunter B. Baird) held the scepter In 1975, the former Elizabeth Ann Pedrick (Mrs. David Charles Sartain) wore the crown. Last year, the royal honor befell Miss Celeste Lynn Schonberg, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Stephen Henry Schonberg. Both former queens attended the ball, as did Mrs.Andrew C.Vella, queen Logan Eloise Melius of 2012.
The maids in Her Majesty Madison’s court were Misses Marguerite Lisette Breaux, Riley Mains Brennan, Carolyn Grace Burton, Charlotte Anne Galloway, Colleen Rose Kehoe, Emily Elizabeth LeBlanc, Fiona Hanna Marks, Margaret Anne Mentz, Cameron Crawford Metzinger Abigail Caroline Perez, Hannah MacKenzie Pye, Lizette Walker St. Paul, Mary Elizabeth Toso and Laura Elise Vickery Master John Thomas Waldrup was the page Mr Goodier chaired the court committee that included 14 vice chairmen, who tended to duties in the Royal Tent adjacent to the New Orleans Country Club. Operatic tenor Kirk Redmann and the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra entertained.
Her Majesty Madison wore an elegant gown by Perla Orihuela of Italian lace over silk satin that was richly beaded with pearls, sequins, seed beads and rhinestones. Her mother, Kendall Goodier Hales, a former Nereus maid, chose a MacDuggal silver gown that echoed the Nereus colors of silver and blue. Sentimental ball jewelry bedecked ladies of the queen’s family
For the ball invitation, artist Tim Trapolin depicted an aqueous theme of a humpback whale as a tribute to the sea god, Nereus, while India Stewart created a gold whale pin as the krewe favor. Wearing the pin, as did countless others, were the above Mmes. Schonberg, Hales and Goodier, along with Mmes. Brian Henry Melius, Ryan J.Worrell, Ryan J. Gallagher, Joseph G. Jolly, David B. Melius, Neel E Garland, Kenneth Zito, Stephen W. Hales, Christopher G Goodier Ethan B. Hales,Timothy Soslow, and William D. Hales Also, Miss Caroline L. Hales and Dr Kylie M. Cormier
Before the ball, queen Madison hosted members of the court at a private reception in the country club, where scrolls and gifts were presented and toasts were raised. In hers, Madison extended abundant thanks. She later reflected on her royal honor and her family’s Nereus history, describing her reign as “truly a special night.” At the supper dance, where silver and blue and sea décor added decorative touches, and a hearty breakfast filled the plates, guests sang and danced to the show band BRW. To a modified “Sweet Caroline” — changed to “Madison” — her majesty was hailed. Shared honors tapped his majesty During the course of the ball, while the orchestra played “Procession of the Nobles,” a fairly rare Carnival tradition took place: the passing of the whistle. The outgoing captain of many years and his successor then “captainbowed” to the many guests and to great applause. A new era!
Contact: nnolan@theadvocate.com
Sands of the Sahara and monarchal lore were celebrated at the Grand Ball of Osiris in the Royal Tent at the New Orleans Country Club when past family ties connected to a royal present. The grandmother of the captain’s wife reigned in 1931, and the 2025 queen claims an uncle who was king. Both of those identities remain shrouded in time. Enjoying legacy, her majesty of this year, Miss Melanie Kathleen Talbot, now claims her own throne and her name can be known. She is the daughter of Mr and Mrs. Brent Arnold Talbot. Fifty years ago, Miss Kathryn Moody Favrot (Mrs. John Benton Smallpage Jr.) wore regal robes. In 2024, more royal attire was donned by Miss Caroline Ott Pitalo. Both were recognized at the ball, where the Jimmy Maxwell music played. Maids to queen Lanie, as she is called, were Misses Riley Mains Brennan, Elizabeth Gale Brooks,Adelaide Bouligny Gaines, Rachel Keirsey Lavis, Mary Reynolds LeBlanc, Fiona Hanna Marks,Victoria Livaudais Nieset, Charlotte Heyward Parrino,Abigail Caroline Perez, Lauren Michelle Perlis, Juia McLain Pilant, Grayson Elizabeth Scott, Susan Rayne Swanson and Patricia Diane Taylor Numbering 10, the princesses were Misses Lilian Claire Charpentier, Emma Kay Conner, Celeste Claire Eustis, Mary Catherine Lee Flower Lyla Dayton Gordon,Adelaide Grace Laurent, Eliza Eugenie Pilant, Maimee Lee Lourdes Rivera,Anna Florence Roth and Delanie Coye Sundmaker Pages William Peter Connick III, James Edwin Dunn IV, Parker Alden Laborde and Hewitt James Smith completed the court. Messrs. John Peter “Jack” Laborde and William Cabell Nelson — fathers of past queens who reigned as Blayne Yves Laborde and Cynthia Callaghan Nelson served in a chairing capacity Fourteen vice chairmen aided them.
Smiles abounded as queen Lanie appeared on the ballroom floor in her trumpet-silhouette gown by Suzanne Perron St. Paul. It was fashioned of white Italian double silk satin and layered with re-embroidered scroll-patterned French lace. Heavy encrustation added more brilliance. Alexander by Daymor was the designer of queen mother Melanie‘s impressive dress from Ballin’s Ltd.
Joining Mrs. Talbot in prominent seating was the queen’s grandmother, Mrs. Robert Fellers Talbot Jr Noted, too, were Mmes. Edward Downey Dienes, Robert Emmett Talbot, John Floyd Fletcher, Shaun Kennedy Talbot, Christopher Patrick Talbot, Louis George Russell III, Gerald Wood Eggers, Jonathan Eben Stein, Samuel Black St. John Jr.,William J. Goliwas Jr., Christian Hooper, and Julian Feibelman. They admired the beautiful Egyptianthemed invitation and program by Patricia Hardin and wore insignia of the ball, the favors.
Flanking the gala bal masqué were the “at home” reception at the Talbot residence, where queen Lanie gratefully commented on her monarchal honor, and the later supper, where she and her king were showcased. Flowers galore, fine food, and the music of Big Bling and the Funk Machine from Atlanta infused levity into an evening of legacy and the resplendent Lanie.
and the King Cake Drive-Thru (1009 Metairie Road).
This season I also finally tried a sleeper hit that’s been quietly making great king cakes all along. Swiss Confectionery, in business since 1921, is best known for wedding cakes and birthday cakes.
It’s also been making king cake “since forever,” fifthgeneration proprietor Stefan Culotta told me with a sense of precision typical for longrunning family businesses.
This is an extra-large oval of brioche, and it gave a gratifying crunching sound as I cut in, a prelude to the light, airy texture within. The interior is sandy colored with cinnamon thoroughly dispersed in the cake. A bite gives you the crunch of sugar and icing and the soft, gently spiced dough. This cake is pretty without being especially fancy
Get them at Swiss Confectionery (3700 Orleans Ave.) Another traditional cake working its own style is the Tartine model. Its substantial heft is a premonition of the immense amount of cream cheese coursing through it. This is turned a light, chocolatey color from all the cinnamon and brown sugar mixed in the cream cheese, with a flavor enticingly between praline and dulce de leche
The brioche is dark on the surface, fluffy within. Over the top goes a royal amount of icing, which clings stiffly to the bulbous rises of the cake and cracks off in solid pieces like candy
From its start with a tiny cottage production run, it’s become more readily available around town, and Tartine ships nationally Get them at Tartine (7217 Perrier St.), Toast Gretna (1711 Hancock St.), Toast Fair Grounds (1845 Gentilly Blvd.), Toast French Quarter (1035 Decatur St.), Hen House (938 Hancock St.), King Cake Hub (1464 S. Broad St.), the King Cake Drive-Thru (1009
pretty, with a soft pastel hue to its sweet crunch.
The cake is puff pastry dough filled with cinnamon. The key ingredient is a caramelized rose cane syrup, an ingredient for coffee drinks that creator Kirby Jones concocted for the cafe she once operated (and perhaps will again in the future). The icing is infused with more of the same.
Metairie Road) and Meyer Provisions (7913 Maple St.)
King cake with a buzz
Another highlight this year came from the Dough Nguyener’s king cake suffused with cafe sua da, the Vietnamese iced coffee, thick and sweet with condensed milk.
A slice reveals thick seams of the cafe sua da filling, made from heavy cream, condensed milk, sugar and espresso. It bursts with flavor, like shooting down a demitasse of coffee — strong, creamy, with a bittersweet edge that cuts against the sweet topping. It tastes like you get your coffee and your king cake in one bite, and I love it
And about that name: Nguyen is the founder’s family name, which is pronounced “win,” thus “dough winners.”
Get them at Dough Nguyener’s Bakery in Gretna (433 Lafayette St.), Dough Nguyener’s Cafe in Mid-City (2424 Tulane Ave.), Adams Street Grocery (1309 Adams St.), King Cake Drive-Thru in Metairie (1009 Metairie Rd.) and Rolls n Bowls in Metairie (606 Metairie Road)
King cake as art
The rose queen cake from La Vie En Rose is truly a thing of beauty, one that reflects the majestic side of Mardi Gras, the effort and artistry people put into the celebration to make it extra special. This rose queen cake proved magnetic once I peered into the box
Ropes of icing make Art Nouveau swoops over the top. Aromatic tea-grade rose petals dapple the surface. Even the sugar is especially
The cake has a croissantlike quality with a subtle spice running through it, and the bottom has bits that were just flirting with burnt, sticky and toasty and caramelized, a wonderful touch.
Get them at King Cake Hub (1464 S. Broad St.) or preorder via direct message on Instagram for pick up downtown at Cafe Bon Ami (822 Perdido St.).
King cake as playground
King cake must be tasty It should also be fun. Nobody seems to be having more fun with it than the crew at Molly’s Rise And Shine.
Pastry chef Liz Hollinger calls this year’s edition a Meyer lemon pistachio king cake, but there is a lot more going on. Pop open the box and you find a playground of flavors. Crucially, though, the underlying cake is very good. It’s moist and light in texture and would do just fine with conventional icing. But that’s not what this one is about.
There’s a rich cream cheese frosting and lemon mascarpone filling. On top, the cake is covered with lemony meringue that crunches briefly, then vanishes on the tongue, making this cake a bit like a pavlova. Then there’s the puppy chow (aka monkey munch), a scattering of candied Chex cereal and broken lo mein noodles coated in white chocolate with a subtle pistachio flavor I could eat that stuff by the handful, and kept picking bits of it off the cake. This is a limited-edition cake. Call to preorder to pick up Friday through Monday On Mondays, the restaurant has it available by the slice. Get them at Molly’s Rise & Shine (2368 Magazine St.)
By The Associated Press
Today is Wednesday, Feb. 26, the 57th day of 2025. There are 308 days left in the year Today in history
On Feb. 26, 1993, a truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. (The bomb failed to topple the North Tower into the South Tower, as the terrorists had hoped; both structures were destroyed in the 9/11 attack eight years later.)
On this date: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the Island of Elba, sailing back to France in a bid to regain power In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act making the Grand Canyon a national park.
In 1952, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.
In 1987, the Tower Commission which had probed the Iran-Contra affair, issued its report, which rebuked President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
In 1998, a jury in Amarillo, Texas, rejected an $11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey’s talk show for a price fall after a segment on food safety that included a discussion about mad cow disease.
In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he acted in selfdefense. (Zimmerman was later acquitted of seconddegree murder.)
In 2013, a hot air balloon burst into flames during a sunrise flight over the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and then plummeted 1,000 feet to earth, killing 19 tourists. In 2017, At the Academy Awards, “Moonlight” won three Oscars, including best picture of 2016; in a startling gaffe, the musical “La La Land” was
enly announced as the
was
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Standing alone isn't necessary, but knowing how to pick your allies is. Walk away from those who lead you astray. Focus on expanding your vision through learning from and communicating with people.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Today is not the time to engage in arguments or to let anyone test your patience. While working diligently to declutter your life, take a long, hard look at how you want to direct your energy.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Strengthen your ties with the people who matter to you. Refrain from letting emotional situations control your mind. Put yourself and your needs first.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You'll meet with opposition. Refuse to let anyone put you in a vulnerable position. Saying yes when you know you should decline will cause tension between you and your loved ones.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Raise the bar and study how to outmaneuver any competitor. You have the edge to get ahead if you are willing to step outside the norm. Use the element of surprise to your advantage.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Look at trends and consider modifying how you present yourself. Updating your skills or qualifications and taking a heartfelt approach to handling money, emotions and health matters will make a difference.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Note who's watching from the sidelines. You want to send the right impression. Stick to
facts and figures, and call on experts when necessary to avoid sticky situations.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Think big, but budget wisely. How you handle matters will be important. You don't have to impress anyone; enforcing moderation, insight and ingenuity will give you the wiggle room you need.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Change will beckon, but before making a move, determine if your decisions are coming from a place of emotion or reason. Socialize, communicate, pick experts' brains and think about what's best and right for you.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Work toward a goal, but don't take shortcuts. A domestic problem will spin out of control if it becomes impossible to find common ground with the people you're dealing with.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The opportunity to get ahead is within reach. Put your energy into partnerships, your home environment and how you earn your living. Protect yourself against injury and health risks.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be open with your allies and secretive with those prying into your affairs. Look for alternatives that you can quickly implement if the going gets tough.
The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication
InstructIons: sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
BY PHILLIP ALDER
In “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Commander Deanna Troi said, “Higher emotions are what separate us from the lower orders of life. Higher emotions and table manners.”
This week we are looking at defenders leading high or low cards from various holdings. The general principle is to lead low from length when you have at least one honor in that suit. With no honor, you lead an unnecessarily high card. But, as I mentioned yesterday, the most common exception occurs when you lead partner’s suit.
Then, if you have not supported that suit, giving length information is more important than strength information.
In this example, what should West lead against two spades when he has or has not raised hearts?
Should West bid two hearts? It is a borderline decision. The pluses are showing support and some values, and perhaps making North’s rebid more awkward. The minuses are the scant values and the lack of a heart honor; if North becomes the declarer, East might make a losing heart lead.
If West has not supported hearts, he should lead the three: low from length. But if he has raised, he should start with the nine: top of nothing.
Moving on, how can East-West defeat two spades? The defenders must take
InstRuctIons:
Average mark 30 words
Can you find 36 or more words in SLITHER?
dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
ken ken
InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a
Puzzle Answer
“Owner”)
Advertisement:
INVITATION TO BID Sealed BidNo. 25-6877
02/12/2025 ANNUAL
Sealed Bid No.25-6877
GRASS CUTTING (CITYWIDE)
The CityofKenner (alsoreferenced as “Kenner”and “Owner”) will receive sealed bids for: Annual Contract to ProvideGrass Cutting (Citywide) Biddersmay also obtain copies of thebid documents and submitbids electronically by visitingwww centralauctionhouse.com. Sealed bids will be received until March20th,2025 at 9:45 a.m by theCityofKenner in the Finance Department located at: 1610 ReverendRichard WilsonDrive BuildingD Kenner,Louisiana 70062
All interested partiesare invited to attend theBid Opening on thesameday at 10:00 a.m.in theCity of Kenner,Building DAuditorium,1610 Rev. Richard Wilson Drive, Kenner Louisiana, at which time thebids will be publicly read.There will be an optional pre-bid meeting on February 25th,2025 at 1:30pm, CityofKenner Public Works Yard, 1803 23rd St.,Suite. B, Kenner, LA 70062. All interestedbidders are encourageto attend. CITY OF KENNER
/s/Elizabeth Herring ChiefFinancial Officer
Advertisement: TheAdvocate February12th,2025 February19th,2025 February26th,2025
INVITATION TO BID SealedBid No. 25-6876 02/12/2025
CONTRACTFOR GRASS CUTTING AND DEBRISREMOVAL FOR CODE DEPARTMENT Sealed Bid No.25-6876
TheCityofKenner(alsoreferenced as “Kenner”and “Owner”) will receive sealed bids for: Contract forGrass Cutting andDebrisRemoval
Bidders mayalsoobtain copies of thebid documents andsubmit bids electronically by visiting www centralauctionhouse.com. Sealed bids will be received until March19th, 2025 at 9:45 a.m by theCityofKenner in the Finance Department located at: 1610 ReverendRichard WilsonDrive BuildingD Kenner, Louisiana 70062
All interestedpartiesare invited to attend theBid Opening onthe sameday at 10:00 a.m.inthe City of Kenner,Building DAuditorium,1610 Rev. Richard Wilson Drive, Kenner Louisiana,atwhichtimethe bids will be publiclyread CITY OF KENNER
/s/ElizabethHerring Chief Financial Officer
Advertisement: The Advocate February 12th, 2025 February 19th, 2025 February 26th, 2025 INVITATION TO BID Sealed BidNo. 25-6867
TheCityofKenner (alsoreferenced as “Kenner”and “Owner”) will receive sealed bids for: Roof Replacement of theKenner Police Training Facility
Theproposed work (“Work”) includes: Removeand Replaceexisting metalroofincluding flashing, gutters anddownspouts.
Sealed bids will be received until Tuesday,March 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM CST, by theCityofKenner in theFinance Department located at: 1610 ReverendRichard WilsonDrive BuildingD Kenner,Louisiana 70062
All interestedpartiesare invited to attend theBid Opening on thesameday at 10:15 a.m.inthe City of Kenner,Building DAuditorium,1610 Rev. Richard Wilson Drive, Kenner Louisiana, at which time thebids will be publicly read
Therewill be apre-bid meeting on: Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM CST at CityofKenner Building D Auditorium,1610 Rev. Richard Wilson Drive, Kenner,LA 70062. All interested bidders are encouragetoattend.
Allbids must be in accordancewith theContract Documents (whichinclude,but are not limited to,all documents, sections terms,provisions, andany requirements provided forinthis bid) on file withLinfield,Hunter&Junius,Inc., 3608 18th Street, Metairie LA 70002, the Design ConsultingProfessionals (also referenced as “Design Professional”) forthis project
CopiesofContract Documents forrevieworfor usein preparing bids maybeobtained fromLinfield, Hunter & unius, Inc 3608 18th Street, Metairie LA 70002 upon deposit of$100.00 foreach set of documents
Biddersmay also obtain copies of Contract Documents for review and mayalsosubmit bids electronically by visiting www.centralauctionhouse.com.
CITY OF KENNER
/s/ElizabethHerring Chief Financial Officer
Advertisement: The Advocate February 12th, 19th, AND 26th, 2025
INVITATION TO BID Sealed BidNo. 25-6868
TheCityofKenner (alsoreferenced as “Kenner”and
“Owner”) will receive sealed bids for: Roof Replacement of theKenner Police Headquarters andJail Complex
Theproposed work (“Work”) includes: Remove andreplaceexistingmodified bitumen roofing includinginsulationboards, metal flashing, roof drainsetc.
Sealed bids will be received until Tuesday,March 18, 2025 at 10:30 AM CST, by theCityofKenner in theFinance Department located at: 1610 ReverendRichard WilsonDrive BuildingD Kenner,Louisiana 70062
All interestedpartiesare invited to attend theBid Opening onthe sameday at 10:45 a.m.inthe City of Kenner,Building DAuditorium,1610 Rev. Richard Wilson Drive, Kenner Louisiana,atwhichtimethe bids will be publiclyread
Therewill
Allinterested
Planning District 10:
a. For properties located on Lots 4, 6, 8, 10, 12A, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24A, 26A,28, and 30, in Square-1, inthe Third Municipal District, bearing municipal addresses 14100 Chef Menteur Highway,14200
swath of undeveloped green space thatruns from Bayou Sauvage to the east, Chef Menteur Highway to the north, and the Industrial Parkway curves to the west and south, as morefully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD10-02, change the FutureLand Use Category from Planned Development Area (PDA) to Industrial (IND).
c. For property including the main parcel of the former Jazzland/Six Flags site, bounded by Interstate 510,Lake Forest Boulevard/SixFlags Parkway and Michoud Boulevard, as morefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD10-03, change the Future Land Use Category from Planned Development Area (PDA) to Mixed-Use Medium Density (MUM).
d. For properties running along Chef Menteur Highway from Interstate 510 to the intersection of Chef Menteur Highway and Old Gentilly Road on both sides of the street as well as properties in an area beginning roughly at the intersection of Chef Menteur Highway and Old GentillyRoad and running through RecoveryRoad at Bayou Sauvage on both sides of the street, as morefully identified inthe City Planning Commission report for request number PD10-04, change the FutureLand Use Category from Neighborhood Commercial (NC) to Mixed-Use Medium Density (MUM) with the exception of the portion of the identified site that isconsidered under request number PD10-01. 10. Planning District 12:
a. For property located on Lot A, Square5,inthe Fifth Municipal District, bearing municipal address 2621 General Meyer Avenue, as more fully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD12-01, change the FutureLand Use Category from Parkland and Open Space (P) to Residential Multi-Family Pre-War (RMF-PRE).
b. For property located on Lots Band C, inSquare5 in the Fifth Municipal District, bearing municipal address 2701 Lawrence Street, as more fully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD12-02, change the FutureLand Use Category from Parkland and Open Space (P) to ResidentialLow-Density Pre-War (RLD-PRE).
c. For property on Lot E-1, in Square8,inthe Fifth Municipal District, bearing municipal address 204 Pelican Avenue, as morefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD12-06, change the FutureLand Use Category from Residential Low-Density Pre-War (RLD-PRE) to Mixed-Use Medium Density (MUM).
d. For properties including 44 lots located in Square -1, in the Fifth Municipal District, bearing municipal address 114 Atlantic Drive, as more fully identified in the City Planning Commission report for PD12-08, change the FutureLand Use Category from Mixed-Use Low Density (MUL) to Residential Low-Density Pre-War (RLD-PRE).
e. For properties located in Square24, nthe Fifth Municipal District, bearing municipal address 4817 NeilAvenue, as morefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for PD12-11, the Councilaccepts the City Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial and the Future Land Use Category shall remainResidential Single-Family Post-War (RSFPOST).
11. Planning District 13:
a. For properties generally bounded bythe MississippiRiver,the Intracoastal Waterway,the Orleans/Jefferson Parish border,and aline that runs at an angle to Woodland Highway,asmorefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-01, change the FutureLand Use Category from Planned Development Area (PDA) to Residential Single-Family Post-War (RSF-POST).
b. For property including aCity-owned strip of land that is an unimproved extension of the English Turn Parkway right-of-way,asmore fully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-02, change the FutureLand Use Category from Residential Single-Family Post-War (RSF-POST) and Neighborhood Commercial (NC) to Residential Single-Family Post-War (RSF-POST) for the entiresite.
c. For property including a15.83-acre parcel located along Stanton Road justeast of Stanton Road’sintersection with English Turn Parkway,asmore fullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-03, change the FutureLand Use Category from Neighborhood Commercial (NC) to Residential Semi-Rural (RSR).
d. For property including an area approximately15acres in size and which is aportion of the Donner Canal right-of-way,asmorefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-04, change the FutureLand Use Category from Residential Multi-Family Post-War (RMFPOST) and Residential Single-Fami yPost-War (RSF-POST) to Residential Semi-Rural (RSR).
e. For properties bearing municipal addresses 1Golf Villa Drive, 5Golf Villa Drive, 7Golf Villa Drive, and 9Golf Villa Drive, as more fully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-05, the Council accepts the City Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial and the FutureLand Use Category shall remainResidential Multi-Family PostWar(RMF-POST).
f. For property including an approximately7-acresite located at the intersection of English Turn Parkway and Stanton Road, as morefully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD1307, the Council accepts the City Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial and the FutureLand Use Category shall remainNeighborhood Commercial (NC).
g. For property including an approximately71-acre site located on Delacroix Road, as morefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-08, change the Future Land Use Category fromNeighborhood Commercial (NC), Residential Multi-Family PostWar(RMF-POST), Residential Low-Density Post-War (RLD-POST), and ResidentialSingle-Family Post-War (RSF-POST) to Residential Semi-Rural (RSR).
h. For property including an approximately45-acresite, as more fully identified in the City Planning Commission report for request number PD13-11, change the FutureLand Use Category from Residential MultiFamily Post-War (RMF-POST) to Residential Semi-Rural (RSR).
i. For property including aCity-owned strip of land that is an unimproved extension of the English Turn Parkway right-of-way,asmorefullyidentified in the City Planning Commission report forrequest number PD13-12, change j. the FutureLand Use Category from Residential Single-FamilyPostWar(RSF-POST), Residential Multi-Family Post-War (RMF-POST), and Neighborhood Commercial (NC) to Residential Semi-Rural (RSR).
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS NOVEMBER 7, 2024
HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON NOVEMBER 8, 2024
APPROVED: NOVEMBER 12, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON NOVEMBER12, 2024 AT 2:45 PM AISHA R. COLLIER ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell- 5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2
RECUSED:0
ORDINANCE
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 24, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,888 NO. 30132 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCEtoauthorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) with Louisiana
BY THE
NOVEMBER 7, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYORONNOVEMBER 8, 2024
APPROVED: NOVEMBER 12, 2024
LATOYA CANTRELL
MAYOR
RETURNED BY THE MAYORONNOVEMBER 12, 2024 AT 2:45 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS:0
ABSENT:King, Moreno -2
RECUSED: 0
**Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.
ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
CITY HALL: October 24, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,889 NO. 30133 MAYORCOUNCIL SERIES
BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)
AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans
(“Mayor”) to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement, between the City of New Orleans (“City”) and the YWCA of Greater New Orleans (“YWCA”), for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose of economic development, public health, and wellness by supporting the development of immovable property that will allow for the returnofcrucial programs for women and children in the City of New Orleans, as set forth in the form attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and made apart hereof; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavors with any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and
WHEREAS, the YWCA is anon-profitcorporation, which prior to Hurricane Katrina provided services including domestic violence and rape crisis counseling, financial education, daycare, after-school programming, and other offerings to enrich youth and empower women; and
WHEREAS, nearly 18 years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the YWCA, the YWCA boardand volunteers have secured funding from FEMA and the State of Louisiana for the $9+ million construction of anew facility at the corner of SNorman C. Francis Parkway and D’Hemecourt Street; and WHEREAS, the City desires to enter into acooperative endeavor agreement with the YWCA to promote economic development, public health, and wellness by supporting the development of this immovable property which will allow crucial programs for women and children to returntothe City of New Orleans; NOWTHEREFORE
SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY
ORDAINS, That the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, ishereby authorized to enter into the aCEA with the YWCA, for aterm of five years, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit “A”, for the public purpose of economic development, public health, and wellness by supporting the development of immovable property which will allow for the returnof crucial programs for women and children in the City of New Orleans.
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
NOVEMBER 7, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYORONNOVEMBER 8, 2024
APPROVED: NOVEMBER 12, 2024
LATOYA CANTRELL
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYORONNOVEMBER 12, 2024 AT 2:45 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Moreno -2
RECUSED: 0
**Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.
ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
CITY HALL: October 24, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,890
NO.30134 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES
BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)
AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans through aNotarial Act of Donation and Acceptance and Dedication of Streets, to accept the donation of and to dedicate as public portions of former Thalia Street between Carondelet Street and Baronne Street, located in the First Municipal District of the City of New Orleans, and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
WHEREAS, 1400 Baronne LLC owns certain immovable property consisting of improved streets formerly known as aportion of Thalia Street, located in the First District of the City of New Orleans as morefully described below; and WHEREAS, the previously city-owned right-of-way became aclosed private street when Brown’sDairy business was in operation, and said business is no longer in operation, 1400 Baronne LLC desires to donate the Streets to the City and dedicate the Streets to public use as apublic street; and WHEREAS, in the interest of public use and convenience, it is necessary expedient, and convenient, to dedicate certain portions of ground for a public street, as hereinafter described. SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY
ORDAINS, That the Mayor of the City of New Orleans is hereby authorized to execute aNotarial Act of Donation and Acceptance and Dedication of Street substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit “A” with 1400 Baronne LLC, alimited partnership in the State of Louisiana, the owners of certain portions of ground, which is morefully described below,and to accept the donation of the following described portion of ground for dedication as public street: Dedication, Portion of Thalia Street (Baronne St. to Carondelet St.) First District Orleans Parish, Louisiana ACERTAIN PIECE OF GROUNG, together with all improvements thereon, and all the rights, ways, privileges, servitudes, appurtenances and advantages thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining, situated in the First Municipal District of the City of New Orleans, State of Louisiana being designated as bounded by Carondelet Street, Square241, Baronne Street and Square240, designated as aportion of Thalia Street. Beginning at the intersection of the northerly right of way line of Thalia Street and the westerly right of way line of Carondelet Street apoint, the point of beginning; measurethence from the point of beginning from an interior angle of 90”00’45” along said westerly line across Thalia Street adistance of 44’09”01” to apoint on the southerly right of way line of Thalia Street; thence from an interior angle of 89°59’00” along the southerly line of Thalia Street adistance of 384’00”04”to apoint on the easterly right of way line ofBaronne Street; thence from an interior angle of 90°02’00” along said easterly line across Thalia Street adistance of 44’09”01” to apoint on the northerly right of way line of Thalia Street thence an interior angle of 89°59’15” along the northerly line of Thalia Street adistance of 384’00”04” to apoint, being the point of beginning, said tract of ground containing 17,189.63 sq. ft. or 0.3946 acres. All measurements aremoreorless and subject of survey SECTION2.That upon execution of said Notarial Act of Donation and Acceptance and Dedication of Streets, said portion of ground described in Section 1beand the same hereby arededicated to public purpose as part of public streets, and said dedicated portion shall be merged into Thalia Street. SECTION3.That the property described in Section 1shall be transferred to the City of New Orleansfreeand clear of all liens and encumbrances, subject to permitted encumbrances, and subject to the
approval of the City Attorney ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
NOVEMBER 7, 2024 HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW
NOVEMBER 7, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON NOVEMBER 8, 2024
APPROVED: NOVEMBER 12, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON NOVEMBER 12, 2024 AT 2:45 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Green, Harris, King, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Giarrusso, Moreno -2
RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.
ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 24, 2024 CALENDAR NO. 34,892 NO. 30136 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”), and Start Corporation (“Contractor”), for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose of coordination of careregarding sheltering at Health Carefor the Homeless, as more fully set forth in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto and made apart hereof, titled Exhibit “1”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavors with any public or private association, corporation or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, the City desiretoaccomplish avaluable public purpose of coordination of careregarding sheltering; and WHEREAS, the Contractor,a non-profit, is able to provide coordination of careregarding sheltering services and is qualified to do so; and WHEREAS, acooperative effort between the City and the Clinic will serve the public purpose of coordination of careregarding sheltering, located at Health Carefor the Homeless; NOW THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, is hereby authorized to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City and the Contractor for aterm greater than one year; for the public purpose of coordination of careregarding sheltering, located at Health Carefor the Homeless, as morefully set forth in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto and made apart hereof, titled Exhibit “1”.
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS NOVEMBER 7, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON NOVEMBER 8, 2024
APPROVED: NOVEMBER 12, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON NOVEMBER 12, 2024 AT 2:45 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Morrell -1
RECUSED: 0
**Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.
ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 24, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,895 NO. 30137 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, GREEN AND THOMAS (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 29736 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance
ABSENT:Harris, Morrell -2
RECUSED: 0 NOCP 8187
OFFI CIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
REGULAR SESSION
CITY HALL: NOVEMBER 7, 2024
The Council of the City of New Orleans met this day in Regular Session, at
10:00 A.M., in the Council Chamber,City Hall, Council President, Helena Moreno, presiding.
On calling the roll, the following members answered to their names:
PRESENT: MORENO (PRESIDENT) MORRELL (VICE PRESIDENT) GIARRUSSO
ABSENT: THOMAS (Arrived later in the meeting).
SIX MEMBERS PRESENT,CONSTITUTING AQUORUM.
ROLL CALL
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
INVOCATION
BISHOP BRANDON BOUTIN UNITED FELLOWSHIP FULL GOSPELBAPTIST CHURCH
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
JP MORRELL
COUNCILMEMBER-AT-LARGE
AMENDMENT
AMENDMENT TO ORD. CAL. NO. 34,884
BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GREENAND THOMAS
An amendment to Cal. No. 34,884 to add PD09-21 and accept the recommendation of denial from the City Planning Commission.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2 AND THE AMENDMENT WASADOPTED.
ORDINANCES ON FINALPASSAGE
CAL. NO. 34,819 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)- An
Ordinance to authorize the execution and delivery by the New Orleans Building Corporation (“NOBC”) and the City of New Orleans (the “City”) of the Sixth Amendment to Agreement of Lease by and among NOBC, as Landlord, Rockstep Riverwalk, LLC, as Tenant (“Rockstep”), and the City,asIntervenor,which amendment is attached hereto as Exhibit “A” (the “Amendment”), and which amends the long term Lease (as defined below), pursuant to which NOBC leases the property generally knownas Spanish Plaza, the Canal Street Wharf Riparian Land and the Lower Julia Street Wharf Riparian Land, as moreparticularly described in the Lease (the “Property”), to Rockstep, to operate amall and related amenities, and other uses as moreparticularly described in the Lease.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,854 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL AND MORENO
-AnOrdinance to amend and reordain Articles 22 and 26 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended by Ordinance No. 26,413 M.C.S. and subsequent amendments) to establish maximum length regulations for driveways within all areas of the city; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING
DOCKET NO. 55/24)
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,855 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER KING (BY REQUEST) -An
Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into an agreement to grant aservitude to an adjacent property owner for encroachments on/over portions of public right-of-way located at the municipal address 913 Governor Nicholls Street; to fixthe minimum price and terms of said servitude agreement; to declarethat such useas granted in the servitude agreement will incorporate space that is neither needed for public purposes nor shall such use interferewith the use of the public right-of-way; to set forth the reasons for said servitude agreement; andotherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO.
34,856 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GREEN- An Ordinance to effect azoning change from an S-RS Suburban Single-Family Residential District to an S-B2 Suburban Pedestrian-Oriented Corridor Business District, on Square4056, Lot 5, in the ThirdMunicipal District, bounded by Marigny Street, Elysian Fields Avenue, FilmoreAvenue, and Mithra Street (Municipal Address: 5326 Marigny Street); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 57/24)
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
CAL NO.
34,857 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GREEN- An Ordinance to effect azoning change from an S-RS Suburban Single-Family Residential District to aC-2 Auto-Oriented Commercial District, on Lots 5-X, 5-T, 5-U, and 5-V,Section 20, LaKratt Tract, in the ThirdMunicipal District (Municipal Addresses: 6620-6698 Interstate 10 Service Road); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 60/24)
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,858 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS -AnOrdinance to grant an amendment to Ordinance No. 18,255 MCS which allowed the installation of three antennae and placement of equipment for wireless personal communication services on an existing building, to permit the installation of anew Wireless Telecommunications Antenna in an HU-B1 Historic Urban Neighborhood Business District, on Square623, Lots X, 28, 9, 10, 11 and 12, in the Sixth Municipal District, bounded by South Robertson Street, Napoleon Avenue, Magnolia Street and General Pershing Street (Municipal Addresses: 2649 Napoleon Avenue and 2633 Napoleon Avenue); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 64/24)
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Morrell –2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,859 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS -AnOrdinance to grant an amendment to Ordinance 28,675 MCS to permit outdoor live entertainment and the extension of indoor live entertainment hours from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 midnight to 10:00 a.m. -2:00 a.m., in an HUB1 Historic Urban Neighborhood Business District, the LAS La Salle Street Overlay District, and an EC Enhancement Corridor Design Overlay District, on Square333, Lots 2and 3, in the Fourth Municipal District, bounded by La Salle Street, Washington Avenue, Sixth Street, and South Liberty Street (Municipal Addresses: 2836-2842 La Salle Street); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 65/24)
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,860 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS -An Ordinance to effectazoning change from an M-MU Maritime Mixed-Use District to an LI Light Industrial District, on Parcel 10, on an undesignated square, Prairie Lands, in the ThirdMunicipal District, (Municipal Address: 19808 Chef Menteur Highway); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 66/24)
ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,861 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS
Versailles Gardens
(East), in the Third Municipal District, bounded by Dwyer Boulevard, Alcee Fortier Boulevard, Willowbrook Drive, and Six Flags Parkway (Municipal Addresses: 14051-14071 Dwyer Boulevard); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO 68/24 )
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. CAL. NO. 34,865 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)
-AnOrdinance to authorize the execution and delivery by the New Orleans Building Corporation (“NOBC”) of the First Amendment to Lease Agreement by and between NOBC, as Lessor,and LAZ Parking Louisiana, LLC (“LAZ”), as Lessee, which amendment is attached hereto as Exhibit “A” (the “Amendment”), and which amends the Lease between NOBC and LAZ, (the “Lease”), pursuant to which NOBC leases to LAZ the surface parking lots located at or near the Piazza D’Italia in New Orleans, Louisiana (the “Leased Premises”),for LAZ’svehicle parking operations; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
WITHDRAWN.
CAL. NO.34,866 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)
-AnOrdinance to authorize the execution and delivery by the New Orleans Building Corporation (“NOBC”) of the First Amendment to Lease Agreement by and between NOBC,asLessor,and LAZ Parking Louisiana, LLC (“LAZ”), as Lessee, which amendment is attached hereto as Exhibit “A” (the “Amendment”), and which amends the Lease between NOBC and LAZ, (the “Lease”) pursuant to which NOBC leases to LAZ certain surface parking areas located at Union Passenger Terminal and under US90 in New Orleans, Louisiana, all as morefully described in the Lease (the “Leased Premises”), for LAZ’svehicle parking operations); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT: King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,868 -BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORENO, THOMAS, HARRIS, KING, GREEN (BY REQUEST), GIARRUSSO AND MORRELL-
An Ordinance to adopt and ordain Article IV of Chapter 46 of the Code of the City of New Orleans to establishamunicipal identification card program to allow residents of New Orleans toobtain government issued identifications; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, King -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,870 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -An
Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into the Second Amendment to apreviouslyexecuted Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) between the City of New Orleans (the “City”),and Metropolitan Human Services District (“MHSD”), relative to collaborate and engage in referral relationships with community organizations that ensureCoordination of Careand follow-through regarding Behavioral Health services, as required in Section 330 of Public Health Service Act Health Carefor the Homeless Program, to modify the provisions thereof and extend the term thereoffor six (6) years, as morefully set forth in the Second Amendment form as Exhibit“1” and made apart hereof; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,871 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO (BY REQUEST)
-AnOrdinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into an agreement to grant aservitude to an adjacent property owner for encroachments on/over portions of public right-of-way located at the municipal address 7457 Saint Charles Avenue; to fixthe minimum price and terms of said servitude agreement; to declarethat such use as granted in the servitude agreement will incorporate space that is neither needed for public purposes nor shall such use interferewith the use of the public right-of-way; to set forth the reasons for said servitude agreement; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, King -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,883 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL AND HARRIS
-AnOrdinance to extend the effectiveness of Ordinance No. 29,701
M.C.S., which established the Commercial Short-Term Rental Interim Zoning District to prohibit the use of Short-Term Rental, Commercial, and Hostels as allowable uses within all areas of the city,and to limit the development of Timeshares with certain specified considerations, for a period of 180 days; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,884 -BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORENO, MORRELL, GIARRUSSO, HARRIS, KING, GREEN AND THOMAS -AnOrdinance to amend and reordain Ordinance No.24,079 M.C.S., providing for the adoption of the Master Plan (also known as the “Plan for the 21st Century: New Orleans 2030”), to adopt changes to the futureland use map as recommended by the City Planning Commission in its reports transmitted August 22, 2024; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell-5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2 AND THE ORDINANCE, AS AMENDED, WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,888 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)An Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) with Louisiana State University Health Science Center New Orleans (LSUHSCNO) Police to provide mutual law enforcement aidwithin the boundaries of LSUHSCNO with athree (3) year term, as morefully set forth in the form attached hereto as Exhibit“1” and made apart hereof; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,889 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -An
Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans (“Mayor”) to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement, between the City of New Orleans (“City”) and the YWCAofGreater New Orleans (“YWCA”), for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose of economic development, public health, and wellness by supporting the development of immovableproperty that will allow for the returnofcrucial programs for women and children in the City of New Orleans, as set forthinthe form as Exhibit “A” and made apart hereof; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,890 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -An
Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans through a Notarial Act of Donation and Acceptance and Dedication of Streets, to accept the donation of and to dedicate as public portions of former Thalia Street between Carondelet Street and Baronne Street, located in the First Municipal District of the City of New Orleans, and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
ROLL CALL:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Moreno -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,891 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -An Ordinance
otherwise
ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6
NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.
CAL. NO. 34,895 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO,
MOTIONS/RESOLUTIONS
RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-656 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO,
ed copy of this motion to the Director of the Civil Service Commission and the Chief Administrative Officer THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-657 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, MORRELL, GREEN AND THOMAS WHEREAS, at its meeting on September 13, 2024, the Civil Service Commission adopted the following amendment to the Classified Pay Plan (Health). In accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, this agency is submitting for Council approval,
inventory and systems. The Commission also recommended the use of a flexible hiring rate consistent with senior level management positions; and WHEREAS, the Chief Administrative Office has certified that funds are available to implement the above proposed amendment to the Classified Pay Plan; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That in accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the ConstitutionofLouisiana, the amendment to the Classified Pay Plan is approved to be effective November 10, 2024. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forward acertified copy of this motion to the Director of the Civil Service Commission and the Chief Administrative Officer THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-659 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, MORRELL, GREEN AND THOMAS
WHEREAS, at its meeting on October 11, 2024, the Civil Service Commission adopted the following amendments to the Classified Pay Plan (Safety and Permits). In accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, this agency is submitting for Council approval, the following amendments to the Classified Pay Plan as adopted by the Civil Service Commission at itsmeeting of October 11, 2024 as outlined below: New Job Series: Class Code New Classification Grade Grade/ Step Hiring Rate After 1/19/25*
C2450 Permit Technician I64 64/33 $49,889 64/35 $51,144
C2451 Permit Technician II 71 71/29 $56,488 71/31 $57,909
C2452 Permit Technician, Lead 73 73/29 $59,366 73/31 $60,859
C2454 Permit Technician Supervisor 78 78/27 $65,659 78/29 $67,218
*Incorporates January’s2.5% pay increase At the request of the Department of Safety and Permits, the Civil Service Commission approved the aforementioned specialized permitting job classifications focused on processing building permit applications. Work includes reviewing and processing building permit applications, answering questions from applicants, and working with other city departments to resolve building permit issues. Work also includes the start to finish involvement with the permit application process and related customer assistance; and WHEREAS, the Chief Administrative Office has certified that funds are available to implement the above proposed amendments to the Classified Pay Plan; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That in accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the ConstitutionofLouisiana, the amendments to the Classified Pay Plan areapproved to be effective November 10, 2024.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardacertified copy of this motion to the Director of the Civil Service Commission and the Chief Administrative Officer THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-660 BY:COUNCILMEMBERSGIARRUSSO, MORENO,MORRELL, GREEN AND THOMAS WHEREAS, at its meeting on October 11, 2024, the Civil Service Commission adopted the following amendments to the Classified Pay Plan (CAO-ITI).
In accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the ConstitutionofLouisiana, this agency is submitting for Council approval, the following amendments to the Classified Pay Plan as adopted by the Civil Service Commission at itsmeeting of October 11, 2024 as outlined below: New Classification: Class Code Classification: Grade/Step Hiring Rate Annual After 1/19/2025
C0150 Lead Information Technology Specialist (CAO-ITI) 92/27 $92,845 92/29 $95,181* Hiring Rates: Information Technology Hiring Rates Class Code Class Title From: Grade/Step Annual To:Grade/ StepAnnual To:After 1/19/25*
C0178 Information Technology Manager 93/23 $90,567 93/33 $102,546 93/35 $105,126
C0179 Information Technology Director 99/23 $105,126 99/31 $116,110 99/33 $119,061
C0181 Geographic Information System Administrator 99/23 $105,126 99/31 $116,110 99/33 $119,061
C0180 Information Technology Supervisor 90/23 $84,062 90/31 $92,845 90/33 $95,181 *Incorporates January’s2.5% increase At the request of the Chief Administrative Office (ITI), the Civil Service Commission approved the aforementioned new classification that would provide senior level professional information technology project management for the City’sIT initiatives. Work includes assisting and supporting project management work and providing communication between upper management and professionals implementing projects. providing technical services, security,support, monitoring and maintenance of citywide IT programs, processes, and projects. The Commission also approved hiring rates to recruit and retain supervisory Information Technology personnel; and WHEREAS,the Chief Administrative Office has certified that funds are available to implement the above proposed amendments to the Classified Pay Plan; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OFNEW ORLEANS, That in accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the ConstitutionofLouisiana, the amendments to the Classified Pay Plan areapproved to be effective November 10, 2024. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forward acertified copy of this motion to the Director of the Civil Service Commission and the Chief Administrative Officer THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-661 BY:COUNCILMEMBERSGIARRUSSO, MORENO,MORRELL, GREEN AND THOMAS WHEREAS, at its meeting on October 11, 2024, the Civil Service Commission adopted the following amendment to the Classified Pay Plan (Sewerage and Water Board). In accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the ConstitutionofLouisiana, this
At the request of the Sewerage and Water Board, the Civil Service Commission approved the aforementioned classification that would oversee the Board’sInformation Technology Department and have full management responsibilityfor its information system and telecommunication services and activities including the overalldesign, management and evaluation of such systems. The Commission also recommended the use of a flexiblehiring rate consistent with senior level management positions; and WHEREAS, the Chief Administrative Office has certified that funds are available to implement the above proposed amendment to the Classified Pay Plan; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That in accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the amendment to the Classified Pay Plan is approved to be effective November 10, 2024. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwarda certified copy of this motion to the Director of the Civil Service Commission and the Chief Administrative Officer THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-662 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, MORRELL, GREEN AND THOMAS
WHEREAS, at its meeting on October 11, 2024, the Civil Service Commission adopted the following amendment to the Classified Pay Plan (Sewerage and Water Board).
In accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, this agency is submitting for Council approval, the following amendment to the Classified Pay Plan as adopted by the Civil Service Commission at its meeting of October 11, 2024 as outlined below: New Special Rate of Pay: Employees in the classifications of Automotive Technician I, Automotive Technician II, Automotive Mechanic, Assistant, and Automotive Mechanic (Journeyman) who arecertified by the New Orleans Motor Vehicle Inspection Bureau to perform automotive and commercial inspections and areassigned such duties shall receive five percent over their normal rate of pay At the request of the Sewerage and Water Board, the Civil Service Commission approved the aforementioned special rate of pay to incentivize Automotive stafftoperform vehicle inspections for the purposes of issuing brake tags to public vehicles and ensuring that such vehicles areinproper working condition; and WHEREAS, the Chief Administrative Office has certified that funds are availabletoimplement the above proposed amendment to the Classified Pay Plan; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That in accordance with Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the amendment to the Classified Pay Plan is approved to be effective November 10, 2024. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwarda certified copy of this motion to the Director of the Civil Service Commission and the Chief Administrative Officer THE FOREGOINGMOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-663 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS THOMAS, GREEN AND KING (BY REQUEST)
WHEREAS, Section 70-10(a) of the New Orleans City Code ordains that certain contracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year must be signed by the president of the City Council; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10(b) of the New Orleans City Code ordains that the President of the New Orleans City Council (“Council”) shall not execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, Code Enforcement and H&O Investments, LLC, after completing the appropriate procurement process detailed within Invitation to Bid No.3323, desiretoenter into the first amendment to abid contract for lot abatement, grass cutting, and debris removal services, to extend the term by one year and increase compensation available to an estimated amount of $3,800,000.00, attached hereto in substantial conformity as Exhibit A. NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council shall be added as asignatory to the amendment between Code Enforcement and H&O Investments, LLC.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THECOUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEW
ORLEANS, That the President of the Council is authorized to sign the amendment between Code Enforcement and H&O Investments, LLC. BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion and exhibit(s) to the City Attorney’sOffice. THE FOREGOINGMOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-664
BY:COUNCILMEMBERS THOMAS, GREEN AND KING (BY REQUEST)
WHEREAS, Section 70-10(a) of the New Orleans City Code ordains that certain contracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year must be signed by the president of the City Council; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10(b) of the New Orleans City Code ordains that the President of the New Orleans City Council (“Council”) shall not execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, in accordance with the City’s Invitation to Bid No. 710, issued July 21, 2020, (the “ITB”) and the bid contract, as amended, the Department of Sanitation (“Sanitation”) and MDLEnterprises, LLC (the “Contractor”), now desiretoenter into afourth amendment to the bid contract for the purpose of extending the duration for an additional one (1) year from November 9, 2024, through November 8, 2025 (the “Amendment”); and WHEREAS, by entering into the Amendment, the parties also desireto reaffirm the price totaling $140.00 per hour for the roll-offtrucks plus the operator,asset forth in the Contractor’sproposal to the ITB issued July 21, 2020; and WHEREAS, given that the maximum amount of compensation expended to date currently totals $2,227,270.00, the parties agree and acknowledge that the City in its sole discretion will continue to purchase services which will cause the maximum amount of compensation to exceed the $1,000,000.00 thresholdduring the term of this Amendment; NOW THEREFORE
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council shall be added as asignatory to the Amendment to the bid contract between the Department of Sanitation and MDLEnterprises, LLC.
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council is authorized to sign the Amendment to the bid contract between the Department of Sanitation and MDLEnterprises, LLC. BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THECOUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the City Attorney’sOffice for preparation of the Amendment to the bid contract to effectuate this request.
THE FOREGOINGMOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS
CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-665 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS THOMAS, GREEN AND KING (BY REQUEST)
WHEREAS, Section 70-10(a) of the New Orleans City Code ordains that certain contracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year must be signed by the president of the City Council;and WHEREAS, Section 70-10(b) of the New Orleans City Code ordains that the President of the New Orleans City Council (“Council”) shall not execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, in accordance with the City’s Invitation to Bid No. 2512, issued September 30, 2022, (the “ITB”) and the bid contract, as amended, the Department of Sanitation (“Sanitation”) and MDLEnterprises, LLC (the “Contractor”), now desiretoenter into asecond amendment to the bid contract for the purpose of extending the duration for an additional one (1) year from February 6, 2025, through February 5, 2026 (the “Amendment”); and WHEREAS, by entering into the Amendment, the parties also desire to reaffirm the price totaling $155.69 per hour for skid steers plus the operator and $233.53 per hour for front-end loaders plus operator,asset forth in the Contractor’sproposal to the ITB issued September 30, 2022; and WHEREAS, given that the maximum amount of compensation expended to date currently totals $1,935,883.12, the parties agree and acknowledge
that the City in its sole discretion will continue to purchase services which will cause the maximum amount of compensation to exceed the $1,000,000.00 threshold during the term of this Amendment; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council shall be added as asignatory to the Amendment to the bid contract between the Department of Sanitation and MDL Enterprises, LLC. BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE
OF NEW ORLEANS, That the
of
between
Council is authorized to
the
of Sanitation and
BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the City Attorney’sOffice for preparation of the Amendment to the bid contract to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-667 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, HARRIS AND GREEN (BY REQUEST) WHEREAS, Section 70-10 of the Code of the City of New Orleans requires that certain contracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmore than $1,000,000.00
CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-668 BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER
system beforecompleting abooking transaction for the shortterm rental; and WHEREAS, the buildout of such electronic verification system is within the scope and authority of the Office of Information Technology and Innovation; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF
listings, is completed and available for use by short-term rental platforms on or beforeFebruary 1, 2025. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall provide acopy of this Motion to Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño and Chief Information Officer Kimberly W. LaGrue. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-669 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, GREEN AND HARRIS (BY REQUEST) WHEREAS, Section 70-10 of the Code of the City of New Orleans requires that certain contracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmore than $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year or providing for legal services must be signed by the President of the City Council; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10 further provides that the President of the City Council shall not execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, The City of New Orleans, and Children’sHospital desireto enter into athirdamendment to the Professional Services agreement in response to RFP 3837-02557for medical and behavioral health services for the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center,for an additional period of two (2) years, the total compensation being $8,678,060.30;NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council shall be added as asignatory to the Amendment No. 3between the City of New Orleans and Children’s Hospital; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the President of the Council is hereby authorized to sign Amendment No. 3between the City of New Orleans and Children’sHospital, as attached heretoasExhibit A; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion, including Exhibit A, to the City Attorney’sOffice to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-670 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, HARRIS AND GREEN (BY REQUEST) WHEREAS, Section 70-10 of the Code of the City of New Orleans requires that certain contracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmore than $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year or providing for legal services must be signed by the President of the City Council; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10 further provides that the President of the City Council shall not execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, The City of New Orleans (New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”); New Orleans Health Department –Office of Violence Prevention (“NOHDOVP”); New Orleans Office of Community Justice Coordination (“OCJC”); and Office of the Mayor) represented by LaToyaCantrell, Mayor (collectively,the “City”); Ubuntu Village NOLA, represented by Ernest Johnson, its Executive Director (“Ubuntu”); University Medical Center Trauma Recovery Center and Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (“UMCTRCHVIP”); The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, o/b/o Tulane University Violence Prevention Institute (“TUVPI”); Vera Institute for Justice (“Vera”); and DillardUniversity Center for Racial Justice (“Dillard”) desiretoenter into an MOU for aperiod of 3years to accomplish the valuable public purpose of decreasing violence in New Orleans and to that end by wish to collaborate in the New Orleans Community Violence Intervention Program (NOCVIP)for aperiod of 3 years; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council shall be added as asignatory to the contract between the City,Ubuntu, UMCTRCHVIP,TUVPI, Vera, and Dillard, and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the President of the Council is hereby authorized to sign the MOU between the City,Ubuntu, UMCTRCHVIP TUVPI, Vera, and Dillard, as attached heretoasExhibit A; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion, including Exhibit A, to the City Attorney’sOffice to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King, Morrell -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-671 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Mayor’sappointment of Joel Ross (vice Daniel Tapia), as amember of the New Orleans Public Library Board, effective upon approval by the Council of the City of New Orleans, for aterm that will expireonJune 30, 2028, be, and the same is hereby ratified, confirmed, and approved. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall immediately
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