For nearly four years, a couple and their two children have lived in hiding.
A year spent almost entirely indoors. Other times, moving constantly to evade Pakistani immi-
gration officials Countless nights silencing their children’s cries, desperate to remain unseen and avoid deportation or capture.
That’s how former Afghan prosecutor Freshta, her husband, Hadi, and their two small children have existed since 2021, hunted by the Taliban since the terrorist group
took control of the country
But on Thursday night, as the couple and their 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter walked through the gates of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, their nightmare finally ended.
“This is how freedom looks like,” Hadi said to his wife. “There’s no
Baton Rouge
police coming for you, and there’s no fear of being deported to Afghanistan.”
Before the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan, Freshta was one of many prosecutors in Kabul who worked alongside American military officials to prosecute crimes committed by the terrorist group.
As UNO fights to survive, alumni heed call for help
Pierre Champagne, a UNO graduate and volunteer works in the Bursar’s Office at the University of New Orleans on Thursday
BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
Most mornings, Pierre Champagne wakes before dawn, dons a blue polo and socks emblazoned with the University of New Orleans logo and reports to campus to help save his alma mater Champagne, a retired AT&T engineer who graduated from the university in
1976, has spent the past few months volunteering at the front desk of the Bursar’s Office, answering the phone and reassuring panicked students as the university contends with the worst financial crisis in its history
“If you want to define it, my job is to give (students) comfort, give them encouragement, make sure they know they have an ear to listen,” said Cham-
pagne, who keeps tissues and a fully stocked mug of candy at his desk to help soothe anxious students
For years, Champagne has been on a mission to rally his fellow alumni to donate their time and money to the university He often issues clarion cries on social media, such as this Instagram
ä See UNO, page 3A
The family has asked to be identified only by their first names and requested not to appear in photos because of continued fears of retaliation.
The couple were at ground zero when Kabul fell in 2021 as American troops withdrew They were within earshot when a suicide bomb detonated on Aug. 26, 2021,
ä See FREEDOM, page 6A
Ochsner,
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL and EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writers
The cameras flashed and applause rang out on Ochsner Health’s Jefferson Parish campus in late 2023.
Executives of Louisiana’s largest health care system, surrounded by business leaders, local politicians and medical staff, had gathered to celebrate what Ochsner Health CEO Pete November called an “unparalleled act of generosity” by Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson to help fund a new, freestanding children’s hospital. Fourteen months later and just a few miles across town, a similar celebration took place. During the run-up to the Super Bowl, officials with LCMC Health, Louisiana’s closest competitor to Ochsner, crowded onto a stage with Saints great Archie Manning, his son, Eli, and other members of the famed football family
Balloons dropped onto a cheering crowd after the announcement that Children’s Hospital New Orleans, which has treated kids at its Uptown campus for 70 years, would be renamed Manning Family Children’s following a “transformational” financial gift.
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
12 people injured in shooting at Toronto pub
TORONTO A dozen people were injured in a shooting at an eastern Toronto pub in what police called a reckless act of violence by three men who entered the bar and fired randomly without warning.
Superintendent Paul MacIntyre of the Toronto Police Service said that authorities received numerous emergency calls reporting a shooting at the Piper Arms about 10:40 p.m. Friday A preliminary investigation determined that three males entered the pub and began shooting at customers, MacIntyre said during a news conference at the scene. There were no immediate arrests.
“One male was armed with what appears to be an assault rifle, the other two males were armed with handguns, and they walked into the bar, they produced their guns and they opened fire indiscriminately on the people sitting inside,” MacIntyre said, adding that there were no fatalities
Police arrived at the scene and found 12 people suffering from various injuries The victims were transported to local hospitals and six were confirmed to have gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, MacIntyre said, calling the victims “extremely lucky.” The remaining six victims were hurt by flying and broken glass.
Police: Officer killed, another hurt by teen
NEWARK,N.J A 14-year-old shot and killed a police officer and wounded another Friday evening in New Jersey, authorities said, in a chaotic scene that witnesses described as seeing officers running down a busy street before they heard a volley of a dozen or more gunshots.
The slain officer, 26-year-old Joseph Azcona, was part of a team of Newark police detectives and federal agents that had gone to capture a suspect in an illegal weapons sting when the officer was fired on in his vehicle, authorities said “He didn’t even get a chance to step out of the vehicle before he was struck,” Emanuel Miranda, Newark’s director of public safety, told a Saturday morning news conference with Newark’s mayor and top prosecutor Miranda called Azcona a “true hero.
The other officer who was struck was hospitalized with injuries that were not expected to be life-threatening, authorities said. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called the shooting a “heinous, callous disregard for humanity” and that officers had gone to the scene knowing that “grave danger was possible.”
Man with flag climbs
London’s Big Ben tower
LONDON Traffic around the Palace of Westminster in London came to a standstill on Saturday as emergency services tried to reach a man who climbed the Big Ben tower holding a Palestinian flag.
Photos show the barefoot man, who appeared to be staging a protest, standing on a ledge several yards up Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben.
Officials said tours of the Houses of Parliament were canceled because of the incident Westminster Bridge and a nearby street were closed for much of Saturday and several emergency services vehicles were at the scene as crowds looked on. Police also blocked off all pedestrian access to Parliament Square.
The Metropolitan Police said earlier that officers received reports about the man about 7 a.m. Saturday and were “working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion” alongside firefighters and ambulance services
House GOP unveils spending bill
Measure likely to spark clash with Democrats
BY KEVIN FREKING Associated Press
WASHINGTON House Republicans unveiled a spending bill Saturday that would keep federal agencies funded through Sept. 30, pushing ahead with a go-it-alone strategy that seems certain to spark a major confrontation with Democrats over the contours of government spending.
The 99-page bill would provide a slight boost to defense programs while trimming nondefense programs below 2024 budget year levels. That approach is likely to be a nonstarter for most Democrats who have long insisted that defense and nondefense spending move in the same direction.
Congress must act by midnight Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Speaker Mike Johnson, RBenton, is teeing up the bill for a vote on Tuesday despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to vote against it and risk a shutdown. He also is betting that Republicans can muscle the legislation through the House largely by themselves.
Normally, when it comes to keeping the government fully open for business, Republicans have had to work with Democrats to craft a bipartisan measure
that both sides can support That’s because Republicans almost always lack the votes to pass spending bills on their own.
Crucially, the strategy has the backing of President Donald Trump, who has shown an ability so far in his term to hold Republicans in line.
Trump praised the bill, posting on his Truth Social platform that Republicans have to “remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right.”
“Great things are coming for America, and I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s ‘financial house’ in order,” he said.
House Republicans’ leadership staff outlined the
PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN
fighters battle a blaze Saturday after a Russian rocket attack in Dobropillya, Donetsk region, Ukraine.
Russian strikes kill 22 in Ukraine
Polish PM warns against appeasement
By The Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine Russia launched heavy aerial attacks on Ukraine for a second night Saturday after the United States stopped sharing satellite images with the Ukrainian government, officials said. At least 22 people have been killed.
The U.S. decision to withhold intelligence and military aid came on the heels of a tempestuous White House visit last week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy President Donald Trump is trying to pressure Ukraine into accepting a peace deal with Russia
Without U.S. satellite imagery, Ukraine’s ability to strike inside Russia and defend itself from bombardment is significantly diminished.
“This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X Saturday “More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.”
At least 11 people were killed in multiple strikes on a town in Ukraine’s embattled eastern Donetsk region late Friday, and another seven people were killed in four towns
close to the front where Russian troops have been making steady advances, said regional Gov Vadym Filashkin. Three others died when a Russian drone hit a civilian workshop in the northeastern Kharkiv region, emergency service officials reported. One man was killed by shelling in the region.
Filashkin declared a day of mourning Saturday and warned that more victims could still be found in the rubble.
Russia fired two ballistic missiles into the center of the front-line town of Dobropillya, then launched a strike targeting rescuers who responded, according to Zelenskyy Forty-seven people, including seven children, were injured in the attack.
“It is a vile and inhumane intimidation tactic to which the Russians often resort,” he said.
When asked Friday if Russian President Vladimir Putin was taking advantage of the U.S. pause on intelligence-sharing to attack Ukraine, Trump responded: “I think he’s doing what anybody else would.”
Zelenskyy did not mention intelligence-sharing Saturday, but said he welcomed Trump’s proposal Friday to impose large-scale banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and final peace settlement is reached.
contours of the measure, saying it would allow for about $892.5 billion in defense spending and about $708 billion in nondefense spending. The defense spending is slightly above the prior year’s level, but the nondefense spending, the aides said, was about $13 billion below last year
The measure also will not include funding requested by individual lawmakers for thousands of community projects around the country, often referred to as earmarks.
But Republicans noted that it would provide for the largest pay increase to junior enlisted service members in more than 40 years, and it included an additional $500 million for a nutritional assistance program for women, infants and young children.
The bill does not cover the majority of government spending, including Social Security and Medicare. Funding for those two programs is on autopilot and not regularly reviewed by Congress. Still, Democratic leadership issued a statement Saturday saying they were troubled the bill doesn’t take steps to protect those programs and Medicaid, which Republicans are eying to help pay for extending tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term.
“We are voting no,” said a trio of House Democratic leaders, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. The top Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, both issued statements blasting
the legislation. Murray said the legislation would “give Donald Trump and Elon Musk more power over federal spending and more power to pick winners and losers, which threatens families in blue and red states alike.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the focus must be on preventing a shutdown because closures have negative consequences all across government.
“They require certain essential government employees, such as Border Patrol agents, members of our military and Coast Guard, TSA screeners, and air traffic controllers, to report to work with no certainty on when they will receive their next paycheck,” Collins said. “We cannot allow that to occur.”
Trump’s request for unity appears to be having an effect. Some conservatives who seldom vote for continuing resolutions expressed much openness to one last week.
Rep. Ralph Norman, RS.C., says he has never voted for a continuing resolution, what lawmakers often call a CR, but he is on board with Johnson’s effort. He says he has confidence in Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to make a difference on the nation’s debt.
“I don’t like CRs,” Norman said. “But what’s the alternative? Negotiate with Democrats? No.”
Vatican: Pope responding well to treatment, showing improvement
BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
ROME Pope Francis is responding well to the treatment for double pneumonia and has shown a “gradual, slight improvement” in recent days, the Vatican said Saturday But his doctors have decided to keep his prognosis as guarded, meaning that he’s not out of danger yet.
The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has remained stable with no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported in a Vatican statement.
The doctors said that such stability “as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy.” It was the first time the doctors had reported that Francis was responding positively to the treatment for the complex lung infection that was diagnosed after he was hospitalized on Feb. 14.
Francis worked and rested during the day on Saturday, as he entered his fourth week at Rome’s Gemelli hospital with his condition stabilized following a few bouts of acute respiratory crises last week.
“In order to record these initial improvements in the coming days as well, his doctors have prudently maintained the prognosis as guarded,” the statement said.
In his absence, the Vatican’s day-to-day operations continued, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrating Mass for an anti-abortion group in St. Peter’s Basilica. At the start, Parolin delivered a message from the pope from the hospital on the need to protect life, from birth to natural death.
In the message, dated March 5 and addressed to the Movement for Life, which seeks to provide women with alternatives to abortion, Francis en-
Nuns pray for Pope Francis on Saturday in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where Francis is hospitalized.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
couraged the faithful to promote anti-abortion activities not just for the unborn, but
“for the elderly, no longer independent or the incurably ill.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, walks Monday through the Capitol in Washington.
post from 2023: “WE NEED ALL 400,000 FORMER STUDENTS TO STEP UP AND RECRUIT STUDENTS!!,” he wrote. “All hands on deck, Privateers!”
But lately his endeavor has taken on heightened urgency as the university attempts to right a major budget deficit that administrators have blamed on years of low enrollment and missteps including expensive long-term contracts. Since last summer, the university has laid off and furloughed staff, closed buildings and consolidated colleges to address a $10 million gap.
More changes could be on the way: Last month, Senate President Cameron Henry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier asked the Board of Regents, which oversees higher education across the state, to consider putting UNO under new leadership. The proposal would move UNO from the University of Louisiana System, where it’s been since 2011, back to the Louisiana State University system.
The financial uncertainty and questions about UNO’s future have spurred an outpouring of support from alumni near and far, school officials say Adam Norris, a UNO spokesperson, said alumni have recently offered financial donations hosted alumni events, volunteered on campus and helped with student recruitment.
“I am so inspired by so many of our alumni who now are leaders in our community, leaders in business who constantly reach out to me to tell me how much their UNO degree has meant to them and how much they’re rooting for us,” UNO president Kathy Johnson told staff at a December town hall meeting Alumni step up
UNO is often credited with developing New Orleans’ middle class by offering an affordable education to a diverse student body, which includes a sizable number of nontraditional college students. Since its founding in 1958, it has graduated countless engineers, researchers, teachers, artists and writers, many of whom stayed in New Orleans and shaped the city economically and culturally UNO has about 50,000 graduates, a spokesperson said, but the number of people who have taken classes or obtained a certification at the public university is likely far greater Some of its notable graduates include local leaders, including former New Orleans police chief Ronal Serpas and Jerry Bologna, who leads the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, and culturally significant artists such as Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown, the late cartoonist Bunny Matthews and many successful local musicians. Frank Ocean briefly attended the university before Hurricane Katrina.
Tim Ryan, a UNO graduate and New Orleans economist who has served as a UNO faculty member and chancellor, said the university plays an important role in the New Orleans economy as a designated researchbased institution.
“If we’re going to ever diversify our economy, a place like UNO is an incredibly critical part of it,” he said Julie Stokes, a former state representative who serves on the UL Board of Supervisors, said that UNO’s low cost allowed her, her husband and her sister-inlaw to obtain top-notch edu-
cations while living at home in New Orleans.
“We all came from nothing and now we’re all very successful, in large part because we had an affordable option,” said Stokes, who graduated from UNO in 1992 with a degree in accounting Stokes said she knew about UNO’s long-term enrollment struggles but was surprised to learn about the severity of the financial crisis. In the months since the reality of UNO’s financial
predicament has surfaced she said she’s heard from alumni and others asking how they can help A group of alumni have discussed writing an op-ed and others plan to write to state legislators urging them to step in.
“The amount of community support has been overwhelming,” she said.
‘How can I help?’
Few alumni have stepped up as visibly as Champagne. After his retirement in 2023, he began patrolling the
campus and popping into buildings to ask, “How can I help?”
“After a while,” he said recently, “people actually came to realize that I am serious.”
His current post in the Bursar’s Office comes after decades of volunteer work at UNO, including scorekeeping during basketball games, mentoring engineering students and assisting the alumni association In 2022, Champagne and his wife, Cheryl, who has been
an adviser to the cheerleading squad on and off since the 1970s, were inducted into the UNO Athletics Hall of Fame.
Pierre Champagne is a ubiquitous presence on campus. He regularly attends meetings of the student government, faculty and staff senate, and the United Campus Workers, the campus union that represents faculty and staff. After the university cut spending on groundskeeping services, he helped pick up the slack, recently cleaning the grime he noticed on some signs around campus.
“I beg alumni and former students,” he said. “At least show up. Come to campus. Find your department.”
Sometimes, he said, students, staff and faculty simply need a morale boost and to know they have the community’s support.
“That is the greatest power I believe we have that is not fully tapped,” he said.
A personal fight
Champagne attributes UNO with shaping the trajectory of his life.
After graduating from De La Salle High School, a Catholic school on St. Charles Avenue, he enrolled at UNO because of its low cost. His engineering coursework included a co-op position at Southern Bell, now AT&T, that led to a long career at the company
And on a spring day in 1971, he met his wife Cheryl on campus (He can still point out the exact spot, five steps above a landing at the University Center.) Two weeks after that first meeting, they were engaged.
“My ring trilogy: my marriage my degree, my engineering career,” Champagne said, pointing to his wedding band, engineering society ring and class ring. “Tolkien has his, I have mine, and it would have been impossible without UNO.”
This year Champagne was nominated to ride in the university’s annual Carnival parade, known as Krewe of UNO, on a float honoring the school’s “Everyday Heroes.” When the parade rolled through campus Tuesday, Champagne threw beads and candy to onlookers from the ship-style float. Decked out in a bedazzled silver and blue hat and a sash that read “UNO hero,” he was accompanied on the float by the student homecoming queen, a representative from the Beach at UNO, a faculty member and a student advisor Champagne said that seeing the celebration proceed despite the turmoil at UNO felt a little like New Orleans throwing the first Jazz Fest after Hurricane Katrina.
“We need to be able to laugh together, to celebrate together and commiserate together,” he said. “This is my life, this is my family.”
PHOTO By
Champagne, a UNO graduate and volunteer, speaks on the phone in the Bursar’s
fice at the University of New Orleans on Thursday
The two nonprofit children’s hospitals now have dueling support from some of the biggest names in New Orleans. Both are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new facilities. And despite the celebratory atmosphere at ribboncuttings and news conferences, leaders from the health systems acknowledge that a long-simmering rivalry is intensifying into an all-out competition for pediatric care.
LCMC leaders have bristled at Ochsner’s plans for a new, five-story stand-alone facility. They argue that there aren’t enough patients to support two local hospitals for kids, that Ochsner is only focused on high-margin pediatric specialties and that they should have partnered to serve Louisiana’s sickest children and attract patients from across the South with specialty care
“Fragmentation and duplication dilute both institutions,” said Dr Mark Kline, chief medical officer at Manning Family Children’s.
“This is a small and shrinking market. My concern is that neither institution will achieve what it would achieve otherwise if they worked together.”
Ochsner executives say that LCMC is disregarding their long experience in pediatrics, arguing that the Gayle and Tom Benson Ochsner Children’s Hospital is an expansion of an existing children’s “hospital within a hospital” and that they are endeavoring to help more kids by creating a regional destination that LCMC had decades to try and build.
Dr Vincent “Butch” Adolph, regional medical director at Ochsner Children’s, said competition will improve care.
“If we’re in a constant battle to see who can be the best children’s hospital, then the patients will benefit,” said Adolph. “The expectation is that if we build better programs, people will choose to come here.”
Growing health care networks
The discord over pediatric care represents a new front in the escalating competition between the two health systems that have come to dominate health care in Greater New Orleans. How it plays out could have repercussions for fami-
lies across Louisiana who increasingly turn to them for the most complex pediatric cases.
Ochsner and LCMC have expanded quickly over the past two decades Under CEO Greg Feirn, LCMC, which in 2008 ran only a single children’s hospital, has grown to an eight-hospital system that employs more than 18,000 and operates the massive University Medical Center in New Orleans.
Led by former CEO Warner Thomas and now November who took over as CEO in 2022, Ochsner owns or operates hospitals from Shreveport to the Mississippi Gulf Coast — with children’s clinics in Jackson and Hattiesburg — employing roughly 40,000.
care has occasionally been floated but never seriously pursued.
Though Ochsner is far larger regionally, LCMC is its only competitor in the New Orleans metro area. Every local hospital, except for the VA, is now owned or operated by one of the two systems. At some busy intersections, their clinics stand on opposite street corners like rival fast-food outlets. Failed mergers
The rivalry between LCMC and Ochsner has been growing as the two providers vie to provide “cradle-to-grave” care to patients of all ages. But there has always been competition, even amid efforts to come together
In the late 1970s, the two spent months negotiating a merger that would have brought the then-financially troubled Children’s under Ochsner control. But the deal fell apart because of disagreements over where the hospital would be located and whether there would be an open medical staff.
Doctors at Children’s felt so strongly against being bought out by Ochsner that they all walked out of a staff meeting when the idea was proposed, recalled Dr Jay Goldsmith, a 79-year-old neonatologist who has worked at both hospitals and was involved in the talks.
In the early 1990s, the two tried again, according to Dr. Keith Perrin, a retired pediatrician, who had an independent practice for years and later worked for LCMC. But differences over location, control and money kept the two apart. Since Katrina, the idea of closer collaboration around children’s
“We had all these opportunities and kept dropping the ball,” Goldsmith said. Ever since, LCMC has branched out beyond pediatrics into total patient care, acquiring several acute-care hospitals, including Touro, New Orleans East Hospital and East Jefferson General, and has long-term deals to manage University Medical Center and West Jefferson Medical Center Since 2023, they also have an agreement with Our Lady of the Lake to run their freestanding Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge.
its part, Ochsner, which now hospitals across the Gulf South, has gotten serious about growing its pediatrics program, investing tens of millions of dollars, quadrupling the number of pediatricians on staff, opening new pediatric clinics around the state and hiring Dr Benjamin Peeler, a nationally renowned pediatric heart surgeon, from Sanger/Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In interviews, Ochsner officials said the bigger move into pediatrics began in the early 2010s under Thomas, who identified a need for surgeons who could do pediatric heart transplants — a complicated, risky and high-margin procedure.
“We looked around and saw people were leaving Louisiana to get this care,” Adolph said. “It was undeniable, and we perceived that as a need we wanted to address.”
LCMC was aware of the gap in the market, according to Kline, who was not at Manning’s Children at the time, and says the decision not to do pediatric heart transplants was intentional because there are so few patients and Houston, just 350 miles away, has one of the best programs in the country
“We don’t think it is mission critical or in the best interest of either program to try to compete for the very few heart transplant patients with the best program in the country,” Kline said.
LCMC hospital executive John Nickens, who served as CEO of Manning Family Children’s from 2018-22 and is currently CEO at UMC, said he has tried to restart talks about collaborating, partner-
ing and reducing duplication of services with Ochsner since they began to expand their pediatric offerings, but it hasn’t gone anywhere.
“They’re not willing to have the conversation that I think is really best for kids,” said Nickens.
Ochsner’s leadership says past efforts to collaborate between the two systems are water under the bridge.
“Our focus is on doing as good a job as we can for as many patients as we can,” Adolph said. “We’re not spending a lot of time thinking about what people down the street are doing.”
Competition and pediatric care
Competition in health care is typically considered good for patients, giving them more options and keeping costs in check, according to Ge Bai, a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
With children’s hospitals, it’s not always that simple. Generally, only the sickest children require hospitalization and their conditions typically require specialized care. Facilities that perform more liver transplants or heart surgeries, for instance, typically have better outcomes than those that do fewer said Kevin Holloran, senior director of the U.S. Public Finance Group with Fitch Ratings, who has studied the financial challenges facing children’s hospitals around the U.S.
“The best pediatric cardiac surgeon does 100 surgeries a year, say, not 10, so if you’re dealing with a small subset of a population — pediatric cardiology patients you don’t want to spread them out,” Holloran said “You want the same person doing all of them.”
For that reason, children’s hospitals around the country have traditionally “been like Switzerland,” serving as a neutral institution that partners with many health care organizations in a given market, Holloran said.
San Diego-based health care consultant Nate Kauffman said that dynamic has pushed some dueling children’s hospitals in other markets to come together in recent years.
Atlanta’s two children’s hospitals merged in the late 1990s to form Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, now one of the largest pediatric systems in the U.S. San Francisco’s UCSF Benioff and Oakland Children’s Hospital teamed up in 2014.
Two children’s hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky, merged in 2016 to
form a combined hospital that has continued to expand.
“Most places have realized it only makes sense to have one children’s hospital,” Kauffman said “It makes it easier to attract specialists and you don’t have dueling philanthropy.”
In cities that have retained two strong children’s hospitals, at times it has been a struggle, experts say In Baltimore, the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins compete for pediatric cardiac surgery patients, according to Dr Scott Krugman, senior associate dean at the George Washington Regional Medical Campus at LifeBridge and a clinical professor at George Washington University Over the past few years, both programs lost their surgeons because neither had enough patients to attract the best doctors.
“If you’re a pediatric cardiac surgeon, you want to do a lot of cases, and you want to be doing pediatric cases,” Krugman said. “In Baltimore, there’s just not enough volume for both So for months, we had nobody.”
Trading barbs
Ochsner officials disagree with the contention from LCMC that their new stand-alone hospital will dilute the market or lessen the quality of care.
Rob Woltermann, Ochsner’s Southshore CEO, said their existing children’s hospital is “busting at the seams” and has had to turn patients away Ochsner declined to provide specific numbers.
Woltermann also suggested that Ochsner may not have moved forward if Manning Children’s had grown into a national center renowned for premier pediatric care like the children’s hospitals in Cincinnati or Philadelphia.
“If we had a Cincinnati Children’s here as long as we’ve had Children’s, I don’t think we would necessarily need to have two facilities,” Woltermann said.
LCMC officials say they have created a regional destination for sick kids, pointing to the 40 specialists they hired in 2024. They say Ochsner specializes in a few “highmargin” specialties and doesn’t serve the breadth or depth of sick children Manning Children’s does.
“They’re a pediatric program, not a hospital,” said Manning Children’s CEO Lou Fragoso. “Just because you put ‘children’s hospital’ on a building doesn’t make you a children’s hospital.”
Demonstrators march on International Women’s Day
Protests demand equal rights, end to discrimination and sexual violence
BY MEHMET GUZEL and ANDREW WILKS Associated Press
ISTANBUL Women took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa, South America and elsewhere to mark International Women’s Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.
On the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, a rally in Kadikoy saw members of dozens of women’s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2025 the Year of the Family Protesters pushed back against the idea of women’s role being confined to marriage and motherhood, carrying banners reading “Family will not bind us to life” and “We will not be sacrificed to the family.”
Critics have accused the government of overseeing restrictions on women’s rights and not doing enough to tackle violence against women.
Erdogan in 2021 withdrew Turkey from a European treaty, dubbed the Istanbul Convention, that protects women from domestic violence. Turkish rights group We Will Stop Femicides Platform says that 394 women were killed by men in 2024.
“There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society We demand that this pressure be reduced even further,” Yaz Gulgun, 52, said.
In many other European countries, women also protested against violence, for better access to gender-specific health care, equal pay and other issues in which they don’t get the same treatment as men.
In Poland, activists opened a center across from the parliament building in Warsaw where women can go to have abortions with pills, either alone or with other women.
Opening the center on International Women’s Day across from the legislature was a symbolic challenge to authorities in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation, which has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws.
From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Belgrade and in many more cities across the continent, women marched to demand an end to treatment as second-class citizens in society, politics, family and at work.
Stadium, dancing and signing and celebrating their womanhood. Many were dressed in purple — the traditional color of the women’s liberation movement.
In Russia, the women’s day celebrations had a more official tone, with honor guard soldiers presenting yellow tulips to girls and women during a celebration in St.
Petersburg.
In Berlin, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for stronger efforts to achieve equality and warned against tendencies to roll back progress already made.
of a new American administration, setting up diversity programs and raving about a new ‘masculine energy’ in companies and society.”
In South America, some of the marches were organized by groups protesting the killings of women known as femicides.
Hundreds of women in Ecuador marched through the streets of Quito to steady drumbeats and held signs that opposed violence and the “patriarchal system.”
“Justice for our daughters!” some demonstrators yelled in support of women slain in recent years.
In Madrid, protesters held up big hand-drawn pictures depicting Gisele Pélicot, the woman who was drugged by her now ex-husband in France over the course of a decade so that she could be raped by dozens of men while unconscious. Pélicot has become a symbol for women all over Europe in the fight against sexual violence. Thousands of women marched in the capital Skopje and several other cities in North Macedonia to raise their voices for economic, political and social equality for women.
Organizers said only about 28% of women in the country own property and in rural areas only 5%, mostly widows, have property in their name. Only 18 out of 100 women surveyed in rural areas re-
Iranian leader rejects talks with U.S.
By The Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he rejects a U.S. push for talks between the two countries because they would be aimed at imposing restrictions on Iranian missile range and its influence in the region.
Speaking to a group of officials on Saturday, Khamenei
did not identify the United States by name but said a “bullying government” was being persistent in its push for talks.
“Their talks are not aimed at solving problems, it is for let’s talk to impose what we want on the other party that is sitting on the opposite side of the table.” Khamenei’s remarks came a day after President Don-
ald Trump acknowledged sending a letter to Khamenei seeking a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear program and replace the nuclear deal he withdrew America from during his first term in office.
Khamenei said U.S. demands would be both military and related to the regional influence of Iran.
sponded that their parents divided family property equally between the brother and sister “The rest were gender discriminated against within their family,” they said.
In Nigeria’s capital, Lagos, thousands of women gathered at the Mobolaji Johnson
“Globally, we are seeing populist parties trying to create the impression that equality is something like a fixed idea of progressive forces,” he said. He gave an example of “ large tech companies that have long prided themselves on their modernity and are now, at the behest
In Bolivia, thousands of women began marching late Friday, with some scrawling graffiti on the walls of courthouses demanding that their rights be respected and denouncing impunity in femicides, with less than half of those cases reaching a sentencing.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMRAH GUREL
Women chant slogans Saturday during a protest marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul.
and killed 13 Americans and 170 Afghan civilians
It was then that Freshta and 1,500 Afghan prosecutors were forced to flee their homeland after the Taliban’s takeover Her family had no other choice but to abandon everything they knew to escape the ever-present threat to her life, and they have since lived as refugees in Pakistan.
Though distanced from the Taliban’s doorstep, the couple described their lives in Afghanistan’s neighboring country as “hell.”
But this week, their dreams were finally realized, thanks to the help of East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore and a group of fellow U.S. ecutors hellbe getting families theirs to safety Freshta an both 32, were come with as they spoke welcoming party about a dozen airport Thursda Moore stood beside them
“I don’t know what to say,” Hadi said, struggling to speak through tears. “We made it. Because of a few people, it was possible.”
Like living in ‘a prison’
The process of immigrating to the U.S. is no easy task, even for allies like Freshta who worked with the American military Freshta’s life has been in greater danger than most, Moore said, as she was one of the first women to prosecute a case involving violence against women.
“Afghanistan did not prosecute rapes and sexual assaults because the word of any woman was only valued at one-half of any man,” Moore said.
Moore is a member of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, a group that has worked tirelessly in recent years to help this group of
Afghan prosecutors immigrate to the U.S. A university professor and journalist, Hadi’s life was threatened by the danhere ced to anihis wo handPakidis-
tanced from the terrorist group, living in Pakistan offered little relief, the couple said.
Tensions between the two neighboring countries have been high, said David LaBahn, president of the attorneys group. Pakistan only reluctantly accepts refugees, and has since deported many of them.
Nearly all of Freshta and Hadi’s family still live in Afghanistan, where the Taliban continues to actively look for them.
In recent years, Freshta’s brother was captured and beaten five times by Taliban members who sought to uncover her and her husband’s whereabouts, she said Fears of being deported back to the Taliban’s doorstep have surged.
LaBahn said Pakistan has made March 21 the deadline for Afghan refugees to be deported
“Every night till 3 a.m., 4 a.m., 5 a.m., we were just awake and thinking about what will happen,” Freshta said.
The couple did the best they could to keep their children from crying even inside the walls of their temporary housing in Pakistan, hoping to remain invisible to authorities knocking on doors to deport refugees.
“Crying is natural and necessary for human beings. But because of the police coming, going, knocking the doors because of deportation, we couldn’t let the kids cry freely,” Hadi said. “Every time we say, ‘No, just be silent. Don’t cry.’”
As threats of deportation and being turned over to the Taliban increased, the couple went almost a year without stepping foot outside of their temporary home.
“We couldn’t leave the house,” Freshta said. “That was such a prison.”
Hopes killed, resurrected Moore said he has known of Freshta for about a year Like others in the attorneys group, the East Baton Rouge district attorney operates on a belief that the U.S has a responsibility to help the prosecutors find refuge in this country after aiding the American military
LaBahn said this shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but it unfortunately has become
so, especially recently
A Trump executive order on Jan. 20 halted the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program that allowed prosecutors like Freshta and her family to find safe haven in the U.S.
“This sweeping executive order and the effects of this executive order are trapping them, and it’s really bad,” LaBahn said.
LaBahn said the Taliban has killed 54 Afghan prosecutors since 2021, and 50 prosecutor families remain in danger
After trying to find passage for nearly a year, it looked as though a door opened for Freshta and Hadi when they received a call from advocates in mid-January with instructions to race to the Islamabad airport.
The time was now, they were told.
But almost in an instant, their dreams were extinguished.
Baggage packed and ready to go, the couple wept as they texted Moore after they heard they could not go to the U.S., due to Trump’s order
“You dream about something, dream big, and you have hope, you have plans you’re ready to start a new life,” Hadi said. “And something happens, and someone says to you, ‘No, stop there.’”
The development also was a punch to the gut of Moore, who at the time said he was “almost certain” the family would be killed if deported back to Afghanistan.
After they were denied passage, Freshta and Hadi were forced to continue living in limbo in Pakistan with hope dwindling and pressure of deportation back to Afghanistan surging, as the March 21 deadline approached.
“We didn’t know what would happen,” Hadi said. “It was total uncertainty.”
But at the beginning of February, a lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Washington state, challenging the Trump administration’s order
On Tuesday, U.S. District
Court Judge Jamal N. Whitehead granted an injunction, pausing Trump’s immigration order and opening the door for refugees like Freshta and Hadi to come to the U.S. if they acted quickly
The same day, the couple went to the airport in Islamabad, where Pakistani officials told them Trump ended the American refugee program. But after some convincing, they were finally able to board a plane for Qatar and then another for Seattle, still worried they could be stopped and sent home at any moment.
“Every step of this trip was full of anxiety and tension,” Hadi said. “This was our last chance.”
On American soil
On Wednesday, they landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The idea was that arriving in the city where a judge had temporarily blocked Trump’s order would improve their chances of clearing immigration.
Local attorneys who volunteer for the attorneys group waited outside customs at the airport, ready to spring into action if immigration officials wouldn’t let them through.
Hadi said it was “the last important step” of their journey The husband and wife waited and prayed as authorities brought the family into a room, took their phones and left to review their documents. Thirty minutes passed before a customs official came back.
“He said, ‘You came late. There’s no process. You’re not allowed to enter,’” Hadi said.
The couple asked him to retrieve one of their phones on which they had a copy of the court ruling from days prior
The officer read the order and contacted officials in Washington, D.C., Hadi said.
The family waited for two more hours on pins and needles, until the customs officer finally returned.
“Congratulations Your documents have been pro-
cessed,” he told them.
The husband and wife erupted in tears.
“It was a beautiful moment,” Freshta said. Overcome with relief, Hadi likened the feeling to weightlessness or being given “a cold glass of water after years in the desert.”
During a brief phone call Wednesday, the typically stoic Moore sounded relieved himself.
“They made it through,” he said.
A new life in Baton Rouge Group volunteers met the couple outside the airport terminal and took them to a hotel, where they stayed until traveling to Baton Rouge the next day Now in Baton Rouge, Freshta and Hadi are living in a hotel as Moore and others look for more permanent housing for them.
A GoFundMe has been launched to support them in rebuilding their lives. The district attorney and others said clothing for the family, household items and other donations can be dropped off at the Louisiana District Attorneys Association office at 2525 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge. Moore hopes to secure a sponsor for Freshta and help her find work as a support staffer in the District Attorney’s Office while she pursues a law degree in the U.S. Hadi said he is interested in going back to school here and furthering his media education or studying something new On Friday afternoon, after spending their first night in Louisiana, the couple sat at the kitchen table in their hotel room. Leaning back in their chairs, they held hands while their daughter napped in the next room and their son played on the floor beside them.
“This is freedom,” Hadi said. “We have not slept good like this in many years.”
Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.
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welcome a family from Afghanistan to Baton Rouge on Thursday.
Israel to send delegation to Qatar for talks
Envoys to try to ‘advance’ Gaza ceasefire negotiations
BY WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israel said that it would send a delegation to Qatar on Monday “in an effort to advance the negotiations” around the ceasefire in Gaza, while Hamas reported “positive signals” in talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on starting negotiations on the truce’s delayed second phase.
The statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office gave no details except to say it had “accepted the invitation of U.S.-backed mediators.”
Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif alQanoua also gave no details. Talks on the second phase should have started a month ago.
There was no immediate comment from the White House, which on Wednesday made the surprise confirmation of direct U.S. talks with Hamas.
Over the past week, Israel has pressed Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for an extension of the first phase,
which ended last weekend, and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 34 others.
Israel last weekend cut off all supplies to Gaza and its more than 2 million people as it pressed Hamas to agree. The militant group has said that the move would affect the remaining hostages as well.
The ceasefire has paused the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The first phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli forces have withdrawn to buffer zones inside Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza for the first time since early in the war and hundreds of trucks of aid entered per day until Israel suspended supplies.
Before their weekly rally in Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump, who met with eight former hostages on Wednesday “Mr President, a return to war
means a death sentence for the living hostages left behind. Please, sir do not allow Netanyahu to sacrifice them.”
Also on Saturday, foreign ministers from Muslim nations rejected Trump’s calls to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population and backed a plan for an administrative committee to govern the territory to allow reconstruction to proceed.
The foreign ministers gathered in
Saudi Arabia for a special session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation in Gaza. The OIC has 57 nations with largely Muslim populations.
They supported a plan to rebuild Gaza put forward by Egypt and backed by Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Without mentioning Trump, the ministers’ statement said that they rejected “plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people
individually or collectively as ethnic cleansing, a grave violation of international law and a crime against humanity.”
They also condemned “policies of starvation” they said aim to push Palestinians to leave, a reference to Israel’s cutting off all supplies to Gaza.
Trump has called for Gaza’s population to be resettled elsewhere permanently, so that the United States can take over the territory and develop it for others. Palestinians have rejected calls to leave.
The ministers at the OIC gathering supported a proposal that an administrative committee replace Hamas in governing Gaza. The committee would work “under the umbrella” of the Palestinian Authority, based in the occupied West Bank. Israel has rejected the PA having any role in Gaza, but hasn’t put forward an alternative for postwar rule.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement that they welcome the Arab initiative for a Gaza reconstruction plan, calling it “a realistic path.” They added that “Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel anymore,” and they support the central role for the PA
2 days of clashes, revenge slayings kill more than 1,000 in Syria
BY BASSEM MROUE and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press
BEIRUT
— The death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in addition to 745 civilians killed, mostly in shootings from close distance, 125 government security force members and 148 militants with armed groups affiliated with Assad were killed. It added that
electricity and drinking water were cut off in large areas around the city of Latakia
The clashes, which erupted Thursday, marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government in Damascus, three months after insurgents took authority after removing Assad from power.
The government has said that they were responding to attacks from remnants of Assad’s forces and blamed “individual actions” for the rampant violence.
The revenge killings that started Friday by Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government against members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect are a major blow to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the overthrow of the former gov-
ernment. Alawites made up a large part of Assad’s support base for decades.
Residents of Alawite villages and towns spoke to The Associated Press about killings during which gunmen shot Alawites, the majority of them men, in the streets or at the gates of their homes. Many homes of Alawites were looted and then set on fire in different areas, two residents of Syria’s coastal region told the AP from their hideouts. They asked that their names not be made public out of fear of being killed by gunmen, adding that thousands of people have fled to nearby mountains for safety.
Residents of Baniyas, one of the towns worst hit by the violence, said bodies were strewn on the streets or left unburied in homes
and on the roofs of buildings, and nobody was able to collect them.
One resident said that the gunmen prevented residents for hours from removing the bodies of five of their neighbors killed Friday at close range. Ali Sheha, a 57-year-old resident of Baniyas who fled with his family and neighbors hours after the violence broke out Friday, said that at least 20 of his neighbors and colleagues in one neighborhood of Baniyas where Alawites lived, were killed, some of them in their shops, or in their homes.
Sheha called the attacks “revenge killings” of the Alawite minority for the crimes committed by Assad’s government. Other residents said the gunmen included foreign fighters, and militants from neighboring
villages and towns.
“It was very very bad. Bodies were on the streets,” as he was fleeing, Sheha said, speaking by phone from nearly 12 miles away from the city He said the gunmen were gathering less than 100 meters from his apartment building, firing randomly at homes and residents and in at least one incident he knows of, asked residents for their IDs to check their religion and their sect before killing them He said the gunmen also burned some homes and stole cars and robbed homes. The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said that revenge killings stopped early Saturday “This was one of the biggest massacres during the Syrian conflict,” Abdurrahman said about the killings of Alawite civilians.
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People block the entrance to Israel’s defense ministry headquarters on Saturday during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Field’s Italian is popular spot from Nicaud brothers
BY JUSTIN MITCHELL Staff writer
The doors have been open for about two weeks at Field’s Italian restaurant, the newest dining option on Government Street in downtown Ocean Springs, and dinner reservations are going as fast as general manager Ashton Senn can answer the phone.
“We are booking out every single night,” said the food and beverage industry veteran who has worked in restaurants and nightclubs across New Orleans and the Mississippi Coast
The fried burrata appetizer flies off the menu so fast, she often has to make a grocery store run to Rouses to get more. Once one table orders the dish adored with housemade vodka sauce and chili oil, others follow suit. The same goes for mascarpone cheese used in the fromscratch tiramisu.
Field’s Italian is the brainchild of Field and Jourdan Nicaud, brothers who run some of the most recognized restaurants on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including waterfront Bacchus eateries in Pass Christian and Ocean Springs, and Field’s Steak and Oyster Bar in Bay St. Louis and Biloxi. Jourdan Nicaud’s latest restaurant is Toro Sushi on Court Street in the Bay
The Pass Christian natives wanted to add an Italian concept to downtown Ocean Springs, a city that’s growing in popularity among tourists looking for a weekend getaway and Louisiana residents in the market for a second home or beach house.
“This has been three years in the making, Jourdan Nicaud said “(We) felt that Gulf Coast was missing an Italian food product at a lower price point, but with a high-end feel.” Jourdan, who lives in New Or-
Rooftop, which had a Mexican restaurant on the first floor and indoor-outdoor bar and dance club on the second.
Field’s is on the first floor and offers two different vibes for diners, Senn said. Guests are greeted by green velvet couches, tropical wallpaper and a giant bar with windows that open to outdoor patio seating.
No reservations are required at the bar, and the full menu is served there.
“It’s cool, colorful and vibrant,” Jourdan said, and the decor transports customers from coastal Mississippi to Miami Beach.
Senn said the private rooms can be arranged to seat from six to 24 people.
A peek at the menu
Lauren Joffrion is the corporate executive chef for the restaurant group, and her menu at Field’s Italian blends the classics with unique coastal flavor profiles.
“We wanted to do some familiar Italian flavors, but with a modern twist,” she said.
crab arancini and mozzarella sticks — the lasagna, lobster ravioli and peppered pig flatbread with an Alfredo sauce base, hot cherry peppers, peperonata, salami and sausage.
Joffrion and her team make everything from scratch, she said.
The most popular cocktails from the bar menu, crafted by Senn, are the “Spressy” espresso martini and Negroni pitcher What’s next?
Field’s will soon open for lunch too, as spring and summer kick off the busiest time for tourism in south Mississippi. Jourdan said a second Field’s Italian restaurant will open in Pass Christian this spring.
It will be located just off the beach in his new Bungalows development, a mixed-use space that features local retail, restaurants and long-term rental units.
“People are already asking about (Field’s), wanting to know who is eating there and what people think,” Ocean Springs Mayor Kenny Holloway said.
Holloway, a Republican who was elected in 2021, said he’s excited for more businesses to open in the building that houses Field’s Italian, including Cat Island Coffee and a rooftop piano bar that Senn will also manage for the Nicaud brothers.
A jewelry store anchors the first floor with Field’s, and the second floor will also have hotel rooms.
“It’s good development,” he said. “It’s not anything far out that would be of concern.”
leans with his wife, Vibha, and their daughters, is a big foodie who splits his time between the city and his hometown. He and Field have been renovating a three-story building that houses Field’s after the brothers closed
Behind a door and down a hallway is the dining room, which has shades of olive, blue and brown. The spaces are more intimate, and there are private rooms separated by leather curtains for large parties and events.
One of the most popular dishes so far has been the spicy rigatoni alla vodka, with guests choosing to add Joffrion’s meatballs to the dish at the recommendation of beloved server Fready Staten.
“A lot of people say this is one of the best meatballs they’ve ever had,” Senn said.
Other popular menu items include the hot charcuterie board — with meatballs, Italian sausage,
Holloway added that Louisiana natives are scooping up second homes near downtown, as Government Street offers dining, art, bars, boutiques, and more local businesses that are just a short walk or drive from the beachfront.
“There are Saints and LSU cars with (Louisiana) tags all over the place,” he said “Ocean Springs is a popular little retreat.”
Email Justin Mitchell at justin. mitchell@theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTOS By JUSTIN MITCHELL
The bar area of Field’s Italian restaurant in Ocean Springs, Miss., has windows that open up to the patio on
LOUISIANA POLITICS
Mike Johnson tries to avert a government shutdown
WASHINGTON — While attention focuses on changing tariffs and rising prices, the deadline to stop a government shutdown is fast approaching
When Friday night turns to Saturday morning at midnight, much of the federal government will close unless Congress this week passes legislation to authorize further spending.
Mark Ballard
Both President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, are scurrying to get such a bill passed. So far, they haven’t nailed down enough votes to avoid a politically damaging shutdown.
With a 218-216 Republican majority, Johnson can lose only two GOP votes if everyone shows up and the Democrats remain opposed to the usually bipartisan measure.
Johnson is optimistic.
“I believe we’ll pass it along party lines,” he said Thursday “It is a fundamental responsibility we have to fund the government. And a clean CR with a few minor anomalies is not something that they should vote against.”
He’s referring to a “continuing resolution,” a single stopgap measure that would authorize government to spend taxpayer dollars until the end of September A new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. A CR lumps all funding together at the same levels that were approved last year under President Joe Biden.
By clean, Johnson is saying the bill does not include additional funding cuts or riders promoting conservative causes that have proved to be stumbling blocks in the past.
“I certainly hope that reasonably minded members on both sides of the aisle will do the right thing. It doesn’t help anyone to have a government shut down,” Johnson said.
He blamed unreasonable Democratic demands for stifling negotiations that forced the need for a continuing resolution.
Traditionally, Congress passes 12 bills that appropriate spending for the fiscal year at federal agencies. But that’s only happened a few times this century as Re-
Verne Kennedy, La. pollster, dies
Only political insiders knew his name, but Verne Kennedy played a significant role for decades in deciding who would be elected governor of Louisiana.
V. Kennedy
Kennedy was a pollster whose survey results helped candidates craft messages for voters. Former governors Edwin Edwards and David Treen were among his clients.
Kennedy’s data also helped business owners decide who to bet their money on. Kennedy, 83, died on Feb. 28 in Gulf Breeze, Florida. He had two children and was married to his wife Martha for 61 years.
Besides working for candidates, Kennedy did polling for a group of about 20 business owners for Louisiana governor’s races from 1995 through 2023.
“We wanted to pick someone who wasn’t in Louisiana or was tied to any candidate and did good research,” said Randy Haynie, a veteran lobbyist in
publicans and Democrats have become increasingly intransigent.
Because the CR, however clean, deals with lump sums rather than specific expenditures, Trump and his efficiency czar, Elon Musk, would have more discretion to move money around during a time when the two are unilaterally cutting funds and firing workers to reduce the size of government.
Democrats want language in the bill that would give the legislative branch more input in those executive branch
Baton Rouge who was a member of the group that hired Kennedy
“We trusted Verne. He gave us the numbers straight up.”
John Georges, who owns The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, was the organizer of the group for many years.
“He was about the science and not the art of politics,” Georges said.
Kennedy didn’t just poll on governor’s races in Louisiana. In Jefferson Parish, for example, he did surveys for such candidates as former Sheriff Newell Normand and former assessor Lawrence Chehardy, said Bob d’Hemecourt, a veteran political operative.
decisions.
“I won’t vote for any budget that fails to protect the American people from the extreme policies of the Musk-Trump administration,” said Democratic Rep. Troy Carter, of New Orleans.
“Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. They have the power and the responsibility to govern. If they can’t come together and pass a budget that prioritizes working families, economic stability, and national security, then they alone will be respon-
that year showed then-U.S. Sen. David Vitter, the Republican who was the heavy favorite, leading with 36% of the vote, with John Bel Edwards, a little-known Democratic state representative, running second with 27%.
But because African American voters typically gave 90% of their vote to the Democratic candidate, Kennedy redistributed the numbers by giving 90% of the undecided Black voters to Edwards.
CAPITOL BUZZ staff reports
In 2022, Kennedy was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame.
In 2023, Kennedy told the business group that his data showed something that few were predicting: then-Attorney General Jeff Landry had a shot at being elected governor outright in the primary And that’s what happened.
Kennedy’s first poll in May
That gave him 35%, and as news of Kennedy’s survey spread, Edwards suddenly gained credibility as a candidate among the political class.
In July, his numbers showed the Democrat leading with 34%, while Vitter and then-Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, a Republican, both had 21%. Given that virtually all voters knew Vitter from his years in public office, Kennedy deduced that Vitter had little room to grow Edwards soundly defeated Vit-
sible for shutting down the government.”
Members of the House and Senate appropriations committees have been negotiating to move the individual bills that authorize spending for each agency But Congress doesn’t have time to pass those bills before Friday night.
“Given the March 14 deadline, Congress must act swiftly to prevent a funding lapse,” said Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Start and a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“Funding the government will keep crucial services operational while empowering us to continue working to pass President Trump’s agenda of tax relief, enhanced border security, and boosting American energy production,” she added.
There have been 10 government shutdowns since 1981. The duration of shutdowns has ranged from a couple of days to 21 days in 1995-1996 to 35 days in 2018-2019.
Generally, federal employees are furloughed, national parks and agency offices are closed.
Some employees, such as active military and air flight controllers, are required to continue working without pay, though usually they are reimbursed once the shutdown is over
Shutdowns end up costing the federal government extra — $400 million in 19951996, $5 billion in 2018-2019 and rattles the world’s financial markets. The actual CR text is expected to be released over the weekend. The House Rules Committee would take up the CR on Monday and a vote by the full House then would be expected Tuesday The Senate would then have to approve the measure and deliver it to Trump by Saturday morning.
“I am working with the GREAT House Republicans on a Continuing Resolution to fund the Government until September to give us some needed time to work on our Agenda,” Trump wrote on social media. “Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year.”
Email Mark Ballard at mballard@ theadvocate.com.
ter in the runoff election, 56% to 44%.
Kennedy’s bill dropping Biden drilling rule passes
WASHINGTON The U.S. House gave final approval on a 221 to 202 vote Thursday to a resolution sponsored by U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-Madisonville, that lifted an offshore energy production rule rendered during the Biden administration.
The rule required offshore lessees and operators to “submit an archaeological report with any oil and gas exploration or development plan” to drill or lay pipelines.
“I am proud to see that the House passed my resolution to help bring back America’s energy dominance, and I look forward to President (Donald) Trump signing it into law,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The Biden administration rule, approved in September, effectively required a survey when reports previously were only
necessary if there was a “reason to believe” that sunken ships, submerged settlements or other archaeological findings were on the seafloor
Democrats argued that all the rule did was standardize reporting that most of the energy industry already filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, called BOEM.
Republicans, however, rejected that assessment, arguing that the Biden administration passed the rule as another hurdle to exploring, drilling and producing oil and natural gas in the Gulf. The archaeological rule was one of 225 regulations that increased compliance costs that were particularly onerous for smaller operators, GOP House members argued. Voting for the legislation were all the Republican members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton; Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson; Rep. Julia Letlow R-Start; and Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette.
Both Democratic members of the state’s delegation voted against the measure: Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans; and Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge.
J. Kennedy
Economic worries mount amid Trump’s tariffs, cuts
BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON With his flurry of tariffs, government layoffs and spending freezes, there are growing worries
President Donald Trump may be doing more to harm the U.S. economy than to fix it.
The labor market remains healthy with a 4.1% unemployment rate and 151,000 jobs added in February, and Trump likes to point to investment commitments by Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to show that he’s delivering results.
But Friday’s employment report also found that the number of people stuck working part-time because of economic circumstances jumped by 460,000 last month. In the leisure and hospitality sectors that reflect consumers having extra money to spend, 16,000 jobs were lost. And the federal government reduced its payrolls by 10,000 in a potential harbinger of the alarm being sounded by the stock market, consumer confidence and other measures of where the economy is headed.
Since January, the economic policy uncertainty index has spiked 41% to a level, 334.5, that in the past signaled a recession. Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist and co-developer of the uncertainty index, said it’s unclear how this will play out, but he’s worried.
“I have an increasing fear we will enter into what may become known as the ‘Trump recession,’” he said. “Ongoing policy turbulence and a tariff war could tip the U.S. economy into its first recession in five years.” That last recession occurred under Trump because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For his part, Trump seems comfortable with the uncertainty that he’s generating, saying that any financial pain from import taxes is a mere “disruption” that will eventually lead to more factories relocating to the United States and stronger growth
If Trump’s gambit succeeds, the Republican would cement his reputation as an unconventional leader who proved doubters wrong. But if Trump’s tariffs backfire, much of the price would be paid by everyday Americans who could suffer from job losses, lower wages, higher inflation and, possibly, an injured sense of national pride.
In an interview to air Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump was pressed to provide some clarity on his tariffs agenda that has caused uncertainty to fester The president largely hedged his answer and blamed the 6% drop in the stock market over the past two weeks on “big globalists.”
“You know the tariffs could go up as time goes by, and they may go up and, you know, I don’t know if it’s predictability,” the president said.
The White House maintains that Friday’s jobs report showed the administration’s
ences to uncertainty up from just 17 in the previous edition in January
September and the recent decline could reflect a slowdown in economic demand.
costs of Social Security and Medicare.
strategy is working because manufacturers added 10,000 jobs. Of the manufacturing gains, 8,900 jobs came from the auto sector, recovering some of the industry’s job losses in January The White House also suggested that the loss of leisure and hospitality jobs was the result of flu season and people having depleted savings and credit card debt because of President Joe Biden’s term.
“I thought it was a really, really impressive jobs report,” Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said of Friday’s numbers.
Hassett said the additional factory jobs were the result of companies “on-shoring” work because of the coming tariffs.
“This is the first of many reports that are going to look like this,” Hassett said with regard to the hiring in the industrial sector. The stock market selloff raises doubts about whether tariffs will create the promised jobs.
“Markets anticipate,” said John Silvia, CEO of Dynamic Economic Strategy “The turn down the dark alley of tariffs signals higher inflation, slower economic growth and a weaker U.S.
dollar It is an economic horror movie in slow motion.”
Trump has instigated a trade war in the last week with Canada, Mexico and China, only to then hit a monthlong pause on some of his import taxes because of the threat to U.S. auto factory jobs and because of Mexico’s latest efforts to curb fentanyl smuggling.
More tariffs are coming on April 2 for Europe, Trump says, possibly putting the United States into open conflict with a continent it helped rebuild after World War II. South Korea, India and Brazil could also face new tariffs, Trump said in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday Silvia said Trump’s tariffs need to be more targeted with regard to products and nations and set at lower rates, adding that doing so would provide an assurance that there is solid research backing the measures.
There were multiple signs of uncertainty and concerns about the tariffs in the Federal Reserve’s beige book, a collection of anecdotes from hundreds of businesses that the Fed releases eight times a year
Published Wednesday, the beige book included 47 refer-
“Many businesses noted heightened economic uncertainty and expressed concern about tariffs,” the Fed’s New York branch reported.
“Looking ahead, businesses were notably less optimistic.”
“This is the perfect storm for businesses,” said Brian Bethune, an economist at Boston College “How can you possibly plan anything in this environment?”
Still, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday on CNBC that he sees positive momentum in combating inflation. He said crude oil prices have fallen since Trump’s inauguration, as have the interest rates on 10year U.S. Treasury notes and mortgages.
Still, interest rates on government debt are higher than they were last year in
Bessent suggested a core problem is that the U.S. economy has become overly reliant on government deficits and that the Trump administration would be fostering stronger growth in the private sector
“We’ve become addicted to this government spending, and there’s going to be a detox period,” he said.
This particular form of economic rehab is coming from Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency which is led by T-shirted tech mogul Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, X and SpaceX, among other companies.
The alleged savings by DOGE are still too paltry to bend the troubling trajectory of the national debt that is largely being driven by tax revenues that are insufficient to cover the rising
But the initiative has started to downsize the federal workforce in ways that could surface in future jobs reports. Roughly 75,000 employees took the deferred resignation plan There are also thousands of probationary federal workers who were fired and tens of thousands of layoffs to come based on the administration’s plans.
Asked Friday in the Oval Office if the government layoffs could hurt the overall labor market, Trump said the economy would be great.
“I think the labor market is going to be fantastic, but it’s going to have high-paying manufacturing jobs,” he said. ”We had too many people in government. You can’t just
Unions seek to stop DOGE from accessing Social Security data
BY FATIMA HUSSEIN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
WASHINGTON A group of la-
bor unions are asking a federal court for an emergency order to stop Elon Musk ‘s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the sensitive Social Security data of millions of Americans. The motion for emergency relief was filed late Friday in federal court in Maryland by the legal services group Democracy Forward against the Social Security Administration and its acting commissioner, Leland Dudek.
The unions want the court to block DOGE’s access to the vast troves of personal data held by the agency
Included in the filing is an affidavit from Tiffany Flick, a former senior official at the agency who says career civil servants are trying to protect the data from DOGE. “A disregard for our careful privacy systems and processes now threatens the security the data SSA houses about millions of Americans,” Flick wrote in court documents.
Karianne Jones, a lawyer for the unions and a retiree group behind the lawsuit, said it is not fully clear what
for mean the potential impact is “huge.”
“Essentially what you have is DOGE just swooping in and bullying their way into access to millions of Americans private data. They cannot explain why they want this data. They can’t really tell you what data they want. They just want everything. They want the source code, and they want to do it without any restrictions,” she said.
kind of access that DOGE might have to personal data about taxpayers. But she
said the apparent scope and the lack of information about what DOGE is looking
The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request Saturday for comment on the lawsuit, which was originally filed last month.
DOGE’s work during the early stages of the Trump administration has drawn nearly two dozen lawsuits. Judges have raised questions in several cases about DOGE’s sweeping costcutting efforts, conducted with little public information about its staffing and operations. But judges have not always agreed that the risks are imminent enough to block DOGE from government systems. Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about the possible effects on benefits for tens of millions of recipients.
FEMA cancels classes at national fire training academy amid cuts
BY CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press
CHICAGO The country’s preeminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy courses were canceled amid a “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities,” according to a
notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments. Instructors were told to cancel all future travel until further notice Firefighters, EMS providers and other first responders from across the country travel to the NFA’s Maryland campus for the federally funded institution’s free training programs.
“The NFA is a powerhouse for the fire service,” said Marc Bashoor, a former West Virginia fire chief with 44 years of fire safety experience. “It’s not a ‘nice to have.’ It is the one avenue we have to bring people from all over the country to learn from and
SUNDAY NEWS SHOWS
with each other If we want to continue to have one of the premier fire services in the world, we need to have the National Fire Academy.
The academy, which also houses the National Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial, opened in 1973 to combat a growing number of fatal fires nationwide. At the time, the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control envisioned it to be the “West Point of the Fire Service,” according to a report form the organization.
Bashoor said the NFA was set to welcome a new set of fire safety officers for training next week.
“People had made their plane and travel reservations. And all of a sudden, they get an email that ‘Sorry, it’s been canceled,’” he said. “It’s really upsetting.”
ORLEANS PARISH REGISTRAR OF VOTERS ANNOUNCES EARLY VOTING FOR THE March 29, 2025 MUNICIPAL
Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters WILL CONDUCT
Early Voting for the March 29, 2025 Municipal PrimaryElection FROM 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday,March 15th through Saturday,March 22nd, 2025
ABC’s “This Week”: Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council; Sen. Adam Schiff, DCalif.; Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers.
NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick; Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
CNN’s “State of the Union”: Adam Boehler, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Andy Kim, D-N.J.; Reps Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.
CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; Reps. Tom Suozzi,
D-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman; Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser on Russia.
“Fox News Sunday”: Boehler; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. The Associated Press
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Trump forcing generational shift in GOP foreign policy
BY STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press
WASHINGTON Republicans in Congress have long been intent on countering America’s rivals and spreading U.S. influence abroad But when President Donald Trump spelled out a sharp turn from that approach in his recent address to Congress, lawmakers in his party couldn’t help but stand and applaud.
Moves toward a neutral position on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Tariffs on trading partners and allies. Cuts in foreign military and humanitarian aid.
More is sure to come as Trump sweeps Washington with his “America First” agenda. “We’re going to protect our citizens like never before,” he told Congress.
Those ideas have produced some of the most dramatic moments in the early part of his second term, none more so than the Oval Office clash involving Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Some Republicans who were not shy about countering Trump’s foreign policy ideas during his first term are overwhelmingly standing by him now It shows not only Trump’s ability to impose his will on his party, but also the extent to which he is ushering in a potentially generational shift in global alliances and power
“Honestly, it’s a completely different way of looking at the world,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “How do we avoid having enemies and how do we turn even unfriendly adversaries into no worse than friendly rivals.”
Still, in the weeks since taking office, Trump has handled foreign policy with unpredictable starts and stops.
Twice he has pledged to implement tough tariffs on Mexico and Canada, only to pause them. He has suggested the U.S. should take ownership of Gaza, Greenland and the Panama Canal, only to have his administration distance itself from such notions And he has berated Zelenskyy, paused military aid to Ukraine and engaged in friendlier relations with Russian Presi-
Wicker sat on the edge of his seat.
“It’s time to end this senseless war,” Trump said, adding he wanted to speak to both sides.
argued for reducing U.S. involvement in the Middle East, or Andrew Byers, who is in favor of a less confrontational approach to China.
ing alleged war crimes by the Kremlin.
dent Vladimir Putin.
Here’s how members of Congress navigated Trump’s foreign policy moves this past week:
The open display of animosity between Trump and Zelenskyy had many Republicans on edge as they began the week
Sen. Roger Wicker, RMiss., who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, repeatedly declined to speak to reporters about the exchange.
Another senior Republican who had previously been supportive of Zelenskyy, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina seemed to make a dramatic shift. After a deal to give the U.S access to Ukraine’s mineral riches fell apart, Graham suggested that the Ukrainian president should resign
Then, as Zelenskyy and Trump raised the prospect of revived talks, Graham praised the deal as an “implicit security guarantee” for Ukraine because it would give Trump a business incentive for ensuring that Russia does not continue to take Ukrainian territory
“President Trump’s a business guy You got to make business,” Graham said, adding that the “America First” policy was a “hybrid” from the GOP’s days of “Reagan Republicans.”
“I see it as a reevaluation of traditional alignments, a outside-the-box-view of talking to traditional foes, but the reason I support it is because I think this hybrid approach is actually smart,”
Graham said.
Other Republicans who are opposed to Ukraine aid were delighted to see Trump sour on Zelenskyy
“What we’re seeing, which is a bit of a shock to the system, is a president that’s prioritizing American interests,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
The only part of Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans was when the president spoke of how the U.S. had sent billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. On the Democratic side of the House chamber members unfurled a small Ukrainian flag and wore scarfs of blue and gold.
On the Republican side, displays of support for Ukraine were hard to find.
A few members wore lapel pins with the American and Ukrainian flags.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who was one of the only GOP lawmakers to defend Zelenskyy this past week, said he was wearing the pin to send the message that “I support Ukraine and that I think that Vladimir Putin is a liar And the minute that we think there’s any redeeming quality from him, we’ve made a mistake.”
Wicker, who also wore a pin Tuesday, said during a committee meeting that day that he hoped “to heaven” that Trump and Zelenskyy would re-enter talks and that “friends decide to move on” after conflicts. As Trump spoke of Ukraine that night,
Watch moon turn red during eclipse
BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN
AP science writer
NEW YORK A total lunar eclipse will flush the moon red Thursday night into Friday morning across the Western Hemisphere.
The best views will be from North America and South America Parts of Africa and Europe may catch a glimpse.
Lunar eclipses happen when the moon, Earth and sun align just so. The Earth casts a shadow that can partially or totally blot out the moon. During a partial lunar
eclipse, Earth’s shadow appears to take a bite of the moon. The full moon is covered during a total eclipse and blushes coppery red because of stray bits of sunlight
filtering through Earth’s atmosphere Lunar and solar eclipses happen anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA. A partial lunar eclipse graced skies in the Americas, Africa and Europe last September and the last total lunar eclipse was in 2022.
The so-called blood moon will be visible for about an hour starting at 1:26 a.m. on
Friday morning. Peak viewing will be close to 2 a.m.
To see it, venture outside and look up no need for eclipse glasses or any special equipment
“As long as the sky is clear you should be able to see it,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.
The setting of the moon may make it harder to see the eclipse in Europe and Africa.
“This is really an eclipse for North and South America,” said astronomy expert Michael Faison from Yale University.
Republicans are not just worried about the future of Ukraine.
During a Senate hearing, Republican hawks such as Wicker and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas closely questioned Elbridge Colby Trump’s nominee for the top policy job at the Pentagon, about his ideas, which in the past have included a drawdown of military aid to Ukraine, a greater tolerance for Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and softening the U.S. position that it would help defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Wicker also questioned Colby on whether he agreed with recently hired Pentagon advisers such as Michael DiMino, who has
Colby laid out his view that the U.S. cannot currently afford to be involved in countering multiple adversaries.
But he also seemed to placate the senators by suggesting Iran could become an “existential threat” to the U.S.
Democrats repeatedly pressed Colby to say that Russia had started its war by invading Ukraine. Colby declined to do so saying that the Trump administration was in a delicate negotiation with both countries.
As Trump changed America’s position on the war in Ukraine. Democrats took to the Senate floor Wednesday evening to try to pass a series of resolutions declaring U.S. support for repelling Russia’s invasion and decry-
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, objected, blocking the resolutions. He said he agreed with the sentiment, but that it was unhelpful to the negotiations underway
“Everybody wants the same outcome and that is to have peace in Ukraine,” Risch said. “There is one man on this planet, one man that can make that happen, and that is Donald J. Trump.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who led the Democrats’ effort, responded by saying he had hoped Republicans could have agreed on rebuking Putin.
“Mr Putin, you started this terrible war,” Sanders said. “You’re acting illegally You’re acting barbarically Stop that war.”
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2025
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FEATURING
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Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, as President Donald Trump listens on Feb 28 in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.
La. is changing how children learn math
Math expert explains how new plan will help instruction
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
A few years after Louisiana pushed schools to adopt a new, systemic approach to reading instruction, education officials want to revamp the way students learn math.
Last month, the state emerged as an unexpected leader in literacy after scores on a national test saw Louisiana jump from 50th in the nation for fourth grade reading in 2019 to 16th last year
Officials attributed the gains to a series of laws and policies that encouraged schools to have their educators systemically teach students about the fundamentals of reading. The state now aims to do something similar with math instruction, which Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley has called a “back-to-basics” approach.
Jamie Hebert, the state education department’s math director and a former math teacher who heads a team of curriculum and standards specialists, is helping lead the charge.
She explained that a back-tobasics strategy means building foundational math skills and using frequent assessments to identify students who need extra help
“We’re at a point where we need educators to know which students are and are not fluent and make sure they understand how to support them individually,” she said, “just like we’ve done with foundational skills in
PROVIDED PHOTO By JAMIE HEBERT
Jamie Hebert, math director for the Louisiana Department of Education, explains what Superintendent Cade Brumley’s ‘back-to-basics’ math plan will look like in schools.
To prompt this shift, the state Legislature passed a law in 2023 requiring that all math educators for grades four through eight complete training on how to teach numeracy skills. Last year, lawmakers also voted to require tutoring for students who score below a certain threshold on state math tests. Moving forward, Hebert said the state will focus on early intervention and additional teacher training and support to ensure they can give struggling students the personal attention they need. Here’s what Hebert has to say about the future of math education in Louisiana.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity
Q&A WITH JAMIE
HEBERT MATH
FOR THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DIRECTOR
math instruction look like in classrooms?
In math, it means understanding which kids need support, and also understanding how to intervene and communicate that struggle to parents. In classrooms, it looks like teachers are keeping track of students’ successes or struggles in the moment.
We’re doing a lot of things right in Louisiana, and our NAEP (national test) scores are proof of that work. But building foundational skills for students will continue to support that growth.
Why do students’ math scores tend to decline after fourth grade?
In elementary, kids are doing very concrete math. As they move into middle school, things become much more abstract, and so the relevance is harder for kids to see. We’re working on foundational learning as a way to address that.
Can you talk about the department’s “Math Refresh” effort that started a couple of years ago? Is it ongoing?
It’s now our comprehensive plan, which includes having highquality, grade-level instruction provided by a high-quality teacher as the expectation for all of our students in Louisiana.
In order for that to happen, teachers need to be given ongoing professional learning and time so they can better support students, and we must acknowledge the role of the family and caregivers in students’ success
The state has also placed a big emphasis on tutoring in recent years. Is that part of the state’s math plan?
Yes. Tutoring initiatives are in place for K-5 schools and for
K-12. In K-5, students who are identified [as needing extra support] through screeners must be provided high-dosage tutoring during the school day
Students in grades K-12 can also apply to the Steve Carter tutoring program. This year, that program expanded to include math. It provides $1,500 tutoring vouchers to families so they can purchase high-quality literacy and math tutoring services.
There has been a lot of discussion about the “new math” in schools, which focuses on conceptual understanding and problem solving versus rote memorization. Does the department encourage schools to use this approach?
We often talk about “new math” as math people do in their heads. It’s mental math. We’re just explicitly teaching our students to put their thinking on paper so that they can build that fluency and understanding in mathematics. Really, our department is focused on the alignment and coherence of the standards, the curriculum and the assessments and how all of that connects for kids.
Our standards call for kids to develop skill and fluency, build understanding, and apply that skill and knowledge.
One example is an early elementary student learning that two plus three is five. They might be given a group of objects and they count the objects and then they can make a group of two and a group of three. When they separate that into two groups, they still have five objects.
Eventually that becomes a tool
don’t have the objects in front of them and they’re struggling with something, they can draw a picture of the objects, but that picture is just a tool. It eventually becomes automatic.
This is parallel to literacy in that it’s similar to students sounding out words. When students come across an unfamiliar word, they know all the sounds that the letters make and we sound it out. The more that we read that word, the more automatic the word recognition becomes.
A new state law requires students in grades K-3 to take three numeracy assessments each year.Why is that important?
We talked earlier about how teachers should know which kids are fluent and which are not. The screeners are the tool that helps them do that. It gives teachers the knowledge of individual students and which specific skills they need support with.
Screeners identify struggling students early so that teachers can intervene early Other recent state laws require numeracy training for current and aspiring teachers. What are some core math concepts every teacher needs to know?
Teachers need to clearly understand how the mathematics build across and within their grade level. This understanding helps them think about how, if a student is unsuccessful on a specific thing, what should they have known before that?
It’s teaching teachers to look at student work and think about what the work is telling them about what students do and do not know Then they can take action to support student success.
Staff writer Patrick Wall contributed to this report.
Email Elyse Carmosino at
-Jeff M.
Pontalba tenants hit the roof over order to vacate
A project repairing the Upper Pontalba building in the French Quarter set to start later this spring will cost at least $8 million and take up to two years to complete. City administrators for the project were blasted by some residents of the building after they were told they would have to vacate by the end of April.
City administrator issues notice ahead of major repairs to historic building next to Jackson Square
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
After years of planning and delays, the Upper Pontalba apartments will soon undergo badly needed repairs aimed at protecting and preserving the 175-yearold Jackson Square landmark in the heart of the French Quarter
The project, set to start later this spring, will cost at least $8 million and take up to two years to complete It includes critical repairs to the building’s roof, which was damaged during Hurricane Ida. Since the storm, the iconic residence has been covered by blue tarps, now faded to a dull gray
Contractors will also replace the heating and air-conditioning systems and address leaks and other water-intrusion issues that long predate the 2021 hurricane.
“We glad to finally be moving forward with this project,” said K.C. Guidry, executive director of the French Market Corp., the city agency that manages the building “This is one of the city’s most historic assets.”
The City Council earned praise from residents, preservationists and others when members appropriated funds for the long-overdue repairs in late 2023.
But the project is now under fire from some of the building’s residents who were notified last month by Guidry that
they have to move out while construction is underway
The 50-unit building has 35 residential tenants on its three upper floors, Guidry said.
In a letter dated Feb. 18, Guidry told residential tenants they have until midnight on April 30 to leave their apartments. They will be offered a “right of first refusal,” which will enable them to return to their current unit once the project is completed. But they will have to agree to a new lease with “updated terms and pricing based on the market rate at that time,” Guidry’s letter said. All have been renting their units on a month-to-month basis, so they are not protected by a long-term lease, Guidry
said Shops and restaurants that lease ground-floor space in the building will be allowed to stay during the renovation.
Attorney Justin Schmidt, who represents six tenants in the Upper Pontalba, is questioning how the French Market Corp. can force tenants out before it has selected and finalized an agreement with a contractor to do the work.
The city began advertising the job on its procurement website on March 3. Bids are due to City Hall on April 2.
“We’re trying to understand why the urgency to force the tenants out before this is bid,” said Schmidt, who has requested documents from the French Market Corp “We want to understand a little more about how this all came together so we can determine what legal recourse might be available.”
In a city known for its historic buildings, the Upper Pontalba, on the upriver side of Jackson Square, and its sister building, the Lower Pontalba on the downriver side, are in a class all their own. They were designed and built from 1849-1851 by the Baroness de Pontalba and are among the oldest apartment buildings in the U.S. In the 1930s, both were renovated into apartments and placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Pontalba’s heirs sold the Lower Pontalba to a
ä See PONTALBA, page 2B
Committee tasked with review of St. Tammany budgets
District attorney, Parish Council direct DOGE-inspired panel to identify waste
BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer
trend, the northshore district attorney and St. Tammany Parish Council have teamed up to form a committee similar to the so-called Department of Governmental Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk aimed at finding waste and improving the parish’s budget process.
Officially the new Transparency and Resource Accountability Committee will focus on the parish’s 2026 budget; last year’s budget-making process was marred by infighting over funding for the district attorney, northshore judges and parish jail.
A forensic accountant from District Attorney Collin Sims’ office will be available to provide the Parish Council with “an exhaustive budget review for 2026 and recommendations for more efficient operations if discovered,” according to the council’s resolution creating the committee. But some of the committee’s new members suggested in interviews that the committee may eventually have a larger purview And the committee appears to be at least partly inspired by trends at the national level.
“It’s DOGE minus the ability to execute the suggestions,” Sims said in a phone interview Gov Jeff Landry has also formed a DOGElike task force to study Louisiana government spending.
Unlike Musk’s federal agency, St Tammany’s four-letter group has no new staff and is purely advisory It will consist of Sims, Parish Council Chair Joe Impastato and the council’s Finance Committee, the resolution said. Impastato said he and the chair of the Finance Committee, council member Cheryl Tanner, will direct what agencies the district attorney’s forensic auditor, Laura East, will look into first. Sims, meanwhile, will approve how much time East, who will remain an employee in his office, can spend on the initiative, the resolution said.
East will essentially serve as a “fact-finder,” Sims said, providing budget information to the Parish Council and Parish President Mike Cooper’s administration at no additional cost to the taxpayer
“It’s not an investigation. We’re here to help,” Impastato added. If anything, he said he thinks that when taxpayers realize how some agencies are using their money, they will be pleased.
East normally works for Sims on white-col-
ALYSE PFEIL
BY BLAKE PATERSON
Sims
Impastato
PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD
Roofs damaged in Hurricane Ida are covered with tarps on top of the Upper Pontalba building
BUDGETS
Continued from page 1B
lar and public corruption investigations. He said she has worked on the case involving Abita Springs employees criminally charged with embezzling public funds.
In the coming months, the Parish Council will establish guidelines for the committee, the resolution said.
Impastato said East will prioritize reviewing budgets under parish government control, such as the animal control budget and the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office.
But eventually, Sims and Impastato said they hope the committee will be able to look at all government agencies in the parish, including ones with their own dedicated property taxes.
Officials, including Cooper, Sims and Impastato, have pushed a message of greater transparency as they seek voter support for a sales tax rededication on the March 29 ballot that would cover some of the parish’s criminal justice expenses Cooper also backs the transparency committee Cooper’s spokesperson, Michael Vinsanau, said the committee won’t be sending emails asking people to note five things they did this week. “The purposes are
PASTOR
Continued from page 1B
once found an ally in Landry, who was state attorney general at the time. Now, Spell says Landry has not been up front with voters about the impact of the amendment and strongly opposes the ballot measure, even after talking with the governor this week.
Landry did not respond to a request for comment.
Spell is calling on state officials to halt voting on the proposed constitutional amendment, which includes a slew of tax-policy changes and will appear as Amendment 2 when voters go to the ballot box on March 29.
Legislators who support the amendment point out that property tax exemptions for religious organizations and nonprofits would remain in place in state statute — they would only be removed from the state constitution — and they say there are no plans to eliminate property tax breaks for nonprofits.
“No entity that is enjoying a property tax exemption today will lose that exemption if this amendment passes,” said state Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, chair of the House tax-writing committee.
Breaks for religious groups
Spell is concerned about one piece of the expansive amendment that would remove from the constitution some property tax exemptions for religious and nonprofit organizations. While those tax breaks would continue as part of state statute, the bar for changing them in the future would be lower.
Any legislation aimed at
different,” he said. “But it is going to create more accountability in the budget process.”
For Sims, tax restructuring is the way forward for St. Tammany government. And he thinks the committee can help with that.
“Taxpayers in St. Tammany have said we don’t want to pay any more taxes. We need to start using your money smarter,” he said Sims said he hopes the committee will eventually look at the budgets of “all” agencies. The Sheriff’s Office and School Board are excluded at this point, he said.
“I’m not against dedicated taxes for certain things, but there are a lot of things that should just be line items in the budget, right?” Sims said, offering the Mosquito Abatement District as an example.
Almost all of Mosquito Abatement’s District’s $8.7 million in expenditures in 2024 were covered by a parishwide property tax voted on by parish residents, said abatement Director Kevin Caillouet.
The Parish Council does not have any direct power over the money from that dedicated tax — Caillouet said the district’s budget is controlled by a board of volunteers — though the Parish Council does have to pass a resolution for such agencies to put their tax requests on
changing property tax exemptions in the constitution needs voter approval.
If Amendment 2 passes, changes to the property tax breaks would only require a two-thirds vote of the Louisiana Legislature
If the amendment passes, “I’m now at the mercies of two-thirds of the Legislature,” said Spell.
The current property tax exemption in the constitution pertaining to nonprofits and religious organizations includes property owned by nonprofit organizations used exclusively for religious, charitable, health, welfare, educational, fraternal or burial purposes.
The proposed change would only leave in the constitution a property tax exemption for houses of worship, clergy housing, and property for religious ministry training.
Spell believes any nonprofit not specifically engaged in religious activity is in danger of losing its property tax exemption someday He added that some religious organizations own rental housing with many units, for example
“That’s why I’m concerned about it, because I own some of those properties,” he said.
Amendment proposal
Lawmakers crafted Amendment 2 during a special session late last year aimed at dramatic changes to Louisiana tax law. With Landry’s backing, they ultimately slashed income taxes and raised the sales tax, among other changes. Now legislators want voters to sign off on a rewrite of the section of the constitution that deals with taxes, which state leaders have branded as an effort to simplify overly complicated tax policy
Moving tax exemptions and credits out of the constitution and placing them in statute gives the Legislature more flexibility to enact changes to tax policy without the need for a ballot measure, said state Sen. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and played a key role in negotiations during the tax special
a ballot. Sims is also technically the legal representative of parish agencies like Mosquito Abatement.
The resolution establishing the transparency committee did not specifically mention Mosquito Abatement, and Caillouet said he had not been notified about anything related to the committee.
“We’re all for minimizing waste and fraud,” Caillouet said, but he noted that his agency’s tax was approved by a parish vote and said “mosquitoes are a bipartisan issue.”
The general idea of a government transparency group is not new in St. Tammany, which saw a series of public corruption scandals in the 2010s.
In 2013, the parish convened a task force to study the creation of an inspector general. That task force recommended a more thorough auditing system for the parish, a proposal that became state law the following year Since then Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany, a community watchdog group, has pushed for the establishment of an inspector general’s office. That idea was floated at a Home Rule Charter Review Committee meeting in February
Email Willie Swett at willie.swett@theadvocate. com.
session.
“We decided that as we went through the special session we wanted to keep churches and religious organizations protected in the constitution from paying property taxes like they have already been because we feel like that’s a priority,” said Foil.
Foil said the move toward having a smaller list of property tax exemptions in the constitution was not aimed at ultimately eliminating exemptions for nonprofits.
A broader challenge
The issue of property tax breaks for religious groups is also a factor in a separate, broader legal challenge to the proposed amendment
New Orleans attorney William Most is leading that charge in a lawsuit filed in the 19th Judicial District. Representing a pastor and two teachers, the plaintiffs in the suit, he is asking the court to block Amendment 2 from appearing on the ballot or, if that’s not possible due to timing, block it from taking effect.
A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
Court filings argue that, in a variety of ways, the ballot language voters will see is biased and misleading.
This week, Most published a piece in the news publication Central City News under the heading “Churches Could Be Taxed out of Existence,” warning readers that property tax exemptions of religious organizations are under threat.
The Facebook page of Central City News, which is owned by Woody Jenkins, on Friday also featured a video from Spell, which urges viewers not to “believe the propaganda in favor of this amendment.”
Jenkins said he fully opposes Amendment 2 and believes “it is absolutely essential it be defeated.” He also opposes the broader package of tax changes championed by Landry in fall, which he called “tremendous false advertising.”
Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.
PONTALBA
Continued from page 1B
local philanthropist, who later bequeathed it to the state. Local civic leaders bought the Upper Pontalba, which was subsequently purchased by the city and has been managed by the French Market Corp. since 2013.
In recent years, the Upper Pontalba has found itself in the middle of political controversy Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s personal use of a Pontalba apartment — traditionally set aside for entertaining visiting dignitaries and other official city business — became a central piece of the scandal involving Cantrell and her bodyguard Jeffrey Vappie, resulting in allegations of an affair and a federal investigation.
Vappie and Cantrell have denied having a romantic relationship. Vappie pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he conspired to hide a relationship with Cantrell and keep collecting his city salary Cantrell has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
In 2023, the City Council banned Cantrell from the apartment. Last March, the French Market Corp. finally took her keys away
At the time, the mayor said she had not used the apartment in months, noting that part of the ceiling in the unit had collapsed. The collapsed ceiling was but the latest example of long-standing problems at the Upper Pontalba, which the French Market Corp. began planning to renovate in 2019.
Some of the problems stem from the building’s age. Leaks, moisture retention and being located near the river in a city with high humidity for the better part of two cen-
PERMITS
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charged with reviewing and issuing permits, agrees the process is flawed.
Last month, Lee Sheng announced the creation of a new task force to take a “deep dive” into the parish’s process for issuing the sort of commercial and residential permits necessary to renovate or build a new structure.
“It’s a very, very frustrating process, and our folks are frustrated as well,” Lee Sheng told the Parish Council at their Feb. 27 meeting.
This isn’t the first time Lee Sheng has taken a stab at the issue.
In 2023, the Parish Council, at Lee Sheng’s request, approved several ordinances that renamed and reorganized parish departments to make it easier for applicants to figure out who to contact.
Lee Sheng’s administration also lobbied for additional positions and updated its website with new permitting checklists.
Back then, Lee Sheng said it took about six months to process a permit for a largescale project, like the Ochsner medical complex at the Clearview City Center and one to two weeks for a singlefamily home.
But the changes have yielded limited success, Lee Sheng said.
“We have done many, many things that I will say has improved the time but probably has not gotten to the core problem of the issue,” Lee Sheng said last month. “The problem is the process.”
Lee Sheng is only the latest parish president to face complaints over the lengthy permitting process. Her predecessors — including Aaron Broussard and John Young also attempted to fix the issue.
turies took its toll.
A shoddy renovation in the 1990s exacerbated things. Balconies facing small interior courtyards were enclosed in an effort to minimize water intrusion. But the walls were poorly constructed and the widows installed were cheap, French Market Corp. officials previously said. They leak now, allowing water to seep in and trapping moisture in the walls.
A post-Hurricane Katrina repair created other problems Then, Ida damaged the roof.
Construction documents filed with the city earlier this month call for those problems to be addressed in the upcoming renovation, which is why Guidry said the project’s architects and engineers have recommended that the apartments be vacated during construction.
“After a thorough review of all the planning documents, we didn’t see a way to appropriately manage the job with the units occupied,” she said “We want to do it right.”
Political motivation?
This isn’t the first time the city has forced tenants to move out of the building for repairs. When Mayor Marc Morial’s administration undertook the lengthy renovation in the 1990s, the building was vacated for more than a year, according to businessman and civic leader John Casbon, who has leased a one-bedroom pied-à-terre in the building for more than 30 years.
Then, as now, Casbon said being forced to move out was an inconvenience, but he doesn’t fault the city or French Market Corp. and is not among those who is looking into possible legal action.
“I just want them to do it right,” Casbon said. “There
Lee Sheng said that since joining the Parish Council in 2009, “we have had problems with permitting.”
At the Parish Council meeting in February, Lee Sheng held up physical copies of the parish’s zoning regulations and building code from past and present to show how they’ve ballooned in size.
Some of those regulations are out of the parish’s control. Projects located on state highways, for instance, require approval from state agencies. And the building code is approved by state legislators.
Still, other regulations — like special façade requirements in areas like Fat City, Bucktown and David Drive — are self-imposed. Lee Sheng added that most communities also don’t make applicants go before so many legislative bodies for approval.
“Why did we end up like this? Because property is precious to us,” Lee Sheng said. “And over the decades we have regulated ourselves to a ridiculous level. It is a horrible process. It is a horrible process for us as well,” she said.
To be sure, the regulations
was a lot of leakage in a lot of the apartments and also the heating and air never worked right, so the units, while a great bargain in some ways, have a lot of problems.” Schmidt, however, suggested that the lease terminations could be politically motivated. One of his clients and tenants in the building is photographer Anne Breaud, who shot pictures from her balcony in the Pontalba of Cantrell and Vappie, enjoying lunch and a glass of wine on the balcony of nearby Tableau during work hours. Cantrell subsequently accused Breaud of stalking her a suit that was later dismissed. Breaud, in turn, sued the mayor in federal district court. The case is pending. Breaud declined to comment on the notice of termination she received last month But Schmidt has filed a public records request with the French Market Corp seeking an exhaustive list of emails and documents related to the renovation and any correspondence between the agency, its employees and City Hall.
In a letter to the agency dated Feb. 20. Schmidt says forcing the tenants out “appears to be a retaliatory action orchestrated by the French Market Corporation’s sole shareholder, beleaguered Mayor LaToya W. Cantrell.” “Hopefully, by providing me with the above requested public records, I will be proved wrong,” Schmidt wrote. Asked to respond to the accusation, Guidry said Friday in an email that the project has been in the works for many years. “The sole intention of this project is to protect and preserve this critical historic asset so that it may be enjoyed for years to come,” she said
have had some success, Lee Sheng said. “Look at Veterans Boulevard to the way it looked in the 1960s,” she said. “This is what brought us there.” But the process remains too cumbersome and too layered, she said. The task force, which has yet to meet, will include staff from Lee Sheng’s administration, the Parish Council and representatives from the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission.
Ruth Lawson, the Chamber president, agreed that the permitting process needs to be streamlined and said she plans to survey her members to better understand the challenges they’ve faced.
After reaching out to Walker’s office, the small business owners, who wished to remain anonymous, finally got the permit they needed Still, they spent twice as much as they planned and weeks longer than they hoped finishing the project.
Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate. com.
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make adonation to Pennies for Bread, St Joseph Abbey, 75376 River Road, St Benedict, LA 70457. You are invitedtoshare apersonal memoryof Harold or your condolences with his family at his online memorial located at www.companionfune rals.com. Companion Funeral Home of Cleveland and the Cody family are honored to assist the family with thesearrangements.
Harold Joseph Fonte Sr, President of Fonte Properties LLC, died in Cleveland, Tennessee on January 1, 2025 at the age of 97. Born in New Orleans, he was the son of the late Harold E. Fonte and Odiel Lamor Fonte and brother of the late Larry N. Fonte
He was the husband of the late Marion Anderson Fonte by first marriage. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Elaine Hemard Fonte, sons Harold JJrofChurch Point, LA, Richard AofCovington, LA, David BofBrentwood, CA and adaughter Cathleen Barber of Abita Springs, LA. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He was retired from United Technologies (now RTX) as aterritory manager in the Carrier Air Conditioning Division. Mr. Fonte attended Incarnate Word Catholic School, S. J. Peters High School and Joseph A Mabing Business School He was employed at Higgins Industries at the City Park Plant prior to entering the Navy in WWII.He served aboard the USS Butler DD636-DMS29 in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters. This ship and crew received numerous awards and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation on 2occasions for outstanding heroism at Okinawa. He was awarded aNavy Unit Commendation, the China Service Medal, AsiaticPacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. He was acharter member of the National WWII Museum, the US Navy Memorial Foundation, life member of The Tin Can Sailors and Sons of Italy Foundation. He was an honorary member of the Knights of Columbus with over 50 years of service and amember of St Benedict Council#3061, as well as the American Legion, Robert H. Burns Post 16 both in Covington. He was aformer member of Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church where he was amember of the first parish council, a Eucharistic Minister at Heritage Manor Nursing Home and Lakeview Regional Medical Center. He served as past president of the hospital's auxiliary and manager-buyer for their gift shop for 4 years. Ultimately, he volunteered at Lakeview for 24 years and received the First Humanitarian award for his service to the hospital and its patients. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of St. Louis Medallion by Archbishop Shulte for his dedicated service to the church and theArchdiocese of New Orleans. He was an Oblate of St Benedict and avolunteer at St Joseph Abbey bakery for 14 years where bread is baked for the poor. He was proud to be part of The Greatest Generation and Love of God, wife Elaine, Children and His Country. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the service; also Employeesof Carrier New Orleans, the Knights of Columbus of St Benedict Council #3061 and American Legion Post 16. Memorial Service to be held at St Joseph Abbey in Covington at 1:00 PM on March 13, 2025, followed at 2:00 by afuneral mass and internment at the Abbey Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please make adonation to Pennies for Bread, St. Joseph Abbey, 75376 River Road, St Benedict, LA 70457.
Ronald Niles Foster, born to Aaron and Mickie Foster on July 11, 1948, peacefully passed away on March 2, 2025. He is survived by his wife, Paulette; his children, TraceyDavis, Teresa Willheit,Neal Foster, and Shawn Foster; his grandchildren, Tessa, Ra, Dylan, Brenton, and Keaton; and his siblings, Sue Jonesand Craig Foster. He was aretired Captain from Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, a Lieutenant from East Jefferson Levee District, and aSecurity Officer from Ochsner Hospital.A casual celebration of lifewillbe held at the VFW Hallat 1133 HickoryAve,Harahan, LA 70123, on Friday, March 14, 2025 from 5PMto8PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider adonation to ether Cancerresearch or a charity of your choice To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com
Donald P
Donald P. Gagnon, age 95, of Covington, LA passed away on February 28, 2025. He was born on January 12, 1930, in NewOrleans, LA to Arthur J. Gagnon, Sr. and Marie J. Gagnon. Donald is survived by his beloved wife of 70 years, Celeste J. Gagnon; his childrenCliff J. Gagnon (Janice) and Lorraine G. Jenkins (Russell);grandchildren Donald, Nichole, Andrea,Alaina, Alyssa, Vanessa, Bradleyand Blake, 18 great-grandchildren and 2great-great grandchildren. Donald is preceded in death by his parents and his brotherArthur J. Gagnon, Jr. Donald graduatedfrom Holy Cross High School in 1947 and Delgado Trade School in 1957. He spent 8 years in the Army National Guard at Jackson Barracks from 1950 -1958. He was in the 39th InfantryDivision. Donald workedatShell Chemical and Shell Oil CompaniesinNorco, LA for 31 years. He was a Drafting Supervisor in the Engineering Department retiring in 1989. Donald volunteeredatthe St. Tammany Hospital,was active in the Abita Men's Club and took Yoga for exercise
Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend the funeral servicesatGrace Funeral Home,450 Holy Trinity Drive,Covington, LA 70433 on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 11:30 AM with visitation on Wednesday beginning at 9:30 AM. Interment will be in All Saints Mausoleum at alater date Fond memories can be shared with the Gagnon Family at www.gracenorth shore.com.
Anative of New Orleans, Louisiana, and long-time resident of Palo Alto, California, Lelia "Terry" Morrow Guice was surrounded by loved ones when she passed away on February 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas -a place that she called home in recent years so that she could be close to her devoted daughter, Elizabeth.
Born on January 27, 1946, Terry was theoldest child of Lelia Terry Morrow and Dr. Robert Prosser Morrow, Jr. She attended the Louise S. McGehee School and began her college years at Louisiana State Universitybefore transferring to the University of Georgia, where she majored in Elementary Educationand began her decades of cheering for the Georgia Bulldogs. She married after graduation and later divorced before moving to California with Elizabethin the late1970s. Terry began teaching at Escondido Elementary School soon thereafter and taught multiple grade levels until her retirement in 2019. Students in her class were treated to monthly field trips such as visits to the California missions, whale watching off the coast in Monterey, and overnight experiences to Coloma where they learned about the history of their state by stepping back in time to the beginning of theGold Rush. Determined to share the traditions and joy of Mardi Gras with her students each year, she would order aKing Cake directly from NewOrleans and dress in yellow, green, and purple, ready to throw beads and celebrateonFat Tuesday. As acolleague and teacher, Terry was supportive, thoughtful, and meticulous about details. Whenever colleagues needed help,she was the first to offer her time and energy. While Terry loved California, her real 'happy place' was on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee at Camp Monterey. She grew up going to camp thereand introduced Elizabeth to this special place when she was old enough to become acamper. After her first summer at camp, Elizabeth declared her love for it. Sensing that Camp Monterey would become a lifelong source of friendshipand family for her daughter, Terry became a permanent fixture on the senior staff —tohelp cover thecost and ensure Elizabethcould return year after year. When Elizabeth eventually 'graduated' from camp,Terry continued as asenior staff member because she thought it was awonderful way to spend the summer. All told,Terry spent nearly 45 summers at Camp Monterey! In later years, she ran the swimming dock, inspiring multiple generations of campers to feel confident in the water and love the lake as she did.She mentored girls of all ages and helped preserve camp traditions through her fun-loving spirit and deep loyalty.
Terry delighted in writing and sending greeting cards -with stamps carefully selected for each occasion -sothat friends and family felt remembered and celebrated.Her beloved light blue VW Beetle Convertible symbolized her adventurous spirit, but when she was at home, you could find her reading abook or catching up on the news. With an incredible talent forgift-giving, Terry always found just the right present...even if it wasn't what you thought or knew you needed or wanted! And thesame could be said for her loveoffinding just the right pair of stylish shoes! She became the"activity queen" in her assisted living communities, enthusiastically participating in bingo games, book club, happy hours, outings, exercise and art classes, and more. If it was on the schedule, Terry was there having fun and bonding with other residents and staff members! Although she lived in Austin for only ashort while, it is no surprise to anyone who knew her that she quickly began to weave a"net" of friendships in her new city. Terry learned asecret from her much-loved mother that she passed on to her own daughter -weneed netsof friends that we bounce off of in moments of levity and
ships in her new city. Terry learned asecret from her much-loved mother that she passed on to her own daughter -weneed netsof friends that we bounce off of in moments of levity and are caught and supported by in momentsofneed. Terry's net was strong and wide and if you were part of it, you knew howmuch she loved and appreciated you. Terry's moxie and resilience helped her survive decades of medical challenges -something others were in awe of but that she bravely took in stride. Above all else, she was a devoted mother to her daughter Elizabeth, who was by her side until the end, as were her brother Robert Prosser Morrow III and Elizabeth's partner Slade Dickson. She is also survived by her sister-inlaw Mary Menge Morrow; nieces Sarah Gates Morrow and Logan Morrow Macnee; and many dear friends far and wide. She was predeceased by her parentsDr. Robert Prosser Morrow Jr. and Lelia Terry Morrow and her nephew Robert Prosser Morrow IV. The family extends their heartfelt gratitudetoall of her caregivers over the years and most recently the caregivers at Brookdale Beckett Meadows and The Reserve at LakeAustin for their kindness and support during Terry's final years. Special thanks also go to the incredible team of doctors and nurses at St. David's SouthAustin Medical Center who provided compassionate care in her last days. Services will be held at alater date. If you would like to honor Terry's legacy, in lieu of flowers, please consider adonation to Austin Pets Alive! (in honor of Terry's best beagle Fang) online at donate. austinpetsalive.org;the Dollie S. Williams Memorial Scholarship Fund in support of Camp Monterey campers by sending a check to Camp Monterey, 2636 Muddy Pond Road, Monterey, TN 38574; or the Louise S. McGehee School by sending acheck to 2343 Prytania St New Orleans, LA 70130 or by making a gift online at https://www mcgeheeschool.com/giv e/make-a-gift.
Hammet, Lois Nalty Lois Cecilia Nalty Hammet passed away on Friday, February 21, 2025. She was born on March 14, 1934, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was proceeded in death by her husband, Lawrence Buford Hammet, her parents, Raymond JosephNaltyand Orris Bradley Nalty, and her brother, Raymond Joseph Nalty Jr. She is survived by her sister, Shirley NaltyFarrell; her children, Katherine Hammet Zoppoth (Scott Peter Zoppoth) of Louisville, Kentucky, Lawrence Buford Hammet II (Mary Bentley Jenkins Hammet) of New Orleans, Louisiana, David Nalty Hammet (Margaret Kirkpatrick Hammet) of Marion, Illinois, and Patrick Doyle Hammet (Shara SightsHammet)of New Orleans, Louisiana; Twelve grandchildren, Bradley Scott Zoppoth (Mary Charles Pence) Ellen Hammet Flaim (Silvio EmmettFlaim), Mary Bentley Rainer Palmer (John Gray Palmer III), ElizabethLee Hammet Foose (Brice Anthony Foose), Lois Hammet Oaks (Troy Braddock Oaks) Katherine Zoppoth Kirson (William Harris Kirson), Anne Nalty Hammet Kozeny (Christopher Patrick Kozeny), Margaret Lucille Hammet, Patricia Mae Hammet, Virginia Dowdy Hammet, Isaac David Hammet and Martha Nalty Hammet;and Eight great grandchildren, Ruth Maybel Flaim, Kensington Kathryn Zoppoth, Noah David Foose, Emmett Thomas Flaim, Hayden Anthony Foose, Cecilia Rainer Palmer, Cecilia Jeane Zoppoth, and John Gray Palmer IV. Lois grew up in Hammond, Louisiana and attended gradeschool at St. Thomas Aquinas School. She then attended The Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, as aboarding student and was graduated in 1952. She attended Maryville College of the Sacred Heart in St Louis, Missouri and then transferred to Louisiana State University where she majored in Communications. She and Larry were married in 1955 and for atime they lived in Paducah, Kentucky. After leaving Paducah fora few years, they returned to raise their family. OriginallyLouisiana was always home for Lois, but Paducah became her adopted home that she loved dearly. "La La" as she was affectionately called by her nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren, would light up a room, not only with her physical beauty butwith her contagious laughand
fectionately called by her nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren,would light up a room, not only with her physical beauty but with her contagiouslaugh and sincere kindness to all. She was awonderfulmother, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother and great friend. Navigating her husband's career and four children,she wasgracious in fully supportingtheir various endeavors with school, sports and hobbies. She loved UK Basketball, Louisiana strawberries, and tomatoes from Paducah's Farmers Market. She relished family gatherings whether they were held at Hickory Hill, Forest Circle or Beau Chene. She loved all things gardening. She enthusiastically grew, planted and propagated flowers and plants, as wellascreating beautiful flower arrangements. When visiting her children she wouldoften bring them her latest success. She wasanavid member of the Paducah Garden Clubfor manyyears, serving as President. Shewas a member of theFour Seasons Garden Club of Paducah, also serving as President. She served as an officer of the Garden Club of America, Zone VII. One of the manythings she loved about her garden club affiliations was the tradition to decorate Whitehaven for Christmas and encouragingthose to visit Paducah in the spring for the annual Dogwood Trail Festival. Lois was adevout Catholic, quietly sharing her faith. Sheset the example for her husband, children,grandchildren and great grandchildren No one recalls her missing Sunday Mass. No matter what city she visited, Mass was part of heritinerary. She was amember of St. Thomas More Church. She often volunteered for workdays at St. Thomas More, suchasmaintaining the flower gardensonthe Church grounds, assisting with flower arrangements for the alter andhelping orchestrate the efforts for the Church's latest need. Her Faith,character, and spirit never wavered despite her lengthy battle with dementia. Heaven is no longer missing an angel.
The family would like to give aspecial thank you to all the care givers at Amber Oaks in Shelbyville, Kentucky and those at the Nazareth Home, Clifton Campus, Louisville, Kentucky.
The Funeral Mass will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM. Burial services will be conducted later that day at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Hammond, Louisiana.
At the family's request, expressionsofsympathy may take the form of contributionstoSt. Thomas More Catholic Church in Paducah, Kentucky or The Academy of The Sacred Heart, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Verne Ray Kennedy, 83, of Gulf Breeze Florida passed away on February 28, 2025. Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 61 years, Martha ComeauxKennedy; his daughter, Christie Tilley (Kevin); his son, Raymond Kennedy (Gina), grandchildren, Caroline Tilley, Chatham Hatcher (Shawn), Jackson Tilley, Sara Michael Kennedy, Maclain Kennedy, and Lauren Tilley; his siblings, Jack Kennedy (Gayle), and Evelyn Glass; his brother-in -law, Robert Comeaux (Billie); and 12 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Vernon R. andDoris Fleming Kennedy. Verne grew up in New Orleans, specifically in Jackson Barracks, the Louisiana National Guard headquarters. His maternal grandfather was Major General Raymond Fleming who was Adjutant General of Louisianafor 28 years and amajor influence in Verne's youth. He graduated from Belhaven College andmarried Martha, better known as Martie, in 1963. He then completed his M.A. and Ph.D. at LouisianaState University. Verne went on to hold faculty positionsat the University of South Alabama, theUniversity of Georgia, and Louisiana College. He became president of Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi at age 36 and held that position for 8years. He later served
Alabama, the University of Georgia, and Louisiana College. He became president of Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi at age 36 and held that position for 8years. He later served on the Board of Trustees for Belhaven University for many years and in 2018 Belhaven honored him by naming perhaps the most historically attractive area of the campus, the Verne Kennedy Plaza. As ayoung college professor Vernestarted Market Research Insight as amoonlighting activity, later afull-service marketing and political research company. At age 44 he left higher education to devote himself full time to his research companywhich grew to be nationally recognized and did work in all 50 states. He moved the companytoPensacola, Florida in 1992. In 2022 Verne wasinducted into the LouisianaPolitical Hall of Fame. As an active Christian, Verne served as Elder in several Presbyterian churches in Louisiana, Mississippi, andFlorida. He also joined Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. While president of Belhaven he initiated a Christian World View which today is ahallmark of the university. Verne encouraged a sense of adventure in his children by taking them snow skiingevery winter and white water canoeing every summer. He had a passion for photography for most of his life with a special interest in wildlife. He also enjoyed reading, cycling, kayaking, andfishing. The family would like to give aspecial thank you to the wonderfulcaregivers who caredfor Vernelike a family member andalso to the team at People's Hospice. Havingall of you helped lighten this journey for us.
Family and Friends are invited to attend amemorial serviceatthe Belhaven College Fountain Plaza on Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 1pm. In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made to the Vernon Roy and Doris Fleming scholarship at Belhaven University.
Gerald
On Thursday, February 27, 2025, Gerald Knighton age 80 of Slidell, LA passed away peacefully in the comfort of his home, with his wife and daughter by his side. Mr. Knighton was aMajor in the United States Air Force where he served as aChaplain and had the honor of performing over 700 funerals at the Arlington National Cemetery. He was adedicated family man who loved his wife, children, and grandchildren dearly. He is survived by his wife of 20 years Karen Hoyt, his daughter Lisa Knighton stepchildren David Hoyt (and his wife Rebecca) and Melissa Dearman (and her husband, Dustin Dearman), his brother Marlon Knighton, andhis step grandchildren;Gina Hoyt, Grayson Hoyt, Lacie Hoyt, and Emma Dearman.Heis now rejoicing with the Lord and reunited with his first wife Janice Knighton,his parents Wendell and Naomi Knighton,and his sister Jean Atkinson.He will be missed greatly. Memorial services to celebrate his life will be held on Monday March10, 2025, at The Village Lutheran Church in Lacombe, LA at 11 am with visitation from 10 am until service time with areception to follow. He will be laid to rest at the Southeast Louisiana VeteransCemetery in Slidell, LA. at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Williams Funeral Home, Pearl River, LA in charge of arrangements. In Lieu of flowers donations preferred in Gerald's name to the Michael J. Fox Parkinsons Foundation
Guice, Terry Morrow
Foster, Ronald Niles
Fonte Sr., Harold Joseph
Gagnon,
Knighton,
Kennedy, Verne Ray
Markezich, Joseph R.
OUR VIEWS
Trump’s tariffs are bad economic policy, especially for Louisiana
President Donald Trump’s tariff wars are a terrible idea anyway, but Louisiana’s congressional delegation should be particularly opposed to them and eager to reassert congressional authority Trump has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with taxes on imports from Canada and Mexico, has instituted new tariffs on China and is threatening “reciprocal” levies on goods from all nations that impose their own import taxes. His announcements have spooked stock markets, even as inflation continues above target rates and the economy looks headed for a contraction in this year’s first quarter
The tariffs surely will lead to higher prices not just on imported goods but also on American-made products that use foreign parts. For instance, if Trump a month from now goes through with the threatened (but temporarily suspended) tax on Canadian and Mexican auto parts, Bloomberg reports average car prices could rise by a whopping $12,000. New home prices could rise by some $35,000.
The Tax Foundation says the tariffs will raise not just prices but also taxes, with just those on our American neighbors and on China putting an extra tax burden on the average American household of $1,072. And all for little net gain to the U.S Treasury as “nearly all the new tariff revenue raised under President Trump’s first term was used to bail out farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs.”
Not to mention that just keeping track of and implementing all the individual tariffs would require more government workers and red tape, rather than streamlining the federal behemoth. Louisiana would be hit especially hard by widespread tariff hikes. The whole point of Trump’s trade policy is to favor local manufacturers by discouraging imports. Likewise, when other nations retaliate, as they surely would, U.S. exports will decline accordingly All of which means far less work for U.S ports Considering that, by tonnage, Louisiana has four of the nation’s 10 busiest ports — South Louisiana (2), New Orleans (5), Greater Baton Rouge (7), and Lake Charles (10) the tariffs could be devastating to the state’s economy
That statistic involves merely the ports themselves. When one considers all the local suppliers that export from Louisiana and the businesses that depend on easy access to imported goods at low prices, the deleterious results wouldn’t be mere ripple effects, but tidal waves. For just one example, Geoffrey Meeker, the Louisianabased owner of the French Truck coffee house chain, said in January that a threatened 25% tariff on Colombia “would have wiped out my company’s profit for a quarter” and hurt his 170 employees. Kristi App, chief operating officer at the J.W Allen global logistics provider in St. Rose, said “things can change with tariffs that completely blow up your budget.”
The Constitution specifically gives Congress, not the president, the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations.” Led by Louisiana’s delegation, Congress should retake that power from President Trump.
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OPINION
Is this really a ‘constitutional crisis?’
Democrats are raising an alarm about what they call a “constitutional crisis.” If there is one, they should know because they are to blame for it. That’s because their party, since the days of Franklin Roosevelt, has been violating the boundaries and restrictions on government set forth in our founding document.
The Founders wanted government to be limited so the people would be able to achieve their highest aspirations consistent with hard work and their talents.
Much of life has boundaries and rules that when violated, bring consequences. Think of speed limits, boundaries in sports, even rules while playing cards and board games. Warnings on medications tell of what can happen if directions are violated and possible side effects ignored.
Only when it comes to government are constitutional limits violated with little concern from most politicians. One consequence that is finally receiving serious attention is the national debt. As The Wall Street Journal recently noted, servicing the debt now costs more than the entire Defense Department budget. This is unsustainable and as the Journal notes and I
wrote five years ago in a book called “America’s Expiration Date” — past nations have expired under the weight of massive debt.
Looking to the past for wisdom in how to deal with debt and so much else is ignored by many modern politicians in both parties.
The Founders — and those presidents who paid attention to their wise words — conducted government in a responsible way that promoted the general welfare. It only takes a few seconds on Google to assess the wisdom of presidents who embraced their principles. Below are only three of many examples that show what they believed to be the consequences of big government and the scourge of debt.
Thomas Jefferson: “A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government. ...”
Notice the inversion. Labor and what it produces for the person who earns from it is to be protected and encouraged. Government is to be restrained
from causing injury to the person or business that profits from such industry Today the attitude seems to be that government should be a major beneficiary of one’s labor and risk-taking. Consider the top federal tax rate of 37% and additional state, local and other taxes that go to government coffers. Again, Jefferson put it succinctly: “The course of history shows that as government grows, liberty decreases.” We are not the first to roam the Earth. Others who came before have figured things out so that we don’t have to, but too many act as if the past can teach us nothing. Our 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was wiser than the credit given him by many historians.
A century ago, Coolidge said: “Unless the people, through unified action, arise and take charge of their government, they will find that their government has taken charge of them Independence and liberty will be gone, and the general public will find itself in a condition of servitude to an aggregation of organized and selfish interest.” Need I say more? Donald Trump and Elon Musk seem to be listening. Will Congress?
Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.
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products and services to our readers. Readers have argued for greater transparency among letter writers and guest columnists about their interests in a topic. We believe transparency is important and allows the reader to evaluate an opinion in the proper context. It is why we demand similar transparency from our political leaders. We encourage readers to bring any issues about conflicts of interest to our attention. We do strive to make it known and remove ourselves from issues where we may have conflicts. I want to thank those readers who have responded to our first Town Square of the Year: If you could make a New Year’s resolution for the state of Louisiana, what would it be? We’ve had a newsy start to the year, so we did not yet publish your responses. But we will be contacting those who have sent the best letters and publishing them shortly There is still time to get in a letter
Going to our letters inbox for the week of Feb. 6-13, we received 80 letters. National politics was the hottest topic, with 18 letters. Of those, five focused on the actions of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency In the aftermath of a successful Super Bowl in New Orleans, we got 15 letters commenting on the event. And immigration continues to draw interest, with four letters on that topic.
We continue to have a high volume of letters, mostly prompted by the flurry of changes at the federal level. While we strive to publish as many letters as we can, we will not have room for letters that repeat the same or similar arguments. And unfortunately, we cannot respond to letter writers about the status of their letters. But know that they may take a few weeks to get published.
Arnessa Garrett is Deputy Editor | Opinion Page Editor. Email her at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com.
Arnessa Garrett
Cal Thomas
COMMENTARY
Families, food and neighborhoods intertwine in La.
There’s absolutely nothing in the United States like the love affair Louisiana has with food and drink. When this newspaper last week published Ian McNulty’s wonderful review of Avegno lounge, the new adjunct to the legendary Uptown restaurant Gautreau’s, memories came rushing back. It was in the late 1970s, or maybe 1980, that as Dr Howard Russell drove his son Hugh and me to some forgotten event, we stopped for about 10 minutes at an abandoned Soniat Street pharmacy that Dr Russell recently had acquired There were still wares — aspirin bottles, I think, and bandage boxes, and the like on some shelves. I distinctly remember running my finger through and blowing into the air clouds of significant layers of dust.
“What are y’all gonna do with this place?” I asked Hugh shrugged in response: “My mom is thinking of starting a restaurant here.”
Then Hugh and I looked at each other and laughed Hugh’s mother, Anne Avegno Russell, had grown up with my mother and Anne was my godmother Anne had an irrepressible personality, full of life and warmth. Still, raising what soon would be six children seemed to be more than enough for her to handle — and though she cooked really well, she had no restaurant background at all. Sure enough, though, she plowed forward, and on either Aug. 23 or 24, 1982 (I can’t remember if it was the Monday of that week or the Tuesday), she opened in the old pharmacy building what was intended to be a sort of high-end lunch place, named Gautreau’s after the Avegno relative made famous as the “Madame X” of the portrait by painter John Singer Sargent. Gautreau’s then featured a few dine-in tables, but the expectation was that its main focus would be providing plenty of takeout soups, salads and sandwiches. I walked
in about midafternoon on that first day, which had seen more traffic than Anne expected, and I ate some of the very last remaining soup. Anne was, if I remember correctly, a bit panicked at the thought that she already was short of food supplies for the next day’s clientele. I went off to my freshman year of college two or three days later and, lo and behold, by school year’s end, Gautreau’s was open for dinner, too, and was drawing rave reviews as a gourmet restaurant. Somewhere along the line Anne hired a wonderful, professional chef named Armand Jonté, who cemented Gautreau’s place in the pantheon of the city’s finest restaurants. Hugh later became the restaurant’s general manager and I filled in twice on short notice as a busboy, without more than ten minutes’ training, when employees belatedly called in sick.
The experiences left me with a new, awed appreciation for the hard work and indefatigable energy required to run a good restaurant’s kitchen.
The Russells sold Gautreau’s in the early 1990s, and I hadn’t eaten there in three decades until my good friend Bill Kearney, whose father grew up down the street from my father, bought it in 2023 with business partner Jay Adams, whose daughter Katie is the general manager There at the reopening night, I discovered the place and the food were still magic. The Kearney-Adams team by all accounts is working wonders. And now, with the well-received opening a few weeks back at the adjoining lounge Avegno — I am so, so eager to try it — I feel sure Anne, who died in 2009, would love knowing that her creation is now becoming even more of a gathering place than it already has been for lo these 42 years. All of which is over-lengthy prologue to this observation: Here in Louisiana, memorably good restaurants spring up in every neighborhood, usually with lengthy, intertwining family histories. They spring up as po-boy joints; they spring up as plate-food cafes; they spring up as ethnic-food specializers; and some spring up
to serve fine, gourmet repasts. But spring up they do, again and again; here, there, and everywhere they arise and, amazingly, thrive.
My Alabama-native wife, accustomed to searching in vain for Mobile neighborhood restaurants, is constantly delighted with the accessibility and variety and personality of Louisiana dining establishments of all kinds. She always asks how it can be so wonderfully this way
Well, Anne Russell is how Bill Kearney and the Adamses are how The Mandinas are how, and the Liuzzas are how and the Brennans and Domilises, the Reginellis and Chases, the Jubans and Prejeans, are how
Good food and drink in convivial settings are a Louisiana family blessing. And it’s particularly fitting for a restaurant to emerge from a pharmacy, because Louisiana cuisine and Louisiana friendliness are a miraculous prescription for the soul.
Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin.hillyer@theadvocate.com.
Cantrell is grounded, and other tales of checks and balances
Is there a more fitting image to capture the current state of city government in New Orleans than the mayor being grounded?
Perhaps, but only if you consider a previous move by the same City Council that recently ordered LaToya Cantrell to stay home: her eviction from the city-owned Pontalba apartment that she improperly used. Both are embarrassments for the city’s lame duck leader — surely designed, at least in part, to humiliate. Yet it would be wrong to view either action as purely gratuitous or entirely unprovoked.
Yes, the council’s unanimous vote to temporarily bar Cantrell and her staff from spending public money on most travel is an obvious callback to her much-lampooned luxury flights to far off locales for conferences cultural visits and the like These trips had her out of town one of every five days in 2023 and the first part of 2024, and cost taxpayers a cool quarter million bucks for her and other city staffers. But it’s also an on-point response to her bizarre and unconvincingly explained reversal on the city’s agreement to pay the Orleans Parish School Board a $90 million settlement over 10 years to end a longstanding dispute over tax collections Cantrell’s administration had been in on the negotiations, and she signed a budget that included the money The school system has been counting on upfront payments in light of an unrelated and also galling accounting error that put it in a deep hole. The council supported the settlement and has now joined with the school board in asking a court to force the administration to pay up.
The mayor’s professed reasoning for her weird reversal is a moving target She’s claimed that the council entered the agreement without the administration’s permission. Her top finance aids have made the case that the city is facing unexpected financial challenges lost traffic camera revenue, confusion about President Donald Trump’s federal spending cuts and some other multimillion-dollar judgments — and can’t afford to pay That seemed to come as news to council members who approve and closely monitor city spending.
It also amounted to an open invitation for a council crackdown — not to mention a Council President JP Morrell social media beatdown, the sort he rarely refuses and certainly didn’t here.
“No more flying around the country,” Morrell wrote. “No more eating out. No more other related nonsense, because if we can’t afford to take care of the kids, we can’t afford to do anything else.”
Still, Morrell insisted at the meeting at which the ban was adopted that “this is not punitive This is in response to representation made by the head of the finance
department that our budget is in crisis, that spending is out of control.”
He’s got a point there, even if it comes across as awfully punitive anyway
New Orleans traditionally has a strong mayor system, with the legislative arm of government mostly deriving its power in specifically designated realms such as utility regulation and land use, as well as the budget.
But this council, led by two at-large members who rotate the presidency, Morrell and now-mayoral candidate Helena Moreno, has been as assertive as any in recent memory in part in response to Cantrell moves that raised eyebrows.
Another example is the charter change the council pushed to give itself approval over top mayoral appointments, which saw its first use when Cantrell chose and the council ratified Anne Kirkpatrick as police superintendent.
The amendment followed some explosive controversies involving Cantrell appointees, and the fact that 60% of voters supported it suggests a public appetite for a stronger oversight.
All this may have much to do with the personalities involved; indeed, there’s been plenty of council preening throughout these multiple squabbles, and you can’t get much more on the nose than clipping the mayor’s wings, whether metaphorically or literally Still, anything that strengthens checks and balances — and reins in an executive who goes off the reservation is probably a good thing, at any level of government. In fact, it’s something that a certain legislative branch up in Washington might want to consider
Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@ theadvocate.com.
Many turned to Black media to counter Trump speech
President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night, getting more than 36 million people to watch. That’s 13% higher than former President Joe Biden’s 2024 speech (32.2 million), but lower than each of Trump’s first-term congressional addresses (47.7 million viewers in 2017, 45.6 million in 2018, 46.8 in 2019, 37.2 million in 2020).
Trump may be the president, but fewer people are listening to him. That includes Black Louisianans.
who chose something other than a speech full of lies, people who deliberately chose to ignore Trump.
According to Variety, Neilson rating results show that “this year’s total accounts for viewers across ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Merit Street, Telemundo Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax and NewsNation.” Fox News didn’t focus on Trump’s viewership loss. Instead, the conservative network claimed success because 10.7 million of the viewers watched their network. What Nielson didn’t measure was those who chose to watch Black, independent media, people
Roland Martin Unfiltered, a Black-focused daily digital news program, has a healthy audience of Black and other people. Martin started the show in 2018. He’s built the startup into a mainstay in six years Tuesday night was a major high. In an interview, Martin said until Tuesday night the highest viewership was about 29,000 viewers. That was the night that the Tyre Nichols Memphis police beating video was released. About 8,000 were online before the first half-hour ended.
On Tuesday night, more than 1.1 million people watched the “State of Our Union,” Martin’s Trump speech alternative. People who tuned into Martin’s six-plus-hour special heard the Rev Dr William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival. As an anti-poverty activist Barber emphasized the plight of poor people and workers and issued a call for action.
“We’ve got to increase and increase and embolden our agitation,” he said during the live broadcast as I watched. “We’ve got to stand tall because bowing down is not an option.”
Martin said it’s taken focus and time to build the national media platform he leads, and Tuesday night is evidence that Black people want to engage with independent Black media addressing serious issues without bowing to Trump’s stupidity. Hundreds of Louisianans tuned in to hear Barber, Martin and a host of nonpartisan, partisan and elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Troy Carter New Orleans native Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was featured on a panel. Before the show, Martin sent a text to a few friends and it flew into the Black universe. It popped into community and family text groups. It was posted on social media, including on New Orleans Facebook groups. “Black Louisianans were definitely watching,” he said later Yes, they were. I got several copies of the text.
“We’ve never done anything quite like this,” Payne shared with me Thursday “We’ve held other live streams across YT (YouTube) and IG (Instagram), but nothing compares to this.”
Payne said what happened shows that “there were a number of people looking for refuge” from what was expected.
Trump won 49.8% of the November popular vote. At least 50.2% of voters wanted someone else. Trump and the GOP toyed with large media even as they capitalized on the reach of independent and single-person media platforms.
Democrats should pay attention to Martin’s and Payne’s success. Obviously, Makeba and others will spend hours where there is appealing, substantive programming.
So did Dwana Makeba, a Gentilly hair stylist, former educator and Army veteran who wasn’t going to watch Trump then chose to watch Martin’s show after several friends sent her the text. She watched the program from shortly after 7 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Makeba, 54, decided to watch the Trump recording the next morning, but she stopped. “I was so repulsed,” she told me. She said the president was “in full arrogance” mode talking about things he’s done “as if those things were positive,” knowing he’s hurting children, workers and veterans like her Retired WWL anchor Sally-Ann Roberts was watching, too. “II watched and was impressed with Bishop Barber’s sermon,” she shared. What happened Tuesday night also surprised Amber Payne, publisher and general manager of The Emancipator, a digital news outlet that challenges readers to think seriously about race, racism and structural racism and how it impacts everyone. Since it started in spring 2022, the online magazine hasn’t done anything like the 24hour livestream attempted a few days ago. The outlet had 98,000 livestream viewers, including 21,000 during the time that the president spoke to the joint session of Congress. The broadcast was so successful that they picked up 2,700 new subscribers.
Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.
Quin Hillyer
Stephanie Grace Will Sutton
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
New Orleans Police Department Supt. Anne Kirkpatrick talks to Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Bourbon Street ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last month.
Saints, Carr ensure he’s back in 2025
New Orleans restructures quarterback’s contract
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
New Orleans Saints general manager
Mickey Loomis said at the NFL scouting combine last week that he believed the team had a quarterback they could win with in Derek Carr And now, Carr’s not going anywhere for 2025.
The Saints restructured Carr’s contract on Saturday, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed — a move that all but guarantees he’ll be the team’s starter next season By converting most of Carr’s base salary into a signing bonus, the restructure can go a long way toward helping the Saints become cap compliant in time for the start of the NFL’s new league year starting Wednesday. The Saints were more than $40 million over the salary cap as of last week when the league set next year’s salary cap at $279.2 million. New Orleans since has made other moves to chip away at that figure, such as releasing running back Jamaal Williams and restructuring center Erik McCoy’s contract ButrestructuringCarrwasalwaysthemove that could allow the Saints to free up the most salary-cap room with one player In dropping his $30 million salary to all but the league minimum of nearly $1.3 million, and converting his $10 million roster bonus, the Saints cleared a reported $30 million in cap room.
& DEFEATED
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS CARLSON
Texas forward Taylor Jones, right, vies for the ball with LSU forward Aneesah Morrow during the first half of their SEC Tournament semifinal game on Saturday in Greenville, S.C. LSU lost 56-49.
LSU loses Morrow to injury before falling to Texas in SEC semifinal
REED DARCEY Staff writer
BY
GREENVILLE, S.C — The LSU women’s basketball team already was missing Flau’jae Johnson. Then it lost Aneesah Morrow to an injury Saturday in its Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal game against Texas.
The No. 3-seeded Tigers nearly fought for a win anyway But their valiant effort fell short, and the No. 1-ranked Longhorns prevailed 56-49 after holding LSU to its lowest scoring output in a single game under coach Kim Mulkey That occurred a day after the Tigers set a program record for points scored in an SEC Tournament game with 101. LSU suffered the loss as it battled an adverse set of circumstances. Johnson is sitting out with a shin injury, and Mulkey is grieving a family member who died before the Tigers traveled to the site of the tournament. Mulkey joined the team for its quarterfinal win over Florida on Friday She deferred most in-game decisions to associate head coach Bob Starkey, who had stepped into an acting head
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
Though the New Orleans Saints hold a top10 pick for the first time in nearly 20 years, figuring out what direction they will go with it feels like an exercise in futility. Last year it felt preordained they would take the best available offensive tackle with the No. 14 pick and they did, selecting Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga. Tackle was such a glaring need last year that it felt obvious, but this year the needs feel pressing all over the roster
The defense could use young playmakers at all three levels, especially now that Brandon Staley is calling the shots for a different type of scheme than the one the Saints have run for the better part of the last decade.
While New Orleans has some nice pieces on offense, it’s also not hard to envision the team using its top pick or picks on any number of positions on that side of the ball, giving new head coach Kellen Moore some additional firepower Even with Alvin Kamara coming off a strong season that could include running back in what is considered a strong class at that position
Let’s take a spin through the Pro Football Focusmockdraftmachineandtakealookatsome players who may be available when the Saints pickonthefirsttwodaysofthe2025NFLDraft.
No. 9: Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
Also considered: Penn State TE Tyler Warren, LSU OT Will Campbell, Georgia LB/Edge Jalon Walker, Marshall Edge Mike Green.
The first eight picks of the draft fell favorably in this scenario, giving us several really strong options with the No. 9 overall pick. While it was extremely tempting to beef up either the offensive or defensive fronts, McMillan would provide the Saints the big-bodied football vacuum they’ve so sorely missed since Michael Thomas suffered an ankle injury in 2021. There is decent depth in this class along the offensive and defensive lines, while this wide receiver class is generally considered to be thinner than recent years. This felt like an area where the Saints could snag a potential star The 6-foot-5 McMillan has excellent ball skills and would provide an ideal stylistic complement to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. In three years at Arizona, McMillan
ä See SAINTS, page 5C
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
Instead of athletic forwards skying for a put-back, LSU men’s basketball watched its shortest player elevate. Jordan
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Saints quarterback Derek Carr waves to fans before the start of a game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 29. The Saints restructured Carr’s contract on Saturday.
ä See CARR, page 5C
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MEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP
Sears’ floater at buzzer upsets Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. — Mark Sears hit a game-winning floater as time expired, and No. 7 Alabama spoiled the home finale of rival and No. 1 Auburn with a 93-91 overtime road win Saturday The off-balance buzzer-beater from the free-throw line was only the third made basket of the game for Sears, who finished with nine points.
Alabama (24-7, 13-5 Southeastern Conference) got 23 points from Grant Nelson and 15 points each from Labaron Philon and Clifford Omoruyi. The win ended a two-game losing skid for Alabama and handed a second straight loss for Auburn (27-4, 15-3).
Johni Broome scored 34 points, including a game-tying layup in the final minute of regulation and a game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime.
Tahaad Pettiford added 19 points for Auburn, which was without second-leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara for the final 10:52 of regulation and overtime. Baker-Mazara was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Alabama’s Chris Youngblood.
No. 4 TENNESSEE 75, SOUTH CAROLINA
65: In Knoxville, Tennessee, Chaz Lanier scored 23 points to lead No. 4 Tennessee to a victory over South Carolina on Saturday
The Volunteers (25-6, 12-6 Southeastern Conference) wrapped up a double bye for the SEC Tournament. Cade Phillips came off the bench to score 15 points, Igor Milicic had 13 and Jordan Gainey added 10 points.
No. 13 MARYLAND 74, NORTHWESTERN
61: In College Park, Maryland, Julian Reese had 19 points and 11 rebounds in his home finale, and No. 13 Maryland pulled away late for a victory over Northwestern
on Saturday
The Terrapins (24-7, 14-6 Big Ten) had a sluggish day offensively but did enough to win for the seventh time in eight games — with the only defeat coming on a 65-foot shot at the buzzer against Michigan State late last month. No. 14 LOUISVILLE 68, STANFORD 48: In Louisville, Kentucky Terrence Edwards Jr and Chucky Hepburn scored 16 points apiece, and No 14 Louisville ended the regular season Saturday with a victory over Stanford The Cardinals (25-6, 18-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) used their defense to earn their ninth straight victory and 19th in 20 games. Stanford went nearly eight minutes between baskets, missing 11 shots in a row That allowed Louisville to go on a 14-1 run and take a 29-11 lead after Hepburn’s layup with 5:04 left be-
fore halftime. No. 10 IOWA ST 73, KANSAS ST 57: In Manhattan, Kansas, Curtis Jones scored 24 points to lead No. 10 Iowa State past Kansas State on Saturday The Cyclones (23-8, 13-7 Big 12) led wire-to-wire. They got 14 points from Joshua Jefferson and 11 points from Dishon Jackson. Kansas State (15-16, 9-11) was led by senior David N’Guessan with 19 points. Dug McDaniel had 14 points. No.19 KENTUCKY 91,No.15 MISSOURI 83: In Columbia, Missouri, Otega Oweh scored 22 points, and Andrew Carr added 16 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 19 Kentucky beat No. 15 Missouri Saturday Koby Brea scored 17 points and Amari Williams added 14 points and eight rebounds to help Kentucky (21-10, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) win its second game
WOMEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP
in a row PENN ST 86, No. 12 WISCONSIN 75: In Madison, Wisconsin, D’Marco Dunn had 25 points and Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 15 points and 11 rebounds as Penn State rallied in the second half for an victory over No. 12 Wisconsin on Saturday, preventing the Badgers from clinching a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin (23-8, 13-7) went into the weekend in a three-way tie for third with No. 13 Maryland and No. 18 Purdue, but could have secured the double bye with a victory following Illinois’ victory over the Boilermakers on Friday No. 6 ST. JOHN’S 86, No. 20 MARQUETTE 84: In Milwaukee, Zuby Ejiofor hit a tiebreaking shot at the buzzer, Kadary Richmond got the first St. John’s triple-double this century and the sixth-ranked Red Storm beat No. 20 Marquette in overtime Saturday for their sixth consecutive victory St. John’s (27-4, 18-2 Big East) matched a program record for regular-season wins. The Red Storm went 27-4 in the 1985-86 regular season and ended up finishing 31-5 that year. They already had clinched their first Big East outright regular-season title since 1985 a week earlier ARKANSAS 93, No. 25 MISSISSIPPI ST
92: In Fayetteville Arkansas, Jonas Aidoo made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to break a tie game and No 25 Mississippi State missed two potential game-winning shots at the rim at the other end to close out Arkansas’ victory on Saturday Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) used a 12-0 run to go up by one point with 3:14 to play, its first lead since before halftime. Arkansas (19-12 8-10), which led by one at the break, opened the second half on a 10-run.
S. Carolina advances to SEC Tournament title game
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Joyce Edwards
scored 21 points, and No. 5 South Carolina advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game with a 93-75 win over 10th-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 19 points to provide a huge boost off the bench for South Carolina (293), and Sania Feagin added 14. Sahara Williams had 17 points and Payton Verhulst added 15 points and nine assists for Oklahoma (25-7), which looked fatigued playing its third game in three days South Carolina’s smothering defense set the tone early, repeatedly forcing hurried, bad shots and five turnovers while racing to a double-digit first quarter lead. The Gamecocks stretched the lead to 45-28 at the break, closing the first half on a 14-2 run while holding Oklahoma without a field goal over the final four minutes. South Carolina never led by fewer than 10 points in the second half. No. 2 USC 82, MICHIGAN 70: In Indianapolis, Kiki Iriafen scored 17 of her 25 points in the second half Saturday, JuJu Watkins added 20 points and each pulled down 11 rebounds to send No. 2 Southern California past fifth-seeded Michi-
gan and into the Big Ten championship game.
The Trojans (28-2) will face No. 4 UCLA, a winner over No. 13 Ohio State, on Sunday USC won the league’s regular season by sweeping the two-game series against the Bruins.
USC won its ninth straight despite Watkins, the league’s player of the year, having an off night. Iriafen made 10 of 19 shots.
Syla Swords finished with 26 points and Olivia Olson added 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wolverines (22-10).
No. 4 UCLA 75, OHIO ST 46: In Indianapolis, Londynn Jones made six 3-pointers and scored a seasonhigh 22 points Saturday leading No. 4 UCLA to a rout over No. 13 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
The victory sets up a third showdown between the league’s regular-season champ, No. 2 Southern California, and the runner-up Bruins on Sunday The Trojans swept the first two meetings, and Round 3 of the cross-town rivalry is what many hoped to see. Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez each scored 12 points in limited action. Betts had six rebounds, Jaquez had five as UCLA (29-2) won its second straight by double digits. No. 8 TCU 71, WVU 65: In Kansas City, Missouri, Hailey Van Lith
had 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Sedona Prince added 18 points with 16 rebounds, and No. 8 TCU held off No. 16 West Virginia on Saturday to reach the women’s Big 12 Tournament championship for the first time in school history
The top-seeded Horned Frogs will play No. 21 Oklahoma State or No. 17 Baylor on Sunday Madison Conner hit five 3-pointers and added 16 points, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu returned from an injury to score nine, as TCU moved within a game of its first conference tourney title since playing in Conference USA in 2005. No. 11 DUKE 66, No. 6 NOTRE DAME 56: In Greensboro, North Carolina, Oluchi Okananwa had 14 points off the bench and Ashlon Jackson scored 12 to help No. 11 Duke beat No. 6 Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday Duke (25-7) will meet No. 7 N.C. State, the top seed, in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Sunday It’s the Blue Devils’ first time playing in that game in eight years. N.C. State beat No. 14 North Carolina in the first semifinal matchup. Hannah Hidalgo had 14 of her 23 points in the first half and Olivia Miles had 10 points for secondseeded Notre Dame (26-5).
Chiefs WR Worthy gets domestic violence charge
Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Xavier Worthy has been arrested on a felony domestic violence charge.
Williamson County, Texas, online jail records Saturday showed that Worthy was arrested Friday by deputies and held in the county jail on a charge of assault on a family or household member in which their breath was impeded, or choking in common terms.
In a statement, Worthy’s attorneys, Chip Lewis and Sam Bassett, said their client was innocent of the charge against him. His attorneys said the allegation was made by a woman who had been living in Worthy’s home in Williamson County The statement said she had been asked to leave multiple times over the last two weeks “upon discovery of her infidelity.”
Bills extend pass rusher Rousseau for 4 years
The Buffalo Bills on Saturday signed edge rusher Greg Rousseau to a four-year contract extension that’s worth up to $80 million in the team’s latest move to lock up its young core.
The 24-year-old Rousseau was selected by Buffalo 30th overall in the 2021 draft out of the University of Miami. He was entering this season playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, but he is now under contract through 2029.
Rousseau finished last season with a team-leading eight sacks — three coming in Buffalo’s season opener 16 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles. Overall, he’s totaled 25 sacks, 46 tackles for a loss and forced six fumbles over 62 games — all of them starts.
Heat center Adebayo fined for antics toward referee Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Saturday for making inappropriate contact with and directing profanity toward a referee.
Adebayo’s actions came after the conclusion of the Heat’s 106-104 loss to Minnesota on Friday, when he missed a 3-point attempt that would have won the game.
Minnesota’s Julius Randle leaped to contest the shot and Adebayo ended up falling to the court after the shot. The NBA determined Saturday that referees were correct in not calling a foul, saying in its Last 2 Minutes report there was only marginal contact on the attempt and further contact came after the ball already had been released.
Tigers sign former Astros starting pitcher Urquidy
The Detroit Tigers have signed right-hander José Urquidy to a $1 million, one-year contract that includes a club option for the 2026 season.
The team announced the deal on Saturday
No. 7 NC STATE 66, No. 14 UNC 55: In Greensboro, North Carolina, Aziaha James scored 19 points and No. 7 N.C State jumped out to a big lead to beat No. 14 North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday Madison Hayes and reserve Lorena Awou each had 10 points as the Wolfpack (26-5) avenged a one-point regular-season road loss. N.C. State faces either No. 11 Duke or No. 6 Notre Dame in Sunday’s Atlantic Coast Conference final. Indya Nivar had 13 points and Maria Gakdeng had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina (27-7), which shot 27.9% from the field.
No. 3 UCONN 71, ST. JOHN’S 40: In Uncasville, Connecticut, Paige Bueckers had 20 points to lead No. 3 UConn to a win over St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the Big East women’s basketball tournament on Saturday Sarah Strong had 10 points and 14 rebounds while Azzi Fudd finished with 11 points for UConn (29-3) as the Huskies won their 13th consecutive Big East tournament game and recorded their 34th win in a row in a conference tournament. Ariana Vanderhoop and Kylie Lavelle each had 11 points and three 3-pointers. Lashae Dwyer had 10 points for the Red Storm (16-15).
Urquidy, who turns 30 on May 1, had Tommy John surgery on June 5. He also had the operation in 2017. His club option is worth $4 million, and he can earn an additional $3 million in performance bonuses based on games started next year
Urquidy was placed on the 60day injured list as he continues his rehab from his elbow surgery
Urquidy made his major-league debut with Houston in 2019. He is 27-16 with a 3.98 ERA in 70 starts and nine relief appearances — all with the Astros.
Morikawa in position to win for first time in 17 months
Collin Morikawa made a 12foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday on the Bay Hill course for a 5-under 67, giving him a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a chance to win for the first time in 17 months.
Russell Henley holed a long bunker shot for birdie on the opening hole ran off four in a row to start the back nine and had a 67 to finish one shot behind. Corey Conners of Canada missed the 18th fairway, chipped out and made bogey for a 69 and was two back.
Shane Lowry, the 36-hole leader, struggled. He shot a 76, leaving him six shots behind. Rory McIlroy shot a 73 to fall seven shots behind.
The Associated Press
ASSOCIATDE PRESS PHOTO By BUTCH DILL Alabama guard Mark Sears, center celebrates with teammates and head coach Nate Oats after making a game-winning shot against Auburn in overtime Saturday in Auburn, Ala.
The Associated Press
OUTDOORS
Duck season amended again
Hunters will get some late in-the-season days back; red snapper season also set
BY JOE MACALUSO Contributing writer
After two months of wrangling over the next season in Louisiana’s West Waterfowl Zone, a second amendment offered during Thursday’s Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting apparently has put the issue to rest.
After the first amendment to a Jan. 30 close of a 60-day duck season lopped 12 days off the end of the 2025-2026 season, opponents to that offering got some late-inthe-season days back with Thursday’s adjustment.
So, now the West Zone duck season will begin with a youth-only weekend Nov 8-9, then move to a first segment running Nov 15-Dec.
7. Following a 13-day split, the second segment will run Dec. 20-Jan. 25 with a honorably discharged veterans-only weekend set Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
The commission also decided to change the East Zone waterfowl dates to a youth- and veterans-only weekend hunt set Nov 15-16 with the first segment of the 60-day season taking on an odd schedule of Nov 22-Dec. 8 (a Monday), then picking up the balance of days with a Dec. 20-Jan. 31 segment.
The original East Zone offering split the special youthand veteran-only hunts into single days, one prior and one after the regular segments.
The reason for combining those days into one weekend centered around older veterans wanting to hunt with
NOTEBOOK
children and grandchildren during November’s weather conditions.
State wildlife managers told the commission those changes will affect dates for the Conservation Order on blue, snow and Ross’ geese Also announced was the call for a special April 22 (10 a.m.-noon) public comment on the amendments offered since the proposed 2025-2026 hunting seasons were announced in early January The meeting is set for Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters in Baton Rouge.
Red snapper
Yielding to some of the comments received from an email survey and comments on its website, Wildlife and Fisheries Marine Fisheries managers proposed a May 1 opening to the private recreational red snapper season. State-certified charterboat operations also are included in this season. The season will be opened daily with a four-fish-perperson daily limit. “Keeper” red snapper must measure at least 16 inches long. Because our state’s take exceeded the 934,587-pound allotment in 2024, this year’s allocation will be 894,955 pounds. The 2024 season opened April 15, was shut down briefly then reopened to run through Labor Day and ended Oct. 6.
CALENDAR
SUNDAY
FLY TYING FOR BASS: 2-4 p.m.,
Orvis Shop, Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge. Fee free All ages, but 15-and-younger must be accompanied by an adult. Call Shop (225) 757-7286. Website: orvis.com/ batonrouge
ING: 7 p.m., Regional Branch Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge. Open to the public. Email Brian Roberts: roberts.brian84@gmail. com Website: rsff.org
WEDNESDAY
LA. SHRIMP TASK FORCE MEETING: 10 a.m., Terrebonne Parish Government Tower, 8026 Main Street, Houma. BUGS & BEERS: 6:30 p.m., Skeeta Hawk Brewing, 455 N. Dorgenois Street, New Orleans. Fly tying. Open to the public. Email A.J. Rosenbohm: ajrosenbohm@gmail.com Website: neworleansflyfishers.com
WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY
B.A.S.S. NATION QUALIFIER: Pickwick Lake, Florence, Alabama. Website: bassmaster.com
HUNTING SEASONS TURKEY: March 29-30, Youth/ Physically Challenged special weekend. AROUND THE CORNER MARCH 16–44TH KIWANIS OF POINTE COUPEE OPEN BASS TOURNAMENT: 3 p.m. weighin, Morrison Parkway public launch, New Roads. Pickyour-partner/$150 entry fee Benefits False River projects. Call Kenneth
Bear season
The commission also approved a notice to expand the black bear hunting season to offer as many as 20 tags for the December season.
That’s an increase from 10 tags drawn in a lottery for the 2024 season, the first in our state in decades
The notice also adds two areas to the list, one taking in Pointe Coupee and the Feliciana parishes.
A lottery will determine who gets the tags.
One concern from the commission was an increased take of female bears. Hunters drawn for December’s hunt had to attend a training
FISHING RESULTS
Anglers vs. Autism STEPHENSVILLE — The top 10 teams from the annual Anglers Against Autism bass tournament held from Doiron’s Landing with anglers, number of bass weighed in parentheses (five-bass limit), total catch weight in pounds and prize money. Also the top two big bass: Top 10: 1, Wyatt EnsmingerDawson Andrews (5) 17.56 pounds. 2, Dustin RobichauxNorm Hightower (5) 14.81. 3, Greg Gleason-Trey Clement (5) 14.08. 4, Edwards Dupuis-Dominic Thompson (5) 13.74. 5, Beau Theriot-Adam Marceaux (5) 13.68. 6, Leavitt Hamilton-Anthony Amorello (5) 12.84. 7 (tie), Creed David-Brad Territo (5) & Neil Whitam-Jimmy Roberts (5) 12.76. 9, Mike Pyle, (5) 12.48. 10, Chad Porto-Blake Laiche (5) 12.3. Big Bass: 1, RobichauxHightower, 4.62 pounds. 2, Ensminger-Andrews, 4.34. Bassmaster Elite OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Final top five from the four-day Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite held on Lake Okeechobee with anglers, their hometowns, number of bass weighed in parentheses (5-bass daily limit), total weight in pounds and ounces and prize winnings. Also listed are Louisiana anglers, bigbass daily/overall winners & contingency money winners. Only the top 50 in the 104-angler field moved to the third round, and only the top 10 advanced to the final round: Top five: 1, Brandon Palaniuk, Rathdrum, Idaho (20) 95 pounds, 4 ounces, $100,000. 2, John Garrett, Union City Tennessee (20) 79-7, $20,000. 3, Kyoya Fujita, Yamanashi. Japan (20) 77-4, $15,000. 4, Will Davis Jr., Sylacauga, Alabama (20) 76-5, $13,000. 5, Bob Downey, Detroit Lakes, Minnesote, (20) 73-2, $11,000. Louisiana anglers: 29, Tyler Rivet, Raceland (15) 40-12, $5,500. 66, Greg Hackney, Gonzales (10) 21-3. 84, Caleb Sumrall, New Iberia (10) 18-11 99, Logan Latuso, Gonzales (8) 14-15. Phoenix Boats Big Bass: David Gaston Sylacauga, Alabama, 11-8, $2,000. Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag: Palaniuk, 34-10, $2,000.
MARCH 18-20—MLF TOYOTA
BASS SERIES/CENTRAL DIVI-
SION: Lake Chickamauga, Dayton, Tennessee. Website: MajorLeagueFishing.com
MARCH 19—FLIES & FLIGHTS:
7 p.m., Rally Cap Brewing, 11212 Pennywood Avenue, Baton Rouge. Fly tying. Open to public. Spare tools, materials for novices. Email Chris Williams: thefatfingeredflytyer@ gmail.com
MARCH 19-20—YAMAHA RIGHTWATERS BASSMASTER KAYAK CHAMPIONSHIP: Lake Fork, Yantis, Texas & final award March 21, Dickies Arena, Fort Worth. Website: bassmaster.com.
MARCH 20—DUCKS UNLIMITED/BATON ROUGE GRAND
SLAM SPONSOR BANQUET: 5:30 p.m., Renaissance Hotel, 7000 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge. Honoring Luke & Sonja Laborde. Call Taylor Bennett (225) 921-4535/(225) 248-1111. Email: taylor@whenwemesh. com
MARCH 20—ACADIANA
FLY RODDERS PROGRAM: 6 p.m., Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Open to public. Email Darin Lee: cbrsandcdc@gmail.com. Website: acadianaflyrodders. org.
FISHING/SHRIMPING
SHRIMP: Inshore season closed except in Breton/ Chandeleur sounds & all outside waters open.
CLOSED SEASONS: Greater amberjack, red snapper; gag, goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.
OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Flounder; lane, blackfin, queen and silk snappers & wenchmen among other snapper species; all groupers except closed for goliath & Nassau groupers in state/ federal waters.
LDWF UPDATES
CLOSED: Pearl River WMA (Old U.S. 11 gate & shooting range; flooding); Hope Canal Road/boat launch (Maurepas Swamp WMA, levee construction); Blackhawk Boat Landing, Annie’s Lake, Lincecum, Union Point, Dobbs Bay & Routen Camp roads and the Warren Trailhead (Richard Yancey WMA, flooding, culvert failure); Sutton Lake Road (Pomme de Terre WMA, flooding).
EMAIL: jmacaluso@theadvocate.com
seminar some of which was devoted to recognizing the subtle differences between male and female bears. Hunters were, and will be, prohibited from taking female bears with cubs.
A post-hunt analysis determined eight males were among the 10 taken during December’s ground-breaking season.
Public comment on this move will be taken through May 1.
Bussey Brake bass
The commission also heard a notice from the Inland Fisheries Section about new regulations state fisheries biologists figured would
help sustain Bussey Brake Reservoir (Morehouse Parish) as the state’s top bigbass lake.
Noted in the presentation was how this impoundment produced two of the state’s top 10 state-record largemouth bass — a No. 4, 15.78 pounds and No. 9, 15.36 pounds and how much fishing pressure there has been during the past five years during what biologists called the reservoir’s “new lake effect.”
Another change institutes a slot limit of 18-22 inches — anglers must return these fish to the water — but are allowed “temporary retention of a bass greater than 22 inches in an aerated livewell to weigh on a personal scale or LDWFprovided certified scale at the launch site.” Daniel said the reservoir has attracted bass fishermen from across the country and said, “This will promote and prolong this fishery.”
Area biologist Ryan Daniel said Bussey Brake’s “new lake effect” period is over and to keep the area producing trophy-sized largemouths new creel and size limits are needed. Offered in the notice is an increase from 16 to 18 inches in “keeper” bass with a daily limit of five per day
tactical gun storeboasts 22,000 squarefeetofinventory AND abrand new state-of-the-artindoor
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The last time these two young anglers made their mark was in state bass fishing circles when Dawson Andrews, left, and Wyatt Ensminger were in high school a couple of years ago. They carried their prowess into the
THE VARSITY ZONE
John Curtis holds off furious Catholic rally
BY WILLIAM WEATHERS Contributing writer
Catholic High put one final charge into John Curtis and came up empty at a second trip to the state tournament in three years
Xavier Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:12 to play snapped a tied game and Zaveon Shepherd added a pair of free throws with 18.8 seconds to go, lifting the seventh-seeded Patriots to a 55-51 win over the No. 2 Bears in Friday’s Division I select quarterfinal at Catholic.
“We had a tough schedule that prepared us for environments and for games like this,” John Curtis coach Biko Paris said.
John Curtis (24-6) advances to its
first state tournament in Division I and faces St. Thomas More, a 5350 winner over Huntington, in next week’s state tournament at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles
Catholic (27-5) rallied from a 4935 deficit with 6:05 remaining with a 13-0 run that was capped by Matthew Trahan’s steal and layup. The Bears tied the game at 51-51 on Mikai Lacy’s 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining.
The Bears, who shot 24% (16 of 42), didn’t score again. Brown’s 3-pointer gave Curtis the lead for good, followed by two free throws from Shepherd, who led all scorers with 23 points.
“As a coach I’ll take the shot that kid made,” Catholic coach Derrick Jones said of Brown’s go-ahead basket. “It actually wasn’t a great shot in transition, and he just made a big-time shot. It was enough separation for them to hold on and win the game. I’m proud of the way our kids competed all year They kept battling.”
Lacy scored seven of his team-
Fast-breaking Shaw advances to state tournament
BY DARRELL WILLIAMS Contributing writer
Top-seeded Shaw had difficulty execute its half-court offense at the outset in its Division II select quarterfinal against No. 8 seed David Thibodaux on Friday
However, the Eagles still had a nine-point lead as it held the Bulldogs scoreless until the final minute of the first quarter Then came the second quarter That’s when Shaw got in gear with its vaunted fast break The defense remained effective and aggressive, rendering the Bulldogs to being a speed bump in a 70-41 victory at Shaw
“Our defensive presence is what we’re really focusing on in the playoffs because we know we can score,” said coach Wesley Laurendine, who is in his 10th year at Shaw “I’m making sure that our guys are locked in on the defensive end. We gave up 41 points. I was really pleased with our effort on defense.”
Against David Thibodaux, the Eagles (26-2) notched their 19th consecutive victory Shaw will face No. 5 Madison Prep in the semifinals for the third consecutive year on Wednesday at Burton
Coliseum in Lake Charles. Madison Prep won the previous semifinal matchups. However, the Eagles beat the Chargers 61-55 in the season-opener on Nov 19 at Shaw. It set the stage for the rest of this season
“It gave us a lot of confidence,” Laurendine said.
That confidence had Shaw battle-tested for Friday Shaw led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter In the second quarter, freshman guard Christian Clair made consecutive three-point plays on the fast break. Tristan Naquin, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, then sank a free throw followed by a drive off a fast break for a 13-2 run that ended in 10 consecutive points and a 22-6 lead at the 4:51 mark
With 2:18 left in the second quarter, the Eagles led 30-6 as the run reachied 21-2, a common accomplishment this season. David Thibodaux showed some fight in scoring the final six points before halftime, but they trailed by 18.
“(Shaw) got into transition,” said David Thibodaux coach Christopher Cane, who guided the Bulldogs to the District 4-4A championship and a 25-7 record. “Once you let a team like that get a flow
high 11 points during Catholic furious stretch that wiped out their biggest deficit over a 41/2-minute span. Tate McCurry, hounded by Curtis’ defense throughout, scored back-toback baskets his first two of the game — with a 3-pointer and threepoint play at the four-minute mark. Jarvis Stevenson’s inside basket with 2:12 left stopped Catholic’s run until Lacy followed with his gametying 3-pointer 38 seconds later Catholic rallied from a 14-3 deficit in the first four minutes to put together a 14-0 run that was capped by a 10-footer from Charles Mosely for a 17-14 lead in the first minute of the second quarter The game was tied four times until Brown’s steal and layup gave Curtis a 29-27 lead at halftime, creating momentum that turned into a 11-0 run and 4029 advantage for the Patriots in the third quarter
of the game and get some easy baskets, their confidence continues to grow That’s why I think the separation (with the score) happened in the first half.
“At halftime, we were down 18 points. But they probably had eight points in their half court (offense) and about 20-something points in transition.”
Senior center Kolbe Butler, 6-7, led Shaw with 14 points, most of it on dunks.
Clair scored 13, with 11 coming in the first half. Guard Khalil Awogboro had 12, with nine coming in the first half as he and Clair fueled the fast break.
Naquin scored 11, including one of the game’s highlights. With five second left in the third quarter,
he missed a dunk on a fast break, and Butler scored on a put-back However, at 4:32 of the fourth, Naquin made up for it. He stole the ball, went more than half the court, then threw down a windmill dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy Along with Butler and Naquin inside, guard Allen Shaw scored nine points, getting much of his scoring on pull-up jumpers after a slick ball-handling move. And small forward Dennis Seal came off the bench to score seven, hitting a 3-pointer two minutes into the third quarter and another one from 25 feet.
Sophomore guard Bryston Sledge led David Thibodaux with 19 points.
Country Day tops Catholic-NI for trip to Lake Charles
BY LES EAST Contributing writer
Country Day is going back to Lake Charles. The third-seeded Cajuns overcame a slow start and a shaky finish to defeat sixth-seeded Catholic of New Iberia 57-50 in a Division III select quarterfinal playoff game Friday night at Country Day The victory ended a two-year absence from the state semifinals. Country Day will face No. 2 seed Dunham, which defeated No 10 Thomas Jefferson 81-54 on Friday, in the semifinals next week in Lake Charles.
STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT
“Our goal every year is to make the final four,” Cajuns coach Mike McGuire said. “This group has worked really hard. We knew (the Panthers) were really tough and a great program and they play really hard. We made some big buckets down the stretch. Everyone was outstanding.” Kellen Brewer scored 22 points,
Hermon Dyson had 12 and Curtis McAllister and Rhyss Diley scored seven each as Country Day rode its blend of youth and experience through an intense game.
“Kellen Brewer doesn’t play like a sophomore, and Curtis McAllister doesn’t play like a freshman,” McGuire said.
Tristan Lewis scored 17 and Jaiden Mitchell, Karon Eugene and Layton Mitchell had nine each to lead the Panthers.
Country Day fell behind 8-2 before settling down and taking a 2017 halftime lead. It expanded the lead to 41-32 at the end of the third quarter, but the Panthers scored the first five points of the fourth as the Cajuns went scoreless for nearly four minutes
“We knew we were going to have to play all 33 minutes,” Brewer said. Brewer drove to the basket and converted a three-point play,
Diley scored on a put-back and the lead was back to nine with 3:32 remaining.
But the Panthers wouldn’t go away They got as close as three points with 16 seconds left after the Cajuns missed 5 of 8 free throws. But Brewer calmly stepped to the free-throw line and made two free throws and finished the scoring with an emphatic dunk with two seconds left, spurring the Country Day students to storm the court.
Lewis scored Catholic-New Iberia’s first eight points but didn’t score again in the first half Dyson scored six and Brewer had five to help the Cajuns inch in front at halftime.
Country Day started the second half much better, scoring the first eight points on its way to leading by as many as 11 points before holding off the Panthers’ repeated charges.
STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD
Shaw coach Wesley Laurendine directs his team against L.B Landry on Feb 7, 2023, at L.B Landry High. Laurendine and the Eagles are bound for the LHSAA boys basketball tournament after beating David Thibodaux 70-41 in a Division II select quarterfinal on Friday.
LSU gymnasts keep emotions in check in record style
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
The emotions were there all week, bubbling just beneath the surface and finally coming to a boil Friday night as the LSU gymnastics team and its 10 seniors faced their final home meet in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center
LSU coach Jay Clark quietly fretted that such a moment for so many of his gymnasts would water down their performances, especially against an improved Georgia team just good enough to spring an upset.
He needn’t have worried The Tigers turned their emotions into high-octane fuel, powering a record-setting performance that met the gravity of the moment and propelled LSU into a higher orbit. Behind the team’s first perfect 10 of the season by Aleah Finnegan, the No. 2-ranked Tigers recorded an historic 198.575-197.175 victory over No. 10 Georgia before a roaring crowd of 13,476, LSU’s fourthbest attended home meet ever
“Obviously tremendous performance from our team across the board,” Clark said. “They really showed up and did a great job. I am just super proud of them.”
After the meet, it became apparent what a tremendous performance it was.
LSU’s school-record score was the ninth-highest in NCAA history, the second-highest in Southeastern Conference history and the best so far this season by nearly four-tenths of a point. With scores of 49.600 on vault, 49.625 on uneven bars and 49.675 on beam and floor, LSU became the only team with scores of 49.600 or better this season in all
SAINTS
Continued from page 1C
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
four events
The win allowed the Tigers to improve to 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference, pulling into a first-place tie in the league standings with No. 1 Oklahoma with one regular-season meet to go for each team.
LSU goes to Auburn next Friday, while Oklahoma is at Georgia. If LSU wins, the Tigers will clinch at least a share of the SEC regular-season championship with Oklahoma, LSU’s first since 2018.
A huge group of gymnasts bid farewell to their home floor for the last time: fourth-year seniors
Finnegan, Alexis Jeffrey, KJ Johnson, Tori Tatum and Kathryn Weilbacher; fifth-year seniors Sierra Ballard, Haleigh Bryant Olivia Dunne and Chase Brock; and sixthyear senior Alyona Shchennikova.
“I did a bad job all week” with her emotions, Ballard said. “But walk-
hauled in 213 passes for 3,423 yards and 26 touchdowns.
No. 40: Ohio State DT Tyleik Williams
Also considered: Toledo DT Darius Alexander, Oregon OL Josh Conerly, Ole Miss CB Trey Amos, LSU edge Bradyn Swinson. While Bryan Bresee is coming off a nice season as a pass rusher, the Saints desper-
Saints quarterback Derek Carr, right, hands the ball to running back Alvin Kamara during the first half of their game on Dec. 1 at the Caesars Superdome.
ing into the PMAC today, it was like being in auto pilot mode. It felt right and natural to be locked in, the opposite of emotional
“There’s something about this place that makes it real easy to do good gymnastics.”
From the outset the Tigers appeared poised to eclipse last week’s season-high 198.125 in the Podium Challenge at the Raising Cane’s River Center against George Washington. LSU got three 9.95s on vault to share first place from Finnegan, Amari Drayton and Kailin Chio. The Tigers led Georgia (49.275 on uneven bars) by more than threetenths.
On bars, Konnor McClain flirted with a perfect 10 herself and won the event with a 9.975, helping boost the Tigers to a commanding 99.225-98.475 lead at the meet’s halfway point “I thought we started out on fire
ately need to get stronger along their defensive interior Enter Williams, the 334-pound Ohio State product who instantly would provide a physical presence in the middle of the defense. Williams got the nod over Alexander here, mostly because of his ability as a run defender
No. 71: LSU TE Mason Taylor
After going with a pass-catcher in the first round, let’s give Moore another offensive weapon in the LSU product. Taylor is not as flashy as some of the other tight ends in this class, but he may offer
Continued from page 1C
There are trade-offs for doing such a deal, however After restructuring Carr’s contract for a second straight year, his 2026 cap figure is now set to be roughly $69 million instead of $61 million And if the Saints want to release Carr after this season without a post-June 1 designation, that move now would leave $59 million on the books instead of $28.6 million, according to Over The Cap. Carr originally signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints in 2023, shortly after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders. He has gone 14-13 in his two seasons with the franchise, but the Saints were 0-7 last year in the games the quarterback missed because of injuries.
Before Saturday’s restructure, Carr’s future in New Orleans was a subject of conversation.
At his introductory news conference, new Saints coach Kellen Moore gave a noncommittal answer when asked about the quarterback Moore said he respected Carr and the Saints were “fortunate” to have him, but he told reporters he would go through “the process” when pressed on whether the 33-yearold would be the team’s starter next season. Weeks later at the scouting combine, Moore and Loomis were much more complimentary of Carr Loomis indicated the four-time Pro Bowler would return for 2025, while Moore called him a “big-time” quarterback.
“Derek’s a tremendous processor rhythm, timing, quarterback in this league,” Moore said. “A guy that is — every team has a teach tape with a lot of concepts, and Derek has been on those for a long time, no matter where you’re at.” Still, Carr’s contract loomed over the situ-
ation. With the Saints tight on cap space, Loomis said he was hopeful they could “maneuver” Carr’s contract.
The options facing the Saints, in theory, included asking Carr whether he would take a pay cut. But the quarterback told ESPN after the 2024 season that he would not be open to such a move. The NFL Network reported Saturday that Carr and the Saints had “numerous talks” about Carr’s salary before settling on a simple restructure.
“I wouldn’t take a pay cut,” Carr told ESPN. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. Especially with what I put on tape. Would I restructure? Absolutely I’ll always help the team that way But there’s some things that you put out there that you earned.
“It’s hard enough putting our bodies through it. And you’re trying to get everything you can for your family for it.”
Because of the restructure, Carr will still get paid the full $40 million he was set to earn next season. Carr was statistically among the best quarterbacks in the league last season when healthy, ranking 11th in Expected Points Added per dropback and 10th in passer rating. He was particularly impressive in the first two games of the season when the Saints scored more than 40 points in backto-back weeks. But he was uneven in other moments, such as in a Monday loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and a November outing in which he and the Saints lost to the then-17 Carolina Panthers.
The Saints were ultimately 5-5 in games with Carr But the team failed to win a game without him. Carr first missed three games in the middle of the season with an oblique injury and then suffered a season-ending fracture to his non-throwing hand in Week 14 when he attempted to dive for a first down against the New York Giants. The 10 appearances were the fewest of his 11-year career
on vault and continued that on bars,” Clark said. “We landed well most of the night.”
The Tigers were just getting started. LSU went to balance beam and got 9.95s from Chio and Bryant, tying their season highs. It was all setting the stage for Finnegan, who anchored the event with a 10.0 score, the eighth of her career and second on beam.
“I wanted to do a good beam routine for them,” Finnegan said at the post-meet news conference, casting a tearful eye toward Ballard and Bryant next to her on the podium. “They set me up so well.”
“She’s been reaching for that,” Ballard said. “It’s exciting to see it all come together on such a special night.”
LSU honored its seniors on the floor after the meet, with Bryant, Finnegan and others wiping away
more for the team when combining his pass-catching and blocking ability Taylor has a strong pedigree, as his father (Jason Taylor) and uncle (Zach Thomas) are Pro Football Hall of Famers. He backed that up by breaking LSU’s career receptions record for tight ends in his three years there. With Juwan Johnson poised to hit free agency, this is a positional need for the Saints.
No. 93: Georgia OG Tate Ratledge
The Saints have a hole at guard, and there may be a couple of avenues to fill
tears as they were joined by their families and coaches.
Now they go in pursuit of the SEC regular-season crown, a repeat SEC championship meet title on March 22 in Birmingham, Alabama, and a repeat NCAA championship.
Clark stressed focusing on the Tigers’ performances rather than the judges’ subjective scoring.
“Did we perform at a championship level tonight?” Clark asked.
“Unequivocally yes I don’t think there’s any doubt we won the meet and that it was a great performance.”
Ballard didn’t hesitate to respond when asked what Friday’s meet would do for the Tigers’ confidence.
“It’s all gas, no brakes from here,” she said. “It’s exciting to know we were able to accomplish this with all the emotions of today We know there’s even more left in us.”
it. One is to kick right tackle Trevor Penning inside — where his run-blocking skill and overall demeanor may translate nicely — and draft his replacement in the top 10. Another is to use one of their three second-day picks on a guard. Let’s follow that latter scenario and snag Ratledge, a three-year starter in the Southeastern Conference who also wowed at the combine, posting an unofficial 9.98 Relative Athletic Score.
Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.
LSU senior Aleah Finnegan is greeted by jubilant teammates after her perfect 10.0 performance on balance beam on Friday during the final home dual meet of the season at the PMAC against Georgia.
leans Pelicans is they don’t have to see the Houston Rockets again this season. For the fourth time this season the Pelicans ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, losing 146-117 to the Rockets on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.
It was the Pelicans’ 12th loss by 20 or more points this season. The 146 points are the most points the Pels have allowed all season, eclipsing the 144 by the Denver Nuggets in February
Two nights earlier, the Pelicans collapsed in the third quarter in a loss to the Rockets in the Smoothie King Center This time, it was the first half that did the Pelicans in.
Pelicans coach Willie Green hoped that playing the same team
LSU
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Sears had 21 points for LSU (1417, 3-15). LSU’s top scorer Cam Carter had seven.
“The first half, we were really dialed in on the defensive end of the floor,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “The game really shifted at the start of the second half We missed the layup at the end of the first, and we struggled to finish some plays at the rim there in the first five minutes of the second half. And A&M really overwhelmed us on the offensive glass.”
The Aggies had 14 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points. LSU finished the game shooting 30% overall
The Tigers were without Corey Chest and Vyctorius Miller because of injuries.
McMahon used a new starting lineup by inserting forward Derek Fountain for Daimion Collins and Sears for Curtis Givens to give the two seniors a start during their final game at the PMAC.
The new-look lineup did little to slow down Texas A&M star guard Wade Taylor He was 4 of 4 as the Aggies jumped out to a 15-7 lead with 14:49 remaining in the first half.
LSU got a taste of success on offense after it forced turnovers. Mike Williams had back-to-back steals, and on the second one he found Carter for a corner 3-pointer, cutting LSU’s deficit to four with 10:19 left in the half. Williams cut the deficit to one after an and-one mid-range pullup after he ran off the 3-point line. During the ensuing possession, Sears got a defender in the air and drew a foul on a 3-point shot. He made all three free throws as LSU took its first lead at 21-19 with 7:52 left in the first half.
The Tigers continued to flourish during a 20-1 run to take a 29-20 lead over the Aggies with 5:39 left in the half.
“I thought LSU just completely dominated us on the glass, their
again in a 48-hour span would benefit his team.
“It’s a good test when you play the same team twice,” Green said at Friday’s practice. “We’ll have to make some adjustments. We’ll have to try to come out and continue to have a good first half.”
They didn’t.
The Pelicans trailed 39-28 at the end of the first quarter and 74-58 at halftime. The 74 points allowed were just shy of the season-high 77 first-half points given up in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder back in early December
The deficit was as many as 20 in the first half when the Pelicans got outscored 42-30 in the paint. The Rockets shot 62% from the floor in the first half.
Not even a brilliant first half off the bench from Jose Alvarado was enough to get the Pelicans all the way out of the early hole.
Alvarado, who was listed as
questionable, didn’t show any signs of the hip soreness that had his availability in question. He scored 15 points to go with six assists and four rebounds in the first two quarters It didn’t carry over to the second half, though. He finished with 17 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
The Pelicans never led and trailed by as many as 37. The Pels (17-47) lost all four games to the Rockets (39-25) by double digits.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 20 points and CJ McCollum scored 17.
Trey Murphy finished with 13 points but saw his streak of 58 consecutive games with a 3-pointer come to an end.
The Pelicans return home to host the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday The Pels are looking for their first win of the season against the Grizzlies, who won the three previous meetings.
LSU guard Jordan Sears drives down the court as Texas A&M’s Solomon Washington defends in the second half of their game Saturday at the
energy competitive spirit,” Texas
A&M coach Buzz Williams said about the first half. “We were not very good in any possible way.”
Sears was the primary driver of LSU’s success. He scored 16 and had zero turnovers in the first half.
“He was terrific in the first half,” McMahon said. “There was some opportunities when he had the big on him on the perimeter to get by and get into the lane, draw some free throws there.”
LSU owned a 32-30 halftime lead.
The Tigers kept Texas A&M off the offensive glass with just four in the first half. This was crucial as the Aggies entered the game leading the nation in offensive rebounding rate. Almost four minutes into the second half, Sears appeared to hurt his ankle after landing awkwardly on defense. He was helped to the locker room but returned to the court two minutes later
The Tigers struggled in his brief absence as Texas A&M scored
Tulane looking for top-notch AAC win
BY GUERRY SMITH
Contributing writer
Something’s gotta give in the Tulane men’s basketball team’s regular-season finale Sunday against UAB. The Green Wave (17-13, 116) is 0-3 against the American Athletic Conference’s top three teams, but it is 5-0 after losses in league play Coming off a 73-64 defeat at East Carolina on Thursday, the Wave would love to beat the Blazers (20-10, 13-4) at Devlin Fieldhouse (1 p.m., ESPN+) and assure itself of a double bye to the quarterfinals in next week’s AAC Tournament.
If East Carolina loses at Florida Atlantic in a game that tips off an hour earlier, Tulane will clinch fourth place around halftime.
A Pirates’ win and Wave defeat would drop it to fifth place and a second-round date with the No. 12 or 13 seed Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We know we play well in this building,” Tulane coach Ron Hunter said. “We also know we’re playing a really good team. My message to them is understand, hey, we’ve had a great year, and one of the things we’ve done well is finish games for the most part. Let’s finish the season the same way.”
Getting over the hump against UAB would be huge Tulane has been competitive in all 17 conference games but needs to prove it can beat a contender after going 9-0 against the five teams that will finish 6-12 or worse and 2-6 against everyone else.
“You see our potential,” said point guard Rowan Brumbaugh, the Wave’s leader in scoring (15.6 ppg) and assists (4.6). “We have the talent. If we have a great game plan and we buy in and we make every possession about winning, I think we can beat any team in this league.”
The Blazers, whom the coaches tabbed first in their preseason poll, returned four key seniors after winning the AAC Tournament last March. Yaxel Lendeborg, a 6-foot-9 forward who was the unanimous preseason pick for Player of the Year, joins Duke superstar freshman Cooper Flagg as the only player pacing his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots this season.
Lendeborg had 25 points, 13
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coach role as LSU prepared for the tournament. The Tigers were then dealt another blow when Morrow left in the third quarter of Saturday’s game after she suffered an apparent lower leg injury on a drive to the rim.
On Friday, the star senior scored 36 points, helping the Tigers dispatch the No. 11 Gators without much trouble.
On Saturday, their offense didn’t run as smoothly — with or without Morrow
rebounds and eight assists when UAB beat Tulane 81-69 in early January That total was slightly under the Blazers’ league-best average of 83.5 points.
“We have to make sure we take care of the ball and have good shot selection,” Hunter said. “You can’t let them just race up and down the floor with 3s and dunks. They just feed off that energy, and they are really good when that happens.”
Tulane has been strong at home in conference play, beating Florida Atlantic and East Carolina easily for its best wins of the season. The Wave’s lone loss in eight league games at Devlin Fieldhouse was a close one to regular-season champion Memphis, which is ranked 16th nationally Brumbaugh does not foresee a recurrence of the jitters that plagued Tulane at East Carolina as it lost for the third time in four road games. The Wave fell behind by 17 points in both halves, rallied within seven in both but never pulled any closer
“We got rattled and got away from our game plan offensively and defensively,” Brumbaugh said. “The crowd was definitely an advantage for them. Our home crowd isn’t that great, so when we get those crowds, sometimes we get sped up.”
Freshman Kam Williams never got up to speed at East Carolina, attempting only one shot in 21 minutes. The Wave is 6-1 when he scores in double figures.
“It’s one of the reasons why I don’t like to play freshmen, because of the ups and downs,” Hunter said. “Most young people play much better at home than they do on the road. It’s something he’ll learn.”
There will be no senior day ceremony for the players because Tulane has no seniors. This one is all about making sure the Wave has the same path to the AAC Tournament championship as the three teams ahead of it in the standings.
“It’s just about heart and intensity,” said junior guard Asher Woods, whose 21 points against East Carolina were the most in his two years with the Wave. “We’ve got to come with our foot on the gas and ready to play At the end of the day, it’s about that competitive spirit.”
seven points during a 9-0 run. The final basket came after Solomon Washington, a New Orleans native, retrieved his own miss from the free-throw line for a layup and a 41-34 advantage with 14:15 left.
At the heart of the bounce-back second half was the Aggies’ rebounding They had eight offensive boards in the first eight minutes of the half.
The Tigers also became frigid from the field. They were 6-of-27 shooting in the second half and trailed by as many as 16.
“For the most part, we got the shots we wanted to get,” Sears said. “Just couldn’t knock them down.”
LSU made it a 10-point game on three occasions with under six minutes left but couldn’t get any closer
LSU’s next game will be in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee. As the No. 15 seed, it will face 10th-seeded Mississippi State at 6 p.m. Wednesday
LSU converted 34% of its fieldgoal attempts, 2 of 8 3-point tries and 9 of 17 attempts at the freethrow line. Texas was even less efficient (32%), but all it needed was an advantage at the stripe to escape with a win and earn a date with South Carolina in the SEC Tournament championship game. SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker struggled from the field in the first meeting between Texas and LSU, but she finished with 25 points while enjoying a much more efficient 10-of-19 shooting day The Tigers couldn’t put Johnson on her so they asked Mjracle Sheppard to defend her instead. The 5-foot-10 transfer battled but operated at a size disadvantage against the 6-1 Booker, who elevated above LSU defenders to lift open jumpers up and in. Morrow had 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting and two rebounds when she left the game. Mikaylah Williams finished the first half with only three points after she missed four of her first five field goals, but more opportunities in the second half allowed her to wind up with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting to pair with five rebounds and four assists. LSU received only 13 points from its bench.
In the first half, LSU couldn’t find open shots on offense or an answer for Booker on defense. The star sophomore scored seven of Texas’ first 10 field goals and buried three 3-pointers in just
the first and second quarters, tying her season-high in long-range makes. The Tigers defended well, but their offensive struggles put them behind 29-23 at halftime. Booker had 18 points. The teams then battled through an even third quarter, even though Morrow exited after only a little more than two minutes had ticked off the clock. But Texas hit enough shots to take a 48-40 lead by the 2:34 mark of the fourth quarter That advantage was its largest of the game. LSU will turn its attention to the NCAA Tournament. Mulkey began the postseason under the impression that the Tigers already had won enough games to earn a top-four regional seed and the right to host the first two rounds of the tournament.
It’s still unclear however, if LSU will be given a No. 2 seed or a No. 3 seed.
It was a No. 2 seed both times the NCAA selection committee gave a peek into its top-16 teams this season. But the Tigers have dropped three of the four games they’ve played since the last reveal, picking up losses against Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas. Johnson is expected to return for the start of the NCAA Tournament which will have its full 68team field set at 7 p.m. March 16.
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
Pete Maravich Assembly Center
AP PHOTO By CHRIS CARLSON Texas guard Rori Harmon covers LSU guard Mikaylah Williams in the first half of their game on Saturday in Greenville, S.C.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS
Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason dunks against New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy during the first half of a game Saturday in Houston. The Rockets swept four games from the Pelicans.
COLLEGE BASEBALL/SOFTBALL
overpowers foe with 15 strikeouts
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
The first inning wasn’t ideal for Anthony Eyanson
After allowing three runs in the first to Nebraska last week, the right-handed junior surrendered two runs to North Alabama on a walk and two hits Saturday. One of those hits was a hard hit double down the left-field line.
“I just want to be sharper out of the gate,” Eyans on said. “This outing, I put a pretty big em ph as is mentally on executing in the first inning.”
But, unlike a week ago when it took until the fourth inning for Eyanson to find a groove, the UC San Diego transfer locked in immediately after allowing a runscoring single to the Lions.
Eyanson struck out the next seven hitters after the second run came across, finishing the afternoon with 15 strikeouts in seven innings as No. 1 LSU took down North Alabama 6-2 at Alex Box Stadium.
“When you get a pitcher that throws four pitches for strikes,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said, “it’s really hard to handle all of them.”
Saturday’s performance was the most strikeouts an LSU pitcher had accumulated in a game since Ty Floyd struck out 17 in Game 1 of the 2023 College World Series final.
“I don’t really look at the stats during the game at all,” Eyanson said.
He didn’t allow a hit after the first inning. Only one batter reached base on a walk in the third.
The money pitch for Eyanson was his slider By keeping it low and out of the strike zone, he was able to get the Lions (3-10) to consistently chase after it with two strikes.
“I just want to execute with that pitch,” Eyanson said, “keep it down.”
While Eyanson was LSU’s star on the mound, junior Jared Jones stood out at the plate. With LSU trailing 2-0, Jones kicked off the comeback in the first inning with a double that bounced off the edge of the top of the wall in center field. He later scored on a bloop hit into center field from junior Ethan Frey that cut LSU’s deficit to 2-1 LSU (15-1) tied the game in the third inning after Frey popped out to shallow right field. Freshman Derek Curiel, the runner at third base,
WHO: North Alabama (3-10) at LSU (15-1) WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday WHERE: Alex Box Stadium
RANKINGS: LSU is No 1 by D1Baseball; North Alabama is unranked.
PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU — RHP Chase Shores (3-0, 3.00 ERA); North Alabama — RHP Anthony Pingeton (1-1, 2.77)
PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate.com/lsu ON X: @KokiRiley
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Shores will start for LSU after allowing four earned runs in five innings last weekend against Sam Houston State. He’ll try to get past the fifth inning for the first time this season on Sunday Pingeton started 11 games and had a 5.75 ERA last year for the Lions.
KokiRiley
wasn’t expected to score on the play but the throw home was off line, allowing LSU to tie the game.
“We weren’t really good (offensively),” Johnson said, “but we were close to being really good.”
Thanks to Curiel again, LSU took the lead in the fifth inning after his double drove in junior Chris Stanfield. Jones then blasted a two-run home run into left field — his fifth of the year — to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead. Jones went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two doubles. Curiel was the only other Tiger who had multiple hits.
“Just having more college at-bats up under my belt obviously helps a lot,” Jones said. “And then guys protect me in the lineup, like Derek and Danny (Dickinson), who are around me, so I’m getting pitched to a little bit more.”
Junior right-hander Zac Cowan replaced Eyanson in the eighth inning and struck out five batters in two shutout innings to end the game.
Between Eyanson and Cowan, 20 of the 27 outs LSU recorded came via strikeout.
“It was pretty boring out there,” Jones said about playing defense.
LSU returns to Alex Box Stadium for the final game of its series with North Alabama on Sunday First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game can be streamed on SEC Network+.
Email Koki Riley at Koki. Riley@theadvocate.com
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Johnson: ‘I like where we’re at’
LSU coach keeping close tabs as his lineup thrives
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
Jay Johnson never tinkers.
The LSU baseball coach doesn’t even know what the word means. The adjustments he makes to his lineups are purposeful, not experimental, and they’re always designed to win that day’s game.
“I set the team up to win,” Johnson said. His lineups reflect a matchup-dependent philosophy, one that shows how he’s not afraid to move players up and down or in and out of the order He didn’t settle on a particular lineup last season until the SEC tournament.
But lately, Johnson hasn’t changed his batting orders much. The Tigers have rolled out a certain group of players in a similar order since the start of the Frisco College Baseball Classic on Feb. 28.
And it has worked, LSU has put up at least eight runs and 10 hits in six of its past seven games.
“I like where we’re at right now,” Johnson said. “I like some things about how it flows.”
The two biggest questions the lineup has answered are who leads off and who hits behind junior Jared Jones.
Freshman Derek Curiel has answered the first question with flying colors. Since rising to the top of the order, he’s reached base in 26 of his past 41 plate appearances.
His consistency has set the table for Jones The slugger, who blasted his fifth home run of the season Saturday has been hitting second after starting the year batting third.
After Jones in the order is junior Daniel Dickinson, the answer to the second question.
Dickinson is tied with Jones for the team lead in homers. His three-run blast on Feb. 28 against Kansas State, after Jones was intentionally walked, was a perfect example of what Johnson was hoping for when he slotted him there in the order He finished that
game with six RBIs.
“They’re so afraid to pitch to Jared Jones. Great, (here’s) six RBIs,” Johnson said. “Keep walking him.”
The cleanup hitter after Dickinson has been the designated hitter. Against a left-handed pitcher, that’s been junior Ethan Frey For righties, senior Josh Pearson has usually filled the role.
Sophomores Steven Milam and Jake Brown have batted fifth and sixth after the DH.
Senior Luis Hernandez and the starting third baseman that day follow Brown. Third base has turned into a platoon between junior Tanner Reaves and senior Michael Braswell. Braswell, who led off for the Tigers last season, is right-handed and the more experienced defender at third. Reaves is left-handed and had only played a couple games at third before transferring to LSU from Blinn Community College in the summer Who starts depends on the matchup for that day, but Reaves has emerged at the plate lately He went 2 for 3 with a double against Nebraska and was 3 for 3 with a three-run home run on Friday
Johnson is comfortable with the platoon LSU has settled on, even if Reaves started against a left-handed pitcher Saturday
“I think we’re going to need them both,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like it has to tip one way or the other, or probably that it will for a while.”
Junior Chris Stanfield hits after the third baseman in the nine hole. He led off LSU’s first five games, but Johnson said he likes how Stanfield has settled into the final spot in the lineup.
The lineup alternates between lefthanded and right-handed hitters when Reaves starts against a righty, with the exception of Jones and Dickinson who both are right-handed.
Having that balance throughout the order has paid off for Johnson. He’s been happy with how the Tigers have performed against left- and righthanded pitching.
“There is still a lot of left/right mixing because we’re going to see probably a 50/50 split between left and right pitchers in SEC play,” Johnson said, “at least with the 10 teams on our schedule.”
BY JIM KLEINPETER
Contributing writer
The No 4 LSU softball team cruised to its ninth five-inning victory riding the success of a pair of key newcomers who keyed a 10-0 victory against Minnesota on Saturday in the LSU Round Robin at Tiger Park. Freshman left-hander Jayden Heavener tossed a one-hitter and struck out 11 while transfer shortstop Avery Hodge drove in five runs for the Tigers (22-1) Heavener (6-1) overcame a walk and her ninth hit batter this season in the first inning, to strike out the other three she faced and get into a groove. During one stretch, she struck out seven of eight hitters as only five 19 batters put the ball in play against her Margaret Tobias’ soft single to center field in the third inning was
ics in between batters, but it didn’t take much to know what I was doing wrong and what I needed to fix.
“I’m learning a lot. I’m grateful for the opportunities I get. If I do fail, I’m learning from the mistakes before SEC play and big games. It’s a blessing in disguise.”
“Really good by the offense for setting the tone early,” coach Beth Torina said. “They were able to execute a lot of things they were asked of, and it came from good discipline at the plate, running the bases well and capitalizing on their mistakes.
starter Jessa Snippes (1-2). Maci Bergeron, Sierra Daniel and McKaela Walker each drove in runs. Hodge, the team’s No. 9 hitter, came up huge in the fourth inning with a line drive over the head of Minnesota right fielder Nani Valencia for her second career triple. Hodge, who had a career-high five RBIs, transferred from reigning national champion Oklahoma and took over at shortstop from fouryear starter and All-American Taylor Pleasants.
“Each at-bat has a life of its own,” Hodges said. “If I’m not going to do it I know Danieca (Coffey) will and if not her the next person behind her It’s comforting knowing that anyone in our lineup can get it done. I’m really comfortable and it’s really
the only hit for Minnesota (10-11). “I came to a little bit of a struggle (in the first inning),” Heavener said “I just had to figure out my mechan-
Heavener had good support as LSU scored six runs in the first inning, capped by a two-run single by Hodge, and then put the game away when Hodge had her first extra-base hit of the season, a basesloaded triple.
“Only three singles in the first inning but we were able to score six and that’s a tribute to the way they run the bases and control the strike zone.”
LSU took advantage of two walks, a hit batter and an error in the first against Minnesota
Johnson
Eyanson
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
LSU freshman outfielder Derek Curiel has been a smash hit at the top of the order, reaching base on 26 of his past 41 plate appearances
REX BALL: Howell Crosby, Tatum Reiss
Nell Nolan SOCIETY
Contact: nnolan@theadvocate.com
COMUS BALL: Comus, Gracie Jenkins
Royals Reigned
DUKES AND MAIDS OF REX
MAIDS OF COMUS
After the double grand march at the conclusion of the Carnival season of almost two months, the monarchs of the Rex Organization and of the Mistick Krewe of Comus, founded respectively 1872 and 1857, stood as a formidable foursome on the stage in the New Orleans Marriot, the site of the Comus masked ball.
The Rex Grand Ball and imperial reception took place across Canal Street in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. Following tradition — and at the invitation of the Mistick Krewe — the Rex court joined the Comus one to close the festive season.
The shining moment occurred on the stage in front of the double throne bench when Rex E. Howell Crosby and his queen, Miss Tatum Lady Reiss, and the unnamed Mistick Krewe’s monarch, addressed as Comus, and his queen, Miss Mary Grace Jenkins, acknowledged their applauding audience with a sweep of three scepters and the cup of Comus. It was a dazzling finale to Mardi Gras 2025, as well as the spirit of the season and its pomp and pageantry
■ Epochal Elegance
“La Belle Epoque” titled the Rex parade that traveled its usual route Uptown, but with some modification. Translated from the French as “the beautiful epoch or era,” it refers to a time period of artistic and cultural flowering from 1871-1914 in Europe, particularly France, and a golden age. The color gold later figured prominently in the royal garb on the Rex monarchs, the King and Queen of Carnival. The latter twosome, the rulers of Rex, whose incorporated name is the “School of Design,” appeared on the white-canvased ballroom floor of the Sheraton after the playing of the Marine Corps Band New Orleans to align with the
Taylor Bienvenu, Michael Walshe III
Marianne Villere, Thomas Saer
Duke Wirth, Elizabeth Rogers
SEATED: Tim Favort Jr., May Manning
STANDING: Hampton Gomila, Madison Hales
Clay LeBourgeois, Charlotte Galloway
SEATED: Flora French, John Huger
STANDING: Livy Nieset, Pipes Fitz-Hugh.
Tess Brewer, Elizabeth Drennan, Sarah Sumrall
Lieutenant, Betsy Feirn
Abby Chaffe, Annabelle Brown
Grace Brady, Lieutenant, Morgan Nalty
STAFF PHOTOS By DANIEL ERATH
DINING SCENE
Gautreau’s opens new Avegno lounge, wine bar
Word that the owners of Gautreau’s were developing the new lounge Avegno in the adjacent building first made me think it would address one of the peculiarities of the long-running Uptown restaurant Gautreau’s serves a lot of cocktails and even more wine, but it does not have a bar where one can sit or drop in for an impromptu visit over a plate or two, a quirk of its configuration that always made the restaurant feel a bit more formal. Surely Avegno would serve that role as the lounge just next door But from its debut in February, it was clear that Avegno is not just an amenity to the neighboring restaurant. It’s very much its own entity, a picture of easy elegance that this part of town needs.
The room purrs with understated luxury You’re coming here to start a special outing with a touch of class, or when you’re dolled up for an event and aren’t ready for the night to end.
Of course, the two sister properties are highly entwined. They have separate entrances, though in back the same kitchen serves both with different menus.
And Avegno is indeed a natural spot to pair with Gautreau’s. You could plan a pre-dinner drink, get talked into a post-dinner finale and I can see scenarios that would lead to both pre and post drinks, a riff on the one-block date night idea with its own encore. But the sumptuous setting and the strength of the wine list and dinner menu make Avegno a destination in its own right. First taste of Avegno
The wine list, heavily French, is refreshingly accessible (most bottles are under $80) and it has a specialty in half bottles, a rarity that hits a sweet spot when you’re not there for a full meal.
The food menu also feels very French. But where the Gautreau’s approach is highly refined, often built in layers of flavor, drawing from many in-
gredients, Avegno is about bold, straightforward dishes, and many that count as snacks. It’s high-end drinking food, though it is substantial enough for dinner too.
Start with a cocktail and consider a plate of oysters, the cultivated kind from regional growers. You can nibble on cheese straws or a cheese plate, share a pot of fondue or splurge on the caviar selection, served with chips. I’m always going to want a plate of the Bayonne ham, the jamon of French Basque country, silky and creamy, paired with a crisp white wine.
The macaroni au gratin is lavish in flavor, with long noodles making a slice look like a cross section of an underground net-
work. It’s all suffused with Swiss and cheddar and cream, cut by a subtle interplay of spices and finished off with a surprising touch a dollop of whipped cream turned savory with herbs and salt. It works like a sauce that holds together in more graceful form.
Dark links of boudin noir, blood sausage, are taut and glistening and burst with a richly seasoned animal meatiness over pommes purée that seem whipped with at least equal parts butter to potato.
Dense and decadent chocolate mousse arrives in a footed bowl, as simple as a childhood delight, and makes the case for a dessert drink pairing, perhaps one of the bourbons, another strong point here.
A lounge comes to life
Like Gautreau’s, the lounge has no sign out front, accentuating the feel of a find along this leafy
street off the main avenues.
The interior mirrors and dark wood, white marble tabletops, bentwood chairs and curtained windows with glimpses of the trees outside give the room a classic appeal. Clever sound baffling in the coffered ceiling and even along the padded front of the bar show the attention built into the design.
It started with a blank slate
The last time this address was in commerce it was an exotic pet store with the splendid name Wings and Things (an old sign remains on display by the bar). It sat idle for decades.
Its new life is part of a changing of the guard at Gautreau’s. The restaurant has been a fixture of Uptown since the early 1980s, quietly excellent, worked into dining habits through generations of local families. In 2023 it was bought by a new ownership group led by Bill Kearney and Jay Adams. His daughter Katie Adams is the manager of Gautreau’s and Avegno; her partner Rob Mistry is executive chef for both.
Bill and his wife, Karyn Kearney, are renovating
these different images of Madame are in adjacent rooms, it feels like the woman in the lounge is raising a glass to her better-known self, like a private moment for a public persona We’ve been seeing a new rendition of Gautreau’s under its new ownership. Avegno feels like another reflection of the same source material, framing the beauty of this Uptown gem in a new way
Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.
CARNIVAL
Continued from page 1D
organization’s traditional honoring of the military A musical mélange ensured, which elicited rhythmic clapping from the elegant audience members. The women were in floor-length ballgown and the men, with the exception of a few in military dress, wore the “de rigueur” white tie and tails. Always a highlight of the band’s program are the anthems for the various branches of the service. Attendees were invited to stand for the one(s) meaningful to them. Many did. After the band’s departure to hearty and appreciative applause from the audience, the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra played a drum roll to announce the King and Queen of Carnival The Rex and Carnival anthem, “If Ever I Cease to Love,” cued the appearance of the dazzling duo, Mr. Crosby, the Monarch of Merriment, and Miss Reiss, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Joseph Reiss III, James and Erica. Last year the crowns were worn by Mr John Menge Eastman and Miss Elizabeth Brent Montgomery, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Richard Bullard Montgomery IV Paces behind the 2025 king and queen were the pages, Masters James Bush LeBourgeois and William Conery Van Horn.
Then came the maids and dukes, starting with Carolyn Taylor Bienvenu and Michael Quirk Walshe III. The seven successive sets were Elizabeth Talbot Rogers and Adam Duke Wirth (and called Duke!); Marianne Pratt Villere and Thomas Hughes Saer; Charlotte Anne Galloway and Charles Claiborne LeBourgeois III; Flora Elizabeth French and John Middleton Polk Huger; May Heidingsfelder Manning and Timothy Semmes Favrot Jr.; Victoria Livaudais Nieset and Clifford Pipes Fitz-Hugh; and Madison Elizabeth Hales and Frank Hampton Gomila During their just-concluded debutante year several have worn crowns for other krewes: Misses Villere, Proteus; French, Atlanteans; and Hales, Nereus. Almost every member of the 2025 Rex court has connections to royalty and/or maids, dukes, pages and debutantes (presented to the monarchs) from the past Queen Tatum’s father, the above Mr Reiss, was Rex in 2022, while Misses French, Hales, Manning and Villere claim ancestral royals, as do six of the dukes and both pages. The most recent one
was Miss Evaline Finlay Gomila, sister of duke Hampton, who reigned with Rex Ludovico Feoli in 2023. The farthest royal glory was the great-great-great-grandfather of maid Flora French, who held the scepter in 1889 as Rex John George Schriever A year later, duke Tim Favrot’s great-greatgreat grandfather, Sylvester Pierce Wamsley, reigned.
In 1975, Mrs. Milton Henry Fried was hailed as her majesty Miss Margaret Pratt Logan. She answers affectionately to Puff. Accompanied by ball chairman St. Denis “Sandy” Julien Villere III, grandson of Rex of 1968, Ernest Caliste Villere, and father of 2025 maid Marianne, Mrs. Fried was presented to the majesties, Howell and Tatum. She was joined at the ball by her brother King Logan, parent, along with spouse June, of the 2008 queen, reigning as Ellen Rogers Logan
Two distinguished guests were presented Rex decorations at the ball: His Excellency Laurent Bili, Ambassador of the French Republic to the U.S., and accompanied at the ball by French Consul General of Louisiana Rodolphe Sambou; and Gayle Marie Benson, Mrs. Tom Benson, a leading citizen and patron of New Orleans Honored as the Rex court’s 2025
debutantes were Misses Ava Ciana Atwood,Adelaide Bouligny Gaines, Colleen Rose Kehoe, Serena Elizabeth Klebba, Charlotte Heyward Parrino, Lauren Michelle Perlis, Melanie Kathleen Talbot and Kaylin Mickella Thomson, whose great-uncle, Charles Whitney Bouden, reigned as King of Carnival in 1934.
■ Comus Splendor
Approximately two hours after the start of the Rex Grand Ball, the captain and lieutenants of the Mistick Krewe of Comus arrived to invite the Rex court to their bal masqué in the Marriott Hotel. It is always a triumphal moment when the Rex monarchs arrive with their entourage and the guests at the Comus ball see them for the first time.
Her majesty Mary Grace Jenkins, called Gracie and the daughter of Mr and Mrs. Richard Scott Jenkins, was the aforementioned resplendent Comus queen. She succeeded the 2024 monarch, Miss Helen Elizabeth Wisdom, daughter of Mr and Mrs.Andrew Bell Wisdom as well as the 1995 queen Sara Evans Schmidt, Gracie’s aunt, who is also Mrs. Edmund Tompkins DeJarnette III.
Maids to queen Gracie were Misses Grace Simpson Brady, whose mother, Caroline Arthur Monsted (and later Mrs. Brady) sat on the Comus throne in 1993; Teresa Mallard
Brewer Tess reigned at Mithras; Annabelle Baldwin Brown; Abigail Hartsfield Chaffe the Achaeans queen; Elizabeth Wilder Drennan; Elizabeth “Betsy” Shaw Feirn; Morgan Elizabeth Nalty, whose aunt Helen Hardie Martin Nalty (Mrs. Kimberlin Price Butcher) and cousin Lauren Morgan Butcher held Comus scepters in 1991 and in 2023; and Sarah Butler Sumrall, the Momus queen. They have many Carnival connections, as do the 2025 Comus pages Cullen Ryland Guillot, James Spencer Montgomery Jr., Edmund Evans DeJarnette and George Perry Eastman V. A 50-year anniversary queen, Alston Montgomery Kerr, was present and joined by family members, whose Comus background is extensive. Noted, too, was Marguerite Kock (Mrs. E James Kock lll) mother of queen Anne Stewart Kock of 2012. Coming from the Rex ball were Kia Brown and Katie Crosby, the wives of Rexes Christian Trousdale Brown of 2015 and Howell Crosby, 2025. Earlier in the day of Mardi Gras, both the Rex and the Comus courts watched the “Belle Epoque” Rex parade from royal stands at Pascal Manale’s Restaurant. They, as were their court maids, sported chic suits. At the Comus ball, where the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra entertained, the two debutante royals dazzled in their regal finery Queen Gracie wore a glittering gown, an “artful blend of elegance and heritage,” that was designed and created by Katie Johnson of Royal Design House. A re-embrodered net of platinum threadwork lace was layered over gleaming silver silk lamé. Ornately hand-beaded crystal leaf motifs extended from neckline to hem, while Austrian
crystal drops, heirlooms from her aunt Sara’s gown, were scattered throughout. Queen Tatum, who had been studying in Italy, incorporated that experience in her gown designed by Suzanne Perron St. Paul through the motif of an olive branch, a symbol of peace and harmony for the Carnival period. Her monarchal dress combined layers of luxurious gold silk lame, crinoline and a beaded overlay Both royals completed their sartorial splendor with glistening crowns, parure sets, scepters, mantles and Medici collars. The effects thrilled the Carnival eye. Yet another, and much earlier eye-catcher, was the fold-out, colorful invitation sent by each krewe. The School of Design’s paid homage to La Belle Epoque, as well as the Rex affiliation with the military and the organization’s Pro Bono Publico foundation. Comus’s bore the wording of Shrove Tuesday and “Prophecies Fulfilled,” along with depictions of deities of yore, animals at peace, and the signature chalice. Additionally, attractive and symbolic bejeweled pins were given by the royalty of Rex and Comus. Always the highlight, and an evocation of decades of tradition, the closing gesture at the Comus ball during the meeting of the courts is the above sweep of the three scepters and the sparkling cup. Carnival 2025 and Mardi Gras were thus concluded. In turn, each royal departed the ballroom, which was covered in pristine white canvas. The last monarch to bid au revoir was Rex. Applause abounded.
At the invitation of their majesties, the two queens, a joint-supper followed back in the Sheraton. Along with late-night breakfast fare, dancing to Fly by Radio beckoned. What a delight it was to see both majesties reveling in the rhythm!
In 2026, new monarchs will command attention, starting on Jan. 6 and concluding Feb. 17. Within that period, dozens of kings and queens will be honored and the powers of merriment and mystique will be re-created as they were so joyfully on Shrove Tuesday by Rex Howell, Comus and their majesties Tatum and Gracie. All hail!
STAFF PHOTOS By DANIEL ERATH
Comus, Tatum Reiss, Howell Crosby, Gracie Jenkins
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Rex 2025 Howell Crosby waves to the crowd gathered in front of Pascal’s Manale Restaurant as he leads the parade on Mardi Gras.
Tatum Reiss and Howell Crosby
James LeBourgeois Liam Van Horn
Spencer Montgomery, Perry Eastman V
Edmund DeJarnette, Cullen Guillot
Serena Klebba
Ava Atwood, Kaylin Thomson
Erica Reiss, James Reiss IV
Helen Jenkins, Marguerite Kock
Kia Brown, Katie Crosby
Gayle Benson
Ambassador Laurent Bili, French Consul General Rodolphe Sambou
King Logan, Puff Logan Fried
Alston Montgomery Kerr, Captain
New attractions coming to Panama City Beach
BY NOREEN KOMPANIK TravelPulse (TNS)
Renowned for its 27 miles of sugar-white sand beaches and stunning turquoise waters, Panama City Beach, Florida, has announced new attractions, enhanced accessibility offerings and more for 2025.
“Panama City Beach is proud to showcase the many exciting new openings and developments in store for 2025,” said Dan Rowe, President and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach.
New and upcoming openings include:
Pirates Voyage and Dinner Show, spring
Dolly Parton brings the swashbuckling fun of her Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show to Panama City Beach in a captivating new attraction with an immersive dining experience including a fourcourse feast, epic pirate battles and spectacular stunts. Inside the sprawling indoor theater, an action-packed show features pirate battles on deck, in a 15-foot-deep lagoon and in the “sky” above two full-sized pirate ships, accompanied by high-flying acrobatics and pyrotechnics, tropical birds, playful sea lions and more.
McGuire’s Irish Pub
In its third location, McGuire’s brings a turn-of-the-century New York Irish saloon-themed restaurant to Panama City Beach With a lively atmosphere and more than 1 million signed dollar bills hanging from the ceilings and walls, the Pub offers delicious food drinks, and live Irish entertainment.
Topgolf, summer
Topgolf will open a new facility in Panama City Beach’s Pier Park area, bringing a modern, hightech golf experience. The twostory venue features 74 outdoor climate-controlled hitting bays, a restaurant and bar, 22-foot video wall, more than 140 HDTVs, an outdoor patio, music, familyfriendly programming, and prime spots for team outings and family gatherings.
Shop By the Shore Trail, spring The Trail offers a coastal shopping experience with local
treasures capturing the charm of Panama City Beach. Visitors can grab a passport from the Visitors Center or participating stores, follow the map for a unique shopping adventure, get the passport stamped at each stop and leave with a special souvenir Fun. For. All. Microsite, spring Continuing the evolution of the “Fun. For All.” accessible travel
initiative, Visit Panama City Beach is gearing up to launch the official “Fun. For All.” Microsite, a resource for visitors planning an accessible getaway The site features interactive maps and spotlights accessible offerings throughout the destination.
Frank Brown Park Skate Park, summer
Frank Brown Park expands outdoor recreation offerings with a new skate park breaking ground in January, a state-of-the-art facility for skaters of all ages and skill levels, with plans for multiple skate lanes and various riding areas.
Edward F. Hickey Jr. Park, open In an effort to make the destination’s beautiful beaches accessible to everyone, the Park at Beach Access 22 was converted into a new ADA beach access point designed to accommodate those with mobility challenges. Features include handicapped parking spaces, an accessible beach ramp and over 100 feet of mobility mats extending to the beach. A new accessible viewing platform is scheduled for later this year
Frank Brown Park Pickleball Courts, late 2025
The park continues growing its amenities with the addition of 10 pickleball courts. Construction is expected to begin in August, with completion in late 2025.
By Christopher Elliott
Vacation rental is reassigned, but occupied
My family booked a condo in downtown Toronto through Vrbo recently Just before we arrived, we received a text that our reserved condo had plumbing issues and that they had assigned us another rental in a different building When we tried to check in, we found the unit appeared to be occupied by another guest.There were toiletries in the bathrooms, clothes in the closets and food on the table.We immediately notified the manager. His advice was to lock ourselves inside the condo and that they would send a cleaner I considered this an unsafe suggestion. Also, the condo wasn’t the equivalent to the one we had originally reserved — it was smaller and had one less bathroom than the original condo The manager insisted that we return to the property and promised to clean
so we returned the key to the concierge and found a different place to stay.We texted the manager asking for a refund.The manager replied that my husband had been abusive and that they would not refund the money Can you help me get our $2,356 back, please? — Elizabeth Kimpel, Potomac, Maryland
Vrbo should have offered you a full refund when it couldn’t provide the rental you had reserved. Vrbo has a Book With Confidence guarantee that says if your property is “materially misrepresented” in the listing, it will help you book a replacement.
So what went wrong here? It looks like you worked with the property manager on the rental swap.
When you needed help, you reached out to Vrbo in writing, but Vrbo just contacted the property man-
ager for a resolution.
This isn’t surprising. Vrbo sees itself as a platform — an intermediary between the renter and the rental manager — and only wants to get involved when it collects its fees. Apart from that, Vrbo usually sides with the rental managers, who are its real customers.
In reviewing the correspondence between you, the manager and Vrbo, I don’t see any evidence that your husband was abusive. If anything, you were polite and direct. You just wanted what Vrbo had promised. Not a smaller apartment and not a condo that was already occupied.
You could have sent a brief, polite email to one of the company’s executives, asking for another review of your case. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Vrbo executives on my consumer
advocacy site, Elliott.org. Here’s my take on what should have happened. Instead of referring you back to the condo manager, Vrbo should have found you a comparable rental quickly
That would have fixed the problem and ensured your family had a positive experience using the rental platform. Clearly Vrbo did not take its Book With Confidence guarantee seriously in your case. It can do better I contacted Vrbo on your behalf. It apologized and refunded the $2,356 you spent on the occupied condo.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.
Four Seasons launches trip inspired by ‘The White Lotus’
BY LACEY PFALZ TravelPulse (TNS)
Four Seasons has launched a Private Jet Experience connected to the hit HBO original series “The White Lotus,” featuring a wellness-centric journey inspired by the first three seasons of the show, visiting Maui, Taormina and Koh Samui. The new itinerary will offer a trip on board a custom Airbus A321, taking 48 guests to eight destinations beginning May 7, 2026.
The trip starts in Singapore, visiting Koh Samui, the Maldives, Taormina, Marrakech, Nevis, Mexico City and Maui, all with stays at luxury Four Seasons hotels and resorts.
The price tag? A hefty $188,000 to start.
Experiences include snorkeling with an expert marine biologist, indulging in plenty of spa treat-
ments, cycling to wineries, experiencing a Night Spa ritual in the Maldives, soaking in Nevis’ natural hot springs, taking a hot air balloon ride in Mexico City and much more “We’ve experienced firsthand how ‘The White Lotus’ has fueled the set-jetting trend, inspiring travelers to explore the breathtaking Four Seasons properties that served as backdrops for this beloved series,” says Marc Speichert, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Four Seasons.
“Now, with the third season captivating audiences we are thrilled to provide guests with the opportunity to experience their own version of ‘The White Lotus’ aboard the Four Seasons Private Jet Experience, blending their love of the series with the bucket-list journeys we offer in the sky.”
PROVIDED PHOTO
A Pirates Voyage Dinner and Show is opening in Panama City Beach this spring The show includes a fourcourse feast, epic pirate battles and spectacular stunts.
Christopher Elliott
HOLLYWOOD SOUTH
N.O. comedians finding new stages across U.S.
The late Oscar-winning actor Peter Ustinov once said that “comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.”
New Orleans comedienne Saya
Meads couldn’t agree more, and says she considers herself a playfully cynical comedienne, with assertive humor and peculiar views. Those views can often have a cutting edge as she weighs in on a wide variety of controversial topics.
“I’m the conductor on this journey, and I like taking the audience from point A to point B,” Meads said. “I’m a great storyteller, and I often use the English language for evil. By that, I mean that I put specific pictures in people’s heads. I’m told I have a unique way of doing that to illustrate what they’ve actually been thinking about, even if they don’t fully realize it yet.”
Meads, a native New Orleanian, is part of a growing group of comics who live and work within the comedy scene across the city, but have branched out to perform all across the country, from Los Angeles to New York and everywhere in between.
Meads, now 27, has been doing stand-up since she was a teenager, and according to those in the know, her manager (who also produced eight seasons of Def Comedy Jam) is about to get her into something big, which in the world of comedy could mean her own special.
Drinking in the comedy scene
Andrew Stephens, the owner of “Sports Drink: Café & Comedy Club” in Uptown New Orleans, knows the comedy landscape well.
Originally from Baton Rouge, Stephens is a former sportsblogging journalist and actor who did a three-month stint in Los Angeles, where he was on the HBO series “Winning Time” about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.
That gig led him to a fellow actor who also had a foot in the comedy world.
“I roomed with this guy, and
A circuitous route
Everyone has his own way of getting into the comedy scene, and for comedian Ryan Rogers, it was a circuitous route by way of the advertising and marketing world.
Rogers, a native of the West Bank who went to Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, lived in San Francisco for three years until COVID-19 hit, working on the ad team for Google at its headquarters in Mountain View, California.
single night, and traveled to comedy clubs all over the place. First, I was getting 5 mins on stage, then eventually 20 minutes.
“Now, I produce shows for big hotel chains, and every June I run a festival called LGBTLOL Queer Comedy Fest in New Orleans. It’s been over three years now since I switched to comedy, and I’m making a very satisfactory sustainable income. Knowing how to market myself has been invaluable.”
The comedy game has changed considerably with the advent of social media. Being industrious is the name of the game, as performing at a comedy club and hoping to be “discovered” just doesn’t cut it any longer As Saya Meads says, “if you want to break out in this business, you learn to promote yourself on social media.”
“It used to be that you had to perform at a club, hope there was a booker in the audience, then go about getting an agent,” said Stephens. “Now you can post your gigs online.
“Leaving a job and performing across the country was always hard, but now an Instagram direct message to a club in Atlanta or Houston is possible, and that’s how you see if you can get money for travel. Look, you need to be savvy with it, but from the ground level, there’s much more leverage now for newcomers.”
Want to try your hand at standup? Various venues throughout town have open mic nights where you can try to wow the crowd with your comedy prowess.
Every Sunday night it’s at Sports Drink. On Mondays it’s Mid-City’s 12-Mile Limit and Wednesdays you can hit the stage at Carrollton Station in the Riverbend.
when we weren’t shooting, I hung out with him,” said Stephens.
“I met a lot of his friends who had an ‘in’ into that world. So, when I returned to New Orleans, I opened a venue with a coffee shop by day, comedy club at night.
“After a year we were doing four comedy shows a week, and
were bringing in nationally touring headliners, with our own locals opening for them.
“We book these headliners through talent agencies, put them up in the city, and give New Orleans a taste of the cream of the crop in comedy ‘Sports Drink’ was just voted in 2024 the Best Place to See Comedy in New Orleans by the readers of Gambit.”
Moving back to New Orleans 31/2 years ago, he went to a comedy club one night, and thought that he could write as well as some of the people he was watching. After all, he’d been a writer all his adult life.
“This coincided with my getting clean and sober,” Rogers said. “I decided to try some material at an open mic night, realized I was good at this, and decided to go all in. I survived on my tech savings for one year, did stand-up every
According to comedian Ryan Rogers, if you want to see comedy in New Orleans, there’s something every night of the week. An app on Instagram called @504_ Comedy, lists where everything is, including produced shows, national comics and open mics. In these trying times, tickling your funny bone could be just the right medicine.
Email Leslie Cardé at lesliecardejournalist@gmail.com.
PHOTO By JEFF BILLINGSLy
Saya Meads performs at The Apollo Comedy Club in New york. She also performs locally
PROVIDED PHOTO By THE RIOT Ryan Rogers onstage at The Riot Comedy Club in Houston Ryan also performs all over New Orleans.
STAFF FILE PHOTO Andrew Stephens, proprietor of Sports Drink, sits outside the coffee shop
Leslie Cardé
Fest best bets
Authors
we’re
looking forward
to at the New Orleans Book Festival
BY JAN RISHER Staff writer
The New Orleans Book Festi-
val at Tulane University is one of those rare gifts. It’s free. It’s well organized. It’s full of literary greats. The event, set for March 27-29, celebrates literature and reading. It features authors, panel discussions and book fairs. This year is expected to live up to years’ past, with an “aim to support and nurture a literary community by connecting readers of all ages and backgrounds with local and national authors through experiences that celebrate the power of literacy and ideas.”
To see the full schedule of events, visit bookfest.tulane. edu/schedule, which includes more than 90 panels like “Archie Manning: A New Orleans Saints Legacy On and Off the Field,” “Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection” and “Making the Case for New Orleans as America’s Sandwich Capital.”
Here is a taste of the variety of authors and the books they have released:
Sarah M. Broom
Sarah M. Broom is a native New Orleanian. Her memoir “The Yellow House,” which came out in 2019, details her upbringing in an unsung New Orleans East neighborhood far from streetcars and Garden District mansions. After Hurricane Katrina, her beloved shotgun house was bulldozed, but she and her family still cling to it. The book doesn’t include whimsical, romanticized tales of French Quarter magic, but it does express the relentless pull of home and family
The memoir, which won the 2019 National Book Award, is a very real, gritty and sometimes tender look at one family’s trials and tribulations across generations. Broom’s “The Yellow House” was heralded by The New York Times book review as “an instantly essential text, examining the past, present and possible future of the city of New Orleans, and of America writ large.”
Connie Chung
Connie Chung is a familiar face to many The former CBS News anchor’s memoir, “Connie: A Memoir,” was released in September
Not only a New York Times bestseller, the newspaper also listed it as one of 100 Notable Books of 2024. Time magazine listed it on its 100 Must-read Books of 2024. It won Kirkus’ best nonfiction book of the year The book reveals behind-thescenes details of her personal and professional life.
Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston grew up in south Louisiana and now lives in New York City McQuiston writes bestselling romantic comedies. The most recent being “The Pairing,” which Rolling Stone described as “summer’s best romance novel” is about two bisexual exes who accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they’re over each other except they’re definitely not.
Vivek Murthy, M.D.
Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., MBA, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2021 to serve as the 21st Surgeon General of the United States. He left the office in January
As the nation’s top doctor Murthy helped to advance the health and well-being of all Americans and worked to address critical public health issues around loneliness and mental health including Surgeon General’s advisories on the youth mental health crisis and social media’s impact on youth mental health, the epidemic of loneliness and isolation, and on burnout in the health worker community Murthy also issued a Surgeon General’s Framework on
mental health in the workplace. His book, which came out in 2023, is called “Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World.”
The book includes strategies to help weather the crisis of loneliness and heal, including these four specific pieces of advice:
n Spend time each day with those you love. Devote at least 15 minutes each day to connecting with those you most care about.
n Focus on each other Forget about multitasking and give the other person the gift of your full attention, making eye contact, if possible, and genuinely listening.
n Embrace solitude. The first step toward building stronger connections with others is to build a stronger connection with oneself. Meditation, prayer art, music and time spent outdoors can all be sources of solitary comfort and joy
n Help and be helped. Service is a form of human connection that reminds us of our value and purpose in life. Checking on a neighbor, seeking advice, even just offering a smile to a stranger 6 feet away, all can make us stronger
Boyce Upholt
Boyce Upholt grew up in the Connecticut suburbs and moved to the Mississippi Delta in 2009 to teach school and become a writer
When he was assigned to profile
John Ruskey, Upholt began learning more about the Mississippi River and its vast floodplain. He was hookwed. In “The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi,” he mixes geography and geology, hydrology, ecology and travelogue with villains, heroes and lore. When Upholt began research for the book, he paddled the lower river, camped along its shores, bathed in the water and drink river-water coffee. What resulted from his adventures is a book that tells the story of the sweeping history of the Mississippi River and the centuries of efforts to control it.
Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.
5 books every Louisiana birder should have on their shelves
When some good folks from the local Audubon Society asked me to dream up a list of great bird books, I had fun exploring the possibilities. The titles should resonate with birders across Louisiana as spring’s bird-watching season gets in gear I didn’t aim to be definitive. This isn’t a list of the best bird books of all time; it’s simply a survey of some books I’ve found useful as a Louisiana bird enthusiast The list includes some old favorites as well as recently released titles. Here are five standouts:
‘Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America’
With convenient birding apps such as Merlin within quick reach on a smartphone, printed field guides like the Peterson series might seem outdated. I welcome those digital tools for birders, but the Peterson books offer a lovely, compact survey of area bird life, and the artwork is a pleasure
Heitman AT RANDOM
all its own I have a soft spot for the fifth edition, which was completed by an LSU ornithologist, H. Douglas Pratt, after series founder Roger Tory Peterson died before the project was finished.
‘Attracting Birds to Southern Gardens’
Drawing birds to your window means more than putting out a bird feeder An ideal mix of plants and trees is part of the equation, too. Authored by LSU experts Thomas Pope, Neil Odenwald and Charles Fryling Jr., this book uses a clear arrangement of text and pictures that even novice gardeners can follow I think everyone in Louisiana should get a copy as a
housewarming present.
‘The Birds of America’
There are more pictures from Louisiana in John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America” series than anywhere else. Those
of us who live in this part of the world should be aware of this legacy Deluxe editions of the book can be pricey, but you can usually find small versions within your budget.
‘The Life of the Skies’
Bird-watchers have a reputation as an odd bunch, but in this lively narrative, author Jonathan
Rosen argues that watching birds just might be America’s biggest pastime. His reporting takes him to Louisiana, where he looks for the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker near Pearl River But the only ones he manages to see are stuffed specimens at LSU, which he describes as “folded like portable umbrellas.” Phrases like that make Rosen a joy to read.
‘Spark Birds
This anthology of essays and poems about birds has taken a place of honor on my nightstand, the brief entries a nice way to close each day I’m partial to “Afternoon With Brown Pelicans,” a Jean Monahan poem with Louisiana’s state bird at its heart. Watching some pelicans fly away, she’s moved to think that “everything, everything we have is borrowed.”
Which is why watching birds is so special. It nudges you to live in the moment, embracing a bit of magic before it takes flight.
Email Danny Heitman at danny@ dannyheitman.com.
Danny
PHOTO By ADAM SHEMPER
Sarah M. Broom
I once sat down for a meal during which I sincerely believed that I might find a diamond in my meatball. I thought so because I had an inside tip that it could happen. The tipster was my dad, and he knew the meatball purveyor
I was a kid, and on this evening, my parents and I had made the adventurous trek to the French Quarter to dine at Moran’s La Louisiane restaurant owned by a character who answered to the name of “Diamond Jim.” By the late 1950s, the back section (Esplanade side) of the Quarter was still a largely Italian neighborhood.
That harkened back to the postCivil War days and the arrival of a large settlement of Sicilians who were recruited as agriculture workers.
Over time, their families would follow and New Orleans had one of the largest Sicilian populations in the country
Diamond Jim was an ultimate immigrant story. His family name was really Brocato. He was raised in the Quarter, and like all immigrant kids, he was poor But he hustled, eventually opening a speakeasy bar and then a glitzy restaurant.
He was also fascinated with things that glittered. His persona sparkled with bling including on his teeth, glasses and, most famously, even the zipper on his pants. Legend has it that his wife made the meatballs from a grand-
mother’s recipe — at home and then sent them to the restaurant.
One day, a diamond from her ring fell into the mix and surfaced later that evening in a customer’s meatball. The incident made the restaurant famous. We do not know if the legend was true, but it no doubt helped sell meatballs. If Diamond Jim was purposely dropping a diamond in a favored customer’s plate, I should have known that kids like me were not worth the investment.
A colorful neighborhood Near the restaurant was the
French Market where vendors, mostly Sicilians from the neighborhood, trucked in produce. There was the smell of tomatoes, onions and the subtle scents of greens.
There was color too, though nothing as sensational as the bright yellow lemons, a produce that the Sicilians mastered from the old country (Like all businesses, sales were vulnerable to the fickleness of the marketplace. I recall seeing a flatbed truck with a hand-drawn sign promoting: “Watermelons — Eight for a dollar.”)
There is a town in Sicily called Cefalu. It is a beach community warmed by the Mediterranean sun. Ice cream, or gelato, is a high-demand item for the beach’s users. Sicilians, by the dictates of geography, are experts with ice cream of all sorts.
A young man from Cefalu named Angelo Brocato would take the train 42 miles north along the Tyrrhenian Sea to Palermo where he worked in a bakery Next to making ice cream, Sicilians are renowned bakers. Nearby is the port of Palermo.
One day he got on a ship there and headed to the United States where, like many of his relatives, he was looking to fulfill the promises of a promised land. Eventually, he settled in New Orleans among many of his kinsmen. His career path seemed natural
In 1905, he opened a shop on the 500 block of Ursuline Street and then would eventually expand to a larger place on the 600 block.
From the beginning one of his most popular items was granita al limone, or as the Americans called it “lemon ice” — a frozen specialty that exercises the taste buds between tart and sweet with a velvety texture that is softer than a sno-ball yet firm enough to withstand the semitropical rays of either Palermo or New Orleans.
Known as a Gelateria Pasticceria, his business also specialized in Italian baking including cannolis — a tubular pastry stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese mixed with lemon zest and chocolate chips. (A personal observation:
No one does it better, not even in the old country.)
Brocato died in 1946, leaving the shop in the hands of his sons Angelo Jr and Joseph Brocato, who had grown up in the business.
Fresh bread and lemon ice
I once had a conversation with Angelo Jr who remembered the days, before suburban expansion, when the Quarter was more of a residential neighborhood.
“My dad was a hardworking man,” he recalled about a business that wafted the riverfront with the aroma of fresh Italian bread in the morning and percolating coffee in the evening, along with the fragrance of old world pastries throughout the day
Among the daily customers were the sons of a rich man who lived nearby
Each morning, they brought an empty bowl to be filled with lemon ice. They also purchased hot Italian bread.
Back home, the family would spread lemon ice on slices of the loaf for breakfast. (In the interest of journalistic research, I have tried the combination and it is great, akin to chilled preserves served on a warm roll.)
That rich man, but the way, was Diamond Jim Moran whose family breakfasts were spared the anxiety of a possible meatball surprise. Truth is, a bowl of lemon ice can be gold.
Errol Laborde is a producer and panelist on public television’s “Informed Sources.”
By The Associated Press
Today is Sunday, March 9, the 68th day of 2025. There are 297 days left in the year Daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. local time.
Today in history
On March 9, 1945, during World War II, over 300 U.S. B-29 bombers began Operation Meetinghouse, a massive firebombing raid on Tokyo. The raid killed an estimated 100,000 civilians, left 1 million homeless and destroyed 16 square miles of the city
On this date:
In 1796, the future emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, married Josephine de Beauharnais.
In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. The Amistad, ruled 7-1 in favor of a group of illegally enslaved Africans who were captured off the U.S. coast after seizing control of a Spanish schooner, La Amistad. The justices ruled that the Africans should be set free
In 1862, during the U.S. Civil War, the ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
In 1916, more than 400 Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico, killing 18 Americans.
In 1959, the Barbie doll was introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York
In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in New York Times Co. v Sullivan, raised the standard for public officials to prove they’d been libeled in their official capacity by news organizations.
In 1997, rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) was killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles at age 24. In 2022, a Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, killing four people and wounding at least 17. Today’s birthdays: Singer Jeffrey Osborne is 77. Actor Linda Fiorentino is 67. Actor Juliette Binoche is 61. Actor Emmanuel Lewis is 54. Actor Oscar Isaac is 46. Comedian Jordan Klepper (TV: “The Daily Show”) is 46 Rapper Chingy is 45. Actor Matthew Gray Gubler is 45. Soccer player Clint Dempsey is 42 Olympic skiing gold medalist Julia Mancuso is 41. Actor Brittany Snow is 39. Rapper Bow Wow is 38. Rapper YG is 35. Social media personality Khaby Lame is 25. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Sunisa Lee is 22.
Amateur historian spills tragic family history
Dear Miss Manners: I received a group email from a younger family member that included all of the relatives of my generation, and some younger The subject was a beloved aunt who passed away years ago. Apparently, this young man had been doing some ancestry research, and sent the family some of his results regarding my aunt.
kept private. I’ve never responded, and I can’t think of a polite way to do so.
Judith Martin
MISS MANNERS
It was filled with police reports and news stories regarding a violent and traumatic experience that my aunt suffered when she was young. It was devastating to learn of this. Her own children knew nothing of their mother’s experience.
I feel that this was an incredibly intrusive act, and can’t imagine what his motivation was in sharing information that my aunt quite clearly wanted to be
Gentle reader: This conversation is going to involve correcting the young man’s manners — something that can only be properly done by a parent or other person with similar standing. Therefore, the first question for you to answer is not “how?” but “who?”
Once you know that, you can then ask that person to speak with him, saying that while you are sure his intentions were good, his actions were thoughtless. As you said, the aunt obviously did not share the information herself because she wanted it kept private. Someone needs to alert him both to what he did and to the fact that, going forward, he needs to be more discreet.
Some follow-up communication, apologizing for his indiscre-
Is girlfriend’s snoozing a relationship wake-up call?
rassment.
Dear Annie: I’ve been with my girlfriend for 15 years. The first few years were wonderful no complaints. We worked together and spent a lot of time together and everything felt great. Then, out of nowhere, she started falling asleep — bam! nodding off in social situations, especially when we were out with my parents or their friends. It was humiliating, almost as if she were on something. I looked into it — no medical issues, no substance use. It only seemed to happen when she didn’t want to be somewhere. This has put me through a lot of embarrassment. I even asked her kids about it, and they just chuckled, like this was normal for her I didn’t grow up around this kind of behavior; it feels completely dysfunctional to me There have been times I’ve had to kick her under the table to wake her up or just sit there, wanting to cry from the embar-
I told her she needs counseling, and she is seeing a psychiatrist now, but how long does it take to see real change? I’m at my wits’ end with her and these antics. I’m also starting to feel like she’s trying to hurt me in other ways, too. — Not a Sleeping Beauty
Dear Not Sleeping Beauty: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink. Your girlfriend is seeing a psychiatrist, but if she’s not truly committed to change, nothing will improve. If this behavior is her way of avoiding situations she doesn’t like, then counseling won’t help unless she acknowledges the issue and wants to fix it. Ask yourself the question: How much longer are you willing to wait? You can’t spend your life kicking someone under the table and hoping they’ll wake up, both literally and figuratively If she won’t make the effort, you have a choice to make: accept things as they are or move on to a relationship where you’re respected, not embarrassed.
Email Annie Lane at dearannie@creators.com.
tion, is likely necessary
Dear Miss Manners:: Is there a word for a married couple’s parents to call each other?
We all live relatively close to each other and visit semiregularly No one I’ve asked has an answer Maybe you can come up with something. I don’t really want to call them my “out-laws.”
Gentle reader: Actual names usually work.
Dear Miss Manners:: My dear neighbor regularly walks their dog on our fairly remote suburban streets, which don’t have sidewalks, counter to the recommended method: They walk with traffic rather than facing it. They also walk with earbuds, listening to who knows what, making it difficult to hear traffic coming behind them.
I have gently pointed out that it’s the law, and safer, to walk facing traffic so they can see the cars coming. Their answer is that “the dog tells me when cars are coming.” The dog also walks
Dear Heloise: Regarding a recent hint about how to find your parked car: If you have an iPhone, you don’t have to remember to take a picture or make notes. When you can’t find your car, just go to the maps app and ask for directions to your parked car It keeps track of where you stopped driving! It doesn’t always work, but it does address the main problem: “If I could remember to take a picture or make a note when I park, I could remember where I parked!”
That being said, I am careful to take a picture when I park in a big structure at an airport. — Darin Williams,Tucson,Arizona Toothbrush hygiene
Dear Heloise: We have one electric toothbrush with separate toothbrush heads for each of us. We store the heads in shot glasses that are filled with mouthwash. Every brush is color coded so that we don’t get them mixed up, but even if we do, the brushes are cleaned sterilely every time. — Istello, via email
to their left, into the traffic lane, further endangering the animal. Yes, motorists are careful when they pass my neighbor on the road, but they also must be nervous that the walker does not fully acknowledge them. I sincerely care about this person and do not want to see them (or the dog) hurt. How can I impress upon them to follow the rules on walking safely?
Gentle reader You have tried. Now you are going to have to hope for the best and remember that both etiquette and personal autonomy allow your neighbor to make their own choices.
Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Caring for animals
Dear Heloise: I’ve been reading your column for many years, and I like the way you champion animal rights. Too many people in my state abandon animals when they are no longer puppies. One of the members of a social club I belong to told me that he and his wife took their 6-monthold puppy to a shelter because it chewed up one of his wife’s leather shoes. But it wasn’t the dog’s fault; it was on the owners for leaving the shoes out where the puppy could find them. No pet should live outside or be abandoned because the owners are too lazy to interact with the animal and properly train them. This doesn’t mean hitting the animal, starving it, or mistreating it in any way Abuse only teaches the animal to fear and even hate its owner If you adopt a pet, get it neutered, make sure that it gets its shots, and take it to the vet if it gets sick. Feed it decent
Trains were once ferried across Mississippi in Baton Rouge
Remains of levee landing still stand
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
After reading the Feb. 2 Curious Louisiana story about the Southern Pacific Railroad line connecting Baton Rouge and Lafayette in the early 20th century Craig Bridges’ interest was piqued.
“The story said there was no train track crossing the Mississippi River at that time, so the train was carried across to West Baton Rouge Parish on a ferry, where it connected with the railroad track at a place called Anchorage,” the Baker resident said. “Where was Anchorage located in West Baton Rouge?”
Two stories coincide
Port Allen resident Debbie Martin knew its exact location from her genealogy work of identifying and documenting lost African American cemeteries in West Baton Rouge.
Her research has given her vast knowledge of current and lost communities throughout the parish, and she’d been receiving emails about the community that grew around the Anchorage railroad stop.
But she and husband, David, did more than pinpoint the train stop — they took a break from their cemetery search on a Saturday morning and led the way to the point where the train line’s east met west.
Remnants of the train track are still embedded in the levee along La. 415, commonly known as River Road.
The Martins drove the few miles from their Port Allen home and stopped alongside the levee, only a few yards from a state historical marker commemorating the former Sunrise community.
The real thing No such marker has been designated for Anchorage, but what’s there is the real thing. Wooden pilings stand on either side of the last vestiges of a track at the top of the levee. Below, more pilings surround crumbling wooden reinforcements that supported the track.
“This was where teenagers used to come and party when I was in high school,” David Martin said.
“Did you ever come here?” Debbie Martin asks.
Her husband smiles. Maybe a time or two.
East meets west
Between 1906 and 1947, this was the spot where a steam-powered rail ferry transported trains to the west. According to the West Baton Rouge Parish Historical Association’s archives, the railroad ferry George H. Walker was the line’s final and best known ferry, operating between 1923 and 1947. Therefore, the Southern Pacific Railroad’s line used
the George H. Walker for 11 years between 1923 and the abandonment of its southwest Louisiana railway in 1934.
Southern Pacific wasn’t the only railway serviced by the ferry system. It was put out of business a few years after the Kansas City Railroad line opened in 1945.
The Kansas City Railroad line still runs through the center of Baton Rouge’s Huey P. Long Bridge.
Traveling diagonally
As for the train ferry’s route, trains on the east side would pull up in the Kansas City Southern railroad depot, which now houses the Louisiana Art & Science Museum at 100 S. River Road downtown.
The Waterways Journal, in a 2019 article, states that the landing was “near the Louisiana State Capitol,” which makes sense, since Louisiana’s Old State Capitol across from the station was operating as the seat of state government at the time.
“The east bank landing was near the Louisiana State Capitol building, and the west bank landing was just a bit farther upriver at Anchorage, making for an angled crossing distance of about a mile and a quarter,” the Waterways Journal article states.
The ferry was operated by Gulf Coast Lines and the Missouri Pacific Railroad with the Willard V. King ferry preceding the George H. Walker at the crossing.
The earlier ferry was a two-track transfer boat with a capacity of 16 freight cars or eight passenger cars.
Biggest steel-hull boat
“In May 1922, the railroad
coal if necessary,” the Waterways Journal states.
Not a pretty boat
The Waterways Journal points out that the George H. Walker wasn’t exactly a pretty boat.
“As steamboats go, the Walker was not going to win any beauty contests,” the article states. “It was basically a big flat deck with an unadorned, short, squat blockshaped deckhouse on each side, paddlewheel housings looming a little higher, and a simple structural bridge straddling the three tracks to hold the pilothouse above it all.”
contracted with the Dravo company of Pittsburgh to design and build a replacement, a steel-hulled boat large enough to carry entire passenger trains,” the Waterways Journal states.
“Dravo came up with a design for a 340-foot sidewheeler with three train tracks. The price tag was $250,000, the equivalent of
about $3.5 million today.”
The resulting ferry was, of course, the George H. Walker, which was the largest steel-hull boat on the Mississippi River at the time.
The hull was divided into 26 airtight and two oil-tight compartments.
The boat was powered by four 72-by-18-inch Bronsontype boilers, two on each side.
“The boilers were adapted for oil but could be fired by
“The finished boat had a length overall of 346 feet and a hull depth of 11 feet,” the Waterways Journal states. “The beam was 56 feet, but with the sponsons and paddlewheels, the boat’s width was about 91 feet over the guards.
But that didn’t matter as long as the ferry did its job. And it did just that for quite a while, enabling transportation from Baton Rouge to Anchorage, where, according to the West Baton Rouge Historical Society, also was home to a small train depot. Now the site is marked only by the ruin of a trestle unnoticed by most drivers along the River Road. But not Debbie and David Martin. They know its history and location, and they’re happy to keep its story alive.
Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate.
PROVIDED PHOTO By WEST BATON ROUGE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
George S. Walker train ferry transports a train across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Anchorage railroad site in West Baton Rouge Parish in 1937. At this time,
AT THE TABLE
Gumbo z’Herbes a great meal for the Lenten season
BY CATHERINE S COMEAUX
Contributing writer
Twenty years ago, when I was a household of one living on pasta, cheese and peanut butter — I signed up for Earthshare Gardens in hopes of getting more fresh vegetables in my diet. The nonprofit, communitysupported agriculture program had just started a small farm in Lafayette.
They occasionally included recipes. One particularly prolific season for greens, they shared a Gumbo z’Herbes recipe that has since become a family favorite.
Gumbo z’Herbes, or green gumbo, with its dark verdant, cling-to-yourspoon texture has become a Halloween tradition in our family thanks to its resemblance to witches’ brew. However, the dish is perfect for the transitional time between winter and spring in south Louisiana when the chill of gumbo weather is still in the air as warm fronts are more frequent, and experienced gardeners are harvesting greens while the rest of us will find them more abundant in the grocery stores.
The dish is traditionally a Lenten meal — simple yet full of fortifying greens for the season of fasting leading up to Easter In the past, Lent was a time when Catholics refrained from meat for the full 40 days, but current church traditions call for abstaining from meat only on Fridays with fish and seafood permitted in its place (As a bonus, alligator was approved as part of the “fish family” by the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 2010.)
Every year Acadian Catholics debate whether a fried seafood platter is in the true spirit of abstaining from meat on Fridays. I offer green gumbo (omitting the andouille and sausage) as a simple, hearty Friday meal this Lent or any time of year in the spirit of reducing meat consumption for the sake of the environment and health. Abstaining from meat might be inspired by noble spiritual, environmental or health reasons, but there’s even greater benefit when the self-denial is coupled with an enthusiasm for vegetables.
New culinary horizons open up when you grow a garden, explore the
PHOTO By CATHERINE S, COMEAUX
5-8 bunches different types of greens (e.g collard, mustard, turnip greens, spinach, shallots, beet greens, parsley celery leaves, watercress or dandelion greens)
1 3 cup cold water
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed 1/2 pound baked ham or tasso,
1/2
2-3
1. Thoroughly wash the greens. Remove tough stems and discolored leaves. Place washed greens in colander and rinse under cold water
2.
while browning the meat.
7. Add the browned meat back to the pot along with the green liquid. Mix well.
8. Add the chopped cooked greens and seasonings.
9. Keeping heat low gradually add 2 quarts water or broth. Raise the heat to high and bring gumbo to a boil, then lower heat to low
10. Dip a measuring cup in the pot and pull out a cup or so of the liquid, whisk the roux in this hot liquid and then dump it all back in the pot. Or add the roux directly to pot — it will eventually dissolve.
11. Simmer on low for 11/4 hours. Taste after about a half hour of simmering, then add salt and pepper as you like it.
12. Serve over white, longgrain rice
Gumbo z’Herbes
PLANTING A GARDEN FOR SPRING?
According to Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, mustard greens should be planted through mid-March, Swiss chard until the end of April, and collards midMarch until the end of September For a wide variety of unique greens to plant, check out heirloom seed catalogues like Ujamaa Seeds at www.ujamaaseeds.com or Southern Exposure Seed Exchange at www southernexposure.com.
produce section beyond the bagged salads or join a CSA. Earthshare Gardens opened my eyes to a wider variety of vegetables, greens in particular. Beyond mustard and collards, there are dinosaur kale, dandelion greens,
callaloo and so many more. The original Earthshare Gardens recipe included the notation that for each different green added to the gumbo, a new friend would be made — another bonus of expanding your vegetable world.
3. Remove greens from pot by dumping into colander placed in large bowl to catch the green liquid. Keep the liquid.
4. Chop cooked greens and set aside.
5. In a large 7- to 8-quart pot, brown the chopped ham/ tasso and the sausage. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Brown your onion and garlic in the fat released
Open shutand
A group of shoppers sort their purchases at Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie.
retail industry is still in flux with changes reverberating in Louisiana.
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL
In Lafayette, Macy’s is closing its longtime anchor store in the Acadiana Mall as the department store chain continues to downsize across the country In Metairie, discount outlet Big Lots is in the process of shutting down its Veterans Boulevard store as its parent company navigates bankruptcy And New Jersey-based Party City is shutting down all eight of its locations in Louisiana because the party supply retailer is going out of business Yet, amid what seems like terrible times for brick-andmortar stores, Canal Place in downtown New Orleans recently added a new Swarovski Crystal store to its mix of high-end tenants, while Lakeside Shopping Center is building out new spaces for trendy retailers Mango and Alo Yoga. Confused? You’re not alone. More than a decade after e-commerce upended the way people shop, the industry is still in flux with changes reverberating in Louisiana. Commercial property brokers, mall executives and other market watchers say some stores are
As nationwide retailers bowing to e-commerce close their doors, some Louisiana malls with luxe offerings gaining ground ä See MALLS, page 2E
Pineapple leaves and flies: Creativity fuels food waste solutions
BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
at Macy’s at the Acadiana Mall in Lafayette.
New Orleans
Molly K. Vigour has joined Kean Miller as special counsel.
Vigour
Vigour was an in-house counsel for nearly 20 years and has experience in labor and employment, entity formation, business licensing, commercial and restaurant leases, vendor contracts, lease extensions and disputes. Her practice is focused on business, transactional, hospitality law, real estate, compliance and entertainment matters.
She earned a bachelor’s in history, with honors, from Mount Holyoke College and a law degree, cum laude, from Tulane University Law School. Vigour served as a law clerk for U.S District Judge Donald E. Walter, of Shreveport.
Kimberly Ramagos has been hired by the Louisiana Bar Foundation as chief financial officer
Ramagos has more than 15 years of experience in financial and human resources management for nonprofit organizations, manufacturing, retail and real estate businesses.
Motley Fool
Fool’s Take: A ‘fintech’ giant PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL), a pioneer in internet payment processing, is undergoing a transition. The financial technology company’s management is culling unprofitable products and segments to build a more profitable business. That’s weighed on the company’s revenue growth, but it’s likely not a long-term concern. Last year saw a strong recovery in adjusted earnings per share, up 21% year over year Still, management expects the transition to continue in 2025, and it’s projecting single-digit growth in the near term. But PayPal, also home to Venmo, is still the leading payments network on the internet. That gives it a significant competitive advantage, enabling it to win more merchants and, in turn, drive more consumers to sign up for its digital wallet.
So long-term investors have an opportunity to buy shares now at a lower price. PayPal’s stock recently sported a forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14, well below the five-year average of 20. For a stock capable of growing quickly, that’s a discount.
As management focuses on improved profitability, steady revenue growth and profit margin expansion should result in healthy growth in net income. Combining that with a focus on repurchasing shares, PayPal stands a good chance of growing its earnings per share substantially in the coming years. (The Motley Fool owns shares of PayPal and recommends its stock and options.)
Fool’s School: Asset, allocation, rebalancing
Many investors go years with-
MALLS
Continued from page 1E
improving their prospects with inperson shoppers while others are seeing their sales fall — or are going out of business altogether
“It’s hard to explain a little bit because it seems like there are contradictory trends,” said Ryan Pecot, a commercial agent with Stirling. “The reality is there are a few different things going on.” Macro trends
Part of the reason for the seemingly incongruous trend, with some retail sectors seeing improvements while others slip, is a widening wealth gap and the impact of inflation on middle- and lower-income Americans.
A recent report by Moody Analytics found that the top 10% of earners, those who make $250,000 a year or more, accounted for nearly half of all spending in America last year compared with about twothirds of all spending 30 years ago, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Spending by the wealthy on new cars, homes, pricey clothes and luxury goods is rising quickly too, and outpacing inflation. From Sep-
She earned a bachelor’s in accounting and finance and is working on a master’s in business administration, all from the University of New Orleans.
Ryan D.McNamara has joined Fishman Haygood as special counsel in the business section. His practice primarily focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, securities, private equity and venture capital and real estate.
He earned a law degree, magna cum laude, from Tulane University Law School. McNamara was a member of the Tulane Law Review
Baton Rouge
Erin Walker has been hired as vice president of planning and performance for Our Lady of the Lake Health Walker has more than two decades of experience in health care operations, strategic planning and performance improvement. Most
out engaging in or even understanding — asset allocation and rebalancing. That can be a costly mistake. The term “asset allocation” refers to how your portfolio is divided among various asset classes, such as stocks, bonds and cash.
As an example, you might decide that you want to have your portfolio consist of 70% stocks, 20% bonds and 10% cash. Here’s where rebalancing comes into play Since stocks tend to change in value faster than bonds, in a few years your portfolio’s allocation might have become 85% stocks, 10% bonds and 5% cash. If so, you’ve got more in stocks and less in bonds than you wanted to have. So you “rebalance” — perhaps by selling some stocks and buying some bond investments to get back to your ideal allocation mix. Many people change their asset allocation as they get older, shedding some stocks and adding some bonds (“Target-date” or “life-cycle” funds will do this for you automatically.)
It’s worth reassessing your portfolio’s asset allocation annually and rebalancing as needed.
It can be quite easy to do if you’re invested mainly in lowfee index funds such as ones that track the overall stock market and overall bond market. As examples, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) will instantly have you invested in 500 of America’s biggest companies, and the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) will invest you in a broad range of bonds. You’ll simply sell and buy the number of shares you want.
If you’ve invested in individual stocks, you might identify your least promising ones and sell some or all of those You might also want to shave some shares off any stock holding that’s grown a lot. For example, if one terrific stock soared so much that it’s now 35% of your portfolio, you’re holding too many eggs in that one basket. It’s true that letting your winners run can be
tember 2023 to September 2024, top earners increased their spending by 12%.
Spending by working-class and middle-class households dropped over the same period.
“There is definitely a gap between the haves and the have-nots, and that has an effect on retail,” Pecot said.
Higher-end malls like Canal Place are reaping the benefits of more spending by well-heeled shoppers, which includes a mix of tourists, locals and a regional drive-in market, according to manager Matt Brown.
With the February opening of Swarovski, the shopping center is 95% leased, with a tenant mix that includes Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch, Tiffany & Co. and longtime anchor Saks Fifth Avenue among others.
“The majority of our first-floor tenants are only located here, in Houston and Atlanta, so it’s really a regional luxury destination for shopping,” said Brown. “We’re thriving.”
The boom is also apparent at Lakeside, a regional mall in Metairie that averages around 99% occupancy In late February, the mall announced that Spanish fashion retailer Mango will open a 5,500-squarefoot store later this spring across from Arhaus, the trendy furniture
WASTE
Continued from page 1E
recently, she was vice president of operations at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. She earned a bachelor’s in health care administration from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and a master’s in health administration from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Bill Sanders and Chris Flood have been hired by Lee & Associates
Sanders will serve as a partner and principal. He has 15 years of experience as an office broker, working with more than 500 clients in Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Birmingham, Alabama. Flood will serve as a senior associate. He specializes in office tenant representation and corporate occupier solutions.
a powerful move, but keep your risks in check.
Ask the Fool: Talking tax rates
What,exactly,does it mean if I’m in the 22% tax bracket?That I pay 22% of all my income in taxes? — E.S.,Bath,Maine You’re smart to ask, because many people assume that’s the case — and it’s not. That 22% is your “marginal” tax bracket — your highest rate, paid on your top tier of income. For the 2024 and 2025 tax years, there are seven federal income tax brackets: 10%, 12%, 22% 24% 32% 35% and 37%. Each bracket applies to a certain range of earnings. Let’s say you’re single and your taxable income for 2024 is $75,000. You’d pay 10% on your first $11,600 of income (that’s $1,160), 12% on your income from $11,601 to $47,150 ($4,266) and 22% on your income from $47,151 to $75,000 ($6,127). (That 22% bracket covers income up to $100,525, by the way.) Add those three amounts for your total tax: $11,553. Divide that by your taxable income of $75,000, and you’ll see that you paid a little over 15% of your income in federal taxes. That’s your effective tax rate reflecting your total taxes paid, and it’s more meaningful than your marginal rate. What’s the“efficient market”hypothesis? T.R.,Grand Rapids,Michigan It suggests that all (or most) available information is factored into the price of stocks. Therefore, a particular stock can’t be over- or undervalued, and investors can’t outperform the overall market consistently by using their brains.
Critics of the hypothesis see the stock market as only somewhat efficient, as many investors act on emotions (such as greed or fear) instead of rational reasoning They point to the long-term outperformance of investors such as Warren Buffett as proof that the market isn’t purely efficient.
store that relocated from the South Market District near the Caesars Superdome to Lakeside last year California-based activewear brand Alo Yoga will also open a new store this spring in a 5,000-square-foot space.
“Lakeside is a behemoth that continues to reinvent itself, and it’s in a prime location to attract a variety of shoppers, including those who have a lot of spending power,” said Kirsten Early, a principal and longtime commercial agent with SRSA. Department store struggles
While some luxury stores are expanding and thriving, longtime chains like Macy’s, which has been closing stores for nearly a decade, and JCPenney continue to struggle, much as Sears did before it shuttered most of its stores five years ago. Part of the problem with those traditional department stores is that they tried to be too many things to too many people and couldn’t compete with online retail, said Pecot. The same goes for discount chains like Party City, Big Lots and Bed Bath and Beyond, the latter of which went out of business in 2023.
“Who is going to go to Party City when you can order the same thing with more selection online, and
tribution and composting nonprofits to collect and put it to use.
U.S. throws out third of its food
In a report released last week, national nonprofit ReFed said that after a pandemic dip, the amount of unsold or uneaten food in the United States rebounded to 74 million tons, nearly a third of the country’s food supply ReFed said that food is worth $382 billion, more than 1% of the country’s gross domestic product.
The largest amount of that waste, about 35 million tons, comes from uneaten groceries and restaurant leftovers, according to ReFed.
Food-producing businesses, meanwhile, create about 21 million tons of surplus food annually But they are trying to change.
ReFed said that the country’s top 65 food producers — in the categories of food service, retail and manufacturing — all have food waste reduction targets in place. In total, more than $900 million was invested in food loss and waste solutions in the U.S. last year
In New Orleans, hospitality enterprises and schools are leading the way, according to Dana Eness, a founding board member of the independent business alliance Stay Local, which hosted a food waste education event last year
Aramark, Tulane’s food service provider, is testing several ideas to raise awareness about food waste in partnership with the university Keeping track of how much uneaten food is scraped from plates is one of them.
Since the start of the fall 2024 semester, workers have bagged and weighed food waste each day so the school can keep a tally of what goes uneaten in its 6-year-old, $55 million facility, which serves about 3,500 meals a day During one week in late February, the daily total was just under 160 pounds.
Most Tuesday evenings in one of Tulane’s two dining facilities, student workers take the food waste accounting to the next level. They help students discard their uneaten food into a clear container, which fills up quickly
“Traditionally you just put your tray on the dish belt, and it goes away, so no one knows how much food gets wasted,” said Emily Slazer, sustainability manager at Aramark/Tulane Hospitality “This way you can see how it’s accumulating.” Tulane Hospitality also has installed signage throughout both dining halls on campus, encouraging diners to choose the right portion size to avoid waste.
“People will fill the vessel they’re given,” Slazer said. “If there’s a huge bowl by the salad bar, they’ll fill it So we put smaller bowls by the cut fruit and things like that to nudge behaviors.”
The school has partnered with several local nonprofits and student organizations to distribute surplus food to those who need it.
Feeding the turtles
The Convention Center doesn’t cater to hungry college kids every day, but it often hosts tens of thousands of people at a time.
One weekend last month, an independent hardware distributor gathering brought roughly 20,000 people into the 1.1 million-squarefoot building.
To handle the job, the facility has two kitchens, where chefs use industrial cooking equipment to make gumbo, jambalaya po-boys and other local classics in massive quantities.
That type of volume has the potential to create a lot of surplus food and scraps, which is why the center has partnered with several food dis-
have it delivered to your door in a day?” said Pecot.
Of course, there are exceptions. Not all high-end stores are doing well, and not all discount chains are doing poorly Midtier retailers like Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods, which share a corporate owner, and Ross Dress for Less are doing well in Louisiana and looking to open more stores, according to commercial brokers in Metairie and in Baton Rouge.
“To an extent, it comes down to the company and how well it is run and if it is able to deliver decent quality at the right price point,” Early said.
A retailer’s success these days also comes down to their ability to pivot and respond to changing consumer tastes. The longtime Barnes & Noble in Baton Rouge’s Citiplace, an aging strip center that has lost a number of tenants over the past decade, is leaving its 20,000-squarefoot location and moving down the street to a new, smaller store in the high-end Towne Center, according to Jonathan Walker a commercial agent with Maestri Murrell.
Rival bookseller Books-a-Million went in a different direction in Lafayette. The chain moved out of its pricey 12,000-square-foot location on an outparcel near Target and
Straight credits the food waste initiatives with helping the center earn its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification in 2022. It’s a rating system that measures a building’s environmental performance and sustainability It’s also a sales tool. Straight said the Convention Center’s sustainability and food waste initiatives help it stand out as it competes with similar facilities worldwide.
“We’re the largest LEED goldcertified building in the world,” Straight said. “That’s something to be said, especially for a community like New Orleans that has struggled with recycling and sustainability in the past.”
At Acorn, the Dickie Brennan-run restaurant inside the Louisiana Children’s Museum, food waste prevention isn’t just a priority, it’s a focus of the entire operation, which also offers more vegan and healthy options than your average New Orleans eatery
Campsen said the restaurant is careful not to over-order ingredients He tries to use each one in multiple dishes to decrease the chance of waste. The restaurant also uses compostable serving tools.
Leftovers and scraps serve a very specific purpose.
“People like to feed the turtles in the lake next door,” he said. “Anything that we can’t use, like the very backs of the Brussels sprouts or celery leaves that are turning, we cut it up for them.”
Pet food made from flies?
Representatives of Tulane, the Convention Center and Acorn all got a crash course on food waste mitigation last summer at the Stay Local food waste class led by Lucia Loposova, a University of Hong Kong professor who runs a global nonprofit.
Loposova gave a crash course on food waste basics: Use local ingredients, don’t throw away edible food and keep track of what ends up in the trash. But she also advocated for innovative ideas: making a leather substitute out of pineapple leaves, for instance, or milling oyster shells to make toothpaste for dogs.
“It has a fishy taste, but dogs love it,” she said. In Hong Kong, university students devised a way to use old bread as a substitute for barley when making beer The new brew gained popularity Now, the staff at some pizza places in the area might ask customers if they plan to eat their crusts. If not, they cut them off in advance and save them to make beer And then there’s the black soldier flies.
Buffalo, New York-based company Stratium, following the lead of international counterparts, is creating fly “farms” to consume food waste. The insects’ excrement can be used as a fertilizer, and they themselves are a source of protein that can be used to make food for poultry, fish and pigs.
“It’s a fantastic solution,” Loposova said. “It’s efficient and scientifically proven. Save everything you have, create new things and make it as circular as possible.” Dana Eness, of Stay Local, hopes someone will try out the idea in New Orleans.
“It’s an incredible entrepreneurial opportunity,” she said. “You can start with something the size of a storage container and scale up.” Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.
moved into a larger store nearby, rebranding as a 2nd & Charles and changing up the merchandise mix to include new and used books, music, games and pop culture items.
“They’re doing well now,” Pecot said. “It was a real success.” Too expensive to build new
One of the biggest problems retailers face is the lack of availability of new space Though there are plenty of vacant storefronts in older strip centers across the state, rising inflation, interest rates and insurance premiums have chilled most new retail construction.
“Most of the leasing we are doing is in existing shopping centers because of the cost,” said Walker “And even there, it’s so expensive to do a build-out, it’s mostly highend retailers that can afford it.” Early said she has had to turn some deals away because there isn’t enough new retail space in prime locations, which is slowing growth.
“Where is the new construction?” she said. “That is what everyone is asking, and the answer is, there is none.”
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.
Campsen
Walker
Sanders Flood
Ramagos
McNamara
BUSINESS WITH BRANDON LANDRy
Adaptability the key to restaurant operator’s success
BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor
Just over 20 years after cofounding Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, Brandon Landry has become one of the most successful restaurant operators in Louisiana.
Landry started the sports bar chain with Jack Warner, a fellow walk-on with the LSU basketball team, and in its first decade, WalkOn’s grew steadily in size and popularity But its reputation took off in 2012, when the Poydras Street location in downtown New Orleans was named ESPN’s Best Sports Bar in North America. Walk-On’s now has 80 company and franchise locations across the U.S., stretching from Las Vegas to South Carolina and plans to add 10-15 new restaurants this year and in 2026. Along the way, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees became a partner, and the company signed up franchisees such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
Landry and Brees are also partners in another restaurant chain, Smalls Sliders, which does a takeout-only business selling cheeseburger sliders and fries out of vivid orange shipping containers. And, in 2022, Landry opened yet another new restaurant in Baton Rouge — the Supper Club. The highly Instagrammable eatery with trendy decor is reservationonly, with an upscale menu that includes dishes such as Wagyu beef, Beluga caviar and Alaskan king crab.
In this week’s Talking Business, Landry discusses the status of his restaurants, his role with the Louisiana Economic Development Partnership (a private-sector advisory board that promotes economic growth) and his favorite place to get a meal.
This interview has been edited for content and clarity
How are things going with Walk-On’s?
COVID changed everything, especially for casual dining. It was an opportunity for us to look at our concept and reset. Our dining rooms were, for lack of a bet-
ter term, shut down Then they came back at 25% capacity 50% capacity throughout the country
And what we noticed is even with 50% capacity, we were doing preCOVID sales We looked at this and were like, can we go back to the drawing board and maybe reduce the footprint, reduce the menu, the amount of (items), the size of the kitchen? It gave us an opportunity to reset and think about what the next phase of Walk-On’s looks like.
We spent some time redesigning the building and the footprint and the menu, and it has done well for us.
About a year ago, Walk-On’s moved its headquarters out of Baton Rouge to Atlanta. How has that worked out for the company? It’s not something that I wanted to do. It was necessary for the brand and it was tough. I’m prob-
ably the only person on the Louisiana Economic Development Partnership that has a company that left Louisiana. And I’ve been bringing that up for discussion on the board. We’ve got to do something different here. We have to attract people. We have to retain great talent.
Look, I’m born and raised in south Louisiana, White Castle. I grew up a fourth-generation sugar cane farmer’s son. I love this place. But at the end of the day, we couldn’t get people to move here. What do you see as the solution to keeping people in Louisiana and attracting workers?
Let’s start tackling some of the issues that we’ve all heard about. I mean the crime the school systems. I think when great minds come together and we truly have a focused approach, you can make
some change and you can make it rather quick. A great example is what New Orleans did for the Super Bowl. There was a horrible incident that happened before the game, but the city, the parish, the state all came together and said, we’re going to make it the safest, cleanest city that a Super Bowl has seen in a long time. And we did that. Everyone that I talked to said New Orleans was a great representation for our state for Super Bowl week. Everyone came together and had a common goal.
Smalls Sliders has been growing a lot.How has the business been doing?
It is amazing the way this concept has taken off in five short years. I came up with the idea in 2018 and opened the original on Nicholson Drive across from Tigerland (in Baton Rouge) in 2019. I didn’t think it would take off like this. Being in the Walk-On’s world, we have full service in big facilities and lots of team members and large menus lots of moving parts. The idea with Smalls was the exact opposite, and we have been attracting very sophisticated franchise groups that have a couple hundred other franchise locations of numerous brands. They have the infrastructure and the knowledge of how to run these types of organizations. We just opened number 24 yesterday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and we will probably open around 40 locations in 2025.
It’s crazy to say, but 750-squarefoot units are averaging between $2 million-$2.5 million in annual sales. Some units especially in Florida lately, look like they’re tracking around $3 million. Supper Club is a different sort of concept for Baton Rouge. How has business been? Phenomenal. Better than I expected.
It was a little risky bringing a concept like Supper Club that kind of broke the mold for traditional Baton Rouge fine dining. But I think what we learned is people like quality People like to be taken care of. If you do it right, source the best products, spend time coaching and training your staff to make your guests feel like
a million bucks, people will come. Our goal there was to create a unique dining experience with the best products that we could source around the world and not try to be something that we’re not. We’re not a lunchtime spot It’s for dinner only, it’s for supper We don’t ever want to rush someone. We don’t ever want to make them feel that we have to turn this table. It’s come and enjoy yourself and get dressed up and maybe feel like you’re not in Baton Rouge for a couple of hours. People appreciate that. Any thought about expanding it further to other markets or this is kind of strictly a Baton Rouge thing?
I’ve been asked that question a lot, and it started off as a passion project for Mackenzie (Landry’s wife) and I. We wanted to bring something special to our hometown. But I do think it has legs. It has to be the right situation, though. It’s not a brand that I would franchise.
How has inflation affected your restaurants? Have you had to make any sort of menu changes or recipe changes?
One thing we’re not going to do is sacrifice quality because of price. It has given us an opportunity to do a deep dive into all items that we have and go back to the table with some of our vendors and figure out how to work together, because we can’t outprice ourselves. What’s important is quality consistency and keeping the portion size. On the Walk-On’s side, it has been mainly streamlining menus and asking ourselves if we really have to have 65 menu items. Maybe it’s better to have the best 55 We may have a few guests who say, “Oh man, I really love that dish.” But guess what? They’ll find a new favorite. If you’re going to eat a meal in Baton Rouge, where’s it going to be? My wife and I love Gino’s. They’ve done a great job for 50 or so years now and still have Mama Marino’s lasagna on the menu, and you can still see her son Gino Marino and talk to him. That’s our go-to if we’re not going to Supper Club. Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.
SustainableFishing: HowLouisiana’s Menhaden Industry Protects the Gulf
Forgenerations,Louisiana’smenhaden
fishing industry has supported small coastal communities and harvested a sustainable resource while employing responsible fishing practices thatprotect the Gulf’s ecosystem. Through sciencebased management, innovativetechnology, and strict regulations,weensurethat menhaden remains abundantfor future generations
The commercial menhaden fishery uses the purse seine method, aspecially designed technique thatminimizes environmental impact.Here’show the processworks:
schools of menhaden.
•Setting the Net: The vesselencircles the school with apurse seine net, whichcloses at the bottomtoform a contained “purse.”
•Hauling in the Catch: Awinch system pulls in the net,and avacuum pump transfersthe fish onto the boat while safely returning anylarger marine species,liketurtles,sharks, or dolphins,back to the water.
•Sorting andProcessing: Fish aresorted using bycatchreduction devices,which separate non-target species beforethe catchistransported forprocessing onshore.
areemphatically rejected by scientific studies.A 2021 study published in Conservation Biologyfound thatimposing additionalcatchlimits on species like menhaden would not significantly increase predatorpopulations.Similarly,a 2017 study in Fisheries Research confirmed that predatorpopulations areinfluenced more by environmentalfactorsthanbyfishing, and thatforagefish targetedbypredators arenot the same as thosetypically caught by commercialfisheries
The menhaden industry removes lessthan 2% of the totalGulf menhaden biomasseach year—far belowlevelsthat would negatively impact the ecosystem.
The menhaden industry removesless than 2% of the total Gulf menhaden biomass each year—far belowlevels thatwould negatively impact the ecosystem.
Stock assessments confirm that menhaden populations arenot overfished, ensuring asustainable fishery that maintains acritical food source for marine predators likeredfish, speckled trout,and dolphins.Since 2019,the fishery has been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, the gold standardfor seafood sustainability. Louisiana’smenhaden industry operates under strict federal and state regulations,ensuring responsible practices thatsupport the environment and coastal economies.Calls foradditional restrictions lack scientific backing and threatenthe livelihoods and communities of thousands of workerswho depend on this industry
Through significantinvestments in sustainable fishing methods,reducing bycatch, and maintaining healthy menhaden populations,the Louisiana commercial menhaden industry continues to balance conservation with economic prosperity. Sustainable fishing isn’tjust about the environment—it’sabout people, communities,and Louisiana’scoastal economy. Let’sensurethatscience, not politics,drives the futureofthis fishery
PROVIDED PHOTO
Brandon Landry is a co-founder of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux and is a partner with former Saints quarterback Drew Brees in another restaurant chain, Small Sliders. He also opened the Supper Club in Baton Rouge.
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DOERR FURNITURE–ANEW ORLEANS STAPLE
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To this day,the Mutter Family believesthat the focus is on you, Our customer,and strives to provide unparalleled customer service. From the first greeting at the showroom to the delivery of your furnitureand after,Doerr Furniture’s aim is to welcome you into the Doerr Family
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5 years after the world changed
What did La. hospitals learn from pandemic?
BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer
Louisiana’s first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 9, 2020, with the first death on March 14, 2020, followed by Gov. John Bel Edwards closing schools statewide on March 16, 2020, restricting most businesses to takeout and delivery only. The governor also postponed presidential primaries and placed limitations on large gatherings.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic after more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries.
According to WHO, more than 777 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported globally to date, including more than 7 million deaths, with 103 million cases and 1.2 million deaths being reported in the United States alone.
In Louisiana, there were over 1.5 million COVID-19 cases and 18,370 COVID-19 deaths between March 11, 2020, and December, 31 2023, according to Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering
The time of COVID-19, now referred to as “the pandemic,” does not have an official start and end date, as COVID-19 is still infecting Americans each season
On March 23, 2020 Edwards enacted a statewide stay-at-home order to encourage social distancing Hospitals across the state prepared beds and opened new floors. Medical professionals at all levels learned about a new disease, reused protective gear,
Dr Mary Raven uses her cellphone so a ventilated COVID-19 patient can listen to her husband tell her he loves her
isolated themselves from their loved ones and transitioned entire hospitals to remote care as the nation was forced on lockdown.
Five years after the world changed, the United States still faces many uncertainties about how prepared the country is for the next public health crisis.
But some in Louisiana say they are more prepared than ever
Reusing equipment and making room
Donna Williams was an emergency
room registered nurse at Baton Rouge General in March 2020. She remembers when the first COVID-19 patient was admitted to the hospital.
“It was surreal,” she said.
Joey Boutwell, a licensed practical nurse in Baton Rouge at the capitol area hospital, remembers that there weren’t enough beds to fit the influx of patients. They had to reopen a previously unused third floor
See PANDEMIC, page 2X
Spring cleaning your medicine cabinet
what to keep in stock
BY MARGARET DeLANEY
Staff writer
It’s time for spring cleaning Yes, that includes the medicine cabinet.
Dr Mai Lam at Ochsner Health Center in Kenner, a primary care physician taking care of newborns to elderly patients, has the list of essential items, expiration requirements and optimal storage to keep the medicine cabinet fresh and effective.
Watch out for expiration dates
Lam
All prescription drugs and overthe-counter medications have an expiration date on the label that is based on testing. The date is the final day that the manufacturer can guarantee the full potency and safety of the drug, if properly stored. Some studies show that many drugs can still be taken after their expiration date if they are properly stored.
But is it better to be cautious and dispose of expired medication?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is clear on this question. The FDA says using expired medical products is risky and possibly harmful and recommends proper disposal.
The FDA explains that expired medications can be less effective or risky due to change in composition or decrease in strength Less potent antibiotics can fail to treat infections for example.
Keep it dry. Keep it cool.
Medicine cabinets work for toothpaste and soap, but the humidity in the bathroom or kitchen can be bad for medications. It can cause them to break down more quickly and render them less useful.
In the South, especially in the hotter months in Louisiana, Lam warns that it is important to keep medicines away from direct sunlight — including cars.
The best place to store most medicines is in a cool, dry and dark area, such as a secure bedside drawer, storage box, closet shelf or kitchen cabinet. Certain medications need to be in the refrigerator
“It’s really important to read the label on the bottle or package and look for specific storage instructions,” Lam said.
Consider storing medications away from curious hands — especially children — in a locked, tackle-type box to prevent them get into the wrong hands.
STAFF FILE PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD
Adam Ferguson, a physician assistant with arms crossed, prepares a team before they enter a negative pressure room to help a COVID-19 patient at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge in April 2020.
HEALTH MAKER
35 years at Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Louisiana researcher known for world-class heart diet reflects on career
BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer
Catherine Champagne, 66, still vividly remembers passing the Perkins Road construction site where Pennington Biomedical Research Center was taking shape in the late 1980s.
She was on her way to drop off her two young sons at school and had heard plans for a facility with a mission to improve human health throughout the life span, including a center for the study of nutrition. For Champagne, the thought stirred a longing to return to a field that she loved but hadn’t pursued in years.
“That would be a really nice place to work,” the Louisiana native recalled thinking, not knowing at the time how prophetic that moment would prove to be.
Three and a half decades later, Champagne, who is a professor of dietary assessment and nutrition counseling and nutritional epidemiology has been a part of the team at Pennington Biomedical Research Center since its earliest days.
However, the professional path this St. Martinville native took to arrive at her post was hardly a geographical straight shot along Interstate 10 from her hometown to Baton Rouge.
After receiving her undergraduate degree in Home Economics Education from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Champagne earned both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in
PANDEMIC
Continued from page 1X
“The losses hurt and there were many but that only strengthened our willingness to do whatever was needed,” Boutwell said.
In the coming months, Williams, Boutwell and many other health care workers in Louisiana faced the brunt of the pandemic — both mentally and physically.
Boutwell remembers seeing a family friend come close to death and learning to walk again. Joy Miceli, a registered nurse in Baton Rouge, witnessed the death of a fellow nurse and friend
The dire straits brought on by the pandemic were sudden and drastic Dr Timothy Riddel saw the news out of China, where the virus originated, and thought it most likely be similar to a bad flu in the United States. He was wrong.
“I was out of town for Mardi Gras,” said Riddel, the chief medical officer of Northshore, Mississippi Gulf Coast, Baton Rouge, Acadiana and Rush Regions for Ochsner Health. “Immediately upon my return, I was met with the harsh reality of the pandemic: severe illness and death.”
Jade Oliver-Brady was working in two emergency rooms at the time the pandemic hit.
“I watched the nurses and doctors working so hard with limited resources,” Oliver-Brady said. “Coming out of the rooms sweating, disappointed, sad and scared.”
Most health care workers had to reuse personal protective equipment, or PPE masks, gloves, goggles, full-body coverings used to protect staff and patients from contagious illnesses
Oliver-Brady, a social worker in the emergency room, was often the person who spoke to families to tell them their loved one was put on a ventilator or if they had passed.
“Life was just so immediately different,” Oliver-Brady said. “It was shocking and traumatizing.”
Health care workers across the state relied on each other for mental health needs, knowledge of a new disease and protective equipment to work in the hospital
The emotional toll rippled through hospitals, and, although many backed away from the weight of the pandemic, some found solace in their community
“We watched people die on a daily basis with the fear that it could easily happen to us knowing we were in direct contact and using reused PPE,” Oliver-Brady said. “We changed clothes in our cars to pre-
Nutrition from Mississippi State University
During her time at Mississippi State, Champagne started a family before moving to Arkansas, where she worked as a clinical dietitian at The University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock, serving patients across the pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology and psychiatric specialties.
Although she received her training and honed a passion for her work in Mississippi and Arkansas, for all the pieces to truly fall into place, Champagne had to return home to Louisiana.
“I’ve had fun,” Champagne said of her 35-year career at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.
What made you want to come back to Louisiana? What intrigued you about Pennington?
After graduate school, my husband got a job in Little Rock, Arkansas. At the time we moved, we had a baby daughter After about two months living in Little Rock, there was a job opportunity at the University of Arkansas Medical Center for a clinical dietitian.
I was not yet a registered dietitian, but they hired me and I actually worked shepherding dietetic interns as a part of their clinical rotation.
In February 1975, our 19-monthold daughter died from h-flu meningitis. After that, I found out that I had passed the RD exam, but things were hard from the loss.
We missed Louisiana and came back to Lafayette where I had a job at the university Later I had a son.
After a while in Baton Rouge, I got to thinking about completing my Ph.D. Mississippi State Uni-
versity agreed to let me do my research here on the LSU campus, giving credit for some courses and counting my research for credit to my degree.
I really needed to do nutrition research to utilize my training and from what I knew about Pennington, it seemed like the best place to be. I had a mentor in New Orleans with whom I worked with on my Ph.D., and one Saturday in the summer of 1989 I called her to see about nutrition opportunities for employment, but I did not know she had a Pennington connection.
She told me I was like “manna from heaven.” She was looking for someone to take over her research with the Bogalusa Heart Study (she was in her late 90s at the time), and that person needed to have laboratory experience. It was through her that I met someone at Pennington and found
my home here. Tell me about the DASH diet and the impact it has had on a national scale
I designed the final DASH Diet menus for all four research sites (including Harvard and Duke) due to my food composition and research experience. I really did not appreciate the impact that diet had on a national level.
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is a healthy-eating plan designed to help prevent or treat high blood pressure, also called hypertension. It also may help lower cholesterol linked to heart disease.
U.S. News and World Report listed DASH as the No. 1 diet for seven or eight years in a row beginning in 2001. Now it is still at the top of the list — although the Mediterranean Diet is listed as No. 1 in about the past five years. Both di-
WESTBROOK
Registered nurse Chelsea Porter dons her Tyvek coveralls in July 2020 as she prepares to go to work in the isolation unit at Lafayette General Medical Center in Lafayette.
vent bringing anything home, and many of us had to live separately from the ones that we love, especially children.” Christopher Trevino, vice president of emergency services at Our Lady of the Lake in Gonzales, remembers the fear — for patients and for their families.
“We had to circle the wagons and stay in the fight and make sure we take care of each other as well,” Trevino said
The new normal COVID-19 prompted both small and sweeping changes.
According to Trevino, the most persistent change in the hospital system has been an awareness for health care protective equipment.
Statewide programs have also worked to implement the World Health Organization’s “5 Moments for Hand Hygiene” — hand-washing, or an alcohol-based sanitizer:
n Before touching a patient,
n Before performing a procedure,
n After potential exposure to body fluid,
n After touching a patient,
n After touching a patient’s surroundings or things.
Hospital systems developed effective and thorough methods of telemedicine and telehealth in order to reach patients during lockdown.
Patients still have access to these telehealth methods, giving way for a “new normal” for many practitioners.
“Having telehealth become more normalized during COVID for practitioners, patients and families has helped us be able to establish a telepalliative care programs,” said Ra-
fael Flores, the director of mission integration at Our Lady of the Angels Hospital in Bogalusa.
In New Orleans, Falyn Curtis, vice president of information service clinical systems at Ochsner Health, said her team pushed to find solutions to accessing patients remotely.
This included patient monitoring with wireless wearable vital sign devices, virtual solutions to obtain medication histories and coordinate discharge planning and education all emerged as solutions to provide care for patients — and will continue to do so in the future, according to Curtis.
Many hospitals now prioritize the health of health care professionals more than they did before the pandemic. They mandate all to go home when sick making sure they are fully healthy before returning, with no fever for 24 hours before returning to work.
“It is not that COVID-19 made me realize the importance of community, but it certainly reinforced just how pivotal community is for our overall well-being,” Flores said.
Looking ahead, Trevino said Our Lady of the Lake in Gonzales is more prepared for large-scale health events. The emergency department and ICU will take the brunt of future emergencies.
“We are focusing on preparing for this,” he said. “Learning how to expand during large surges in patient volume is a challenge, and we need to be better at it.”
Those who stayed
The pandemic prompted an increased rate of health care workers resigning, retiring early or
ets emphasize fruit and vegetable intake, fiber from whole grains, lean protein and differ in fat intake. Both are really good diets.
What is Women’s Wellness Day at Pennington Biomedical Research Center? March 8 was our 25th anniversary for the Wellness Day for Women. We have a lot of health screenings.
It’s a place where women can get some free screenings to judge how well they’re doing and what they need to do to get healthy We usually draw between maybe 600 and 700 women.
We also have a number of health related talks. This year we’re going to have a panel of investigators here at Pennington. It’s going to be like a Q&A we’re going to let the audience ask questions.
Sometimes we don’t hit all the issues that people are interested in, so this gives women in the community an opportunity to ask that burning question.
In your 35 years, what have been the biggest changes in research?
Technology has played a big, big role. I mean, we didn’t even have email at the time I started out. When email was starting off, I remember going to the director’s office one day having a conversation with him. I said, “Well, I’m going to follow up on email.” He told me, “No, I don’t do email. You send me a memo.”
And that was it.
When I started here, I started six months after the director came in July of 1989. I came in December of 1989. It was so small that I quickly knew everybody here — every person who was walking the halls I knew The bigger we got, the more interesting it was.
Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.
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“If you have small children, take extra precautions. Some medications come in very pretty colors and storing them out of reach or ‘hiding’ them may not be good enough,” Lam said.
The essentials
“Medications that help with some minor aches and pains, as well as fever reducing medications are really good to have,” Lam said of families with patients young and old. Keep certain medications and supplies in the home for coughs and colds, minor injuries and emergencies. Here’s a checklist Lam recommends having in your home:
n Tylenol (acetaminophen)
n Neosporin (or other antibiotic creams)
leaving the profession altogether
However, some found a newfound passion for the work.
Here’s why these Louisiana health workers stayed:
n “Sheer resilience!” Joy Miceli said, registered nurse at Baton Rouge Rehab Center
n “I’m in my 50s. And although I have contemplated leaving the field numerous times, I don’t want to start over at this point in my life. I love being an ER nurse, and I feel like I do help make a difference,” said Donna Williams, an emergency room registered nurse at Baton Rouge General.
n “I want to continue to make a difference in ensuring that people have the best information possible and that every human being has access to the best care,” said Dianne Teal, a registered nurse and chief nursing officer at Ochsner Health — Baton Rouge.
n “Medicine is hard. ...There were hard days, tearful days, days where I felt so lonely and overwhelmed But I was never alone, and I think that saying “medicine is a team sport” is what bolstered me through the entire pandemic,” said Kristen Toups, a doctor of hospital medicine at Ochsner Health.
n “When I walked in a room, I remember a patient saying, ‘I am so glad to see a human.’ I smiled, and the patient stated, ‘I know everyone is scared of this and I understand.’ My heart melted. I sat with him for a while even though I did not have to I simply remember saying to myself: This is why I do this,” said Jackie Odom, a registered respiratory therapist at Ochsner Health in New Orleans.
n antacids (like Tums)
n Imodium (or other antidiarrhea medication)
n antiseptic solution to clean cuts (such as Iodine or Betadine)
n Calamine lotion to treat bug bites and other itchy problems
n cold and cough medications n cold packs or ice packs for injuries or head aches n cotton balls and swabs n eye wash and drops n Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen)
n laxative
n petroleum jelly n scissors and tweezers n sunscreen n syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting
n thermometer
Although it can be tempting to stock up on certain medications, Lam advises to refrain from the multi-packs to avoid expiration before use Lam also recommends keeping electrolyte packages (like liquid IV and others) in the medicine cabinet for the hotter months in Louisiana “Hydration is key,” Lam said. “And electrolyte packets are excellent for fluid replacement when you are sick.” Take inventory at least once a year to replace items that have expired or been used up.
Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.
PHOTO PROVIDED By CATHERINE CHAMPAGNE
Catherine Champagne in an underwater weighing tank designed to to measure metabolic body composition at Pennington Biomedical Research Center
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE
Eat Fit Live Fit
TO YO
AWake up to thehealth benefits of coffee: Amping up your morning brew
LA. HAS MORE THAN U.S. AVERAGE OF ADULT E-CIGARETTE SMOKERS
Electronic cigarettes were developed way back in 1965 and patented in 2003.Around 2010, they hit the market, and their market share has grown exponentially
Also called e-cigarettes or vape pens, the electronic devices use heat to make an aerosol inhaled by the user
In recent years, the popularity of e-cigarettes, especially among youth, has continued to surge in Louisiana, according to 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National trends show a correlation between daily or “some day” use of e-cigarettes with level of education — the higher the education, the less likely an adult over the age of 25 is to regularly use e-cigarettes.
Louisiana ranks 35th in the nation for e-cigarette smoking adults with some high school education or more with 7.8% prevalence across the state — just over the national average of 6.9%, according to data gathered by America’s Health Rankings New Hampshire has the lowest rates of
e-cigarette smokers among adults with a high school education or higher, with 4.4% rate of e-smokers.Vermont (4.7%), New york (4.8%), Maryland (5.3%), Maine (5.3%) and Wisconsin (5.3%) followed in the national rankings. Arkansas had the highest prevalence of e-cigarette smokers with 11.6% of adults, followed in the rankings by West Virginia (11.5%),Tennessee (10.3%), Oklahoma (10.1%) and Mississippi (10.1%).
Use of e-cigarettes is associated with increased odds of developing respiratory symptoms or wheezing and respiratory disease.
A 2017 study also found e-cigarette use in adolescence to be a strong predictor of regular cigarette use in adulthood.
Additives in e-cigarettes, according to the America’s Health Rankings, include harmful substances such as cancer-causing chemicals and flavoring chemicals that are linked to serious lung disease and lung injury.
Incidences for common types for young women far outpace men
BY MORAYO OGUNBAYO The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)
Incidences for many common types of cancer have risen in recent years, with young women experiencing the brunt of the shift.
According to research from the American Cancer Society the incidence rate of cancer for women under 50 has increased from 51% higher than men in 2002 to 82% higher than men in 2021, the last year this information was recorded.
Using statistics published in “Cancer Statistics, 2025,” the society’s medical journal, the ACS found that “The risk of developing cancer varies markedly by age and by sex.”
“Middle-aged women now have a slightly higher risk of developing cancer than their male counterparts,” the ACS said in a news release on their findings. “Women younger than age 50 are almost twice as likely to develop cancer than young men,
a gap which has widened since the early 2000s.”
“We see for the first time, if you’re a woman under the age of 65, you’re now more likely to develop cancer than men in that same age group,” Dr William Dahut, a chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, told CNN. “Age remains the No. 1 greatest risk factor for cancer overall, and that hasn’t changed. But we’re seeing some shifting.”
“The only age group where we’re seeing actually an increase in cancer risk, in incidence going up, is under the age of 50,” Dahut told CNN.
Widespread screenings for cervical cancer reduced the incidence and death rates of the disease in women. However this decrease has begun to stabilize. This is due to an increased proportion of a specific strain of cervical cancer, called adenocarcinoma, that modern screenings often overlook.
The only cancer with a lower chance of survival than it had 40 years ago, uterine cancer, develops in tissues of the uterus.
“There have only been modest advances in treatment, and there are no recommended screening tests to detect this disease early,” the ACS said. “About 70%
of cases are found at an early stage though because a common early symptom is irregular or postmenopausal vaginal bleeding.” The ACS said the lack of progress on uterine cancer is due in part to underfunding by the National Cancer Institute.
The ACS findings also saw racial disparities in cancer mortality persist, with Black people and American Indian and Alaska Native people being two times more likely to die of cancer than White people.
“You’re more likely to develop breast cancer as a White woman,” Dahut told CNN. “You’re more likely to die of it as a Black woman, particularly when you look at the younger populations.” Despite this gloomy news, rates of cancer mortality continue to decline The ACS attributes these wins to smoking cessation, early cancer detection and treatment advances, which have “reduced the cancer mortality rate in the United States by 34% over the last 30 years, sparing about 4.5 million lives.” This progress follows declines in the four mostcommon types of cancer — lung, prostate, breast and colorectal.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state. This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and reexamining tried and true methods on
ways to live well. Health editions will also profile people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana. Do you have a health story? We want to hear from you. Email margaret. delaney@theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more.
Students learn healthy habits through School Garden Initiative
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
Several days a week, students at Mar-
tial Billeaud Elementary School in Lafayette can be found outside in shifts, tending to a garden nestled in a small plot beside their school building, watering, weeding and debugging an array of vegetables.
The scene is a typical one at many of the district’s elementary schools, seven of which have joined forces this year with the LSU AgCenter’s School Garden Initiative, a program that aims to teach kids healthy habits by showing them how to grow and cook their own food.
Now in its 16th year, the initiative is part of a movement to get kids curious about agriculture while connecting them to their school community
“So much learning can come from growing plants from seeds,” said Kessler Landry, a master gardener and instructional leader at Martial Billeaud. “There’s something really neat about the kids being able to take care of the plants and grow the food, then harvest it and be willing to try things like brussels sprouts and cabbage.”
At least once a week students sit through a classroom lesson with a master gardener, then head outside to apply what they learned in the garden. Classroom teachers incorporate some of what students learn, such as temperature, precipitation and learning how to decipher charts and graphs, into the school’s general math and science curriculum.
The School Garden Initiative pulls curriculum material and lessons from the junior master gardener program at Texas A&M University as well as Seeds to Success, a USDA-funded program developed through the State Department of Education and the LSU AgCenter
“It’s connecting nutrition education, the classroom curriculum and the garden as an outdoor laboratory,” said Charles Hebert, Extension Agent/4-H Youth Development in Lafayette Parish with the LSU AgCenter The program focuses on a different theme each month. In February, students learned about the life spans of different plants and the difference between biennials — plants that grow every two years — and perennials, which live for three or more and the
that each team
Jan Risher
8 ways to make new friends
This month marks the third anniversary of our moving to a new city — our first move in 20 years. Our two young-adult daughters who have been living on their own for several years were not the conduits to friendship that they were the last time we moved. Then, the parents of their friends became our friends. This go round, we were on our own. After decades of making and collecting friends all over, I faced the big ol’ question: How does a full-grown adult in a new place make new friends?
Three years in, I’ve made some new friends. But the truth is, I’m still figuring out the answer to that question — and, occasionally, I’m still lonely I share that to normalize the feeling. Lots of people are lonely these days. So, what can we do about it? We live in a busy world where finding opportunities to connect often don’t come easy. If the timing is off — say two people are in different phases of life — creating a friendship is tough. Proximity plays an important role too. Being friends with neighbors is easier than being friends with someone who lives on the other side of town.
Plus, becoming good friends takes time. Jeffrey Hall, a Kansas University professor, found that most people require roughly 50 hours of time together to move from acquaintances to casual friends. From there, Hall found that it takes about 90 hours to go from casual friendship to real “friends” and then more than 200 hours before a person can consider another a “close friend.”
Sanya Nayeem, a journalist in Canada, developed the “11-3-6 friendship formula Nayeem’s research shows that it takes a minimum of 11 meetings that last at least 3 hours and occur within a period of six months to “turn an acquaintance into a true friend.”
So how do you do all of that?
Here are eight ways:
Be a joiner
plant hardiness map, which gardeners and farmers use to determine which plants are most likely to thrive in a given location in the U.S., including which fruits and vegetables grow well in Louisiana
For many students, the opportunity is their first time experiencing gardening’s trial-and-error process.
“It’s kind of hard to grow vegetables because you have to know the exact steps and when to grow them,” said third grader Amelie LaBiche.
“Something I learned is that there’s a difference between good bugs and bad bugs,” said Mila Russo, also in third grade. “You have to look under the leaves and make sure the plants aren’t getting eaten by bad bugs.”
Initially launched three decades ago, the program, which gives participating schools grant money using federal, state and local funding, was on hiatus for several years after the university deemed it unsustainable to continue due to lack of staffing.
When the center decided to bring the initiative back to life in 2009, “we knew we needed a sustainability plan, and that was to incorporate a collective community of people,” Hebert said.
That plan meant bringing on board school leaders and staff, as well as master gardener volunteers — individuals
who are considered subject matter experts — to assist with teaching classes.
“The staff and students would develop the skills necessary to manage and sustain the gardens independently on a regular basis,” said Hebert.
Gardening can be physically and mentally beneficial to young children, research has shown, helping them learn more about nutrition, improve their cognitive skills and increase their physical activity levels. Various studies have found that kids who participate in school gardening programs often see better results on math and science tests, as well as higher GPAs.
According to Hebert, gardening can also help students create a sense of community and strengthen family bonds.
“We want them to grow their own vegetables and take them home to their parents,” he said. “In today’s society, people don’t sit with their family and eat. We want more kids to bring their families back together.”
For many students, one of the most exciting aspects of the program is the annual cookoff that happens the first weekend of every February
Each participating school forms a team of three to five students, who work
Repetitively going to places and seeing the same people who have shared interests leads to friendship. I’ve done this by joining a book club and joining a church. I’ve made friends in both places.
Volunteering is another way. Invite people to join you
In other cities where I lived as an adult, I started a ladies’ investment club, with the dozen or so women in the clubs becoming anchor friends for me. I haven’t started one yet in our new home, but I’m considering it.
I have hosted events in my home though and unlike Instagram, they have not been picture perfect. But they have been a lot of fun. I believe inviting people into your home is a building block of getting to know people and making friends.
I’ve hosted people for a pestomaking party, New Year’s vision board parties, a ridiculous $10 shopping spree for two dozen friends, followed by a fashion show It was over-the-top silliness and incredible fun.
Inviting someone for a walk or lunch works well.
The thing about inviting people to do things is this — they may not come. Do it anyway
Go outside
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Instructional leader Kessler Landry and students Amelie LaBiche, 9, from left; Michael Perez 9; Alli Welch, 9; and Mila Russo, 8 look for Brussels sprouts under the plant leaves recently at Martial Billeaud Elementary School in Broussard.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Martial Billeaud Elementary School students recently competed in the regional cookoff. Each participating school forms a team of three to five students, who work with a local chef, an elected official and a school teacher to create a meal with a themedmenu board based on USDA MyPlate standards, which emphasize vegetable-heavy meals with whole grains and lean proteins. Competition rules require
use at least two vegetables from their school garden.
Louisiana Inspired Book Club to meet March 18
BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer
The much-anticipated Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough Inspired Book Club’s virtual statewide discussion is approaching Jan Risher will facilitate the discussion of “From Here to the Great Unknown,” with a panel of guests at 12:15 p.m. on March 18.
The panelists joining the discussion are Roy Turner and Annie Vaden. Both are uniquely prepared to talk about the book and subject matter Turner is a Tupelo, Mississippi, native and the executive director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo. Although his career was spent in the manufacturing business, after retirement, Turner joined the team at the Birthplace His deep connections to the Presley family give him in-
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a neighbor We’ve become great friends. For months, we ended up walking around the neighborhood together and got to know each other well.
Talk to people
Paying attention and listening to people provides a chance to notice details that indicate shared or surprising interests. These provide the perfect jumping-off place to start a conversation.
As a journalist with the livedexperience, I know that if I ask people good questions, most of the time, they will talk to me. If I am interested, keep listening, ask occasional questions — and occasionally share my own stories — they will share and share and share with me.
sights and perspective that will add to the discussion of the book, including the way the family, especially Lisa Marie Presley, dealt with the grief that permeated her life
Vaden is the lead social worker in the palliative care and hematology-oncology departments of Manning Family Children’s (formerly Children’s Hospital of New Orleans)
She works with the Trauma and Grief Center to facilitate grief therapy groups for children and adolescents and has specialized training in grief and bereavement Vaden will be able to give insight into Presley and Keough’s experiences To join the discussion, go to youtube.com/live/1dTO8HQ5l2U
Find a way to stay in touch
Social media makes this much easier than it used to be. When I meet people I believe could become friends, I say, “Are you on Instagram or Facebook?” And that link provides an opportunity to reconnect potentially
Ask for help
If a new prospective friend has a hobby I’m interested in — whether it’s metal detecting, birding, knitting, weaving, gel printing, making homemade pasta or whatever — asking for help in learning something is a great way to get to know someone better
Shopping can be a low-risk activity that can be fun to do together If I have a big event coming up and need to look my best, I’ve asked prospective friends with a sense of style to go shopping with me. I have literally said, “You’ve got a great sense of
TIGER STADIUM
and
at 12:15 p.m. on March 18. Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.
style. Could you help me?”
Host an informal dinner party
Dinner parties don’t have to be fancy Even potluck suppers are a great way to mix, mingle and get to know people better
Again, if your home isn’t perfect, that’s great! No home needs to be perfect. While social media has helped us be able to stay in touch with each other, it has hurt us in setting unreasonable expectations in home decor and meals. Help normalize end tables that don’t match!
Host a game night For board game fanatics like myself, this one should be easy
As I made this list, I realized that I used to host them often, but I haven’t hosted a game night in a long time. I think I will tonight.
Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.
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with a local chef, an elected official and a school teacher to create a meal with a themedmenu board based on USDA MyPlate standards, which emphasize vegetable-heavy meals with whole grains and lean proteins. Competition rules require that each team use at least two vegetables from their school garden.
Teams are given an hour to prepare their meal, then judges interview each group to learn about their gardening experience and why they chose the dish they created. After, the teams give a presentation where they present nutrition facts about the garden-grown vegetables they chose and share their meal with the audience.
The event is called Cuisine de Jardin, French for “we cook from the garden.”
The winning team’s meal is served to the more than 30,000 students in the Lafayette Parish School System the following October in honor of National Farm to School month and National Nutrition Week.
For the second year in a row, Martial Billeaud Elementary took home first place. This year’s dish? Pizza soup, and can-
nolis with garden-grown mint and strawberries for dessert. The program “has really become a bigger part of our school than we thought it was going to be,” Landry said. “Several kids now have home gardens because of the initiative. It’s become part of the school culture.”
Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate.com.
9 Imagination Library Kickoff Party with the Krewe of Dolly March 9 Art for All day, complimentary admission courtesy of the Helis Foundation March 15
2:00 pm ATale of Two Boots: Italian Folk Music Exploration
March 16
March 21 3:00pm, 4:00 pm Food Science Friday
March 22 9:30 am -3:30 pm Earn and Learn at LCM, financial literacy day, in partnership with theSociety of Louisiana CPAs. Complimentary admission courtesy of agenerous donor March 23
2:00 pm Spring Fling Wiggle Party
12:30 pm, 1:30pm, and 2:30 pm Unplugging music and reading presentationwith Britt Gondolfi author of Look Up March 19 4:30 pm -5:30 pm Big Backyard Outdoor EducationWorkshop March 19 11:30am Backyard Fun for National Backyard Day March 20 4:30 pm -6:30 pm Sensory-Friendly Playtime
Vaden Turner
PROVIDED PHOTO
Louisiana Inspired Book Club’s first book for 2025 is ‘From Here to the Great Unknown’ by Lisa Marie Presley
Riley Keough.
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Tatum Carpenter, 8, from left; Caroline Poirrier, 9; Theo DuBois, 8; and Camden Naquin, 8, check out their strawberry plants under the guidance of Charles Hebert, county agent for the LSU AgCenter, recently at Martial Billeaud Elementary School in Broussard
PROVIDED PHOTO
Martial Billeaud Elementary School students competed in the regional cookoff in February. Competition rules require that each team use at least two vegetables from their school garden.
N.O. Pelicans and Saints massage therapist shares journey
Mandeville native learned through grit and resilience
BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer
Amanda Martinez is a Mandeville native and massage therapist for the New Orleans Pelicans and New Orleans Saints, as well as the owner of Massage D’ville in Mandeville. She has been practicing massage therapy for 11 years and is a mother of two. Martinez’s road to business ownership and working with professional athletes was not an easy one In 1999 when she was 15, she was in a difficult place and ended up going to Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska, where she lived with other teenage girls in a family home and graduated in 2002.
Boys Town is a nonprofit child and family care organization that has been helping others since 1917. Based in Omaha, the organization has programs across the country, including New Orleans Boys Town Louisiana was founded in 1989 and offers Head Start programs, parenting courses, diagnostic and assessment services, Family Home sites, in-home services for families in crisis and a work development program. How did your experience at Boys Town shape your life?
I was a hard-headed teenager, and it was the best decision for my life at the time, to go there. While I was there, Boys Town taught me lots of skills. Before, I didn’t really have any guidance, so they gave me the guidance I needed on how to be a good student. They pushed me to step outside of myself, and it was more of a family environment than what I had come from. They created an environment for kids to thrive. I had family teachers There were seven other girls in the house, but we all lived as one family.
We all cooked for each other and took turns doing chores. We were like sisters. I’m still in touch with a lot of the girls who I was in school with, and it’s just an extended fam-
ily We still maintain that connection.
We would do family outings, just normal stuff that families do. A lot of us came from environments where going to movies with your family wasn’t something that you did. In my situation, my mom was always working, so it was me raising my sister and brother We didn’t really get to do fun things like that. Boys Town gave us the opportunity to be a kid and to be a teenager
Are there any lessons that you learned there that you still implement today?
Boys Town taught us problem solving skills A lot of us were so reactive before we went there.
They gave us a chance to slow down and think, to be able to handle a situation in an appropriate way They helped us to find the confidence in ourselves. By putting us into sports and pushing us to do electives, we were able to find that grit within ourselves and push ourselves past our boundaries. We were able to dig deep and find who we are, and find our inner strength.
I always have the Boys Town motto, “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother,” in the back of my mind.
This has instilled values of being of service to others in the community when there is a need. We were taught to give back and honor others.
Whenever you have conflict with your daughters,what comes back to you from your experience at Boys Town?
Boys Town definitely had an influence on how I raise my daughters by teaching them how to problem solve and think situations through teaching them how to navigate through issues and that mistakes are not the end of the world. A mistake is a learning opportunity
Also, helping them to get involved in extracurriculars and step outside of their norms, and pushing them to be the best version of themselves that they can be. I keep the door open for them and allow a safe space for them to be themselves A lot of kids don’t have a safe space where they’re able to be themselves. And that’s just one thing that I like to try to do as a parent. What do you think people don’t understand about teenagers in tough situations? These kids have so much more to worry about. Some of them go
to school and fear for their lives.
Some of them don’t have, especially in New Orleans, a lot of extracurriculars to go to.
They’re not provided safe spaces. Boys Town provided that safe space and that network of people there to help. We were put in an environment that helped us to thrive.
How do you use your BoysTown experience in working with professional athletes?
When I was actually at Boys Town, I worked with a lot of the athletes. I was their version of an equipment manager It was an easy transition.
I find that my experience helps me connect with some of them better because I was once in an environment where I was surrounded by a bunch of people I didn’t know
A lot of these guys are coming in from all over the place. Yeah, they’re professional athletes, but they’re people, too.
So just providing warmth and being a friend to them. They have
such a different mentality at the professional level. They seem to naturally have those personality traits that Boys Town kids have, so there’s kind of a connection — that determination, that grit.
How would you describe the kind of environment around a professional sports team?
It’s a team environment. With my employees, we’re a team. We pick up where the other lacks. We all have each other’s backs. It is inspiring to know that everybody’s there for a bigger purpose than ourselves.
It’s humbling at the same time.
I’m definitely grateful to be there. You know, every time I walk in, I get a chill.
Do you know someone who is making a difference or creating solutions? Let us know about them.
Email Joy Holden at joy.holden@ theadvocate.com.
Email Joy Holden at joy.holden@ theadvocate.com.
Meet America’s Favorite Fisherman at the Louisiana Sportsman Show.JimmyHoustonhad such agood time at the2024 Show,thatheis returningin2025. Jimmyand his boatwill be at theshowMarch 28-30! On
Amanda Martinez is a massage therapist for the Saints and Pelicans and a graduate of Boys Town.
PROVIDED PHOTOS
Amanda Martinez works in a massage therapy session with a Saints player.
FAITH & VALUES
Hindu devotional singing rises in popularity
BY RICHA KARMARKAR
Contributing writer
The winner of the 2025 Grammy Award for best new age, ambient or chant album a category once dominated by Enya — was an album titled “Triveni,” meaning “the confluence of three rivers” in Sanskrit, an apt description for its weaving of Vedic chants, melodic flute and cello by India’s Chandrika Tandon, South Africa’s Wouter Kellerman and Japan’s Eru Matsumoto.
The name, which is given to the meeting point of the holy Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers, said singer Tandon, came to her in one of her daily meditations.
“It was a beautiful coincidence that our album called Triveni won the Grammy on Vasant Panchami when the Maha Prayag was going on,” Tandon told RNS, referring to the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela festival held where the three rivers meet in Prayagraj, India, considered one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in the nation. The world’s largest gathering of humanity, with 400 million people attending this year the Kumbh Mela happens every 12 years, with this year’s celebration, the Maha Kumbh Mela, happening only every 144 years, when the sun, the moon and Jupiter align.
“Think what you like, say what you like, but one has to just smile at this incredible coincidence,” Tandon said.
Tandon was a prominent business mogul for more than half her life, the namesake of New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering and sister to former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. Twenty-five years ago, however, Tandon faced what she describes as a “crisis of spirit.”
“I knew I had everything, and yet I felt like I had nothing,” she said. “If I died today, what is it that I want to have accomplished? Is it just more money, more climbing up the ladder or was there something else that would just give me happiness and make each day complete?”
That something else, she found, was devotional music. Pulling from the mantras she once heard as a little girl in Chennai, Tandon found a new purpose in creating melodies and “praying into the notes” as a form of meditation. “Music helped me find myself,” said Tandon, the creator of six albums of her own.
And according to Tandon, the Grammy win signifies a larger cultural moment, helping young people all over the world discover the “extraordinary gems” of the ancient Vedic traditions. “Instead of a traditional Indian ornate piece of jewelry I’ve simply put them in a completely Western jewelry setting,” said Tandon “Suddenly it’s more apparent, it’s more discernible, more relatable. And suddenly there’s this curiosity about, ‘What is that? It makes me feel so good!’”
According to Tandon and other devotional musicians, the melodic repetition of Vedic mantras, often associated with the many names of the tradition’s various deities, has proved to calm the mind for centuries The 21st is no different, they say, as they see a burgeoning space for the spiritually curious youth seeking a respite from the fast-paced internet culture they grew up in. Now, a new generation of kirtan artists is leading the charge on Hindu sacred music
Amid confusing times says devotional musician Gaura Vani, Generations Z and X have found a way to articu-
late their complicated emotions and feelings through the call-and-response style of kirtans, the devotional songs commonly associated with the Hare Krishna faith.
“This is almost a miraculous thing to say, but in this world of social media and phone addiction and all that, the kids in the Krishna community are doing the craziest thing: Without anyone telling them to, they will find a weekend where everyone’s free, they will dress to the nines together, and find a temple or a space where they will do kirtans for, like, 10 hours straight,” he told RNS. “It’s crazy It makes no sense in the modern world, but they’re doing it.”
Vani, born into an American Hare Krishna family just performed his first solo live concert at Mumbai’s Royal Opera House in late January Once the head of the successful early 2000s “Krishna-conscious” rock band As Kindred Spirits, Vani joined musicians from the East and the West for a fusion of world music, mantra, pop and rock. “It’s all about spiritual stories and spiritual music from around the globe,” he said. “That’s kind of my jam.”
Some form of singing or chanting takes place in almost every Hindu tradition says Vani, but the bhakti, or devotional, tradition practiced by members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON, places an emphasis on music as a way to connect with the Divine, and “as a way to create harmony, peace in the world, peace in oneself and to heal both spiritually and physically.”
The Maha Mantra, a repetition of the words “Hare,” or praise, “Krishna” and “Rama,” set to any melody
the singer, or kirtaniya, chooses, is an ISKCON staple. This Sanskrit call-andresponse, with the names of God sung alongside a harmonium and a mridanga, a type of drum, says Vani, can lead participants to a “flow state” where it may feel like “music is kind of descending from the heavens and coming out through you.”
“It’s the closest thing to ecstasy I’ve ever experienced,” said Vani.
Steeped in this tradition since birth, Vani and his wife, a trained Indian classical dancer, have now surrounded their three teenage children with song and dance. But as Vani has taught his kids, spiritual meaning is not limited to kirtans: “If you look for it, spiritual music is all around us, in all cultures,” he said, from gospel to Sufi Zikr to praise music from South Africa. And, says Vani, it’s in his daily playlist of Nora Jones, George Harrison, the Talking Heads and The Police. (The latter’s song “Spirits in the Material World” is, he said, a personal family favorite.)
Premanjali Dejager, a 24-year-old “Krishna kid” — a term of endearment for those raised in a Hare Krishna household — lives in New York’s Bhakti Center ashram and doesn’t go a day without chanting the Maha Mantra a few times The kirtaniya, who grew up in Australia, says kirtans can feel like a “spiritual dance party,” where “teenage angst” and “club dance moves” meet in a safe, nondestructive environment.
“When you’re in the midst of it, like, when someone is really singing from their heart and, like, really connecting, you feel that sense of connection in the room,” Dejager, who grew up in
Australia, told RNS. “It’s just contagious.”
Dejager has sung around the world with her guru Indradyumna Swami, known as the Travelling Monk, since graduating gurukul, or “spiritual high school,” in 2018. But, she said, she wasn’t always so musically inclined. “I was actually a really terrible singer,” she said, recalling that she was removed from her primary school’s singing group because she “just couldn’t sing on key.”
Yet taking singing lessons in jazz and pop music grew Dejager’s confidence, and she started posting devotional singing videos on social media, some of them “really cringy.” Today, she has more than 50,000 Instagram followers and her own virtual kirtan school, where she has, since 2021, taught other aspiring singers over Zoom that what’s important is “being real,” or coming as you are to the devotional practice.
“Sometimes, if I’m feeling really sad or going through something difficult or having to make a difficult decision, that’s what’s on my mind,” she said. “It’ll just be a prayer offering of like, ‘Krishna, I need your help here. I need your guidance.’
And sometimes it does happen where I’m having to catch myself from like spacing out, and my mind goes everywhere. It is a practice of constantly trying to bring the mind back and just trying to bring my heart into the picture.”
Nikita Bhasin, a California native, considers herself more spiritual than religious.
A certified yoga instructor since the age of 17 Bhasin was raised attending and singing devotionals at the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach
— a common story of being “dragged along by my family.”
“I left all the kirtan stuff behind because I was older and I didn’t have to do what my parents told me to do,” Bhasin, 27, told RNS.
But Bhasin eventually found her way back to the music, when she learned yoga from an instructor who began practice with the same chants she heard as a child, but in a “more digestible” 10-minute format rather than the three hours she spent at the temple. She took up the harmonium and now opens and closes each of her yoga classes in New York, barring if they are in a gym setting, with a Sanskrit chant, often to the theme of the asanas, or postures, such as repeating “Jai Ma,” or hail Mother Earth, in a class about “balancing opposition.” Many of her students have never chanted before holding varying beliefs (or no beliefs) about God, some coming only for the physical asanas of yoga. Bhasin invites them to “put their own spin” on the ancient practice.
“A lot of these chants, you are chanting to something higher than yourself,” she said. “And there’s a lot of interpretations of that. There’s thousands of lineages that think of God or divine as something different: Divine could be a hug from your friend, or it could be feeling like you’re not on autopilot and are grateful and connecting with people in your life. “It’s been interesting, because a lot of people tell me after class that they haven’t sung since they were like 10 years old, and this is how they’re coming back to their body and coming back to this childlike spirit of just letting go,” she said.
Women’s Empowerment Center comes to Baton Rouge
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
Editor’s note: This story mentions domestic violence For support, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 7997233, or find your parish crisis line here
The unveiling of Baton Rouge’s new women’s empowerment center in February was a celebration. Two different dance troupes performed. There was an a cappella rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” And the supporters who stood at the podium to give speeches about the center hailed it as a haven for the women who, in the words of a minister who spoke, “take hits.”
“We take hits when we trust men, our partners, with everything that we have, and in return, we are abused and used,” Tonja Myles, of Set Free Indeed Ministry, said.
But the new center operated by the Baton Rouge chapter of the Young Women’s Christian Association, will give women the space to admit they are hurt, accept help and find their strength, Myles said, her voice getting louder
“This place will do that, because at the end of the day, we all deserve to heal,” Myles said. “Healing is our birthright.”
Louisiana ranked fifth in the nation for women murdered by men in 2020, according to the Violence Policy Center using the most recent year reliable data was available. Resources for women experiencing domestic violence exist in Baton Rouge, but according to YWCA CEO Dianna Payton, they are spread across agencies, not always accessible to women who are new to navigating the social services and court system.
The YWCA opened the Women’s Empowerment
STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Dianna Payton, CEO of yWCA Greater Baton Rouge, welcomes everyone to the opening of the new women’s empowerment center on Thursday in Baton Rouge.
Center to provide comprehensive services, including case management, mental health support, pro-bono legal assistance, child care support and classes, all in one building
“There’s so many nuances, and every person’s journey is different — and it’s making sure no matter where they’re landing, we’re there to catch them when they fall,” Payton said.
When they enter the renovated Mid City Gardens Building, visitors will find legal offices, meeting rooms and public computers, where they can get help filing a restraining order or applying to jobs, for example.
All women and families are welcome to the center regardless of what they are going through, Payton said. In addition to services for women in domestic violence situations, the center hosts recreational activities, including trauma-informed movement in the new dance studio and art therapy Visitors can also relax in the outdoor garden. There are no income requirements or other cri-
teria to receive services, Payton said.
“The work continues to get new layers and depth as we meet partners who are willing to come on and join us in the work,” Payton said.
The project took shape over the past two years through a partnership with the Louisiana Housing Corporation, who financed the space, built in 2013, and accepted the YWCA’s bid to lease it and create a women’s empowerment center.
Chief programs officer Brenda Evans said the Women’s Empowerment Center aligns with the Louisiana Housing Corporation’s mission to lift up families and build strong communities.
“Instead of having to go to several different outlets, we have a group of professionals there that can help you with your physical, mental, emotional needs,” Evans said. “It’s a one-stop shop for women and families and children.”
Payton, a former social worker, said the opening of the center fulfills her purpose to empower women and families She strives to address the gaps in the
Dancers from Southern University perform during the opening
Dancers from Southern University finish a dance routine while moving through the audience during the opening
SUNDAY, MArch 9, 2025
CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley
SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr
GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley
HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne
MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters
ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson
ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE / by Stephan Pastis
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.
word game
instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
todAY's Word — VerAcitY: vuh-RASSih-tee: Conformity with truth or fact.
Average mark 39 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 48 or more words in VERACITY?
ken ken
instructions: 1 - Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 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.
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 Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
directions: Complete the grid so that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally
Sudoku
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
mCCLain
super Quiz
Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for
Tough play to make
South in today’s deal was Australian Joe Haffer North-South were playing negative doubles, as most do these days, so South’s free bid of one spade promised at least five spades.
East won the opening heart lead and cashed another high heart. He was end-played at this point and had no good exit, so he tried the eight of diamonds. Haffer captured West’s jack with dummy’s ace and took some time to think. East’s aggressive bidding, thought Haffer, marked him with both black kings.
Neither finesse was likely to be successful, so Haffer took neither one. He cashed dummy’s ace of spades and led a diamond to his queen. He led a diamond to dummy’s 10 as East shed a heart.
Haffer discarded a club on the king of diamonds and led a spade from dummy. East won with the king but had to lead a club from the king of clubs or yield a ruff-sluff. 10 tricks either way. Nicely played!
Haffer played the hand well, but the defense might have prevailed. The East-West methods
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Reevaluate what you want. Attend a social event that offers a unique perspective regarding new possibilities. Keep an open mind, but don’t let anyone take control.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Retreat and give yourself a chance to carefully evaluate each situation you face Acting in haste will lead to poor decisions. Get your facts straight, and you’ll find better alternatives.
were that West’s eight-of-hearts lead was either from a short suit or included the 10. East could have risked leading a low heart at trick two. West would take his 10 and surely find the winning club shift. Maybe next time.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Spend more time at home. Don’t rely on others to make choices for you Giving someone else jurisdiction over your life will leave you feeling incapable and doubting yourself. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Speak up, be clear and deflect anyone’s attempt to manipulate you or your choices. Listen carefully, and you will gain insight into someone’s ulterior motives. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Work behind the scenes to bring about change, and you’ll avoid interference. Pie-in-the-sky ideas may excite you, but refuse to get caught up in someone else’s dream.
about your business. Don’t feel you have to accommodate others. Focus on being your best through learning, experiencing and growing.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) A little sparkle will go a long way. Do your best to get out and mingle with people who need a little cheer. It will change your perspective about life, love and what’s important to you.
pared to experience deep, powerful feelings.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Let your imagination take you on a journey that helps you uncover your feelings. It’s a good time to implement a positive lifestyle change.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) A positive attitude will carry weight. Worry less about what others do while going
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) You have plenty to gain whether you travel physically or spiritually. Openmindedness will lead to encounters with interesting people. Be pre-
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) You’ll be torn between what you want to do and what others expect. Get your act together and organize a schedule to take care of both. Disappointment will come from procrastination.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Refuse to let anyone interfere or talk you out of following your instincts. A
positive change will improve your lifestyle, position and reputation Choose practicality over emotions. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your energy into making the most of what you already have. Refuse to get bamboozled by someone offering something too good to be true. Peace of mind is worth far more than an unrealistic desire.
1. "Moby-Dick." 2. "Fahrenheit 451." 3. "Elmer Gantry." 4. "The Old Man and the Sea."
5. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" ("1984"). 6. "The Color Purple." 7. "Slaughterhouse-Five." 8. "Peter Pan." 9. "The Razor's Edge." 10 "A Tale of Two Cities." 11. "Beloved." 12 "Catch-22." 13 "The Great Gatsby." 14. "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." 15. "Grtavity's Rainbow."
SCORING: 24 to 30 points — congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points honors graduate; 13 to 17 points — you’re plenty smart, but no grind; 5 to 12 points — you really should hit the books harder; 1 point to 4 points — enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0 points — who reads the questions to you?
Cryptoquote Answer
Saturday's Cryptoquote: Never give a sword to a man who can't dance. — Confucius
word GAme Answer
sudoKu Answer jumble Answer
Crossword Answers
sCrAbble Answers
wuzzles Answers
Ken Ken Answers
hidAto Answers
jeFF mACnelly’s shoe / by Gary Brookins & Susie MacNelly
