The Times-Picayune 03-13-2025 by The Advocate

Trump helps House leaders pass funding legislation

Resolution to keep government open faces tough fight in Senate

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

ä Military leaders warn of risks to armed forces’ readiness in temporary funding bill.

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WASHINGTON For the second time in as many weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson succeeded in wrangling his narrow and often dysfunctional Republican House majority into passing legislation sought by President Donald Trump. Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said Trump personally played a big role in accomplishing both legislative wins. Tuesday’s successful effort to approve a resolution that would avert a government shutdown noticeably lacked the frenetic arm twisting and ﬁnger-pointing witnessed on the chamber ﬂoor Feb. 25 that secured just enough support for Trump’s “one big beautiful” budget bill. By contrast, Tuesday’s “continuing resolution,” which authorizes government spending from Saturday until Sept. 30, was relatively relaxed.

“You see President Trump pushing, as well as all of us in our House leadership, to get this bill passed.”

HOUSE MAJORITy LEADER STEVE SCALISE, R-Jefferson

“You see President Trump pushing, as well as all of us in our House leadership, to get this bill passed,” said Scalise. He noted that Vice President JD Vance came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning. Vance “did a great job of really laying out why it’s so important that we keep the government open and pass this bill so that we can continue on with the great work that’s being done to get our

economy back on track, to get our country moving again.”

Johnson leads a 218-214 Republican majority in the House, meaning if two GOP representatives vote on the Democratic side, he loses. In the last Congress, the Republican House could rarely rally its majority But a combination of an endless round of meetings with representatives and help from the White House has kept Republicans together enough to pass the two bills so important to Trump.

The sweeping budget measure allows lawmakers to draft appropriations bills that would include language enacting Trump’s wants for restricting immigration, deporting more immigrants, expanding energy exploration, and continuing his signature tax breaks that are about to expire. It also orders House committees to ﬁnd at least $1.5 trillion in budget cuts which many fear will result in drastic changes to Medicaid. This budget blueprint bill, called reconciliation, passed the House with one vote to spare and is now pending in the Senate.

ä See SPEAKER, page 4A

Lawmakers eye UNO changes

University could shift back into LSU system

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

In a move aimed at stabilizing the University of New Orleans as it confronts an urgent financial crisis, state lawmakers are ﬂoating the idea of shifting UNO back into the LSU system, a change in oversight that proponents hope will give the school more resources and attention. For more than a decade UNO has been part of the University of

Louisiana system, which oversees nine higher education institutions across the state. Before that, it was part of the LSU system, a relationship that at times grew contentious because UNO administrators felt that the system’s leaders overlooked the lakefront university in favor of LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge. But now, as the university works its way out of a multimillion-dollar deficit, state education officials say a reversion back to the LSU system could provide more long-term stability because of its additional resources and more centralized administrative structure. The

move could impact UNO operations, from accounting and course offerings to sports, as well as possibly change school leadership. The potential transition would be “a matter of significant importance for the future of higher education in our state,” state Senate President Cameron Henry and Speaker of the House Phillip DeVillier wrote in a letter last month. Henry and DeVillier formally requested that the Board of Regents, which coordinates Louisiana’s public higher education systems, study the “financial, academic

ä See UNO, page 4A

FEMA overhaul seeks La. advice

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s advisory council on FEMA’s future wants to hear from the Louisiana Governor’s Ofﬁce of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said GOHSEP Director Jacques Thibodeaux. There could be many reasons. As the frequent target of hurricanes, ﬂoods and tornadoes, Louisiana has been working closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 30 years to provide recovery and mitigation funds for individuals and local governments, Thibodeaux said. The federal agency has open programs in Louisiana for 10 disasters, giving the state’s emergency

Trump administration eyes disaster agency’s future ä See FEMA, page 4A

Advocates speak out against execution

BY JOHN SIMERMAN and ANDREA GALLO Staff writers

Chef Susan Spicer, deli owner Dan Stein and Dirty Coast founder Blake Haney are among more than 100 New Orleans-area business owners, artists and lawyers who have signed onto a letter to Gov Jeff Landry arguing that restarting executions in Louisiana would hurt Louisiana’s bottom line.

It’s the latest action by anti-death penalty advocates as a potential March 18 execution date looms for Jessie Hoffman Jr., who was convicted in St Tammany Parish in the 1996 kidnapping, rape and murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott. That date is in question, as a federal appeals court considers a judge’s ruling from Tuesday that granted

Nitrogen gas scheduled to be used on March 18 ä See EXECUTION, page 4A

Thibodeaux

STAFF FILE

PHOTO By BRETT DUKE State lawmakers are floating the idea of shifting the University of New Orleans back into the LSU system.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

President Donald Trump, center, accompanied by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, left, and Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin, walks down the stairs of the U.S. Capitol after a luncheon on Wednesday.

USDA ends Local Foods for Schools program

WASHINGTON The U.S Agriculture Department is ending two pandemic-era programs that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farmers and producers.

About $660 million of that went to schools and childcare centers to buy food for meals through the Local Foods for Schools program. A separate program provided money to food banks.

The cuts will hurt school districts with “chronically underfunded” school meal budgets, said Shannon Gleave, president of the School Nutrition Association.

“In addition to losing the benefits for our kids, this loss of funds is a huge blow to community farmers and ranchers and is detrimental to school meal programs struggling to manage rising food and labor costs,” Gleave said in a statement USDA said the programs are a legacy of the pandemic and no longer supported the agency’s priorities.

School nutrition directors are bracing for potential rollbacks to programs that expanded funding for school meals, which for some children can be their only reliable source of food.

Proposed spending cuts to fund Republicans’ tax bill include raising the poverty level needed for schools to provide universal free meals without an application. Restricting eligibility for food assistance programs and requiring income veriﬁcation for free or reduced price school meals would also likely cut out eligible families from accessing food, the School Nutrition Association said.

Kuwait frees a group of jailed Americans

WASHINGTON Kuwait has released a group of American prisoners, including veterans and military contractors jailed for years on drug-related charges, in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill between two allies, a representative for the detainees told The Associated Press on Wednesday

The release follows a recent visit to the region by Adam Boehler the Trump administration’s top hostage envoy, and comes amid a continued U.S. government push to bring home American citizens jailed in foreign countries

Six of the newly freed prisoners were accompanied on a ﬂight from Kuwait to New York by Jonathan Franks, a private consultant who works on cases involving American hostages and detainees and who had been in the country to help secure their release.

The names of the released prisoners were not immediately made public.

Captain of cargo ship that hit tanker in custody

LONDON The captain of a cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker is a Russian national who remains in U.K. police custody, the vessel’s owner said Wednesday, as it emerged that the ship failed several safety checks last year

The 59-year-old man, who hasn’t been named by authorities, was arrested by police in northeast England Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence over the collision. He hasn’t been charged.

Shipping company Ernst Russ, which owns the Portugal-ﬂagged cargo vessel Solong, said that the ship’s 14 crew were a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals.

U.K. authorities say they have found no evidence of foul play in the crash, and there is nothing so far to indicate that it’s connected to national security.

The cargo ship collided Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a tanker transporting jet fuel for the U.S. military in the North Sea off eastern England.

CORRECTION

A photo caption with a Wednesday story about the forthcoming restaurant Evviva incorrectly identiﬁed it as part of the Link Restaurant Group. The new restaurant is not afﬁliated. The Times-Picayune regrets the error.

RITZAU

Surprise victor in Greenland elections

Winning party favors slow path to independence

BY DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

NUUK,Greenland Greenland’s likely new prime minister on Wednesday rejected U.S President Donald Trump’s effort to take control of the island, saying Greenlanders must be allowed to decide their own future as it moves toward independence from Denmark.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s Demokraatit, a pro-business party that favors a slow path to independence, won a surprise victory in Tuesday’s parliamentary election, outpacing the two left-leaning parties that formed the last government. With most Greenlanders opposing Trump’s overtures, the campaign focused more on issues like health care and education than on geopolitics.

But on Wednesday Nielsen was quick to push back against Trump, who last week told a joint session of Congress that the U.S. needed Greenland to protect its own national security interests and he expected to get it one way or the other.”

“We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future,” Nielsen, 33, told Britain’s Sky News. “And we want to build our own country by ourselves.”

Greenland a self-governing region of Denmark, has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, when the government in Copenhagen recognized its right to self-determination under international law Four of the ﬁve main parties in the election supported independence, though they disagreed on when and how to achieve it.

The island of 56,000 people, most from

indigenous Inuit backgrounds, has attracted international attention since Trump announced his designs on it Trump is focused on Greenland because it straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and is home to the U.S.’s Pitufﬁk Space Base, which supports missile warning and space surveillance operations. Greenland also has large deposits of the rare-earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology

But Trump’s overtures weren’t on the ballot.

The 31 men and women elected to parliament on Tuesday will have to set priorities for issues such as diversifying Greenland’s economy, building infrastructure and improving health care, as well as shaping the country’s strategy for countering the president’s America First agenda.

Demokraatit won 29.9% of the vote by campaigning to improve housing and educational standards while delaying independence until Greenland is selfsufﬁcient. Four years ago, the party ﬁnished in fourth place with 9.1%.

Nuuk resident Anthon Nielsen said the party’s victory would be good for the country. “Most politicians want Greenland to be independent,” he said. “But this party who won, they don’t want to hurry things so everything must be done right.”

Demokraatit will have to turn its attention to forming a governing coalition.

Naleraq, the most aggressively proindependence party, ﬁnished in second place, with 24.5% of the vote. It was followed by Inuit Ataqatigiit, which led the last government, at 21.4%.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen congratulated Demokraatit and warned that Greenland’s new government would likely have to “deal with massive pressure” from Trump.

Military leaders tell senators flat budget will hurt readiness

BY LOLITA C BALDOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON Military service leaders told senators Wednesday that passing a temporary budget that keeps defense spending largely ﬂat will hurt readiness and efforts to modernize the armed forces.

The vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force said that if they don’t get additional funding, they at least need the ﬂexibility to shift money to ensure priorities are covered. Congress has been unable to get through a full 2025 ﬁscal year budget and instead has passed temporary stopgap measures that largely keep funding at 2024 levels.

A bill passed Tuesday by the House would increase defense spending by about $6 billion and trim $13 billion in non-defense spending, which are rather ﬂat changes for both categories when compared with an overall topline of nearly $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending.

The legislation now moves to the Senate.

This would be the ﬁrst year that Congress hasn’t passed a defense spending bill and will instead use a full-year continuing resolution, the military leaders said They said that continuing the 2024 budget lines doesn’t allow the services to start new contracts, including for weapon modernization or housing and other improvements.

“Ultimately, the Army can afford a large, ready or modern force, but with the current budget, it cannot afford all three,” Gen. James Mingus, vice chief of staff of the Army told the Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee “Either we provide soldiers the capabilities needed to win or accept greater risks in other areas.”

He warned that the Army will pay for those risks down the road, “not in de-

layed projects or budget adjustments, but in real-world battlefield consequences. We need to invest in the things and training our soldiers need for the next fight, not the last fight.”

Other service leaders echoed his warning, noting that shortfalls in shipbuilding, maintenance and sustainment affect both the Navy and the Marine Corps.

Adm. James Kilby, vice chief of naval operations, said this “will slow shipbuilding, including our amphibious warships.”

Marine leaders have long complained about the lack of critically needed amphibious ships that can transport Marines at sea to combat. As of Wednesday morning, said Gen. Christopher Mahoney, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, just 13 of the Navy’s 32 amphibious ships were available for use.

Air Force Lt Gen. Adrian L. Spain, deputy chief of staff, said the continuing resolution will affect combat readiness in his service “to the tune of about $4 billion.”

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both spoken extensively about the need to focus on military readiness and lethality But the government is also facing drastic cuts in spending and personne.

Senators acknowledged the continuing resolution presents a challenge for the military, but they provided no clear answer on whether ﬂexibility will be built in the spending bill.

“From a readiness standpoint, none of us think this is helpful. What would be worse, in my view, is a government shutdown,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned whether the deployment of active duty forces to the southern border is impeding training and readiness because troops are largely erecting barriers and helping border agents.

Student’s detention will stretch on as lawyers spar

Judge asked to move legal fight to N.J. or La.

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Mahmoud

Khalil will remain detained in Louisiana until at least next week following an initial court hearing in New York on Wednesday over the Trump administration’s plans to deport the Columbia University graduate student for his role in campus protests against Israel.

The brief hearing, which focused on thorny jurisdictional issues, drew hundreds of demonstrators to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to denounce the Saturday arrest of Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident who is married to an American citizen.

Khalil, 30, didn’t attend after initially being held in New Jersey, he was moved to an immigration detention center in Louisiana.

After Khalil’s Manhattan arrest, Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered that the 30-year-old not be deported while the court considers a legal challenge brought by his lawyers, who want Khalil returned to New York and released under supervision.

During Wednesday’s hearing, attorney Brandon Waterman argued on behalf of the Justice Department that the venue for the deportation ﬁght should be moved from New York City to Louisiana or New Jersey because those are the locations where Khalil has been held.

One of Khalil’s lawyers, Ramzi Kassem, told the judge that Khalil was “identified, targeted and detained” because of his advocacy for Palestinian rights and his protected speech He said Khalil has no criminal convictions, but “for some reason, is being detained.”

Kassem also told Furman that Khalil’s legal team hasn’t been able to have a

single attorney-client-protected phone call with him. Furman ordered that the lawyers be allowed to speak with him by phone at least once on Wednesday and Thursday Calling the legal issues “important and weighty,” the judge also directed the two sides to submit a joint letter on Friday describing when they propose to submit written arguments over the legal issues raised by Khalil’s detention. Kassem said Khalil’s lawyers would update their lawsuit on Thursday Some of Khalil’s supporters, many of them wearing a kefﬁyeh and mask, attended the hearing. Hundreds more demonstrated outside the courthouse, beating drums, waving Palestinian flags and chanting for Khalil’s release. The raucous crowd grew quiet, though, to hear Kassem speak.

“As we tried to make clear in court today, what happened to Mahmoud Khalil is nothing short of extraordinary and shocking and outrageous,” Kassem told the crowd. “It should outrage anybody who believes that speech should be free in the United States of America.” Columbia became the center of a U.S. pro-Palestinian protest movement that swept across college campuses nationwide last year Khalil, whose wife is pregnant with their first child, ﬁnished his requirements for a Columbia master’s degree in December Born in Syria, he is a grandson of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homeland, his lawyers said in a legal ﬁling.

President Donald Trump vowed on social media to deport students he described as engaging in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the administration moved to deport him under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that gives the secretary of state the power to deport a noncitizen on foreign policy grounds.

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SCANPIX FOTO PICTURE By MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN

Chairman of Demokraatit, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, center hugs supporters during the election party at cafe Killut in Nuuk, Greenland early Wednesday.

Education Department layoffs gut its civil rights office

Seven regional sites shut down; cases left in limbo

BY COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Education Department’s civil rights branch is losing nearly half its staff in the Trump administration’s layoffs effectively gutting an office that already faced a backlog of thousands of complaints from students and families across the nation.

Among a total of more than 1,300 layoffs announced Tuesday were roughly 240 in the department’s Office for Civil Rights, according to a list obtained and verified by The Associated Press Seven of the civil rights agency’s 12 regional offices were entirely laid off Despite assurances that the department’s work will continue unaffected, huge numbers of cases appear to be in limbo.

The Trump administration has not said how it will proceed with thousands of cases being handled by staff it’s eliminating The cases involve families trying to get school services for students with disabilities, allegations of bias related to race and religion, and complaints over sexual violence at schools and college campuses.

plaints and mediating resolutions with schools and colleges. Buildings are being closed and staff laid off in Dallas, Chicago, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Many lawyers at the New York City office were juggling 80 or more cases, said one staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for reprisals. The branch often mediated cases with New York City schools, the nation’s largest district, and its lawyers were handling a high-proﬁle antisemitism investigation at Columbia University — a priority for Trump.

The staffer described several pending cases involving students with disabilities who are wrongly being kept out of school because of behavioral issues. With limited oversight from the office, they said, school districts will be less likely to comply with legal requirements.

Department officials insisted the cuts will not affect civil rights investigations. The reductions were “strategic decisions,” said spokesperson Madison Biedermann.

“OCR will be able to deliver the work,” Biedermann said. “It will have to look different, and we know that.” The layoffs are part of

Some staffers who remain said there’s no way to pick up all of their fired colleagues’ cases. Many were already struggling to keep pace with their own caseloads. With fewer than 300 workers, families likely will be waiting on resolution for years, they said. “I fear they won’t get their calls answered, their complaints won’t move,” said Michael Pillera, a senior civil rights attorney for the Office for Civil Rights. “I truly don’t understand how a handful of offices could handle the entire country.”

a dramatic downsizing directed by President Donald Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Along with the Office of Civil Rights, the top divisions to lose hundreds of staffers in the layoffs included Federal Student Aid, which manages the federal student loan portfolio, and the Institute of Education Sciences, which oversees assessments of whether the education system is working and research into best teaching practices. Trump has pushed for a full shutdown of the Education Department, calling it a “con job” and saying its power should be turned over to

Advocacy group wants states to decrease abortion reporting

Data could be used to harm people, it says

BY GEOFF MULVIHILL

Associated Press

States should stop requiring health providers to ﬁle reports on every abortion because the information poses a risk to both them and their patients in the current political environment, a research group that advocates for abortion access says The Guttmacher Institute says in a new recommendation that the benefit of mandated and detailed data collection is no longer worth the downsides: It could reveal personal information, be stigmatizing for patients and cumbersome for providers — or could be used in investigations.

“It would be a mistake for anyone to assume now that the information a state could collect about abortion would not be used to harm people,” said Kelly Baden, Guttmacher’s vice president for public policy When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly three years ago, it opened the door for states to ban most abortions. It also ignited policy battles over information collected about ending pregnancies.

The possibility of reports being used in investigations has increased with the return of President Donald Trump and anti-abortion ofﬁcials in key federal government jobs, Baden said. Most state health depart-

ments require medical providers to report data about each abortion, though without including patient names. Massachusetts and Illinois mandate that providers give the state only aggregated data.

The states that collect the information, in turn, produce reports on abortion statistics and send their information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a nationwide tally Together, that information gives a picture of how often abortion takes place, when in the pregnancy the abortion occurs and the age of patients.

Those reports provide the fullest government pictures of abortion nationally, but they come with a lag time of about two years and lack data from states that don’t require the reports: California, the country’s most-populous state, as well as Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey. Certain information that some states collect — such as the patient’s marital status or ZIP code and the reason for the abortion do not serve a meaningful research purpose and could stigmatize patients, says Guttmacher data scientist Isaac Maddow-Zimet In conjunction with other data, these details could even be used to identify people who obtain abortions, he said The same level of detail is not required to be reported to the state for other medical care, Maddow-Zimet added.

“The real concern here is that it ﬁts into a broader pattern of abortion exceptionalism,” he said.

But Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said rolling back reporting requirements can be detrimental: It could downplay the frequency of abortion complications, for instance, she said. Additionally details such as the reason for the abortion could shape public policy if it reveals increases in sexual assault, she said. “The more information we have, the better it is for women,” Tobias said.

Michigan has halted required reporting. Minnesota has removed some required information, such as the marital status, race and ethnicity of patients.

Connie Fei Lu, a medical fellow in complex family planning at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said the 2022 Illinois change to collect a tally of abortions rather than detail on each one can protect the privacy of patients, especially those who travel from other states for abortion.

But she said the data collection policies need to be thoughtful.

“I completely understand the delicate balance in abortion data collection in an environment where that data can end up in the wrong hands,” she said. “From a research perspective, from a scientiﬁc perspective, not having this data is not a good thing.”

While Guttmacher wants an end to mandatory abortion reports, it’s not calling for states to get out of the abortion data-collection business entirely; the group says states could instead use voluntary approaches to gather information.

states. On Wednesday he told reporters many agency employees “don’t work at all.” Responding to the layoffs, he said his administration is “keeping the best ones.”

After the cuts, the Office for Civil Rights will only have workers in Washington and five regional offices, which traditionally take the lead on investigating com-

Pillera, who had said before the cuts that he was leaving the department, said it’s unclear how complaints will be investigated in areas that no longer have ofﬁces.

“We have to physically go to schools,” Pillera said.

Even before the layoffs, the civil rights office had been losing staff even as complaints rose to record levels. The workforce had fallen below 600 staffers before Trump took office, and they faced nearly 23,000 complaints filed last year, more than ever Trump officials ordered a freeze on most cases when they arrived at the department, adding to the backlog. When Education Secretary Linda McMahon lifted the freeze last week, there were more than 20,000 pending cases. The civil rights office was not the only division to lose attorneys key to the Education Department’s portfolio. Tuesday’s layoffs have nearly eliminated all staff working in the department’s Office of the General Counsel, say two people familiar with the situation, who didn’t want to speak publicly for fear of reprisals.

Attorneys in the division advised the department on the legality of its actions, helped enforce how states and schools spent federal money meant for disadvantaged K-12 students, and watched for conﬂicts of interest among internal staff and appointees, among other things.

“We have to look at the playground to see if it’s accessible for kids with disabilities. We have to measure doorways and bathrooms to see if everything is accessible for kids with disabilities.”

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

Chloe Kienzle of Arlington, Va., holds a sign Wednesday as she stands outside the headquarters of the U.S Department of Education in Washington, D.C The department’s offices were ordered closed for the day for what officials described as security

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and operational considerations” of shifting UNO to the LSU system. Henry said in an interview on Monday that the study is a necessary step before legislators can ﬁle a bill to initiate UNO’s transfer If the study shows that UNO would beneﬁt from the move and the Legislature moves forward with it, Henry said, LSU has a robust recruitment operation that could help UNO attract students from outside the New Orleans area.

“LSU is better equipped for a more universal approach to advertising to students,” Henry said The study comes as UNO contends with a $10 million budget gap that stems from low enrollment and outstanding debt from long-term contracts, university ofﬁcials have said. Enrollment has dropped signiﬁcantly from a preKatrina peak of 17,500 students to about 6,500 this fall

UNO president Kathy Johnson has cut staff and administrators, consolidated colleges, closed buildings and implemented a spending freeze, but those measures have failed to fully make up the deﬁcit,

SPEAKER

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Congress then needs pass a continuing resolution, called a CR, or government would cease operations on Friday night.

Trump is telling Republicans, ﬁrst in the House and now in the Senate, that a government shutdown would sidetrack passage of his agenda

On Tuesday the House approved, 217-213, a resolution that continues government spending through the rest of this ﬁscal year, which ends Sept 30 Only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, didn’t approve the resolution.

The resolution increased defense spending by $6 billion and made $13 billion in cuts to domestic programs, but otherwise left spending levels the same as were approved in December when Joe Biden was still president.

Though a number of Republicans paraded across conservative television to voice their worries,

EXECUTION

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Hoffman a temporary injunction.

The short letter dated Wednesday, argues that a state that just drew an extended spotlight with the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras risks a hit on tourism in response to “such extreme actions.”

It references Landry’s push to restart executions after 15 years, as well as the state’s planned use of nitrogen gas, the new method the Legislature and Landry authorized last year. Hoffman is slated to be the ﬁrst death row inmate outside of Alabama to be killed using nitrogen gas in the modern era.

“Executions — especially those by experimental and gruesome methods — don’t send the right message about Louisiana, our culture, and our people,” the letter states. “Gassing people to death is not something we want to see associated with Louisiana.”

The one-page letter, under the letterhead “Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty,” includes as recipients Landry Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser, Attorney General Liz Murrill, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bonnett Bourgeous and state Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson.

“We just experienced the joy of Carnival season, and it’s heartbreak-

FEMA

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management ofﬁcials more experience with the agency than those from most states.

Thibodeaux said the panel especially wants to hear how things worked with the local-state-federal coordination in providing security for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. The state wants federal reimbursement for its $50 million cost.

“I’ve already been asked by the Department of Homeland Security for them to share our process these last 65 days with FEMA and use it as a case study,” Thibodeaux said.

“That was huge for us, for them to ask us the permission to use this as a case study and to and to bring us in front of the panel and ask us questions as subject matter experts in the field. That’s what

university ofﬁcials have said.

In a statement, Johnson said the university is assessing the possible impacts of moving UNO back into the LSU system, but she did not take a stance on the proposal.

“We look forward to any collaborations and resources that will help advance our mission,” she said.

University spokesperson Adam Norris said UNO has been providing data to the Board of Regents for the study, which must be completed within a year Board of Regents chair Misti Cordell said the move could offer the beneﬁt of the LSU alumni network and additional ﬁnancial support.

Other higher education ofﬁcials questioned how transitioning UNO to LSU would solve the university’s challenges.

UL system board member and UNO graduate Julie Stokes said she would like to better understand why LSU wants to take on UNO and what plans it has for the university

“I’m not sure why UNO cannot be turned around inside the University of Louisiana system,” she said.

The UL system functions differently than LSU because it does not have a ﬂagship university said Katie Dawson, a spokesperson for the

University of Louisiana system. The nine UL institutions three research institutions, a historically Black college and ﬁve regional campuses operate individually rather than branches of a single institution.

The LSU system has an overall president and a chancellor at each of its eight campuses, which could lead to a change in leadership at UNO or at least a new role for Johnson Dawson said that LSU could decide to adjust what programs and degrees UNO offers and make changes to the university’s athletic programs. (Both UNO and LSU have Division 1 sports teams.)

The shift could be complicated because UNO’s finances would need to be uncoupled from UL’s and UL contracts that include UNO would need to be modiﬁed.

But LSU’s administrative structure could also offer “more stability,” Dawson said.

The shift must be enacted through legislation and approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the accrediting agency

For the first two decades of its existence, UNO was known as LSUNO, an offshoot of LSU’s Baton Rouge ﬂagship school. Its name was changed to UNO in 1974.

Johnson had been saying since last week that Republicans alone would pass the CR. That seemed like a bold statement, given that Republicans alone have not approved a continuing resolution in recent memory When Johnson was a backbencher, he routinely refused to go along. Republicans prefer to see spend-

ing to think that our state would cap that off with a ghastly and horriﬁc execution,” said Spicer, owner of several New Orleans restaurants, including Bayona and Rosedale.

“This doesn’t just go against my values and the values of our community, it impacts the way that Louisiana is seen around the world.”

Landry’s ofﬁce did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment

Now 46, Hoffman was 18 and a recent graduate of Kennedy High School in New Orleans when he forced Elliott to drive from downtown New Orleans to an ATM in New Orleans East, withdraw $200 and then head across the bridge to a remote area. Hoffman raped her and dumped her body, a St Tammany Parish jury found before sentencing him to death. Hoffman is currently the only one among Louisiana’s 56 death row inmates with an execution date.

Those pressing a halt to the execution also include Sister Helen Prejean of New Orleans, a famed death penalty opponent who said in an interview this week that the mood on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola has changed perceptibly since Hoffman received his death warrant last month.

Prejean, who has been a spiritual adviser and witness to several executions, said she last visited death row on Feb 21. She challenged the

we’re really excited about.”

Also, Thibodeaux said, the investigative council wants to hear about the working relationship between more than a dozen city, state and federal agencies over the past two months. It’s the basic review of who is in charge of what, how the various agencies communicated to act efﬁciently, and how much it cost.

The New Year’s Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street threw the security apparatus into high gear New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl which was already classiﬁed to receive the highest security available. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security then upgraded Mardi Gras, at least in New Orleans, to the same Special Event Assessment Rating, called SEAR-1.

No other city except New York after 9/11 had to juggle two SEAR1 events in such a short period of time after a terrorist attack,

Tim Ryan, who served as chancellor of UNO from 2003 to 2011 while it was under the LSU system, said UNO administrators’ desire to leave the system stemmed from “control and micromanagement” of UNO.

Despite those past challenges, Ryan said that aligning UNO with LSU again could bring a muchneeded ﬁnancial boost to the university

“We did this experiment and it didn’t work,” Ryan said about moving the university to the UL system, adding that UNO was “ﬁne” under LSU.

Meanwhile, proposals to merge UNO with Southern University at New Orleans, the historically Black university about a mile down the road on Lakeshore Drive, have been ﬂoated at various times over the past 40 years with little success Most recently, in 2011, Gov Bobby Jindal supported a bill by former state Sen. Conrad Appel to merge the two universities with Delgado Community College, a move that the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus slammed as the beginning of a “systematic demise” of the state’s historically black colleges and universities. Appel, who now serves on the state Board of Elementary and

scenario that led to the October 2023 ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., which opened the way for Johnson to ascend to the top spot. It also was why conservatives unsuccessfully tried to oust Johnson himself last year Johnson is ﬁrst to say that getting both bills passed was a team effort on which he relied on his lieutenants, chief among them Scalise, his fellow Louisiana delegation member They corralled members individually and in groups behind closed doors to hear out their issues and get their input on how to draft the legislation. That included members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, where opposition usually arises.

Secondary Education, said his proposed “super university” would have provided ﬁnancial stability for all three institutions at a time when they were reeling from low enrollment after Hurricane Katrina.

Students could have started their college careers at Delgado, where they could have taken remedial classes, before transferring to UNO or remaining on a trade trajectory at Delgado, he said.

The plan passed in the state Senate but failed in the house by two votes, Appel said. Then, UNO requested that Appel amend the bill to call for UNO’s shift to the UL system, where they believed they would have access to more resources, he said.

“That was their reasoning: We don’t want to be a stepchild,” Appel said.

Appel said either a merger or a shift to the LSU system could be beneﬁcial for UNO.

“UNO ought to be the driver of business in New Orleans, and because of its weakness it could be a serious economic impediment to the city,” said Appel, who also served as chairman of the Port of New Orleans. “This is a critical problem for the fate of New Orleans, and they better start thinking outside the box.”

cans and gathered the Freedom Caucus in the White House for a conference.

What’s next

The CR legislation now goes to the U.S. Senate. Some Democrats in the Senate oppose the resolution and could stall the effort to avoid a government shutdown. They oppose the language that would give Trump further ability to unilaterally cut fundings and fire federal workers without congressional input. The majority Republican Senate on Wednesday morning filed a motion for cloture. It’s a parliamentary procedure that circumvents a filibuster

ing plans roll out in the traditional way with 12 separate bills detailing the appropriations for each executive branch agency CRs lump all the amounts together

Since so many in the GOP majority opposed continuing resolutions, previous House leadership had to solicit support from Democratic representatives. That was the

idea that the death penalty is necessary to bring justice to victims.

“It’s such a ruse,” Prejean said. “It’s such a hypocritical, morally bankrupt thing to say Where else in the criminal justice system do we ever let the behavior of the criminal determine how we administer a punishment? We never imitate them.”

Prejean plans to attend a rally this weekend that the Promise of Justice Initiative has scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the Governor’s Mansion.

The planned nitrogen gas execution has led to backlash from other religious leaders as well. A coalition of Jewish leaders rallied last month against the plan to use nitrogen gas in executions, saying it was reminiscent of how many were killed in the Holocaust.

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond also recently penned a column in the archdiocese newspaper The Clarion Herald that called nitrogen gas executions “cruel, unusual and wrong.” Alabama is the only U.S. state to have executed using nitrogen gas in the modern era, having done so four times since the start of 2024. Louisiana’s protocol for nitrogen gas, which the Legislature approved as a method last year, mirrors Alabama’s. In short, it calls for pumping pure nitrogen at a controlled rate in place of oxygen into an industrial-grade mask

Thibodeaux said. Louisiana spent roughly $50 million in preparing for responding to, and standing down afterward two high security events that meshed federal air, sea and intelligence assets as well as onthe-ground law enforcement and SWAT teams — all of which needed to gel with established practices of local, parish and state agencies, Thibodeaux said.

“We have shown them that we can help in the federal mission and with this cost and have FEMA come forward and absorb that cost,” Thibodeaux said. “We’re hoping that Louisiana is used as a model on how the federal government can serve as a ﬁnancial resource where the state is responsible for its own response recovery to events.”

FEMA is responding to more disasters each year — about 1,400 hurricanes, wildfires, floods and tornadoes over the past decade

Back when Johnson was a rankand-ﬁle representative, he would get irked when leadership dropped a huge CR on the members with instructions on how to vote.

Meanwhile, White House Budget Director Russ Vought came to Capitol Hill to explain the numbers to Republicans. The president personally phoned wavering Republi-

worn tight around the condemned person’s face until they die.

An eyewitness to the first nitrogen gas execution in Alabama also spoke out this week. The Rev Jeff Hood, who was condemned inmate Kenneth Smith’s spiritual adviser, implored Louisiana not to follow Alabama’s example. Hood described Smith in January 2024 dying a torturous death where he appeared to be slowly suffocating.

“We are not talking about politics,” Hood said at a news conference. “We are not talking about one’s belief on the death penalty We are talking about torture. We are talking about whether the people of Louisiana want to be responsible for what is about to happen.”

Just how long it takes to die by nitrogen gas, and the pain involved compared to other available methods, is the subject of a federal challenge that is now with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after U.S. Chief District Judge Shelly Dick on Friday called a temporary halt to Hoffman’s execution.

Dick, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, found that Hoffman was likely to prevail in the case, and that she needed more time to determine if nitrogen gassing amounts to cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment.

The appeals court is expected to move swiftly Hoffman also applied for executive clemency with the state pardon board and has asked

Over the past four years, FEMA has provided more than $12 billion to individuals and $133 billion to state and local governments, tribal nations, territories and some nonproﬁts to help in recovery efforts. The growing expense has some conservatives talking about reducing the federal government’s role. Many of the individuals and local governments are frustrated with the rules and regulations involved in transferring money from the federal to state to parish and local levels. FEMA also is in charge of the National Flood Insurance Program that provides coverage for damage caused by rising water, which most private insurers refuse to sell. The program has been under scrutiny because premium prices recently were adjusted to better align with recovery costs, making the insurance too expensive for business and homeowners in much of Louisiana’s ﬂood-prone areas.

Sixty senators need to vote for cloture. But cloture allows only a 51-vote majority to pass when the underlying resolution hits the ﬂoor Republicans hold 53 of the 100 seats in the Senate. The Senate needs to pass the continuing resolution before Friday night turns to Saturday morning or government will shut down.

Landry for a reprieve in the meantime. Those requests are pending.

The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees federal courts in Alabama, has upheld that state’s use of nitrogen gas. The U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to revisit the most recent Alabama decision, has never directly found that a state’s chosen method of execution violates the U.S. Constitution.

In its appeal Wednesday, Murrill describes Dick’s ruling for a preliminary injunction as a “particularly egregious example” of late intervention by a judge. The attorney general argues that Dick ignored a “wall” of Alabama court rulings to arrive at her decision.

“Indeed, if (Dick) were right, then the Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit, and the Alabama district courts have greenlighted four illegal executions,” Murrill wrote. “That is preposterous — and it is notable that the district court did not deign to engage with those other decisions before reaching its preferred result.”

Louisiana is turning to nitrogen gas after years in which it was unable to obtain the drugs for lethal injections. Drug companies have threatened to pull their pharmaceuticals from state prisons if Louisiana uses their products in executions, officials have testified Louisiana officials said they began acquiring the needed nitrogen last July

Trump ordered in January a Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council begin in April to review FEMA’s missions, regulations, protocols and spending of the disaster agency and come up with recommendations by summer on what to do up to abolish the disaster agency and return its functions to the states. The council’s charter states: “The Federal responses to Hurricane Helene and other recent disasters demonstrate the need to drastically improve FEMA’s efﬁcacy priorities, and competence, including evaluating whether FEMA’s bureaucracy in disaster response ultimately harms the agency’s ability to successfully respond. Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, listen at the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

Trump vows to take back ‘stolen’ wealth

President increases tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports

BY JOSH BOAK, PAUL WISEMAN and ROB GILLIES Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump openly challenged U.S. allies on Wednesday by increasing tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% as he vowed to take back wealth “stolen” by other countries, drawing quick retaliation from Europe and Canada.

The Republican president’s use of tariffs to extract concessions from other nations points toward a possibly destructive trade war and a stark change in America’s approach to global leadership It also has destabilized the stock market and stoked anxiety about an economic downturn.

“The United States of America is going to take back a lot of what was stolen from it by other countries and frankly by incompetent U.S. leadership,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday “We’re going to take back our wealth, and we’re going to take back a lot of the companies that left.”

Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%. His moves, based off a February directive, are part of a broader effort to disrupt and transform global commerce.

He has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on April 2.

The EU announced its own countermeasures Wednesday European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the United States was “applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE

Associated Press

President Donald Trump welcomed Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House, where he added Ireland to the list of countries he says are taking advantage of the United States. Martin countered by noting Ireland’s contributions to the U.S. It was Trump’s ﬁrst Oval Office meeting with a foreign leader since his recent sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which morphed into a shouting match.

Martin, who offered only gentle pushback to some of Trump’s comments, returned to the White House in the evening and presented Trump with a bowl of shamrocks at an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

The Republican president has been sparring with U.S. allies and adversaries alike over trade, slapping doubledigit tariffs on imports from countries from Canada to China and in between. During the appearance with

responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,” or about $28 billion. Those measures, which cover not just steel and aluminum products but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods, are due to take effect on April 1.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer responded by saying that the EU was punishing America instead of ﬁxing what he viewed as excess capacity in steel and aluminum production.

“The EU’s punitive action completely disregards the national security imperatives of the United States — and indeed international security — and is yet another indicator that the EU’s trade and economic policies are out of step with reality,” he said in a statement.

Canada sees itself as locked in a trade war because of White House claims about fentanyl smuggling and that its natural resources and factories subtract from the U.S. economy instead of supporting it.

“This is going to be a day to day ﬁght. This is now the second round of unjustified tariffs leveled against Canada,” said Mé-

Martin, Trump repeated his claim that the European Union was created just to stick it to the U.S.

Asked if Ireland, a member of the EU, was taking advantage, too, Trump said, “of course they are. I have great respect for Ireland and what they did and they should have done just what they did, but the United States shouldn’t have let it happen.” He was referring to the concentration of U.S. pharmaceutical companies in Ireland, due to the country’s tax policies.

“We had stupid leaders We had leaders that didn’t have a clue or let’s say they weren’t businesspeople, but they didn’t have a clue what was happening and all of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies,” Trump said.

Last year, the United States ran a $87 billion trade imbalance with Ireland. That’s partially because of the tax structure created by Trump’s 2017 overhaul, which incentivized U.S. pharmaceutical companies to record their sales abroad, Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Re-

lanie Joly Canada’s foreign affairs minister “The latest excuse is national security despite the fact that Canada’s steel and aluminum adds to America’s security All the while there is a threat of further and broader tariffs on April 2 still looming. The excuse for those tariffs shifts every day.”

Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States and plans to impose retaliatory tariffs of $20.7 billion starting Thursday in response to the U.S. taxes on the metals.

Canada’s new tariffs would be on steel and aluminum products, as well as U.S goods including computers, sports equipment and water heaters worth $9.9 billion. That’s in addition to the 25% counter tariffs on $20.8 billion of imports from the U.S. that were put in place on March 4 in response to other Trump import taxes that he’s partially delayed by a month.

Trump told CEOs in the Business Roundtable a day earlier that the tariffs were causing companies to invest in U.S. factories. The 7.5% drop in the S&P 500 stock index

lations, said on X. Martin countered that the trade relationship is “a twoway street,” adding that Ireland’s two largest airlines buy more aircrafts from Boeing Co. than anyone else outside of America.

More than 700 Irish companies are also based in America, creating thousands of jobs, Martin said.

“I understand where you’re coming from, fully,” Martin told Trump, “but I think it’s a relationship that we can develop and that will endure into the future.”

At one point, Trump became distracted as he talked about inﬂation in the U.S.

“By the way, I love these socks What’s with these socks? I’m trying to stay focused, but I’m very impressed with the VP’s socks,” Trump said.

Vice President JD Vance had worn socks patterned with small green shamrocks as a nod to Martin’s visit.

When a reporter asked Martin why his country would let Rosie O’Donnell move there, Trump jumped at the opening. “I like that question,” the president said, adding that Martin

over the past month on fears of deteriorating growth appears unlikely to dissuade him, as Trump argued that higher tariff rates would be more effective at bringing back factories.

“The higher it goes, the more likely it is they’re going to build,”

Trump told the group. “The biggest win is if they move into our country and produce jobs. That’s a bigger win than the tariffs themselves, but the tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money to this country.”

Trump on Tuesday had threatened to put tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminum from Canada, but he chose to stay with the 25% rate after the province of Ontario suspended plans to put a surcharge on electricity sold to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.

Democratic lawmakers dismissed Trump’s claims that his tariffs are about national security and drug smuggling, saying they’re actually about generating revenues to help cover the cost of his planned income tax cuts for the wealthy

“Donald Trump knows his policies could wreck the economy, but he’s doing it anyway,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

In many ways, the president is addressing what he perceives as unfinished business from his first term. Trump meaningfully increased tariffs, but the revenues collected by the federal government were too small to significantly increase overall inflationary pressures.

Outside forecasts by the Budget Lab at Yale University, Tax Policy Center and others suggest that U.S. families would have the costs of the taxes passed onto them in the form of higher prices.

With Wednesday’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, Trump is seeking to remedy his original 2018 import taxes that were eroded by exemptions.

After Canada and Mexico agreed

to his demand for a revamped North American trade deal in 2020, they avoided the import taxes on the metals. Other U.S. trading partners had import quotas supplant the tariffs. And the first Trump administration also allowed U.S. companies to request exemptions from the tariffs if, for instance, they couldn’t find the steel they needed from domestic producers.

While Trump’s tariffs could help steel and aluminum plants in the United States, they could raise prices for the manufacturers that use the metals as raw materials.

Moreover, economists have found, the gains to the steel and aluminum industries were more than offset by the cost they imposed on “downstream” manufacturers that use their products.

At these downstream companies, production fell by nearly $3.5 billion because of the tariffs in 2021, a loss that exceeded the $2.3 billion uptick in production that year by aluminum producers and steelmakers, the U.S. International Trade Commission found in 2023.

Trump sees the tariffs as leading to more domestic factories, and the White House has noted that Volvo, Volkswagen and Honda are all exploring an increase to their U.S. footprint. But the prospect of higher prices, fewer sales and lower profits might cause some companies to refrain from investing in new facilities.

“If you’re an executive in the boardroom, are you really going to tell your board it’s the time to expand that assembly line?” said John Murphy, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The top steel exporters to the U.S. are Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and Japan, with exports from Taiwan and Vietnam growing at a fast pace, according to the International Trade Administration.

The lion’s share of U.S. aluminum imports comes from Canada.

was “better off not knowing” about O’Donnell. O’Donnell, a comedian, and Trump have feuded for years. O’Donnell, who is gay, recently announced that she moved to Ireland in January, citing a lack of equal rights in America.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, listen at the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon at the U.S Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street rises after promising inflation data

U.S. stock indexes rose Wednesday after Wall Street got some relief from an encouraging inflation update. But even on a rare up day for the market, President Donald Trump’s trade war still knocked stocks around.

The S&P 500 gained after skidding between an early gain of 1.3% and a later loss. The unsettled trading came a day after the index brieﬂy fell more than 10% below its all-time high set last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also pinballed sharply, careening between a rise of 287 points and a drop of 423. It ended with a loss while the Nasdaq composite climbed.

Companies in the artiﬁcial-intelligence industry lead the way Nvidia climbed 6.4% to trim its loss for the year so far to 13.8%.

Server-maker Super Micro Computer rose 4%, and GE Vernova, which is helping to power AI data centers, gained 5.1%.

Intel hires former board member as new CEO

Struggling chipmaker Intel has hired former board member and semiconductor industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as the latest in a succession of CEOs to attempt to turn around a once-dominant company that helped deﬁne Silicon Valley Tan, 65, will take over the daunting job next Tuesday, more than three months after Intel’s previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger, abruptly retired amid a deepening downturn that triggered massive layoffs and raised questions about the chipmaker’s ability to survive as an independent company

This won’t be Tan’s ﬁrst time running a semiconductor company, nor his ﬁrst association with Intel. He spent more than a decade as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, which makes software that helps designs processors, and joined Intel’s board of directors in 2022 before stepping down in August Tan will rejoin Intel’s board in addition to becoming CEO.

Although Gelsinger arrived at Intel in February 2021 amid high hopes, his tenure was a major letdown as Intel’s stock price plunged 60%, wiping out $160 billion in shareholder wealth Leading up to his departure last year, Intel laid of 17,500 of its employees about 15% of its workforce — and suspended its dividend to save money on its way to an annual loss of $19 billion.

More recently, Intel delayed the opening of two new chip factories in Ohio to ensure the projects are completed in a “financially responsible manner.” The project is supposed to draw upon the $7.8 billion in funding earmarked for Intel in the CHIPS Incentives Program created during the administration of President Joe Biden. Trump to name top Fed bank regulator

The Trump administration is expected to choose Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman to be the central bank’s top ﬁnancial regulator, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity. Bowman, who has been a member of the Fed’s governing board for six years, would replace Michael Barr, who stepped down last month. Barr, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, came under attack from big U.S. banks after proposing that they hold more capital in reserve in a 2023 regulatory reform proposal. Bowman’s appointment was reported earlier Wednesday by Bloomberg News. Bowman, along with Fed governor Christopher Waller voted against Barr’s proposal. She was appointed to the board by President Donald Trump in 2018. Barr resigned from his post as vice chair for supervision but has remained on the Fed’s board of governors. As a result, Trump was forced to choose from among the existing governors, rather than appointing someone from outside the Fed.

U.S. inflation cooled last month

One measure falls to four-year low

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON — U.S. inﬂation slowed last month for the ﬁrst time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a fouryear low, even as widespread tariffs threaten to send prices higher

The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previ-

ous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core ﬁgure is the lowest since April 2021.

The declines were greater than economists expected, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. Yet inﬂation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target And most economists expect inﬂation will remain elevated this year as Trump’s tariffs kick in.

The report “is encouraging news, though it doesn’t tell us much about where inflation is headed,” said Oren Klachkin, Nationwide Financial Markets econ-

omist, in an email. “With tariffs possibly set to push goods prices higher we see inﬂation risks as tilted to the upside.”

On a monthly basis, inflation also came in much lower than expected Consumer prices rose 0.2% in February from the previous month, down from a big 0.5% jump in January And core prices rose just 0.2%, below the 0.4% increase in January. Economists watch core prices because they are typically a better guide to inﬂation’s future path.

A sharp drop in airfares, which fell 4% just in February from the previous month, helped bring down overall inflation. Rental

price increases also slowed and the costs of hotel rooms and car insurance rose much more slowly in February than the previous month. The price of new cars fell last month compared with January Grocery prices were unchanged last month from January, bringing some relief to consumers grappling with a 25% jump in grocery prices from four years ago. How big an impact Trump’s tariffs will have on prices remains unclear, for now The duties have roiled ﬁnancial markets and could sharply slow the economy, and some analysts see the odds of a recession rising.

Steel, aluminum tariffs may cause pain

BY PAUL WISEMAN and JOSH BOAK

Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is again lashing out at three of his biggest irritants: foreign steel, foreign aluminum and Canada.

The Trump administration on Wednesday effectively plastered 25% taxes — tariffs — on all steel and aluminum imports. The president said on Tuesday that the U.S. would double the forthcoming levy on the two metals to 50% if they come from Canada — but pulled back on the threat by the afternoon after the province of Ontario suspended its plans for retaliatory tariffs.

The pain won’t just be felt by foreign steel and aluminum plants. The tariffs will likely drive up costs for American companies that use the metals, such as automakers, construction ﬁrms and beverage makers that use cans. The threats to the economy have rattled stock markets.

“Unilateral tariffs will raise prices, cost American jobs, and strain alliances,” Philip Luck and Evan Brown, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote

in a report last month.

The latest tariffs are an amped-up replay from Trump’s ﬁrst term. In 2018, in an effort to protect American steel-makers from foreign competition, he imposed tariffs of 25% on foreign steel and 10% on aluminum, using a 1962 trade law to declare them a threat to U.S. national security

Trump’s first-term steel and aluminum tariffs beneﬁted American producers of the two metals, encouraging them to increase production. But the beneﬁciaries were relatively few: The U.S. steel industry, for instance, employs fewer than 150,000 people. Walmart alone has 1.6 million employees in the United States.

Moreover, economists have found, the gains to the steel and aluminum industries were more than offset by the cost they imposed on “downstream” manufacturers that use steel and aluminum. In 2021, production at such companies dropped by nearly $3.5 billion because of the tariffs, canceling out the $2.3 billion uptick in production that year by aluminum producers and steel-makers, the U.S. International Trade Commission

found in 2023. This time, “there is no particular reason to think that the economics won’t be more of the same: small gains for the U.S. steel and aluminum producers and employees, but larger overall losses for the rest of U S manufacturing,” said Christine McDaniel, research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center

The president insists that steel imports are a threat to the very existence of the United States. “If we don’t have, as an example, steel, and lots of other things, we don’t have a military and frankly we won’t have — we just won’t have a country very long,” Trump said last week in his joint address to Congress. The scope and unpredictability of Trump’s tariff agenda threatens to rekindle inflation and to slow growth by discouraging companies from making investments until the trade tensions have eased. “If you’re an executive in the board room, are you really going to tell your board it’s the time to expand that assembly line?” said John Murphy, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Egg prices continue to hit records as holidays approach

Experts say some relief may be coming

BY MAE ANDERSON Associated Press

continues

rampant and Easter and Passover approach.

birds,

prices are dropping, which might provide relief on the retail side before this year’s late Easter, which is three weeks later than last year It said there had been no major bird ﬂu outbreak for two weeks. “Shoppers have begun to see shell egg offerings in the dairy case becoming more reliable although retail price levels have yet to adjust and remain off-putting to many,” the USDA wrote in the March 7 report David Anderson, a professor and extension economist for livestock and food marketing at Texas A&M University, said wholesale ﬁgures dropping is a good sign that prices

could go down as shoppers react to the high prices by buying fewer eggs.

“What that should tell us is things are easing a little bit in terms of prices,” he said. “So going forward, the next CPI report may very well indicate falling egg prices.” However, he doesn’t expect lasting changes until bird stock can be replenished and production can be replaced.

“Record high prices is a market signal to producers to produce more, but it takes time to be able to produce more, and we just haven’t had enough time for that to happen yet,” he said. “But I do think it’s going to happen. But it’s going to take some more months to get there.”

THE CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO By JUSTIN TANG

A participant holds an ‘Elbows Up Canada’ sign Sunday during a rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario.

BY CHRIS JOHNSON CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has said he does not need Congress to create so-called gold cards to offer foreign nationals a path to citizenship at the price of $5 million, but immigration policy experts and some Republican lawmakers cast doubt that a president could implement such a plan alone As nebulous as Trump’s proposal stands at this point, current law imposes limits on green cards such as the number of cards that can be issued in the EB-5 program that Trump ultimately wants to replace, as well as the price and conditions for making it happen, experts say Shev Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said any creation of a new visa category “has to be done by statute.”

“Whether you create a new category or get rid of a different category, you need a statute to do so,” DalalDheini said. “And even if it was a question about raising the limit of how much money is invested into the EB-5 program, that’s also statutorily so it will require some congressional action to make this go forward.”

Eric Ruark, who focuses on research at NumbersUSA, a group that wants to reduce immigration, said Tuesday that much of the proposal isn’t fleshed out and “obviously we can’t do this without Congress.”

“You can’t change the statutory allocation of green cards simply by executive order,” Ruark said.

The Cato Institute’s David J. Bier wrote in a Feb. 26 blog post that there is no authority to make radical changes, but Trump could use his “parole” authority to grant short-term lawful residence to people willing to pay $5 million.

Beyond that, Bier wrote such “green card privileges” and a path to citizenship can only come from an actual

green card “It is doubtful that wealthy people would pay $5 million for something with dubious legal standing or a temporary status that could be rescinded at any time,” Bier wrote. Trump, when he ﬁrst publicly spoke about the idea last month in the Oval Ofﬁce of the White House, told reporters he doesn’t need Congress to pass a law on the plan because the gold card is “a very strong path to citizenship, but we’re not doing the citizenship.”

“We have it all worked out from the legal standpoint. It’s totally legal to do,” Trump said.

And Trump, in a joint address to Congress last week, did not ask Congress to act on the idea and said the gold cards will go on sale “very very soon” to allow “jobcreating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S citizenship.”

Trump touted the proposal as means to balance the federal deﬁcit. “For $5 million, we will allow the most successful job-creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship,” Trump said.

Trump was light on the details, but said the gold card would be like a “green card but better and more sophisticated.”

Foreign nationals under the current EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program system need to meet several criteria, including a commitment to invest a minimum amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise in the United States. The standard threshold is $1,050,000, although for certain designated areas with low employment the minimum drops to $800,000.

Another criterion is being able to create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years of receiving conditional permanent residency The EB-5 program also has an annual cap of 10,000 visas. The White House did not respond to questions about the implementation of the gold card.

U.S. arms flow to Ukraine again

BY SAMYA KULLAB and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine —

U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine resumed Wednesday, officials said, a day after the Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and officials awaited the Kremlin’s response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it’s important not to “get ahead” of the question of responding to the ceaseﬁre, which was proposed by Washington. He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting “detailed information” from the U.S. and suggested that Russia must get that before it can take a position. The Kremlin has previously opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict and has not accepted any concessions.

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to end the three-year war and pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks. The suspension of U.S. assistance happened days after Zelenskyy and Trump argued about the conflict in a tense White House meeting. The administration’s decision to resume military aid after talks Tuesday with senior Ukrainian ofﬁcials in Saudi Arabia marked a sharp shift

in its stance.

Trump said “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceaseﬁre.

“And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump said Wednesday in an extended exchange with reporters during an Oval Ofﬁce meeting with Micheál Martin, the prime minster of Ireland. “And if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath” ended.

The U.S. president again made veiled threats of hitting Russia with new sanctions. “We can, but I hope it’s not going to be necessary,” Trump said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation to Saudi Arabia, where Ukraine consented to the

U.S. ceasefire proposal, said Washington will pursue “multiple points of contacts” with Russia to see if President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate an end to the war He declined to give details or say what steps might be taken if Putin refuses to engage.

The U.S. hopes to see Russia stop attacks on Ukraine within the next few days as a ﬁrst step, Rubio said at a refueling stop Wednesday in Shannon, Ireland.

Zelenskyy said the 30-day ceasefire would allow the sides “to fully prepare a step-by-step plan for ending the war, including security guarantees for Ukraine.” Technical questions over how to effectively monitor a truce along the roughly 600-mile front line, where small but deadly drones

are common, are “very important,” Zelenskyy told reporters Wednesday in Kyiv Arms deliveries to Ukraine have already resumed through a Polish logistics center, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland announced Wednesday The deliveries go through a NATO and U.S. hub in the eastern Polish city of Rzeszow that’s has been used to ferry Western weapons into neighboring Ukraine about 45 miles away The American military help is vital for Ukraine’s shorthanded and weary army, which is having a tough time keeping Russia’s bigger military force at bay

The U.S. government has also restored Ukraine’s access to unclassified commercial satellite pictures provided by Maxar Technologies through a program Washington runs, Maxar spokesperson Tomi Maxted told The Associated Press.

Officials acknowledged Wednesday that Kyiv no longer has any of the longer-range Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, missiles. Russian lawmakers signaled wariness about the prospect of a ceaseﬁre.

“Any agreements (with the understanding of the need for compromise) should be on our terms, not American,” senior Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev noted in a post on the messaging app Telegram.

Vatican says X-ray confirms pope is improving

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Francis’ recovery from double pneumonia continued Wednesday as a chest Xray confirmed improvement, two days after doctors declared he’s no longer in imminent danger of death.

The latest medical bulletin said the pope’s condition remained stable, but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility

The Vatican said the 88-year-old Francis again followed its spiritual retreat remotely, and resumed physical and respi-

Woman trapped in crashed car survives on creek water for 6 days until rescue

By The Associated Press

BROOK, Ind. — An Indiana woman who was trapped in her car with severe leg injuries survived for nearly a week by sucking water from a sweatshirt that she dipped into a small creek, authorities said.

A man operating drainage equipment saw Brieonna Cassell’s car off a road Tuesday near the town of Brook, Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a post on social media.

The man told his supervi-

sor, who is also a ﬁre chief, and they found Cassell inside the car, conscious and able to speak, according to the sheriff. Multiple agencies responded, and the 41-year-old Wheatfield woman was extricated and ﬂown to a Chicago hospital, he said.

Cassell had been reported missing by family members days before she was found, the sheriff said. She had been trapped since Thursday night when she fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road into a

ditch, her father, Delmar Caldwell, told ABC News Her vehicle wasn’t visible from the road.

Caldwell told the news outlet that Cassell had injuries to her legs and wrist and that her phone was found under the passenger seat.

“She was stuck in the car and could not get out,” Caldwell said. “But she was able to reach the water from the car,” Caldwell said.

She was able to dip her hooded sweatshirt into the water and get it to her mouth that way he said.

ratory therapy after a quiet night.

He continues to receive high ﬂows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day, and a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night.

Francis faces important milestones this week.

On Thursday, he marks the 12th anniversary of his election as the 266th pope. The

Holy See hasn’t said how the anniversary, a public holiday in the Vatican, might be commemorated. No medical bulletin will be issued.

The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the ﬁfth ballot of the 2013 conclave that was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned.

While Francis has praised Benedict’s humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life. The Vatican has released no photos or video of Francis since he was admitted The pope recorded an audio message last week to thank people for their prayers though the weakness and breathlessness of his voice made clear how frail he was.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROMAN CHOP

Soldiers of Ukraine’s Fifth Brigade hold a poster thanking the U.S. for support Tuesday at the front line near Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine.

A breakdown of major EPA deregulatory moves

BY MICHAEL PHILLIS, ALEXA

ST JOHN and JACK BROOK

Associated Press

Environmental Protection

Lee

Agency Administrator

Zeldin on Wednesday announced nearly three dozen deregulatory moves that he said would spur the U.S. economy by rolling back rules that have unfairly burdened industry Many of the moves would affect landmark regulations aimed at protecting clean air and water

Here’s a look at some of the 31 regulatory changes

Zeldin announced:

Power plant emissions

The Biden administration set limits on planet-warming emissions from existing gas and coal-ﬁred power plants a major step in the administration’s effort to reduce greenhouse gases from the heavily polluting energy sector Trump has long opposed such tough, climatefriendly limits and has instead promoted oil and gas development. Zeldin said the agency would reconsider the Biden administration standards to avoid constraining energy production.

Toxic emission limits

Coal plants emit toxic metals like mercury and the Biden administration issued a rule to severely limit those pollutants. Officials at the time said technology had progressed enough for these plants to do better

The EPA on Wednesday said nearly two dozen states had sued, arguing the rule was costly and a major burden, especially to coal plants. They also considering offering industry a two-year compliance extension while ofﬁcials reconsider the rule.

Power plant wastewater

Hazardous metals like mercury and arsenic end up in the wastewater of steampowered electric generating power plants like coal. These can have serious health effects including increasing cancer rates and lowering childhood IQ scores. The Biden administration tight-

ened regulations of this wastewater The EPA said it will revisit those stringent” rules that are costly to industry and therefore may raise residential energy bills.

Oil and gas wastewater

Currently, treated wastewater generated from oil and gas drilling can be used in limited ways in certain western lands, such as for agriculture. Environmentalists say there can be a broad range of contaminants in the wastewater, some of which might not be known. The EPA said it will reconsider those rules and look at how the treated water could be used for other purposes like cooling data centers, fighting fires and other ecological needs. They say the current rules are costly, old and don’t reflect the capabilities of modern treatment technologies.

Petrochemical emergency

The Biden administration tightened safeguards against accidents for industrial and chemical plants that millions of people live near The agency’s risk management program added planning and reporting requirements for facilities

and forced some to implement new safeguards. Accidents at these plants can be severe — a 2019 explosion at a Texas facility, for example, forced tens of thousands to evacuate, for example. Industry associations have criticized parts of the rule, such as requirements to publicly report sensitive information.

Zeldin said Biden administration officials “ignored recommendations from national security experts on how their rule makes chemical and other sensitive facilities in America more vulnerable to attack.” The EPA is reconsidering the rule.

Greenhouse gas reporting

The EPA said it was reconsidering its mandatory greenhouse gas reporting program, which requires thousands of major industrial polluters to tell the agency about its emissions Zeldin said the “bureaucratic government program” costs hundreds of millions of dollars and doesn’t help air quality Until now, the EPA said the data helped businesses compare their emissions to competitors and ﬁnd opportunities to reduce them and lower costs.

Rules on vehicle emissions

Zeldin vowed to review his agency’s emissions standards for cars and trucks, calling the tightened emissions rules the “foundation for the Biden-Harris electric vehicle mandate.” Nothing the Biden administration implemented required automakers to make and sell EVs or for consumers to buy them. Loosening standards would allow vehicles to emit more planet-warming greenhouse gases, but many automakers have already been investing in making their vehicles more efﬁcient

’09 Endangerment Finding

The scientific finding, under the 2009 Clean Air Act, determined that planetwarming greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. It has been at the core of the nation’s action against climate change. Trump had already directed the EPA to consider the finding’s “legality” in an executive order Experts say the impacts of climate change on human health and the en-

vironment are already clear and that upending the ﬁnding would be devastating.

Technology transition rule

This program enforced strict rules to reduce the use of hydroﬂuorocarbons, highly potent and planetwarming greenhouse gases used in refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps and more. HFCs, as they are known, are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide and leak through equipment that uses compressed refrigerants. Dozens of countries around the globe have pledged to slash their use and production of the chemicals.

End ‘Good Neighbor Plan’

This rule was intended to limit air pollution by restricting power plant smokestack emissions, and those from other industrial sites, across 11 states. Eliminating it would especially impact downwind neighborhoods that are burdened by pollution from ground-level ozone, or smog, that is out of their control However, the Supreme Court had put a hold on the rule last summer, ruling that states challenging it were likely to prevail.

Regulations on soot

Power plants and industrial facilities release particulate matter or soot, that can easily pass through a person’s lungs and into their bloodstream. Last year, the Biden administration tightened standards regulating soot in response to scientiﬁc research indicating existing regulations were insufﬁcient.

At the time, the EPA estimated its stronger regulations would save thousands of lives and prevent hundreds of thousands of cases of asthma and lost workdays annually The Trump administration’s EPA says these regulations are “a major obstacle” for companies and that the U.S. has low levels of soot.

Air pollutant standards

These EPA standards apply to pollutants known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects or other serious health problems Industrial facilities are required to follow strict standards to monitor and limit the amount of these chemicals they release into the air Last year, the EPA tightened standards surrounding ethylene oxide emissions, a human carcinogen commonly used as a sterilizer for medical equipment. The Trump administration said it is considering a “2-year compliance exemption” for facilities affected by these standards, among others.

Regional Haze Program

For decades, this EPA program has required states to reduce pollution that threatens scenic views in more than 150 national parks and wilderness areas, including in the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. Zeldin said that the U.S. has made strides in improving visibility in national parks and that the program is being used as justiﬁcation for shutting down industrial facilities and threatening affordable energy

‘Social Cost of Carbon’

The social cost of carbon is an EPA tool to weigh the economic costs and benefits of regulating polluting industries by putting a price tag on climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions — set at $190 per ton under the Biden administration’s EPA. That calculation is used in cost-benefit analyses, and was intended to account for greenhouse gas emissions’ impacts including natural disasters, crop damage, health problems and sea-level rise. Under the first Trump administration, carbon was pegged at around $5 per ton. An executive order Trump signed on his first day in office directs the EPA to consider eliminating this calculation entirely

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration is canceling studies about ways to improve vaccine trust and access, a move that comes in the midst of a large measles outbreak fueled by unvaccinated children. Researchers with grants from the National Institutes of Health to study why some people have questions or fears about vaccines and how to help those who want to be vaccinated overcome barriers are getting letters canceling their projects. The step ﬁrst reported by The Washington Post, which cited dozens of expected cancellations is

highly unusual, as entire swaths of research typically aren’t ended midstream.

“It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientiﬁc knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment,” say NIH letters sent to two researchers with different grants.

“It’s really concerning,” said Dr Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who viewed and read aloud from two letters other scientists had received, noting the claim that the research doesn’t beneﬁt people or improve quality of life.

“That’s inaccurate. Vaccines clearly save lives, there’s no question about the science of that,” O’Leary said. Better understanding what parents want to learn from their pediatrician — or adults’ questions about their own shots — is “really about improving care and not just necessarily about just the vaccination rates.”

“You can’t say you’re for vaccine safety and not study how people think about vaccines,” added Dr Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association.

Some of the canceled grants are a type that help fund the salaries of promising young researchers, whose careers may be threatened, O’Leary said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By GENE J PUSKAR

Vice President JD Vance, right, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, left, listen as Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, center, speaks in East Palestine Fire Station in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb 3.

La. schools will give fewer tests

Changes to affect kindergarten, fourth, sixth grades

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Louisiana students will no longer take a readiness screener when they enter kindergarten, and fourth and sixth grade students will eventually stop having to sit for an annual social studies test, state education ofﬁcials said Tuesday. Starting next fall, schools will no longer give the Kindergarten Entry Assessment, a test that measures incoming kindergartners’ socialemotional, cognitive and physical development, as well as their literacy and math skills. However, kindergartners will still take a onetime English proﬁciency test and a separate literacy screener three

times over the course of the school year, in addition to a new math screener schools will start using this fall.

Beginning in the 2027-28 school year the state Education Department will do away with the social studies exam for fourth and sixth grades, while continuing to administer the test to students in third, ﬁfth and eighth grades.

The changes are part of an ongoing effort by the department to reduce testing in public schools. State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said Louisiana students take more tests than their counterparts in other states.

“Students spend too much time testing,” he said during a state

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting Tuesday

“We need to know where they are academically to help drive instructional decisions and policy decisions,” he added.

“At the same time, I think that we should be evaluating the quantity of assessments that we are requiring.”

Brumley said Tuesday that Louisiana is the only state that tests all students in third through eighths grades in social studies. He said doing away with the assessments in two grades would cut overall testing time for students from 1,100 minutes to 550 minutes.

See TESTS, page 2B

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Landry plans to order remote workers to return to offices

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Gov. Jeff Landry on Tuesday said he is readying an executive order that would require state employees who work remotely to return to the ofﬁce.

Landry briefly mentioned the plan at the Tchefuncta Country Club during a keynote address to the PAC that supports the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce.

“I’ve been pushing my Cabinet secretaries to make sure that our

people are going back to work,” he said. “And I can tell you in the next 30 days or so, we’re going to sign an executive order telling everybody ‘It’s time to get back to work.’” The room erupted in applause in response to the remark. Landry didn’t elaborate on details of the planned executive order and did not re-

spond to a request for comment through a spokesperson Tuesday

The governor’s effort follows a brief memorandum issued by President Donald Trump on his ﬁrst day in ofﬁce ordering executive department agency heads to “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person.” It also comes five years after the onset of the COVID pandemic,

ä See REMOTE, page 2B

Grand Isle couple found dead identified

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

After a contentious appeal meeting Tuesday night, the Covington City Council has given St. Tammany Health System the green light to build a new ﬁve-story parking garage with hundreds of parking spots, medical ofﬁces,

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Louisiana kindergartners will no longer take a readiness screener, while students in fourth and sixth grades will not be tested in social studies starting in the 2027-28 school year

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Brandon Forrest Jr., 17, ﬁlls the air with music as he practices the trombone outside his home in New Orleans on Friday

COVINGTON

Landry

Judge delays staged-crash trial

N.O. case tied to murder of federal witness

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

A federal judge has delayed a trial that was slated to begin next week in a case against two New Orleans lawyers and several others accused in a scheme to stage vehicle crashes into big rig trucks, with the murder of a federal witness at its center

U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter cited the complexity of the case in agreeing to a request from federal prosecutors to delay a trial, rescheduling for Sept. 8.

The ruling from Vitter came over the objections of attorney Jason Giles, of The King Firm, and stuntwoman-turned-attorney Vanessa Motta, who argued for their right to a speedy trial.

Neither Giles nor Motta is charged directly in the September

2020 slaying of Cornelius Garrison, who admitted to the FBI that he orchestrated dozens of staged crashes as a “slammer” behind the wheel before his death, according to court records.

According to the feds, Garrison admitted to working with Motta, Giles and Sean Alfortish, a disbarred attorney who is Motta’s ﬁancé and the father of their 1-yearold child. Whether the government can use Garrison’s statements posthumously are among the open questions that Vitter cited for delaying a trial.

Garrison was killed four days after his name appeared atop a federal indictment from an investigation dubbed “Operation Sideswipe,” accusing him and others of staging crashes. Prosecutors claim Alfortish and Motta “sought to make Garrison an unavailable

witness” before his violent death.

“Alfortish was engaged in a monthslong scheme to silence Garrison through offers for payoffs, offering to move Garrison to the Bahamas, and obstructive conduct related to Garrison’s subpoena and deposition, culminating in Garrison’s murder,” prosecutors wrote.

The indictment accuses two codefendants, Ryan Harris and Leon “Chunky” Parker, of carrying out a plan to kill Garrison. Harris, 36, pleaded guilty in January to a host of federal charges and admitted connecting Alfortish with Parker, and that the two men plotted to kill Garrison. Harris claims that Parker was the gunman and told him that Alfortish paid him for the killing.

Harris and Jovanna Gardner, who also has pleaded guilty, are scheduled to be sentenced in the

fall. Motta, Giles, Alfortish and Parker have pleaded not guilty Motta and Giles have signaled that they will each seek to be tried separately, wrote Vitter, an appointee of President Donald Trump She added that the case against Parker “has the potential to become a capital case.”

Motta’s attorney, Sean Toomey, argued that the government should be ready for trial, having investigated the staged-crash scheme for years.

“This case is about Vanessa Motta’s state of mind and lack of knowledge that accidents were staged and not, as the government seems to imply, endless ﬁnancial records or other documents,” Toomey wrote. He added that Motta maintains that she “had no idea any accidents were staged.”

Motta faces “financial ruin,” he wrote, having been suspended by the Louisiana Supreme Court from practicing law while the case plays out. The court similarly suspended

The 2024 Irish Channel St Patrick’s Day Parade rolls in New Orleans. This year’s annual parade, scheduled for Saturday, has been canceled due to expected severe weather The Irish Channel St Patrick’s Day Club said it will be rescheduled.

Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day parade canceled

Severe storms forecast Saturday

BY KASEY BUBNASH

Staff writer

So much for the luck of the Irish.

Giles. Vitter has barred Motta, a mother of two, from serving as a paralegal in her ﬁrm Alfortish and Parker are being held without bail pending trial. Alfortish previously served federal time after pleading guilty to defrauding a Louisiana horsemen’s group while serving as its president.

According to court records the scheme involved a few prolific slammers who would recruit people — often friends and family — to pack into vehicles that they would ram into big rigs in New Orleans for big insurance payouts, then steer them to local lawyers.

The only other attorney charged as part of the probe, Danny Patrick Keating, pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing in a parallel scheme involving another admitted slammer, Damian Labeaud, who is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8. Keating is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9.

from page 1B

accidents in recent years involving hospital staff has prompted it to pay greater attention to trafﬁc safety

Travel time between the new helipad and the hospital will also be cut in half, according to the hospital, and the new helipad will no longer have to deal with ﬂight obstructions, as is the case with the current helipad, which is on the ground level.

Schoen said the hospital also commissioned a trafﬁc study even though the state Department of Transportation and Development, which owns Tyler Street, did not require it, and the study found the garage would not be a “trafﬁc generator.”

But some residents strongly disagreed.

At the Planning and Zoning meeting in February, Matt Hardey argued Covington should require the hospital to add two right turning lanes to the intersection to alleviate the congestion, which he described as a “bottleneck.” There, Tyler Street narrows from four lanes to two.

Schoen said the traffic study commissioned by the hospital showed right turning lanes were not necessary He said peak trafﬁc will happen around hospital shift changes, which are outside of rush hour times.

Fortunately, locals will still have a chance to wear green and catch cabbages at an undecided future date, according to Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Club Vice President Ronnie Burke.

“The parade Saturday has been canceled, and we will be talking to the city tomorrow about a new date,” Burke said Wednesday

The Irish Channel’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade won’t roll as originally scheduled on Saturday thanks to severe storms that are expected to move into the New Orleans area this weekend.

TESTS

Continued from page 1B

He said the new social studies testing schedule aligns with the state’s revamped social studies standards, which ofﬁcials call the “Freedom Framework.”

The testing change means that ﬁfth graders now will be assessed on world history they learn in fourth and ﬁfth grades, and eighth graders will be tested on American history they learn in sixth,

Continued from page 1B

which jolted businesses and organizations ﬁrst into ad hoc telework plans and later into formalized policies. And since the end of the global health emergency, it’s left many grappling with the question of if and how to return to primarily in-person arrangements. At least two state agencies in Louisiana on Tuesday conﬁrmed imminent plans to revamp their telework policies.

Full-time employees in the Louisiana Department of Revenue

seventh and eighth grades, which spans from pre-Revolutionary War to the early 2000s.

“I think it’s important to assess students in history and civics, and so we’re going to continue to do that,” Brumley said, “but we’re trying to do it in modules.”

To scale back Louisiana’s heavy emphasis on testing, the department announced in October that

will be required to work from an ofﬁce at least four days per week beginning March 17, Secretary Richard Nelson said. Currently, some employees work remotely 100% of the time, while others work remotely up to two days per week. Out of the department’s 724 employees, 433 employees work remotely at least part of week, according to departmental data Nelson provided. Nelson said that, amid a nationwide push in both the public and private sectors to return to inperson work, his agency has been looking into options too. “Everybody’s kind of moving in this direction to get people back in the ofﬁce,” he said.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service of New Orleans said much of southeast Louisiana is expected to see a “signiﬁcant severe weather event” over the weekend, with some impacts arriving in northern areas Friday and the worst of it on Saturday Weather service forecasters are warning that heavy rains, hail, wind gusts of 75 mph or higher and EF2 tornadoes are all possible

the state’s annual math and English tests in third through eighth grades would be shortened by about 20%, reducing the average time students are expected to spend taking them by about 40 minutes. Federal law requires students to be tested annually in those subjects, but states determine what’s on the tests. Some parents and teachers argue that the tests can stress students and take away from instructional time.

Louisiana is in the process of revamping the way schools teach

Revenue department employees on Monday received an email with updated remote work policies. The communication said changes are being implemented “in anticipation of new directives from the Administration.”

While full-time employees with a traditional workweek schedule will be permitted one day of remote work, other employees like administrative assistants and those who work compressed four-day work weeks are not eligible to work remotely, the email states.

Nelson said his agency will work on transition plans with fully remote employees who don’t live near an ofﬁce building on a

from 7 a.m. Saturday to the same time Sunday

The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Baton Rouge was rescheduled to Sunday ahead of incoming thunderstorms, as was Mandeville’s Krewe du Pooch parade.

Staff writer Missy Wilkinson contributed to this report. Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey bubnash@theadvocate.com.

reading and math. As part of the reforms, students still will take multiple assessments each year in both subjects, which Brumley has said will allow the state to better track which students are struggling and help inform future policy decisions.

“I think we have to be surgical in the way we approach testing reduction,” he said, “so that we still get good information” without over-testing students.

Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate.com.

“case-by-case” basis. Louisiana Economic Development this month announced that its revised remote work policy will take effect March 31, according to a spokesperson for the agency Similar to the revenue department, LED employees will have to the option to work remotely up to one day per week with manager approval Currently, employees at the economic development department are permitted up to two days of remote work.

Staff writer Willie Swett contributed to this report. Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

However, at Tuesday night’s council meeting, in response to residents’ concerns, Schoen announced that the hospital would commit to pay for a new right-turn lane on westbound 11th Street and related utility and trafﬁc light modiﬁcations, which he estimated would cost the hospital half a million dollars. He also announced the hospital would pay for additional signage at Polk Street and 11th to alleviate pressure on 11th Street.

“We think it’s the right thing to do,” Schoen said about the alterations, saying it would add another level of protection.

The concession from the hospital did not satisfy some of the residents in attendance. But the council members appeared to take notice.

“What I’ve heard today is a lot of concern about trafﬁc. And you’re right,” Council Chair Mark Verret told the standing-room-only crowd, before going on to note the additional conditions offered by the hospital in response to residents’ concerns.

“At the end of the day the council did go out of its way to work with the residents and the hospital to try to improve the project,” Verret said in an interview Wednesday, pointing to the additional conditions. “This is going to be a project that beneﬁts all of the city of Covington and the surrounding area.” Verret, along with council members Peter Lewis, Joey Roberts, Todd Burrall and John Botsford, voted to approve the plan with the added conditions. Blaine Stanga and Jimmy Inman opposed. It would have taken ﬁve dissents for the commission’s decision to be overturned. “Election’s coming, kids,” someone shouted after the 5-2 vote.

The hospital, meanwhile, thanked the city for supporting the “critically needed infrastructure” in a news release on Wednesday morning. “We respect the process which consisted of public hearings, free exchange of information and everyone having an opportunity to voice their opinion,” the news release stated

Email Willie Swett at willie. swett@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Brumley

La. OMV computers keep crashing

Outages ‘getting worse each day,’ commissioner says

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Several weeks of computer system outages have delayed services at Ofﬁce of Motor Vehicle sites across Louisiana, frustrating both customers and the agency

“The current issues that we’re facing this week started about three weeks ago,” said OMV Commissioner Dan Casey “It was on and off, and it seems to be getting worse each day.”

The problem has lengthened wait times for customers seeking to renew their driver’s licenses, register their vehicles, reinstate their insurance or receive other OMV services.

It also is impacting public tag agents, which are allowed to perform OMV services on the state’s behalf.

According to Adele Dauphin, president of the Louisiana Public Tag Agent Association, one member tracked the computer system disruptions and found there were 38 hours of downtime between Feb. 21 and March 11. On Wednesday alone, the

system froze at least five times, Casey said. One time, it was out from 9:27 a.m. until 9:56 a.m. The issue then resolved, but only for about half an hour, when the program froze again. The Office of Technology Services does not yet know how to fix the problem but has “all hands on deck” working to do so, said Casey The state believes the root of the problem has to do with traffic in the OMV’s database, which law enforcement and other states use to access drivers’ records.

“What’s happening is that more than one entity may be trying to access the same record or the same group of records,” said Casey, adding that that may “lock up” the system.

Even customers whose names are called at OMV ofﬁces are not immune from the effects, as the system can freeze while that employee is working on the customer’s request Such interruptions can freeze a driver’s records, requiring the employee to call a help desk to resolve the issue,

AG to ask La. high court to intervene on ballot challenge

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

After a state judge on Wednesday refused to halt a lawsuit aimed at derailing a statewide vote on an amendment to the state constitution, Attorney General Liz Murrill said she will ask the Louisiana Suprem e Court to intervene.

The lawsuit argues Amendment 2, which could have wideranging impacts on state taxes and ﬁnances and is set to go before voters on March 29, is worded in an illegally biased and misleading way The plaintiffs, represented by New Orleans attorney William Most, want the court to block the amendment from taking effect.

The office of Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry, the defendant, argued the case should be tossed because it’s too close to the election and because the plaintiffs don’t have grounds to sue under Louisiana law

But district court Judge Louise Hines on Wednesday said the plaintiffs had the right to sue and have a full hearing on the preliminary injunction they seek.

“How do you ensure that your rights are being respected as a citizen without having a vehicle to do that?” said Hines in explaining why the court should consider the challenge.

Shortly after the ruling, Murill said in a statement that “the law indisputably prohibits lawsuits like this” and said she is asking the Supreme Court to immediately intervene because early voting is set to begin Saturday “The plaintiffs continue to try to create confusion where there is none,” Murrill said. “It’s not the ballot language that is confusing — it’s this frivolous litigation.”

Regardless of how the lawsuit plays out, Amendment 2 will appear on voters’ ballots.

“Our bottom-line conclusion is that the ship has sailed,” argued an attorney representing Murrill’s ofﬁce, which intervened in the case.

The judge agreed that it is too late to remove Amendment 2 from the ballot, and Most didn’t contest that idea

“It is absolutely critical for voters to know that the March 29 election will move forward with Amendment 2 on the ballot,” said a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Ofﬁce after the hearing.

The judge said that what remains at issue is the effect Amendment 2 would have should it pass. “We’re past whether or not people can vote on it. It’s the validity of the votes,” Hines said.

In a statement, Most said that the lower court’s decision on Wednesday to let the lawsuit proceed “recognized a core truth: that rules calling for transparency in elections are not unenforceable words on a page; they are critical pillars of a functioning democracy.” Amendment 2 is the result of two-week special legislative session held in November focused primarily on making dramatic changes to Louisiana tax law

Lawmakers slashed income taxes in exchange for raising the sales tax rate. But they still need ﬁnal voter approval to make a slew of other changes to the part of the tax code found in constitution, such as lowering the maximum income tax rate, loosening restrictions on how money in several state savings accounts can be spent, and capping how much lawmakers can increase spending from one year to the next. The amendment would also free up funding to permanently increase salaries for many teachers by $2,000.

Man killed, woman critical after struck by car

Staff report

A man died and a woman was in critical condition after being hit by a car near the on-ramp to Interstate 10, according to the New Orleans Police Department

The call came in at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene. The driver who waited at the scene for authorities to arrive, told police he was driving south on Elysian Fields through the intersection at North Dorgenois Street when he saw two pedestrians in the roadway. Police said the driver had a green light and told investigators he could not avoid hitting the pedestrians. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she was in critical condition Tuesday police said.

Casey said. The outages also could become a public safety issue, according to Casey, who said police rely on the OMV’s database to pull information about drivers on the roads.

In a statement, Louisiana State Police Sergeant William Huggins said the agency has not received any reports of troopers having issues related to the system outages but “(recognizes) the importance of ensuring uninterrupted access to critical driver information for public safety.”

“We are actively monitoring our systems and will make any necessary adjustments to ensure our operations remain unaffected,” the statement said. “Should any issues arise, we will work closely with OMV and other agencies to mitigate any potential impact on law enforcement operations.”

Casey said the state will attempt to implement possible solutions over the next few Sundays but must try one ﬁx at a time to properly identify the problem.

“We have to just go through one thing after another diligently in an attempt to get it back up and running,” he said.

A bigger fix

According to Casey, the database’s software is 50 years old and needs to be updated. Such an upgrade could help prevent future system outages.

Legislators and Gov Jeff Landry have been very supportive of an upgrade, Casey said, and the OMV has narrowed its options for a new program down to two possibilities.

He expects to select one within 30 days. Then, it will take 18 months to modernize and implement the software for the driver’s licenses side of the database, and another 12 to 18 months for vehicle registration according to Casey The ﬁrst upgrade should help relieve the strain on the database and improve operations, he said.

In the meantime, the OMV is getting a new mainframe, which Casey said should

also help. The commissioner expressed confidence that the Ofﬁce of Technology Services will stop the ongoing software freezes and apologized to customers experiencing delays.

“It’s a tough, tough thing,” he said.

The delays come at a difficult time for the department, which Casey said gets the most trafﬁc during tax season, when residents have extra money on-hand to pay for services.

In addition, the Transportation Security Administration has said it will begin enforcing its “REAL ID” requirements on May 7. That means airplane passengers must have identification compliant with stricter regulations to board, though the TSA has said it will take a phased-in enforcement approach. It is unclear precisely what that approach will entail.

Regardless, the change has left some residents scrambling to obtain or update driver’s licenses by May 7.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

Memorial for student set for Friday at Southern

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

The family of Caleb Wilson, the Southern University student who was killed in a fraternity hazing incident Feb. 27, will host a public memorial for their son Friday on Southern’s campus. The memorial will take

place at the F.G. Clark Activity Center on campus, at 801 Harding Blvd.

A public viewing will be open from noon to 5 p.m., followed by a celebration of life service, which will be streamed online.

“He was a bright light in Jaguar Nation, a dedicated scholar, and a proud mem-

ber of the world-renowned Human Jukebox,” said Chancellor John K Pierre. “Caleb Wilson’s kindness, passion, and unwavering spirit left a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him. As we mourn this tremendous loss, we also come together to celebrate his life and legacy with his family.”

Man pleads guilty in killing sparked

by an online

feud

New Orleans Area Deaths

Bourgeois, Ruth Brown, Lionel Ceazer Sr., Emanuel DeMolle Jr., Perry Dominick,Annetta Dusset-Green, Gwendolyn Faciane, Eloise Flatley, Mary Gautier, Patricia Griffin, Betty Grisafe, Lynne Henderson Sr., Leroy Johnson, Barbara Jones, Louis Kendrick, Wilhelmina Kurtz, Michael Lewis, Monica Mercadel, Robert Milazzo Jr., Joseph Minor Jr., Francis Mouton, Russell Phoenix,Almedia Richardson Sr., William Strauss, Berney Sykes, Samuel Windsay Sr., Michael E Jefferson Garden of Memories

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

A teenager scheduled to stand trial for murder in a Metairie shooting instead agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge on Monday

Antonio Moore, 18, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old Daniel George, according to Jefferson Parish court records.

Moore was just 16 years old in 2022 when Jefferson Parish authorities say he killed George after an online feud. He was charged as an adult.

Moore’s accomplice, Nicolas Robinson, who’d pleaded guilty in August to manslaughter for his role as a getaway driver, was sentenced in the case Tuesday, according to court records.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators say Moore and George had been arguing with each another online about a homicide that happened years earlier Authorities have never divulged any details about that earlier homicide or why it left George and Moore at odds.

But on the evening of Nov 28, 2022, George and other witnesses at his residence on Academy Drive in Metairie suspected that they

might be targeted because of the disagreement, authorities said.

At 7:30 p.m., George and the others were in his backyard smoking cigarettes when they noticed a latemodel Ford pickup parked nearby, authorities said.

Gunﬁre then erupted from the truck’s passenger side and George was hit in the face. He was taken to a hospital but died of his injuries, according to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Detectives quickly identiﬁed Robinson as the truck owner based on descriptions of the getaway vehicle, according to authorities.

Robinson eventually admitted driving Moore to George’s house, though he told investigators he thought they were going to buy marijuana, authorities said. He did tell investigators that Moore had a large riﬂe in a backpack between his feet inside the truck, according to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

After the shooting, Robinson drove off and later sold the truck, authorities said. Robinson was arrested three days after the homicide. It’s not clear when Moore was taken into custody Both were indicted with second-degree murder in March 2023.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday before Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court.

Moore was sentenced to 30 years in prison in a negotiated agreement accepted by the court and approved by George’s family, according to court records. Robinson appeared before Morvant on Tuesday In addition to manslaughter, he had pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, according to court records. Morvant sentenced him to 20 years in prison on each count. The sentences are to be served at the same time, according to court records.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate. com.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2025

PICK 3: 3-2-4

PICK 4: 6-9-3-4

PICK 5: 5-3-2-9-2

MEGA MILLIONS: 1-19-26-38-69

MEGA BALL: 15

MEGAPLIER: 3 Unofficial noti

Faciane, Eloise Johnson, Barbara Milazzo Jr., Joseph New Orleans Boyd Family Brown, Lionel Sykes, Samuel Windsay Sr., Michael Charbonnet Dusset-Green, Gwendolyn Kendrick, Wilhelmina Mercadel, Robert DW Rhodes Dominick,Annetta Henderson Sr., Leroy Estelle J Wilson Jones, Louis Gertrude Geddes Griffin, Betty Greenwood Mouton, Russell

Majestic Mortuary Ceazer Sr., Emanuel Professional Phoenix,Almedia River Parish

Patrick H Sanders

Bourgeois, Ruth Gautier, Patricia Lewis, Monica West Bank

Davis Mortuary

Richardson Sr., William Mothe

Grisafe, Lynne

Robinson FH

DeMolle Jr., Perry

Obituaries

Murrill

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Mourners dance March 5 during a second-line honoring Caleb Wilson at Southern University A memorial for Wilson will be held Friday on the campus.

friends of the family also

Ruth “Gwen” Bourgeois a lifelong resident of Re‐serve Louisiana in the Parish of St. John the Bap‐tist, answered the Master s call and peacefully entered eternal rest on Saturday March 1, 2025, at East Jef‐ferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana; at age 77. She was the daughter of the late Ruth Johnson James and the late Ernest Bowman She was raised in a Christian environment by her grandparents, the late Rev Albert “Poppa” John‐son and Mary Johnson. She was the devoted wife of Adam Bourgeois for 35 years She was the loving mother of: Nedra Joseph (Timothy) Snowden and Shannon Joseph; adopted daughter Fayron Epps She was a retiree of Lakeside Hospital of Metairie Louisiana Also cherishing her memories are her step‐daughters: Monique Bour‐geois and Charlene Tucker‐son; granddaughters: Jada Snowden and Jade Frank; a grandson: Jayce Snowden; great grandchildren: Destin Thomas, Charm and Kendall Gerard, Sean Spears, and Tatum Young; adopted grandchildren: Malachi and Shai Ward Lanai Epps; step grand‐daughter: Blair Okpalobi; siblings: Clara Belle Bow‐man Sharon M (David) Wamsley, Kerry Stewart, Ivory (Doris) Stewart, and JoAnn Edwards Sylve; sis‐

ters-in-law: Earline Sora‐puru and Margery Young; loving and devoted cousins: Dolores “Cin‐derella” Collins and Damon Johnson; devoted friends: Mary Miller Joseph, Ar‐timese Epps, Myrtle Lennix and Dolores Deselle; a God‐daughter: Kojuvona Telfair Singleton; a Godson, Kalen Collins; a host of nieces, nephews cousins, other relatives and friends Rela‐tives and friends of the family, Pastors, Ofﬁcers and Members of New Pil‐grim Baptist and Bethle‐hem Baptist Church are in‐vited to a Celebration of Life Services at 11:00 am on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at New Pilgrim Bap‐tist Church 107 Pilgrim Drive, Reserve, LA 70084 Rev Dr Forell Bering Sr Pastor-Ofﬁciant Visitation 9:00 am until time of Ser‐vice at the above-named church Interment St John Memorial Gardens, 2205 W Airline Hwy. Laplace, LA 70068. Final arrangements entrusted to Patrick H Sanders Funeral Home & Funeral Directors, LLC, 605 Main Street Laplace, LA 70068, 985-359-1919. “Pro‐viding Care & Comfort is Our Highest Mission.”

Lionel Carver

Lionel Carver Brown passed away on February 23, 2025, at the age of 80 Lionel C Brown is survived by his wife Linda Brown, stepdaughter; Ronita S. Pi‐phus (Andrew), stepson; Dallas Simms Jr. sister; Priscilla Brown-Franklin, two brothers; Raymond Brown-Norman, Gregory Brown, three borthers-inlaw; Terry Hammond, Louis Hammond, and Elliott Hammond. Also survived by grandchildren, great grandchildren nieces nephews, a host of other relatives and friends Pre‐ceded in death by his par‐ents the late Rev Robert Brown and Pearl Lyons Brown, three brothers; Robert Brown Jr., Gerald J Brown, Harold D. Brown; three sisters; Cora M Brown-Penn, Barbara A Wilson, Cynthia BrownAbibo, stepdaughter; Trenell Simms and one nephew Charles Penn Jr Family and friends are in‐vited to attend the Cele‐bration of Life Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, for 10:00 a.m at Greater Ever‐green Baptist Church, 2243 Clouet

Interment will follow at Southeast Louisiana Veter‐ans Cemetery, 34888 Grantham College Drive, Slidell, LA 70460. Guest‐book Online: www anewtra ditionbegins.com (504)2820600. Linear Brooks Boyd and Donavin D. Boyd Own‐ers/Funeral Directors.

Ceazer Sr., Emanuel 'Big Manny

January 23,1977-Febru‐ary 17, 2025. It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Emanuel (Big Manny) Ceazer, who departed this life on Febru‐ary 17, 2025. A proud native of New Orleans Emanuel was known for his unwa‐vering devotion to his 2 kids and his passion for family gaming, and music Emanuel is survived by his loving kids: Emanuel Jr and Manisha Ceazer, Brother: Alvester Ceazer, 2 Sisters: Jacqueline and Janice Ceazer, 2 God broth‐ers: Paul Matthews and Willie Carter, God sister: Santenecha Ceazer and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins other family and friends He is preceded in death by his parents Sam‐son and Alberta Ceazer and Sister Samala McGee Funeral Services will be held for Emanuel Ceazer at Calvary Tabernacle Church, 3629 Dryades St New Or‐leans, LA 70115 on Satur‐day, March 15, 2025. Visita‐tion 10am -11am and Ser‐vice starts at 11am. A bal‐lon release for Samson, Al‐berta, and Emanuel will be held right after service Professional Arrangements Entrusted to Majestic Mor‐tuary Service, Inc. (504)5235872.

DeMolle Jr., Perry Louis

Perry Louis DeMolle, Jr., 36, of Baton Rouge Louisiana, tragically passed away on February 18, 2025. He entered this world on March 16, 1988, to the union of Perry and Vanessa Taylor DeMolle in Lynwood, California. His formal education was ac‐quired through the Jeffer‐son Parish School System Perry was an avid motor cyclist, savoring both the thrill of travel and the craftsmanship involved in repairing restoring and construction rejuvenating an array of items Perry re‐ceived Christ at an early age Perry was a family person who cherished and valued time spent with his family and friends Sharing memories and stories of his younger years was im‐portant to Perry, as he loved to reminisce of those fond memories Perry was a deeply beloved father uncle, cousin, brother, and friend. He is survived by his beloved children: Ter‐rance, Tamiyah, Rodjae, Chrisshad, Imani Conner Caroline, Paige, Chase, Bravery, and Chosen; one cherished grandson, Nazir Turner; his mother Vanessa T DeMolle; his siblings James Collins (Denise), Shyhonda Jack‐son (Samuel), and Cameron DeMolle; as well as his devoted friend, Catherine Jones. 1 uncle: Steve DeMolle (Jeanine); 2 aunts: LaVeda Taylor (Juan) and Lori DeMolle; a host of family and friends

a.m. Reverend Leander Taylor ofﬁciating and en‐tombment will follow at St Joseph Baptist Church Cemetery in Phoenix, La. Funeral planning entrusted to Robinson Family Funeral Home (504) 208-2119. For online condolences, please visit www robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com

Dominick, Annetta Lee Ewell

Annetta Lee Ewell Do‐minick departed this life on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at the age of 70. Wife of Joel Dominick Daughter of the late William Henry and Cin‐derella Jones Ewell. Sister of Rosanna Ewell, Rita Adams, Marguerite Gatling, Minister Charles Ewell, Debra Williams, and Yvonne Carrizales. Sisterin-law of Carolyn Ewell and Pauline Ewell. God mother of Karl Ewell, Germaine Davis, and Tyrone Cham‐bers, bonus mother of Keisha (Levan) Woodberry, Joel Cooks, and Jennifer Paisant She is also sur‐vived by a host of nieces, nephews other relatives and friends Relatives and friends of the family also employees of Tulane Uni‐versity, also pastors ofﬁ‐cers and members of New Zion Baptist Church 2319 Third St., New Orleans, LA and Virginia Baptist Church, 150 Virginia St , Ewellville, LA., are invited to attend a Funeral Service at New Zion Baptist Church 2319 Third Street New Orleans, LA on Satur‐day March 15, 2025 at 10:00am Visitation will begin at 9:00am Inter‐ment: Virginia Baptist Church Cemetery Ewellville, LA Arrangements by D W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70125. Please visit www rhodesfuneral com to sign the online guestbook

Dusset-Green, Gwendolyn Jean

Gwendolyn Jean DussetGreen daughter of the late Marion and Edwin Dusset, passed away at home on Monday, February 24, 2025 She is survived by her son Sanford; granddaughter, Jasmine; sisters, Noella, Unique (Irma) and Sandra as well as a host of nieces, nephews cousins, other loving relatives and friends Gwendolyn was a retired nursing assistant from Charity Hospital of New Orleans. She was a devoted member of Pente‐cost Baptist Church for over 40 years. A Memorial service honoring the life and legacy of the late Gwendolyn Jean DussetGreen will be held at Pen‐tecost Baptist Church 1510 Harrison Avenue, LA 70122 on Saturday March 15 2025 at 11am. Please sign online guestbook at www charbonnetfuneralhome. com Face mask and social distancing encouraged Charbonnet Labat Glapion, Directors (504)581 4411.

ing woman dedicated to family and friends she is a graduate of East Jefferson High School and South‐eastern Louisiana Univer‐sity and is a parishioner of St. Rita Church, Harahan Daughter of the late Harry S and Mercedes Bailly Gi‐diere and sister of late Anita Gilford, she is sur‐vived by her husband, Rod‐ney Faciane, sons Byron and Gary Alipio, daughters Rhonda Moorhead and Gina Snyder; grandsons Zach, Alex, Brandon and Drew; granddaughter Melina; three great grand‐children; and brother inlaw Marion Gilford. Rela‐tives and friends are in‐vited to celebrate her joy‐ful life on Friday March 14 2025, at Garden of Memo‐ries Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, Louisiana 70001. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m followed by a funeral mass, a second line and burial will follow in Garden of Memories Ceme‐tery. To send ﬂowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Eloise "Tiffany Faciane, please visit www gardenofmemoriesmetairi e com.

Flatley, Mary Susan Mary Susan "Sue" Jewett Flatley, abeloved mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on December 31, 2024 at the age of 82. She was happily married to the late William "Bill" Flatley for 53 years. Sue is survived by her two children, Mary Sue Flatley and William "Jay" Flatley (Nicole), as well as her grandson, Cooper James Flatley. She is also survived by her brothers, Edwin Jewett (the late Dottie) and Patrick Jewett (Gloria), along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Sue was predeceased by her parents, Edwin and Mary Susan "May" Jewett. Visitation for Sue will be from11:00 AM until 12:00 PM and Mass at 12:00 PM on Friday, March 14, 2025 at St. Ann Church and Shrine, 3601 Transcontinental Dr., Metairie, LA 70006. Interment to immediately follow in Greenwood Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Tharp Funeral Home. Expressions of love and sympathy may be placed and viewed at www.tharpcares.com.

Gautier, Patricia Marie Dinvaut

Patricia Marie Dinvaut Gautier, a native of Edgard, LA and a longtime resident of Hahnville, LA departed this life on Monday, March 3, 2025, at East Jefferson General Hospital at the age of 87. She was the ﬁrstborn child of the late Rupert Dinvaut, Sr. and Willie Mae Dinvaut of Edgard, LA. Sis‐ter of Rupert Dinvaut Jr (Janice), Sheila Floyd, Eury‐dice Neville (Roland Jr ) and Barry Dinvaut, Sr. (Lor‐raine). Loving mother of Kenneth Gautier, Karla Gautier, Stanford Gautier, Erica Gautier, Jeanise Gau‐tier and the late Stephen Gautier (the late Jernell) She is also survived by her 3 grandchildren Jai'Brian Gautier, Leila Gautier, Joshua Walker and 1 greatgrandchild, Chase Banks She attended Xavier Preparatory School and was a graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans, LA. A retired teacher with the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board, she taught at East St John High School and more re‐cently at West St John High School where she taught Consumer Science (Home Economics) with a focus on the Culinary Arts

priest and parishioners of St John the Baptist Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church & Inter‐national Shrine of St. de, St. John the Baptist Parish School System Employees and all neighboring churches are invited to at‐tend the Mass of Christian Burial at St John the Bap‐tist Catholic Church, 2349 LA-18, Edgard, LA 70049 on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 10:00 am. Father Robus‐tiano Morgia, Ofﬁciant Vis‐itation will begin at 8:00 am. Recitation of the Rosary at 9:00 am Final arrangements entrusted to Patrick H Sanders Funeral Home & Funeral Directors LLC, 605 Main Street, Laplace LA 70068, 985-5491919. "Providing Care & Comfort is Our Highest Mission. music and

Betty Shannon Griffin, age 83 was born on Janu‐ary 26, 1942, in Hazlehurst, MS passed away on Thurs‐day, February 27, 2025, at Touro Hospital. Ms. Shan‐non lived in New Orleans for the past 55 years. After more than 30 years of ser‐vice with Charity Hospital, Ms. Shannon retired as a Registered Nurse manager for the ambulatory clinic Betty was the loving mother of Piper and Lisa Griffin. Beloved sister of William Carter (LaVerne) of Grayson GA Grandmother of one special grandson, Robert Noble of New Or‐leans, LA Aunt of Michael (Bonnie) Carter of Sandy Springs, GA, LaShanna Carter of Lawrenceville GA and Felicia Glover of Au‐rora, CO. Niece of Mattie Shannon of New Orleans, LA, Rosa Shannon of McDo‐nough, GA, Barbra Reese of Hazlehurst, MS and Thomas (Deloris) Shannon of East St. Louis, MO Betty was also survived by a host of great nieces & nephews cousins and friends She was preceded in death by her parents Amos Shannon and Ruby Shannon. Relatives and friends, of the family, also Pastor, officers and mem‐bers of Second Baptist Church 6th District, Sixth Street Baptist Church (Rev Dr. Torin T Sanders, Pas‐tor) and the Friendship So‐cial and Civic Club are in‐vited to attend the Cele‐bration of Life Service on Friday March 14, 2025, at Second Baptist Church 6th District, 4218 Laurel Street, New Orleans, LA 70115 at 10:00 a.m Visitation from 8:30 a.m. until 10:00 a.m Rev Dr Samuel Gibbs, Jr , Pastor Officiating Fol‐lowed by a Visitation on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at Hazlehurst Funeral Home, Hazlehurst MS from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m Dismissal Graveside Inter‐ment Service at Greater New Zion Missionary Bap‐tist Church Cemetery 4063 Antioch Road, Hazlehurst, MS. You may sign the guest book on www gertrudeged deswillis com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home Inc. in charge (504) 522-2525.

Online: www.anewtra ditionbegins com (504)2820600. Linear Brooks Boyd ‐

On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, Perry Louis DeMolle Jr. began his journey into eternal life He was pre‐ceded in death by his fa‐ther, Perry L DeMolle, Sr ; sisters, Chanel Miles and PerriAnn DeMolle; grand‐parents, Melvin and Vic‐torine Encalade DeMolle and Harding and Alma Tin‐son Taylor Relatives and friend of the family are in‐vited to attend the celebra‐tion of life service which will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Robin‐son Family Funeral Home 9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037. The visitation will begin at 9 a.m., and the service will begin at 11 a.m Reverend Leander Taylor ofﬁciating and en‐tombment will follow at St Joseph Baptist Church Cemetery in Phoenix, La Funeral planning entrusted to Robinson Family Funeral Home (504) 208-2119. For

As a devout and faithful Catholic, she was a dedi‐cated member of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Hahnville, LA, al‐though she also enjoyed attending Mass at various local churches and in the New Orleans area She took immense pride in her involvement with the Oblate Associates of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church & International Shrine of St. Jude in New Orleans

Those who knew her expe‐rienced her warm person‐ality, generosity, and deep interest in and love for oth‐ers She had a passion for cooking and was always eager to share her culinary expertise Gardening was another of her loves, and she eagerly anticipated each spring, looking for‐ward to selecting her seeds and planning her garden Relatives and friends of the family, also priest and parishioners of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church & Inter‐national Shrine of St de,

377th TSC; also pastors, ofﬁcers and members of United Fellowship FGBC, Crowder Church Of Christ Ebenezer Baptist Church and First Mount Calvary Baptist Church are invited to at‐tend a Funeral Service at D.W Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave New Orleans, Louisiana on Sat‐urday, March 15, 2025 at 10 am. Visitations will begin at 9 am Interment: Mount Olivet Cemetery. Arrange‐ments entrusted by Du‐plain W Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave New Orleans LA 70125. Masks are required

Grifﬁn, Betty Shannon

Brown,

Johnson, Barbara Catherine Ripberger

Barbara Catherine Rip‐berger Johnson passed away peacefully at her home, surrounded by her family, on Saturday, Febru‐ary 22, 2025.

Grisafe, Lynne

raising six children Anne Marie J. Lamb, Williams S. Johnson, III, M.D Cather‐ine J. Livermore, Dorothy J. Himbert Barbara J Conley, and Mary Jo J. Culotta She inherited six additional children (sons and daugh‐ter-in-law), Eddie Don Lamb, Terri Rihner John‐son, Carl R Livermore, Jr., Bruce Himbert, Keith Con‐ley, and Michael Culotta Barbara was a proud, lov‐ing MawMaw to Leanne Lamb, Olivia Johnson Charles Rees, Shannon Landreaux (Shane), Carl Livermore, III (Lauren), Gabrielle Cook (Brian), Blaise Himbert, Stacey Conley, Kimberly Mickens (Shay), Chad Conley Kelsey Conley, Conner Cu‐lotta and Kayla Culotta; and Great MawMaw to Vic‐toria and Gino Lamb Aubrey and Kolton Easley, Kaysen Lamb, Rylee and Brady Landreaux, Reagan and Hudson Livermore Tyler, Liam, and Harper Cook Barbara is also sur‐vived by many nieces and nephews She was prede‐ceased by her siblings Eleanor Engler (Harold), Edward (Doris) Robert Francis, and Richard (Iris) Ripberger, and Theresa Ripberger. The family would like to thank the many staff members of Vital Caring Group who cared for and visited Bar‐bara for the past six months and all who of‐fered prayers and support during our time of need

Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend a Funeral Mass at St Catherine of Siena Church 105 Bonnabel Blvd , Metairie on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 12:00 noon Visi‐tation at 10:00 a.m until 12:00 p.m Interment in Garden of Memories Ceme‐tery. Garden of Memories in charge of arrangements In lieu of ﬂowers please consider a donation in her memory to St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 105 Bonnabel Blvd., Metairie, Louisiana 70005.

Louis

Louis (Lukie) Jones, en‐tered eternal rest on March 7, 2025 at Passages Hos‐pice at the age of 89. Son of the late Samuel Jones and Grace Brown. Beloved wife of Joyce Norwood Jones Father of Pamela Smith, Fatih (Pedie) Victor Hasan Kim Jones, Tanya Walters, Takecha Jones Terrance Johnson Jones (Angela), Joycelyn Johnson (Tony) Ralph Johnson (Sandra), Kenneth Johnson and Bill Norwood (Debbie) Brother of the late Gloria Butler Uncle of Charles (Baby Brother) Brown (Sandra) and Bessie Johnson (Ash‐ley). Also survived by a host of grandchildren great-grandchildren, nieces nephews, cousins other relatives and friends Relatives and friends of the family, also priests and parishioners of St Katharine Drexel Catholic Church and employees of N.O.P.D are invited to at‐tend the Celebration of Life Service for Louis (Lukie) Jones on Saturday March 15, 2025 for 10:00 a.m at Estelle J Wilson Funeral Home, Inc 2715 Danneel Street, New Orleans, LA 70113. Dr. Akhem Wilson ofﬁciating Visitation from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m In‐terment: Private. Arrange‐ments By Estelle J Wilson Funeral Home Inc. 2715 Danneel Street, NOLA 70113. Information: (504) 895-4903. To sign online guest book please visit www estellejwilsonfh com.

a degree in nursing. She later moved to New Or‐leans where she met her husband, the late Irvin I. Kendrick Beloved mother of Demetrius and Terry Kendrick, the late Wanda Kado and Irvin I. Kendrick, Jr. Grandmother of Terry Kendrick, Jr., Terrione Kendrick, Junkie Allen, Do‐rian Kenzy and Lionel Holmes; the late Tyree Kendrick and Alexander Kenzy Great grandmother of Skylar and Tyson Kendrick, Morgan Camden Michelle Holmes and Riley Allen Also survived by a host of other relatives and friends A Celebration Ser‐vice honoring the life and legacy of the late Wil‐helmina Brown Kendrick will be held at New Journey Word Church 2536 Annette Street, New Orleans, LA on Friday March 14, 2025 at 10 am. Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery. Visitation 9 am in the church Please sign online guestbook at www charbonnetfuneralho me.com Face mask and social distancing advised Charbonnet Labat Glapion, Directors (504)581 4411.

Kurtz, Dr. Michael Louis

Dr Michael Louis Kurtz died peacefully in Ham‐mond, Louisiana, sur‐rounded by family and friends, on Saturday, March 1 2025. He was 83 He is survived by his son, Michael David Kurtz and his brother, Louis Kurtz, as well as by many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Isabel Katharine Stoddard Kurtz parents Louis and Ethel Philibert Kurtz and brother Leonard Kurtz Dr Kurtz was born in New Orleans on August 26 1941. He attended Jesuit High School and then ob‐tained a degree in history from the Louisiana State University at New Orleans (now UNO) as part of its second graduating class He went on to obtain a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee and a doctorate from Tu‐lane University While com‐pleting his doctorate, he moved to Hammond to be‐come a professor at South‐eastern Louisiana Univer‐sity in the Department of History and Government as it was then called He remained at SLU for 50 years, serving not only as a professor and author but also as Dean of the Gradu‐ate School His courses were always popular with the students, especially those on the Kennedy As‐sassination and Crime in America, which were rou‐tinely full. He was also ac‐tive in the Louisiana His‐torical Association, serving as its President in 1985. He was the author of several books, including Crime of the Century: The Kennedy Assassination from a His‐torian’s Perspective; Earl K Long: The Saga of Uncle Earl and Louisiana Politics (coauthored with Morgan Peoples); The JFK Assassi‐nation Papers: Lone Gun‐man versus Conspiracy; and the modern portion of Louisiana: A History the textbook used in most col‐legiate Louisiana history courses Crime of the Cen‐tury was particularly wellread, running through mul‐tiple editions and being translated into a number of languages Outside of work, Dr. Kurtz loved sports, cats, gardening, and humor running from the sublime to the absurd And of course he was a vo‐racious consumer of his‐tory books, which he con‐tinued to read until his passing. He was a loving and devoted husband and a wonderful father He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Memor‐ial Visitation at Harry McK‐neely & Son Funeral Home, 2000 N. Morrison Blvd , Hammond, LA 70401 on Saturday, March 15, 2025, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Interment will be private In lieu of ﬂowers please make memorial donations to the Tangipahoa Humane Society, Alley Cat Allies, or your local animal shelter

Monica Adele Kelly Lewis transitioned from her earthly life on March 4 2025, at Ormond Nursing & Care Center in Destrehan LA at the age of 70. She was the middle child born to the union of the late An‐drew Kelly Jr and Carmelite Roublow Kelly on January 13, 1955. She was baptized at and was a life‐long member of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Hahnville, LA She was a native of Killona LA. Monica graduated in 1973 from Hahnville High School Shortly after grad‐uation she was united in holy matrimony to the late Brent Lewis on April 28 1973. They were married for 50 years. From this union came their 2 chil‐dren, Gia Maria Lewis and LeVar Anthony Lewis. Mon‐ica’s love for her children and grandchildren Zuri Anysia Grows, Zendé Aidan Grows and Gage Anthony Lewis was indescribable, they were her world! Noth‐ing was too good for Gigi and Bo. Her grandchildren belonged to her, she might fuss and complain but she had them spoiled rotten and even while battling de‐mentia when she heard Zuri, Zen or Gage, her face would light up. “Tee Moni loved spoiling her nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly and she shared a special bond with oldest niece Vonda Darensbourg. She found great joy in cooking and baking cakes, but it was those famous sweet potato pies that everyone looked forward too during the hol‐idays. On any given day, before being taken over by her illness she could be found riding all over to some out of the way store that had the best meat, taking rides the casino with her lifelong friends, Michael and Dionne Can‐non, shopping and visiting different churches in New Orleans with the late Patri‐cia Gautier, or her favorite pastime, watching QVC, or‐dering a million packages a week The UPS & FedEx drivers knew her on a ﬁrst name basis and would often stop her if they passed her car on the road to give her a package. She bought everything in bulk if you needed toilet paper, light bulbs or anything all you had to do was call Monica before you went to the store because 9 times out of 10, she had it. As her illness began to progress and she stopped driving, she could easily be found running away to her cousin Barbara Toney’s house so they could go for a ride Monica leaves behind pre‐cious memories that will forever be cherished by her daughter, Gia Maria Lewis; her son LeVar An‐thony Lewis (Nicondra); granddaughter, Zuri Anysia Grows; grandsons Zendé Aidan Grows and Gage An‐thony Lewis; brothers Jerry Darensbourg (Glenda) and Adrian Kelly; aunt, Carol Kelly Dunbar; son-in-law, Raymond Grows, sisters-in-law, Faye L Gauthier, Norma L Louis and Nova H. Lewis; brother-in-law, Nelson Lewis Jr.; Goddaughters Guernica Borne and Kawanna Chopin; Godson John Darensbourg, Sr.; a host of nieces, nephews cousins and friends Mon‐ica is preceded in death by her husband, Brent Lewis; parents, Andrew Kelly, Jr and Carmelite Roublow Kelly; sister Valerie Kelly Borne ; brother Gregory Kelly; honorary sister, Monita Baham August; nephew Demon Summers; grandparents, Ferdinand Roublow, Carmelite D. Rou‐blow, Andrew Kelly Sr and Eva C Kelly; mother and father-in-law, Viola Lumar Lewis and Nelson Lewis, Sr.; sisters-in-law, Deanna L Mitchell and Donnell L Favorite; brothers-in-law, Gary and Spencer Lewis; and host of aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends. She will b tl mi d but our frie nvil Prie Our Rosa and chur tend Bur 2025, Lady Cath Lane Vis am Paul terme Ceme arra Patr Home LLC, 605 Main Street, Laplace, LA 70068, 985-3591919. “Providing Care & Comfort is Our Highest Mission.

Lew son L Sr.; sisters-in-law, Deanna L. Mitchell and Donnell L Favorite; brothers-in-law, Gary and Spencer Lewis; and host of aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends She will be greatly missed but will live on forever in our hearts. Relatives friends of the family, Hah‐nville High Class of 1973 Priest and Parishioners of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church and all neighboring churches are invited to at‐tend the Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 11:00 am at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 1 Rectory Lane, Hahnville, LA 70057 Visitation will begin at 9:00 am until mass time Father Paul Clark, Celebrant, In‐terment at Holy Rosary Cemetery, Taft, LA Final arrangements entrusted to Patrick H Sanders Funeral Home & Funeral Directors, LLC, 605 Main Street, Laplace, LA 70068, 985-3591919. “Providing Care & Comfort is Our Highest Mission.

Mercadel, Robert Joseph David

Robert Joseph David Mercadel, lovingly known as “Bobby” to his family departed this blessed life for his eternal rest on Sat‐urday, March 1, 2025 at the age of 69. He was born on November 17, 1955 to the late Ferdinand R. Mercadel and Althea Tyler Mercadel Burke in New Orleans, LA Beloved husband of Ruby Lee Amos Mercadel Robert’s primary education was through the Orleans Parish Public School Sys‐tem He later attended St Augustine High School where he played outﬁelder and catcher on their base‐ball team and was a 1974 graduate. He was a proud Purple Knight. Robert brieﬂy attended the Uni‐versity of New Orleans After graduation from St Augustine he continued his love of sports and played for several different leagues throughout the city, including Hardin Park Pontchartrain Park, Cre‐sent City Softball League and Big John Outlaws, to name a few. A devout Catholic Robert worshiped at numerous churches in the city, including Corpus Christi-Epiphany, St. Jude and Our Lady Star of the Sea During his lifetime, Robert worked at numer‐ous companies including MNX Global, Floor and Décor, Best Bolts and Sysco Food Service. In ad‐dition to his wife Ruby, he also leaves to cherish lov‐ing memories, siblings Ferdinand, New Orleans, LA, Michael (Judy), Houma LA, Tommy (Drucilla), New Orleans, LA, Donald (Denise) Mercadel, Dou‐glasville GA Linda M. Sim‐mons (David), Picayune, MS, Geraldine M. Seymour (Reginald) Slidell, LA; brother-in-law, Robert Earl Bass, Vicksburg, MS, as well as a host of aunts, un‐cles, nieces, nephews cousins, co-workers and friends In addition to his parents, Robert is also pre‐ceded in death by a sister Wanda Santa Marina Rela‐tives and friends, Priest and Parishioners of St Maria Goretti Church, members of Catholic Chari‐ties Archdiocese of New Orleans, staff and employ‐ees of MNX Global, Ochsner Infusion Depart‐ment, Sysco Food Services, Best Bolts, Floor and Decor are invited to attend the funeral. A Mass of Christ‐ian burial honoring the life and legacy of the late Robert Joseph David Mer‐cadel will be held at St Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 7300 Crowder Blvd. New Orleans LA 70127 on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 11 am Visitation 9 am in the church Inter‐ment Mt Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Norman Mayer Ave., New Orleans, LA 70122. Please sign online guest‐netf Face cing net tors

70127 on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 11 am Visitation 9 am in the church Inter‐ment Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Norman Mayer Ave. New Orleans, LA 70122. Please sign online guest‐book atwww charbonnetf uneralhome.com Face mask and social distancing encouraged. Charbonnet Labat Glapion Directors (504) 581-4411.

Milazzo Jr., Joseph H. 'Joe'

Joseph H (Joe) Milazzo, Jr. age 79, passed away on February 15, 2025, at his home in River Ridge Joe is survived by his sister Mary Milazzo Breaux and niece Marie Breaux and her husband, Peter Marti‐nat Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Jewel Otha Forsythe and Joseph Henry Milazzo Sr Born Oc‐tober 18, 1945, in New Or‐leans, Joe graduated from East Jefferson High School and then enlisted in the United States Air Force where he served as a radio and electronics repairman, including a tour of duty in Thailand during the Viet‐nam War After his honor‐able discharge from the Air Force he worked for vari‐ous companies dealing with radios and electronic repairs, including a long period of service with New Orleans Public Service Inc (now Entergy). Joe was mostly a quiet person, un‐less the topic was one of his latest obsessions, and he was quirky But he was also a kind soul, who looked after his mother for nearly 20 years and who loved all animals, espe‐cially scruffy abandoned dogs. The family held a pri‐vate service To offer the family online condolences please visit www gardeno fmemoriesmetairie com.

Minor Jr., Deacon Francis M. 'Frank'

Francis M. Minor, Jr. (Frank), 82, of Amite, La., passed away on March 9th, 2025, at alocal hospital. Frank was born January 4th, 1943, in New Orleans to Francis Minor, Sr. and Marion Gaudet Minor. In 1962, he married Dorothy Lamia; they had three children: Gerald (Dawn), Jeannine (Andy), andBrett (Belinda). Frank's school days included St. Anne, St. Aloysius, graduation from De La Salle, andcollege days at LSU. Frank wasan adventurouscharacter. His professional life was primarily in the financial industry; he wasalso a business manager at St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church. He was an awardwinning photographer, a sailor, an airplane pilot and mechanic,a woodworker, and most currently, aHam radio operator. His greatest joys were being aCatholic Permanent Deacon and ministering as aHospiceChaplain.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dottie, his children,grandchildren: Justin, Andrew, Jonathan, Derek, Ashley, Megan, and Taylor; great-grandchildren: Kyleigh andBrody; his sister, Anita; stepbrother, David Crumhorn;nieces and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather, William Crumhorn, stepsister, Janet Pesce, and his grandson, Brice. The family will receive friends on Friday, March 14 at of 4317 Metairie, Memorial P.M. will ment Park

trusted Home

father, William Crumhorn stepsister,

Mass at 12:30 P.M. Rev. Joseph Krafft will officiate. Theinurnment will be at Lake Lawn Park Cemetery. Arrangements are entrusted to Serenity Funeral Home of Covington, La. Mouton, Russell Thomas

It is with

April 17, 1990, along with his twin brother, John. Ad‐venturous as a child and athletic as a teenager; Rus‐sell would love fishing camping, and playing rugby as well as long cam‐paigns in his video game adventures with friends from all over the country Russell graduated from Rummel High School in 2009 and would eventually find his passion and skill in welding. He was always ready to explain his craft and his love for it to any and everyone Russell en‐joyed listening to music, having the best BBQ recipes, and looking for‐ward to the next time he could be around a camp‐fire under the stars He filled a life of laughter un‐ending conversation, and unwavering dedication to those he loved. He loved his family unconditionally and would never pass up an opportunity to spend time with them. Russell was everybody's buddy, and he is missed by all who got to know him He is survived by his mother and father, Zee and Jerome Mouton; his older sister Celeste Bubniw (Alex); his twin brother John Mouton (Krystal); his nieces and nephew, Madison, Layla and Aiden, as well as nu‐merous aunts, uncles, cousins, and beloved friends Family and friends are invited to attend a visi‐tation at 9:00 am on Friday, March 14, 2025, at Green‐wood Funeral Home, 5200 Canal Blvd. New Orleans LA 70124, with a Catholic Service at 11:00 am. Inter‐ment will follow at Green‐wood Cemetery. For condo‐lences, visit www greenwoodfh com.

Pauline Jenkins Phoenix age 75, entered eternal rest on Monday, March 3 2025. Almedia joins in glory her parents, Lorlita and Phillip Jenkins, Jr.; grandparents Eliva Pierce, Matthew Phoenix, Sr. Ida and Louis Scott and 4 siblings, Timothy Jenkins, Alvertis Bernard Brenda Hunter, and Louis Dwyer She leaves to cherish her precious memories 3 chil‐dren, Matthew

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Lewis, Monica Adele Kelly

Jones,

'Lukie'

Phoenix, Almedia Pauline Jenkins

Almedia

(Shawne) Marlon (D’Wanna), and Maria Phoenix; 1 aunt, June Marie Simmons, 13 grand‐children, 7 great grandchil‐dren, 15 siblings,

children, and a host of nieces, nephews other rel‐atives and friends. Rela‐tives, friends Sewerage & Water Board, Orleans Sher‐

Kendrick, Wilhelmina Brown

Wilhelmina Brown Kendrick was born on January 8, 1934 to the late Andrew and Naomi Slain in Zachary LA She passed away on Wednesday, Feb‐ruary 27, 2025. Mrs Kendrick attended South‐ern University in Baton

OUR VIEWS

Recommendations on Amendments 1,

3, and 4

on the statewide ballot

Louisiana voters have become accustomed to being asked to make tweaks to the state’s governing document, ﬁrst adopted in 1974 and since amended many times.

March 29 will be no different, with four new proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot Chief among them is the lengthy and complicated Amendment 2, the second element of a sweeping tax reform passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov Jeff Landry We will have a fuller explanation and recommendation in Sunday’s newspaper.

Below are our recommendations on the other three amendments on that March 29 ballot

Early voting begins March 15 and runs through March 22. Amendment 1: Related to attorney discipline and specialty courts. No.

The ﬁrst part of this two-part amendment would clarify and explain the Louisiana Supreme Court’s role in disciplining out-of-state attorneys who practice in state courts for speciﬁc proceedings. The second part would expand the Legislature’s ability to create specialty courts that cross judicial district or parish boundaries.

While we applaud the use of specialty courts, we do not think expanding the number of judges and courts is warranted. It is likely just to create higher costs for Louisiana’s taxpayers and increased fees for those seeking redress through the judicial system. Additionally, the Supreme Court already has power to discipline attorneys who practice in the state. We urge voters to reject this proposed amendment

Amendment 3: Related to juvenile justice No.

This newspaper has consistently opposed proposals that would make it easier to try those under the age of 17 as adults in Louisiana’s criminal justice system. This proposal, if enacted, would remove the current list of 16 mostly violent felonies from the constitution and give the Legislature the ability to add and remove crimes to that list at will

We feel the current list of crimes for which juveniles can be tried as adults is sufﬁcient. We recommend a no vote.

Amendment 4: Changing the timing requirements for filling judicial vacancies.Yes.

This largely technical fix to the constitution is needed after the state adopted a closed primary system for some offices, including Supreme Court. Currently, the state constitution requires that an election for judge be held and a seat filled within 12 months of a vacancy occurring. But the closed primary system could require an extra election to choose a new justice, making it impossible to fill the seat if a Supreme Court vacancy occurs at certain times of the year

This fix would require the governor to call the election to fill the role on the same date as a gubernatorial or congressional election if either of them is within 12 months of the vacancy If not, then the election would occur on the first already scheduled election date after the vacancy occurs.

This ﬁx is unlikely to have much of an impact — it does not apply to lower court judgeships. But nevertheless, in the interest of saving money due to extra elections, we recommend support.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

Clancy DuBos missed during election season

There are political reporters and then there’s Clancy DuBos. To say that he’s sui generis is an understatement. Indeed, he’s in a league of his own. Clancy, who retired at the end of last year understood the body politic of New Orleans better than most. Like a good reporter he made and nurtured relationships throughout his career which led to inside information that no other pundit could get. He was the quintessential reporter; factual and fair, and he never got caught up in his own press clippings. For Clancy, It was more important to be accurate than to be ﬁrst.

I am appalled by some of the people acknowledged by the New Orleans Walk of Fame. My biased opinion is that several of the presently living sports ﬁgures, actors, politicians and music representatives did not help put New Orleans on the map. My focus is a couple of New Orleanian entertainers born here.

Let’s consider New Orleans’ “First Band” of music, The Meters. Need I say more other than no “Star” on the Bayou? What about Jean Knight and her No. 1 soul hit, “Mr Big Stuff,” nominated for a Grammy? Al Hirt, Jazz Trumpeter of Bourbon Street, so well known nationally that he played during Super Bowl IV halftime. Or how about one of the best local entertainers of the last 50 years, Deacon John?

Chris Owens (though she was not born here, we adopted her) was the queen of Bourbon Street.

Finally how can the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” induct Cosimo Matassa’s J&N recording studio and the Gram-

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

I received my property tax bill which was in excess of $20,000.

I mentioned this to my friend who had moved away some years ago. He said that he was surprised that I continue to stay here. I’ve since been thinking hard about his comment.

Clancy was well-rooted in the ﬁeld of journalism, and knew early on it was his calling. He began his professional career when still in his teens, and for the past ﬁve decades, has earned a reputation as the city’s top political reporter

My hope is to still see Clancy on TV election night waiting for the results to come in and hear his declarations of “Da Winnas and Da Loozas.” As Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Well, I say the results ain’t ﬁnal until Clancy Dubos says they’re ﬁnal.

WILLIAM A. SCHULTZ New Orleans

mys recognize Cosimo with an honorary Grammy, for his contribution to music, and yet the NOLA Walk of Fame overlooked one of the greatest New Orleanians in music history?

Do I really need to catalogue the musical hits of the ’50s and ’60s that were conceived and recorded at the J&N studios? Fats Domino and Little Richard, for example. Lastly Ernie K-Doe. He and Allen Toussaint had one of the biggest No. 1 hits of all time, “Mother-in-Law.” It was No. 1 on both R&B and Billboard charts at the same time, and yes, that hit was recorded at the J&N studios. RIP Cosimo.

I am questioning the New Orleans Walk of Fame because it appears to me that present social-media perception inﬂuenced some of the recognitions more than serious research into New Orleans’ past of famous musical entertainers who made New Orleans a place people wanted to visit.

HERMAN J GALATAS SR. Harvey

When I pay this bill, which I will do, am I a part of a greater effort to make things better? Or am I complicit in funding what at times feels like a failing experiment?

SCOTT ANDERSON New Orleans

Any kind of abuse towards young people by Catholic clergy is despicable and should be addressed immediately Unfortunately, some Catholic bishops did not address the issue quickly and decisively After a 40-year history of clergy abuse, I believe there is a better understanding by the Catholic church on how to address the issue. However, the past incidents of Catholic priests with minors still linger because the statue of limitations has been changed for these types of crimes. Archbishop Gregory Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans has apologized for past actions, but healing can be very difﬁcult for those who have suffered. However attempting to destroy an institution through a ﬁnancial settlement will not bring healing to those individuals who are suffering. Should the families of those individuals who died in New Orleans on New Year’s Day try to destroy the city of New Orleans because they believe New Orleans should have done more to protect its citizens? People who do harm to others should be punished But destroying an institution associated with people who do harm is never right.

Healing will be helped when a settlement is reached with the victims. Prolonging the settlement does not beneﬁt the parties involved. The only parties beneﬁting are the lawyers and mediators who have collected over $42 million with nothing for the victims.

Some people suggest that the Catholic parishes in the archdiocese should contribute to the settlement. The priest assignments for the parishes are the responsibility of the bishop If there is a problem at a parish, it is the responsibility of the bishop to address it. The parish should not be held responsible for the actions of its priest. Therefore, the parishes should not be required to contribute to any settlement of priest abuse.

BRIAN ALMON New Orleans

Judge correct to delay execution

Federal district judge Shelly Dick was absolutely right on March 11 to delay the intended March 18 execution of convicted murderer Jessie Hoffman Jr Hoffman has made a compelling argument that courts, upon full hearing, are likely to decide that execution by the administration of pure nitrogen gas is a “cruel and unusual punishment” that is banned by the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He makes an even more compelling argument that he has not had adequate time to present his Eighth Amendment claims for full consideration.

And Hoffman makes an irrefutable argument that he would have suffered “irreparable harm” if the execution had been effectuated before he could secure a full hearing on the merits of his Eighth Amendment claims. Legally, the presence of irreparable harm is (quoting multiple precedents) “the single most important prerequisite for the issuance of a preliminary injunction” of the sort Judge Dick granted. Obviously, death is an irreparable harm.

Before considering this case any further, let’s be clear: This is not, repeat not, an argument about whether the death penalty itself is reasonable, moral or constitutional. This is a case about how to carry out the death penalty in a reasonable and constitutional, meaning non-torturous, way It is entirely possible to approve of the death penalty in theory while insisting that certain methods should be off-limits because of the extreme pain or superabundant terror they inﬂict.

Despite the breezy assurances by

ST PADDY’S DAY

Louisiana state ofﬁcials that death-bypure-nitrogen is adequately humane, considerable evidence exists to the contrary Start with the fact that almost all veterinary scientists consider nitrogen gas too cruel even for animal euthanasia, and indeed Louisiana itself does not allow veterinarians to use that method. Then consider that as Louisiana copied its protocols for conducting the execution, it consulted no actual medical experts.

At last Friday’s hearing before Judge Dick, expert witness Dr Philip Bickler, an anesthesiologist with a specialty in human hypoxia (the technical name for deprivation of oxygen), testiﬁed that the procedure would be “exposing [Hoffman] to a lack of oxygen such that both extreme discomfort, distress, pain, and terror would be felt all the way up to the point of losing consciousness.”

Under the circumstances of an execution, Bickler said it could take up to ﬁve minutes to lose consciousness. In other words, that is up to ﬁve full minutes of conscious torture.

This comports entirely with the reactions of all four people the state of Alabama has executed with pure nitrogen over the past year, as described by multiple witnesses each time As reported by The Associated Press and conﬁrmed by others who observed the ﬁrst one, convict Kenneth Smith “began to shake and writhe violently, in thrashing spasms and seizure-like movements…. The force of his movements caused the gurney to visibly move at least once.

The shaking went on for at least two minutes,” and it took ten minutes before his breathing appeared to stop.

The Rev Dr. Jeff Hood, a priest actually in the chamber with Smith, described saliva and mucus ﬁlling Smith’s

A leprechaun, a frog and an alligator all walk into a bar on St. Patrick’s Day.This has a classic joke setup with a Louisiana twist.Who can come up with the funniest punchline for THIS one? Have fun!

So, what’s going on in this cartoon? you tell me. Be witty, funny, crazy, absurd or snarky — just try to keep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries.

The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receive a signed print of the cartoon along with a cool winner’s T-shirt! Some honorable mentions will also be listed.

mask to the point of probable suffocation, his eyes bulging grotesquely – “absolutely, positively a horror show.”

This is not a quick, humane euthanasia. This is not like an anesthetist giving a careful mix of nitrous oxide until a medical patient drifts peacefully to sleep, followed by, say, a lethal shot of morphine the patient cannot even feel.

A death by pure nitrogen looks, on its face, to be a textbook example of an unconstitutionally cruel punishment What this is, is barbaric.

As it is, Louisiana refused to release the protocols for the execution until the day before the hearing before Judge Dick, and even then they featured numerous redactions. As the judge noted, that gave Hoffman virtually no time to prepare or argue the full merits of his case for a different method of death.

“It is in the best interests of the public to examine this newly proposed method of execution on a fully developed record,” Judge Dick wrote. “The public has paramount interest in a legal process that enables thoughtful and wellinformed deliberations, particularly when the ultimate fundamental right, the right to life, is placed in the government’s hands.”

The preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the death-by-nitrogen until a full case can be made and analyzed, is amply justiﬁed. And when that full case is considered, courts should recognize this method of execution to be a screaming violation of the Eighth Amendment. Both the Constitution and basic human decency demand that some other death penalty method, or none at all, must be chosen.

Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin. hillyer@theadvocate.com.

To enter, email cartooncontest@theadvocate.com. DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, home address and phone number Cell numbers are best. The deadline for all entries is midnight,Thursday, March 13.

Perils of society incapable of patience

The number of books, essays, seminars, conferences, and government and foundation grants exploring, and deploring, the ways our screens affect us does not equal the number of American screens Yet. Technology saves time that people can devote to worrying about technology’s consequences.

Historian Daniel J. Boorstin glimpsed the future in 1962. Fortyﬁve years before the iPhone arrived, his book “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America” included a joke: A woman exclaims to a mother pushing a pram, “My, that’s a beautiful baby you have there!” The mother replies, “Oh, that’s nothing — you should see his photograph.” In 1962, television represented the graphic revolution that had begun with photography and continued with movies. The anxiety was that people would prefer the artiﬁcial to the real. In 1960, a telegenic president (John F. Kennedy) had been elected, intensifying worries that the graphic revolution would manipulate us. Today Christine Rosen worries that we are manipulating, and diminishing, ourselves.

With smartphones ubiquitous, Rosen, of the American Enterprise Institute, wonders what becomes of us when we prefer our relationship to reality to be “mediated” by technology In “The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World,” she paints, with illuminating anecdotes, a pointillist picture — often amusing, sometimes ominous — of an era when a museumgoer expresses “disappointment that the Van Gogh he sees hanging on the wall is nowhere near as vibrant as one on his coffee mug.”

Rosen has elegant, well-bred regrets about, inter alia, the slow disappearance of handwriting. Today, hands are trained for swift keystrokes rather than the skillful application of ink to paper An intimacy is lost when texting supplants cursive.

But, then, as Virginia Postrel, author of “The Future and Its Enemies” (1998) says when reviewing Rosen’s book for Reason: Before ink, paper and knowledge of the alphabet became abundant, all communications had to have the intimacy of face-to-face exchanges. How far back should regrets go?

In 2013, the Golden Gate Bridge’s toll collectors were replaced by technology depriving commuters, Rosen says, of “a smile or a hello.” But is life diminished by trading ﬂeeting encounters with cheery toll collectors for quicker commutes?

GPS, she says, is more precise than paper maps but makes its users spectators rather than navigators. What if, however, one simply wants to arrive, without the stimulus of navigating?

“We are awash in social media but our social skills — common courtesy, patience, eye contact are deteriorating.” The deterioration is real, and she sensibly postulates causation: Being alone with one’s obsessions on social media encourages impatience, intolerance, solipsism and narcissism And “digilante” justice inﬂicted by global mobs policing deviations from mob-deﬁned proprieties. Furthermore, socialization is generally superior when teenagers do not socialize primarily by texting.

Sensible parents know that learning to be bored gracefully should be part of growing up, and Rosen, who knows that “people hate to wait,” understands that “checking your phone to escape the tedium can feel like a micro-revolution

Trump pushes return to subsistence farming

During his campaign, Donald Trump promised to deliver great wealth and lower prices Today, his administration is urging Americans to return to subsistence agriculture.

Egg prices have skyrocketed, recently surpassing $8 for a dozen wholesale large eggs Stores are rationing cartons to customers and still getting cleared out These phenomena are primarily driven by the spread of bird flu, which is forcing farmers to cull their flocks. That’s not Trump’s fault, though it doesn’t help that he accidentally fired bird flu experts at the Agriculture Department — setting off a scramble to rehire them — and deliberately suppressed research on the disease’s transmission.

Pressed about high prices and policy mistakes, the administration has come up with patchwork of pseudo-plans. One is to research chicken vaccination, which many poultry farmers oppose, since some countries restrict imports of vaccinated chicken products (including the United States). The proposal also seems at odds with the administration’s messaging on human vaccination

Another Trump strategy is to scapegoat (scapechicken?) greedy farmers for allegedly anticompetitive conduct, as if they want to kill off their own ﬂocks. Lefty populist groups have been egging this on, despite no evidence that collusion — rather than a huge hit to supply — is driving price increases

Perhaps most eg(g)regiously, the Trump administration is encouraging Americans to cope with high prices by raising their own ﬂocks.

“How do we solve for something like this?” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins asked on Fox News.

In no universe does it make economic sense for every American household — many of whom live in urban areas or even suburbs where it’s illegal to keep live poultry to start farming their own food. The fact that we humans don’t have to spend all our time growing our own sustenance, and can instead specialize in other ﬁelds where we’re more productive, is a tremendous victory for our species.

Our post-agrarian society has allowed Americans to lead richer, healthier, longer, more leisure-ﬁlled lives. There’s a reason politicians a century ago promised “a chicken in every pot,” not a “chicken in every yard.”

Encouraging millions of Americans who are completely inexperienced with animal husbandry to become amateur bird farmers in the middle of a bird ﬂu epidemic also seems like a great way to expose more humans to bird ﬂu

This DIY egg production stratagem also raises questions about how the administration expects Americans to grapple with other grocery items that have grown more expensive.

against the tyranny of time.” This escape from boredom feeds what she terms “the relentless acceleration of everyday life.” And she asks: Might boredom which is a deeply human experience, “have a purpose?” Would a society without boredom also lack daydreaming, which can express a creative mind?

Her questions are suggestive. So, however, is this: Was the 14th-century peasant who spent dawn to dusk behind an ox, plowing ﬁelds for his lordship, bored? Perhaps not. This possibility is horrifying: The peasant, leading a life bereft of distractions, was incapable of boredom. The sudden coming of computers, smartphones, tablets, social media, etc., collectively constitutes a vast, uncontrolled social experiment. It is, however, uncontrolled only in that government, fortunately, has not managed to take charge. Markets (meaning trillions of individual choices), subgroups of society (e.g., schools, parents) and individuals who share Rosen’s doubts increasingly exercise control over screens.

Rosen’s refined sensibility is rightly offended by the passivity of people who treat screens as troughs that enable endless gorging on distractions. She cites Ambrose Bierce, the Civil War veteran (he was at Shiloh) whose “The Devil’s Dictionary” defined patience as “a minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.” Rosen knows, however the perils of a society incapable of patience. She sensibly worries that people who are taught by their screens that they are entitled to instant and constant amusement — people who cannot delay apps’ often watery gratifications — will compose a society too impatient for the pace of deliberative politics: for democracy Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Trump has been levying (and suspending, and levying again) tariffs on lots of common food items, including produce imported from Mexico and dairy from Canada. For now, most of the North American tariffs have been “paused” for another 30 days. But if they do come back, many foods that Americans love to consume will get more expensive, including avocados (90% of which come from Mexico) and fresh tomatoes (two-thirds from Mexico).

Good luck reproducing those supplies in your own backyards. Especially since a key fertilizer ingredient, 80% of which comes from Canada, is still apparently subject to Trump’s punitive tariffs (though at “only” 10%). This tariff will make farming more expensive any time of year

As will tariffs on Canadian lumber, which might come in handy for building those chicken coops On Friday, Trump said additional lumber tariffs were (probably?) back on again.

And if you’re in the market for some chicken wire, unfortunately Trump has also separately announced new tariffs on steel worldwide, not just on products from Canada and Mexico. Those tariffs are set to go into effect next week Domestic steel prices have already been rising in anticipation.

Trump surely understands that limiting access to imports raises prices, because his administration has also ﬂirted with the idea of allowing more egg imports — with the explicit goal of driving down the price of eggs. Importing more eggs has proved complicated, though, and so far there’s not much additional poultry in motion. (Sorry.)

“Homesteading influencer” content might be trendy on social media, but surely the way to Make America Great Again does not involve having everyone raise their own livestock, log their own forests and galvanize their own steel wire. But that is, perhaps, the logical conclusion of Trump’s lifelong fixation with autarky the idea that an economy should not engage in trade and instead be selfsufficient.

If countries should be economically self-supporting, why not states? If states, why not neighborhoods? If neighborhoods, why not every man, woman and child for themselves? Between bird ﬂu and measles and other contagions, adopting the trad-wife/prepper lifestyle might sound pretty attractive right now

Catherine Rampell is on X, @crampell.

George Will

Catherine Rampell

Quin Hillyer

New Orleans Forecast

Berney studied English at DartmouthCollege, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to PhiBeta Kappa in 1973. Berney loved his four years in Hanover where he served as editor of the Jack-o-Lantern humor magazine and participated in intramural sports on behalf of his dorm SouthFayerweather. Berney received amasters degree from Yale UniversityinAmerican Studies in 1975. Berney then studied law at Tulane University, where he was selected afinalist in the Tulane Moot Court and later taught trial advocacy as an adjunct professor.

Strauss, Berney Leopold

After law school, Berney earned the rare distinction of being licensed in all five Gulf States, as well as New York. He started his career at PhelpsDunbar LLP and Barham &Churchill before starting his own law practice in 1986. Berney specialized in maritime law and devoted his career to representing clientswho were injured while working in dangerous conditions offshore. Berney continued to dedicate himself to his law practice--Strauss & King--until his passing.

William Richardson, Sr. entered into eternal rest on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the age of 74. He was a native of Independence, LA and a resident of Marrero LA William was a graduate of Alfred Lawless Sr High School, and he was a re‐tired truck driver with Bulk Transportation trucking company after 30 years of service He was a member of Grace One Church of Houston TX and a volun‐teer with the Council on Aging. Beloved father of Paula Richardson, William Richardson, Jr. Melvin Richardson, Michael Richardson, Randy Richardson, Christiana Ann Richardson, and Tanya Brown. Son of the late Roy Richardson and Roselia Joseph Grandson of the late Henry Richardson and Wilhelmina Richardson. Brother of Mary Richard‐son, and the late John Richardson, Roy Richard‐son, Jr. Ervin Richardson, Eva Richardson, and Lor‐raine Richardson. Former husband of Katline Richardson, also survived by 16 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, and a host of nieces nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends. Relatives and friends of the family are in‐vited to attend the Cele‐bration of Life at Davis Mortuary Service, 6820 Westbank Expressway Marrero, LA on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m Visitation will begin at 8:30 a.m. until service time at the parlor. Interment: Woodlawn Park Memorial Cemetery-Westwego, LA To view and sign the guest‐book, please go to www davismortuaryservice com. Face masks are recom‐mended.

Richardson Sr., William

William Richardson, Sr entered into eternal rest on Sunday, March 2 2025 at the age of 74. He was a native of Independence, LA and a resident of Marrero, LA. William was a graduate of Alfred Lawless Sr High School and he was a re‐tired truck driver with Bulk Transportation trucking company after 30 years of service. He was a member of Grace One Church of Houston, TX and a volun‐teer with the Council on Aging Beloved father of Paula Richardson William Richardson, Jr., Melvin Richardson Michael Richardson, Randy Richardson Christiana Ann Richardson, and Tanya Brown. Son of the late Roy Richardson and Roselia Joseph. Grandson of the late Henry Richardson and Wilhelmina Richardson Brother of Mary Richard‐son, and the late John Richardson Roy Richard‐son, Jr., Ervin Richardson, Eva Richardson and Lor‐raine Richardson Former husband of Katline Richardson, also survived by 16 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins other relatives and friends Relatives and friends of the family are in‐vited to attend the Cele‐bration of Life at Davis Mortuary Service, 6820 Westbank Expressway, Marrero, LA on Friday,

Berney was aloving husband and father who dedicated his life to caring for his family, friends, and clients. He was oneofthe most generous people you will ever meet and we, his family, are grateful for the time that we had with him and will miss him dearly.

In 1987, Berney was set up on ablind date withhis wife, Ebie Taylor Strauss, by her brother Buck Taylor, who Berney knew from UMS. They married on October 6, 1989, and then shared 36 wonderful years together. Ebie supported Berney as he grew his law practice, and they worked as ateam to raise their two children, John Hammel Strauss and Virginia Marion McDuffie Strauss.

Berney was bornon September 12, 1951 in Mobile, Alabama to his parents Paula Hoffman Strauss and John Leopold Strauss. Paula grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and met John shortly after graduating from Wellesley College. John was aMobile native who served as president of the family-run L. Hammel Dry Goods Company after attending DartmouthCollege. Berney grew up in Mobile, attending UMS and graduating from Indian Springs School in 1969. At IndianSprings he was elected president of the student council and won theSewanee award for Outstanding Character. Berney enjoyed spending summers at Camp Androscoggin in Wayne, Maine. In his youth, Berney excelled at waterskiing and pingpong and was an avid fan of jazz, Motown, and rock music.

With his children, Berney shared his love of living well throughsports, food, travel,music, Impressionist art, and classic cinema. Throughout their childhoods and young adulthoods, Berney enthusiastically supported his children's academic endeavors and artistic pursuits. Berney also shared with his family his sense of humor and loveofstorytelling.

Almedia Pauline Jenkins Phoenix, age 75, entered eternal rest on Monday, March 3, 2025. Almedia joins in glory her parents, Lorlita and Phillip Jenkins, Jr.; grandparents, Eliva Pierce, Matthew Phoenix, Sr Ida and Louis Scott and 4 siblings, Timothy Jenkins, Alvertis Bernard, Brenda Hunter, and Louis Dwyer. She leaves to cherish her precious memories 3 chil‐dren Matthew (Shawne), Marlon (D’Wanna), and Maria Phoenix; 1 aunt, June Marie Simmons 13 grand‐children, 7 great grandchil‐dren 15 siblings, 12 God‐children, and a host of nieces nephews, other rel‐atives and friends. Rela‐tives, friends Sewerage & Water Board, Orleans Sher‐iff, Total Community Ac‐tion, Ochsner/Morrison Food Service, Mr. Chill First Class Barber Shop and Drago’s Seafood Restau‐rant are invited to attend her Christian Celebration on Friday, March 14, 2025 7-9:00PM and her Celebra‐tion of Life Service on Sat‐urday, March 15, 2025, 10:00AM at Greater St An‐drew Baptist Church, 7000 Earhart Blvd., New Orleans, LA. Rev Terrence Green of‐ﬁciating Visitation 9:00AM until service. Interment Providence Park Cemetery Strauss, Berney Leopold

Berney was aloving husband and father who dedicated his life to caring for his family, friends, and clients. He was one of the most generous peopleyou will ever meet and we, his family, are grateful forthe time that we had with him and will miss him dearly.

Berney was born on September 12, 1951 in Mobile, Alabama to his parents Paula Hoffman Strauss and John Leopold Strauss. Paula grewupin New Haven, Connecticut and metJohn shortly after graduating from Wellesley College. John was aMobile native who served as president of the family-run L. HammelDry Goods Company after attending Dartmouth College.Berney grew upinMobile,attending UMS and graduating from Indian Springs School in 1969. At Indian Springs, he was elected president of the student counciland won the Sewanee award for Outstanding Character. Berney enjoyed spending summers at Camp Androscoggin in Wayne, Maine. In his youth, Berney excelledatwaterskiing and ping pong and was an avid fan of jazz, Motown, and rock music.

Berney studied English at Dartmouth College, where he graduated summa cum laude and was electedtoPhi Beta Kappa in 1973. Berney loved his four years in Hanover where he servedaseditor

Berney studied English at DartmouthCollege, where he graduatedsumma cum laude and was elected to PhiBeta Kappa in 1973. Berney loved his four years in Hanover where he served as editor of the Jack-o-Lantern humor magazine and participated in intramural sports on behalf of his dorm SouthFayerweather. Berney received amasters degree from Yale UniversityinAmerican Studies in 1975. Berney then studied law at Tulane University, where he was selected afinalist in the Tulane Moot Court and later taught trial advocacy as an adjunct professor.

Berney was alifelong Alabama football fan. In fact, when applying to colleges, one admissions officer asked Berney who was the greatest American of the 20th century. Without hesitation, Berney answered,"Bear Bryant." (Berney was not admitted to that college.)

Above all else, Berney was akind-hearted,funloving, and devoted husband and father. Berney made it clear every day

Above all else, Berney was akind-hearted,funloving, and devoted husband and father. Berney made it clear every day how much he loved Ebie, John Hammel, and Marion and every call or conversation ended with "I love you."

Berney is survived by his wife Ebie, his children John Hammel and Marion, his sister Dr. Ruth Hammel Strauss, and his soon-to-be daughter-in-law Dr. ElizabethPaigeStephanz.

Memorials may be made to theManning Family Children's Hospital in New Orleans or to acharity of the donor's choice.

Agravesideservice will be held at 12 noon on Sunday, March 16, 2025 at Springhill Avenue Temple Cemetery with acelebrationoflife to follow.

Samuel Cornelius Sykes affectionately known as Sam was a light in the lives of all who knew him Born in Chicago, Illinois on August 25, 1966, to Marie Sykes and John Corell, he spent his formative years in New Orleans attending Lawless Elementary before graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School A skilled brick mason by trade Sam was a man of strength, hard work, and dedication On July 28 1989, Sam married the love of his life Laura Ann Lang beginning a beautiful jour‐ney ﬁlled with love laugh‐ter, and unwavering devo‐tion. On February 23, 2025 Sam departed this life, leaving behind a legacy of love and cherished memo‐ries. Mourning his passing is his beloved wife Laura Ann Sykes; his aunt, Ed‐wina (Frank) Meaderds; his sister-in-law, Debra Lang; his niece Deidra McNeil and nephew, Harry (Tayla) Lang. He will also be deeply missed by his god‐children, O’Kera (Duke) Smith Monique Cain and Jaden Coogins; and his precious great-nieces and nephews, Reggie McNeil, Za’Kya Coogins and Ty’Inga Coogins His ab‐sence will be felt by a host

Samuel Cornelius Sykes, affectionately known as Sam, was a light in the lives of all who knew him. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 25, 1966, to Marie Sykes and John Corell, he spent his formative years in New Orleans, attending Lawless Elementary before graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School A skilled brick mason by trade, Sam was a man of strength hard work and dedication. On July 28, 1989, Sam married the love of his life, Laura Ann Lang, beginning a beautiful jour‐ney ﬁlled with love, laugh‐ter, and unwavering devo‐tion On February 23, 2025, Sam departed this life, leaving behind a legacy of love and cherished memo‐ries Mourning his passing is his beloved wife, Laura Ann Sykes; his aunt Ed‐wina (Frank) Meaderds; his sister-in-law, Debra Lang; his niece, Deidra McNeil, and nephew, Harry (Tayla) Lang He will also be deeply missed by his god‐children, O’Kera (Duke) Smith, Monique Cain, and Jaden Coogins; and his precious great-nieces and nephews, Reggie McNeil Za’Kya Coogins, and Ty’Inga Coogins His ab‐sence will be felt by a host of family and friends May he rest in eternal peace Family and friends are in‐vited to attend the Cele‐bration of Life Service on Friday March 14, 2025, for 10:00 a.m at The Boyd Family Funeral Home 5001 Chef Menteur Hwy., New Orleans, LA 70126. Visita‐tion will begin at 9:00 a.m Pastor Robert Brown, ofﬁ‐ciating Interment will fol‐low at Providence Memor‐ial Park, 8200 Airline Drive Metairie, LA 70003. Guest‐book Online: www anewtra ditionbegins.com (504) 2820600. Linear Brooks Boyd and Donavin D. Boyd Own‐ers/Funeral Directors.

Windsay Sr., Michael Travis

Michael Travis Windsay Sr. unexpectedly departed the ﬂesh on March 3, 2025, at the age of 51 while on duty. He was a Veteran NOFD Chief, Abramson Alumni and Delgado Fire School Instructor. He de‐voted 30 years of his life to the New Orleans Fire De‐dly He der nd tly of ay on ed her ns; ael h‐ay, say III., sister; Denise Windsay and a host of aunts, un‐cles nieces nephews and other loving family He was also a lifetime member of the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research. NOFD, IDMR, Delagado,

Michael Travis Windsay Sr unexpectedly departed the ﬂesh on March 3, 2025, at the age of 51 while on duty He was a Veteran NOFD Chief Abramson Alumni and Delgado Fire School Instructor. He de‐voted 30 years of his life to the New Orleans Fire De‐partment where he proudly served his community. He truly was a servant leader impacting the lives around him and will be greatly missed. He is the son of Rosalind Snead Windsay and the late Robert Leon Windsay Jr. He is survived by his signiﬁcant other Aiesha Growe, two sons; Caleb (Jas) and Michael Windsay Jr. granddaugh‐ter; CiAni Serina Windsay, brother; Robert L Windsay III. sister; Denise Windsay and a host of aunts, un‐cles, nieces, nephews and other loving family He was also a lifetime member of the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research NOFD, IDMR, Delagado, rel‐atives and friends are in‐vited to attend his Celebra‐tion of Life Service on Fri‐day, March 14, 2025, for 11:00 a.m at Gallier Hall, 545 St Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70130. Vis‐itation will begin at 10:00 a.m Internment is private, but everyone is invited to attend the repass immedi‐ately following the ser‐vices at NOFF Association Local 632 at 5710 Gen. Haig St, New Orleans, LA 70124 Please visit and sign the Guestbook Online: www anewtraditionbegins com (504)282-0600.

Sykes, Samuel Cornelius

Windsay Sr., Michael Travis

Phoenix, Almedia Pauline Jenkins

Sykes, Samuel Cornelius

Jordan returning to Saints for 15th season

New Orleans star reworks contract as part of return

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Cam Jordan isn’t going anywhere.

The New Orleans Saints defensive end announced on social media Wednesday that he’s returning to the team for a 15th season. And as part of that return, the Saints and Jordan reached an agreement on a reworked contract, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

The terms of Jordan’s reworked contract were not immediately known. But the 35-year-old was set to hold a $20 million cap hit next season, leading to the assumption that he and the team would have to address that ﬁgure in order for him to stay with the franchise.

Jordan made clear last season that he wanted to keep playing, but he admitted he was unsure whether his time with Saints was coming to an end. The eight-time Pro

ä See JORDAN, page 5C

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 29 at Caesars Superdome. Jordan will return for a 15h season with the team

Two coaches stoked about second tour with Saints

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Even if Joel Thomas had let his dreams run wild, he would not have foreseen this. After a one-year stint as the New York Giants running backs coach, Thomas is back with the New Orleans Saints with whom he coached from 2015-23 — but now with an associate head coach title tacked next to his old running backs coach role. It’s not just about the job for Thomas, who last week continued his annual tradition of riding with one of the Mardi Gras super krewes. He is back in the place his family recognize as home.

“If you put your heart into a certain place, especially here in New Orleans, it loves you back like no other,” Thomas said. “I’m getting emotional thinking about it. That’s what it’s about: creating memories, creating a home. Even though I wasn’t born here, I feel like I was raised here My kids have been raised here. My wife, she was all in It was a lot of elation when I found out I could come back home.” Thomas is one of two coaches to return to the team on new head coach Kellen Moore’s

ä See SAINTS, page 5C

Trade acquisition finds a rhythm after slow start with Pelicans

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

It was just one game.

But it was one that New Orleans Pelicans newcomer Bruce Brown desperately wanted and needed. Brown, acquired in February as part of the Brandon Ingram trade, struggled in his ﬁrst 10 games in New Orleans. His shots, whether in the paint or beyond the 3-point arc, just wouldn’t go down.

Finally, they started falling Tuesday night in the Pelicans’ 127-120 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers On a night that was highlighted by Zion Williamson’s triple-double and strong ﬁnish, it was Brown’s early start that ignited the Pelicans. Brown scored the ﬁrst points of the game on a three-

point play He scored 10 points in the first eight minutes of the game, matching the most points he had scored since arriving in New Orleans. He finished with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and no turnovers.

“It was good,” Brown said about his best night as a Pelican. “As you all know, I’ve been struggling with the transition. So for my conﬁdence, this helps a lot. Still, I’m learning. I’ve got to keep going. Being aggressive and making my shots. I think that’s the biggest key for me — making my shots and continuing to put my work in.”

Prior to Tuesday, Brown had made just 19 of 62 shots (30.6%) with the Pelicans.

He went 5 of 9 from the ﬂoor Tuesday

LSU hopes it found answer to DL coach churn

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

New LSU defensive line coach Kyle Williams isn’t only a former All-American nose guard and a 13-year NFL veteran. He’s also an avid golfer, one who just happened to meet his new boss one day on a course in Lake Tahoe, California.

“His short game’s ridiculous,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said of Williams. That encounter wound up serving Kelly well.

LSU football has begun another round of spring practices, but ﬁrst and once again — it had to quickly hire a new defensive line coach The position has undergone a high rate of turnover across the last 10 seasons. The last coach to hold the job for longer than two seasons left LSU in 2014. Since then, LSU has cycled through nine defensive line coaches on either a full-time or interim basis. The latest to leave was Bo Davis, a former defensive tackle who abruptly vacated a job on Kelly’s staff (and one of the highest non-coordinator salaries in college football) in February to accept a position under ﬁrst-year New Orleans

Saints head coach Kellen Moore. Davis, like many of his predecessors, coached only one season at LSU.

“I don’t know why,” Kelly said about the churn. “It’s just turned out that way.” LSU hopes it found something more permanent with Williams, a Ruston native who starred on the Tigers team that won the 2003 national championship. He’s never coached at the collegiate level before, but for the last ﬁve seasons, he worked as the defensive coordinator at Ruston High. There, Williams drew on the experience he gained at both the collegiate level and pros Across 13 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, he recorded 481/2 sacks and 103 tackles for loss, and appeared in six Pro Bowls.

“We’re looking for some continuity at the position,” Kelly said, “and Kyle was looking to settle in, and so, that was an attractive match for us from that perspective. There were certainly other things, but that was one of them.”

LSU still has two defensive line coaches, as defensive coordinator Blake Baker prefers. Kevin Peoples is back coaching the edge rushers, and Williams is now guiding

Pelicans forward Bruce Brown scores two points on a fast break against the L.A Clippers during the first half of their game on Tuesday at the Smoothie King Center STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

coach Brian Kelly watches a drill

preseason practice on Aug. 5. LSU football began another round of spring practices this week.

8:30 p.m.

Bulldogs oust Tigers from SEC tourney

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

NASHVILLE, TENN. — In LSU men’s basketball’s last possession before halftime, Mississippi State played a zone defense.

The Tigers recognized it and found Daimion Collins a couple of steps under the free-throw line He looked to pass it under the hoop but chose not to. He then looked to the right and left corners to pass it. Again, he declined. The 6-foot-9 forward decided to shoot a jumper in the paint, but at that last moment tried to squeeze a pass to his first read under the hoop. That bailout pass was deflected and resulted in a turnover This was the final play of a first half in which LSU didn’t make a field goal in the final 10:04 and had only three points in that span.

The cold spell played a signiﬁcant role in why 15th-seeded LSU lost 91-62 to 10th-seeded Mississippi State in the ﬁrst round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Bridgestone Arena.

Leading scorer Cam Carter had 13 points and seven turnovers, five in the first half, for LSU (1418). Robert Miller had 14 points. Jordan Sears had 20 points and five steals.

For the ﬁrst time this season, LSU coach Matt McMahon started points guards Sears and Cutis Givens together in a four-guard lineup anchored by the post player Miller The additional ballhandling assisted in the Tigers making their ﬁrst three shots of the game. The up-and-down pace early helped LSU feel comfortable against the physical defense of Mississippi State (21-11). Sears and Carter each made pull-up 3-pointers when needed late in the shot clock.

The Tigers were 5 of 8 from the

field by the 13:50 mark of the first half but trailed 13-12 because of allowing offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs had five offensive boards along with forcing three turnovers. Mississippi State remained ahead for the majority of the first half because it won the field-goal attempt battle. The lead became more pronounced as the pull-up jumpers LSU hit early started to clank off the rim The stops Mississippi State accumulated allowed it to play up-tempo and stretch the lead during the Tigers’ scoring

drought. Atop of LSU’s game plan was to limit Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard, who scored 30 in Mississippi State’s 81-69 on March 1 over the Tigers. The 5-foot-11 guard carried the brilliance from the first meeting to the SEC Tournament as he scored 16 points in the ﬁrst half and finished with 26. Hubbard buried multiple 3-pointers over contests and was at ease scoring on whomever LSU had defending him. The Tigers opened the second half with competitive ﬁre, espe-

cially on defense. A two-handed dunk by Miller trimmed the deficit to 11 points with 15 minutes remaining. The Tigers never got any closer LSU trailed by as many as 33 points with 5:54 remaining and finished the game with 15 turnovers and shooting 39% from the field.

LSU now will have to wait to ﬁnd out whether it makes the National Invitation Tournament that begins Tuesday Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com

Questions abound as LSU women wait

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Count the LSU women’s basketball team among the select few squads in the country with hopes of winning a national title.

But what exactly are the No. 10 Tigers’ chances of reaching the Final Four for the second time under coach Kim Mulkey? The answer to that question will become clearer once the NCAA Tournament bracket is set at 7 p.m. Sunday The real madness is still more than a week away, with LSU’s next possible game coming no earlier than March 21. Here are ﬁve questions to consider in the meantime about LSU and its postseason hopes. Will LSU be seeded?

The consensus among bracketologists favors awarding LSU a No. 3 seed and assigning it to one of the regions in Spokane, Washington.

The Tigers were ranked No. 7 overall when the NCAA selection committee gave a peek into its top-16 teams on Feb. 26. LSU since has lost three of its last four games, while a few teams that were ranked lower have built win streaks. North Carolina State (No. 8) reached the ACC title game, and TCU (No. 9) and Duke (No. 11) won their respective conference tournaments. Those teams each could jump the Tigers on Selection Sunday, bumping them down to a No 3 seed — the same spot in which LSU began each of the previous three NCAA tournaments.

that Morrow will have less time to manage her injury The good news is that she dodged something more serious than a foot sprain when she went down in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semiﬁnal against Texas. Mulkey said Morrow even tried to return to that game, but LSU held her out because it has “bigger ﬁsh to fry.”

Any tournament lessons?

When the Tigers are at their best, they can both score and defend as well as any team in the country LSU notched 101 points in a quarterﬁnal win over Florida. Then it held Texas to only 56 in the semiﬁnals.

example, because LSU wanted her to defend point guard Georgia Amoore. That plan worked: Amoore scored only four points on 2-of-9 shooting in the second half, which helped the Tigers erase a double-digit steal and steal a win on the road. LSU thinks games against teams such as Texas are better matchups for Poa.

McNeese goes back-to-back in Southland, defeats Lamar

LAKE CHARLES Quadir Copeland scored 18 points and McNeese defeated Lamar 63-54 in a coldshooting, defensive battle on Wednesday, giving the Cowboys back-to-back Southland Conference Tournament championships. The top-seeded Cowboys (27-6) will be making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cowboys led wire-to-wire. The lead was 31-22 with two minutes remaining in the ﬁrst half before 3-pointers by second-seeded Lamar’s Andrew Holifield and Alexis Marmolejos sparked an 8-2 run. McNeese led 33-30 at halftime. The defensive battle continued in the second half as McNeese went 5 for 15 and Lamar 5 for 23 in the ﬁrst 121/2 minutes after halftime. McNeese led 47-41 at the under-8 timeout.

Seahawks agree to deal with WR Valdes-Scantling

The Seattle Seahawks agreed Wednesday to a one-year deal worth up to $5.5 million with speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling, according to agent Harold Lewis.

The 30-year-old Valdes-Scantling ended last season with the New Orleans Saints and is one of the game’s better deep threats.

He had 17 catches for 385 yards and four TDs in eight games for the Saints last season after catching just two passes in six games for Buffalo to begin the season. Valdes-Scantling was drafted in the ﬁfth round in 2018, spending four years with Green Bay

He then spent two seasons in Kansas City, including the backto-back Super Bowl wins with the Chiefs.

Commanders re-sign Mariota as backup QB

The Washington Commanders are re-upping veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota to back up Jayden Daniels in the Offensive Rookie of the Year’s second NFL season. The Commanders on Wednesday agreed to bring back Mariota and sign cornerback Jonathan Jones and defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, according to a person familiar with the deals under the condition of anonymity Mariota is the latest experienced player to stay in Washington after tight ends Zach Ertz and John Bates and linebacker Bobby Wagner also re-signed.

The Commanders also worked out a couple of big trades to acquire wide receiver Deebo Samuel from San Francisco and left tackle Laremy Tunsil from Houston

Chargers sign Steelers RB Harris, free agent CB Jackson

The Los Angeles Chargers signed former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris and free agent cornerback Donte Jackson on Wednesday Harris brings durability having started all 68 games regular-season games with the Steelers.

LSU to be at full strength?

Flau’jae Johnson is battling shin inﬂammation, and Aneesah Morrow is dealing with a midfoot sprain. Mulkey said on Saturday that both will be ready to play by the start of the NCAA Tournament. But how close to full strength will they be?

Johnson told The Advocate on Friday that she’s felt pain in her shin since roughly Feb. 9 Her inﬂammation wouldn’t have begun to subside, she said, unless she stopped playing in games. So LSU ruled the junior out of its regularseason ﬁnale, then shut her down for the SEC Tournament, giving her roughly three weeks to alleviate the pain. The bad news for the Tigers is

The problem? The LSU defense allowed the Gators’ 10th-ranked SEC offense to tally 87 points on 48% shooting a day before the Tigers scrounged together only 49 points against the Longhorns. That’s the fewest points they’ve scored in a single game under Mulkey Johnson will soon return to the court, giving LSU a boost at both ends of the ﬂoor But the Tigers likely will have trouble reaching the Final Four unless they can marry their best offensive and defensive efforts against the teams they’ll encounter in the NCAA Tournament.

LSU point guard settled?

Not really Shayeann Day-Wilson and Last-Tear Poa have split those duties for the last seven games or so, and Mulkey has indicated that she’ll let the matchup dictate which ballhandler will play more minutes.

Day-Wilson earned more run against Kentucky on Feb. 23, for

In the two games against the Longhorns, she played more than twice as many minutes as DayWilson did because the Tigers needed someone to help them evade full-court pressure — a job tailored more to Poa’s game. Mulkey likely will take the same approach in the tournament. She may even carve out more minutes for Mjracle Sheppard, who averaged 10 points and 2.5 steals per game in the SEC Tournament while starting in place of Johnson.

Long road trip ahead?

It sure looks like it. Remember the women’s tournament has two regional sites, not four Those cities are Spokane, Washington, and Birmingham, Alabama, this year Birmingham really has room for only two top teams from the SEC: South Carolina and Texas.

LSU could’ve earned one of those spots, but it lost too many games down the stretch of the regular season. Now the Tigers likely will have to settle for a long ﬂight to the Paciﬁc Northwest.

That’s assuming, of course, they can advance past the first two rounds of the tournament. Those games will take place inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

A first-round pick out of Alabama in 2021, he topped 1,000 yards in each of his first four NFL seasons. He was a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie. Jackson also comes over from Pittsburgh, where he made 15 regular-season starts last year after being traded from Carolina. He had a career-high five interceptions over that span before missing two of the final three games with a back issue. He’s expected to add a veteran presence to the Chargers’ young cornerback group.

Rams release Super Bowl 56 MVP wide receiver Kupp

The Los Angles Rams cut Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp after being unable to ﬁnd a trade partner for their former No 1 wide receiver The Rams ofﬁcially moved on from the 2021 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday Kupp announced last month that the Rams were trying to trade him despite his desire to remain with the team. But with him being owed $20 million this season, no other team was willing to make a trade. Kupp won the receiving triple crown and Su-

and 16 touchdowns. Kupp added 33 catches

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By WADE PAyNE

LSU guard Cam Carter, left, shoots against Mississippi State forward RJ Melendez during the second half of a SEC Tournament game Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, second from right, celebrates with teammates before taking a foul shot against Mississippi State on Feb 2 at the PMAC.

LSU transfers filling important roles already

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Name an LSU football position group, and there’s a strong chance it has a transfer or two in line to play a key role during the 2025 season.

This offseason, coach Brian Kelly and his staff pursued a wave of players from the transfer portal, marking a shift in their roster-building philosophy

Notebook

Now, the Tigers have a revamped roster with 16 transfers — a group that comprises the No. 1 portal haul in the country, according to 247Sports.

“All of them have a presence pretty much in our two-deep,” Kelly said, “and that’s saying a lot.”

LSU opened a 20-minute viewing window of its third spring practice to media on Wednesday. In that period, transfers dotted the ﬁeld in the limited offensive team drills the Tigers conducted, yet most worked behind an incumbent player in rotations that Kelly said will change as practices continue.

Returners comprised the preliminary ﬁrst-team offense AaronAnderson, ZavionThomas and Chris Hilton were the receivers; Trey’Dez Green was the tight end; Caden Durham was the running back; and all ﬁve starters on the offensive line were players who appeared in games for LSU during the 2024 season.

The ﬁve starters, from the left side to the right, were Tyree Adams, Paul Mubenga, DJ Chester, Bo Bordelon and Weston Davis

Transfer receivers Barion Brown (Kentucky) and Destyn Hill (Florida State) ran with LSU’s second-team offense, which was led by transfer quarterback MichaelVan Buren Transfer tight end Bauer Sharp (Oklahoma) slotted into that group as well,

along with transfer offensive lineman Braelin Moore (Virginia Tech), who played center alongside two freshmen — Carius Curne and Solomon Thomas and two redshirt freshmen — Coen Echols and Ethan Calloway

That depth chart undoubtedly will change.

Transfer receiver Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) will ﬁll a prominent role So too will Moore and fellow transfer lineman Josh Thompson (Northwestern), who’s expected to join the team next week

That list doesn’t even include

the defense, which LSU beefed up with additions to the secondary and defensive line. The Tigers plucked three new pass rushers, two cornerbacks and one safety from the transfer portal.

It’s still early, but Kelly is pleased with the early returns on a transfer class that LSU needs to step in and ﬁll some important roles.

“To immediately jump into a twodeep situation with all those guys,” Kelly said, “and factor into what we’re doing, I would say that we’re

LSU ﬁfth-year senior Coffey tearing into opposing pitchers

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

A young LSU softball team that was expected to need time to pull together in 2025 instead is 24-1 with a No. 4 national ranking.

Leading the way is one of the team’s most experienced players who leads the Southeastern Conference in batting average and walks, as well as gratitude. Tigers third baseman and leadoff hitter Danieca Coffey suffered the crushing disappointment last year of her senior season ending after 16 games because of a torn ACL in her left knee. After navigating a year of pain, rehab and tears, she’s way ahead of last year’s pace when she batted .404 with a .500 on-base percentage before the injury Coffey is hitting a white-hot .561 with a .680 on-base percentage, second in the league, and 29 walks. The fifth-year senior is hitting for power, fielding her position fearlessly and deftly stepping into her role as the team leader “The time out gave me a way different perspective,” said Coffey, who leads her team into the opening weekend of league play against Kentucky at 6 p.m. Friday at Tiger Park “The difference between last year and this year is I know it can be taken from me at any given moment. Every single atbat, there’s intention behind every single swing. There’s not a chance of letting up because I know what can happen. You’re grateful, and you’re working hard every single moment.” Coffey is clearly one of the nation’s best players. In five games last week, she batted .750 with an

LSU

Continued from page 1C

the interior linemen. On Wednesday, Kelly said he spent a few minutes observing those drills and came away impressed with how Williams “connects with his players.”

“He clearly understands the nuances of the position,” Kelly said, “and can articulate and communicate that effectively to those that need to go play it.”

Williams also will need to help LSU recruit and retain players — a pair of Davis’ strengths.

This offseason, Kelly and his staff added nine edge rushers and tackles, four via the transfer portal and ﬁve from the high school ranks. So far they have one defensive lineman committed to

.800 OBP She reached base in 12 consecutive plate appearances during one span and was named SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Her ability as an ignition switch for the LSU offense was never in doubt. But she is also showing improved power numbers with a .758 slugging percentage and matching her career high with two homers.

She said she’s as strong as she’s ever been, but the power improvement is attributable to pitch selection and a more mature hitting philosophy.

“I’ve talked with (assistant coach) Bryce (Neal) a lot about hunting pitches,” Coffey said. “Before, I knew I was a good hitter and just wanted to get on base. This year is more about doing damage. If I hunt this one pitch, I can hit it to the scoreboard If I’m hitting inside and outside I’m going to get my normal hit and get on base. I want people to be afraid to leave the ball over the plate.

“I want to play professionally; singles ain’t going to cut it. I need to hunt pitches and do damage.”

LSU coach Beth Torina marvels at Coffey’s ability.

“Danieca is one of the best players in the country, best hitters in the country,” she said “She can cover the entire zone. When I call pitches against her in practices and scrimmages, she’s one of the toughest outs you’re ever going to ﬁnd. It’s tough for her to have an off-day because she can hit so many different pitches, speeds and parts of the zone.”

Her defense hasn’t suffered, even with the memory of her injury still fresh in mind. She dis-

“He

clearly understands the nuances of the position and can articulate and communicate that effectively to those that need to go play it.”

BRIAN KELLy, LSU coach, on new DL coach

Kyle Williams

their 2026 freshman class: Edna Karr’s Richard Anderson, a top-50 national prospect and one of the three best recruits in Louisiana, according to 247Sports composite rankings.

Kelly tamped down concerns that losing Davis, or cycling through yet another defensive line coach, will hurt LSU’s chances of retaining those players or landing additional ones in later cycles.

misses it as a “freak accident” and has made the same play multiple times this season without a hitch, charging in from third to ﬁeld a bunt or dribbler

The role Coffey was unaccustomed to was being a vocal leader In the past, she deferred to players such as Taylor Pleasants and Ali Newland.

Now, she embraces leadership as easily as she grips the bat.

“Her stats speak for themselves,” junior pitcher Sydney Berzon said. “She is the leader of this team. Her knowledge, experience, everything she has to offer helps us every day at practice and the games. She really brings this team together I’m happy to have her another year.”

Recently during a postgame huddle, Coffey interrupted the message to deliver a few thoughts of her own, something she might not have done last year

“It’s nice to see her confident enough to do that,” Torina said.

“She’s holding the standard and holding them accountable.

“She’s really growing into that role. She’s obviously been that for us in her actions and what she’s done in the program her entire time. She’s starting to become more vocal (now).”

Coffey believes it is more important what the rest of the team thinks than what she says.

“What I’ve learned about being a leader is if you give the role to other people, they love to lead, too,” she said. “Everybody has a voice in what we’re doing. My biggest thing is making sure everyone can voice their opinion and know it’s heard.”

“Kyle got on the phone with our recruits,” Kelly said, “and spent time with the players because you start a new relationship. But it’s LSU really, and it’s the football program that at the end of the day is put under the spotlight, and we feel conﬁdent that that will stand up in most cases.”

Williams signed a three-year deal with LSU. This season, he’ll pocket $700,000 — the same amount that Peoples is earning under his current contract. Davis was earning $1.35 million, more than any other defensive line coach in the country Wilson Alexander contributed to this report.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

to see how that fits He’s smart, he’s physical, and he brings us an experienced offensive lineman.”

Thompson transferred to LSU in December after spending four seasons at Northwestern. Last year, the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder started 10 games at right guard. In 2023, he started eight games at right tackle.

In 2024, Thompson allowed only eight pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, without giving up a sack.

LSU signed two offensive linemen from the transfer portal in the offseason to help it replace the four starters it’s losing to the NFL. One of them is Thompson and the other is Moore, a redshirt junior who started 24 contests across the previous two seasons at Virginia Tech.

Kelly has said that the Tigers are planning to play Moore at center and move Chester to guard.

Injury update

Injured LSU starters Whit Weeks and Jacobian Guillory did not participate in practice Wednesday but both were spotted riding exercise bikes on the sideline.

very pleased with all of them.” O-lineman yet to enroll

Thompson is the only LSU transfer who hasn’t enrolled at the university and joined the team.

But Kelly expects the ﬁfth-year senior offensive lineman to join the Tigers next week once he ﬁnishes his coursework at Northwestern.

“A versatile player that can play guard or tackle,” Kelly said. “We haven’t decided where that will be. It’ll be putting the pieces together

Weeks, a first-team All-Southeastern Conference linebacker, suffered a broken fibula in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 31. Guillory, a sixth-year interior defensive lineman, tore an Achilles tendon in September

Kelly told The Advocate in February that Guillory could participate in individual drills during spring practices but that Weeks won’t be cleared until June.

LSU expects Guillory, Weeks and Harold Perkins — a linebacker recovering from a torn ACL — to be ready for preseason practices. Wilson Alexander contributed to this report.

Arkansas one step closer to NCAA bid

ByTheAssociated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Arkansas basketball took a step toward earning an NCAA Tournament bid in coach John Calipari’s debut season. Barely The ninth-seeded Razorbacks held on to beat 16th-seeded South Carolina 72-68 Wednesday in the SEC Tournament after nearly losing a 20-point lead.

“We have a bunch of guys that compete and did what they had to to win the game, so I’m happy,” Calipari said. “Would you like to have it a big score? Yeah.

“But at this time of the year, everybody’s ﬁghting for their lives.”

Arkansas (20-12) advanced to play eighth-seeded Ole Miss in the second round on Thursday

After the Razorbacks led 59-41 with 14:18 remaining, they missed 12 straight shots over 11-plus minutes and their cushion was cut to a one-point advantage.

D.J. Wagner, who played for Calipari at Kentucky snapped the ﬁeld-goal drought with 2:37 left on a 3-pointer to put Arkansas ahead 64-60 and it maintained that advantage.

Calipari has led the Razorbacks to a 20-win season with a slew of transfers, including former Wildcats in his ﬁrst season with the program. He led Kentucky for 15 seasons, winning a national championship in 2012, before leaving to succeed coach Eric Musselman.

Arkansas did not earn an NCAA bid last season after advancing to the second weekend in three straight tournaments. Does Calipari think the the Razorbacks have done enough to

show the selection committee they belong in college basketball’s annual showcase? “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not in the room.” NO 13TEXAS 79,NO.12VANDERBILT 72: In Nashville, Tennessee, Tramon Mark and Tre Johnson scored 19 points each and 13th-seeded Texas defeated No. 12-seed Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday Texas, in its first SEC Tournament, will play No. 5 seed Texas A&M in the second round on Thursday Texas led by 15 points at halftime and by 15 points again with 41/2 minutes to go before Tyler Nickel made a pair of free throws and Devin McGlockton’s layup got Vanderbilt within 70-59. The Longhorns’ next possessions included a failed one-andone opportunity and two 3-point misses while the Commodores trimmed their deficit to 72-65 with 1:34 remaining. Vanderbilt got within seven points three more times, but the Longhorns closed out the win with seven made free throws in eight attempts. Jordan Pope scored 14 points and was 5-for-5 on free throws for Texas (18-14) and Arthur Kaluma scored 11 points, all in the first half. Mark made 9 of 11 free throws and the Longhorns were 25 for 34 from the line. Texas shot 48% and scored 22 points in the paint in the first half on the way to a 41-26 halftime lead. The Longhorns had an early 12-0 run and Kaluma scored five points in a 12-3 run that led to a 39-22 lead.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

offensive linemen DJ Chester left, and Christian Stamps collide during a drill at spring practice at the LSU practice

AP PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

Arkansas guard D.J. Wagner reacts to a play against South Carolina at the SEC Tournament on Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. SEC tourney roundup

THE VARSITY ZONE

St. Aug rallies past reigning champ Liberty

Knights come from 10 down to stun No. 1 Patriots

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

LAKE CHARLES This wasn’t

the ﬁrst time St. Augustine rallied from 10 points down to win. But no other game this season had a spot in the state championship on the line.

St. Augustine trailed by 10 points midway through the third quarter but used a near-perfect shooting performance the rest of the way and defeated reigning state champion Liberty 43-41 in an LHSAA Division I select

semifinal on Wednesday at Burton Coliseum Senior Braydon Boyd scored 12 points off the bench, including the basket that put fourth-seeded St. Augustine (29-4) ahead for good in the fourth quarter No. 1 Liberty (25-2) went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the score twice in the final 10 seconds and missed all four foul shots, allowing St. Aug to reach the state final for the first time since it won the Division I title in 2021.

“People want to know how

we came back,” said St. Augustine coach Wade Mason, whose team will play at noon Saturday against the winner of a Thursday semiﬁnal between No. 2 St. Thomas More and No. 7 John Curtis.

“If you look at our games, we’ve been coming back all year Goodness — Dunham, Madison Prep, John Curtis — there were so many games when we were down. But the level of mental toughness that these guys have, gives us the ability to overcome basketball.”

St Augustine went 8 for 8

Rummel jumps on Jesuit

early in 9-5A-opening win

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

Rummel and Jesuit are traditionally two of the top baseball programs in a loaded District 9-5A and were facing each other to begin district play on Wednesday afternoon.

Rummel scored six runs in the ﬁrst two innings, but Jesuit responded with a combined four runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

Rummel added a run in the bottom of the ﬁfth to take a 7-4 lead, which was the ﬁnal score Wednesday afternoon at Mike Miley Stadium.

Lenny Cline’s three-run double highlighted the bottom of the first after three straight singles A no-out bunt in the bottom of the second led to three more runs for Rummel after a Jesuit error.

“It was real big to put the three-spot on the board,” Rummel coach Frank Cazeaux said of the first inning. “(Jesuit) is going to fight you tooth and nail. Our kids are understand-

“It was real big to put the three-spot on the board. (Jesuit) is going to fight you tooth and nail.”

FRANK CAZEAUX, Rummel coach

ing what it means to go out there and battle, and I’m very proud of their effort today.”

Rummel senior Evan Burg threw all seven innings, allowing three earned runs. A Tulane signee, Burg went 2 for 4 at the plate with a run scored in Rummel’s threerun ﬁrst inning. Burg threw 109 pitches in the game, allowing eight hits and two walks while striking out seven. The senior hit a single in the ﬁrst inning and a double in the sixth.

“You get a little tired at the end, but you’ve got to fight through adversity,” Burg said. “That’s what I did, and I was able to ﬁnd my groove.”

Jesuit broke through in the top of the third with

three runs on three hits and was able to cut Rummel’s lead to two after designated hitter Harry Leche hit a solo home run in the ﬁfth.

Rummel’s Payton Spadoni’s RBI single in the bottom of the ﬁfth put the Raiders back up by three, scoring shortstop Ian Smith A sophomore, Smith went 2 for 3 with two runs scored.

Jesuit starting pitcher Jake Moreci was able to throw all six innings A senior, Moreci allowed five earned runs on 11 hits and one walk.

“(Rummel) came out on ﬁre and punched us in the mouth,” Jesuit coach Kenny Goodlett said “We’ve got to clean a couple of things up, but our guys started to come back They didn’t quit, but we gave away too many too early.”

Rummel (12-5) and Jesuit (11-5) will face each other again in Game 2 of the district series at 6:30 p.m. Friday at John Ryan Stadium. Rummel is the reigning district champion.

Mt. Carmel outlasts rival

Curtis in 13-inning classic

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Take the softball game

Mount Carmel and John Curtis played Tuesday and put it on one of the diamonds at Frasch Park in Sulphur in May, and it had the makings of a state tournament classic. Both state-contending teams took turns at avoiding defeat by scoring a tying run with two outs in the late innings all before sophomore Emri Roussel drove in the deciding run and Mount Carmel won 6-5 in 13 innings.

Paige Reuther pitched the bottom of the 13th and set down the Curtis side in order She ﬁnished with 16 strikeouts, including the

final batter as Mount Carmel (8-1) won against Curtis (6-4) for the second time in the past three seasons.

“It was a battle,” Mount Carmel coach Curtis Matthews said. “We knew it was going to be a battle. John Curtis always is a great team. And we had Paige on the mound, and we told her she had to be a big dog and perform, and she did.”

For Reuther, who threw 215 pitches, the 13 innings were the most she ever pitched in a game.

“Going out there, all I could think was to throw as hard as I could, hit my spots and do everything I could,” said Reuther, whose RBI single in the seventh inning put her in position to ultimately get the pitching win in a game that lasted nearly four hours.

from the ﬁeld in the fourth quarter and went 17 of 24 (70%) for the game. That impressive shooting offset some of the 27 turnovers that let Liberty build a 2717 lead midway through the third quarter Boyd was among the unsung heroes for St. Augustine. Senior Tye Williams also came through with a key 3-pointer for a 34-all tie in the fourth quarter

After Boyd scored for a 38-37 lead, sophomore Aaron Miles the usual scoring leader — lofted a higharching shot from near the basket to make the score 40-37. Miles, a sophomore

all-district guard, had nine points. Another basket by Boyd off a pass from senior Kolbin Jefferson, and then a free throw by senior Jakobe Shepeard put St. Augustine ahead by five — enough to outlast Liberty as the Patriots missed five of their final six free throws. “We believe in each other a lot,” said Shepeard, who had six points and three steals. “We know we can lean on each other when we get in a sticky situation.”

St. Aug senior Khalil Jones made two 3-pointers. Boyd had eight rebounds and two steals.

Jefferson had ﬁve points and ﬁve assists. Liberty coach Brandon White lamented the 19 points his team allowed in the fourth quarter and the 7-of-21 shooting from the free-throw line that essentially cost his team the game. “It was a bad shooting night for us,” said White, whose team was 2 of 15 shooting 3-pointers. Senior Malek Robinson had 13 points for Liberty Junior Kingston Jarrell had 11 points.

Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.

Shaw shows dominance by pummeling Madison Prep

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

LAKE CHARLES Shaw and Madison Prep met in the state semiﬁnals for a third year in a row Wednesday — and this one played out far differently than the other two.

This time, the points came early and often for Shaw Many of those points came off how aggressively the Eagles played on defense. Shaw scored several points off turnovers as the top-seeded Eagles defeated No. 5 Madison Prep 71-47 in an LHSAA Division II select state semiﬁnal at Burton Coliseum.

“The fact that no one scored 50 points on us in the playoffs is a testament to how well we’re guarding,” said Shaw coach Wesley Laurendine, whose team led by 20 points midway through the second quarter Tristen Naquin, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, sparked Shaw (27-2) with nine points in the ﬁrst quarter, including

one thunderous dunk that came after he stole a pass near midcourt. Naquin ﬁnished with 13 points, seven rebounds and six steals.

Senior Khalil Awogboro (16 points) made three 3-pointers in the third quarter alone, the last one stretching the lead to 60-25 when he scored at the buzzer after a Naquin steal near midcourt.

Madison Prep (27-10) had 23 turnovers through three quarters, by which point the game was essentially ﬁnished. The teams played the fourth quarter with a running clock.

“I knew the intensity was there and we were bringing it,” Awogboro said. “Nothing was going to stop us.”

Shaw had 31 points by halftime, which was more than the 28 points the Eagles scored in each of the two previous semiﬁnal losses against Madison Prep. Shaw had two other players reach double figures in points as senior Dennis Seal and sophomore Allen Shaw each scored 11. Kobe

Butler, a 6-7 senior, had eight points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Christian Clair had nine points. The win put Shaw in the state final for the first time since 2001 with a chance to win a title for the first time since 1997. The Eagles forfeited the state title in 2000 for violations of LHSAA rules. Shaw will play in the state final set for 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 2 Hannan, which beat No. 3 Peabody Madison Prep coach Jeff Jones said Shaw played like “a team that got to this point the last two years and came up short.

“They were determined,” Jones said. “We’ve been there too. We’ve been in that spot where we can’t lose. They played like they had to win, and it showed.” The loss kept Madison Prep from reaching the ﬁnal for just the second time in the past 14 seasons. The Chargers won eight titles during that span.

Hannan reaches state ﬁnal after holding off Peabody

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

LAKE CHARLES Drew Timmons would like to end his high school career the same way he started it — with a state championship.

The 6-foot-6 Hannan senior moved one step closer to that goal Wednesday as the second-seeded Hawks outlasted No. 3 Peabody 3129 in an LHSAA Division II select semiﬁnal at Burton Coliseum.

The berth in the state final is the first for Hannan since it won the title when Timmons, a Navy signee, was a freshman in 2022. Hannan will face No 1 Shaw in the state final set for 4 p.m. Saturday

The chance to play for a title beats the past two seasons when Hannan lost in the quarterﬁnals.

Timmons, who had eight points and 11 rebounds against Peabody Hannan (22-6) held off Peabody the state champion last season, on a night when both teams shot poorly for long stretches — making only three baskets combined in the entire third quarter Senior Anthony Thompson (nine points) made a 3-pointer and then completed a 3-point play for Hannan to lead by eight points midway through the fourth quarter

Peabody (25-5) trimmed the lead to three points before Timmons stole the ball near midcourt, got fouled and made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line — a key basket that meant Peabody would need something more than 3-pointer to force overtime.

Peabody shot poorly from the start and Hannan struggled to break open the game when it had chances.

“But our guys, you could see the competitive spirit as they came to timeouts and at the end of quarters, so you knew they were fully engaged in the game and giving it their all,” Hannan coach Errol Gauff said. Hannan got a big lift offensively in the first half with five 3-pointers on the way to a 19-14 lead before the break. The lead changed three times in the first half. Sophomore Cornelius Woodard made two 3-pointers in the first half. Hannan sophomores Chase Marchetta and Paul Hoyt hit 3s late in the half. Thompson made the other 3 for Hannan in the first half.

Curtis nearly won in regulation when Gracey Hebert hit an inside-the-park home run for a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, and for Reuther hit an RBI-single that tied the score with two outs in the seventh. Then in the 12th, Chloe Krey hammered a two-run homer for Mount Carmel to lead 5-3, and Curtis drew even when it scored two runs in the bottom of the inning — Kinsley McInnis scoring the tying run from second when Mount Carmel tried to turn a double play that would have ended the game. In the 13th, Roussel drove in the winning run with a grounder that hit off the glove of the Curtis shortstop and bounced into center ﬁeld as Avery Killian ran home from second base with two outs.

“Being in the (championship) game is most deﬁnitely a better feeling,” said

Peabody scored a final basket at the buzzer to make it a two-point game.

Hannan had one twopoint bucket in the half on a put-back by Timmons in the second quarter

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER

Rummel’s Gavin Kennedy, right, takes third base as Jesuit’s Conner Donnelly tries to handle the ball Wednesday in Metairie. The Raiders won 7-4.

Allen sets his sights on Super Bowl ring

BY JOHN WAWROW AP sportswriter

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y As blessed as

Josh Allen considers himself following a year in which he was voted NFL MVP, got engaged to a Hollywood actress and became one of the league’s top-paid players, one item remains on the Buffalo Bills quarterback’s to-do list.

Win a Super Bowl, of course

“Anybody I run into, friend or not friend, it’s always a congrats for having a heck of a year,” Allen told reporters on Wednesday “And when you kind of look back at it, the only thing missing is ﬁnishing our season with a win,” he said. “That’s really the only thing I’m thinking about, just trying to continue to get better and ﬁnd a way to bring a Lombardi Trophy to western New York.”

Though his focus remains on the future, Allen took time to appreciate the moment, three days after agreeing to a six-year, $330 million contract extension, with an NFLrecord $250 million guaranteed “It’s a pretty surreal feeling. And 8-year-old me would obviously be just as pumped as a 28-year-old me,” Allen said, speaking on a Zoom call from his offseason base

in Southern California.

“I just think I’m blessed. Sometimes it is a little breath-taking, or you can’t ﬁnd the right words on how to describe it,” he added. “I’m

a pretty lucky guy.”

Resilient, too, as Allen also reflected on the obstacles he has overcome: from starting his career at Reedley Community College in

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan, center, celebrates intercepting the ball during the ﬁrst half of a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 13 at the Caesars Superdome. Jordan, a fan favorite, will return for his 15th season with the team.

JORDAN

Continued from page 1C

Bowler saw his playing time dwindle — particularly over the ﬁrst half of the season, which created tension between him and the coaching staff. But after Dennis Allen was ﬁred in November and interim Darren Rizzi took over, Jordan saw his snaps — and production increase.

Jordan ﬁnished last season with four sacks, all of which were recorded over the final eight games. He ﬁnished the year with 565 defensive snaps, good for 48% of the defense’s total. Despite playing less than half the time, Jordan started all 17 games for the Saints.

Drafted 24th overall in 2011,

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

first staff, with the other being offensive line coach Brendan Nugent, who worked in various roles with the organization from 2015-21. Both of them are excited to be back in their old stomping grounds. Thomas maintained his connection to the city while he was with the Giants, and he made sure when he left the Saints to do so on good terms to keep the door open for a potential return. He just didn’t anticipate it would happen this quickly Although Thomas and Moore never have worked together, Moore described Thomas as someone whose name was “very

Jordan has become the franchise’s all-time sack leader with 1211/2 sacks.

Jordan announced his return on Instagram accompanied by a video featuring highlights of his career On X, he posted a clip from Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf Of Wall Street” in which Leonardo DiCaprio’s character tells a room of his co-workers that, “I’m not [expletive] leaving!” Jordan accompanied that video with a series of eye emojis.

“The Saints have been the only home I’ve known, so if you’re going to shut that door, you’re going to have to shut it for me, because I’m not going to do it to myself,” Jordan said in December “As much as I bleed, I think I only bleed Black and Gold, but if you force me to go bleed somewhere else, a soldier ﬁghts wher-

prominent around this whole league.” For his part, Thomas who played his collegiate football at the University of Idaho — has long kept tabs on Moore, a Boise State product.

“(The Saints) gave a call to (Giants head coach Brian Daboll), and given my conversations that I’ve had about this place my heart is here, my family’s heart is here — it came about,” Thomas said. “And with my title, it’s a promotion, so that’s how it ended up working.” Nugent left the team on different terms. He worked his way up from a low-level assistant job to the offensive line coach and run game coordinator, but he was let go when Dennis Allen took over in 2022. He ultimately landed with the Los Angeles Chargers as their offensive line coach.

Central California, to transferring to Wyoming, where he was knocked for being raw and inaccurate, never mind those who continued to doubt him over the past year

“Maybe, we’ll see,” Allen said with a laugh on whether he’s closed the book on being called overrated.

Though the closest he has led the Bills to a Super Bowl berth is two AFC championship game losses to Kansas City in 2020 and this past season, Allen has a hold on his adopted community and team that are unquestioned since Buffalo traded up five spots to draft him seventh overall in 2018 He has set nearly every singleseason franchise passing and scoring record for his position while leading Buffalo to five straight AFC East titles. And he’s coming off a season regarded as his most memorable on and off the ﬁeld.

Allen became the Bills third player to win MVP honors, being recognized for essentially achieving more with less after Buffalo traded top threat Stefon Diggs to Houston and lost No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis in free agency He combined for 41 touchdowns, including one receiv-

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

His 3-point percentage wasn’t good, either He had made just 2 of 15 3-point attempts. But he buried his ﬁrst one from the corner Tuesday night and ﬁnished 1 for 2 on the night.

“He’s fighting through the adversity of not playing up to his level or standard,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “So it was really good to see him come out tonight and get us off to a good start.” Green inserted Brown into the starting lineup Tuesday night for his second start with the Pelicans. He also started against the Phoenix Suns two weeks ago and scored 10 points in that game.

“The mindset was he doesn’t have to rely on himself to have to be a playmaker every time,” Green said about starting Brown.

“He’s got guys that are going to draw attention, and that’s going to free him up.”

Brown said it doesn’t matter whether he starts or comes off the bench. He typically comes off the bench when the Pelicans go with their big lineup.

ing, with a career-low six interceptions in a 13-win season.

Off the ﬁeld, he got engaged to Hailee Steinfeld in November

“I’m so grateful for what’s going on in my life and ﬁnding the person that I want to share it with,” Allen said. “When you have that piece figured out, it seems like everything else kind of comes a little bit easier.”

Now Allen has a new contract that locks him in through 2030, a deal he negotiated with an eye on helping the team. As eye-popping as the numbers are, Allen made sure the contract helped the Bills by freeing up much-needed salary cap space in order to retain and add talent.

The beneﬁts were readily apparent in the days leading up to free agency on Wednesday The Bills upgraded their defensive line by signing edge rusher Joey Bosa and tackle Larry Ogunjobi to one-year deals and landed receiver Joshua Palmer

“It’s weird to say this, but what is $5 million more going to do for my life that I can’t already do right now. It’s not that crazy to me,” Allen said. “I was like, if it has any impact on the cap, let’s ﬁgure out a way to not do that.”

“I’m just trying to be aggressive and pick my spots,” he said. Brown is in his seventh NBA season with his sixth different team. That includes a stint in Denver when he played a key role in the Nuggets’ championship run in 2023. That championship pedigree, along with his versatility to play any position, is why the Pelicans wanted him.

“He’s a winner,” Green said. “He’s a champion, and he understands how to get on the ﬂoor and make winning plays and he did that (Tuesday.)” Brown, whose contract expires at the end of the season, would like nothing more than to see Tuesday’s breakout performance carry over into the remaining 16 games. That begins Thursday when the Pelicans host the Orlando Magic.

“I think just continuing being in the gym and just trying to get my rhythm back,” Brown said. “It’s a whole new offense. A different role on a different team in the middle of the year is super tough. But the last few years, I’ve ﬁgured it. So I’ll ﬁgure it out at some point.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

ever whenever however.”

It remains to be seen how new coach Kellen Moore and his coaching staff plan to deploy Jordan. Last year, the team asked Jordan to play on the inside at defensive tackle in addition to his edge rushing duties — a role that Jordan was unhappy with.

The Saints have addressed their defensive line in the opening days of free agency, trading for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, re-signing Chase Young, extending Nathan Shepherd and restructuring Khalen Saunders.

“He’s still a player,” Moore said of Jordan last month. “He can still impact games I feel fortunate about that.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt paras@theadvocate.com

STAFF PHOTO By

“It was awesome. That’s another big part of why I’m excited to be back here is I believe in him. The way we built the offense, the way we did it, the way he called it, all the different aspects of it when we did that in LA. I believe in him, and I’m excited to help him get this thing rolling.”

It was with the Chargers that Nugent met and worked with Moore, who served as the offensive coordinator in 2023. “It was awesome,” Nugent said of his time with Moore. “That’s another big part of why I’m excited to be back here is I believe in him. The way we built the offense, the way we did it, the way he called it, all the different aspects of it when

we did that in LA. I believe in him, and I’m excited to help him get this thing rolling.”

After a year in Seattle, Nugent reunited with Moore in New Orleans, where he’ll have the important task of getting the most out of a young offensive line loaded with former first- and second-round picks. He’s been gone long enough to

have coached only two current Saints linemen Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz. A third, Landon Young, is a free agent. Nugent found a home in his old neighborhood on the Northshore, and his family will rejoin him later this week. Like Thomas, he still has deep ties to the community that he called home for half a decade.

“This place is a special place,” Nugent said. “My two youngest kids were born here; my older two (kids), this is all they know; my wife loves it, so they’re about as excited as I am to get back here.

“Sometimes you never know how things are going to work out. I’m just excited to get back to a place I know, an organization I know, a place I love living.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

DAVID GRUNFELD

BRENDAN NUGENT, Saints offensive line coach, on New Orleans coach Kellen Moore

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLIE RIEDEL

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen looks to pass during the second half of the AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 27 in Kansas City, Mo.

Miss Mary’s coconut pie is the perfect formula for Pi Day

Finding a reason to eat a good pie shouldn’t require a national holiday That said, when Congress declared March 14 as National Pi Day in 2009, I joined the ranks of believers that baking a pie this week is an excellent notion.

My go-to pie is a French Silk pie. Sometimes I dream about it.

When Amy Martin shared her family’s long-time and much-loved coconut pie recipe, I thought, “This is the perfect dish to try for Pi Day.”

I’m pleased to say that I was right. Martin lives in Lafayette but is originally from Magnolia, Arkansas, population 10,769. The recipe she shared is one her paternal grandmother made often Her grandmother, Frances Young Hall, learned the recipe from Mary Tarkington, who worked with the family for decades.

“Miss Mary was amazing,” Martin said. “She taught me how to cook. She taught my grandmother how to cook. That’s where a lot of our recipes come from.” Martin, who has a lot of baking credibility herself, says that coconut pie was her family’s traditional birthday treat

The recipe is straightforward and simple — no fancy ingredients. Pretty much, it’s butter, eggs, coconut, vanilla ﬂavoring, milk and sugar Martin says sometimes she makes her own pie crust, and sometimes she buys the boxed kind. At Martin’s recommendation, I used a prepared pie crust that was frozen. Once it thawed, I unrolled it and sprinkled salt on it.

“My grandmother taught me to do that. It makes a storebought pie crust almost taste homemade,” she said. Recipe, Coconut Pie 2D

ä See THE DISH, page 2D

BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER

News Service (TNS)

FEELING LUCKY

Hearty lamb stew and apple cake a fitting way to celebrate Irish heritage

ecause my wife Monica is not from New Orleans, she often has questions. Recently, she was curious about the wide space between West End and Pontchartrain boulevards, noting that it didn’t seem like it was supposed to be a park.

I told her that in the 1830s, a canal was built linking Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River to improve the city’s transportation infrastructure. The project was largely done by Irish immigrants, many of whom arrived in New Orleans after ﬂeeing the Irish potato famine. These men, desperate for work and a new life in America, found themselves in treacherous conditions as they worked to dig the canal through the swamps and marshlands of the city

ä See HERITAGE, page 2D

and

2. Remove from the heat. Cover and bake at 350 F for

or until meat and vegetables are

With a slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables to a large bowl; set aside and keep warm. Pour pan juices into another bowl; set aside.

4. In the Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in ﬂour until smooth. Gradually whisk in pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the parsley, chives, thyme, meat and vegetables and heat through.

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Jan Risher used Amy Martin’s family recipe to bake this old-fashioned coconut pie in celebration of Pi Day.

PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER

Jan Risher THE DISH

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Lamb Stew

Irish Lamb Stew

Kevin Belton

Share the sidewalk! It’s not that hard

Dear Miss Manners: When walking or biking on a sidewalk or a trail, I often encounter three individuals walking or riding abreast Instead of their moving to single ﬁle to let me pass, I’m forced to move aside to the grass or curb.

When I was walking on a narrow pier, keeping to my side, I was approached by this woman walking on my side rather than staying on hers. I deliberately continued to walk straight toward her We would have collided if I had not, once again, stepped aside Should I call out this rude behavior?

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentle reader: Yelling “gangway!” as you plow into the offending in-

Coconut Pie

Recipe is by Mary Tarkington of Magnolia, Arkansas, from the recipe box of Frances Young Hall. Makes one pie.

THE DISH

Continued from page 1D

I gave her method a try and agree that the sprinkle of salt made a difference.

A couple of other tips Martin offered were:

n After the pie bakes, it will still be a bit “jiggly” when the time comes to take it out of the oven —

dividuals might seem like a good idea, but it would put you on the wrong side of both etiquette and the rules of right of way One rudeness does not justify another And being off-course does not relieve you of the duty to avoid a collision. Miss Manners admits you might be in technical compliance were you to force them to change course by stopping in place. But this will be cold comfort if it results in your being run down Better to step aside with a startling “Excuse me!” that will cause them to look up as they go by Dear Miss Manners: My parents run a guesthouse that is ﬁlled mostly

By JAN RISHER

In celebration of Pi Day 2025, Jan Risher used Amy Martin’s family recipe to bake this oldfashioned coconut pie.

that’s normal. n Cream of Tartar is essential for the right meringue. Until this week, I had never made a coconut pie before Maybe it was because, like Martin, when I was a kid, I didn’t think I liked coconut pie. Now, it seems like one of the biggest treats around. I will deﬁnitely be making this one again. It’s worthy

with people they consider friends. Guests often gather directly on the other side of a door that separates the guests’ quarters from ours. When I close the door for privacy, it feels as if I am rudely shutting the door in the guests’ faces. When the door remains open, guests frequently walk into our quarters — uninvited, even in the middle of dinner — and interrupt us. Is there something I can say politely as I close the door? Or is there a polite way I can voice my discontent for the unwelcome interruptions?

Gentle reader: Please remind Miss Manners to tell the business world to stop getting into etiquette, because they take things that everyone understood and

not browned pie crust.

3. Bake at 300 F for 40-60 minutes or until ﬁrm.

Meringue

3 egg whites ½ teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

6 tablespoons sugar

1. Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.

2. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff.

3. Place on cooked pie and brown in oven. (I baked about 15 minutes.)

of its own national holiday

Thanks, Miss Mary You, too, can send in the recipe for your signature dish. Each week, Jan Risher picks a different dish to try at home. She compares notes with the cook who sent in the recipe. If you’ve got a great dish you think others would love, email Jan. Risher@theadvocate.com.

Makes 15 servings.

Continued from page 1D

Thousands of Irish laborers are believed to have perished during the construction of the New Basin Canal, a staggering loss of life that casts a shadow over the ambitious project. A cholera epidemic about the same time may have made the death toll seem even higher But in any case, the working conditions they endured were brutal. The labor was physically demanding, involving long hours in sweltering heat and the marshy, disease-ridden landscape surrounding the canal What made it even more deadly were diseases like yellow fever and malaria

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in apple cubes until well combined.

2. Spread into a greased 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 F for 40-

that spread throughout the area The canal was finished by 1838. By the 1950s, it was mostly filled in, leaving the wide grassy space there today The Irish went on to help shape New Orleans’ identity, establishing strong neighborhoods, churches and organizations that reflected their culture and traditions. While the death of so many workers was an unimaginable loss, their legacy lives on in the city they helped build. In true New Orleans style, we celebrate the city’s Irish heritage by parading with The Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day parade and an Irish American parade. We cook we eat and we remember

45 minutes or until top is lightly browned and springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter Cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Gradually add cream. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, stirring constantly Remove from the heat. Serve with cake.

This lamb stew is hearty and ﬁlled with ﬂavor and I wish I had been around to make it for all those Irish immigrants to nourish their bodies and souls. The apple cake is perfection because it is moist and sweet but not too sweet. And you can control the sweetness by how much caramel (and ice cream) you decide to add.

Kevin Belton is resident chef of WWL-TV and has taught classes in Louisiana cooking for 30 years. The most recent of his four cookbooks, “Kevin Belton’s Cookin’ Louisiana: Flavors from the Parishes of the Pelican State,” was published in 2021. Email Chef at chefkevinbelton@ gmail.com.

muddy them up beyond all recognition. Yes, it is perfectly polite to close the door when you need privacy All you have to do is go to the door, say, “Excuse me, I’m going to close the door for a little while now,” and do so. No, there is no easy way to tell someone who appears at an open door that they are not welcome: At the very least, you will have to speak to them civilly and listen while they respond.

This was all perfectly simple until someone’s boss established an “open-door policy” and told everyone they were always available to talk — and then punished people foolish enough to take them seriously Dear Miss Manners: One of our

friends is very seriously ill. I hosted a party and assumed they would not be able to attend, so I did not extend them an invitation. It was very presumptuous of me and I feel awful. How can I apologize? They discovered it partly through other friends talking about it.

Gentle reader: “I feel terrible. I got confused and thought you had told me you were unavailable. Will you please forgive me?”

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.

Former Babylon queens gather

Mardi Gras memories were the bill of fare recently when the former

Elizabeth Floeck Menichini. On the back row are Heather Jones Seal, Sarah Elizabeth Seal, Therese Wax Tournillon, Julie Jacob, Danielle Derbes Guerra, Caroline Berger, Mignonne Mary Hammel and Lynn Mary Hammel.

Number is no longer in service

Dear Heloise: I love your column and read it every day Here is my solution for your readers on how to get rid of scam calls. (I would receive 10 per day.) I called my telephone provider, and they have a link where you can list up to 30 telephone numbers that are allowed to call your phone. All others will receive a message that “this number is no longer in service.” It worked like a charm, and I have not had any scam calls since. Thank you! — Ms.Deanne Dillenbeck,in Cypress,California New Medicare cards

number, but her information regarding new Medicare cards is incorrect. I received a new Medicare card in the mail with a letter saying to destroy the old card and start using the new one. I have no reason to think it’s a scam. Whether they sent it out to everyone in the country, I do not know She can ask her medical insurance carrier or her doctor’s ofﬁce if they have knowledge of new Medicare cards with different numbers that are being sent to people. — Rise Schurman, via email

hand. Compare the bristles on the old toothbrush versus the replacement. I prefer a manual brush, but I understand that electric ones are used by many — Jeanie Bray in Bryan,Texas Painting tip

Dear Heloise: You had a reader who was contacted about a new Medicare card. She is correct that a scammer was possibly trying to get her Medicare

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, March 13, the 72nd day of 2025. There are 293 days left in the year Today in history

On March 13, 2013, Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope, choosing the papal name Francis. He was the ﬁrst pontiff from the Americas, and the ﬁrst from outside Europe since Pope Gregory III’s death in the year 741.

On this date:

In 1781, the seventh planet of the solar system, Uranus, was discovered by astronomer William Herschel.

In 1925, the Tennessee General Assembly approved the Butler Act, which prohibited public schools from teaching of the theory of evolution.

(Gov Austin Peay signed the measure on March 21; the bill was challenged in court later that year in the famous Scopes Monkey

New toothbrush

Dear Heloise: When should you replace your toothbrush? When it is showing wear Keep a spare on-

TODAY IN HISTORY

Trial. Tennessee ultimately repealed the law in 1967.)

In 1946, U.S. Army Pfc. Sadao Munemori was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacriﬁcing himself to save fellow soldiers from a grenade explosion in Seravezza, Italy; he was the only Japanese American service member so recognized in the immediate aftermath of World War II.

In 1954, the pivotal Battle of Dien Bien Phu began during the First Indochina War as Viet Minh forces attacked French troops, who were defeated nearly two months later

In 1996, a gunman entered an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and opened ﬁre, killing 16 children and one teacher before killing himself; it remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history

In 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the COVID-19

Dear Heloise: When I am painting with a brush and have to stop for an unexpected visitor, phone call, or lunch break, I don’t want to clean my brush or let it get hard and dry So, I do one of two things: I either wrap the brush up in plastic food wrap. Or I stick it into the bag that my newspaper comes in, squeeze out the air, and put a twist tie around the handle. Then I can go back to painting without a problem! — Michelle Balk, via email Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

pandemic. In 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, during a botched raid by plainclothes narcotics detectives searching for a suspected drug dealer; no drugs were found, and the “no-knock” warrant used to enter by force was later found to be based on false information. Today’s Birthdays: Songwriter Mike Stoller is 92. Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka is 86. Actor William H. Macy is 75. Actor Dana Delany is 69. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., is 68. Bassist Adam Clayton (U2) is 65. Jazz musician Terence Blanchard is 63. Actor Annabeth Gish is 54. Rapper-actor Common is 53. Actor Emile Hirsch is 40. Olympic skiing gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin is 30. Rapper Jack Harlow is 27. Tennis star Coco Gauff is 21.

STAFF PHOTO

PROVIDED PHOTO By DARRyL SCHMITT

queens of the Babylon ball gathered at Ralph’s on the Park. Former queens who attended the annual lunch are, front from left, Angelique Guidry Manne, JoAnn Wax Collins, Charlotte Mary Zink, Diana Davis Brooks, Charlene Mary Sinclair, Carra Sinclair, Virginia Davis Painter and

Chunky Apple Cake

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Chunky Apple Cake

Hints from Heloise

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Line up your activities and lock them in to avoid confusion or disappointment. Precision and detailwillhelpavoidunexpectedexpenses and double bookings

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Explorethepossibilities and nurture your curiosity. What you experience will help shape what's to come.Havingconfidenceinyourselfwill change the way others perceive you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) When one door shuts, another opens. Accept change and make the most of it Let your energy flow in directions that provide the excitement and desire you long for

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Take a moment to breatheandrethinkyouroptions.Refuse to let your ego or emotions interfere with wise choices. Verify facts before buying into something lacking substance.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Put your energy into your work or source of income. An innovative attitude and persistent drive to do your best will fetch good results if you don't go overboard. Balance will be the key to your success.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Do what suits you best. Refuse to participate in someone else's drama or dreams. Concentrate on learning and living life in a manner suitable for reaching your destination of choice.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Set doable goals

Refrain from letting anyone talk you into taking on too much. Learn to adjust to

changes you cannot control and organize your time to accommodate your to-do list.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Stretch your mind. Consider how you can use your intellectual and physical attributes to complete your mission without causing distress or hurting your reputation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Participate in activitiesthatpromotephysicalandmental stimulation. Meeting people heading inasimilardirectionisencouraged.Take nothing for granted; when in doubt, ask.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Leave yourself time to nurture meaningful relationships. Set boundaries with people who take advantage of you. Put in the work, set high standards and walk away from toxic situations.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put your energy where it counts Focus more on your health and well-being and less on trying to please someone who drains your energy. Run the show instead of letting someone else dictate what's next.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Overreacting will not solve problems. If there is something you don't like, change it. Put together a budget you can live with. Try to maintain a positive attitude.

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: S EQUALS F

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

When you are the declarer, sometimes your opponents will defend well and make your life somewhere between difficult and impossible. More often, though, they will not find the best plays, making your task much easier.

Take today’s deal as an example. South is in four hearts. After West leads the spade king, what is the best defense? If East and West find that sequence of plays, what is declarer’s correct line mathematically?

Three no-trump is easy here, but if South had rebid that, North, with four trumps and a low doubleton, would have corrected to four hearts.

Under West’s spade king, East encourageswithhisnine.NowWestshouldcash his spade queen, then lead a third spade (preferably the 10 as a suit-preference signal for diamonds, the higher-ranking of the other two side suits) to East’s ace. Then East should shift to the diamond four.

South has two lines of play. He can take the diamond finesse — a straight 50-50 shot. Or he can win with his diamond ace and run all of his trumps, discarding a diamond from the dummy. He gets home if clubs are 3-3 — a 35.53 percent chance — or if a defender has four-plus clubs and the diamond king. (He will be squeezed by the last heart.) Even allowing for the squeeze chance, mathemati-

cally the diamond finesse is the better line — and fails here.

However, if West wins the third spade trick and exits with a trump, declarer can cash his trumps, pitching a diamond from

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

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.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

WiShinG Well

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe

DuStin

Drabble Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

SPRING THINGS

PARADES KEEP ROLLING IN HONOR OF AREA’S HISTORIC BLEND OF CULTURES

Le Petit setting the stage for ‘Jersey Boys’ page 6

Biloxi casino promises return of crab legs with new buffet page 16

don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss

super sunday

At noon Sunday, the Mardi Gras Indians will parade with their colorful “suits” and rich heritage starting at A.L. Davis Park at Washington Avenue and LaSalle Street in Central City

argus, rescheduled

The delayed traditional Metairie Mardi Gras parade that rolls down Veterans Memorial Boulevard hops over to Metairie Road on Sunday after the St. Patrick’s Day parade. “Let the Games Begin” will be the theme for the krewe of more than 250 riders and more than 25 units. kreweofargus. com. MAP ON PAGE 12.

ABOUT LAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is published each Thursday by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. All inquiries about Lagniappe should be directed to the editor.

LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Annette Sisco, asisco@theadvocate.com

COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Victor Andrews, Beth D’Addono, Doug MacCash, Justin Mitchell, Keith Spera

GET LISTED IN LAGNIAPPE

Submit events to Lagniappe at least two weeks in advance by sending an email to events@theadvocate.com.

ON THE COVER

Irish whiskey is tucked in with the ﬂowers of a kilt-wearing walker in the 2024 Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Orleans. Photo by Scott Threlkeld. Carnival is over, but New Orleans festivities are not. Find out what’s in store for spring on Page 10. Story by Annette Sisco.

french film fest

The New Orleans Film Society presents its annual array of French-speaking cinema Thursday through Sunday at the Prytania Theatre. “Les Balconettes” is a horror comedy about three roommates who get worked up during a heatwave. In the Swiss comedy “Les Proces du Chien,” a lawyer finds herself defending a dog in a fight for justice. “Les Creoles” is a documentary about zydeco music. And see Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 French New Wave drama “Le Mepris.” Visit neworleansfilmsociety.org.

For its next Market Nights concert, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra collaborates with folk musician Leyla McCalla. Happy hour at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the New Orleans Jazz Market, 1436 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. Tickets are $40 via

Bardot

st.

patrick’s parades don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss

Green is the color of the moment when the Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day parade kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Felicity and Magazine streets in New Orleans. In Metairie on Sunday, the Metairie Road St. Patrick’s Day parade starts at noon at Rummel High School on Severn Avenue, then turns onto Metairie Road.

los isleños festival

Celebrate the culture and contributions of Canary Islands immigrants who settled in or passed through St. Bernard Parish with two days of music, dancing, food and exhibitions at the Heritage and Cultural Society’s museum grounds at 1357 Bayou Road. Experience authentic cuisine, music and genealogical exhibits, plus children’s rides from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Admission $5. losislenos.org.

music music music

NOLA FUNK FEST LINEUP REVEAL SHOW

SATURDAY,TIPITINA’S

The third annual NOLA Funk Fest will take over Spanish Plaza downtown Oct. 17-19. Rather than simply rolling out the festival’s lineup online, the producers are staging a live show Saturday at Tipitina’s. The musicians scheduled to perform at Tip’s on Saturday will presumly also be part of the fest this fall. Saturday’s performers include George Porter Jr., n Neville, Cyril Neville, Jon Cleary, Rob Mercurio, ny Hall, Ian Neville, Raymond Weber, Jake Eckert,

Erica Falls, Brad Walker,Ashlin Parker, CR Gruver, Aaron Wilkinson, Chris Adkins, Cristian Duque, Eddie Christmas, Omari Neville and Tucker Godbold. The show also features Big Chief Juan Pardo’s Tribal Gold and an opening set at 7 p.m. by upand-coming pianist River Eckert with special guest Irma Thomas The purchase of a three-day pass to the actual Funk Fest at nolafunkfest.com is good for free admission Saturday A stand-alone ticket just for Saturday is $30. Both the Funk Fest and the reveal show are projects of the Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, the ambitious music museum slated for the new River District development

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, CHICKIE WAH WAH

Peter “Panama Red” Rowan is a living legend of Americana music. His résumé includes a stint with Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys, during which Rowan co-wrote the bluegrass classic “Walls of Time.” He went on to work with David Grisman, Jerry Garcia who would play on Rowan’s 1980 album “Texican Badman” — Vassar Clements and John Kahn in the Old & In the Way project. Rowan spends this weekend at Chickie Wah Wah. On Friday, he’ll unplug for a “St Patty’s Day Acoustic Party” featuring Rurik Nuran; the show will focus on his psychedelic bluegrass and folk leanings, as manifested in Old & In the Way He returns Saturday fully ampliﬁed, showcasing his “Electric Side” and his Panama Red material. Tickets for each night are $30 plus fees.

Keith Spera SOUND CHECK

OTHER NOTEWORTHY SHOWS

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

The week of March 13-19 includes a handful of midlevel touring acts, a free Mardi Gras Indians show and a coming-out party for a fall funk festival.

Drummer Darrian Douglas, a Mississippi native based in New Orleans since 2008, has backed the late Ellis Marsalis Jr., as well as Wynton Marsalis, Victor Goines and Germaine Bazzle. At 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, Douglas and his septet will perform music from Wynton Marsalis’ “Marciac Suite” as well as compositions by Willem Delisfort and Corey Wallace. Tickets are $35. Chubby Carrier is featured for the weekly Zydeco Night at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($15).

Blues-based guitarist Eric Johanson celebrates the release of his latest album, “Live in Mississippi,” with an 8 p.m. show at the Broadside’s indoor venue. Tickets start at $15 plus fees.

Simultaneously, the Broadside’s outdoor stage hosts a pair of New Orleans indie rock bands: The Bottoms, starting at 8 p.m., followed by Whisper Party at 9:30 p.m. Both bands will perform against a backdrop of psychedelic projections. Tickets start at $12 plus fees.

Pop singer-songwriter Andy Grammer brings his “Monster Tour” to the Orpheum Theater. Tickets start at $39 plus fees.

Andy Grammer

PETER ROWAN

George Porter Jr.

Erica Falls

Peter Rowan

music music music

FRIDAY (continued)

As part of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s “Chanteuse” series, Dusky Waters and Teena May perform at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center on North Rampart Street starting at 8 p.m ($10).

Drummer Jason Marsalis, the youngest son of the late jazz pianist, composer and educator Ellis Marsalis Jr., presents lesser-known compositions from his father’s catalog at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor ($40).

Pop-punk band Neutral Snap rocks Rock ’N’ Bowl ($10).

SATURDAY

The night before the Mardi Gras Indians’ Super Sunday festivities, the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Council presents “No Hum Bow” on Saturday at Tipitina’s featuring Big Chief Estabon “Peppy” Eugene, Big Chief Juan Pardo and Big Chief Romeo Bougere This special night of Mardi Gras Indian music at Tipitina’s is free and open to the public; attendees must be at least 18.

Jazz vocalist Stephanie Jordan is at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center at 8 p.m. ($10).

Contemporary jazz guitarist Joel Harrison and his quartet fuse jazz, rock, classical and world music inﬂuences at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor ($40).

The Soul Rebels kick brass at the Broadside starting at 7 p.m. ($20).

Cover band the Topcats is at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($10).

SUNDAY

British singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock stops at Chickie Wah Wah to showcase songs from throughout his 40year career. Tickets are $30 plus fees.

Drummer Peter Varnado, who backs an array of jazz and R&B bandleaders in New Orleans, powers his own trio at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($30).

MONDAY

Americana singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams kicks off a sold-out residency at Chickie Wah Wah, playing four out of the next ﬁve nights at the club with her band.

TUESDAY

Greg Tardy started off as a clarinetist in New Orleans before transitioning to tenor saxophone. His music encompasses post-bop, free jazz and gospel; he’s collaborated with the likes of Elvin Jones, Andrew Hill, Brian Blade, Joshua Redman and Bill Frisell. He’ll lead his own quartet at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor ($30).

Lucinda Williams is back at Chickie Wah Wah for her second of four nights.

WEDNESDAY

New Orleans-based Americana band Loose Cattle is fronted by singers/guitarists Michael Cerveris and Kimberly Kaye and also features bassist Rene Coman, drummer Doug Garrison and ﬁddler Rurik Nunan. The band released its latest album, “Someone’s Monster,” in November. The album consists mostly of original compositions by Cerveris and Kaye, but also includes three cover songs. One of them is Lady Gaga’s “Joanne,” with Lucinda Williams on vocals. So even though Williams is taking Wednesday off from her four-night residency at Chickie Wah Wah, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she showed up to lend her voice to a song or two with Loose

fees.

Cattle. Tickets are $20 plus

Cecilia Zabala, Martin Masakowski and Yusa team up for a free concert at Snug

Harbor at 5 p.m. Later, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra take over the Snug stage at 7:30 p.m.

Loose Cattle

Lucinda Williams

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easy cotton jumpsuit

stages stages stages

‘Expectations ... sky-high’

Anticipation

mounting as productions around the area aim to draw audiences

after Carnival

In between all the parades and the balls of Carnival, local acting companies were putting the ﬁnishing touches on a procession of plays and musicals throughout the metropolitan area.

From comedies to true stories, from magic to music, the play’s the thing for March madness. Get thee to a theater!

‘Who Loves You Pretty Baby’

Perhaps one of the best of the Broadway “jukebox” musicals, “Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons” works so well because it is told in linear fashion using the group’s songs as the playlist for their lives.

The Tony-winning smash, which has toured almost as much as Valli and his group, hits the stage Thursday at Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré with Sebastian Rohn as Valli, Brian Sanford as Nick Massi, Bryce Slocumb as Bob Gaudio and Jake Wynne-Wilson as Tommy DeVito.

Packed with powerful tunes from the group’s past, the show is a history lesson about the group that started singing on street corners and became global sensations (Valli returns to New Orleans in August). “Oh What A Night,” “Sherry” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” are just some of the hits the group recorded and are in the show

But the relationships between the members of the ensemble, their families and associates provide a rich backdrop of highs and lows that make the music somewhat more poignant.

Working on the production of ‘Jersey Boys’ at Le Petit Théâtre are, from left, co-directors Jauné Buisson and A.J Allegra, with Keith Claverie, Bryce Slocumb and Sebastian Rohn on stage.

PROVIDED PHOTO

PROVIDED PHOTOS By JOHN

ABOVE: Vatican Lokey, right, as Queen Aggravain ponders how to keep her son Prince Dauntless single with the help of the Wizard, Savannah Ciasson, in Rivertown’s production of ‘Once Upon a Mattress.’ LEFT: A pea under the mattresses is keeping Princess Winnifred awake.

B. BARROIS

Victor Andrews

stages stages stages

A.J. Allegra, Le Petit’s artistic director, teams with Jauné Buisson to codirect, with Buisson choreographing as well.

“Expectations for this production at Le Petit are understandably sky-high given the stellar reputation of this show over the past 20 years,” Allegra said. “I am inspired and determined to bring the most amazing production of it to our audiences in New Orleans.”

In addition to the main four, the cast includes Stephanie Abry, Keith Claverie, Donavan Davis, Keri Elaine, Monique Knoepﬂer, Craig Leydecker, Melissa McKenzie, Josie Oliva, Daniel Rigamer, Scott Sauber, Knox Van Horn and Frank Von Hoven.

The play is at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, plus a 2 p.m. matinee March 29, through April 6 at 616 St. Peter St Tickets start at $22. Visit lepetittheatre.com.

‘The Swamps of Home’

Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts in Kenner is keeping everyone up at night with “Once Upon A Mattress,” opening Friday The Hans Christian Andersen fable about a princess and a pea hit Broadway in the late 1950s and catapulted Carol Burnett into stardom as Winifred, the princess.

The musical romp through the castle casts the classic tale of Queen Aggravain, played by Vatican Lokey, who has decreed no one in the kingdom may wed until Prince Dauntless the Drab, played by Mitchell Kogan, is married. Everyone wants this to happen, particularly all the young lovers in the kingdom. But candidates fail repeatedly until a bold, boisterous and somewhat beleaguered Winifred, played by Jordan Lawrence, swims the moat and throws her hat in the ring.

Director Gary Rucker leads a cast including Ricky Graham as King Sextimus the Silent, Savannah Chiasson as the wizard, Michael Civitano as the minstrel and Ryan Nocito as the jester. Additional cast members are Maria Hefte, Beau Moss, Stephanie Francis, Christina Cross, Rebecca Carleton, Rachel Gagnard, Nicholas Stephens, Luke Sirinides, Lauren Smith, Ella Grace Francis, David Griswold, Brandon Bui, Andrew Francis, David Browning and Sean Malley.

Also taking roles are Lauren Smith, Kelli Hebert, Kelly Amstutz, Sasha Munchak, Sherri Montz, Maria Zeri-

‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ will open this weekend at 30byNinety Theatre in Mandeville with Quinton Williams, from left, John Wesley and Meagan Harris in the comedy about the opening night mishaps of a community theater production.

ngue, Victoria Mullholland, Rachel Gagnard, Raegan Rozas, Ella Grace Francis, Cadence Hebert, Brielle Hebert, Mary Clare Eastland, Jack Cross and Aidan Carley.

The show is at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays plus March 27 and at 2 p.m. Sundays through March 30 at 325 Minor St. Tickets start at $41. Visit rivertowntheaters.com.

A night on the edge

A new musical about disco and beyond debuts Friday at Cutting Edge Center for the Arts in Slidell.

“I Love the Nightlife,” penned by locals Sara Pagones, Dawn Matascuso and Brian Fontenot, brings to life a tale of love, friendship and living in the moment through tunes from the 1970s-’90s.

“We are thrilled to bring this exciting new musical to life,” Pagones said. “It’s a celebration of the music and culture that shaped our lives, and we can’t wait for the audience to join us on this nostalgic journey.”

The show is at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through March 29 at 767 Robert Blvd. Tickets start at $30. Visit cuttingedgetheater.com.

That’s so wrong

Anyone who has ever worked on a

play knows that chances are, if something can go wrong, it will. Sets fall. Actors forget lines. Props go missing. Lights blow out. Piano players forget to come back after intermission (yes, it happened).

So what happens when the opening night of the Cornley University Drama Society’s production goes haywire?

“The Play That Goes Wrong” answers the question when it opens this weekend at Mandeville’s 30 by Ninety Theatre.

“’The Play That Goes Wrong’ is, without a doubt, one of the most technically demanding productions we’ve ever tackled at 30 by Ninety,” director Tom Bubrig said. “From intricate set designs to split-second timing between actors and crew, every detail has to be executed with precision. Thankfully, this cast is incredibly skilled at adapting to any challenge, and let’s be honest — if anything actually does go wrong, the audience will probably think it’s part of the show. Fingers crossed, just in case.”

The cast includes John Carambat, John Wesley, Leeann Wiley, Meagan Harris, Quinton Williams, Landon Proctor, DeJuan “DJ” James and Matthew Price.

The show opens at 8 p.m. Saturday

and runs Fridays through Sundays through March 30 at 880 Lafayette St. Visit 30byninety.com

High flying

The story of the ﬁrst American woman to test for spaceﬂight is the lofty subject of the next production at Playmakers Theater in Covington.

“They Promised Her The Moon” is based on the true story of Jerrie Cobb, one of the female Mercury 13 program pilots.

The story, produced by the playhouse in honor of Women’s History Month, covers Cobb’s life from learning to ﬂy as a child to testifying before Congress and her skills as a pilot.

Van Turner directs the show with Nicole Barwick as Cobb. Additional cast includes Jennifer Patterson, Madeline Massett Golmon, Chris Golmon, Daniel Jenkins, Allen Bryant, Nina Dean, Anna Blenet, Rene Maggio, Coralie Sanchez and Carter Jenkins. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays through March 30, except March 28; plus a show at 2 p.m. March 29. Tickets start at $20. Visit bontempstix.com.

‘Havin’ a real bad day’

Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart” is the story of three Southern sisters, each at a crossroads in her life, who make decisions about the future and step into “hopefully” brighter days.

St. John Theatre mounts the production at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at 115 W. Fourth St. in Reserve.

The Mississippi-based show is a classic tale of family, loves, loss and getting though the tough times.

Tickets start at $15. Visit stjohntheatre.com.

In production

“FUNNY GIRL”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; Saenger Theatre, 1111 Canal St. Based on real-life funny lady Fanny Brice, the life, love and survival of the star features such memorable hits as “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “People” and “Sadie, Sadie.” Featuring Grammy-winner Melissa Manchester as Mrs. Brice. Tickets start at $39. saengernola.com.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

ZERO EFFECT

Robert De Niro-led

Netflix thriller fails to intrigue

BY NINA METZ

Chicago Tribune (TNS)

“Shoulda been a movie” is my battle cry about so many streaming series. But I’m not sure Netﬂix’s “Zero Day” is sturdy enough to even work as a stand-alone ﬁlm. The six-episode conspiracy thriller starring Robert De Niro is too convoluted to generate real intrigue.

De Niro plays a former president, named George Mullen, who is called back into action by the current president (Angela Bassett) after a nationwide cyberattack. Who is behind it?

Mullen heads up the commission tasked with ﬁnding out, and he’s been given all kinds of powers that make the Constitution moot. Complicating matters are an unruly public goaded by an opportunistic conspiracy theorist (Dan Stevens) and scrambling politicians looking to score points, including Mullen’s nepo-baby congresswoman daughter (Lizzy Caplan)

Also, Mullen might be having some issues with memory and hallucinations. His two aides, played by Jesse Plemons and Connie Britton, do their best to cover for him.

The issues with the show are straightforward. De Niro looks bored and Bassett has been asked to do little more than appear serious and concerned in a few scenes. It’s surprising to see the talents of two of Hollywood’s most skillful actors squandered, but that’s true of the cast as a whole, who aren’t asked to play characters so much as chess pieces.

And the writing is clunky. When Mullen

arrives to work on the commission, someone tells him, with a straight face: “It will be an honor to once again keep the jackals at bay while you save the country, sir.”

Frequently we see a thing happen, then there’s a montage of news coverage recounting the thing we just saw happen, which I suppose is one way to pad the running time. So are multiple clandestine meetings wherein a person is threatened, and then threatened once again.

These are the kinds of delay tactics that sap energy from the story when it should feel tight and suspenseful. Filled with images of men clenching their jaws and pouring themselves a stiff drink, the show’s recurring theme seems to be “they are numbing themselves to the mess of their own making,” but there are more interesting ways to visualize that.

Either way, there’s no room in the narrative for anyone who isn’t an elite, aiming for “political thriller,” minus a cogent political point of view.

Two of the show’s three creators, former NBC news president Noah Oppenheim and journalist Michael Schmidt, have no prior experience with scripted dramas. But Eric Newman (whose credits include “Narcos” and as a producer on “Children of Men”) is far too seasoned to explain such a gobbledygook story ﬁlled with empty moral platitudes. Was “Zero Day” more clear-headed in its original conception, only to lose its way due to executive notes and algorithmic dictates? Hard to know.

Don’t buy into analysis that tries to suggest the show has its finger on the pulse of the nation, with a megalomaniac tech billionaire (Gaby Hoffmann) wreaking havoc with the help of elected officials, and the word “coup” uttered briefly in the show’s final episode. Ultimately, it’s unclear what story “Zero Day” wants to tell.

No matter how intense the stakes get, De Niro never raises his voice and it is the one intriguing choice the show makes. But it’s not enough.

H½

STARRING: Robert De Niro,Angela Bassett, Jesse Plemons, Connie Britton, Lizzy Caplan, Matthew Modine, Dan Stevens

RATING: TV-MA

HOW TO WATCH: Netflix

TNS PHOTO By NETFLIX/JOJO WHILDEN

Jesse Plemons, second from left, and Robert De Niro star in ‘Zero Day,’ a conspiracy thriller series on Netflix.

‘ZERO DAY’

SUNDAY, MARCH30

WEDNESDAY,MARCH 26

7:30 PM –9 PM—Theatre

THELASTBOHEMIA PRESENTS: MINK STOLEATTHE MONTELEONE OPENINGNIGHT

Midnight movieidol, John Waters’muse, Tennessee Williams’leading lady from therarelystaged The Mutilated,and undergroundlegend, Mink Stole returns to TWFest!She hashad oneofthe most interesting careersyou canimagine in show business,and she intendstodishitwithsongand anecdotes. Mink will be accompaniedby NewOrleans legend,pianist andmarionettist HarryMayronne with a specialappearance by Dr.Sick of theSquirrelNut Zippers.There is no greaterstarlet in thealternative arts andﬁlm undergroundthanMink Stole. Heruniquebrand of star qualityled to hercharactersoftenbeing imitated,along with theirmemorable catchphrases.Anentireuniverseof Internet memesisdevoted to hermostnotable roles, includingConnie Marble from Pink Flamingos andPeggy Gravel from DesperateLiving TWFest is proudtofeature,not Connienor Peggy,but therealMinkStole forthisone-night-onlycelebration.“If SusanSontaghad writtennotes on camp in 1974 insteadof1964, Mink Stolesurelywould have been the ﬁrst entryonthe list.” —Gregory Gajus, Presidentof theTennessee Williams Fest

Doorsopenat7 PM.Raise aglass to celebrateTennesseeWilliams’ birthday at ourcashbar

This eventissponsored by Joyand Boysie Bollinger. HotelMonteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom,$35 or VIPPass.

THURSDAY,MARCH27

6:30 –9 PM—Special Event

TRIBUTEREADING:TENNESSEEWILLIAMSINONE

ACT—THEBEST50YEARS OF HISSHORT PLAYS

“The peak of my virtuosity wasinthe one-actplays

FRIDAY,MARCH 28

9- 10:15 PM—Theatre THELASTBOHEMIA PRESENTS: THENIGHT FIONAFLAWLESSWENTMAD ADarkComedyDragMusical by Trey Ming Meet FionaFlawless. Breathtaking drag queen Talented chanteuse.Admittedmurderess. Afterturning herselfinfor adoublehomicide, Fionaand herpsychiatristdivethrough convoluted memories in search of that pivotalmomentwhenher otherwiseﬂawless mind disconnected from reality…thenight she went mad. Adarkmusical comedy forcertain, TheNight Fiona Flawless Went Mad is an explorationintothe issues of Queer identity,loneliness, andthe reclamationofself-love Writtenand directed by Trey Ming.Cast: Laveau Contraire, Prince Octavian,Sebastien E’toile,Bette Tittler

TheTwilightRoom, 2240 St.ClaudeAvenue, $35 cocktail table, $20 generaladmission,orVIP Pass.

SATURDAY,MARCH29

7- 9PM—Theatre THELASTBOHEMIA SOIREE: TIMMURRAYISWITCHES!

Some of whichare likefirecrackers in arope,” Williams wrotetodirectorElia Kazanin1950. Oneact playswereeverpresent in TennesseeWilliams’s creative life. Hisfirstone-act wona prizeatthe UniversityofMissouriwhenhewas afreshmanin1930. Hisfinalone-act (consideredtobehis last play)isdated January1983, amonth before his death.Henever stoppedwriting one-acts,and thereare currentlyover75 byWilliams in printtoday.Thisyearour tributewill take alookatshort Williams playsfromevery decade 1930s through1980s.Tohis college friends, he referredtohis shortplays as “fantasies.” Many of them arefunny andtakeplace in fairy, sci-fi, or otherwisemythiclocations,including TheGnadiges Fraulein, TheCaseofthe CrushedPetunias, TheChalky WhiteSubstance, TenBlocksonThe Camino Real and ARecluse andHis Guest.Othersshare thepoetryand grit of hismostfamousdramas, such as 27 Wagons Full of Cotton,MisterParadise, ICan’t ImagineTomorrow,and Green Eyes You’ll hear excerpts from thefamiliar, as well as some hiddengems. The event is curatedbyFestivalDirector Paul J. Willis andWilliams editor ThomasKeith (who also hosts).Readers this year will includeFestival luminaries Maureen Corrigan, MichaelCunningham, Jewelle Gomez, Joan Larkin,Tim Murray,John“Ray” Proctor, and MinkStole TheannualTribute Readingispresented by agrant from theNew Orleans Theatre Association(NOTA). Hors d’oeuvresand acashbar at 6:30 PM;Performance at 7:30 PM. NewOrleans Jazz Museum,400 EsplanadeAvenue, $45 or VIPPass.

Join us fora magicalevening of musicand performanceinthe storiedToulouseTheatre in theheart of theFrenchQuarter.The eveningbeginsat7 PM with Kitten on theKeys playingshow tunesinthe lobbybar made famous from countlessperformances of thelategreat JamesBooker.Try thesignatureSoiréecocktail andhaveyourphoto takenbyour paparazzi.At8 PM thelights dimasour emcee Michelle Nelson akaLOVEthe Poet invitesus into themaintheater.San Francisco-basedperformance artwitch anddragqueen Fauxnique will call thewinds andthe directions She’ll setthe stagefor thenight,quite literally,witha feminist incantationfor healingand magic. Ourfeaturedartist, TimMurray, is hotoff hissold-outand award-winning runatthe Edinburgh Fringe Festival TimMurrayisWITCHES! is amix of stand-up and original comedy songsabout Tim’sfavoritepop culturewitches. Murray is likea gayBoBurnham,but painted green anddoing drag!The show is atribute to howwediscoverour magiconcewefind ourcoven.Murrayspeakstothe many people who feel like we have to hide ourselvestofitin, andwefind ourpowers grow stronger once we findour chosen family.From TheCraft to Wicked to the SandersonSisters to Sabrina, theTeenage Witch andAngelicaHouston’s GrandHigh Witch, Murray celebrates famous sorceressesthroughoutherstory andusestheir storiesasa paralleltoour ownjourney towards community

TimMurrayhas performedstand-upall over theU.S.including SF Sketchfest, TheBrooklynComedyFestivaland DragCon. His newsketchcomedyTVshow Wish YouWereQueer produced by Trixie Mattelwill debutthisyear. TimMurrayIsWITCHES! received several5 star reviewsatEdinburgh Fringe,was nominatedfor an Off-West Endaward,and WONBestMusicalshow from Entertainment Now TheToulouseTheatre,615 Toulouse Street,Preferred Seating $75, GeneralAdmission $45. Notavailable with VIPPass.

11:30 AM -2 PM—Culinary THELASTBOHEMIA PRESENTS: ADRAGBRUNCHNAMED DESIRE STELLAAA! IT’S TIME FORDRAGBRUNCH! Step into thedrama anddecadence of the TennesseeWilliams Festival Drag Brunch, wherethe mimosas arebottomless, the performances are electrifying,and the food is as rich as BlancheDuBois’ taste in men! Join New Orleansdragroyalty, Debbiewitha D and Laveau Contraire,for ahigh-energy show paired with athree-course brunch inspired by PoppyTooker’s Drag Brunch Cookbook DickieBrennan’sTableau,616 SaintPeter Street, Brunch& Show $120 inclusiveoftax &gratuity. NotavailablewithVIP Pass.

This year’s literaryofferings includeovertwenty literarydiscussions, eleven writer’s craft sessions, anda full dayofmystery!The program features over ﬁfty of NewOrleans’ﬁnest from thepublishing industry:

Thepremier mediasponsor forthe TW&NOLF

ConstanceAdler KatherineFausset

KarismaPrice Yuri Herrera Kalamu ya Salaam

Debbiewitha D

Mink Stole

Maureen Corrigan

Laveau Contraire

TimMurray

BerniceMcFadden

events events events step spring in your Put

New Orleans keeps the party going with more parades celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, more

BY ANNETTE SISCO Staff writer

Mardi Gras is undeniably the pinnacle of the parading season, but in New Orleans, the fun keeps rolling.

Like Carnival, many of these spring parades ﬂow from the heritage of the city’s many Roman Catholic immigrants. From the 1820s onward, Irish immigrants poured into the United States by the millions. The Irish founded the St. Patrick’s Day parades, which in New Orleans roll through the old Irish Channel as well as downtown, in Metairie and in St. Tammany Parish.

ä See PARADES, page 12

Children approach a member of the Shady Ladies Marching Club for paper flowers at the 2023 Louisiana IrishItalian Parade in Metairie.

The Jefferson City Buzzards march in the 2024 St. Patrick’s Day Metairie Road Parade in Metairie.

STAFF FILE

PHOTO

SCOTT THRELKELD

STAFF FILE

PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

In addition to parades, altars will be set up around the area marking St. Joseph’s Day on Wednesday.

ABOVE: A float rider in the 2024 St. Bernard Irish Italian Islenos Community Parade and Marching Club passes down a pineapple along the Chalmette route.

LEFT: Revelers sip from Easter egg cups as the 2024 French Quarter Easter Parade rolls on Easter.

STAFF FILE

PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

events events events

PARADES

Continued from page 10

At these merry processions, bystanders trade kisses for paper carnations, and spectators beg ﬂoat riders for the makings of an Irish stew: cabbages, potatoes and carrots.

Millions of Italians also ﬂed economic and political hardship in their homeland to seek a better life in the United States. It’s believed nearly 300,000, mostly from Sicily, settled in New Orleans in the 1800s, so many that the French Quarter was nicknamed “Little Palermo.”

They brought with them their veneration of St. Joseph, honoring the patron saint with elaborate food-laden altars and street processions.

Over the years, some of these parades merged so that today we have Irish-Italian parades and even, in St. Bernard Parish, an Irish-Italian-Isleno parade, which includes that area’s unique Canary Islander roots.

And on Easter Sunday, three parades ﬁll the streets of the French Quarter

In the morning, members of the Historic French Quarter Easter Parade wear bonnets to ride in carriages and convertibles, handing out plush bunnies. Founded in 1956 by legendary restaurateur Germaine Wells, the Historic French Quarter Easter Parade may be the only New Orleans parade that pauses in the middle for Mass.

Shortly after noon, the French Quarter Easter Parade brings a dozen or more ﬂoats through the Quarter. The 40-year-old parade is the largest of the day’s processions and formerly known as the Chris Owens Easter Parade, after the beloved Bourbon Street entertainer

Finally at 4 p.m., the Gay Easter Parade takes to the streets with outrageous costuming including drag galore, as well as Carnival-style dance groups and marching groups.

Email Annette Sisco at asisco@ theadvocate.com.

UPCOMING PARADES

CHANNEL

ST. PAT’S, ARGUS

A paradegoer lifts their dog for some love during a pause in the 2024 St. Patrick’s Day Metairie Road Parade in Metairie.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

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Nearly complete tiny pirogues are on display at the 2020 Los Isleños Fiesta, which celebrates the cultural heritage of the area’s Canary Island immigrants with music, food, crafts and historic displays in St. Bernard.

Explore St. Bernard’s Canary Island ties at Los Isleños Fiesta

BY VICTOR ANDREWS Staff writer

Festival season kicks off with a Spanish accent this weekend for Los Isleños Fiesta at the Los Isleños Museum Complex, 1345 Bayou Road, in St. Bernard Parish.

Paired with the folk music and dancing from the Canary Islands will be a visit from the Achimencey del Sur of Santa Lucia de Tirajana on Gran Canaria. Many immigrants to Louisiana during the late 1770s and early 1780s came from the same region. The performers are cultural emissaries of the Atlantic islands and will perform both Saturday and Sunday.

Additional heritage programs will also be presented by Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society of St. Bernard.

Other entertainment includes Filipino Hertiage Dance and Music, Harvey Jesus and Fire, Javier Olondo and Asheson, Rockin’ Doopsie, Cypress Pop, Jurnio and Sumtin Sneaky and Julio and Cesar.

The food court pavilions on the grounds will be serving Louisiana

cuisine like oysters, fried seafood, hot dogs, burgers and chili, along with traditional Isleño offerings of ropa vieja (roast pork), arroz con pollo (rice and chicken), empanadas, croquettas, the “meal-in-a-bowl” soup caldo and ﬂan. The St. Bernard Tourist Commission will operate a tapas bar featuring Spanish wines, cheeses, chorizo and tortilla a la Gallega, an omelet with chorizo, potatoes and vegetables.

A living history village will feature folklife and folkcraft of the area, with demonstrations spotlighting alligator farming, lace making, quilting, duck decoy carving, duck calling, model boat building, smithing, trapping and Native American culture. A genealogical display will look at the migration of Canary Islanders upriver.

The festival will also include modern crafts for sale, a silent auction and amusement rides.

Entry for the ﬁesta is $5 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. For information, visit losislenos.org.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

A visitor to the Los Isleños Fiesta in St. Bernard in 2020 dances with members of the Canary Island folklore and dance troupe Maxorata. This year’s event will feature a visit from the Achimencey del Sur of Santa Lucia de Tirajana on Gran Canaria.

FILE PHOTOS By SHAWN FINK

food food food

pairing Perfect

Chef who moved to New Orleans for the music opens Japanese-style tavern inside Broadside venue

BY BETH D’ADDONO Gambit Weekly

The location of chef Wataru Saeki’s new restaurant, Nikkei, is a match made in heaven.

Nikkei is styled like an izakaya, a Japanese tavern. Situated at the Broadside, the indoor and outdoor music venue next to The Broad Theater, Nikkei puts the chef within listening distance of his beloved New Orleans music.

It’s ﬁtting, given that live New Orleans music is the reason he moved here from Japan.

“I loved The Meters and New Orleans music so much, also techno and house music from Detroit,” said Saeki, who was born in Chiba, the region just east of Tokyo.

Although he went to school to be a computer engineer, Saeki loved to cook He worked at a noodle shop after college to save enough money to move to New Orleans. It took almost four years, but he arrived in here in 2003.

“At my age now (46), I don’t have the mentality to make that move, but in my 20s, I didn’t hesitate,” he said.

He got a job working for Hisako “Momo” Young at Ninja on Oak Street, where he learned how to make sushi and practiced his craft. It’s where he met Christina and Dana Honn, who were regulars.

The Honns opened Carmo in the Warehouse District 15 years ago, though it recently shuttered.

Seiki wanted to experience something besides Japanese cuisine, so he moved to the Carmo kitchen. He worked there for a decade, and then together, the trio launched Nikkei in late November.

The Japanese tavern pays homage to “nikkei,” the term for Japanese immigrant communities, and explores Japanese cuisine using a bounty of Louisiana ingredients.

This new project is an exciting one for all three partners.

Nikkei, a Japanese-style tavern called an izakaya inside the Broadside music venue, serves dishes like Peruvianstyle sashimi, from left, Creole ceviche and the Nikkei broil, which has local shrimp cooked in tamari and ginger under havarti cheese.

Dana Honn, center, and Christina Honn, right, the former owners of Carmo, have partnered with former Carmo chef Wataru Saeki to open Nikkei inside the Broadside.

“I’d worked with (Broadside) owner Brian (Knighten) before,” Dana Honn said. “I’d had a slow ﬁsh event at the cinema. When I had the ﬁrst meeting about this space, all I could think was izakaya.”

The newly built space is bright and airy, with a long bar and lots of exposed wood. There’s a turntable for vinyl and a stack of albums that includes the Rebirth Brass Band, the Jazz Vipers and the 79rs Gang. A photo of Fats Domino offers a sense of place, along with art including Japanese-style wood cuts and a handsome pelican portrait

The bar serves Japanese whiskey, shochu, sake, local draft beer and imported Japanese bottles. House cocktails include a hibiscus margarita and a seasonal old-fashioned.

Fans of Carmo will recognize the chef’s deft hand at work in the Nama/Raw section of the menu. The

Gulf tuna tartare and Peruvian tiradito were in regular rotation at Carmo. The Honns bring in pristine and sustainably sourced ﬁsh. And the chef is proud to offer “the very best rice.”

The frequently changing menu includes broiled ﬁsh collars with ponzu and aioli. There’s a version of Peruvian nikkei causa, which are chilled whipped potatoes topped with avocado, aioli, boiled egg and a soy-ginger drizzle.

“That’s my daughter Mona’s favorite,” the chef said.

Popular pork and chicken katsu sandwiches feature panko-breaded fried cutlets dressed with cabbage slaw on a brioche bun and are served with pabu (pub) hand-cut fries. Crispy nori tacos, a deep-fried fusion of rice paper and seaweed, are ﬁlled with pork, sashimi tuna or mushrooms, and topped with slaw, salsa fresca and house remoulade.

The outstanding Nikkei broil is a plate of Gulf oysters, shrimp or mushrooms with tamari, ginger and herb butter, all topped with melted havarti cheese.

Everything except for Monday’s ramen special is gluten free, with wheat-free tamari used instead of regular soy sauce.

Monday through Friday, there is a 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. happy hour, and there’s an all-day Tuesday $6 special on drinks, nigiri and hand rolls. It lines up with the Broad’s Tuesday special of $6 movie tickets.

So far, all parties say they are having fun. Honn promises more special events, like sake tastings and ceviche nights. He is working closely with Broadside general manager and beverage maven Lara Desmond to put together a calendar.

For the chef, who moved nearly 7,000 miles from home to hear New Orleans music, Nikkei is a pitchperfect place to be.

STAFF FILE PHOTOS By IAN McNULTy

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 202

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Patron Party at 6p.m. |MainParty at 7p.m.

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Biloxi casino’s new buffet brings back the crab legs

BY MARY PEREZ Sun Herald

A buffet is returning to Boomtown Casino Biloxi in Mississippi for the ﬁrst time since the pandemic.

And yes, it will have crab legs.

Biloxi Bay Buffet opens this spring at Boomtown and will feature the ﬂavors of the Gulf Coast, plus the crab legs that always were a hit on the buffet, which closed in 2020. The new restaurant will have a similar footprint to the former buffet on the second ﬂoor but with a completely new look, said Kyle Widdows, vice president of marketing.

The vibe will be coastal casual and the space provides views of the Biloxi Bay It will be one of only a few casino buffets on the Coast where children are allowed.

“We wanted to create an innovative dining experience that you can’t ﬁnd anywhere else — where people can enjoy great food and incredible service,” said Barry Regula, general manager of Boomtown Biloxi. “Our team is passionate about bringing the best to our guests, and we’ve infused that passion into every aspect of this new buffet.”

The buffet will start with snow crab legs and perhaps change up the variety, Widdows said.

“We’ve taken everything our guests

loved about the previous buffet and elevated it to new heights,” said chef James Snuggs, assistant food and beverage director “We will still be serving some beloved favorites from the original Boomtown buffet, including crispy whole fried catﬁsh and all the classic comfort foods everyone

remembers.”

There are some changes to the original buffet, he said.

To keep the base price down and offer some splurges, the buffet will offer a la carte options, “such as grilled beef tenderloin cooked to your preferred temperature, herb butter and

A new Biloxi Bay Buffet is planned for Boomtown Biloxi Casino in Mississippi, with a coastal casual decor and menu.

PROVIDED RENDERING By BOOMTOWN CASINO BILOXI

Japanese bread crumb broiled oysters and roasted cold water lobster tails,” he said.

A bottomless cocktail is another addon customers can order, with beer on tap and daiquiris from Boomtown’s Fat Tuesday Daiquiri Bar on U.S. 90 in Biloxi.

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life Brought to

Jonathan Hodge’s, Garth Swanson’s exhibits diverge in realities

Artists Jonathan Hodge and Garth Swanson are keeping it real with their twin exhibits at The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts on Magazine Street. Their takes on realistic painting, however, are on entirely different tracks.

Doug MacCash

Hodge, an instructor at the academy, is the purist of the pair. His selection of drawings and paintings are in the mode of classicists from Millet to Manet to James McNeill Whistler. Hodge titled his exhibit “Muddied Spirits,” but his art is anything but muddied. It’s entirely the opposite, in fact.

The New Orleans native has perfected the age-old skills of careful anatomical observation, crosshatching to create volume and layering colors to produce translucent skin tones — methods that have become scarce in the chaos of contemporary art styles.

But for Hodge, mastering traditional techniques is only the start.

“I want to take realism and tell stories abut what’s going on now,” he said recently

And so he has. The topics of Hodge’s allegorical paintings include the heartbreak of war, the lingering memory of Hurricane Katrina and the joy of Mardi Gras.

His violent canvas titled “Cain and Abel” could be seen as a symbol of the country’s political divide, perhaps alluding to “Muddied Spirits.”

While Hodge employs classical techniques to illustrate concepts, Swanson uses his command of realism to achieve abstract effects.

Swanson, who in known both as a New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts instructor and the longtime bartender at Clancy’s restaurant, can convincingly paint a fading rose, a glinting silver water pitcher or a hazy curtain of Spanish moss.

But his heart seems to lie, not with the subject matter, but with the properties of the paint itself. He likes glistening brush strokes, gritty textures and smooth passages of pure color, not for what they represent but for what they are: glint and grit and smoothness.

True, the paintings in Swanson’s exhibit “Waxing & Waning” are illusions, but they are also, simply, real “Muddied Spirits” and “Waxing & Waning” are on view from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays through March 29 at 5256 Magazine St. For information, call (504) 899-8111 or visit noafa.org.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

ABOVE: Artist Garth

Swanson’s artworks are certainly illusionistic, but he also loves painterly techniques for their own sake.

LEFT: Artist Jonathan

Hodge employs traditional realist techniques to create contemporary allegories, such as ‘Mother and Child.’

STAFF PHOTOS By DOUG MACCASH

ART BEAT In this series, Lagniappe presents works from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from a curator.

Camel and rider point to the history of trade and human connections

BY SIMENEH GEBREMARIAM Contributing writer

The newly reinstalled arts of China gallery on the New Orleans Art Museum’s third ﬂoor showcases works spanning over 5,000 years, dating back to the Neolithic era — a period marked by major social and technological advancements, including settled communities, plant cultivation and animal domestication.

Camels, which evolved in North America before migrating to Asia and Africa, were domesticated over 3,000 years ago and became essential to hu-

man civilization. By the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), they powered trade along the Silk Road, linking China to Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. More than transport animals, camels symbolize endurance, prosperity and cross-cultural exchange, carrying materials, ideas and artistic traditions across vast landscapes.

This “Bactrian Camel with Rider” funerary figure reflects this history, embodying movement and connectivity The robustly sculpted camel strides forward, heavily laden with saddlebags, flasks and bolsters, symbolizing commerce and human interaction. The

rider, clad in foreign attire distinct from traditional Chinese dress — a thick-collared jacket, pantaloons and leather boots — sits comfortably on a fringed fur rug, his chubby cheeks and contented smile hinting at the prosper ity of Silk Road travelers.

This artwork reminds us that, throughout history societies have been interconnected through trade, migration and shared humanity, a legacy that continues beyond life itself.

Simeneh Gebremariam is curatorial and programs assistant at the New Orleans Museum of Art.