The Advocate 03-25-2025 by The Advocate

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Hyundai plans to build $5.8B steel mill

Bill would give EBR control of CATS

Bus system resources, functions would transfer to city-parish

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

BY ALYSE PFEIL, STEPHANIE RIEGEL and DAVID MITCHELL Staff writers

Flanked by Gov Jeff Landry and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Donald Trump on Monday trumpeted carmaker

Hyundai’s announcement that it will build its ﬁrst U.S steel mill in Louisiana, bringing billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs.

Hyundai Motor Group, which also owns Kia Corp will invest $5.8 billion in a new manufacturing facility on a 1,700-acre site in Donaldsonville at the RiverPlex MegaPark on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish, according to a news release from Louisiana Economic Development

BY TARA COPP, AAMER MADHANI and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Top national security of-

ﬁcials for President Donald Trump, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in

The “ultra-low carbon steel production plant” is expected to create more than 1,300 direct new jobs with an average salary of $95,000, the announcement says.

a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.” Trump told reporters he was not aware that the sensitive information had been shared, 21/2 hours after it was reported.

“Money is pouring in, and we want to keep it that way,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House. The facility, plans for which were ﬁrst reported by The Advocate | The Times-Picayune in January, will supply car parts via rail and truck to the company’s U.S. auto factories — which include a Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama, and a Kia Plant in West Point, Georgia — and other U.S. automakers. Hyundai Steel Company plans to import an estimated 3.6 million tons of iron ore and produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually, according to the LED news release.

The Donaldsonville site attracted the

The material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported. It was not immediately clear if the

A new bill in the Louisiana Legislature would move Baton Rouge’s bus system under the control of the city-parish government, part of a wider push to centralize authority over independent agencies from the library system to parks and recreation — with the mayor-president and East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council. State Rep Dixon McMakin, RBaton Rouge, wants to repeal the law that created the Capital Area Transit System and transfer CATS’ obligations property records and employees to the city-parish. The organization has its own independent board of commissioners appointed by the Metro Council. The board is responsible for hiring a CEO to oversee daily functions.

“I’ve seen these siloed bureaucratic agencies just keep getting bigger and bigger, and the cityparish obviously not,” McMakin said. “So, the idea is, let’s put everything back together.”

In a statement Monday CATS said it strongly opposes efforts to hand control of the agency to the city-parish government.

“We are concerned that this shift could result in a lack of the specialized attention CATS needs to continue its vital work,” the statement read.

“Public transportation is not a onesize-ﬁts-all issue, and local solutions

speciﬁcs of the military operation were classiﬁed, but they often are and at the least are kept secure to protect service members and operational security The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against the Houthis since the militant group began targeting commercial and military

Hegseth

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

President Donald Trump flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, left, and Gov. Jeff Landry, speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Monday.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

London’s Heathrow defends response to fire LONDON Heathrow Airport executives on Monday defended their response to a ﬁre that shut down Europe’s busiest air hub for almost a day, after Britain’s energy system operator suggested that the facility had enough electricity from other sources to keep running.

More than 1,300 ﬂights were canceled on Friday after a ﬁre knocked out one of the three electrical substations that supply Heathrow with power More than 200,000 passengers had journeys disrupted, and industry experts say the chaos will cost airlines tens of millions of dollars.

The airport reopened after about 18 hours when Heathrow had reconﬁgured its power supply — something Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said that “required hundreds of systems to be safely powered down and then safely powered up with extensive testing.”

Heathrow said that it ran a full schedule on Saturday and Sunday, with 400,000 passengers passing through on 2,500 weekend ﬂights.

The ﬁre’s huge impact raised concern about the resilience of Britain’s energy system to accidents, natural disasters or attacks. The government has ordered an investigation into “any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure.”

Flammable devices found at Tesla store

AUSTIN, Texas Austin police say they’re investigating several incendiary devices found at a Tesla dealership Monday on the city’s north side, the latest in a series of events targeting the company owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Austin police responding to a report of hazardous materials found the devices and called in the city’s bomb squad, which took them into police custody without incident, the department said in an email to The Associated Press. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

“This is an open and ongoing investigation, and there is no further information available for release at this time,” the department said.

Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electriccar company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas, along with protests nationwide in response to the billionaire’s work with the Trump administration cutting federal funding and the workforce.

On Saturday, a man drove his car into protesters outside a Tesla dealership in Palm Beach County, Florida. No one was injured, and the man was arrested on an assault complaint. In California, police said a counterprotestor was arrested Saturday after activating a stun gun during an anti-Musk demonstration outside a Tesla dealership near downtown Berkeley Nobody was hurt. The 33-year-old man was awaiting charges Monday

Several more cases of violence targeting Tesla include Cybertrucks being set on ﬁre in Seattle and shots ﬁred at a dealership in Oregon. Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars also have been targeted.

Cherry blossom season begins in Japan

TOKYO Japan’s official cherry blossom spotters on Monday confirmed the first blooming of the country’s favorite flower, declaring the official start of the festive season in the Japanese capital. An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency carefully examined the specimen tree of Somei Yoshino variety at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine and announced that more than five blossoms — the minimum required for the announcement — were flowering on it.

The opening matched the average year and was ﬁve days earlier than last year, according to the JMA. Cherry blossoms, or “sakura,” are Japan’s favorite ﬂower and usually reach their peak in late March to early April, just as the country celebrates the start of a new school and business year Many Japanese enjoy walking or picnicking under the trees.

Justices seem divided over La. congressional districts

BY MARK SHERMAN and SARA CLINE Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court seemed closely divided Monday over a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map, which added a second majority-Black district

Several of the court’s conservative justices suggested they could vote to throw out the map and make it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act.

The case involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court that has been skeptical of considerations of race in public life

Just two years ago, the court by a 5-4 vote affirmed a ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in a similar case over Alabama’s congressional map.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined their three more liberal colleagues in the outcome.

That decision led to new districts in both states that sent two more Black Democrats to Congress.

At issue in the Louisiana case is a majority-Black district that winds from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. Roberts described it as a “snake” that might violate the standard practice of drawing compact electoral districts.

The case features an unusual alliance of the Republican-led state government, which is defending the congressional map, and civil rights groups that more often ﬁnd themselves ﬁghting the state’s redistricting plans.

The United States is halfway to the next once-a-decade census, but the court is still dealing with lawsuits that grew out of the last one.

It has been a winding road.

The court fight over Louisiana’s congressional districts has lasted three years. Two maps were blocked by lower courts, and the Supreme Court has intervened twice. Most recently, the court ordered the new map to be used in the 2024 election.

The state’s Republican-dominated Legislature drew a new congressional map in 2022 to account for population shifts reﬂected in the 2020 census. But the changes effectively maintained the status quo of five Republican-leaning majority-White districts and one Democratic-leaning majorityBlack district.

Civil rights advocates won a lower court ruling that the districts

likely discriminated against Black voters.

The Supreme Court put the ruling on hold while it took up the Alabama case. The justices allowed both states to use congressional maps in the 2022 elections even though both had been ruled likely discriminatory by federal judges.

The high court eventually afﬁrmed the ruling from Alabama, which led to a new map and a second district that could elect a Black lawmaker The justices returned the Louisiana case to federal court, with the expectation that new maps would be in place for the 2024 elections.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave lawmakers in Louisiana a deadline of early 2024 to draw a new map or face the possibility of a court-imposed map.

The state complied and drew a new map. One of the questions before the court is whether race was the predominant factor driving the new map. That’s what White Louisiana voters claimed in their separate lawsuit challenging the new districts. A three-judge court agreed.

But Gov Jeff Landry, a Republican, and other state ofﬁcials argue that politics, not race, helped set the boundaries. The congressional map provides politically safe districts for House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, fellow Republicans. The state acted to “protect our most high-profile incumbents,”

state Solicitor General A. Benjamin Aguiñaga told the justices.

Some lawmakers have also noted that the Republican lawmaker whose district was greatly altered in the new map supported a GOP opponent of Landry in the 2023 governor’s race. Former Rep. Garret Graves chose not to seek reelection under the new map. Louisiana argues that dueling lawsuits over redistricting make it almost impossible for states to know what to do.

Justice Elena Kagan was among the liberal justices who seemed supportive of the state, saying that states have to have “breathing room” to comply with court rulings, but also take other factors, including protecting incumbents, into account when redrawing districts.

“If the state can’t do that, the state has no breathing room,” Kagan said.

In a separate case, Louisiana is arguing that the section of the Voting Rights Act that allows minority groups to challenge state redistricting plans is unconstitutional. That issue could come to the high court in the next year or so, but the justices seemed unlikely to address it now

Following arguments, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she’s unsure what the outcome will be but is hoping that the court will give more guidance to legislators about the redistricting process.

Murrill, who was in the courtroom Monday, said it is the Legislature’s job to draw new maps for the state and that the process should not be “a game of litigation experts and constant litigating” in federal courts.

U.S. holds talks with Russians after meeting Ukrainians

BY JON GAMBRELL and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

DUBAI,UnitedArab Emirates U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed partial ceaseﬁre in the 3-year-old war in Ukraine on Monday, meeting representatives from Russia one day after holding separate talks with a team from Kyiv

It has been a struggle to reach even a limited, 30-day ceaseﬁre — which Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week with both sides continuing to attack each other with drones and missiles.

One major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike, even after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, because the parties disagree

While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would also like to see infrastructure like railways and ports protected.

Talks Monday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh were expected to address some of those differences, as well as a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to ensure the safety of commercial shipping. Russian state media reported late Monday local time that the talks had ended.

In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump said territorial lines and the potential for U.S. ownership of a key nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine have been part of the talks.

Last week, Trump ﬂoated the idea of the U.S. taking control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The six-reactor facility one of the world’s largest — was seized by Russia early in the war “Some people are saying the United

States should own the power plant — work it that way because we have the expertise” to get the plant operating, Trump said. “Something like that would be ﬁne with me.”

Since falling under Russian control, the plant’s conditions have deteriorated While its reactors have been shut down for years, they still require power and staff to maintain cooling systems and safety features. The facility is connected to Ukraine’s energy grid without producing electricity

U.S. and Russian representatives met in the morning in Riyadh, Russia’s state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies reported. The U.S. and Ukrainian teams met Sunday Serhii Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency said the delegation remained in Riyadh on Monday and expected to meet again with the Americans. In his nightly address Monday, Zelenskyy said representatives from Ukraine and the U.S. will meet again, although he did not specify when.

Lawyers seek to free prisoners detained in El Salvador

Venezuelans deported there by U.S. under 18th-century law

BY MARCOS ALEMÁN Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador Lawyers hired by the Venezuelan government ﬁled a legal action Monday in El Salvador aimed at freeing 238 Venezuelans deported by the United States who are being held in a Salvadoran maximum-security prison.

Jaime Ortega, who says he represents 30 of the imprisoned Venezuelans, said they ﬁled the habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber He said that by extension they requested that it be applied to all Venezuelans detained in El Salvador

The maneuver essentially compels the government to prove someone’s detention was justiﬁed.

The Salvadoran government has been silent about the status of the Venezuelan prisoners since the U.S. government sent them more than a week ago, despite a U.S. federal judge’s verbal order to turn the planes around.

The Trump administration is using an 18th-century wartime law to justify sending the Venezuelans, who it says were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which the administration declared an invading force.

“We represent at this moment 30 Venezuelans who have given us the power to act, but by extension, we are asking for habeas corpus for the rest of the Venezuelan citizens who are detained in our country,” Ortega said.

Salvador Ríos, another lawyer with the firm, said they were contracted by the Venezuelan government and the Families of Immigrants Committee in Venezuela. He said the Venezuelans they represent are not members of the Tren de Aragua and had migrated from their country and “don’t have any criminal record.”

Landry

PROVIDED PHOTO By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE Firefighters put out a blaze Monday following a Russian attack in Donetsk region, Ukraine.

ASSOCIATED

The U.S Supreme Court seemed closely divided Monday over a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map, which added a second majority-Black district.

Judges seem divided in case of Trump’s deportations

Panel

hears arguments about block of use of 18th-century law

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON A panel of appeals court judges appeared divided Monday on a Trump administration push to lift an order blocking deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law — a case that has become a ﬂashpoint amid escalating tension with the federal courts. Circuit Court Judge Pa-

tricia Millett said Nazis detained in the U.S. during World World II received better legal treatment than Venezuelan immigrants who were deported to El Salvador this month under the same statute

“We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy,” Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign responded during a hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Millett is one of three appellate judges who will decide whether to lift a March 15 order temporarily prohibiting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. They didn’t rule from the bench Monday. A second judge appeared

open to the administration’s argument that the migrants should be challenging their detention in Texas rather than the nation’s capital. The third judge on the panel didn’t ask any questions.

The administration has transferred hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II.

President Donald Trump’s administration appealed after Chief Judge James Boasberg blocked those deportations and ordered planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to return to the U.S. That did not happen.

The Alien Enemies Act allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity to

go before an immigration or federal court judge. Trump issued a proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.

Ensign argued that Boasberg’s ruling was an “unprecedented and enormous intrusion upon the powers of the executive branch.”

“The president has to comply with the Constitution and the laws like anyone else,” said Millett, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2013.

Judge Justin Walker, whom Trump nominated in 2020, seemed to be more receptive to the administration’s arguments based on his line of questioning. Walker pointed to the government’s arguments that the plaintiffs

U.N. to reduce staff in Gaza after strike

World body blames Israel for attack

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, EDITH M. LEDERER and LEE KEATH Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip The United Nations said Monday it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer from Bulgaria and wounding ﬁve other employees.

The world body will temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. He pointed to the increased danger after Israel relaunched its military campaign last week with bombardment that has since killed hundreds of Palestinians. Israel has also cut off all food, medicine, aid and other supplies to Gaza’s population for the past three weeks.

Dujarric’s statement was the U.N’s ﬁrst to point the ﬁnger at Israel in the March 19 explosion at the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza He said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.”

Hamas members and positions, blaming the group for civilian deaths because it operates among the population. Air raid sirens and explosions were heard over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and central Israel on Monday evening as the military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency rescue service said “teams are en route to search areas where reports of rocket strikes have been received.”

should have ﬁled their lawsuit in Texas, where the immigrants were detained.

“You could have ﬁled the exact same complaint you filed here in Texas district court,” Walker told American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt.

“We have no idea if everyone is in Texas,” Gelernt said.

Walker also pressed the plaintiffs’ lawyer to cite any prior case in which a judicial order blocking “a national security operation with foreign implications” survived appellate review

Gelernt accused the administration of trying to use the law to “short circuit” immigration proceedings. Plaintiffs’ attorneys had no way to individually challenge all the

White

deportations before planeloads of Venezuelans took off on March 15, he added.

“This has all been done in secret,” Gelernt said.

Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was nominated by Republican President George H.W Bush in 1990, was the third judge on the panel. She didn’t ask any questions during a hearing that lasted roughly two hours. Boasberg, an Obama nominee, ruled that immigrants facing deportation must get an opportunity to challenge their designations as alleged gang members. He said there is “a strong public interest in preventing the mistaken deportation of people based on categories they have no right to challenge.”

House wants high court to halt judge’s order on firings

BY LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt a ruling ordering the rehiring of thousands of federal workers let go in mass ﬁrings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government.

The Israeli military repeated its denial that it was responsible for the strike, which took place a day after Israel shattered Gaza’s 2-month-old ceasefire with a surprise bombardment across the Gaza Strip.

Dujarric said the U.N “has made the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.”

He said the U.N “is not leaving Gaza,” pointing out that it still has about 13,000 national staff in Gaza, mainly working for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

New Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours killed more than 60 Palestinians around Gaza, the territory’s Health

Ministry said. The ministry’s count does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

The ministry on Monday put out a list of the names of more than 15,000 children, 17 and under, killed by Israel’s campaign since it began more than 17 months ago. The list included nearly 5,000 children under the age of 6 who had been killed, including 876 infants who had not reached a year in age, Israel, which launched its campaign .in retaliation for Hamas’ October 2023 attack, says it has restarted its bombardment and cut off food to Gaza to force Hamas to accept new terms for the ceaseﬁre and release more hostages. It says it targets

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have ﬁred a handful of longrange missiles at Israel in the days since it resumed the war in Gaza. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Houthis.

Two rockets from the Gaza Strip were also intercepted after crossing into Israeli territory earlier Monday evening, setting off sirens, the Israeli military said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The emergency appeal argues that the judge can’t force the executive branch to rehire more than 16,000 probationary employees. The California-based judge found the ﬁrings didn’t follow federal law, and he ordered reinstatement offers be sent as a lawsuit plays out.

The appeal also calls on the conservative-majority court to rein in the growing number of federal judges who have slowed President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda.

“Only this Court can end the interbranch power grab,” the appeal stated.

The nation’s federal court system has become ground zero for pushback to Trump with the Republican-led Congress largely supportive or silent, and judges have ruled against Trump’s administration more than three dozen times after ﬁnding violations of federal law

The rulings run the gamut from birthright citizenship changes to federal spending to transgender rights. Trump’s unparalleled ﬂurry of executive orders seems destined for several dates at a Supreme Court that he helped shape with three appointees during his ﬁrst term, but so far the majority on the nine-member court has taken relatively small steps in two cases that have reached it.

BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press

ALBUQUERQE, N.M. — Au-

thorities have released body camera footage from outside the home of Gene Hackman, where the actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in late February

The redacted footage shows deputies talking with the two workers who called authorities to report seeing someone lying on the

ﬂoor inside the home. With no signs of forced entry or other evidence of suspicious circumstances, the deputies asked about the possibility of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, and the workers said they didn’t see how that could have been the case.

“Something’s not right,” one of the workers said.

Authorities soon determined there were no leaks that could have been fatal, further fueling a mystery

that captured the public’s attention.

It was solved about a week later when medical investigators conﬁrmed that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s about a week after hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare, rodentborne disease — took the life of his wife.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released only some of the footage from the investigation.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service worker is brought into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on Wednesday following an Israeli tank strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza

carmaker because of the state’s cheap natural gas and electricity, both of which could be used to power the plant, and because of easy access to shipping rail lines and a state highway route that connects to Interstate 10, sources have said previously

The Port of South Louisiana and Hyundai are partnering to build a deep water dock on Ascension Parish’s west bank for steel and materials shipments, the LED announcement said.

Steel mill construction could begin as early as 2026 and production could start in 2030, said LED Deputy Secretary and Chief Financial

Ofﬁcer Anne Villa, who also said the agency has been working on the deal for 15 months.

As part of the state’s incentive package, Louisiana is offering Hyundai an annual $20 million performance-based grant for ﬁve years. Louisiana’s economic development agency offered Hyundai several incentives, including longterm tax breaks and rebates in re-

PLANS

Continued from page 1A

vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.

Just two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The National Security Council said in a statement that it was looking into how a journalist’s number was added to the chain in the Signal group chat, which included Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Goldberg said he received the Signal invitation from Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, who was also in the group chat.

In a statement late Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the president still has the “utmost conﬁdence” in Waltz and the national security team.

Trump told reporters, “I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the ﬁrst time.” He added that The Atlantic was “not much of a magazine.” Government ofﬁcials have used Signal for organizational correspondence, but it is not classified and can be hacked. Privacy and tech

CATS

Continued from page 1A

must address the specific needs of our transit system and riders,” it added. “The expertise and independence CATS has built over the years are crucial for the continued success of our operations.”

CATS management has faced its share of criticism and controversy in the past Most recently, union members complained that management attempted to unilaterally impose a new labor contract on the workforce They launched a weeklong strike, slowing transit services around Baton Rouge.

“We’ve all seen the reports of CATS going through their problems through the years, and I think part of those problems are because of the lack of accountability,” McMakin said.

Mayor-President Sid Edwards declined to com-

turn for creating new jobs, sources said previously

Hyundai Chair Euisun Chung on Monday said the company will invest $21 billion in the U.S. over the next four years He called the Louisiana steel plant “a key part” of that commitment.

Chung added Hyundai this week is also opening a new $8 billion plant in Georgia, allowing the company’s U.S. vehicle production “to exceed 1 million units per year.”

Johnson, a Republican from Benton, said Trump’s leadership is bringing about great growth.”

“There’s this great sense of relief, almost euphoria out there, because they know that America is back,” Johnson said, referring to his travels last week for campaign and fundraising events. “This is the America-ﬁrst agenda.”

Landry said securing the deal for Louisiana was a matter of “seeing the America-ﬁrst policy in action” and of efforts over the last year aimed at public safety, education and tax reform.

Many of the permanent jobs generated by the project will be ﬁlled by “individuals trained right here in Ascension Parish,” said Clint Cointment, Ascension Parish president.

experts say the popular endto-end encrypted messaging and voice call app is more secure than conventional texting.

The sharing of sensitive information comes as Hegseth’s office has just announced a crackdown on leaks of sensitive information, including the potential use of polygraphs on defense personnel to determine how reporters have received information

Sean Parnell a spokesperson for Hegseth, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why the defense secretary posted war operational plans on an unclassiﬁed app. The breach in protocol was swiftly condemned by Democratic lawmakers. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation.

“This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a floor speech Monday afternoon.

“If true, this story represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen,” Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement He said American lives are “on the line. The care-

ment on the proposal, with a spokesperson saying Edwards is not afﬁliated with CATS. But the bill aligns with other recent plans to consolidate authority under the city-parish government.

Earlier this year, Edwards attempted to shift the East Baton Rouge Parish libraries’ budget to the general fund, triggering an outcry from library supporters. Edwards and library administrators eventually reached a compromise that cut the library’s budget by roughly 25% instead of 40%.

Edwards, who took office in January, is trying to fill a budget gap the parish government faces because the new city of St. George has begun collecting its portion of sales tax revenue. Other agencies have encountered similar pressures. On the same day McMakin introduced the proposal to repeal the CATS Act, he prefiled a bill to do the same thing to BREC. The

“Education and training are essential in addressing poverty and inequality and laying the foundation for lasting economic growth. Today marks a milestone in our community’s journey toward a brighter and more prosperous future for all of Ascension,” he said.

Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan on Monday said the project is “proof that the west bank is not just ready, but primed for growth.”

At the state level, the south Louisiana steel mill marks another huge victory for Landry and his economic development chief, LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois.

It follows a December announcement that Meta will build its largest data center in Richland Parish in north Louisiana. The $10 billion investment will result in a 4 millionsquare-foot facility that is expected to employ 500 permanent workers.

The type of operation being planned, an electric arc furnace, is known for its reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

State ofﬁcials say the mill would have 70% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a traditional blast furnace, which relies on coal-based coke for fuel.

This claim roughly matches those from industry sources and from

lessness shown by Trump’s Cabinet is stunning and dangerous. I will be seeking answers from the Administration immediately.”

Rep. Jim Himes, of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that he was “horriﬁed” by the reports.

Himes said if a lowerranking ofﬁcial “did what is described here, they would likely lose their clearance and be subject to criminal investigation. The American people deserve answers,” which he said he planned to get at Wednesday’s previously scheduled committee hearing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to learn more about what happened.

“Obviously, we got to run it to the ground, ﬁgure out what went on there,” said Thune, a South Dakota Republican.

The handling of national defense information is strictly governed by law under the century-old Espionage Act, including provisions that make it a crime to remove such information from its “proper place of custody” even through an act of gross negligence.

The Justice Department in 2015 and 2016 investigated whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broke the law by communicating about classified

parallel bill would transfer all functions and resources of the parks and recreation agency to the city-parish government.

Like CATS, BREC objected to the measure. In a statement last week, the agency said moving BREC under the city-parish umbrella could “potentially jeopardize the funding that citizens have endorsed,” referencing the fact that East Baton Rouge voters renewed two 10-year BREC property taxes in November

McMakin said the motivation behind these bills is to make the organizations more responsive to the public by placing power with elected ofﬁcials rather than appointed ofﬁcials.

“The citizens are paying taxes, and they want to see their tax dollars being used the most efﬁciently and effectively as possible,” McMakin said. “One of the things to do that is to have people that you can directly hold accountable.”

groups like the nonproﬁt Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which advocates for a clean energy transition in manufacturing. The Nucor Steel mill in Decatur, Alabama, has an electric arc furnace plant that produced about 7% more steel than the proposed Hyundai would. The Alabama mill emitted little more than a ton of potent toxic chemicals like mercury, zinc and chromium but also had about a dozen tons of those metals that were shipped off-site to a landﬁll, according to an EPA database.

If the Hyundai mill’s emissions are similar to the Decatur mill’s, the proposed plant’s emissions would be dwarfed by the emissions of facilities already in the area, including the CF Industries complex just down the river

The mill would be built in an area of poor, mostly minority communities that federal regulators say is already near the acceptable cancer risk from air pollution. One nearby community, near Modeste, has a risk that is twice the federal standard for cancer risk from pollution.

Some environmental groups, like the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and a local Ascension group, Rural Roots, have already come out against the

information with her aides on a private email server she set up though the FBI ultimately recommended against charges and none were brought.

In the Biden administration, some officials were given permission to download Signal on their White

project.

“We are already inundated with polluting facilities — and no government agency, state or federal, has protected our interests,” said Ashley Gaignard, president of Rural Roots. “We have no reason to believe there will be any oversight of this plant.”

Electric arc steel furnaces have fewer emissions but rely on scrap steel to operate. It is a step that saves on pollution, but the furnaces still have signiﬁcant power demands that can result in their own greenhouse gas and other emissions, depending on the source, according to the World Steel Association.

The steel industry also has heavy competition for scrap metal, and it is often sourced from foreign markets.

Entergy President and CEO Phillip May said the company will supply all of the steel plant’s power via transmission lines supported by the company’s existing energy generation plans. Those plans could include proposed power plants in the New Orleans area and in southwest Louisiana, May said.

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

House-issued phones, but were instructed to use the app sparingly according to a former national security ofﬁcial who served in the Democratic administration.

The ofﬁcial, who requested anonymity to speak about methods used to share sensi-

tive information, said Signal was most commonly used to communicate what they internally referred to as “tippers” to notify someone when they were away from the ofﬁce or traveling overseas that they should check their “high side” inbox for a classiﬁed message.

Palestinian director attacked by Israeli settlers

Oscar winner then detained by Israeli military, activists

say

BY JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

JERUSALEM Israeli settlers

beat up one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning ﬁlm “No Other Land” in the occupied West Bank on Monday, and he was then detained by the Israeli military Jewish activists on the scene said.

Dozens of settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area, destroying property, said the activist group Center for Jewish Nonviolence

They attacked Hamdan

Ballal, one of the co-directors of the joint Palestinian-Israeli production, leaving his head bleeding, the activists said. As he was being treated in an ambulance, soldiers detained him and a second Palestinian man, the group said.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the episode but did not immediately comment.

“We don’t know where Hamdan is because he was taken away in a blindfold,”

Josh Kimelman, one of the activists who was at the scene, told The Associated Press.

A group of 10 to 20 masked settlers attacked him and other Jewish activists with stones and sticks, and smashed their car windows and slashed their tires.

Video provided by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence

showed a masked settler shoving and swinging his fists at two activists from the group in a dusty field at night. The activists rush back to their car. “Get in, get in!” one shouts, and they duck inside as the thuds of rocks being thrown can be heard. “Car window was broken,” the driver says as they drive off.

“No Other Land,” which won the Oscar this year for best documentary, chronicles the struggle by residents of Masafer Yatta to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages. It has two Palestinian co-directors, Ballal and Basel Adra, both residents of Masafar Yatta, and two Israeli directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor

The ﬁlm has won a string of international awards, start-

dents have largely remained in place, but soldiers regularly move in to demolish homes, tents, water tanks and olive orchards — and Palestinians fear outright expulsion could come at any time.

ing at the Berlin Interna-

tional Film Festival in 2024 It has also drawn ire in Israel and abroad, as when Miami Beach brieﬂy proposed ending the lease of a movie theater that screened the docu-

mentary

The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta as a live-ﬁre training zone in the 1980s and ordered residents, mostly Arab Bedouin, to be expelled. Around 1,000 resi-

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for their future state and view settlement growth as a major obstacle to a twostate solution. Israel has built well over 100 settlements that are now home to more than 500,000 settlers with Israeli citizenship. The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.

French actor Gérard Depardieu stands trial in Paris

Performer accused of sexual assaults on set

BY SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

PARIS French actor Gérard Depardieu went on trial Monday in Paris on charges of sexually assaulting two women on a movie set, in a case seen as a potential watershed for the #MeToo movement in France.

Depardieu, 76, is accused of having groped a 54-yearold set dresser and a 34-yearold assistant director during ﬁlming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”).

The actor faces up to ﬁve years in prison and a ﬁne of $81,000 if convicted.

Depardieu denies any wrongdoing.

To reporters massed outside the courtroom, he briefly said, “I’m OK.” Inside, he told the judges that he was prepared to answer the court’s questions. “We will be able to show in an impartial, objective and incontestable manner that all of the accusations are lies,” his attorney, Jérémie Assous, told journalists “The truth will be obvious and the truth is on our side,” he said.

Assous, right, in Paris.

Depardieu’s long and storied career has turned the trial into a post-#MeToo test of the willingness of France and its movie industry to confront sexual violence and hold inﬂuential men accountable. Depardieu has been a darling of French cinemagoers for decades and was Oscarnominated in 1991 for his

Turkey detains journalists as protests grow over official’s jailing

By The Associated Press

ISTANBUL A media union

said Turkish authorities arrested several journalists at their homes in a crackdown Monday, amid growing protests over the jailing of Istanbul’s mayor, a top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A court on Sunday formally arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and ordered him jailed pending a trial on corruption charges. His detention on Wednesday sparked the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade, deepening concerns over democracy and the rule of law

The Disk-Basin-Is media workers’ union said at least eight reporters and photojournalists were detained in what it called an “attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth.” It called for their immediate release.

The social media platform X said it was objecting to multiple court orders from Turkish authorities to block more than 700 accounts, including of news organizations, journalists and political ﬁgures in Turkey

A total of 1,133 people have been detained since the mayor was arrested at his home, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. As many as 123 police ofﬁcers were injured in the protests, he said, adding that materials such as acid, ﬁrebombs and knives were seized.

“Some circles have been exploiting the right to assemble and demonstrate, attempting to disrupt public order, incite street unrest and attack our police,” Yerlikaya said on social media.

The minister said some of the detained were identiﬁed as having ties to groups listed as terrorist organizations and others had criminal records.

Hundreds of thousands of people have come out for the largely peaceful protests across Turkey in support of the mayor There has been some violence, with police deploying water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray and ﬁring plastic pellets at protesters in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir Some protesters hurled stones ﬁreworks and other objects at riot police

In a message on social media, Imamoglu urged people to rally outside city hall and other locations for a sixth night on Monday He also called on youths to avoid clashes and asked police to treat demonstrators with kindness.

“I’m working hard, I will work even harder Where I am does not matter,” he said.

The mayor’s jailing is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major challenger to Erdogan from the next presidential race, scheduled for 2028. Gov-

ernment ofﬁcials reject the accusations and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently Imamoglu was jailed on suspicion of running a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging — accusations he has denied. A request for him to be imprisoned on terrorrelated charges was rejected although he still faces prosecution.

The Interior Ministry later said Imamoglu had been suspended from duty as a “temporary measure.” The municipality previously appointed an acting mayor from its governing council.

In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan accused the opposition party’s chair Ozgur Ozel, who has called for peaceful protests, of disturbing public order instead of addressing the alleged corruption. He also said he would be held to account for the protests.

Noticed is herebygiven pursuant to Article7,Section 23(C) of the Louisiana Constitution and R.S. 47:1705(B) that apublic hearing of the Assessment District of East Feliciana Parish will be held at its regular meeting place at the Assessor’s Office located at 12064 Marston Street, Clinton, LA on Wednesday, May14, 2025 at 9:00a.m. to consider levying additional or increased millage rateswithout further voterapprovaloradopting the adjusted millage ratesafter reassessment and rolling forwardtorates not to exceed the prior year’s maximum.The estimated amount of tax revenues to be collected in the next year from the increased millageis$2,550,113.18, andthe amount of increase in taxes attributable to the millageincrease is $6,480.03.

performance as swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.

But his alleged boorish behavior off-screen has also long made headlines. He has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some others were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.

Feminist and historian Florence Montreynaud described Depardieu’s court appearance as “a historic moment” for women’s rights, as she joined other campaigners who demonstrated outside the court. A dozen chanted “Sexist violence, complicit judicial system” as they danced to techno music.

“Times are changing #MeToo has swept through At last, mentalities are changing,” Montreynaud said to French broadcaster BFMTV

The trial also follows in the wake of the historic case last year involving Gisèle Pelicot, whose bravery put the spotlight on sexual violence in France. She demanded that the drugging-and-rape trial for 51 men tried for a horriﬁc catalog of abuse on her be held in open court, arguing that doing so would help make shame change sides.

Prosecutors say Depardieu trapped the set dresser with his legs before groping her waist and breasts in front of witnesses. She says the actor also used obscene language and had to be pulled away by bodyguards.

The assistant director alleged that Depardieu groped her both on set and in the street.

The women sat side by side in court. The Associated Press doesn’t name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identiﬁed. Neither has done so in this case. The trial is expected to last at least two days, but could be extended beyond Tuesday, if the chief judge wants more time. The trial was initially scheduled for October but then postponed because of Depardieu’s health. A verdict is expected at a later date.

France has often been ambivalent — even resistant — toward the #MeToo movement. While Hollywood saw powerful men fall swiftly and publicly, the French ﬁlm industry was slower to respond. Some dismissed #MeToo as an American export incompatible with French values, citing concerns over free expression and what they viewed as an erosion of ﬂirtation culture. At the time of the alleged assaults, Depardieu was already under formal investigation for rape. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August, prosecutors requested that it go to trial.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By THIBAULT CAMUS

Actor Gérard Depardieu, center, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives Monday with his lawyer Jérémie

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JORDAN STRAUSS

From left, Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and yuval Abraham, winners of the award for best documentary feature film for ‘No Other Land,’ hold their Oscars on March 2 at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Jury orders Monsanto parent to pay $2.1B

A jury in Georgia has ordered Monsanto parent Bayer to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who says the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to attorneys representing the plaintiff. The verdict marks the latest in a long-running series of court battles Monsanto has faced over its Roundup herbicide. The agrochemical giant says it will appeal the verdict, reached in a Georgia courtroom late Friday, in efforts to overturn the decision The penalties awarded include $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages, law ﬁrms Arnold & Itkin LLP and Kline & Specter PC said in a statement. That marks one of the largest verdicts in a Roundup-related case to date. Plaintiff John Barnes ﬁled his lawsuit against Monsanto in 2021, seeking damages related to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Germany-based Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has continued to dispute claims that Roundup causes cancer But the company has been hit with more than 177,000 lawsuits involving the weedkiller and set aside $16 billion to settle cases.

StubHub plans

initial stock offering

StubHub, the events ticketing platform, has ﬁled for an initial public offering of its common stock. The online marketplace where users can buy and resell tickets to sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events said Friday that it had applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “STUB.”

Paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not disclose the number of shares or an expected price range.

StubHub, which is based in New York, said buyers in more than 200 countries and territories used its platform to purchase more than 40 million tickets last year

StubHub Holdings Inc. includes StubHub in North America — billed as the ﬁrst online marketplace for secondary tickets since its launch in 2000 — and viagogo internationally

James Hardie offers

AZEK $8.75B deal

Australian building products company James Hardie Industries is buying U.S. outdoor products maker AZEK in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $8.75 billion, including $386 million in debt.

It’s the second major acquisition in the building supplies sector in less than a week, with QXO Inc. announcing on Thursday that it was buying Beacon Rooﬁng Supply Inc. in a deal worth about $11 billion, including debt.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to the lowest level in nearly 30 years. Analysts said uncertainty in the housing market was driving the deals. Under the James Hardie deal, shareholders of The AZEK Company Inc. will receive $26.45 in cash and 1.034 ordinary shares of James Hardie for each share of AZEK stock that they own. AZEK is based in Chicago. James Hardie shareholders will own about 74% of the combined company, with AZEK stockholders owning 26%. The combined company will sell siding, exterior trim, decking, railing and pergolas, among other building goods

Wall Street gains ground, shakes off slump

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP business writers

Stocks closed broadly higher Monday amid hopes on Wall Street that the Trump administration may take a more targeted approach as it tees up a new round of tariffs on imported goods next week

The S&P 500 was up for the day

The index was coming off its ﬁrst winning week after a four-week losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite closed higher “The market was primed to respond well if the administration pulled back on some of the tariff

threats or even provided off ramps for the tensions, and that’s kind of what we’re seeing here,” said Ross Mayﬁeld, investment strategist at Baird.

Despite the gains, the benchmark S&P 500 has lost 1.9% so far this year out of concerns that a trade war could hinder economic growth and increase inﬂationary pressures. Wall Street remains focused on how tariffs could eventually impact inﬂation, consumer spending and economic growth. Stocks have been riding waves of hope and worry as tariffs are announced, then either implemented or pulled. A new round of tariffs scheduled to be implemented on April 2 could also be softened or postponed rather than

take effect.

Trump has been somewhat closely guarded about his plans for tariffs, saying Monday that even though he wants to charge “reciprocal” rates — import taxes to match the rates charged by other countries that “we might be even nicer than that.”

“The exact breadth and scale of the tariffs remain to be seen, and a cycle of tit-for-tat escalation is also possible in the weeks following the announcement, potentially triggering further bouts of market volatility,” said Ulrike HoffmannBurchardi, chief investment officer of global equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Gains on Monday were broad, with 84% of stocks within the S&P

IRS uncertainty adds to tax stress

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writer

NEWYORK There’s a lot of information (and money) on the table during tax season. That also makes it a prime time for scams.

Year-round, fraudsters may use a handful of common tactics to try to steal your identity, money or other sensitive information

As you prepare your annual tax return, due April 15, experts stress it’s important to be extra vigilant.

This year, scammers might take particular advantage of uncertainty stemming from recent workforce cuts impacting thousands of jobs at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These layoffs and the potential for even more widespread reductions also raise questions about resources, including the IRS’s bandwidth to respond to scams reported by consumers.

“Uncertainty is probably one of the biggest motivating emotions that social engineers take advantage of,” said Dave Chronister, a prominent “ethical hacker” and CEO of

Parameter Security, noting that scammers might use news of these cuts and impersonate the IRS to falsely promise taxpayers “new” ways of ﬁling. Similar tactics emerged during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and following legitimate rounds of federal aid with some scammers making false claims about additional stimulus checks, for example.

All it takes is just “a little bit of common knowledge” to “nudge you” into trusting them, Chronister said.

Beyond how scammers use the news, the IRS workforce cuts could slow the agency’s ability to actually respond to scams, Chronister and others note. As a result, malicious websites or predatory social media campaigns may not be taken down as quickly — and victims of fraudulent returns could have to wait longer for answers.

“There is potential for reduced oversight,” said Chris Pierson, chief executive of cybersecurity ﬁrm BlackCloak. “If you have less individuals to be proactive within an agency that is housing, I mean, an amazing treasure

trove of data and information — that obviously is concerning (and could) create a riskier environment for the consumer.”

Asked for comment, the IRS pointed to its “Dirty Dozen” list of common tax scams to watch out for this year, among other steps taxpayers can take to protect themselves from identity theft and fraud. But the agency did not immediately comment on whether recent or future workforce cuts would impact its enforcement resources.

The key is to ﬁle as soon as you can.

Nobody is eager to sit down and do their taxes, but getting it out of the way early — and before any scammers potentially try to ﬁle something in your name — makes a huge difference, Chronister said. Taxpayers can play it safe by sticking to what they know

“If you’ve always been using TurboTax, use TurboTax. If you always use an accountant, use your accountant,” Chronister said. He notes that you should also keep your information safe by password-protecting any past ﬁlings downloaded to your device and using a VPN when on public Wi-Fi.

23andMe files for Chapter 11 as co-founder and CEO resigns

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business

writer

NEW YORK — 23andMe has ﬁled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs San Francisco-based 23andMe announced on Sunday that it will look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a courtapproved reorganization plan Anne Wojcicki, who cofounded 23andMe nearly two decades ago, is also stepping down as CEO effective immediately, the company said — but will remain on the 23andMe board. Her resignation comes just weeks after a board committee rejected a nonbinding acquisition proposal from Wojcicki who has been trying to take the company

private. And Wojcicki intends to still bid on 23andMe as the company pursues a sale through the bankruptcy process. In a statement on social media, Wojcicki said that she resigned as CEO to be “in the best position” as an independent bidder 23andMe has faced an uncertain future for some time. Beyond battles to go private, the company struggled to ﬁnd a proﬁtable business model since going public in 2021 Privacy concerns related to customers’ genetic information have also emerged, notably spanning from a 2023 data breach — along with questions around what new ownership could mean for users’ data. 23andMe was founded in 2006, with a promise to revolutionize the

future of genetics and health care. The company became known for its saliva-based DNA testing kits — purchased by millions of customers eager to learn more about their ancestry — and later dived further into health research and drug development.

But recent years have been far from smooth sailing for 23andMe. And Sunday’s voluntary bankruptcy ﬁling caps months of turmoil. Last September all of its independent directors resigned in a rare move following acquisition negotiations with Wojcicki.

The company then announced in November that it would lay off 40% of its workforce, or more than 200 employees, and discontinue its therapeutics division. And in January, the board’s special committee said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.

23andMe says its bankruptcy ﬁling won’t change the way it stores or protects data.

John Bringardner, of Debtwire, notes that any new buyer of 23andMe will have to comply with regulatory approvals that ensure “customer data won’t end up in unscrupulous hands.”

Still, who will end up owning 23andMe down the road is unknown. And experts note that risks remain.

“Personal data collected by 23andme has always been at risk,” Bringardner wrote in emailed commentary on Monday — pointing particularly to a 2023 data breach that compromised ancestral information for nearly 7 million 23andMe customers. He adds that litigation spanning from the aftermath of this breach helped drive up liabilities that eventually contributed to the current bankruptcy ﬁling.

Wojcicki

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PETER MORGAN

This year, scammers might take particular advantage of uncertainty stemming from recent workforce cuts impacting thousands of jobs at the U.S Internal Revenue Service.

Firefighters in Carolinas battle multiple wildfires

By The Associated Press

Fireﬁghters in North and South Carolina were battling multiple wind-driven wildﬁres Monday in rugged terrain that complicated containment efforts, officials said.

Millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year combined with long stretches of dry weather this spring are making for a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller said.

“Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.”

Both South Carolina and North Carolina have issued statewide bans on outdoor burning.

Mandatory evacuations continue for about 165 properties in parts of Polk County in western North Carolina, about 80 miles west of Charlotte, according to county spokesperson Kellie Cannon.

Three fires burned at least 7.5 square miles in the county and the two larger blazes were completely un-

contained, Cannon said in a social media update Monday morning. The Black Cove Fire, one of the larger ones, was moving toward neighboring Henderson County, Cannon said Kim Callaway, who lives near one of the evacuated areas in Polk County, has prepared her home, WLOSTV reported.

“We’ve already actually evacuated everything that we thought that was important,” Callaway said. “And now we’re just staying at the house and trying to do what we can to get our house prepared if the ﬁremen need to show up and hold the line.”

A downed power line sparked the Black Cove Fire, but the causes of the other two ﬁres in Polk County were under investigation, according to North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Jeremy Waldrop.

A number of other wildfires burning across the state including one that damaged 500 vehicles at a salvage yard in Burke County, ofﬁcials said.

Two ﬁres in the South Carolina mountains have led Gov Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency

One ﬁre was in Table Rock State Park in Pickens Coun-

PROVIDED By U.S NATIONAL GUARD

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion, 59th Aviation Troop Command, McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover executes its fire suppression mission Sunday in support of the South Carolina Forestry Commission at the Persimmon Ridge Fire near Greenville, S.C

ty and the other was on Persimmon Ridge in Greenville County Winds and difﬁcult mountainous terrain allowed blazes to grow, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

The Table Rock Fire expanded to more than 2 square miles, including several hundred acres that firefighters intentionally burned to try to contain the flames, officials said.

Greenland’s leader laments ‘mess’ as U.S. VP’s wife to visit island

BY JAMEY KEATEN and VANESSA GERA Associated Press

Greenland’s people are bracing for another visit from U.S. President Donald Trump’s inner circle, with second lady Usha Vance set to travel to the autonomous Danish territory this week as her husband ratchets up talk about U.S. security and “territorial” interests in the vast Arctic island coveted by the administration.

Greenland’s prime minister has warned of “American aggression” and lamented a “mess” caused by the upcoming visit from Vance, who will be joined by Trump’s national security adviser and energy secretary On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance her husband — blasted Denmark for “not doing its job” and “not being a good ally.”

“So you have to ask yourself: How are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security?” JD Vance said on Fox News. “If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn’t care about what the Europeans scream at us.”

Trump on Monday took a more conciliatory tone, casting the visit this week as based on “friendliness.”

Denmark is a NATO ally of the United States, and northwestern Greenland already houses the U.S. Pitufﬁk military base that falls under the Pentagon’s Space Force. Danish national police on Sunday sent extra personnel and sniffer dogs to Greenland as part of regular security measures taken during visits by dignitaries. A police spokesperson declined to give details, but news reports

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA

Boys play on a frozen beach on March 11 in Nuuk, Greenland Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, is planning to visit the island.

said dozens were ﬂown in.

Before the president began his second term in January, a visit by Trump’s eldest son heightened concerns in Greenland about possible U.S. ambitions. Donald Trump Jr told its residents that “we’re going to treat you well” weeks before March 11 elections that had centered on possible independence from Denmark.

Greenlandic news outlet Sermitsiaq posted images of two U.S. Hercules workhorse military aircraft on the tarmac Sunday in Nuuk, the capital, adding that the planes later departed. News reports said four bulletproof cars had also been ﬂown in. On her visit, Vance will attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race which features about 37 mushers and 444 dogs, her ofﬁce said.

Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will also be traveling to Greenland, the White House said.

“The U.S. has a vested security interest in the Arctic region and it should not be a surprise the National Secu-

rity Adviser and Secretary of Energy are visiting a U.S. Space Base to get ﬁrsthand briefings from our service members on the ground,” said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Greenland is also in the process of political transition. The pro-business Demokraatit party, which favors a slow path to independence, won a surprise victory in the recent elections, outpacing the two leftleaning parties that formed the last government

Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede, who remains in the post until a new government is formed, acknowledged Sunday on Facebook that there is worry on the island.

The visit of “the wife of the United States vice president and the United States president’s highest security adviser cannot be seen only as a private visit,” he said. “We can already see now, how big a mess it’s caused.”

Egede said there would be no ofﬁcial meetings with the U.S. visitors because a new government has yet to be formed.

The Persimmon Ridge Fire, which started Saturday, spread to more than 1.25 square miles despite many dozens of water drops, the commission said.

Human activity ignited both the Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge ﬁres. No injuries had been reported, and while no structures were imminently threatened, voluntary evacuations of about 100 homes remained in place.

Scheller, the North Carolina State University professor, predicted this busy ﬁre season if the region saw dry weather following Helene.

Scientists saw something similar in 2022 when a fire burned more than 51 square miles of timberland in the Florida Panhandle. The Bertha Swamp Road Fire almost directly followed the eye pattern from 2018’s Hurricane Michael and the fallen pine

trees left behind. Pines and their waxy needles dry out and become very flammable, Scheller said. The fallen trunks can also block roads and paths used to fight fires, experts said.

The last ingredient to fuel wildﬁres is dry weather. Despite recent rain, the Carolinas are undergoing an extreme drought, according to federal monitors.

The common denominator for many fires on the East Coast is human activity, whether people burn debris, light a campfire that isn’t well watched or toss out cigarette, Scheller said. And more people living next to areas that can burn make ﬁres a bigger threat, he said.

A forest fire burning in New Jersey’s million-acre Pinelands region was 100% contained on Monday morning, the New Jersey Forest Fire Services said in a post on X. The ﬁre was ﬁrst spotted Saturday and burned through about

U.S. postmaster general resigns

BY CAILLEY LAPARA

Bloomberg News (TNS)

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has resigned, hastening his previously announced departure as the nation’s postal agency looks to stem ﬁnancial losses and overhaul its operations.

The head of the U.S. Postal Service informed the agency’s board of governors that Monday would be his last day, DeJoy said in a statement. Deputy Postmaster General Doug

Tulino will take over until a permanent successor is named.

The abrupt exit adds to the volatility gripping the post ofﬁce, which has seen sputtering gains in DeJoy’s yearslong plan to cut costs, reverse losses and improve efﬁciency President Donald Trump has mused recently about taking the service private or folding it into the Department of Commerce, while Elon Musk also called for privatization. DeJoy told lawmakers

earlier this month that he signed a deal with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to collaborate on reforms to the sprawling service. Under the agreement, at least two DOGE staffers would work under the postmaster’s supervision on efficiency efforts at the agency While DeJoy said last month that he had asked the board to begin the succession process, he hadn’t given a specific date for his departure.

BY JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/ Report

for America

DENVER A portrait of President Donald Trump hanging at the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after Trump claimed it was “purposefully distorted,” state ofﬁcials said Monday House Democrats said in a statement that the oil painting would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the Legislature

“If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” the Democrats said.

The portrait was painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term and unveiled in 2019. Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the oil painting. In a Sunday night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would prefer no picture at all over the one that hangs in the Colorado Capitol. The Republican lauded a nearby portrait of former President Barack Obama — also by Boardman — saying “he looks wonderful.” “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves,

but the one in Colorado, in the state Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump wrote.

The portraits are not the purview of the Colorado Governor’s Office, but the Colorado Building Advisory Committee. Boardman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. She previously told The Denver Post that it was important her depictions of both Obama and Trump looked “apolitical.”

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LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Renovation keeps Alarios busy

Trina Edwards Alario has a deﬁnite sense of style.

And she’s taking that style to her husband’s beloved Gretna, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from Uptown New Orleans.

Since she married John Alario on June 1, 2023, the couple has, until recently, maintained two homes — the one Trina had in Baton Rouge and the home in Westwego where he’s lived for nearly six decades. (He and his ﬁrst wife built it for $19,000 in 1966.) This month, they sold her Baton Rouge University Club home and plan to eventually sell his Westwego home.

A 99-year-old house on historic Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna set the couple’s real estate domino effect in motion. They both say they knew it would take a special place, meeting a lot of requirements, for them to consolidate their lives into one home. Putting it into the universe

“I’m a Baton Rouge girl,” Trina said. “But when John showed me Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna, I thought, ‘I could live here.’” The problem was that the homes of Gretna’s Historic District are loaded with curb appeal and rarely come on the market a reality that did not deter her Once she decided that was where she wanted to go, when people asked, she would simply say, “Oh, we’re moving to Huey P. Long Avenue.” If they asked, “Which house?” She would reply, “I don’t know yet.”

Trina isn’t shy about putting into the universe what she wants. She’s a woman who knows a lot about dreaming big.

In April 2024, she got exactly what she wanted the perfect house on Huey P. Long in Gretna. Though she wouldn’t describe the path toward its renovations as “dreamy,” the home is coming together after much ado and with a dedicated design team

After months of meetings with the Gretna Historical Society for approvals, they’re making progress.

A rule follower

In the past few weeks (since photos for this story were taken), the outside of the couple’s new home has been painted — with a historical society-approved color of course. The walls have been ﬁnished on the inside and some have been painted “Other than that, it’s going slow as hell,” Trina said Monday The Alarios are working with Flynn Designs in River Ridge to redecorate the home, which was originally built in 1926. They have gutted and re-imagined it, keeping its architectural integrity and abiding by all rules and historical society recommendations.

Trina describes her husband as a rule follower.

“I married one rule breaker and one rule follower,” she quips, referencing her previous husband, Edwin Edwards, who died in 2021 at 93 years old. Edwards served four terms as Louisiana’s governor — along with an eightyear stint in federal prison after he was found guilty of racketeering charges. Edwards and John Alario were close friends and longtime political allies in Louisiana government. John Alario served 48 years in the Louisiana Legislature, both as president of the Senate and speaker of the House. These days, he’s playing a different role, by Trina’s side, making decisions about a different

ä See RISHER, page 2B

Memorial Day killings trial begins

2 men, toddler fatally shot at cookout

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a man accused of ﬁring shots during a chaotic 2021 Memorial Day ambush that killed three people, including a toddler caught in the crossﬁre, at a poolside cookout David Gerrell Williams, 23, sat

inside a courtroom at the 19th Judicial District Courthouse as attorneys began the voir dire process to seat a jury panel from a pool of prospective jurors. Jury selection is expected to run through Tuesday and testimony in the trial will likely kick off Wednesday Williams is on trial this week on three counts of second-degree murder tied to the May 31, 2021, shooting at the Fairway View Apartments in the 2200 block of College Drive. In August, a jury found Williams’ younger half-brother, 19-year-old Ladarius Coleman, guilty of murder for his role as

one of the shooters in the fatal ambush. District Judge Fred Crifasi sentenced Coleman to three mandatory life sentences on Dec. 4. According to prosecutors, the two men killed Dewayne Craig Dunn, 16, and his 20-year-old best friend, Reginald Thomas Jr., during a crowded poolside cookout at the apartment complex.

An errant bullet struck Ja’Tyri Unique Brown, as she played in the pool while her parents barbecued Dunn and Thomas both died at the scene. The toddler was rushed to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, where she later died.

Court records indicate the shooting stemmed from a dispute Coleman and Williams had with Dunn and Thomas before the Memorial Day encounter Prosecutors said when Coleman spotted Dunn in the parking lot, he and a group of friends stalked the parking lot before Williams led them through the pool gate and the two opened ﬁre Coleman shot Thomas three times in the back, and Williams shot Dunn multiple times at point-blank range, prosecutors said at Coleman’s trial last year

The brothers stole the riﬂes Dunn and Thomas were armed with, they alleged.

SAFETy SCANS

East Baton Rouge high schools deploy AI weapons scanners

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

A handful of students at Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge on Monday showed how they enter school these days.

As soon as they were inside the front doors, the students walked between two 6-foot-tall towers emitting a ﬁeld of low-frequency radio waves. Those waves scan people as

they pass through, converting waves into images that are instantaneously analyzed via artiﬁcial intelligence to identify potential weapons.

The students barely slowed their stride as they passed through the Evolv Express AI scanner The only delay was a slight pause when they handed their Chromebook laptops to a school administrator who, after the students passed through, handed them right back.

East Baton Rouge Parish school leaders are hoping the new AI weapons scanners will turn the tide after a spate of recent incidences of students bringing guns to school, prompting alarm among parents,

staff and other students.

LaMont Cole, East Baton Rouge schools superintendent, sees the new scanners as part of a larger district effort to get teenagers to feel safe at school but also to question whether it makes sense to arm themselves during the school day

“We don’t want anyone to feel as if they would have to bring a weapon of any kind to school,” Cole said. Despite outfitting every middle and high school with walk-through metal detectors in spring 2024, there are more cases so far this school year of guns found at schools — 14

ä See SCANNER, page 2B

Baton Rouge man gets 20 years in fatal stabbing

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A Baton Rouge man will spend two decades behind bars after he confessed Monday to stabbing his roommate to death. Eric Deshon Stewart, 40, was set to be tried this week for seconddegree murder and faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted in the March 2022 killing of Robin Jackson

The 57-year-old man was stabbed multiple times during an argument at a group home in the 150 block of North 17th Street,

where he and Stewart resided. However, Stewart accepted a negotiated deal and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter during a hearing at the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. District Judge Louise Hines Myers handed down a 20-year prison sentence as part of the plea deal. Just before he was sentenced, Stewart expressed remorse and said he regretted his actions, telling the judge he accepted responsibility for the fatal episode. According to prosecutors, Baton Rouge police were called to the shelter following reports of

a suicide. When they arrived, they found Stewart in a stairwell sweating profusely as he spoke to 911 dispatchers on the phone.

Ofﬁcers found Jackson dead in his apartment with multiple stab wounds to the back of his head and neck. Based on statements Stewart made during his 911 call, investigators quickly established Stewart as a suspect. When questioned, he told ofﬁcers the victim armed himself with a knife after he was asked to keep the noise down in his apartment, prosecutors said. Stewart told police Jackson,

who he described as his friend, attacked him but inadvertently stabbed himself. Stewart said he picked the knife up, wiped it off and left it at the scene after it fell to the ground.

Prosecutors said police searched the man’s apartment and found a kitchen knife in his bathroom with apparent bloodstains Lab tests subsequently matched those stains to the victim’s blood. An autopsy showed Jackson’s knife wounds were inconsistent with claims that they were selfinflicted, prosecutors told the judge.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

The Evolv scanner control pad shows a picture with a box around the suspect item along with flagging what the possible item is during a demonstration Monday at Woodlawn High School.

Les Miles lawsuit dismissed

Former LSU coach fighting for Hall of Fame eligibility

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

A Louisiana judge dismissed all the claims in a lawsuit filed by former LSU football coach Les Miles against the school, the NCAA and the National Football Foundation over his ineligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame.

District Judge Ronald Johnson issued the ruling Monday inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse Miles’ attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said they would review the decision and consider their options in regard to an appeal.

Miles sued in September, more than a year after LSU voluntarily vacated 37 wins from his tenure as part of an investigation into the men’s basketball and football programs. His record across 18 seasons at Oklahoma State, LSU and Kansas officially dropped to 108-73 (.597) as a result, putting him below

SCANNER

Continued from page 1B

— than in each of the previous three school years. Eight guns were brought to campus by students during school hours this year. The issue came to the fore on Jan. 16 when a Woodlawn High student managed to sneak in a loaded, stolen handgun. Three weeks later, another Woodlawn High student hid a loaded gun along with ammunition inside the cushion of his wheelchair It wasn’t school metal detectors that discovered them; it was tips from students. Superintendent Cole quickly instituted a crackdown. He demanded that schools improve how they use their metal detectors in some cases sending Central Office staff to add to the available manpower Cole also decided he needed to upgrade school security technology Drawing on previous research by district staff, he settled on the Evolv scanners, quickly persuading the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to approve $334,708 to purchase four of them. That works out to about $21,000 per device a year The devices are also now deployed at Belaire, McKinley and Scotlandville high schools. If they are successful, Cole plans to ask the board to buy more of them, though he’s not sure how quickly When asked about the potential price tag, Cole responded edgily: “Too much.” Even though Woodlawn High just started using the

RISHER

Continued from page 1B

house. As the couple reviews plans for John Alario’s writing desk, they look at a photograph of the chair they will use, adding that the room will also include his chair from when he was president of the state Senate.

“I had to buy from the state,” John Alario said, adding that it cost about $1,300.

Designing a new home

The Alarios invited me to join them for one of their regularly scheduled meetings with Kristine Flynn, owner and designer at Flynn Designs, and designer Jennifer Cheatham, followed by a visit to their work-in-progress Gretna home. Before the meeting at the designers’ office, they had arranged for five test wood stains on the Gretna home’s recently sanded floors, awaiting the couple

the .600 mark required for consideration.

The wins were vacated June 22, 2023, after LSU received a notice of allegations from the NCAA. The case involved a Level I violation in which the father of former LSU offensive lineman Vadal Alexander received roughly $180,000 from a booster who embezzled funds from Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Alexander was a four-year starter from 2012-15.

The lawsuit sought a declaratory judgment that would have restored Miles’ eligibility for the Hall of Fame and allowed the vacated wins to be considered in his nomination. Miles’ attorneys argued his right to due process was violated when LSU vacated the wins and that doing so breached his contract from when he was LSU’s coach.

LSU fired Miles, 71, four games into the 2016 season after 12 years with the team. He won the 2007 national championship and played for another in 2011 Miles was hired three years later by Kansas, where he went 3-18 across two seasons.

In March 2021, LSU released an investigative re-

AI scanner on Thursday, Principal John Jenkins is sold. He already wants another one

“It is a great investment,” Jenkins said Monday “It has really improved us.”

Although there are a variety of concealed weapon detectors on the market, Evolv’s security equipment is one of the bestsellers. The suburban Boston company says more than 6,000 people a day walk through one of its AI scanners. They are used in more than 120,000 schools, plus at sports venues, hospitals, concert halls, theme parks and ofﬁce buildings. In Louisiana, Lafourche Parish schools recently acquired Evolv screeners. Zachary schools also use them for sporting events.

Speed is a big selling point for Evolv The company claims a single-lane screener like the ones at the four East Baton Rouge high schools can screen as many as 500 students in 15 minutes. That works out to two people every second.

The company also claims it detects real weapons, but also a wider range of potential weapons than traditional metal detectors.

Part of Monday’s demonstration at Woodlawn High showed what happens when the AI scanner ﬂags something. When a man walked through the scanner with a concealed handgun, an image appeared on a nearby table with a red box showing where the weapon was located on his body Woodlawn High, 15755 Jefferson Highway, is the second-largest school in

to choose the winner

“Oh, this what I wanted to tell you,” Flynn said. “The ﬂoors are not white oak. They’re red oak that’s why it keeps pulling the red.”

The wood-stain choice was only one of the decisions to review

Alongside pages of oversized architectural plans, ﬁve large acrylic trays — each representing a different room and ﬁlled with samples and swatches of tiles, fabrics, decorative trims for curtains, carpets, paint colors, molding and wood stains crowded the meeting table.

The tray dedicated to Jan Alario’s room got a lot of attention as everyone in the room is highly considerate of what John Alario’s 57-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome, wants her room to be.

Jan Alario will have her own space downstairs, as will Trina’s 11-year-old son with Edwards, Eli.

“She doesn’t want sconces,” Trina said. “She says that those are too hard to work She wants desk

port that found Miles had acted inappropriately with female student workers during his tenure He was fired at Kansas three days later and he has not coached since.

Coaches can become eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame three years after retirement or immediately following retirement starting at age 70. According to the Hall of Fame, a candidate’s “post-football record as a citizen is also weighed.”

Miles’ attorney argued Monday the vacated wins did not inherently make him ineligible for the Hall of Fame because, Ginsberg said, 15% of the inductees have received exemptions. One of the schools Miles worked for would have to nominate him, and the National Football Foundation’s attorney said that no one did in the ﬁrst year he was eligible.

In response to the lawsuit, LSU, the NCAA and the National Football Foundation argued Miles submitted his claims two months after the one-year deadline in Louisiana and that Miles did not have facts to back up that he had not received due process.

the parish, with more than 1,300 students. About half are dropped off at school in a car and the other half arrive by bus.

Woodlawn’s AI scanner is screening the students dropped off, while the bus riders are still entering the high school after passing through a walk-through metal detector

Jenkins estimated the AI scanners have shaved 10 to 15 minutes off the morning detection process.

Most of that, he said, is because students no longer need to have their book bags checked individually Instead, they walk right through the scanner with their bags.

“For us, it has increased our productivity and allows more kids to come through faster,” Jenkins said.

Both metal detectors and AI scanners, though, are prone to false positives.

Evolv described these as “blue” items. Woodlawn High students are told as they approach a scanner to hand off four such items: binders, laptops, umbrellas and eyeglass cases. They do so because the scanner registers them as similar in shape to potential weapons.

Jenkins said the main struggle so far has been getting students to remember to remove their laptops from their bags. But overall, he said, students are taking the change in stride and not complaining.

“For us no news is good news,” he said.

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

lamps.”

Desk lamps it is.

“I thought the process was gonna be more difﬁcult for Jan, but really she’s been very decisive,” Trina said.

Jan Alario has charmed the design team, as has her father, who, throughout the process, has been his usual diplomatic self.

The designers agree that the Alarios have similar tastes, with few style differences.

“But every now and then, he’s the tiebreaker,” Flynn said.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com

LOTTERY SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2025

PICK 3: 0-1-3

PICK 4: 9-4-3-2

PICK 5: 5-0-5-0-9

A 22-year-old man was killed and another male was critically injured in a double shooting in Baton Rouge on Sunday night, police said.

Jalen Lee, 22, died at the scene in the 4300 block of Monroe Avenue from multiple gunshot wounds, Baton Rouge police said

Another male victim was transported to a hospital and is in critical condition, police said in a statement Monday

The shooting happened about 4:30 p.m. Sunday Investigators learned the two victims had just arrived at the location, when they were shot.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Police Depart-

One booked on suspicion of

One person was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Monday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Arjun Thapa, 45, Baton Rouge was booked on

count of operating while intoxicated, third offense.

Society throws Crawfête bash

Crawfish culinary competition is annual fundraiser

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

Crawﬁsh season is upon us, and the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society celebrated on Sunday with a crawﬁsh boil and culinary competition at Perkins Rowe.

Restaurateurs and chefs competed for local celebrity judges and for people’s choice awards with creative crawfish-inspired dishes such as crawfish mac and cheese, crawfish dumplings and crawﬁsh tamales.

The Epicurean Society is a 501(c)3 organization composed of culinary professionals like chefs, restaurateurs, food suppliers and wine purveyors who have been raising money to give back to the Baton Rouge community for the past 18 years. An annual crawﬁsh event, Crawfête is back after skipping last year due to high crawﬁsh prices.

According to Sarah Gray, executive director for the Epicurean Society the proceeds of its events go toward supporting children in Baton Rouge through

nutrition and health carerelated nonproﬁts such as the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation and the backpacker program at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

“The weather really held out for us,” she said after the event. “We had a beautiful day to enjoy all the crawﬁsh.”

C&M Crawchicks won ﬁrst place in both the judges’ and people’s choice boiling competition. Located on Highland Road, this is its second season in Baton Rouge. The original C&M Crawﬁsh is in Vidalia.

“We’ve won people’s choice and we’ve won judges before, but we’ve never won both,” Dee Jones, chief operating officer at C&M said while wearing a crawﬁsh suit. “We love people’s choice though. We want to be the favorite of everyone here.”

Jones takes pride in the fact that C&M puts hands on each individual crawﬁsh to clean them before they go into the boil.

“We care a lot,” she said.

On the culinary side, Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Cuisine was named ﬁrst place by judges and voted second place in people’s choice.

“When we open the bags, we save the fat, and that fat goes into the masa,” Urdiales said. “I don’t leave anything out of the plate.”

Crawfête 2025 results:

Boiling competition: First place: C&M Crawchicks

Second place: Sammy’s Grill

Third place: Honey’s Food Trailer Boiling competition people’s choice: First place: C&M Crawchicks

Second place: B&Z Boilers Culinary competition

First place: Crawﬁsh tamales by Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Cuisine Second place: Crawfish boil balls by University Club

Third place: Crispy crawfish takoyaki by Southern Fusion Catering Culinary competition people’s choice: First place: Crawfish etouffée by Ingle Eats Second place: Crawfish tamales by Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Cuisine

Jim Urdiales, owner and executive chef at Mestizo, is also on the board of the Epicurean Society He said the crawfish tamale is a dish that’s available every year on Fridays during Lent.

1 p.m

Henderson, Mary St Luke's Episcopal Church, 8833

Goodwood Boulevard, at 3 p.m.

Maddox, Julia Resthaven Funeral Home at 2pm.

Mathews, Donell

Moses Baptist Church at 11:00am.

Mayers, Glynn

Our Lady of Assumption

logical Sciences, and Asso-

Vice President for Research and Sponsored Projects (1995-1998). In 1998, Chip was appointed the 13th Director of the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) by President Bill Clinton and was retained in this positionbyPresident GeorgeW.Bush. He led the agency until 2005, overseeing critical researchonenergy resources, water policy, and environmentalsustainability. Chipwas awarded the AGI (American Geosciences Institute) Campbell Medal for Superlative Service to the Geosciencesin1998. This Medal is presented each year to anationally recognized, living geoscientist with adistinguished record of significant achievements in science, education, and administration, in support of the profession of geology andits role in society. It is AGI's most distinguished award Following his tenure at USGS, Chip returnedtothe University of Texasat Austin to direct the Energy and Earth Resources Graduate Program and the Center for InternationalEnergy and EnvironmentalPolicy. In 2008, he was namedinterim dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences. In 2011, Chip became the founding president and CEO of the Water Institute of the Gulf, where he championed scientific and engineering research to address coastal and environmental challenges. From 2019 to hisretirement in 2021, he served as acting Director of the Louisiana Geological Survey. Chip's leadershipin the field of geology was widely recognized, and he was an active member of the Geological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science,the American Geophysical Union, and the AmericanAssociation of Petroleum Geologists. He also served on numerous scientific boards and committees and contributed extensively to research publications on earth sciencesand environmental policy. Adevoted family man, he was deeply involved with his children, offering them guidance and unwavering support throughout their lives. He servedasa dedicated Scoutmaster, president of the church council, and as church treasurer. Service to others wasa central part of hislife.He took great pride in supporting his family's education and aspirations, always encouraging them to follow their dreams. Chip's legacy will be remembered through his contributions to science,his mentorship of futuregeologists, his kindness, generosity,and the love he had for his family. The familyextends a special thankstothe caregivers at Our Lady of the Lake Hospitaland St. Joseph's Carpenter House Hospice who made Chip's last days comfortable.A memorial service will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2021 Tara Blvd on March 25 at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be from10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. In lieuof flowers, please consider a donation to the Parkinson Research Foundation (PRF) at https://parkinsonhope.o rg/ Breaux,

a.m

Groat, Charles G. 'Chip'

Charles G. "Chip" Groat, Ph.D., age 84, passed away on March 14, 2025, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, due to complications from Parkinson's disease and heart failure. Born on March 25, 1940, in Westfield, New York, Chip lived alife dedicated to his family, education, and the advancement of geological sciences. A devoted husband, father, and mentor, Chip is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years,Barbara F. "Bobbie" Groat, his son Douglas A. Groat, and his daughter Lisa A. Groat. He is also mourned by his brothers, Robert H. Groat and Richard W. Groat. He was preceded in death by his mother, Beatrice Foote Groat, and his father Howard Henry Groat. Chip was an avidrunner, often loggingseveral miles daily, regardless of the weather. His love for running took him through asnowstorm in Russia and atorrential downpour in Vietnam. He also had apassion for sailing and would race with his crew on aJ/24 sailboat on Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico during the 1980s. An accomplished world traveler, his journeys took him from South America to the Middle East, throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, and to the remote wilderness ofAlaska. His distinguished career in geology began with aB.A. from the University of Rochester in 1962, followed by an M.S from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1967. It was here during his graduate studies that he met and married his wife Bobbie in September 1963. Heearned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1970. Over his career, Chipheld several positions in academia, government, and research institutions. He served as a research geologist, followed by associate and acting director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin (1968-1976) and associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences (1974-1976). He then served as associate professor and chairman of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso (1976-1978). From 1978 to 1990, he was aprofessor at Louisiana State University's Department of Geology and Geophysics. He also played akey roleinstate government, serving as Assistant to the Secretaryat the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (1983 -1988)and as Director and State Geologist for the Louisiana Geological Survey (1978-1990). From 1990 to 1992, Chip served as the Executive Director of the American Geological Institute, followed by his tenure as Executive Director of the Center for Coastal, Energy, and Environmental Resources at Louisiana State University (1992-1995). He later joined the University of Texas at El Paso, where he was the Director of the Center for Environmental Resource Management and Director ofthe Environmental Science and Engineering Ph.D. Program, Professor of Geological Sciences, and Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Projects (1995-1998). In 1998, Chip was appointed the 13th Director of the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) by President Bill Clinton and was retained in this

is survived by her children, Bailey Hickman and Kingston Hickman; her mother, Donna R. Harrison; her sisters, Leta Wicker (Scott), Crystal H. West (Carlos), and Antonia Caine Royal; as well as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Fran was preceded in death by her father, Frank Harrison Jr., grandparents, and paternal aunts. A Memorial Celebrationto honor Fran's life will be held on March 27, 2025, at Union Antioch Baptist Church, 4249 Shaffett Lane, Zachary LA 70791. The viewing will be from9AM11AM with funeral and burial services following

Laenger, Patricia Pope 'Patty'

Patricia "Patty" Laenger passed away at 11:05 p.m. Saturday, March 15th, at Our Lady of the Lake. She was 83 and anativeof Shreveport.Religious services will be conducted by Fr. Bryan Owen and held at St. Lukes Episcopal Church and will begin at 11 a.m. with visitation at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 29th. Internment will happen at alater date. She is survived by her three children, Charles Patrick (Janet), ElizabethPope, and Jeffrey Pope(Sarah), son-in-law Brian Hasenkampf, six grandchildren, Sarah Katherine, Ellie Anne,David Thomas, Emily Anne,Charlie, Violet Evangeline, and great-grandchild Heidi Rose Hasenkampf, her sister Mary Helen White (J.F.), her sister-in-law Dr. Martha Pope, and five nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 29 years, Charles Augusta Laenger Jr. of Shreveport, and her parents, Clarence Cullam Popeand Helen Blume Pope, her brother, The Right Reverend Clarence Cullam Pope, and niece, Juliet Pope. She received aBachelor of Science in Educationat Centenary College, Shreveport,LA, in 1965. She was an active member of TriDelta Sorority at USL.She taught elementary education for over 27 years at St. Lukes Episcopal School. She retired in 2004 after teaching for 37 years. She enjoyed going to the beach and watching movies with her friendsfrom St. Luke's, Dee Dee, Deana, Ginger, Julie, and Donna. Her greatest joy was spending time withher grandchildren. In lieuofflowers, contributions to St. Luke's Fire Fund are appreciated.

Harrison, Franquell LaDonna 'Fran'

On Friday,March 14, 2025, in the morning hour, God, in his infinite wisdom and glory, calledFranquell LaDonna Harrison, known by family and friends as "Fran", from her labor to her reward. Fran graced the world with herpresence on July 17, 1987. She was born in Baton Rouge, LA to the union of Frank and Donna Harrison. Her beautiful soul was baptized at an early age. Fran graduatedfrom Clinton High School, class of 2005. She continued her academic journey at Baton Rouge Community College, class 2009 and Southern University, class of 2012 where she earned an Associate and Bachelor's degree in business. Above all else, she was adevoted motherwho loved her children dearly. Fran's supportive network of family and friends will always cherish her memory.Fran is survivedbyher children, Bailey Hickman and Kingston Hickman; her mother, Donna R. Harrison; her sisters, Leta Wicker (Scott),Crystal H. West (Carlos), and Antonia Caine Royal; as wellas aunts, uncles, nieces,

Rd, Prairieville, La. Pall-

bearers will be Terry Lavigne,TroyLavigne, Todd Lavigne, Randy Brister, ColbyLavigne, Caleb Normand.Honorary pallbearer is Lukas Lavigne.

Lindsey, Deborah Visitation services for Deborah Lindsey will be held Tuesday March 25, 2025 at Charles Mackey Fu‐neral Home 1576 Robin St Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Professional services en‐trusted to Charles Mackey Funeral Home

June M. Persac, 78, anative of New Orleans, LA, and aresident of Prairieville, LA,passed away on Sunday, March 23, 2025. June was preceded in death by her parents, Henry Persac and Emma Guist; her son, Dennis Cutrer; her son-in-law, John Cutway; and her daughter-in-law, Leslie Bethel. She is survived by her children, Marla Cutrer, Marleen (Stephen Moreau) Cutway, and Valerie (James) Hoover; her grandchildren, Mistie Mullen, Aj Hoover, and Keely Cutrer; and her great-grandchildren, Allie, Braelin, Cortlin, Easton, Dream, Fisher, Pax,and Thomas Mullen. June was a talented hairdresser who touched many lives with her warmth and kindness. She was abeautiful person, inside and out,who loved her family and friends deeply. Her legacy of love and care will be cherished forever by those who knew her. Avisitation will be held on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at First Baptist Church in French Settlement from 9:00 AM until service time at 11:00 AM. Burial will follow at First Baptist Church Cemetery in French Settlement

John Adam Lavigne, 85 and aresident of Gonzales, La. Passed away on Sunday, March 23, 2025. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Nellwyn Smith Lavigne; children, Terry Lavigne (Terry), Tracy Lavigne Brister (Randy), Troy Lavigne (Debra), and Todd Lavigne (Erin); 8grandchildren, Cindi Lavigne,Bree Lavigne,Michael Lavigne (Jennifer), Colby Lavigne, Cierra Lavigne, Carson Lavigne,Courtney Millien and Melissa Roy; 6greatgrandchildren, Tenley Lavigne, Lukas Lavigne, Finn Normand,Ellory Normand, Brooklyn Maxwell, and Addison Lavigne; sisters, Virginia "Ginny" Meche, Lois Avery, Leontine Weaver, and Joyce Andrews; brother, Lawrence "Lonnie" Lavigne; sister-in-law, Mae Lavigne, and brother-inlaw, Wilbert Burratt. He was preceded in deathby his parentsEmile Sr., and Gertrude Lavigne; sisters, HildaWeishar, Glorydean Templet,Clara Burratt, Mercedean Waguespack; brothers, Emile Lavigne, Jr., Joe Lavigne, Fernell "Preacher" Lavigne, and Perry Lavigne. Services for John will be held at Ourso Funeral Home 13533 Airline Hwy, Gonzales, La. on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Visitationwill be from 9amuntil the funeral service at 12 pm. Burial will be at Hope Haven Cemetery, 37577 Duplessis Rd, Prairieville,La. Pallbearers will be Terry Lavigne, TroyLavigne, Todd Lavigne, Randy Brister, ColbyLavigne, Caleb Normand.Honorary pallbearer is Lukas Lavigne.

Schilleci, Rosario John RJ

September 15, 1937March 22, 2025

Rosario JohnSchilleci, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on March22, 2025 surrounded by hisloving family. He was born on September 15, 1937, in New Orleans.

He is preceded in death by hisparents, Rosario Giovanni Schilleciand Philomena Scalco Schilleci, his sister Carol Scalise (Alfred), and his high school sweetheart Patricia, whom he was married to for 67 yrs.

He wasthe proud father of three children: Keith Schilleci, Karen Oltman (Jeff), and Kimberly Lee (Phillip). He was also afun loving grandfather to five grandchildren: Garrett Lee (Chelsea), Tanner Lee (Morgan), Marshall Lee (Sabrina), Hailey Oltman, and Hunter Oltman (Rebecca).

Rosario was aproud graduate of Jesuit High School wherehemade many friendships that remained close in hislife for the past 68 years. He also enjoyed his career at Ross Laboratories where he sold pediatric pharmaceuticals for over 30 years. Outside of work, he foundimmense joy in thethrill of horse racing, whether placing a bet at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans or attending Churchill Downs Kentucky Derby annually with friends. The racetrackwas his secondhome—a place filled with excitement, camaraderie, and tradition Rosario's legacy of love, laughter, and awell-placed bet will live on in the hearts of all whowere lucky enough to know him. There are no services scheduled at this time.

Smith, Warren Harvey Bud

On Sunday, March16, 2025, Warren Harvey "Bud" Smith joined his parents in their Heavenly home after avaliantfightwith cancer. He is survived by hissisters Carol and Jeannine; his brother Tim; his nieces, Savannah and Christina; and his nephewsRhys and Bryn Parker.

Bud wasanavid reader, skilled carpenter andgifted photographer. Although he was employed as acarpenter for most of his life, he was an exquisitely talented photographer, known for shooting and developing black and white photographs with striking clarity anddepth of field. He graduated from LSU with adegree in photography and throughout his lifetime produced hundreds of beautiful photographs of French Quarter store fronts, street scenes and landscapes, which he gave to family members and friends as gifts, as if he were leaving little pieces of himself.

In lieu of flowers, please send donationstoyour favorite charity or to Clarity hospice in Baton Rouge. A memorial celebration for friends and family will be held Saturday, March 29 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at 7727 Lanes End, Baton Rouge, LA.

Watts, Martha Gerald Martha Gerald Watts passed at the age of 91 at her home in Livingston, Louisiana on March23, 2025. Marthaworked as a teacher throughoutEast Baton Rouge and Livingston Parish for many years after receiving her Masters Plus 30. She will be deeply missed by her loved ones andall those that had thejoy to know her. There will be avisitation at Colyell Baptist ChurchonThursday, March27from 5pm to 8pm and will resume Friday, March28from 9am to 11am with aservicestarting at 11am. Burial will follow at Watts Cemetery.

Lavign Joh dam

Persac,June M.

The latest U.S. Census figures for 2024 reveal a mixed bag for Louisiana, which has long struggled to stem the tide of its residents leaving for better jobs and better lives elsewhere While the state’s population ticked up a bit, nearly two-thirds of Louisiana parishes saw population declines — bad news that shows the widespread nature of the population loss. Even worse news is that two parishes — Orleans and Caddo — were in the top five in the country for population loss among counties with 100,000 or more people. Caddo’s population dip of 1,567 people, or .71%, was the fourth fastest rate of population loss from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, among large counties. Orleans Parish’s decline of about 2,466 people, or 0.68%, gave it the fifth fastest rate of population loss in that time period. This was at a time when two-thirds of the nation’s largest counties saw population gains.

Among metro areas, the New Orleans region was among those losing population at the fastest clip year over year Looking over the threeyear period from 2000-2023, it topped the list of fastest-shrinking metro areas, with a population loss of 3.9%. Further underscoring New Orleans’ slide is that nine of the top 10 fastestgrowing metro areas were in the South

However there were some bright spots in the census report. And it’s important that we focus on these, because they may well provide a road map to how the state can turn things around. Five parishes — Calcasieu, Livingston, Ascension, Tangipahoa, and Lafayette saw population gains of between 1% and 2%. After years of population declines, East Baton Rouge and Jefferson posted growth of 0.5% and 0.4% respectively

The largest growth was in Lafayette Parish, which added 3,760 people, a 1.5% increase. It also had the largest amount of net migration at 2,536 residents. Its international migration was the fourth-highest in the state.

So what to make of all these numbers? First, we must admit that reversing out-migration is a tougher problem than many thought. We note that Gov Jeff. Landry has made it a point from his inaugural address, to send the message that Louisiana residents who have ﬂed the state in recent years are now “welcome home ” His economic team has made impressive strides in attracting new jobs and new industries to the state by embracing new strategies, but we’d like to see similar coordinated actions to tackle outmigration.

Louisiana must send a message that we are open to all who want to build a prosperous life We must redouble our efforts to improve the quality-of-life measures that we so often score low on. We must have all parts of our society engaged in this ﬁght — from businesses and civic leaders to activists and artists.

With all hands on deck, we have no doubt that Louisiana can turn the tide and ﬁnally be a place that lives up to its promise for newcomers and long-suffering residents as well.

OPINION

Thank you for the recent article about Magnolia Mound. Visits to Magnolia Mound in 2024 and some research helped me to understand that the site falls far short of the director’s stated goal “to tell the stories of all its residents and their impact on our state’s history and culture.”

I believe there are multiple issues with Magnolia Mound’s approach.

The focus of the site is exclusively on the Duplantier family, who owned Magnolia Mound in the early 1800s. There is no mention of the Hall family, the owners before, during and after the Civil War, or the evidence that Nancy Hall and others were held in debt servitude there for decades after emancipation.

The tour focuses on minute details of the design, construction and furnishings of the main house. The implication is that the most important aspects of history are the lives of the prosperous and their material possessions.

The handout for visitors touring the outbuildings is borderline offensive,

Every dentist in Louisiana should be excited and happy to support the proposed legislation by state Sens. Mike Fesi and Patrick McMath to eliminate ﬂuoridation in our water It will be a great boon for dentists in our state. Their practices will increase with the need for more teeth to repair, more extractions and more bridges and dentures for their patients.

You would think that after decades of scientiﬁc proof of the advantages of ﬂuoride to our water to help improve oral health, these senators would turn their attention to some of the real problems facing Louisiana such as a new bridge in Lake Charles or an Interstate

crediting Magnolia Mound with “For over 200 years ...[creating] a feeling of serenity and comfort.” The “Slave Quarters” section argues that “the welfare of slaves probably depended more on economic concerns” than the actions of slavers, adding callously, “They represented an investment and were valuable property.”

Despite the fact that dozens of people enslaved at Magnolia Mound are identiﬁed in public records, the only place any of their names appear is on a facsimile of a succession document displayed in a reproduction of Armand Duplantier’s ofﬁce. The document lists furniture, housewares, tools, livestock and six human beings, who are hardly honored by the display of the document.

I hope that Magnolia Mound’s director will make changes so that the site fully acknowledges the history of enslavement and debt servitude at Magnolia Mound.

ANGUS WOODWARD Baton Rouge

12 roundabout in Baton Rouge and not another bridge to nowhere for Interstate 10. After spending my whole life and career in Louisiana, almost nothing surprises me about politics in our state. I would hope if this proposal goes forward, that Dr Ralph Abraham would testify against it. If it should ever reach Gov Jeff Landry’s desk, I would hope that he would immediately veto this ridiculous bill for the protection of oral health for the children and citizens of Louisiana.

DR. RONALD B MARKS past president, Louisiana Dental Association and Louisiana State Board of Dentistry

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.

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So, isn’t it impressive that the Trump administration, with the help of Elon Musk, has found “billions and billions” of dollars of fraud and corruption within the federal government? I assume the courts will be overwhelmed with all the cases against the people responsible. With billions involved, there must be thousands of miscreants.

Wait! What? Not one person has been charged? How can that be? Why haven’t they provided details or proof of any speciﬁc crime? Not one?

It’s become painfully obvious that all these claims of fraud and corruption are

just generalized assumptions. To add insult to injury, their firings are being blamed on unsatisfactory performance a charge not substantiated by previous performance reviews in most, if not all, cases. No one denies that there is waste and corruption in the federal workforce, but eliminating qualified, dedicated personnel that protect U.S. citizens every day from all kinds of dangers, diseases, financial scams, etc., is not the way to approach it. This will not end well.

PAUL DUFFY

Baton Rouge

I have had a volunteer involvement with AMIKids, both locally and at the national level, for the past 38 years. AMIKids is a national nonprofit juvenile-oriented program seeking to help young people turn their lives into becoming productive citizens in a safe society For many years, AMIKids worked with the Office of Juvenile Justice as an alternative to incarceration, where a juvenile judge would give a young person one more chance before locking them up by sentencing them to AMIKids for six to nine months. During this period, through personalized education, their basic reading and math skills were raised a minimum of two grade levels, and they experienced a dramatic increase in personal self-confidence. At one time we had eight programs around the state; however prior administrations elected to discontinue the programs in favor of building lock-up facilities around the state. With the loss of the primary state relationship, AMIKids Baton Rouge was able to keep the doors open by developing a relationship with the federal government through the Youth Build program grants. The program grant came up for renewal last fall, and AMIKids sought to renew and expand it by also working with several of our top local hospitals in assisting young people to develop skills in the medical support field. Unfortunately, the federal government made the decision to not renew the grant and suspend the relationship with AMIKids Baton Rouge.

It should outrage the taxpaying citizens of Baton Rouge to have a productive program canceled that was effectively working with the young people of our community to better their lives — especially since we are currently learning of the billions of dollars the federal government has squandered on fraud, waste and abuse of other programs around the country and the world over the past few years.

RON PHILLIPS

Baton Rouge

Could the courts be the answer for bad water?

Monterey is a tiny unincorporated community on the banks of Black River Lake, a sinewy oxbow nestled in Concordia Parish about 25 miles southwest of Natchez. It’s in the heart of Louisiana’s prime agricultural zone, surrounded by some of the most fertile soil in the state. So unless you really like to farm or bass ﬁsh, you probably haven’t been to Monterey And if you like drinking water from the tap, it might be best to stay away Its obscurity may not last long, however Earlier this month, a group of Monterey residents ﬁled a lawsuit against their local water system, called the Monterey Rural Water System, and its management company, Harrisonburg-based JCP Management.

The system responded in a series of letters noting that the water plant needed signiﬁcant repairs because some drains on its water softeners had corroded. Necessary parts took weeks arrive, and the repairs were complex. In addition, a company installing ﬁber had repeatedly punctured water mains during the fall, necessitating more boil advisories.

At the time the suit was ﬁled on March 7, the entire system had been under a boil advisory for more than one month, the suit says.

The suit, ﬁled on behalf of a handful of residents but seeking class action status, alleges that the district and the company have been negligent in providing the system’s roughly 1,800 customers with “clean, safe and potable water.”

It’s not hard to see why they’re frustrated. One resident, who is not a named plaintiff and did not want her name used, said she often gets a chlorine smell from the water handwashes all her dishes and refuses to cook with the tap water or give it to her pets. Dozens of pictures on a Facebook page for Monterey Rural Water System customers showed brown water running from taps. Sometimes, it was silty or salty, residents noted.

After scores of comments were posted, the Facebook page’s admins collected a list of 85 complaints and sent them to both the system and to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Providing clean water is one of the basic services of a functioning government. No one should have to go to court to make sure they get it. But more and more, residents in Louisiana towns and cities are not able to rely on the water their local authorities provide.

In Killian, a well problem forced Livingston Parish ofﬁcials to spend thousands of dollars per day to truck in water

In Richland Parish, low water pressure allowed a farmer’s herbicide to backﬁll into the system, and residents were warned not just to avoid drinking the water, but to avoid touching it.

Urban areas are not immune. The saltwater wedge moving up the Mississippi River in 2023 threatened both New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Baton Rouge is facing saltwater increasingly creeping into its aquifer Shreveport’s system could use signiﬁcant upgrades. In a state where water is abundant — under the ground, on top of the ground and, often, falling from the sky — Louisiana has long treated it as an inexhaustible resource. But that’s

changing. In places all over the state, ofﬁcials and residents are grappling with aging infrastructure and declining water quality It’s rapidly becoming a real crisis, one that will not yield to a quick — or cheap — solution.

That may be a hard pill for many residents, who have been accustomed to cheap water for decades and balk at higher fees and taxes. Many politicians are hesitant to implement them because of the perceived political cost.

But what would be the cost of a major failure, such as what happened in Flint, Michigan, or Jackson, Mississippi? Then we won’t be talking about political futures, but people’s health and lives.

This is where the Monterey lawsuit comes in. If the residents there are successful, if they win some sort of legal victory against the water system, then other communities may take notice. Some of them may decide to take their problems to the courts, and Monterey could provide the playbook. The suit could also jolt elected leaders and their voters into doing something meaningful about water problems.

A 2021 law passed by the Legislature assigns grades to water systems, largely based on the condition of their infrastructure, operations and ﬁnancial viability The grades take into account whether the system has had any federal or state water quality violations and customer complaints.

It’s a good ﬁrst step, but more is needed. Just ask Monterey residents. In 2023, the last year for which grades are available, their system got an A. Faimon A. Roberts III can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Trump distracts from a more dangerous threat

Obscured by the absurd theatricality of this Donald Trump presidency is a dangerous erosion of the principle upon which the nation was founded: the rule of law

The genius of the Constitution is its system of checks and balances, with three equal branches of the federal government sharing power Trump is claiming the authority to rule as he pleases, arrogantly daring Congress and the judiciary to stop him.

Last Saturday, in defiance of a federal court order, Trump used the Alien Enemies Act — a 1798 law previously invoked only in wartime — to deport 137 Venezuelan migrants flying them and 124 others to El Salvador for open-ended detention in a grim prison complex accused of brutal human rights violations The White House claims, without offering proof, that the Venezuelans were members of a violent gang called Tren de Aragua, which officials call a “terrorist” group waging “war” against the United States.

The irony is rich, because the whole made-for-television episode — complete with video of migrants being hauled away in shackles, having their heads shaved and being forced to kneel before their Salvadoran jailers — was clearly intended to terrorize the millions of undocumented migrants who remain in the United States.

Early Saturday evening, U.S District Judge James Boasberg issued a ruling barring the deportations and ordering that aircraft ferrying the migrants be turned around if necessary Yet according to The Post’s analysis of ﬂight records, the three planes landed in El Salvador hours after Boasberg’s ruling. “I don’t care what the judges think,” said Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar Trump went so far as to call Boasberg a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge” on social media and proclaim that he “should be IMPEACHED.” That outburst prompted a rare statement from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who said that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to a disagreement concerning a judicial decision” and that the “normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.” No one should have sympathy for violent criminals who have no legal right to remain in the United States.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE

I certainly don’t. But I do cherish the rule of law — and you should, too. We have no way of knowing whether those deported migrants are gangsters, because they were given no due process. They never had their day in court.

Trump has been equally contemptuous of the legislative branch. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive authority to write laws and set spending levels.

This president seeks to usurp those powers as well. Using the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, as his sledgehammer, Trump has smashed an entire agency established and funded by Congress — the U.S. Agency for International Development and threatens to eliminate another, the Education Department. Federal judges have repeatedly ordered the administration to disburse billions of dollars in congressionally authorized spending by USAID, much of it to provide lifesaving food, shelter and medical care in countries racked by war and disease. But by all accounts, only a trickle of that money is getting through The will of Congress, as expressed in its appropriations legislation, is being ignored. The will of the federal judiciary, as expressed in multiple court rulings, is being ignored. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vice President JD Vance declared last month. That is indeed true. But Trump is exercising

power that does not legitimately belong to him — and challenging Congress and the courts to do anything about it.

That’s what is really happening while Trump distracts everyone with relentless bluster and a nonstop barrage of look-over-here pronouncements. He trumpets punishing tariffs against our trading partners, then cancels them, then reimposes them. Or maybe not. He picks ﬁghts with our closest allies and makes a show of renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

Recently apropos of nothing, he declared on social media that the preemptive pardons President Joe Biden issued to members of the Jan. 6 Committee were “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen.”

He also announced the immediate withdrawal of Secret Service protection for Biden’s son Hunter and other members of the former president’s family And he ﬂoated the idea of serving as emcee in chief at the next Kennedy Center Honors ceremony

I get it. Every day is a new episode of Trump’s reality show and another opportunity for boffo ratings. But each day is also another step in the weakening of the rule of law — and the undemocratic, un-American concentration of power in one man’s hands. Eugene Robinson is on X, @Eugene_ Robinson.

Even Will Rogers might be hard pressed to come up with an appropriately harsh jibe about the current state of the Democrats.

“I am not a member of any organized political party,” the 20th-century humorist famously said.

“I am a Democrat.”

Now, the problem isn’t a lack of organization per se, but the hangover of their dogged, dishonest support for a comprehensively failed presidency, joined to an irrational commitment to outlandish positions on cultural issues.

The Democrats shouldn’t be shocked that after insisting that Joe Biden was hale and hearty and ﬁt to serve as commander in chief until January, 2029, the public has a dim view of their party

The Democrats attempted to perpetrate one of the worst frauds on the American public in recent history, and then followed it up with another lie — that Biden’s overmatched emergency replacement, Kamala Harris, was joyful and impressive.

In a new CNN poll, the Democratic Party’s favorable rating is 29% — a record low going back to 1992.

In a new NBC poll, the Democratic Party’s favorable rating is 27% — a record low going back to 1990.

Detect a pattern?

Part of the reason for the dismal rating is that Democrats themselves want their party to be more confrontational with Trump and are dissatisﬁed.

But the party has taken a broader hit in the NBC poll, only 11% of independents have a favorable view of it, and 56% unfavorable.

The agonized state of the party was encapsulated by its psychodrama over the so-called continuing resolution that 10 Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted to pass recently Progressives consider Schumer’s support a rank betrayal, and he’s had to postpone a book tour amid “security concerns.”

The New York senator, who warned conservative Supreme Court justices a few years ago, “You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price,” is now paying one himself. Schumer made the right tactical call. If Senate Democrats had successfully ﬁlibustered the spending bill, they would have been blamed for the resulting shutdown, further tanking the party’s image with the middle of the electorate. In the ﬁerce backlash against Schumer for saving his party another embarrassment, the left-wing congresswoman from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is getting promoted as a potential primary challenger to Schumer, and even a national leader for Democrats.

In the CNN poll, Democrats were asked which political ﬁgure best represents the “core values” of their party, and AOC narrowly led.

She has as good a claim to this title as anyone — and that’s the problem.

AOC is Kamala Harris, if the California Democrat hadn’t ﬂipped-ﬂopped away from all the fringy things she said in 2019.

She’s Bernie Sanders, if the Vermont socialist were about 50 years younger and could plausibly appear on the cover of Vanity Fair wearing the latest fashion.

She’s Mahmoud Khalil, if the Columbia University activist that the Trump administration wants to deport somehow managed to get himself elected to Congress.

AOC rejects the term “woke,” but there is no woke policy that she doesn’t support.

She loved the neologism Latinx (“gender is ﬂuid, language is ﬂuid”), and still supports biological males competing in female sports (“trans girls are girls”).

She’s never met an immigration restriction that she likes.

The reason Joe Biden won in 2020 is he didn’t seem like a progressive, and one reason his party lost in 2024 is that he governed like one.

AOC’s brand is the 2024 Biden rather than the 2020 Biden, except even more so.

She’s charismatic and adept at social media, which easily could bring her greater fame and inﬂuence, but she’s a cartoonish version of the Democratic Party that the GOP hopes to run against.

Will Rogers also once commented, “You’ve got to admit that each party is worse than the other The one that’s out always looks the best.” If their fervor to oppose Trump throws Democrats into the arms of AOC, they will test the accuracy of this proposition.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

Faimon Roberts

Rich Lowry

Eugene Robinson

ABACA/TNS PHOTO By yURI GRIPAS

President Donald Trump speaks March 13 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

No. 1 LSU headed to Penn State Regional

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Every week, it seems LSU gymnast Konnor McClain gets a notiﬁcation on her phone about some new historic thing the program has done. What the Tigers achieved Monday, in some ways, tops them all.

LSU earned the No 1 overall seed for the 36-team NCAA gymnastics championships on Monday, the ﬁrst such distinction for the Tigers LSU, which won the Southeastern Conference championship on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama, will be the top seed in the nine-team Pennsylvania Regional, April 2-6 at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.

“It means everything to us,” McClain said after the team held a low-key gathering in its practice facility to watch the regional assignments. “We started out the season pretty well and each week we accomplished something more.”

LSU’s regional semiﬁnal is set for 6 p.m. April 3 and will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Tigers will compete in their semi along with No. 16 national seed Arkansas, Michigan and the winner of an April 2 play-in meet between Maryland and West Virginia

ä See REGIONAL, page 6C

SWEET VICTORY

N.O. wide receiver looking forward to fresh start

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Brandin Cooks doesn’t believe in burning bridges.

The wide receiver said he’s held that belief throughout life. And it’s a mantra that has suited him well in the NFL as he has gone from one team to the next Cooks has been traded four times in his 11-year NFL career, so it was fitting when he finally hit free agency for the first time earlier this month, he chose to sign back with the New Orleans Saints — the team where it all began. There were no hard feelings involved.

“I think it’s unnecessary,” Cooks said of burning bridges “It’s like drinking poison and hoping something happens to the other person. It’s just energy that’s wasted You wish each other the best and in all aspects of life, and you move on.” Cooks’ mentality is what allowed him to a sign a two-year, $13 million deal to return to the Saints last week — nine years after his initial departure. In 2016, the Saints traded

LSU rides third-quarter avalanche to win over Florida State, advances to Sweet 16

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

If it wanted to reach the Sweet 16, the LSU women’s basketball team had to ﬁrst outrun, outgun and outcompete No. 6 seed Florida State, which operates one of the quickest, most productive offenses in the country

The No. 3 seeded Tigers checked all of those boxes in a lopsided third quarter

LSU outscored the Seminoles 31-6 in that frame, propelling itself to a 101-71 win and a third consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16. On Saturday, the Tigers scored a program-record 103 points in a commanding ﬁrst-round win over No. 14 seed San Diego State.

On Monday they shot a season-high 56% from the ﬁeld and set another NCAA Tournament team record, this time by tallying 29 assists the most they’ve notched in any game since 2008. LSU also forced Florida State, the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, to miss 27 of its 36 second-half ﬁeld-goal attempts.

“You saw a lot of offense,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “You just needed to play a little defense, I felt like, to win it.” This Round-of-32 contest was a relatively new

ä See LSU, page 4C

Bout with FSU became a rout, as Tigers look dangerous again in March

Flau’jae Johnson flashed to the free throw line, swished a jumper and Kim Mulkey decided to call an “Oh, why not?” timeout with 7:05 remaining. Mulkey strolled out onto the court in a subdued, for her in March, cerulean jacket (someone else described the color and I went with it), allowed herself a satisfied grin and clasped forward Sa’Myah Smith around the back of the head in appreciative delight. The scoreboard, which once threatened to go “TILT!” because of the way LSU and Florida State were firing broadsides back and forth in Monday night’s first half, now read 91-57 Tigers. In a showdown of two of the very best offensive teams in the nation, the heavyweight bout had become a rout. Anyone who thought/hoped/fervently wished that LSU would be an easy out because the Tigers lost three of four games coming into the NCAA Tournament probably should reconsider LSU has scored 204 points combined in back-to-back blowouts of San Diego State (103-48) and now Florida State (101-71). Those teams aren’t USC or South Carolina, but the Seminoles especially were a dangerous Big

Scott Rabalais

STAFF

PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Mikaylah Williams, left, and guard Flau’Jae Johnson dance up the court following the win over Florida State in their NCAA Tournament second-round game on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU defeated Florida State 101-71 to advance to the Sweet 16.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Konnor McClain performs a balance beam routine in a meet against Florida on Jan. 17 at the PMAC.

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Saints sign Radunz to a one-year deal

Amadi returns for third season with New Orleans

BY MATTHEW PARAS AND LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

Did the New Orleans Saints just find their starting left guard in free agency?

The Saints signed former Tennessee Titans offensive lineman

Dillon Radunz to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday Radunz, the 53rd overall pick in 2021, started 15 games at right guard last season and spent his ﬁrst four years with the Titans.

Radunz’s signing comes after starter Lucas Patrick departed the Saints to a sign a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Radunz figures to compete for a starting spot in New Orleans, likely at left guard along with Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Kyle Hergel and Will Clapp. The Saints could also look to continue to add in free agency or the draft.

But Radunz brings starting experience. Including his duties last year, the 26-year-old has started 31 of 54 career games. The 6-foot6, 301-pound lineman also brings positional ﬂexibility as he has experience playing at tackle.

The North Dakota State product started at right guard in 2024. He played 166 of his 774 snaps in 2023 at left guard Radunz visited the Saints last week.

Amadi returns Ugo Amadi is returning to the Saints on a one-year deal the team announced Monday afternoon. This will be Amadi’s third season with the Saints, and he is coming off the best season of his career Though he only appeared in 11 games, Amadi recorded career highs in tackles (65), tackles for loss (6), and sacks (2) while matching his career-best in pass breakups (7).

He is a versatile player who has lined up either as a safety or as a slot corner He spent most of last season playing in the slot, effectively taking over as the starter in Week 10.

Amadi will turn 28 years old in May He was originally a fourthround draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks and has also appeared in games for the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans.

Eyes on QBs?

The Saints started off the week getting a look at two of the better quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class.

Each of the 32 NFL teams were in attendance for the University of Miami Pro Day Monday, but the Saints had a big group of important decision makers there, including (but not limited to) head coach Kellen Moore, offensive and defensive coordinators Doug Nussmeier and Brandon Staley and college scouting director Jeff Ireland.

The Hurricanes have several notable prospects in the upcoming draft, but the biggest name of the bunch is quarterback Cam Ward, the potential No. 1 pick.

New Orleans also scheduled a dinner with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, according to a Sports Illustrated report. While anything can happen, Ewers is not expected to be selected in the ﬁrst round of next month’s draft.

Pels’ role players step up in victory over 76ers

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

The schedule said New Orleans Pelicans vs. Philadelphia 76ers. But both teams, decimated by injuries this season, were just a shell of themselves Monday night at the Smoothie King Center

The list of guys not playing was about as long as the list of guys who did. No Zion Williamson No Joel Embiid No Paul George or Tyrese Maxey No CJ McCollum. No Trey Murphy. No Herb Jones. No Dejounte Murray or Eric Gordon

That’s just to name a few

In a game that lacked star power, the Pelicans prevailed with a 112-99 victory Guys who are typically role players played key roles for the Pelicans.

Rookie center Karlo Matkovic tied his career-high with 19 points to go with eight rebounds.

Rookie Antonio Reeves came off the bench and led the Pelicans with 17 points to go with nine rebounds Reeves shot 6 of 10 from the ﬂoor, including 5 of 7 3-pointers Kelly Olynyk finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Gretna native Elfrid Payton, signed last week to a 10-day contract, dished out 14 assists Yves Missi scored 16 points and had

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

reportedly unhappy with his role and seeking to become one of the league’s highest-paid receivers.

But reflecting on the situation Monday, Cooks said he has no regrets how his time with the Saints initially ended. He pointed out the trade benefitted both sides, and that’s true: The Saints ultimately selected former All-Pro tackle Ryan Ramczyk with the firstround selection they acquired from the Patriots. And in general, Cooks said he thinks back to the production the Saints had over his first three seasons — when they were one of the most electric offenses in the league. In the last two of those campaigns, Cooks had back-to-

nine rebounds.

The Pelicans, one year removed from a 49-game win season, improved to 20-53, The 76ers, who won 47 games last year dropped to 23-49.

It’s been a frustrating season for both franchises.

Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse knows exactly what Pelicans’ coach Willie Green has gone through this season. Nurse has gone through it too Embiid, his best player, has suited up for just 19 games this season. He’s had six other players who have battled injuries, including George who has also been shut down for the remainder of the season.

“It’s never fun, never easy and certainly not anybody’s expectations at the start of the year to be where both of our teams are at,” Nurse said “ It gets a little long and overwhelming in a lot of ways.”

The Pelicans started their 40th different lineup. Rookie Keion Brooks scored 10 points in his ﬁrst start. He was joined in the starting ﬁve by Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, Olynyk and Missi. “It’ll be collective again,” Green said before the game. “We’ll need all hands on deck from everybody.

It’s really an opportunity that these guys have to relish to step on the floor and compete. Play hard and play fast, play together and go after it.”

back 1,000-yard seasons.

“You just never know, right?” Cooks said of his return. Things are different now for the 31-year-old. Cam Jordan is the only teammate left from his ﬁrst go-around from the Saints, meaning he’ll have to get acclimated to plenty of new faces. And he’s coming off, statistically, the worst year of his career after catching just 26 catches for 259 yards in nine games with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

But Cooks said he can still bring a lot to the Saints. He raved about the team’s receiving core, noting the “blazing” speed of Rashid Shaheed and route running of Chris Olave. He said he believes there’s a lot of “unselﬁshness,” ﬁlled by guys who “just want to win.”

And Cooks was more than excited to work with wide receivers coach Keith Williams. The two have long

Pelicans forward Keion Brooks dunks the ball over the Philadelphia 76ers defense during the first half of their game on Monday at the Smoothie King Center

For the Pelicans, it was their ﬁrst win after the All-Star break without Zion Williamson, who missed the game with a low back contusion. Jared Butler, who played high school ball at Riverside Academy, scored 19 for Philly The 76ers used their 48th different lineup.

had a relationship, dating back to their Stockton, California, roots.

“He’s been recruiting me since I was 17 years old,” Cooks said. “He was at Fresno (State), and I was like, “Keith, I’m not going to Fresno.’ I really do believe he’s the best receiver coach in the league.” Cooks said he’s been in contact with quarterback Derek Carr, as well. The two, the wideout noted were part of the same draft class in 2014 and they’ve known each other for a long time. He praised Carr as a “great leader” and a “tough cat” who can throw any ball. As for his role with the Saints next season, Cooks said he’d let the coaching staff determine that He’s spent most of his time as an outside receiver, but also has experience in the slot. At 5-foot-10 and 189 pounds, he has a similar build to Olave and Shaheed. But Cooks said he was a fan of

No March Madness brackets remain perfect

Brackets, busted.

The handful of remaining perfect brackets in the NCAA Tournament busted out on Sunday, ending the hopes of millions against exceptionally long odds.

The ﬁnal perfect brackets on Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports were shredded with Saturday’s games. Top-seeded Florida’s 77-75 win over two-time reigning national champion UConn continued the carnage on Sunday Duke’s 89-66 win over Baylor left one remaining perfect bracket on ESPN’s tracker and it didn’t last long. That bracket imploded with Kentucky’s 84-75 win over Illinois, creating 24.3 million imperfect brackets.

The Wildcats’ win also killed off the last bracket of the 34 million on the NCAA’s platform.

Gold Cup opener to be played at SoFi Stadium

MIAMI The opening match of this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 14 will be played SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the governing body announced Monday

The opening match of this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 14 will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the governing body announced Monday While CONCACAF announced the 14 venues for the tournament last September it has not given locations of speciﬁc matches other than the opener and the championship. There are no venues on the U.S. East Coast.

Mexico has won nine Gold Cups, including 2023. The U.S. has won seven, including 2021, and Canada won in 2000. The draw is April 10.

Pitino named Naismith Coach of the Year finalist

Rick Pitino is one step closer to college basketball’s top national coaching honor

The St John’s coach was named one of four finalists for Naismith Coach of the Year, joining Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Duke’s John Scheyer Monday’s announcement followed a year in which Pitino led St. John’s to a 31-5 record, its first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985 and its first Big East Tournament crown since 2000.

St. John’s was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, marking its ﬁrst trip to the Big Dance since 2019. By rolling to an 83-53 victory over No. 15 Omaha in the ﬁrst round, the Red Storm picked up their NCAA Tournament win in 25 years.

Titans sign Slye, replacing Folk after two seasons

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have signed six-year veteran Joey Slye as their new kicker, choosing not to bring back 40-yearold Nick Folk for a third season. The Titans announced the deal Monday

Slye has big shoes to fill with Folk leading the NFL in ﬁeld goal percentage in each of the past two seasons making 96.7% of his kicks in 2023 and 95.5% in 2024. But Folk, who turns 41 in November, missed three games as the Titans went 3-14 last season.

“At some point, you ‘ve just got to accept that this is what’s happening,” Nurse said. “Especially when (players) get ruled out for the season. Then my approach was to keep coaching, keep working, keep preparing, stay super positive. Give these young guys a chance to succeed.”

coach Kellen Moore, noting how he’s been able to adapt to his personnel at each of his stops. Cooks, too, is 462 yards away from reaching the 10,000 milestone in his career Asked about potentially reaching that feat next season, Cooks said he feels like he should have hit the ﬁgure already and that he’s not thinking about it. “That’ll take care of itself,” Cooks said. If it does happen next season, though, Cooks will record the accomplishment with the same team that he gained his very ﬁrst yard. And that likely wouldn’t have been possible if he decided to hold a grudge.

“We both got a lot of respect for one another,” Cooks said. “I think that shows by being back here.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Slye turns 29 on April 10. After playing at Virginia Tech, Slye started in the NFL in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers. In 2021, he kicked for three different teams starting with three games for the Houston Texans, three more with San Francisco and six with Washington.

Cornet to resume tennis career a year after retiring PARIS Less than a year after ending her tennis career, veteran Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet is making a comeback.

Cornet said in a statement relayed by Rouen tournament organizers on Monday that she will be playing at the indoor clay-court event next month.

“You thought you’d got rid of me, but it’s not quite the case yet,” said Cornet, who added that she had resumed training two months ago. Cornet retired last year after a 6-2, 6-1 loss to No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen in the ﬁrst round of the French Open.

The 35-year-old Cornet has been granted a spot in the main draw at Rouen through a

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi celebrates defending a pass against Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker during the first half of a game on Dec. 29 at Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

‘It just wasn’t our best day’

LSU softball playing UL on heels of rough game against Georgia

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

The No. 3 LSU softball team was poised to ﬁnish a weekend in Georgia with a bang and a breakthrough but stumbled badly instead

In the course of an 11-3 loss — and a ﬁve-inning, mercy-rule loss at that — LSU had a 14-game winning streak snapped and blew a chance to start the week alone in ﬁrst place in the Southeastern Conference. Given a loss by topranked Oklahoma Saturday, LSU might have even risen to No. 1 when the polls come out on Tuesday.

Instead, coach Beth Torina settled for winning the series as it goes into Tuesday’s visit to UL for a nonconference game at 6 p.m

“The last game was tough, a lot of things seemed to go wrong,” Torina said. “I really didn’t think we were prepared to play It just wasn’t our best day It’s less about the loss and more about the way we approached the game.

“At the end of the day, winning the series was good. Our team has played incredible all year It was an opportunity maybe to evaluate the way we go about our business and make improvements.”

At 29-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play LSU is still among the nation’s elite. The Tigers are tied for second in the league standings with Texas and Mississippi State behind the reigning national champion Sooners at 8-1.

On Sunday, ace pitcher Sydney Berzon suffered her ﬁrst loss in 14 decisions. Berzon, who pitched a ﬁve-hitter to win Friday’s game 5-3, allowed a career-high nine earned runs in 31/3 innings. She had allowed only eight earned runs in 13 appearances entering the game. The big blow was a grand slam by Mua Williams to cap a seven-run third inning and erase a 2-0 LSU lead.

LSU also committed two errors and managed only six hits. McKenzie Redoutey, Sierra Daniel and Jadyn Laneaux each had run-scoring singles for the Tigers.

The previous game was tight until the Tigers broke it open with their own big inning, highlighted by Jalia Lassiter’s grand slam to win 10-2 in six innings. Lassiter, an Ole Miss transfer, hit her ﬁrst homer as a Tiger over the center field fence to cap a six-run inning. The Tigers also got a solo home run from Daniel who had a career-high three RBIs. LSU hitters worked Georgia pitching for eight walks.

Freshman LSU left-hander

Jayden Heavener won her first SEC decision despite allowing seven walks. She struck out ﬁve and allowed only two hits.

“Our offense did an incredible job always showing up prepared

and sticking to the plan (assistant coach) Bryce (Neal) has set forth for them,” Torina said. “It was tough. The atmosphere was loud, it felt fast. The crowd feels like it’s right on you. The dugouts are close to home plate. Friday felt very uncomfortable. It was nice for our team to be in that environment and come out with a win.

“Practice this week will be a good opportunity to reset and learn some things, take some lessons and try to keep getting better If we try to stay the same in the spot we’re at, we’re not going to have a ton of success this season It’s going to get harder and tougher so we have to stay focused.”

MLB rookies looking to make an impact

BY JAY COHEN AP baseball writer

CHICAGO It sure looks as if another impressive group of prospects could have a major impact on the majors this year Baseball’s next big star could be part of this year’s rookie class Here is a closer look at some of the majors’ most intriguing rookies this year: P Roki Sasaki

The rich got a little richer when the World Series champions signed Sasaki to a minor league contract in January that included a $6.5 million signing bonus. The 23-year-old right-hander with a fastball that tops 100 mph had a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA over four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Paciﬁc League. The star-studded Dodgers could employ a six-man rotation during parts of the season to help with Sasaki’s transition to the majors OF Jasson Domínguez

Juan Soto’s departure in free agency should clear the way for regular playing time for Domínguez with New York. Nicknamed “The Martian,” Domínguez was signed for a $5.1 million bonus as a 16-year-old in 2019. He made his major league debut in 2023, but his development has been hampered by elbow and oblique injuries. He hit .314 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs in 58 games over three minor league stops last year OF Dylan Crews

The sweet-swinging Crews was taken by Washington with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 amateur draft, right after his LSU teammate Paul Skenes went No. 1 overall to Pittsburgh. Crews can do it all, batting .270 with 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 25 steals in 100 games in the minors last year He was brought up by Washington in August and swiped 12 more bags while hitting .218 with three homers in 31 games in his ﬁrst stint in the majors.

P Jackson Jobe

The 22-year-old Jobe steps into Detroit’s rotation after tossing four scoreless innings over two relief appearances in his ﬁrst big

Tigers’ bullpen strategy examined

Other takeaways from Texas series also discussed

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball had a rough trip to Austin this past weekend.

After taking down Texas 8-2 in the series opener on Friday, the Tigers lost 11-7 on Saturday and 6-2 on Sunday, dropping consecutive games for the ﬁrst time this year

Here are ﬁve takeaways from LSU’s ﬁrst series defeat.

Bullpen usage on Saturday LSU’s struggles in relief on Saturday were glaring. The Tigers allowed nine runs, seven hits, walked ﬁve batters and only had one strikeout in 32/3 innings.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there were a few moves LSU coach Jay Johnson could have made with the bullpen that would have given the Tigers a better chance of winning that game. And in turn, the series.

First, Johnson could have turned to freshman right-hander Casan Evans in the sixth or seventh inning after LSU retook the lead on freshman Derek Curiel’s two-run home run in the sixth.

But Johnson didn’t use the Houston native until Sunday when Evans allowed just one earned run in 32/3 innings. He threw 60 pitches in that outing, indicating that he had the stamina to ﬁnish Saturday’s game if called upon. Johnson also could have saved junior right-hander Zac Cowan for Saturday if he hadn’t let him throw 55 pitches in three shutout innings on Friday Johnson has said on numerous occasions that Cowan is the best relief pitcher in college baseball. Then why use him for an extended period with a sixrun lead?

“That’s a good team. It’s a good offense,” Johnson said. “They’ve all been here forever, like we’ve played them three years, and I feel like we’re playing the same team. So (they’re) at home, good and dangerous.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the first inning of a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles on March 1 in Sarasota, Fla. Skenes was named National League Rookie of the year for the 2024 season

league stint in September He also worked 1 2/3 innings of three-run ball in the playoffs. The righthander was selected by the Tigers with the third overall pick in the 2021 draft.

Chicago Cubs infielder

Matt Shaw

Shaw takes over at third base for a Cubs team hoping to return to the playoffs for the ﬁrst time since 2020. The 23-year-old Shaw was selected by the Cubs with the No. 13 pick in the 2023 draft. He hit .284 with 21 homers, 71 RBIs and 31 steals over two minor league stops last year OF Roman Anthony

The Red Sox have a solid outfield with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, but the 20-year-old Anthony — one of baseball’s top prospects is pushing for a spot. He ﬁnished last season with Triple-A Worcester, batting .344 with three homers and 20 RBIs in 35 games, to go

along with a .982 OPS. He could make his big league debut this summer

IF Jordan Lawlar

Lawlar the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was hampered by thumb and hamstring injuries last season. But there is still a lot to like about the 22-year-old shortstop. He played in just 23 minor league games last year, but he hit .318 with two homers and 20 RBIs. He is going to begin the season with Triple-A Reno so he can receive regular playing time.

IF Jacob Wilson

The son of former big league inﬁelder Jack Wilson is a key building block for the A’s in the runup to their planned move to Las Vegas. Jacob Wilson made his major league debut in July and the 22-year-old shortstop hit .250 with three RBIs in 28 games. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 draft also batted .433 (90 for 208) with seven homers and 39 RBIs in 53 games in the minors last year

Walks have been a part of the problem, but he’s also not generating a lot of swings and misses. He only has eight strikeouts over his past two outings.

Coming off of Tommy John surgery, Shores was likely going to need some time before getting back to what he was before the injury But with LSU’s recent bullpen struggles and junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson’s shorter starts, the Tigers are going to need Shores to step up sooner rather than later.

LSU bats go quiet late in series

LSU’s offense had a productive day on Friday, scoring eight runs on 13 hits and eight free passes (walks and hit by pitches combined). It also had seven runs through six innings on Saturday

But from the end of Saturday’s game and throughout Sunday LSU struggled at the plate. It only scored two runs on eight hits over the ﬁnal 12 innings of the series.

In Johnson’s eyes, it was twostrike hitting that hurt the Tigers at the plate, particularly on Sunday They consistently found themselves getting behind in counts and failed to work their way into better ones.

LSU struck out 14 times over the last 12 innings of the series.

“We’ve been elite with two strikes, two-strike hitting to this point,” Johnson said Sunday “They beat us in that regard today.”

Will Jones get more time at 3B?

Don’t count on it.

Johnson said after Sunday’s game that the only reason why Jones moved to third base, sophomore Jake Brown slid to ﬁrst and junior Ethan Frey was put into right ﬁeld was because LSU wanted to keep Frey in the lineup.

Frey had pinch-hit for redshirt junior Tanner Reaves in the top of the sixth. But Frey didn’t get to ﬁnish his at-bat because Brown got thrown out at second base while trying to allow a runner to score from third.

A third maneuver Johnson could have utilized was turning to junior left-hander Conner Ware for a longer stretch on Saturday Ware, despite throwing two shutout innings against Missouri last weekend, only threw to one batter He also didn’t pitch on Sunday or Friday

This season hasn’t been perfect for Ware he has a 6.94 ERA — but Johnson has said he was LSU’s best pitcher during the fall. There’s a reason why opponents are hitting just .143 against him.

“I trust Conner 1000%,” Johnson said on Sunday. “It’s just I thought Casan was our best available pitcher, and it was good to see him extend like that.”

Chase Shores is getting hit His towering stature and fastball velocity suggest otherwise, but redshirt sophomore righthander Chase Shores has been getting hit through six starts this season.

Opponents are hitting .300 off of Shores. He’s allowed eight earned runs and 11 hits in 72/3 innings over his ﬁrst two starts in Southeastern Conference play

“Once we made the decision to do that, that’s why we had to do the defense (that way) to keep those guys coming up, to keep Ethan up for (the next inning),” Johnson said. “Otherwise, we take (Frey) out there and we don’t get the value of him getting an at-bat against (left-hander Dylan) Volantis.

The next step for Eyanson Through three innings, Eyanson looked like the Saturday starter Johnson hoped he was getting when the UC San Diego transfer decided to come to Baton Rouge.

Eyanson had struck out five Longhorns and hadn’t allowed a hit. But once he had to go through the heart of the Texas order a second time, he ran into some trouble.

He allowed four hits and four earned runs over the next 11/3 innings. He only had one strikeout during that stretch.

It wasn’t a disastrous outing, but this weekend was the second consecutive start where Eyanson had trouble getting through an SEC lineup a second time through. It’s something he’ll need to improve on in order for LSU’s rotation to reach its potential.

Email Koki Riley at Koki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU softball coach Beth Torina talks with Tori Edwards at third base in the first inning against UL on March 11 in LSU’s Tiger Park.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU pitcher Chase Shores delivers a pitch against North Alabama in the first inning on March 9 at Alex Box Stadium.

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

Looking like her old self

Smith scores season-high 20 points one season after knee injury

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Sa’Myah Smith began to trot back on defense before the points were added to the scoreboard

The LSU women’s basketball forward received a no-look pass in trafﬁc in the paint from one of her point guards. The 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore corralled it and in mid-stride whipped it to Mikaylah Williams in the right corner

The 39% 3-point shooter canned the shot and Williams was already near halfcourt as it tickled the net with her arms raised in joy as the Pete Maravich Assembly Center roared in the third quarter

“I had seen her in the corner as I was running,” Smith said, “the way I caught (the ball) I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get the layup. She a shooter, shooters shoot.”

Unselfish plays for buckets were a part of the formula in LSU’s 101-71 win over Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday Another major factor in the win was Smith’s outstanding performance.

Smith had a season-high 20 points, 12 rebounds, a seasonhigh six assists and three steals She was 9-of-9 shooting, but she didn’t even realize that until she was told in the locker room

Her execution in all phases of

Continued from page 1C

challenge for LSU. The Tigers hadn’t faced a top-10 offense in the ﬁrst two rounds of the NCAA Tournament since 2022, Mulkey’s ﬁrst season in charge. That year ended in a close second-round loss to No. 6 seed Ohio State, which entered that matchup averaging 78.2 points per game.

Florida State began Monday’s clash averaging 87.4 ppg. And once it tipped off in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the Seminoles’ offense was its efficient self — but only through two quarters. LSU simply kept its transition attack rolling for longer In the third quarter the Tigers converted 10 of their 17 field-goal tries, while forcing the Seminoles into six turnovers at the other end. They also assisted all but three of their field goals and drained all 10 of their free-throw tries Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson combined to score 19 of LSU’s 31 third-quarter points.

Aneesah Morrow ﬁnished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Florida State couldn’t ﬁnd an answer for either her drives to the rim or her quick dishes to Sa’Myah Smith, who scored a season-high 20 points (on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting, grabbed 12 boards and assisted 6 shots Williams totaled 28 points on 10-of-12

the game was as immaculate as her field goal percentage. She dominated the boards and when she didn’t grab the ball, she boxed out effectively against the similarly tall and athletic Florida State forwards.

Smith was often in the perfect spot for quick and easy layups and wasn’t shy about letting her mid-range shooting skills shine. The root of these crisp plays was her composure — an aspect of her play and personality.

Calmness is one of the things Williams, who had a team-high 28 points, takes away from Smith, who happens to be her roommate.

“She’s quiet and calm, but we’ll joke around,” Williams said. “But on the court, she’s a leader She knows how to calm you down in the game, and she’s always evenkeeled. So that’s kind of what I’ve taken from her, is being evenkeeled.”

Smith said her even-keeled nature on the court is a product of the hard practices under coach Kim Mulkey

“It’s easy to keep cool heads in games like this especially when we built up that repetition,” Smith said.

The calmness is why she’s able to make split-second passes while running on the fast break and trusting her shooter to catch and release on target.

“We do things like this in prac-

shooting, and Flau’jae Johnson added 13.

Seminole junior Ta’Niya Latson — the nation’s leading scorer — ﬁnished with 30 points. But she scored 23 of those points in the ﬁrst half.

“We made a slight change on guarding Latson,” Mulkey said “Instead of fighting to get over the screen that they were setting at the top, go under. She makes 3s, we live with it. I don’t know that she made a lot.” Latson shot 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.

A frenetic ﬁrst half ended with LSU clinging to a 50-49 lead. Latson had 23 points, LSU had shelved both Johnson and Williams for the duration of the second quarter while they each battled foul trouble.

Still, a blistering 74% shooting start and a few important contributions from role players helped the Tigers withstand the ﬁve turnovers that Florida State forced them to commit in the second.

LSU gave away only one possession in the third quarter, then rode an avalanche of points into the Sweet 16 The Tigers tallied exactly 31 points in both the ﬁrst and third — now two of their six highest scoring quarters of the season (since Southeastern Conference play began).

“Start writing about the other ﬁve,” Mulkey said, “the other six, because this weekend they were special. Our bench was special. Our entire team was special.”

Sticky defense, Booker are Texas’ recipe for success

By The Associated Press

Oklahoma will play UConn on Saturday in Spokane, Washington.

tice like we’re always looking for each other,” Williams said. “This is what we work on. And so I’m just glad that she found me and I made the shot, and then we got the crowd back into it again.”

LSU was robbed of these sequences involving Smith when she suffered a season-ending knee injury during her true sophomore season last year She played in only seven games and was averaging 12 points and eight rebounds.

When asked if she dreamed of recovering and playing games like this, Smith said she dreamed of “honestly just to be on the court” — once again contributing. Now she looks like her old self at the right time — in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s my best game this year,” Smith said as she couldn’t hold back her smile. “You can only go up from here.”

Her teammates and roommate are thrilled that she is not only helping but is looking more like the version of the player she was before the knee injury

“Before she tore her ACL last year, she was playing out her mind as well,” Williams said. “But I’m just glad to ﬁnally see her get back comfortable in her body and play like we know she can play

“I’m so proud of her for staying down and working hard and not giving up on herself.”

Mulkey-coached teams are 18-4 in second-round NCAA Tournament games. LSU has also now reached the Sweet 16 in three consecutive seasons — a feat it has accomplished three times in program history The Tigers advanced past the Round of 32 in six straight tournaments from 2003-2008.

LSU will face NC State on Friday in the Sweet 16. In November, those two teams met for a neutral-site game in The Bahamas, and the Tigers won 82-65. The Wolfpack has since won all but two of its conference games, reached the ACC title game and breezed through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, beating No. 15 seed Vermont 75-55 in the first round and No. 7 seed Michigan State 83-49 in the second. LSU was similarly dominant in its first two games. Especially because it caught fire in the third quarter of what turned into a another convincing tournament win.

“I explained to them,” Mulkey said, ‘This is why you came here.’ We don’t play to just get to a Sweet 16 at LSU women’s basketball anymore. Not that we take it for granted, but our goal every year is just to make a run and see if you can get to another Final Four and see if you can upset somebody you’re not supposed to upset.

“We weren’t talked about at all when we won it two years ago. So let’s go see what we can do.”

AUSTIN, Texas Madison Booker scored 20 points and No. 1-seed Texas used a smothering defense to earn a 65-48 victory over No. 8 Illinois in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The win sends the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past ﬁve seasons. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 19 points for Texas. Texas outscored Illinois 18-6 in the second quarter then broke the game open at the start of the third when the Longhorns stretched the lead to 24 after steals by Booker and Rori Harmon led to quick baskets.

N.C. STATE 83, MICHIGAN 49: In Raleigh, North Carolina, Aziaha James scored 26 points and second-seeded N.C. State made an NCAA Tournament program-record 15 shots from 3-point range in a victory over seventh-seeded Michigan State.

Roundup

Adalia McKenzie led Illinois with 13 points.

MARYLAND 111, ALABAMA 108 (2OT):

Sarah Te-Biasu made a tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, then scored eight of her 26 points in the second overtime to help fourth-seeded Maryland outlast ﬁfth-seeded Alabama to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Terrapins advance to play top-seeded South Carolina, but to get there they had to overcome a career-high 45 points by Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker — and a 17-point Crimson Tide lead in the third quarter.

After Te-Biasu forced the ﬁrst overtime with her 3-pointer, Barker was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in overtime. She calmly swished all three attempts to tie it at 96 and send the game to a second extra session.

OKLAHOMA 96, IOWA 62: In Norman, Oklahoma, Skylar Vann scored 17 points, Payton Verhulst added 16 and No 3 seed Oklahoma cruised into the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament, dispatching No. 6 seed Iowa.

Raegan Beers had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 18 minutes for the Sooners. Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk beat her alma mater and advanced past the second round for the ﬁrst time in her four years with the Sooners.

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

Dance partner, led as they were by Division I’s leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson. Latson got her buckets — 30 points worth — and deserves her ﬂowers. But even her stratospheric scoring wasn’t good enough, not by a wide margin, to lift the Seminoles to an upset victory like another No. 6 seed, Ohio State, sprang on LSU here in the second round three years ago.

That LSU team’s engine was running on one less cylinder because point guard Alexis Morris played sparingly with a sprained knee. The concern entering the tournament was that the same might prove true, times two, for Flau’jae Johnson (shin splints) and Aneesah Morrow (sprained foot).

Both played their purple and gold off, especially Morrow She had to shoulder most of the load for most of the second quarter because Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, the other two members of LSU’s “Big Three,” were glued to the bench with two fouls each. Morrow, playing the last game in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center of her brief but brilliant two-year stay bravely took charge, scoring 14 points with ﬁve rebounds. She would ﬁnish with 26 points and 11 rebounds.

With Johnson and Williams out, Florida State more than held its own with LSU, trailing the Tigers only 50-49 at the end of a breathless ﬁrst half. The Seminoles’ hopes proved to be fool’s gold, however When Johnson and Williams returned, LSU dropped the ceiling on FSU, outscoring the Seminoles by a whopping 31-6 in a doomsday third quarter

“They’ve been there,” FSU coach Brooke Wycoff said. “They know what it takes. They’re really good players. They came out of

James connected for six 3-pointers and Madison Hayes, who had 17 points, drilled ﬁve 3-pointers. Saniya Rivers added 17 points and 11 assists and Zamareya Jones had 12 points for the Wolfpack (28-6).

N.C. State will meet LSU, which beat Florida State 101-71, in a Sweet 16 matchup Friday in Spokane, Washington. The Wolfpack will be in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in coach Wes Moore’s 12 seasons.

NORTH CAROLINA 58 WEST VIRGINIA 47: In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Alyssa Ustby scored 16 of her 21 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat West Virginia in a the second-round game The fifth-year senior’s big night included 10 third-quarter points for the third-seeded Tar Heels, who reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. North Carolina will face Duke in a regional semifinal in Birmingham, Alabama the first meeting between the rivals in the women’s March Madness bracket. Jordan Harrison scored 10 points to lead the sixth-seeded Mountaineers, who haven’t made the Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994.

UCONN 91, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 57: In Storrs, Connecticut, Paige Bueckers matched her career high with 34 points in her home ﬁnale, and second-seeded UConn reached its 31st straight Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 10 seed South Dakota State.

Azzi Fudd scored 17 points and Sarah Strong finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for the Huskies, who will face Oklahoma in a regional semiﬁnal in Spokane, Washington.

halftime on a mission. We couldn’t get a couple stops, and then the ball wouldn’t go in for us. Good teams are going to prey on that and they’re going to keep going,” These Tigers early on exposed a fatal ﬂaw the Seminoles had around the basket. LSU carved them up time and again when they focused too much on Morrow and forgot about Sa’Myah Smith. She reached a double-double before her All-American counterpart Morrow did and ﬁnished with 20 points and 12 rebounds on 9 of 9 shooting in the best and most meaningful game of her LSU career Another time, Johnson drove the baseline and drew the defense away from Morrow, who scored on an easy bank shot.

In all, the Tigers had a program NCAA Tournament-record 29 assists on 41 made baskets. When teams are sharing the basketball like that in March, displaying that brand of unselﬁshness and chemistry, it’s never a bad sign for that team. It is a bad sign for the opposition.

“We’ve had games through the year when I saw it,” Mulkey said of the way her team shared the ball Monday night. “But we haven’t done it consistently Our wings are elite. They can come off any ball screen after any pass. They’re so conﬁdent in their ability sometimes they just go up and shoot the ball, not realizing, ‘Hey, let’s have a little ball reversal. I’ll get you another shot.’

“When they see that happening they realize, ‘This is fun. Scoring is fun. ‘ But winning and having everybody score the ball and contribute is a lot more fun and it takes you a long way.”

Now LSU heads a long way away to Spokane, Washington, where No. 2-seeded NC State awaits in the Sweet 16. Will LSU make it to the Final Four before it comes home? Hard to say But keep this up, and that time-out grin on Mulkey’s face will threaten to become a permanent ﬁxture.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU forward Sa’Myah Smith holds up her hands after a play against Florida State in the fourth quarter of their NCAA Tournament second-round game on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU defeated Florida State 101-71.

LSU loses Williams, Chest to portal

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

LSU’s Mike Williams, a sophomore, entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports, including 247Sports and On3. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard played 24 games and averaged 4.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and shot 31.3% from the ﬁeld in 11.2 minutes per game.

Williams’ position in the rotation was in ﬂux for most of the year He played a more diminished role than his freshman season when he started 22 games and played 33 He averaged 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and shot 37.1% in 19.5 minutes.

The Baltimore native did not start a game this season.

Coach Matt McMahon incorporated him more in the rotation late in the season once he employed four-guard lineups for the majority of games. Williams played 19.7 minutes and scored 7.6 points on 38% field-goal shooting in the final seven games. The scoring guard’s best game was a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and one turnover in 14 minutes against South Carolina on Feb. 18. He was the team’s second-leading scorer, and his three 3-pointers were a teamhigh. McMahon during the season complimented the guard’s work ethic as his place on the team fluctuated.

“I’m really proud of him,” McMahon said after the South Carolina game. “He’s had a challenging year, disjointed at times. But, you

know, I think he’s been really good for us here of late He’s practiced at a high level. I think he’s invested time in the gym.”

Williams was the No. 166 player and No. 26 shooting guard in the country in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports Composite. Chest

Duke’s opening-week offense was a display of elite efficiency

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

RALEIGH, N.C. Baylor coach Scott

Drew knew beating No. 1 seed Duke would be a tough task considering the Blue Devils’ elite efﬁciency rankings at both ends of the court.

“The analytics showed they didn’t have any weaknesses,” Drew said Sunday after a 89-66 loss to Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

And the Blue Devils have lived up to that heading into the Sweet 16 Sure, the point margins are impressive enough. But the underlying data for teams still alive in the Sweet 16 can indicate which teams ﬁt the proﬁle of those that reach the Final Four or cut down the nets, and the Blue Devils have been absolutely dominant — notably at the offensive end behind junior Tyrese Proctor going on a sudden outside-shooting tear

“First of all it helps when Tyrese is on the heater he was on,” graduate guard Sion James quipped

“But we’ve built this throughout the year This isn’t something that just kind of came on. We’ve been building toward this for the season. And now we’re hoping for the next few weeks that we can keep it sustained.”

Profiles of a winner

Going back to the 2001 tournament, 16 of 23 national champions were ranked inside the top 25 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efﬁciency for KenPom entering March Madness, with six owning top-10 status at both ends. Take a step back, and more than half of the Final Four teams (51 of 92) were inside the top 25 at both ends, with 18 of those being top 10 in both areas. As for the others, slightly more than half of the remaining teams held at least top-10 status at one end of the ﬂoor to offer one commonality

The tiers

That creates three tiers of Sweet 16 teams for this week:

—Five favorites who entered the tournament with top-25 rankings for both ends: the Blue Devils, fellow 1-seeds Florida, Houston and Auburn; and 2-seed Tennessee. Of that group, the Blue Devils are top 5 at both ends, while the Gators and Cougars are in the top 10.

—Six teams that ranked in the top 10 to offer elite play at one end of the court: 2-seeds Alabama and Michigan State; 3-seeds Kentucky and Texas Tech; and 4-seeds Purdue and Maryland. Of that group, the Spartans were the only top-10 defense and also ﬂirted with joining the aforementioned top tier by entering the tournament ranked 27th offensively (118.1 points per 100 possessions). —Five outliers: 4-seed Arizona, 5-seed Michigan, 6-seeds BYU and Mississippi; and 10-seed Arkansas.

From left, Duke

Raleigh, N.C.

Of that group, BYU and Arizona were slightly outside of the top-10 offensively, while Michigan ﬂirted with top-10 status defensively

Duke’s start

The Blue Devils entered the tournament ranked third in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efﬁciency (128.0 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defense (89.8). They have started their push for a sixth national title with home-state romps against Mount St. Mary’s and Baylor as the headliner in the East Region, led by an offense exceeding its own elite season-long performance.

Duke has scored on 79 of 123 possessions (64.2%) through two games and is averaging 1.48 points per possession. By comparison, UConn began its blowoutﬁlled march last year to a second straight NCAA title by averaging 1.29 points per possession and scoring on 59.7% of its possessions in the opening weekend.

Defensively Duke has allowed 0.927 points per possession, a slight downtick from its regularseason numbers.

When it comes to this year’s Sweet 16 teams, Duke’s effective ﬁeld-goal percentage — which factors in the added value of 3-point shots — was 67% through two games, according to Sportradar, with the Crimson Tide (61%) as the next-best team.

The Blue Devils also have a Sweet 16-low eight turnovers through two games while posting a nearly 5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

And Duke’s 67-point victory margin through two games is 24 points better than Houston’s as the next closest team, with the Blue Devils standing as the only member of the Sweet 16 to win both tournament games by at least 20 points.

Tournament tests

The other 1-seeds offer statistical proﬁles close to Duke, but they also have faced something the Blue Devils haven’t: a test.

The Gators entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in adjusted offensive efﬁciency (128.6) and No. 10 in defense (92.4), while the Cougars were the inverse by ranking 10th in offense (123.2) and second in defense (87.8). And No. 1 overall seed Auburn was slightly outside of that group by ranking third and 12th, respectively

Yet all three have encountered a bit more resistance, notably with Florida having to take over down the stretch to end UConn’s twoyear title reign and Houston fending off Gonzaga in Round 2.

There’s value in that, too, beyond the numbers.

“If you’re going to make a deep run in March, you’ve got to catch some breaks, and you’ve got to win some games like this to be able to push through and stay alive,” Florida coach Todd Golden said “Theoretically, beating a team like UConn, that’s used to winning this time of year, in the fashion that we did should be really good for us moving forward.”

was the only other signee in that recruiting class.

Chest also enters portal

Corey Chest, a redshirt freshman, will also enter the transfer portal, according to his social media.

The 6-foot-8 forward played 26 games and averaged 6.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game.

Chest didn’t play the ﬁnal four games of the 2024-25 season because of a foot issue. Before his injury, he was replaced in the starting lineup after making 19 starts. McMahon employed a fourguard lineup and kept redshirt junior Daimion Collins as the lone big.

McMahon repeatedly complimented Chest’s rebounding abilities and motor this season.

“It’s energy, it’s effort,” McMahon said. “Nothing I can coach. He just has a natural feel for how to go chase rebounds and pursue the ball, and he continues to do it at a high level. One of the better instinctual rebounders I’ve been around in my time.”

The athletic forward’s best game was a 12-point and 18-rebound outing against then-No. 4 Alabama on Jan. 25.

Chest was the No. 121 player and No. 27 power forward in the country in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports Composite. Williams and Chest join Tyrell Ward in the transfer portal, which ofﬁcially opened on Monday

Power conferences ﬁll Sweet 16 for ﬁrst time ever

BY JOHN MARSHALL AP sportswriter

Years of bracket chaos have given way to the year of the power conference. Cinderella is staying home this time. The Sweet 16, a popular destination for bracket-busting midmajors, will be made up entirely of teams from power conferences, a first since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Not a Saint Peter’s or Loyola Chicago in the bunch. Not even a Butler or Gonzaga.

The bracket was set up for this following a chalky first round, when the top four seeds went a combined 16-0 for the sixth time ever Two No. 12 seeds got through to the second round and one 11.

They all lost.

Highest seed to reach the Sweet 16: No 10 Arkansas. Everyone else is 6 or higher, with all four No 1 seeds and three of the four 2s ( sorry St. John’s). There will be four conferences represented at regional sties in San Francisco, Newark, Indianapolis and Atlanta. That’s the fewest in NCAA Tournament history and a far cry from the record of 11 (three times).

Speaking of records, the SEC racked up a trio of ‘em. First, 14 teams made it into the bracket. Record. Then, six teams lost in the ﬁrst round. Record.

Now, seven SEC teams are in the Sweet 16. Sweet record.

“We have worked hard as a league to get where we are this year and it’s always tough,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said.

“But I would like to think even as fans that we would all have each other’s back this time of year and then we can go back to what we normally do.”

The other conferences all three — fared fairly well as well.

The Big Ten was the early big bracket winner becoming the

ﬁrst league to go 8-0 in the ﬁrst round and stretched it to 10-0 until BYU knocked off Wisconsin. Four teams were bumped out in the second round, but Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue and Maryland are feeling sweet.

The newfangled Big 12 also represented itself well, matching a league record set in 2002 by landing four teams in the Sweet 16.

Arizona is new to the Big 12 while Houston and BYU joined last year, so there were better odds than just a few years ago. Even so, four teams — with Texas Tech — gives the league a chance at three national champions in the past ﬁve years. The Atlantic Coast Conference, maligned by a rough early March start, has one Sweet 16er, and it’s a good one.

Duke and fabulous freshman Cooper Flagg were one of the favorites to win the national championship to open the season and still look that way after toying with its ﬁrst two NCAA Tournament opponents.

“For us to win by this margin, I think this speaks to the level of killer instinct that our guys have, the competitiveness and the connectivity,” coach Jon Scheyer said after the Blue Devils’ 89-66 win over once-formidable Baylor

One thing is for certain: There won’t be a three-peat.

The ﬁrst repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07, UConn kept the dream alive with an opening win over Oklahoma. The bid to join John Wooden’s UCLA teams as college basketball’s only threepeaters came to an emotional end on Sunday with a 77-75 loss to topseeded Florida.

“We’re a passionate program,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said, twice stopping to compose himself. “The players play with it. I coach with it. You’re always (expletive) drained when it’s over.”

The passion this year has been in the power conferences.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH

guard Tyrese Proctor forward Cooper Flagg, center Khaman Maluach, and guard Sion James react to their team’s lead during the second half in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Mount St. Mary’s on Friday in

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Mike Williams shoots a 3-pointer against Alabama State on Nov. 10 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BRyNN ANDERSON Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford celebrates during the second half in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday in Lexington, Ky

Hold your ﬁre

Forget the delicate dance. Try Texas two-step to get pain-inflicting fire ants under control

GARDEN NEWS

Spring is near in Louisiana. The birds are singing and flowers are beginning to blossom in our landscapes. It’s a great time to be outdoors. Watch your step, though, or you might become a victim of another sign of the changing seasons: fire ants. As temperatures warm, fire ants become more active. By now, you’ve likely seen their mounds popping up in your yard — and perhaps have even gotten stung. Maybe you’re wondering what can be done to control these paininflicting insects and their unsightly mounds.

LSU AgCenter entomologist Aaron Ashbrook recommends a strategy called the Texas twostep. Borrowing its name from the country-western dance, this method developed by scientists at Texas A&M University involves using an insecticidal bait followed by a spray

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO By OLIVIA McCLURE

As temperatures warm, fire ants become more active. Their mounds are a common sight in Louisiana lawns and landscapes right now.

“You ﬁrst apply a broadcast bait to the yard. This is of course picked up by the ants at warmer temperatures, and they will feed upon it, share it with others and that will cause mortality to the queen,” Ashbrook said. “Afterwards, you’re going to apply spray insecticides to the mounds as they rise or new ones are formed.” Ashbrook suggests using a seed spreader to apply the bait to your lawn when temperatures are between 75 and 95 F, as this is when ants are foraging. Avoid applying insecticides if it’s going to rain soon or if the soil is already saturated. Some, but not all, baits can be wetted when applied to the mounds to increase efﬁcacy; be sure to follow label directions when applying the product Following up with spot treatments of a spray insecticide will provide better control than using bait alone. Product labels will offer guidance on how often to reapply In general, spray mounds as needed to help keep them at bay, and plan on repeating the entire two-step strategy in the fall.

“It’s important to remember that we don’t totally eliminate ﬁre ants from the area, and so we have to use those sprays to stay on top of those nuisance mounds that reappear after the bait application,” Ashbrook said. For those seeking effective organic control options, Ashbrook recommends boric acid dust and d-limonene spray, which is made from citrus peels. He noted that these organic methods can be used safely around bodies of water Fire ants, with their complex underground nests and ä See ANTS, page 2D

‘LITTLE WOMEN’

A Red Magnolia Theatre Co. production l March 28-30 and April 4-6 at The Studio at Theatre Baton Rouge, 7155 Florida Blvd. l Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m.All other performances begin at 7:30 p.m. l Tickets are $35, general admission; $30, seniors; and $25, students. l For tickets and information, visit redmagnoliatc.org

left,

BR theater company to produce unconventional adaptation of ‘Little Women’

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Red Magnolia Theatre Company’s production of “Little Women” is anything but conventional.

The all-woman company will open playwright Helen Christler’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868 story on March 28 in the Studio Theatre at Theatre Baton Rouge, 7155 Florida Blvd.

The core of the story hasn’t changed, but its presentation has, beginning with its minimalist set.

“Also, the actors in this show have been double cast,” director Makaylee Secrest said. “They’ll be playing the male characters as well as the March sisters.”

But there’s one exception. Arden Hale, who plays main char-

acter Jo March, will be playing only Jo, as anyone familiar with the story knows that Jo drives it. The heart of the story Jo also personiﬁes all of the themes Alcott wove into her characters, from traditional women’s roles of marriage and motherhood to feminist ideas of individuality, women’s rights and careers

ABOVE: Arden Hale, left, is Jo and Madalyn Mullins is Beth in Red Magnolia Theatre Co.’s production of ‘Little Women.

PHOTOS By TERESA ALVAREZ PHOTOGRAPHy

Still today there is a pressure for women to feel like they need to pick between fulfilling family and professional and personal life. So to have a character like Jo who is coming into her womanhood and struggling with those pressures, it is still very relevant.”

MAKAyLEE SECREST, director

BR bookstore announces opening date for shop

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

TBR stands for the acronym “to be read,” which is commonly used among book reviewers and influencers. Freeman says her Baton Rouge bookshop is “where stories and sips intertwine” with “curated reads & artisanal teas” as her slogan goes. Freeman plans to offer all genres, including a

Madayln Mullins is Beth, from

Courtney Murphy is Meg, Arden Hale is Jo and Alyx Johnson is Amy in Red Magnolia Theatre Co.’s production of ‘Little Women.’

PROVIDED

See ‘LITTLE WOMEN’, page 2D

Is there a deadline for returning phone calls?

Dear Miss Manners: How long should someone wait for a call to be returned?

My friend and I talk frequently on the phone.

Lately when I call, I get a text that says, “I’ll call you back.” I thought the returned call would come in a short time, but it is taking longer and longer It was taking as long as a week, but now it doesn’t come at all and I must call again.

Gentle reader: Years ago, when Miss Manners pointed out that the telephone was an inherently rude instrument — demanding that others drop whatever they were doing and attend to it immediately — nobody listened to her And when they all got cellphones, the problem of giving calls preference over those actually present got worse. But telephone usage is evolving, creating the hope — or illusion — that we will arrive at some reasonable understanding. One encouraging sign is that many people consider it wrong to telephone without ﬁrst texting to set a convenient time to talk. There are also those who prefer to avoid using the telephone for speaking, now that there is a less intrusive way of sending instant messages. So let’s not jump to condemning your friends by setting rules and deadlines for returning calls. Yours are evidently not quick requests for information, much less emergencies, but rather friendly chats. It may be that they are too frequent or too long for your friend, or just inconveniently timed. A more practical rule, then, is to ask people what methods of communication they prefer, and to work out a compromise that respects your own preferences. Perhaps you and your friend could set a regular time to talk,

or shift to meeting in person, if that is feasible. Or you could start an old-fashioned written correspondence instead — although presumably electronically Dear Miss Manners: Fifty years ago, when my father was stationed in Vietnam, he sent the military exchange catalog to my mother back home. From it, she ordered a complete bone china set for 12 people, with every possible dinnerware piece.

There are dinner plates, salad plates, bread and butter plates, soup bowls, fruit saucers, cups and saucers, and serving pieces. It is a beautiful set in a simple ivory pattern rimmed in gold.

My mother passed away almost 30 years ago, and since then, I have used the china for many years when hosting holiday dinners. Now I have downsized and am living in an apartment, and the china is in several boxes in a storage unit.

What should I do with it?

Gentle reader: Use it. Do so even if you can only keep on hand the plates that are relevant to your menus, and even if only to feed yourself and your prospective heirs.

Miss Manners cannot promise that they will develop the same aesthetic and sentimental attachment to the set that you seem to have. The use of ﬁne china is rare now, especially when it should not be subjected to a dishwasher — as yours, with its gold trim, should not.

Yet your loved ones may acquire a fondness for the set through its association with you, somewhat like yours with your mother And in any case, you will have had the pleasure of using it.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www missmanners.com

Grieving child wants more attention from friends

about it, I realize that most people don’t listen. I have called my closest friends just to be able to share with them, and inevitably they will jump in with advice or a story of their own without taking the time to hear what I am saying. I know that people do this, and usually I just go along and let them interrupt me, sometimes getting back to whatever I was saying and sometimes not, but I am not inclined to allow this butting in right now I have pushed back a bit, asking them to let me ﬁnish my point before they jump in. A couple of friends have been taken aback because I don’t normally do that Am I wrong to stand up for myself and ask my friends to listen for a change? — Shut Up and Listen

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

about the situation, some automatically try to figure out solutions to whatever problems they are hearing and rush to offer support. In reality, the support you need is a compassionate listening ear, not words — at least not immediately It is perfectly OK for you to speak up and say what you need. When they jump in to offer advice before you have completed a sentence, stop them and say, “Wait a minute. Let me finish my thought, please.” If they jump in with advice on how to handle a situation and that’s not what you need tell them what you need most is for them to listen. You don’t have the capacity to hear their advice right now. You will also likely find that some friends are not the best people to contact right now Those who cannot or will not be willing to just be present for you are not the ones to engage at this tender moment.

Try this deodorizing hint

Dear Heloise: The best way to get the stink out of anything is to put 1 teaspoon of shampoo in a gallon of water and use it to wash out whatever is inappropriately smelly It works for skunk-sprayed dogs, too. — C., via email

Length of shirts

Dear Heloise: I wish you could use your influence to get women’s clothing companies to list the length of their shirts on their website or in their catalog. I’m tall, and it’s difficult to see how their shirts would fit on me. It would not have to be for each size, maybe just for the medium size. At least it would be a starting point. Thank you! — L., in New Orleans

Storing schoolwork

Dear Readers: Use this hint for stor-

ing paper and artwork that your children bring home from school: You can buy a jumbo-sized plastic storage bin for each child and label each bin with their names. As the papers come home, they can all get displayed on the refrigerator for a week, but then they’ll be stored away in their own bins, which should be kept in a place inside your home that has easy access. — Heloise Lost keys

Dear Readers: We all have mislaid or lost keys

‘LITTLE WOMEN’

Continued from page 1D

And through storytelling Red Magnolia’s adaptation explores a more intimate side of the beloved sisters through a sense of imaginary play in their attic as they create, dream and ultimately grow as women.

“The heart of the story very much stays intact, and it’s still the same kind of coming-of-age story we’ve come to know through the book,” Secrest said. “But I think this version is uniquely dynamic and leans into theatricality and storytelling I would say it’s very ﬂuid in its scene transitions, and its jumping around in the passage of time. And we use a lot of imagination in staging it.”

The March sisters

Still, there are some differences from Alcott’s book, which opens in the Marches’ Massachusetts home, where Jo and her sisters, Meg, Beth and Amy, live with their mother Their father serves as a chaplain in the Union Army

Hale said. “I think Jo is the surest in who she wants to be, while at the same time searching the most for it in such a frantic way And nothing is ever enough, yet everything is perfect the way it is. She doesn’t want to change anything, yet she wants to change everything.”

Joining Hale on stage are Courtney Murphy as the oldest sister, Meg; Madalyn Mullins as the second youngest sister, Beth; and Alyx Johnson as Amy, the youngest. Johnson also plays John Brooke, a poor, virtuous tutor who eventually marries Meg. The two characters are completely opposite in personality, yet Johnson has struck a balance between them.

“Amy is very bratty — very bratty yet she takes on kind of a snotty tone because she wants to be a lady,” Johnson said “She loves her sisters, but like Jo, she clashes with them a lot. And John? He’s always nervous, thinking about what he might have said and what he does. He’s very self-conscious, so when I’m playing John, I act like my hands are sweaty all the time.”

would frown upon it, but Jo manages to ﬁnd a way to have it all.

A sense of relevance

Jo’s decision adds a sense of modern-day relevance to the story

“I would say that ‘Little Women’ has stuck around for so long because it is truly timeless,” Secrest said. “It’s also relevant in its exploration of growth and self-discovery, particularly in the ways that loss inform that process. Whether it be the loss of people in our lives or our youth, or if our dreams don’t work out exactly how we had imagined, I think that there’s something for everyone in this story.”

Secrest added that, when “Little Women” debuted, it was “quietly revolutionarily feminist work.”

“Still today there is a pressure for women to feel like they need to pick between fulﬁlling family and professional and personal life,” Secrest said “So to have a character like Jo who is coming into her womanhood and struggling with those pressures, it is still very relevant.”

Red Magnolia board member

Dear Shut Up and Listen: Many people are bad listeners Plus, out of love for you and discomfort

ANTS

Continued from page 1D

versatile omnivorous diet,

Send questions to askharriette@harriettecole. com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

are

more information, check out two free publications from the AgCenter: “Louisiana Home Lawn Series: Red Imported Fire Ant” at https://bit.ly/laﬁreants and “Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas” at https:// bit.ly/urbanﬁreants.

Though the sisters’ parents are prevalent in the book and its subsequent movies, they’re only mentioned in this adaptation.

“They’re a very close-knit family, and even without the parents being in this adaptation, you certainly feel the presence of these two people that would’ve raised such strongly formed children,”

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, March 25, the 84th day of 2025. There are 281 days left in the year Today in history:

On March 25, 1911, 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, were killed when a ﬁre broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. garment factory in New York; the tragedy led to legal reforms for workers’ rights and workplace safety

Also on this date: In 1894, Jacob S. Coxey began a march from Massillon, Ohio, leading an “army” of as many as 500 unemployed workers to Washington to demand help from the federal government.

In 1931, in the so-called Scottsboro Boys case, nine young Black men were taken off a train in Alabama and accused of raping

Amy eventually becomes a lady and marries Laurie, the boy next door, who is really in love with Jo. But Jo rejects him for a career in New York.

Laurie is played by Mullins, and the ﬁnal male character German professor Friedrich Bhaer, is played by Murphy Bhaer eventually marries Jo.

But can Jo fulﬁll her dream of a career within marriage? The collective 19th-century mindset

two White women; after years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, they were eventually vindicated. In 1947, a coal dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, killed 111 miners; 31 survived.

In 1965, the Rev Martin Luther King Jr led 25,000 people to the Alabama state Capitol in Montgomery, completing a ﬁve-day march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to Black Americans. In 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew Prince Faisal bin Musaid. (Faisal bin Musaid was executed for the killing three months later.)

In 1990, 87 people were killed when ﬁre raced through the Happy Land social club in New York City (The ﬁre was set by Julio

Jennifer Ellis says the production continues to advance Red Magnolia’s mission of “elevating female voices through theater and creative collaboration.”

The production allows women in the community to have opportunities in set, costume, technical and props design as well as directing, stage management and marketing. Email Robin Miller at romiller@ theadvocate.com.

Gonzalez, who had been thrown out of the club following an argument with his girlfriend; Gonzalez died in prison in 2016.) In 1996, an 81-day standoff by the Montana Freemen, an antigovernment militia, began at a ranch near Jordan, Montana. Today’s birthdays: Film critic Gene Shalit is 99. Former astronaut James Lovell is 97. Activist and author Gloria Steinem is 91. Musician Elton John is 78. Actor Bonnie Bedelia

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

PROVIDED PHOTO By TERESA ALVAREZ PHOTOGRAPHy

Madalyn Mullins is Beth, from left, Arden Hale is Jo, Courtney Murphy is Meg and Alyx Johnson is Amy in Red Magnolia Theatre Co.’s production of ‘Little Women.’

Hints from Heloise

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Take a direct route and maximize your time. Be the one to push for change and to convince others to join your team. Lead the way, and you will make a difference.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Look at your to-do list and map out how you plan to clear out the backlog. Do your best to stay on track and to keep busy. Say no to anyone who tries to redirect or take advantage of you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Size up situations, and you'll quickly see who is on your side and who isn't. Take control and be the one to bring about positive change.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Be discreet regarding your agenda. Not everyone will agree with what you want to do, and some will mislead or take advantage of you if you are too accommodating with information.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Learn, observe, gain experience and talk to experts. How you use your time and energy will determine how far you get. Connect with those capable of caring for obligations you can't do yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Embrace change and learn from experience. Your growth will change how you feel and who you choose to connect with.

Strive for security.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Trust and believe in your ability to do what's best

for you, and don't let anyone speak on your behalf. It's time to expand your interests and verbalize your plans.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Set your sights on something unique, and let your creative imagination lead the way. Refuse to let your emotions dictate your reaction to domestic situations that you have no control over.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Look for exciting opportunities, but don't be foolish or trust everything you hear. Verify information and adjust whatever you discover to suit your needs.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listening to too many people's versions of a certain matter will convolute communication. Consider your options and how to make the most of your situation.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep the momentum and the money flowing. Consider joint ventures or shared expenses to ease stress and simplify your life. Strive to make things more comfortable and convenient.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Your focus and energy need to be on your goals Refuse to let anyone intervene or throw you off track. Uncertainty is the enemy. Leave nothing to chance.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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: H EQUALS T

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

dooneSbUrY

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

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Author Isaac Asimov said, “If my doctortoldmeIhadonlysixminutestolive,I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.”

Whenever you are on defense and the dummy has come down, ask yourself from where you might get the winners that you need to defeat the contract.

In this deal, East-West need six tricks to beat two spades. When West leads the heart king and East signals enthusiastically with the 10, West can see five winners: one spade, three hearts and one club. But from where is the sixth winner coming? South’s two-spade overcall was part of the Cappelletti convention, showing spades and either minor.

West should realize that it is unlikely his side will get two diamond tricks. South must have something for his vulnerable overcall. And if that is the case, West probably needs to take two trump tricks, which will be possible if East began with exactly four hearts. (East won’t have five, because he would have transferred out of one no-trump.)

After the king and queen of hearts, West can play a heart to East’s ace. Then leading the last heart promotes a second trumptrickforWest.(IfSouthruffslow, Westoverruffs;ifSouthruffshigh,West discards.)

But will East know to play the last heart? Probably not; he is highly likely to shift to a diamond. To save East from himself, West should cash the diamond ace before playing the third heart. This acedeniestheking;withtheaceandking of diamonds, West would cash the king first, not the ace. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD = GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers: wuzzles

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD — cAPYBARAs: Tailless semiaquatic South and Central American rodents, often exceeding four feet in length.

Average mark 14 words

Time limit 30 minutes

Can you find 22 or more words in CAPYBARAS?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD — LEsIon

today’s thought

For

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

IBERVILLE PARISH COUNCILMINUTES PUBLIC HEARING, TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 18, 2025 PROPOSED ORDINANCES

The Parish Council of IbervilleParish, State of Louisiana, held aPublic Hearing in the Council Meeting Room, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, on the 18th day of February,2025 at 6:00 P.M. pursuant to a Notice of Public Hearing published on the 20th day of January,2025 inThe Advocate and posted on the IbervilleParish website.

The Council Chairman, Steve C. Smith, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. followed by the roll call with the following CouncilMembers in attendance: Shalanda L. Allen, District 1; Chasity B. Easley; District 2; Thomas E. Dominique, Sr District 3; Freddie Frazier,Sr.,District 4; Steve C. Smith District 5; Raheem T. Pierce, District 6; Nadia Jenkins, District 7; Chasity Martinez, District 10; Charles Dardenne, District 11; Matthew H. Jewell, District 12.

Absent: Markins, Bradford, Morgan.

Chief Administrative Officer-Dwayne Boudreaux, Chief Operating OfficerRandall Dunn, and Legal Counsel-Scott Stassi werealso in attendance. Chief Administrative Officer-Dwayne Boudreaux, read the following ordinance in entirety

ORDINANCE 1 ORDINANCE TO AMEND IPC ORDINANCE #013-24 RESTRICT THE DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS IN UNINCORPORATEDAREAS OF IBERVILLE PARISH

ORDINANCE 2 ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE 2025 GENERAL FUND BUDGET AND AUTHORIZETHE PURCHASEOFTHE WHITE CASTLE BOATLANDING PROPERTY FROM THE ELLA LEBLANC CO. LLC

The floor was opened to comments and questions. There was no opposition to this ordinance from the public.

Therebeing no further business to be conducted,the hearing was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.

/s/ MACYW.OURSO /s/ STEVEC.SMITH COUNCIL CLERK COUNCIL CHAIRMAN IBERVILLE PARISH COUNCILMINUTES REGULAR MEETING, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025

The Parish Council of IbervilleParish, State of Louisiana, met in Regular Session, in the Council Meeting Room, 2nd Floor,Courthouse Building, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, on the 18th day of February 2025.

The Council Chairman, Steve C. Smith, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. followed by the roll call with the following CouncilMembers in attendance: Shalanda L. Allen, District 1; Chasity B. Easley; District 2; Thomas E. Dominique, Sr District 3; Freddie Frazier,Sr.,District 4; Steve C. Smith District 5; Raheem T. Pierce, District 6; Nadia Jenkins, District 7; Hunter S. Markins, District 8; Terry J. Bradford, District 9; Chasity Martinez, District 10; Charles Dardenne, District 11; Matthew H. Jewell, District 12.

Absent: Morgan.

Parish President- Chris Daigle, Chief Administrative Officer-Dwayne Boudreaux, and Legal Counsel-Scott Stassi was also in attendance. Aquorum was present and due notice had been posted and published in The Advocate newspaper on the 13th day of February,2025. The Pledge of Allegiance followed.

Council Chairman Smith called for anyone wanting to make public comments to register with the Clerk.

ADDENDUM

A) None.

PRESENTATIONS AND APPEARANCES

A) None.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Upon amotion by Councilwoman Jenkins, and seconded by Councilman Dardenne, it was moved to wave the reading of the minutes of January 20, 2025 and approve as written.The motion having been dulysubmitted to avote was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:Morgan.

The motion was declared adopted by the Chairman.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Daigle reported on the following:

•President Daigle started with recognizing Josh Hall for 10 years of service to Iberville Parish.

•Hegave the Council acopyofthe 2024 annual report that will be mailed to every resident in Iberville Parish, it shows the public some of the important events that took place in 2024 as well as the ordinances that werepassed in 2024.

•The Bayou Pigeon Boat Landing isexpected to be finished by the end of 2025. The HWY1 North project is out for bid, and the Parish hasturned in apermit to Union Pacific to clean up the area on LA 1along the railroad tracks.

•Hestated that on March 18 is the annual Chamber Luncheon, March 26 is the Geaux Jobs event at the Civic Center,onMarch 28 the Gray Monkey Parade will be hosted at the Belleview Park, on April 5isthe Swamp Life Expo, and April12isthe ‘Keep Iberville Beautiful’ Day Clean-up Day

FINANCIAL REPORT

Finance Director,Randall Dunn stated that the councilreceived their budget to actual financialstatements. He had nothing else to report.

OLD BUSINESS

ORDINANCE IPC# 002-25

ORDINANCE TO AMEND IPC ORDINANCE #013-24 RESTRICT THE DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS INUNINCORPORATED AREAS OF IBERVILLEPARISH

WHEREAS,thereisaneed to restrict the discharge of firearms in certain inhabited areas of the Parish in order to protect the health, safety and general welfareofall residents and individuals located withinthe Parish of Iberville; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINEDBYTHE IBERVILLEPARISH COUNCIL that for purposesofthisOrdinance the term“firearm” shall mean and include any pistol, revolver,rifle, shotgun or any other weapon or device from which ashot is discharged byanexplosive or compressed air

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that it shall be unlawful for any person to fire,shoot or discharge any firearm withinthe territoriallimits of subdivisions, mobile home parks, residences, business’ or other public facilities or within one-hundred (200) feet thereof.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that thisprohibition shallnot apply as follows: (1) To sheriffs and their deputies, state and city police, agents of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries of the State of Louisiana. constables and town marshals, or other

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that all ordinances or resolutions or parts thereof in conflict herewith arehereby repealed.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED should any part of this ordinance be declared null, void, invalid, illegal or unconstitutional, the remainder of the said ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.

This ordinance shall become effective on this the 18th day of February, 2025. The foregoing ordinance which was previously introduced at the meeting of the Iberville Parish Council on January 20, 2025 and acopy thereof having been published in the official journal on January 28, 2025 the public hearing on this ordinance held on the 18th day of February 2025, at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Meeting Room, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, was brought up for final passage with amotion by Councilman Bradford, and seconded by Councilman Markins, having been duly submitted to avote, the ordinance was duly adopted by the following yea and nay vote on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell. NAYS: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT:Morgan.

The ordinance was declared adopted by the Chairman on the 18th day of February,2025.

ORDINANCE IPC# 003-25

ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE 2025 GENERAL FUND BUDGET AND

AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF THE WHITE CASTLE BOATLANDING PROPERTY FROM THE ELLA LEBLANC CO. LLC

WHEREAS,the Iberville Parish Council has identified the need to purchase the White Castle Landing Property located at New Camp Rd. and Hwy 993 for public use and enhancement of community resources; and WHEREAS,the Ella Leblanc Co LLC is willing to sell said property to Iberville Parish; and WHEREAS,the Iberville Parish Council deems it necessary to allocate funds for this purchase; NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Iberville Parish Council that the 2025 General Fund Budget is hereby amended as follows:

Section 1:Amendment to General Fund Account 001, General Government Function 5851, Marina Boat Landings Cost Center Account 7100, Acquisition of Land General Ledger Code 561000 An additional amount of Eighty-Seven Thousand Dollars ($87,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to authorize the purchase of the White Castle Landing Property at the intersection of New Camp Road and LA-993 legally described as Aportion of a159-13-are Tract in NE Quarter of Section 21, R12E, White Castle, Iberville Parish, Louisiana from the Ella Leblanc Co LLC. Section 2:The Parish President is authorized to execute all documents necessary to effectuate this purchase.

The foregoing ordinance which was previously introduced at the meeting of the Iberville Parish Council on January 20, 2025 and acopy thereof having been published in the official journal on January 28, 2025 the public hearing on this ordinance held on the 18th day of February 2025, at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Meeting Room, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, was brought up for final passage with amotion by Councilman Markins, and seconded by Councilwoman Martinez, having been duly submitted to avote, the ordinance was duly adopted by the following yea and nay vote on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:Morgan.

The ordinance was declared adopted by the Chairman on the 18th day of February, 2025.

NEW BUSINESS

A) Introduction of Ordinances

1. Ordinance to Amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to accept grant funding from the US Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

Upon amotion by Councilman Bradford, seconded by Councilman Markins it was moved that apublic hearing be held on Tuesday,March 18, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. on the introduced ordinance.

The motion having been duly submitted to avote, was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:Morgan.

The motion was declared adopted by the Chairman on February 18, 2025.

RESOLUTIONCOMMITTEE REPORT

The Resolution Committee met on Tuesday,February 18, 2025 at 6:15 p.m., followed by the roll call with the following Resolution Committee Members only in attendance: Jewell, Dardenne, Pierce, Jenkins, Martinez, Frazier,Dominique.

Absent: Markins, Morgan.

The following resolution was read aloud by Mr.Dunn:

A) Resolution authorizing aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) between Iberville Parish and Entergy Louisiana, LLC agreeing to cooperate in applying to FEMA for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Funds and detailing Parish obligations should grant be awarded by FEMA

B) Resolution of the Iberville Parish Council in support of the Atchafalaya Basin Management Plan to be presented to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) on or beforeFebruary 28, 2025 •Dean Wilson, representing the Atchafalaya Basin Keepers, came beforethe Council to give brief explanation of that plan that will be presented to the CPRA. He stated that it is important for their plan is to address the concerns of flood protection, protecting the wetlands, and coastal restoration. Four other parishes have already or will be submitting similar resolutions of support of the presented plan. He thanked the Council for their support.

C) Resolution ordering and calling aspecial election to be held in the Parish of Iberville, State of Louisiana, to authorize the renewal of a special tax therein, making application to the State Bond Commission, and providing for other mattersinconnection therewith

D) Resolution authorizing the purchase of natural gas from the Louisiana Municipal Natural Gas Purchasing and Distribution Authority,d/b/a Louisiana Municipal Gas Authority (LMGA); approving the execution and delivery of agas sales contract and other documents relating to said purchase; approving the execution and delivery of anorth American Energy Standards boardcontract for the sale and purchase of natural gas (NAESB Contract) for the sale of said gas; consenting to the assignment of certain rights and obligations under the gas sales contract and NAESB contract in connection with the issuance of bonds by the Black Belt Energy Gas District; approving the execution of an amendment to the existing supply and management agreement between LMGA and Iberville Parish; and addressing related matters

Councilman Jewell made arecommendation to forwardthe resolution to the regular meeting, seconded by Councilman Pierce. The recommendation having been duly submitted to avote was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call by Resolution Committee Members only:

YEAS: Jewell, Dardenne, Pierce, Jenkins, Martinez, Frazier,Dominique.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:Markins, Morgan. During the Regular Meeting: RESOLUTION

LOUISIANA, LLC AGREEING TO COOPERATE IN

TO FEMA FOR BUILDING RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES (“BRIC”) GRANT FUNDS AND DETAILING PARISH OBLIGATIONS SHOULD GRANT BE AWARDED BY FEMA

WHEREAS,Art. VII, Sec. 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 provides that “for apublic purpose, the State and its political subdivisions may engage in cooperative endeavors with each other,with the United States or its agencies, or with any public or private company,corporation, or individual”; and WHEREAS,Iberville Parish is authorized by Section 1-06 Aofthe Iberville Parish Home Rule Charter to enter into joint service agreements or cooperative efforts with other governmental agencies, political subdivisions, or with any public or private association, corporation or individual, for apublic purpose. WHEREAS,Iberville Parish (“Parish”) desires improved public infrastructureaswell as the design and construction of an Emergency Operation Center Safe Room (“Safe Room Project”) within the Parish; and WHEREAS,Entergy Louisiana, LLC, (“Entergy”) as owner of the primary power source in the Parish, wishes to mitigate and harden the power infrastructure(“Entergy Project”)inIberville Parish; and WHEREAS,the Building Resilient Infrastructureand Communities (“BRIC”) grant, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”), if awarded, provides funds to reduce hazardrisk by building capability and capacity through innovation; and WHEREAS,the Parish, by way of this Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) agrees to apply for BRIC funds, in concert with Entergy,and upon award, seek the Iberville Parish Council approval to accept the awardand appropriate the matching dollars required by the BRIC grant, for the design and construction of the Safe Room Project only; and WHEREAS,Entergy,byway of this Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) agrees to write and assemble the BRIC application for both the Safe Room and the Entergy Project, with input from the Parish; and, upon award, provide matching dollars required by the BRIC grant for the power infrastructuremitigation in the Entergy Project only; and WHEREAS,ifBRIC funds areawarded to and accepted by the Parish as aresultofthe application with Entergy,the Parish shall administer BRIC grant funds, via reimbursement request, to Entergy for qualifying Entergy Project expenditures. NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Parish Council of the Parish of Iberville, after public discussion held at its regular meeting on February 18, 2025, that the Iberville Parish Council hereby approves the terms of said Cooperative Endeavor Agreement, acopy of which is attached hereto, and further approves and authorizes the Iberville Parish President to execute the attached Cooperative Endeavor Agreement. The foregoing resolution having been submitted to avote by roll call was adopted in regular session this 18th day of February,2025 by the following vote:

YEAS: Allen, Easley, Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell. NAYS: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT:Morgan.

The resolution was declared adopted by the Chairman on February 18, 2025.

RESOLUTION IPC# 2025-009

RESOLUTION OF THE IBERVILLE PARISH COUNCIL IN SUPPORTOF THE ATCHAFALAYA BASIN MANAGEMENT PLAN TO BE PRESENTED TO COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AUTHORITY ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY28TH 2025

WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya River Basin contains the largest remaining wetland forest in North America, and irreplaceable natural treasures; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin’scypress-tupelo swamps arethe most productive wetlands in the world; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin wetlands arethe number one producersofcrawfish in the entireworld; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin wetlands areabout the most important wetlands for migratory birds in the WesternHemisphereand will become the most important as sea level rises and our delta disappears; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin wetlands can feed moreaquatic birds per acrethan any other wetland in the world; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin is critical to Louisiana’scultureas the last bastion of the Cajun culture; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin is designed as aspillway protecting communities from flooding all the way to Lafayette to the west, Morgan City to the south, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and Terrebonne Parish to the east; and WHEREAS,the Atchafalaya Basin protects our entireindustrial corridor,including over 150 industrial plants between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and the largest port in the westernhemisphere, the Port of South Louisiana; and WHEREAS,communities from Bayou Sorrel and Bayou Pigeon to Morgan City on the east and many communities on the west side will have no futureifwekeep filling the Basin’swetlands; and WHEREAS,the Basin’s flood capacity is critical to protect much of Southcentral Louisiana from flooding; and WHEREAS,the loss of flood capacity is already responsible for a record flood in 2021 that created great misery to communities from Bayou Pigeon and Bayou Sorrel to Morgan City; and WHEREAS,maintaining and increasing flood capacity in the Atchafalaya Basin is amust to be able to safely live in Southcentral Louisiana; and WHEREAS,Terrebonne Parish’sfuturedepends on the introduction of massive amounts of sediments to protect their communities and restore the coast; and WHEREAS,the old bed of Grand Lake and Flat Lake in the Atchafalaya Basin and the Lake Verret/Lake Palourde Basins outside the eastern Atchafalaya Basin levee, can provide huge and unlimited amount of sand and silt to Terrebonne Parish, increasing in the process the flood capacity of the Morganza Spillway and the Lake Verret/Lake Palourde Basins; WHEREAS,mining Grand Lake for sand will greatly decrease the need for dredging south of Morgan City to keep the Port of Morgan City open saving millions of dollars on dredging.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that acopy of this resolution will be sent to Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Atchafalaya Basinkeeper,and Iberville Parish will be included as acosigner to the Atchafalaya Basin Management Plan that will be submitted by Atchafalaya Basinkeeper on or beforeFebruary 28, 2025.

The foregoing resolution having been submitted to avote by roll call was adopted in regular session this 18th day of February,2025 by the following vote:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:Morgan.

The resolution was declared adopted by the Chairman on February 18, 2025.

RESOLUTION IPC# 2025-010

RESOLUTION ORDERING AND CALLING ASPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE PARISH OF IBERVILLE, STATEOFLOUISIANA, TO AUTHORIZE THE RENEWAL OF ASPECIAL TAXTHEREIN, MAKING APPLICATION TO THE STATEBOND COMMISSION, AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH

BE IT RESOLVED by the Iberville Parish Council (the “Governing Authority”),

subject to taxation within the boundaries of the District, for a periodof five (5) years, beginning with the tax collection for the year 2027, and annually thereafter to and including the year 2031, to be used entirely andexclusively for the planning, development, management, operation and improvement of the facilities, public improvements and services of the District (the Tax”); and NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the Downtown Development District of the City of Baton Rouge: SECTION 1. That, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission and under and pursuant to the authority conferred by Article VI,Sections 19, 30, and 32 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974, as amended (the Constitution”), Section 2740.8 of Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended (La. R.S. 33:2740.8), the applicable provisions of Chapter 6-A and Chapter 6-Bof Title18ofthe Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority supplemental thereto, aspecial election be and the same is herebycalled and ordered to be held in the District, on Saturday OCTOBER 11, 2025, between the hours of seven (7:00) o’clock a.m. and eight (8:00) o’clock p.m., in compliance with the provisions of Section 541 of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended (La. R.S. 18:541), and that at the said election thereshall be submitted to all registered voters qualified and entitled to vote at the said election under the Constitution and laws of the State of Louisiana and the Constitution of the United States of America, the following proposition, to-wit:

PROPOSITION

Shall the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as governing authority of the Downtown DevelopmentDistrict of the City of Baton Rouge, be authorized to renew the levy and collection of aten (10) mills ad valorem tax on all property subject to taxation within the boundaries of the Downtown Development District of the City of Baton Rouge (the “Tax”) (an estimated $741,390 is reasonably expected at this time to be collected fromthe levy of the Taxfor an entireyear), for aperiod of five (5) years, beginning with the tax collection for the year 2027, and annually thereafter to and including the year 2031, and shall the proceeds of said Tax(after paying the reasonable and necessary expenses of collecting and administering the Tax, if any), be used entirely and exclusively for the planning, development, management, operation and improvement of the facilities, public improvements and services ofthe Downtown Development District of the City of Baton Rouge?

BE IT RESOLVED by the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the FireProtection District No. 1of theParish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”):

SECTION 1. That this Metropolitan Council does now proceed in open and public session to open the envelope containing the official tabulations of votes cast at the special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of authorizing the renewal of the levy and collection of anine (9) mills ad valorem tax, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026 to and including the year 2035, to be used entirely and exclusively for the development, operation and maintenance of the fire protection facilities of the District, and paying the costs of obtaining water for fire protection purposes, including charges for fire hydrant rentals and service, within the District, said tabulations having been prepared and certified by the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, and this Metropolitan Council does now further proceed to examine, count and tabulate such votes and to examine and canvass the returns and declarethe result of the special election.

SECTION 2. That aProces Verbal of the canvass of the returns of said special election shall be made and that acertified copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who shall recordthe same in her office; that another certified copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Recorder of Mortgages in and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (the Parish”), who shall record the same in the Mortgage Records of the Parish; and that another copy thereof shall be retained in the archives of the Metropolitan Council.

SECTION 3. That the results of said special election shall be promulgated by publication in the manner provided by law

SECTION 4. In accordance with La. R.S. 18:1292(B)(2), the cost of holding the special election was $1,781.65.

SECTION 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately

This resolution having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows:

YEAS: Laurie Adams, Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman, Rowdy Gaudet, Twahna Harris, Dwight Hudson, Darryl Hurst, Anthony Kenney,Aaron Moak, Brandon Noel, Jennifer Racca

NAYS: None

ABSTAIN: None

ABSENT:Cleve Dunn, Jr

Done, approved and adopted on this, the 26th day of February,2025.

By: /s/ Ashley Beck By: /s/ Brandon Noel

Council Administrator President ProTempore

STATEOFLOUISIANA

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

I, ASHLEY BECK, certify that I am the duly qualified and acting Council Administrator of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East BatonRouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the FireProtection District No. 1ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana.

Ifurther certify that the above and foregoing is atrue and correct copy of an excerpt from the minutes of ameeting of said Metropolitan Council held on February 26, 2025, providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in the FireProtection District No. 1ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the “District”), on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of authorizing the renewal of the levy and collection of anine (9) mills ad valoremtax, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026 to and including the year 2035; and providing for other matters in connection therewith. IN FAITH WHEREOF,witness my official signatureand the impress of the official seal of said City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025. /s/ Ashley Beck Ashley Beck, Council Administrator (SEAL)

PROCES VERBAL

PROCES VERBAL AND PROCLAMATIONOFTHE CANVASS OFTHE VOTES CAST AT THE SPECIAL ELECTIONHELD IN THE FireProtection District No. 1ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2024.

BE IT KNOWN AND REMEMBERED that on Wednesday,February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, ThirdFloor,Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, itsregular meeting place, the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the FireProtection District No. 1of theParish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), and being the authority ordering the special election held in the District, on Tuesday,November

aNotice of Special Election was published in The Advocate on the following dates: Thursday,September 5, 2024, Thursday,September 12, 2024, Thursday September 19, 2024 and Thursday,September 26, 2024. The Notice of Special Election has been attached hereto as Exhibit Aand the proof of publications has been attached hereto as Exhibit B, in accordance with the requirements of La. R.S. 18:1293. Therewas found by said count and canvass that the following votes had been cast at the said election FOR and AGAINST,respectively,the proposition as hereinabove set forth at the following polling places, to wit: WARD/ PRECINCT LOCATION FOR AGAINST

02/005 (PARTOF) Zachary HighSchool, 4100 Bronco Lane, Zachary

02/007A (PARTOF) Gas Utility District 1, 10633 Zachary-DeerfordRoad, Zachary

02/007B (PARTOF) Gas Utility District 1, 10633 Zachary-DeerfordRoad, Zachary

02/013A (PARTOF) Bakerfield Elementary School, 2550 South Street, Baker 33

02/013B (PARTOF) Bakerfield Elementary School 2550 South Street, Baker

02/014A (PARTOF) Zachary City Hall, 4700 Main Street, Zachary

02/014B (PARTOF) Zachary City Hall, 4700 Main Street, Zachary

02/015 (PARTOF) White Hills Elementary School, 5300 Bentley Drive, Baker

(PARTOF)

02/018B (PARTOF) Zachary Elementary School,3775 Hemlock Street, Zachary

02/021 (PARTOF) Rollins

(PARTOF)

The polling places above specified being the only polling places designated at which to hold the said special

shown that therewas atotal of 2,235 votes cast FOR

and atotal of 919 votes cast AGAINST the Proposition, as

set forth, and that therewas amajority of

Proposition as hereinabove set forth.

THEREFORE, the Metropolitan Council,acting as the governing authority of the District, did declareand proclaim and does hereby declareand proclaim in open and public session that the Proposition as hereinabove set forth was DULY PASSED by amajority of the votes cast by the qualified electors voting at the said special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024. THUS DONE ANDSIGNED at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025.

/s/ Brandon Noel

/s/ Ashley Beck

Ashley Beck, Council Administrator Brandon Noel, President ProTempore

EXHIBIT A NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

(On file with the Metropolitan Council)

EXHIBIT B PROOF OF PUBLICATIONS

(On file with the Metropolitan Council) PROCLAMATION

I, BRANDON NOEL, the undersigned President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Fire Protection District No. 1ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), do hereby declare, proclaim and announce the result of the special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, as ascertained by the canvass of the votes cast at the said special election, made by said Metropolitan Council, acting as the governing authority of the District, and assembled at their regular meeting place, the Council Chambers, City Hall, ThirdFloor Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m.,which canvass showed the following result upon the proposition submitted at the said election, to wit:

PROPOSITION

Shall the FireProtection District No. 1ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), be authorized to renew the levy and collection of anine (9) mills ad valorem tax (the “Tax”) (an estimated $550,000 is reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the Taxfor an entireyear), in each calendar year on all property subject to taxation in the District, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026, to and including the year 2035, and shall the avails or proceeds of said Tax(after paying the reasonable and necessary expenses of collection and administering the Tax, if any) be used entirely and exclusively for the development, operation and maintenance of the fire protection facilities of the District, and paying the costs of obtaining water for fire protection purposes, including charges for fire hydrant rentals and service, within the District?

Therewas found by said count and canvass that therewas atotal of 2,235 votes cast FOR the Proposition and atotal of 919 votes cast AGAINST the Proposition, and that therewas amajority of 2,235 votes cast FOR the Proposition as hereinabove set forth, all as described and set out in the above Proces Verbal. THEREFORE, in accordance with the result of the canvass of returns and the action of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and CityofBaton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the District, I, BRANDON NOEL, the President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council,dohereby declare, proclaim and announce the said Proposition as hereinabove set forth to have been DULYPASSED by a majority of votes cast by the qualified electors voting at the said special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024. THUS DONE ANDSIGNED at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025.

/s/ Ashley Beck /s/ Brandon Noel Ashley Beck, Council Administrator Brandon Noel, President ProTempore

The resolution was thereupon

Cleve Dunn, Jr

THE VOTES CAST AT THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD IN THE Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2024. BE IT KNOWN AND REMEMBERED that on Wednesday,February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, Third Floor,Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, its regular meeting place, the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the Parish of East

special election as prepared and certified by the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, and did examine, count and tabulate such votes, and did examine and canvass the returns of the said special election, therehaving been submitted at said special election the following proposition, to-wit:

PROPOSITION Shall the Plan of Government of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge (the “Plan of Government”) be amended pursuant to Article VI, Section 5ofthe Constitution of the State of Louisiana and Section 11.09 of the Plan of Government, and be renumbered as necessary, as further described in the Summary of Proposed Amendments to the Plan of Government, whichmay be reviewed on the official website (http://www.brla.gov/planofgovernment) of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge or may be obtained from the Council Administrator for the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, and which proposed amendments arehereby incorporated by reference and made apart of this Proposition?

01/010

Madison Avenue, Baton Rouge 55 89

01/019 Rosenwald Learning Center,2611 Dayton Street, Baton Rouge 83 69 01/020 ABelaireHigh School, 12121 Tams Drive, Baton Rouge 115 138

01/020 BBelaireHigh School, 12121 Tams Drive, Baton Rouge 91

180

01/041 ATrinity Episcopal School, 1823 StanfordAvenue, Baton Rouge 91 123

01/041 BTrinity Episcopal School, 1823 StanfordAvenue, Baton Rouge 117 136

01/042 ASouthdowns Elementary School, 2050 Hood Avenue, Baton Rouge 148 175 01/042 BSouthdowns Elementary School, 2050 Hood Avenue, Baton Rouge 175 180

01/043 Highland Elementary School, 280 Sunset Blvd., Baton Rouge 198 240

01/044 LSU LaboratorySchool, 45 Dalrymple Drive-LSU Campus, Baton Rouge 125 87 01/045 Eva LegardCenter,408 E. Polk Street, Baton Rouge 62 108

01/046 LSU LaboratorySchool, 45 Dalrymple Drive-LSU Campus, Baton Rouge 32 22 01/047 ABaton Rouge Center For V-PArts, 7600 Boone Avenue, Baton Rouge 115 172 01/047 BBaton Rouge Center For V-PArts,

02/025 BPark Ridge Academic Magnet School, 5905 Groom Road, Baton Rouge 97 105

02/026 Grace Baptist Church, 4626 Rush Drive, Zachary 137 272

02/027 ASharon Hills Elementary School, 6450 Guynell Drive, Baton Rouge 105 112

02/027 BSharon Hills Elementary School, 6450 Guynell Drive, Baton Rouge 83 133

02/028 Zachary City Hall, 4700 Main Street, Zachary 237 368

02/029 Zachary High School, 4100 Bronco Lane, Zachary 112 189

02/030 AForest Heights Elementary School, 7447 Sumrall Drive, Baton Rouge 166 188

02/030 BForest Heights Elementary School, 7447 Sumrall Drive, Baton Rouge 125 142

02/031 Baker Town Hall, 3325 Groom Road, Baker 45 65

02/032 BREC Church Street Park, 3210 Church Street, Zachary 186 314

02/033 Gas Utility District 1, 10633 ZacharyDeerfordRoad, Zachary 95 246

02/034 Copper Mill ElementarySchool, 1300 Independence Blvd., Zachary 188 257

02/035 Rollins Place Elementary School, 4488 Rollins Place, Zachary 102 198

02/036 AZachary Branch Library,1900 Church Street, Zachary 133 198

02/036 BZachary Branch Library,1900 Church Street, Zachary 144 198

02/037 BREC Church Street Park, 3210 Church Street, Zachary 166 162

02/038 Copper Mill ElementarySchool, 1300 Independence Blvd., Zachary 163 235

03/001 ABREC Jackson Community Park, 12250 Sullivan Road, Baton Rouge 92 211 03/001 BBREC Jackson Community Park, 12250 Sullivan Road, Baton Rouge 69 197 03/002 ACornerstone Fellowship, 9611 Blackwater Road, Baker 66 149

03/002 BCornerstone Fellowship, 9611 Blackwater Road, Baker 68 130

03/003 AWoodlawn Baptist Church, 5805 Jones Creek Road, Baton Rouge 144 225

03/003 BWoodlawn Baptist Church, 5805 Jones Creek Road, Baton Rouge 140 243

03/004 ABREC

03/008 North Sherwood Forest Park Recreation Center,3140 N. Sherwood Forest, Baton Rouge 149 176

03/009 ASt. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 14040 Greenwell Springs Road, Greenwell Springs 85 163

03/009 BSt. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 14040 Greenwell Springs Road, Greenwell Springs 91 132

03/010 Lutheran Church of Our Savior,3555 Jones Creek Road, Baton Rouge 171 172

03/011 FireStation, 11010 Coursey Blvd., Baton Rouge 97 66

03/012 ARiveroaks ElementarySchool, 950 Fontainbleau Drive, Baton Rouge 122 138

03/012 BRiveroaks ElementarySchool, 950 Fontainbleau Drive, Baton Rouge 141 175

03/013 Jefferson Terrace ElementarySchool, 5601 Upton Drive, Baton Rouge 146 219

03/014 ACentral Middle School Gym, 12656 Sullivan Road, Baton Rouge 43 82

03/014 BCentral Middle School Gym, 12656 Sullivan Road, Baton Rouge 44 77

03/015 AShenandoah ElementarySchool, 16555 Appomattox Avenue, Baton Rouge 139 171

03/015 BShenandoah ElementarySchool, 16555 Appomattox Avenue, Baton Rouge 135 213

03/016 Woodlawn Middle School, 14939 Tiger Bend Road, Baton Rouge 123 210

03/017 AWestminster Elementary School, 8935 Westminster Drive, Baton Rouge 119 163

03/017 BWestminster Elementary School, 8935 Westminster Drive, Baton Rouge 80 156

03/018 AGreater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, 14101 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 126 123

03/018 BGreater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, 14101 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 108 134

03/019 ANew Rising Sun Baptist Church, 16444 Highland Road, Baton Rouge 90 181

03/019

Drive), Baton Rouge 106 105

03/021 ASoutheast Middle School, 15000 S. Harrells Ferry Road, Baton Rouge 134 145

03/021 BSoutheast Middle School, 15000 S. Harrells Ferry Road, Baton Rouge 159 113 03/022 Woodlawn High School, 15755 Old

03/033 BBaringer Road Park Recreation Center,7401 Baringer Road, Baton Rouge

(at

BBen Burge Park, 9350 Antigua Drive (at Elvin Drive), Baton Rouge

Bellingrath Hills Elementary School 6612 Audusson Drive, Greenwell Springs

03/048 ASt. George Fire Department

Office, 14100 Airline Highway,Baton

03/049 AMayfair Laboratory School,9880 Hyacinth Avenue, Baton Rouge

BMayfair Laboratory School,9880 Hyacinth

C SUMMARYOFPROPOSED PLAN OF GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS (On file with the Metropolitan Council) PROCLAMATION I, BRANDON NOEL, the undersigned President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the Parish”), do hereby declare, proclaim and announce the result of the special election held in the Parish on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, as ascertained by the canvass of the votes cast at the said election, made by said Metropolitan Council, acting as the governing authority of the Parish, and assembled at their regular meeting place, the Council Chambers, City Hall, ThirdFloor,Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday,February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m., which canvass showed the following result upon the proposition submitted at the said election, to wit: PROPOSITION Shall the Plan of Government of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge (the “Plan of Government”) be amended pursuant to Article VI, Section 5ofthe Constitution of the State of Louisiana and Section 11.09 of the Plan of Government, and be renumbered as necessary, as further described in the Summary of Proposed Amendments to the Plan of Government, which may be reviewed on the official website (http://www.brla.gov/planofgovernment) of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge or may be obtained from the Council Administrator for the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, and whichproposed amendments arehereby incorporated by reference and made apart of this Proposition?

Therewas found by said count and canvass that therewas atotal of 70,721 votes cast FOR the Proposition and atotal of 103,709 votes cast AGAINST the Proposition, and that therewas amajority of 103,709 votes cast AGAINST the Proposition as hereinabove set forth, all as described and set out in the above Proces Verbal. THEREFORE, in accordance with the result of the canvass of returns and the action of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the Parish, I, BRANDON NOEL, the President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council, do hereby declare, proclaim and announce the said Proposition as hereinabove set forth to have been DULYFAILED by amajority of votes cast by the qualified electors voting at the said special election held in the Parish on Tuesday,November 5, 2024. THUS DONE AND SIGNED at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025. /s/ Ashley Beck /s/ Brandon Noel Ashley Beck, Council Administrator Brandon Noel, President ProTempore

The resolution wasthereupon signed

the 26th day of February, 2025. By:/s/ Ashley Beck By: /s/ Brandon Noel Council Administrator President ProTempore

STATEOFLOUISIANA

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

I, ASHLEY BECK, certifythat Iamthe duly qualified and acting Council Administrator of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Brownsfield FireProtection District No. 3ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana.

Ifurther certify that the above and foregoing is atrue and correct

copy of an excerpt from the minutes of ameeting of said Metropolitan Council held on February 26, 2025, providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in the Brownsfield FireProtection District No. 3ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of authorizing the renewal of the levy and collection of aten (10) mills ad valorem tax, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026 to andincluding the year 2035; and providing for other matters in connection therewith. IN FAITH WHEREOF,witness my official signatureand the impress of the official seal of said City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025. /s/ Ashley Beck Ashley Beck, Council Administrator (SEAL)

PROCESVERBAL

PROCES VERBAL AND PROCLAMATION OFTHE CANVASSOFTHE VOTES CAST AT THE SPECIAL ELECTIONHELD IN THE BROWNSFIELD FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTNO. 3OFTHE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, STATEOFLOUISIANA ON TUESDAY,NOVEMBER5,2024.

BE IT KNOWN AND REMEMBEREDthat on Wednesday,February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, ThirdFloor,Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, itsregular meeting place, the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the Brownsfield FireProtection District No. 3ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the“District”), and being the authority ordering the special election held in the District, on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, with the following members present:

Council Members: Laurie Adams, Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman, Rowdy Gaudet, Twahna Harris, Dwight Hudson, Darryl Hurst, Anthony Kenney Aaron Moak, Brandon Noel, Jennifer Racca

Therebeing absent: Cleve Dunn, Jr did, in open and public session, open the envelope containing the official tabulations of votes cast at the said special election as preparedand certified by the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, and did examine, count and tabulate such votes, and did examine and canvass the returns of the said special election, therehaving been submitted at said special election the following proposition, to wit:

PROPOSITION

Shall the Brownsfield FireProtection District No. 3ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the “Brownsfield FireProtection District”), be authorized to renew the levy and collection of an ad valorem tax of ten (10) mills (the “Tax”) (an estimated $338,000 is reasonably expected to be collected from the levy of the Taxfor an entireyear), in each calendar year on all property subject to taxation in the Brownsfield Fire Protection District, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026, to and including the year 2035, and shall the avails or proceeds of said Tax(after paying the reasonable and necessary expenses of collection and administering the Tax, if any) be used entirely and exclusively for the development, improvement, operation and maintenance of the fire protection facilitiesofthe Brownsfield FireProtection District, and paying salaries and benefits of fire district personnel, paying the costs of obtaining water for fire protection purposes, and paying the cost of fire hydrant rentals and service, within the Brownsfield FireProtection District?

Pursuant to the requirements of La. R.S. 18:1285, aNotice of Special Election was published in The Advocate on the following dates: Thursday, September 5, 2024, Thursday,September 12, 2024, Thursday September19, 2024 and Thursday,September 26, 2024. The Notice of Special Election has been attached hereto as Exhibit Aand the proof of publications has been attached hereto as Exhibit B, in accordance with therequirements of La. R.S. 18:1293. Therewas found by said count and canvass that the following votes had been cast at the said election FORand AGAINST,respectively,the proposition as hereinabove set forth at the following polling places, to wit: WARD/ PRECINCT LOCATION FOR AGAINST

02/003 (PARTOF) Brownsfield Volunteer FireStation, 6850 Kent Drive, Baker 235 50

02/009A (PARTOF) Baker Middle School, 5903 Groom Road, Baker 00

02/009B (PARTOF) Baker Middle School, 5903 Groom Road, Baker 00

02/010A (PARTOF) Foster Road Baptist Church, 11333 Foster Road, Baton Rouge 163 52

02/010B (PARTOF) Foster Road Baptist Church, 11333 Foster Road, Baton Rouge 139 28

02/012A (PARTOF) Foster Road Baptist Church, 11333 Foster Road, Baton Rouge 235 50

02/012B (PARTOF) Foster Road Baptist Church, 11333 Foster

EXHIBIT A NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

(On file with the Metropolitan Council) EXHIBIT B PROOF OF PUBLICATIONS (On file with the Metropolitan Council)

PROCLAMATION

I, BRANDON NOEL, the undersigned President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Brownsfield FireProtection District No. 3ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), do hereby declare, proclaim and announce the result of the special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, as ascertained by the canvass of the votes cast at the said special election, made by said Metropolitan Council, acting as the governing authority of the District, and assembled at their regular meeting place, the Council Chambers, City Hall, ThirdFloor,Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday,February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m., which canvass showed the following result upon the proposition submitted at the said election, to wit:

PROPOSITION

Shall the Brownsfield Fire Protection District No.3 of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the “Brownsfield FireProtection District”), be authorized to renew the levy and collection of an ad valorem tax of ten (10) mills (the“Tax”) (an estimated $338,000 is reasonably expected to be collected fromthe levy of the Taxfor an entireyear), in each calendar year on all property subject to taxation in the Brownsfield Fire Protection District, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026, to and including the year 2035, and shall the avails or proceeds of said Tax(after paying the reasonable and necessary expenses of collection and administering the Tax, if any) be used entirely and exclusively for the development, improvement, operation and maintenance of the fire protection facilities of the BrownsfieldFireProtection District, and paying salaries and benefits of fire district personnel, paying the costs of obtaining water for fire protection purposes, and paying the cost of fire hydrant rentals and service, within the Brownsfield FireProtection District?

Therewas found by said count and canvass that therewas atotal of2,912 votes cast FOR the Proposition and atotal of 631 votes cast AGAINST the Proposition, and that therewas amajority of 2,912 votes cast FOR the Proposition as hereinabove set forth, all as described and set out in the above Proces Verbal. THEREFORE, in accordance with the result of the canvass of returns and the action of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the District, I, BRANDON NOEL, the President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council, do hereby declare, proclaim and announce the said Proposition as hereinabove set forth to have been DULYPASSED by a majority of votes cast by the qualified electors voting at the said special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024.

THUS DONE ANDSIGNED at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025. /s/ Ashley Beck /s/ Brandon Noel Ashley Beck, Council Administrator Brandon Noel, President ProTempore

The resolution was thereupon signed by the President ProTempore, attested by the Council Administrator,and declared to be adopted. The resolution provides as follows: RESOLUTION NO.58475

Aresolution providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in the Alsen-St. Irma Lee FireProtection District No. 9ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of authorizing the levy and collection of aten (10) mills ad valorem tax on the dollar of assessed valuation on all the property subject to taxation within the boundaries of the District, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026, to and including the year 2035; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

BE IT RESOLVED by the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the Alsen-St. Irma Lee FireProtection District No. 9ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”):

SECTION 1. That this Metropolitan Council does now proceed in open and public session to open the envelope containing the official tabulations of votes cast at the special election held in the District on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of authorizing the levy and collection of aten (10) mills ad valorem tax on the dollar of assessed valuation on all the property subject to taxation within the boundaries of the District, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing in the year 2026, to and including the year 2035, to provide funds to be used entirelyand exclusively for the development, operation and maintenance of the fire protection facilities of the District and paying the costs of obtaining water for fire protection purposes, including charges for fire hydrant rentals and service, within the District, said tabulations having been prepared and certified by the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, and this Metropolitan Council does now further proceed to examine, count and tabulate such votes and to examine and canvass the returns and declare the result of the special election.

SECTION 2. That aProces Verbal of the canvass of the returns of said special election shall be made and that acertified copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who shall recordthe same in her office; that another certified copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court and Ex Officio Recorder of Mortgages in and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (the Parish”), who shall record the same in the Mortgage Records of the Parish; and that another copy thereof shall be retained in the archives of the Metropolitan Council

SECTION 3. That the results of said special election shall be promulgated by publication in the manner provided by law

SECTION 4. In accordance with La. R.S. 18:1292(B)(2), the cost of holding the special election was $366.31.

SECTION 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately. This resolution having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows:

YEAS: Laurie Adams, Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman, Rowdy Gaudet,Twahna Harris, Dwight Hudson, Darryl Hurst, Anthony Kenney,Aaron Moak, Brandon Noel, Jennifer Racca

NAYS: None

ABSTAIN: None

ABSENT: Cleve Dunn, Jr Done, approved and adopted on this, the 26th day of February,2025. By: /s/ Ashley Beck By: /s/ Brandon Noel

Council Administrator President ProTempore

STATEOFLOUISIANA

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

I, ASHLEY BECK, certify that Iamthe duly qualified and acting

Council Administrator of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Alsen-St. Irma Lee FireProtection District No. 9ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana. Ifurther certify that the above and foregoing is atrue and correct copy of an excerpt from the minutes of ameeting of said Metropolitan Council held on February 26, 2025, providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in the Alsen-St. Irma Lee FireProtection District No. 9ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of

5, 2024. THUS DONE AND SIGNED at

Rouge, Louisiana, on this, the 26th

of February,2025. /s/ Ashley

/s/ Brandon

Ashley Beck, Council Administrator Brandon Noel, President ProTempore EXHIBIT A NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION (On file with the Metropolitan Council) EXHIBIT B PROOF OF PUBLICATIONS (On file with the Metropolitan Council)

PROCLAMATION

I, BRANDON NOEL, the undersigned President ProTemporeofthe Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Alsen-St. Irma Lee FireProtection District No. 9ofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the District”), do hereby declare, proclaim and announce the result of the special election held in the District on Tuesday,November

fied copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Recorder of Mortgages in and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, who shall record the same in the Mortgage Records of the Parish; and that another copy thereof shall be retained in the archives of the Metropolitan Council.

SECTION 3. That the results of said special election shall be promulgated by publication in the manner provided by law

SECTION 4. In accordance with La. R.S. 18:1292(B)(2), the cost of holding the special election was $17,533.15.

SECTION 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately

This resolution having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows:

YEAS: Laurie Adams, Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman, Rowdy Gaudet, Twahna Harris, Dwight Hudson, Anthony Kenney AaronMoak, Brandon Noel, Jennifer Racca

NAYS: None

ABSTAIN: None

ABSENT:Cleve Dunn, Jr., Darryl Hurst

Done, approved and adopted on this, the 26th day of February,2025. By: /s/ Ashley Beck By: /s/ Brandon Noel Council Administrator President ProTempore

STATEOFLOUISIANA

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

I, ASHLEY BECK, certify that Iamthe duly qualified and acting Council Administrator of the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East BatonRouge and City of Baton Rouge, the governing authority of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana.

Ifurther certify that the above and foregoing is atrue and correct copy of an excerpt from the minutes of ameeting of said Metropolitan Council held on February 26, 2025, providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the result of the special election held in the City of Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana on Tuesday,November 5, 2024, for the purpose of authorizing the levy and collection of asix (6) mills ad valorem tax tobe used entirely and exclusively to pay for increasing salaries and benefits for all employees of the FireDepartment of the City of Baton Rouge who aremembers of the Municipal Fireand Police Civil Service System, for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing with the tax collection for the year 2025, and annually thereafter to and including the year 2034; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

IN FAITH WHEREOF,witness my official signatureand the impress of the official seal of said City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, on this, the 26th day of February,2025. /s/ Ashley Beck Ashley Beck, Council Administrator (SEAL)

PROCES VERBAL

PROCES VERBAL AND PROCLAMATIONOFTHE CANVASS OF THE VOTES CASTATTHE SPECIAL ELECTION HELDINTHE CITY OF Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER5,2024.

BE IT KNOWN AND REMEMBERED that on Wednesday,February 26, 2025, at four o’clock (4:00) p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, ThirdFloor,Room 348, 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, itsregular meeting place, the Metropolitan Council of the Parish of East Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as the governing authority of the City of Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the City”), and being the authority ordering the special election held in the City,onTuesday November 5, 2024, with the following members present: Council Members: Laurie Adams, Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman, Rowdy Gaudet, Twahna Harris, Dwight Hudson, Anthony Kenney,Aaron Moak, Brandon Noel, Jennifer Racca.

Therebeing absent: Cleve Dunn, Jr., Darryl Hurst. did, in open and public session, open the envelope containing the official tabulations of votes cast at the said special election as prepared and certified by the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, and did examine, count and tabulate such votes, and did examine and canvass the returns of the said special election, therehaving been submitted at said special election the following proposition, to-wit:

PROPOSITION

Shall the City of Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the “City”), under the provisions of Article VI, Section 27(B) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority,beauthorized to levy and collect aspecial ad valorem tax of six (6) mills on the dollar of assessed valuation on all property subject to taxation within the boundaries of the City (the “Tax”) (an estimated $14,559,960 is reasonably expected to be collected from the levy of the Taxfor an entireyear), for aperiod of ten (10) years, commencing with the tax collection for the year 2025, and annually thereafter to and including the year 2034, the proceeds of said Tax(after paying the reasonable and necessary expenses of collection and administering the Tax, if any) to be used entirely and exclusively to provide funds for increasing salaries and benefits for all employees of the Fire Department of the City of Baton Rouge who aremembers of the Municipal Fireand PoliceCivil Service System?

Therewas found by said count and canvass that the following votes had been cast at the said special election FORand AGAINST,respectively the proposition as hereinabove set forth at the following polling places, to wit: WARD/ PRECINCT LOCATION FOR AGAINST

01/001 FireStation #12, 555 Government Street, Baton Rouge 221 87

01/002A Melrose Elementary School, 1348 Valcour

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF BAKER PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

COUNCIL CHAMBERS

3325 GROOM ROAD, BAKER, LOUISIANA 70714 ZOOM

Pleaseclick the link below to join the webinar: https://us06web. zoom.us/j/86032330393?pwd=R1d4OHVTL1JPajFZOVVmRlpmckhr Zz09

Passcode: 217106 Telephone Conference Call Dial In: 646-558-8656 Webinar ID: 860 3233 0393 Passcode: 217106 March 18, 2025 -6:00 p.m.

The City Council of the City of Baker,Louisiana, met in regular session on March 18, 2025, with the following members in attendance at the meeting: MAYOR Darnell Waites

COUNCIL MEMBERS Desiree Collins Rochelle Dunn Cedric Murphy Dr.Charles Vincent Robert Young

CALL TO ORDER –Mayor Waites presided.

The invocation was given by Council Member Vincent.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Dunn.

The mayor read astatement regarding public comment and open meetings.

DISPOSITION OF THE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The motion was made by Council Member Vincent, seconded by Council Member Murphy to approve the minutes of the meeting held on March 3, 2025.