The Advocate 04-29-2025

As cities break off, EBR seeks tax clarity

Some parish offices scrambling to fill new budget holes

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Staff writer

Last year, at least 422 felony arrests were made in the cities of Baker, Central and Zachary, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Each of those arrestees was booked into the East Baton Rouge

Parish Prison and had cases assigned to the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Many were assigned a public defender for representation.

But as several parts of parish government find themselves scratching for money, criticism is mounting that those cities don’t pay a fair share for those

services and other offices established by the state constitution that work for the whole parish. “There’s a huge disparity in the constitutional offices in terms of the services that they provide for the entire parish versus who pays for them,” said District 5 Metro Council member Darryl Hurst.

All homeowners in the parish pay property taxes. Some of the money funds parishwide functions like parks, public transit and pest control; others are tied to specific local needs. But other parishwide functions, like the district attorney public defender, coroner and the Parish Prison building, are funded largely through sales taxes, and the way those taxes are collected and distributed in

House passes pro-industry car insurance measures

Bills aim to help lower state’s high rates

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

A slate of bills that insurance companies and business interests say would hold down rising car insurance rates in Louisiana won approval from the state House on Monday

Legislators supporting the bills powered past the objections of lawmakers who expressed the view of trial lawyers that the changes won’t help consumers in a state where car insurance rates are among the highest nationwide.

In general terms, the measures would make it harder for people injured in car accidents to file lawsuits and win big payouts — in the belief that lower payouts would lead insurance companies to pass along the savings to consumers. Critics of the bills don’t think that would happen.

The bills passed mostly along partisan lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

Sponsors of each pro-insurance industry bill were careful not to promise it would lower insurance rates

Car insurance rates in Louisiana are among the highest nationwide. State representatives on Monday advanced a slate of bills aimed at reining in rising costs.

“It’s a piece of the puzzle,” said Rep. Michael Melerine, RShreveport, repeating a phrase used by others. The bills passed as a behindthe-scenes battle heated up over what is the biggest political issue during the two-month regular legislative session, which entered its third week Monday

Unidentified groups on both sides sent out messages using strong language in trying to sway legislators. The battle over car insurance legislation pits Gov Jeff Landry against some business-minded conservatives who form a key part of the governor’s political base but are unhappy that he is not supporting all of the pro-

industry measures. Landry said he is steering a middle course that doesn’t favor one side or the other

The Republican-majority House spoke decisively on that question Monday, led by a group of freshmen members who say they were elected in

ä See BILLS, page 4A

New initiative targets La.’s maternal overdose deaths

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

It’s common for pregnant patients to check into labor and delivery with family in tow But when a nurse noticed something was off during an intake at WillisKnighton Bossier Health Center in north Louisiana, she offered to help the expectant mother into a gown in the bathroom. Once they were alone, the nurse asked about substance use a question she’d been newly trained to pose dis-

creetly

“She got a positive screen,” recalled Traci Latiolais, a patient care coordinator at the hospital. That kind of intervention is becoming more common as hospitals adopt new protocols to address a growing public health concern: opioid overdoses in expectant mothers, now the leading cause of pregnancy-associated death in the state. Of Louisiana’s 82 pregnancyassociated deaths in 2020, 28 were due to accidental overdose,

according to the state’s latest Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review

To provide more focus on the issue, the Louisiana Department of Health recently announced a new statewide initiative dubbed Project MOM (Maternal Overdose Mortality), which aims to reduce overdose deaths during pregnancy and the postpartum period by 80% over the next three years, an effort that could save the lives of 65 mothers each year The new initiative will scale

current efforts by the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a network of birthing facilities.

Through a program called Improving Care for the SubstanceExposed Dyad, the collaborative has pushed hospitals to adopt routine screening for substance use during pregnancy It also has worked to increase the coordination of care between obstetric and addiction treatment providers, who can prescribe

ä See MATERNAL, page 4A

East Baton Rouge’s consolidated form of government is more complicated

Currently, sales taxes collected in the city limits of Baton Rouge and unincorporated parts of the parish go to the general fund, from which the district attorney and others draw money But sales taxes in the cities of Baker, Central, Zachary — and, soon, St.

ä Mayor Sid Edwards backs DA Hillar Moore’s tax proposal. PAGE 1B

Baton Rouge school changes approved Reorganizations,

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

Cole

Nine public schools in Baton Rouge are closing, four are relocating, seven are getting new grade configurations and 12 will have redrawn attendance zones under sweeping action taken Monday by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. The board, without opposition, approved Superintendent LaMont Cole’s long-in-the-making realignment plan. The vote sets off a threemonth race to put the changes into effect for the start of the 2025-26 school year in August. The 7-0 vote board members Dadrius Lanus and Patrick Martin V were absent was a strong show of support for Cole, who is just finishing his ninth month leading Louisiana’s second-largest traditional school district.

The closures, consolidations and other changes have been a long time coming for the school system, which was built for 60,000-plus students but is now educating fewer than 40,000. It’s a thorny issue that previous superintendents have considered and largely shied away from. The board, however, made it one of Cole’s first orders of business when it hired him in August.

Cole estimated he’s gained 60 pounds — he later revised that to about 30 pounds — from the stress of this first year especially the work on this plan. And it’s not over Cole pointed to a fivepage action plan for his team to make these changes happen.

“The real work begins to make sure that our kids are safe on the very first day of school,” he said.

Chauna Banks, a school counselor and former Metro Council member said she supports the plan, but offered a note of caution.

“It’s going to be very important that these schools work because, Superintendent Cole, this is going to define your whole legacy,” Banks said.

A total of 28 schools will see change. More than 10,000 children and 1,400plus staff are impacted.

Cole unveiled the plan on April 15 Its unveiling was preceded by three community meetings as well as about

ä See SCHOOLS, page 4A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Iran: Fire out after port blast; deaths rise to 70 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran finally extinguished a fire Monday at a southern port rocked by an explosion as the death toll in the blast rose to at least 70 people killed, authorities said.

Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press also showed the devastation of the explosion that injured more than 1,000 people. The photos from Planet Labs PBC came as local news reports from the site raised more questions about the cause of the blast Saturday at the Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni announced the fire had been put out, while provincial emergency health official Mehrdad Hasanzadeh gave the death toll.

The port reportedly took in a chemical component needed for solid fuel for ballistic missiles — something denied by authorities though they’ve not explained the source of the power that caused such destruction.

The blast Saturday disintegrated a building next to the blast site, which appeared to be in a row where other containers once stood, the satellite photos showed.

Fighter jet slips off deck of U.S. carrier

WASHINGTON An F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hanger deck of an aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, as sailors were towing the aircraft into place in the hangar bay of the USS Harry S. Truman on Monday, the Navy said.

The crew members who were in the pilot seat of the Super Hornet and on the small towing tractor both jumped out before the jet and the tug went into the Red Sea. According to a defense official, the sailor who jumped from the aircraft sustained a minor injury The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.

“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the Navy said in a statement. The jet was part of Strike Fighter Squadron 136. Fighter jets are routinely towed around the hangar deck to park them where they are needed for any flight operations or other work It is unclear whether there will be an effort to recover the jet, which costs about $60 million. The incident is under investigation.

Climber rescued from Mount Fuji for 2nd time

TOKYO A climber airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan’s Mount Fuji last week returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days later, authorities said Monday Officials urged people to be aware of the harsh conditions at the country’s tallest peak during its offseason.

The climber was identified only as a 27-year-old Chinese student living in Japan. He made an emergency call on April 22 and was airlifted after developing symptoms of altitude sickness, police said, adding that his climbing irons also were damaged.

On Saturday, he returned to the mountain’s Fujinomiya trail nearly 10,000 feet above sea level to look for his cellphone and other belongings left behind, Shizuoka prefectural police said. Another climber found him there unable to move after he apparently developed altitude sickness for a second time, police said.

The mountain’s hiking trails are officially open only from July to early September, but there is no penalty for hiking offseason. There also is no charge or penalty when a climber needs to be rescued, but the Chinese student’s case prompted an uproar on social media and generated calls for him to be charged, at least for his second rescue.

CORRECTION

Russia wants brief ceasefire next week

Putin declares 3-day pause for Victory Day celebration; Kiyv wants immediate, longer truce

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a unilateral 72hour ceasefire next week in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II as the U.S. presses for a deal to end the 3-yearold war. Kyiv insisted on a longer and immediate truce.

The Kremlin said the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 — Russia’s biggest secular holiday That timing means the truce would start at 4 p.m. on May 7, lasting until 4 p.m. on May 10.

Ukraine, which has previously agreed to President Donald Trump’s proposal of a full 30-day ceasefire, dismissed Putin’s move as window dressing.

“If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, according to the ministry He emphasized that Kyiv is ready for a “lasting, reliable, and complete ceasefire” for at least 30 full days.

“Why wait for May 8? If we can cease fire now from any date and for 30 days so that it is real, and not just for a parade,” he said without specifying whether Ukraine would be ready to accept the Moscow-proposed truce.

The Kremlin had urged Ukraine to follow suit.

“Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” it said, warning that “in case of violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and efficient response.”

Putin previously announced a unilateral 30-hour Easter ceasefire and Ukraine voiced readiness to reciprocate any genuine truce at the time, but it said Russian attacks continued. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine of failing to halt its attacks.

Russia and Ukraine had also earlier pledged to observe a 30-day halt on strikes on energy infrastructure that was brokered by the Trump administration, but they repeatedly accused each other of massive violations until the measure expired.

The truce attempts underlined the massive challenges for monitoring any possible halt to hostilities along the more than 600-mile line of contact

Up until now, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Ukraine’s mobilization effort

The Kremlin reaffirmed that “the Russian side again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions aimed at removing the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and constructive cooperation with international partners.” Ukrainians in Kyiv scoffed at Putin’s move.

“There is no trust in any of Putin’s proposals,” said Nazar Lutsenko, a lawyer He added that “we absolutely want the war to end on terms that are favorable to us, on fair terms.”

A soldier with the 156th Brigade, who identified himself only by his first name, Kostiantyn, in keeping with military rules, dismissed the truce as “ridiculous,” adding that perhaps “there will not be such harsh shelling as there is every evening here, but fighting will be conducted in one way or another.”

Student Oleksandra Serpilova viewed the declaration as “another attempt to keep America engaged, to give Trump hope that some kind of negotiations are possible.”

Just before the ceasefire announcement, Ukraine and Russia targeted each other with long-range strikes.

Girl, parents among those killed in vehicle ramming

BY CLAIRE RUSH and ROB GILLIES Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A 5-year-old girl and her parents were among the 11 killed in Vancouver when a car plowed through a crowded street during a Filipino heritage festival over the weekend.

The family left behind a 16-year-old son who stayed home to finish his homework.

The son learned in the hours after the attack that his younger sister, Katie Le, father Richard Le and stepmother Linh Hoang were all killed, said Richard Le’s brother, Toan Le. Katie Le was nearing graduation from kindergarten and was described as a vibrant and joyful child in a GoFundMe page posted by Toan Le. The teenage boy is in a state of shock Le said grappling with the sudden loss.

Another victim identified Monday was Kira Salim, a teacher and counselor who worked at two schools in the New Westminster School District southeast of Vancouver, the district said in a statement.

Salim “was a valued member of our community whose wisdom and care for our middle and secondary school students had a powerful impact,” the district’s superintendent and board chair wrote.

The black Audi SUV sped down a closed food-truck-lined street Saturday evening and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, which celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century

Thirty-two people were hurt, and 17 were still hospitalized late Sunday including some in critical and serious condition, the British Columbia Health Ministry said. Those killed ranged in age from 5 to 65, officials said.

A 30-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder in the deaths, and mourners, including the Canadian prime minister, remembered the dead at memorials across the city.

Kai-Ji Adam Lo was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder in a video appearance before a judge Sunday, said Damienne Darby spokeswoman for British Columbia prosecutors. Lo has not yet entered a plea.

A woman who answered the phone Monday at the home of Lo’s mother, Lisa Lo, said that the mother was too distraught to speak to a reporter Investigators ruled out terrorism as a motive and said more charges were possible. They said Lo had a history of mental health issues.

The Associated Press could not immediately reach an attorney representing him. Online records showed that Vancouver Provincial Court issued a publication ban barring the release of details about the legal case against Ko Such bans are common in Canada to protect the rights of the accused to a fair trial as well as the privacy of crime victims.

While attending a memorial, Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said the Filipino community and the city were “heartbroken, were sad, were scared and there’s a bit of anger there, too.”

Power outage in Spain, Portugal affects millions

BY RENATA BRITO and BARRY HATTON Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain An unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday, stopping trains, cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica declined to speculate on the cause of the power outage that began about 12:30 p.m. Madrid time and said restoring power fully could take six to 10 hours Head of operations Eduardo Prieto told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event “exceptional and extraordinary.” By 8:35 p.m., only 35% of energy demand had been restored, Prieto said hours later

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said a “strong oscillation” in the European grid was behind the outage but the cause was still being determined. He asked the public to refrain from speculation, and urged people to call emergency services only if really necessary It was the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks after a March 20 fire shut down Heathrow Airport in the U.K., and it came as authorities across Europe gird against sabotage backed by Russia. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center in a statement said there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack. Teresa Ribera, European Commission ex-

ecutive vice president in charge of promoting clean energy, indicated the same to journalists in Brussels and called the power outage “one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times.” The outage began after midday Offices closed and traffic was snarled in major cities. In Barcelona civilians directed traffic. Train services in both countries stopped, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded. It wouldn’t be possible to restart trains later Monday even if the power returned, Spain’s Transportation Minister Oscar Puente posted on social media. The subway systems shut down “I don’t know how I am going to get home,” said Barcelona resident Ivette Corona as she watched a large group of people fail to get on a bus that briefly stopped to squeeze in a couple of passengers. In Madrid, hundreds of people at a bus stop that takes travelers to the airport were trying to hitchhike. Some held improvised signs to convince drivers to take them. Hospitals and other emergency services switched to generators. Among those most affected were homebound patients dependent on oxygen machines Gas stations stopped working. It was not possible to make calls or send text messages on most mobile phone networks, though some people managed to connect on certain messaging apps with intermittent data connections. People searched stores for battery-powered radios to stay informed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMILIO MORENATTI

A vendor uses their phone light to select and save some food Monday during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain.

PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

A damaged home burns Monday following Russia’s air raid in the Donetsk region, Ukraine.

Conclave to electnew pope will

BY NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Catholic car-

dinals on Monday set May

7asthe start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor,delaying the secret voting for two days so they can get to know one another betterand find consensus on acandidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings followingPope Francis’funeral Saturday.Inachaotic scene, journalistsshouted questions about the mood inside and whether there was unity.Areporter for asatirical Italian television program asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on financerelatedcharges would be allowed to vote.

The conclave could have opened as early as May 5, but the cardinals gave themselves extra time to speak in more informal sessions that include cardinals over age 80, who willnot be allowed into theSistine Chapelonce the conclave begins. They will next meet on Tuesday morning,

“There is the hope of unity,” said Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, the 66-year-oldarchbishop of Cordoba whoFrancis made acardinal in 2023.

Many cardinals cited the desire to continue Francis’ pastoral focus on people who are marginalized and against war.But conservatives may be more focused on forging unity and refocusing the church back on core doctrines emphasized by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, ratherthan continuing Francis’ social justice focus and outreach to women and gays.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, in ahomily in St. Peter’s Basilica on the third day of officialmourningfor Francis’ death, urged fellow cardinals to continue the Argentine pope’sreforms and avoid “power alliances” and “retaliation” as they choose his successor British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the 79-year-old archbishop of Westminster, was adamant that the church must strive for unity,and he downplayed divisions.

“The role of the pope is to essentially hold us together and that’sthe grace we’ve beengiven from God,” Nichols said.

Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo expressed confidence that once the conclavebegins, a decision would be quick, “between two and three days.”

The College of Cardinals that will elect anew pope includes members from farflung corners of the globe whom Francis named over his 12-year papacy to bring in new points of view —often at the expense of traditional centers of Catholicism

Many have spentlittleor no time in Rome getting to know colleagues, injecting some uncertainty into apro-

How anew Pope is choosen

Entrance to ‘RoomofTears’

Zuppi, considered acontender to be the next pope, navigated the scrum of journalists withhumor,joking that he was “holding his breath” as the microphones and cameras surrounded him all the way to the Vatican gate. Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, the emeritus archbishop of Abuja, was asked if theAfrican cardinals were coalescing around aparticular candidate.

African bishops had made aremarkably united stand last year against Francis’ outreach to LGBTQ+ people, refusing to implement his declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to samesex couples. Given such a stand, thereissome speculation that the 18 African cardinalelectorscould help block aprogressive candidate from emerging.

The rectangular ballot bears the words ‘Eligo in Summum Pontificem’ (‘Ielect as supreme pontiff’) withspace at the bottom for the elector’s choice; disguising his handwriting, each cardinal notes his choice and folds the ballottwice; threeso-called scrutineers, chosen earlier by lot, count the ballots in front of the altar.

One at atime,inorder of seniority, each cardinal approaches the altar holding out his ballot;hekneels, offers ashortprayer, rises and saysaloud in Latin, ‘I call as my witness Christ the Lord,who will bemy judge, that my voteisgiven to the one who before God I think should beelected ’

He places hisballotona gold plate called apaten, slides the ballot into alarge gold-plated urnand returns to hisseat. Collected ballots areremoved andcounted;if thetotal does not correspond to thenumberofelectors, they areburnedand anew vote is taken

cess that requires two-thirds of thevoting-agecardinals to coalesce behind asingle candidate.

Nichols acknowledged that the135 cardinalelectors —108 of whomwere appointedbyFrancis—don’t know each othervery well.

The last 20 were appointed in early December.

“We’ve gotall week,” Nichols said as hearrived.

Only cardinals under 80 are eligible to vote, anditis notclear howmany of the 135willparticipate. ASpanish cardinal has saidhewon’t cometoRomefor health reasons.

Abig uncertainty is whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once one of themostpowerfulcardinalsinthe Vatican, will be allowed in the Sistine Chapel.Francis in2020 forcedBecciu to resignas head of theVatican’ssaintmaking officeand renounce his rights as acardinal because of allegations of embezzlement and financial fraud. Becciu denied any wrongdoingbut wasput on trial in the Vatican criminalcourt and convictedof finance-related charges in December 2023.

He is appealing the conviction and has participated in the pre-conclave meetings, but there is alingering ques-

tion about whether he is entitled to vote. The Vatican’s official statistics list him as a“non-elector.” Whenhe was oustedin2020, Becciu toldahastily arranged news conference that he wouldn’t be voting in any future conclave, but recentlyhehas insisted he is entitled to vote, andcanon lawyers have been poring over the Vatican document regulating theconclave to determine if he’sright

The case wasdiscussed Mondaybycardinals but therewas “noresolution, the Vatican said. While Francis stacked the ranks with his cardinals,itis

If numbersmatch,the first scrutineer opens aballotand notes thename; the second repeats theprocess; the third reads thenamealoudand writes thename; if oneman receives two-thirds of the vote, avalid election has taken place; if the number is not divisible by three, two-thirds plusone is required.

If the cardinals are deadlockedafter 13 days of voting, they pausefor aday of prayer and reflection, then moveontorunoff ballots between two leading candidates;ballots are burned in astove after eachday’s vote; black smoke indicates voting is inconclusive;white signifies there is anew pope.

not necessarily thecase that all of themwill want to see thechurch continue in his image.

On Monday,any glimpse of ared cap appearing along

St. Peter’sSquare’sstately colonnadeset journalists running withcameras and voice recorders aloft to capture the mood inside. Italian Cardinal Matteo

“Wehave not comehere forapolitical rally.Wehave cometoget apope out,” said Onaiyekan, whoat81is too oldtovote butcan have arole in influencinghow younger electors might. Indian Cardinal Anthony Poola, the 61-year-old archbishopofHyderabad, said he had experienced asense of unity among his fellow cardinalsbut allowed that “anythingcould happen.”As arelatively young cardinal, Poola is one of four Indian electors who will participate in the conclave, threeof whom,including Poola, were named by Francis.

“Anyone whoiscoming up must be the successor of St. Peter,and we all hope that he will be agood pope,” he said.

Rossi, the Argentine cardinal, said he hoped that Francis’ message of “mercy, closeness, charity,tenderness and faith,”would accompany them in finding a successor Butheacknowledgedthe job was daunting. Asked how he felt about participating in his first conclave, he respondedwithalaugh: “Afraid.”

2023 by constituents demanding dramatically cheaper car insurance rates.

Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, told his colleagues that his House Bill 34 would allow lawyers for insurance companies to tell jurors how much people injured in wrecks actually pay in medical bills. Under current law, jurors hear the total amount billed, regardless of what the plaintiff paid.

“It’s fairer if you don’t hide this information from the jury,” Glorioso said, adding that passage of HB34 would align Louisiana with Texas legally on this question.

But Rep. Denise Marcelle, DBaton Rouge, noted that legislators have passed pro-insurance industry measures in previous years, yet rates keep going up.

She asked Glorioso if he could guarantee that rates would drop if his legislation passed.

Glorioso said he couldn’t speak to what previous legislatures had done, saying, “I’m here to fix it now.”

Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, asked legislators to pass House Bill 431 to bar drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receiving a damage award to cover their injuries. Under current law, a driver responsible for, say 51% of the accident can collect a payment equal to 49% of the overall damage award.

Chenevert said the bill would reduce frivolous lawsuits that allow people to collect a damage award even though they are mostly at fault for causing an accident.

Rep. Kyle Green, D-Marrero, twice asked Chenevert if she could define a frivolous lawsuit

Chenevert replied that she’s not an attorney, adding that she favored “common-sense” changes.

With little debate, the House also approved a measure that would raise to $100,000 the threshold for a driver without car insurance to begin collecting for bodily injury medical expenses. Rep. Jason Dewitt, R-Alexandria, is the sponsor of House Bill 434.

Also with little debate, the House approved reversing a Louisiana Supreme Court judicial precedent known as the “Housley presumption.” That doctrine says if evidence points to a causal connection between a crash and an injury when symptoms appear after an accident, then it’s presumed the accident caused the symptoms.

MATERNAL

Continued from page 1A

buprenorphine, a life-saving medication that blunts cravings and prevents withdrawal.

As of 2023, universal verbal screening for substance use increased from 70% to 92% across 11 participating hospitals Referrals to recovery services for patients who screened positive rose from 36% to 57%. The program has also led to changes in care for newborns. Rooming-in for infants at risk of withdrawal rose from 76% to 85% during hospitalization, and from 62% to 77% after discharge, allowing mothers to stay close to their babies even after their care had ended.

Project MOM aims to bring those practices to all 47 Louisiana birthing facilities and emergency departments.

The funding is not yet settled. But the Health Department is looking into adjusting how it pays or rewards medical providers and Medicaid managed care organizations, which provide health insurance for about 62% of Louisiana births, to encourage better outcomes. That could look like tying payments to screening or including overdose prevention as part of the quality metrics MCOs are required to meet

“Those are big financial levers for the department, and all of those are on the table,” said Health Department Deputy Secretary Dr Pete Croughan. “It’s not going to work without the money.”

The program also hopes to tap into some of Louisiana’s opioid settlement money The state is set receive at least $600 million over the next 18 years. While 80% of the state’s settlement dollars go to local governments and 20% to sheriff’s offices, Croughan said many parishes are unsure how to use them.

Croughan, who sees patients weekly at clinics in Crowley and Lafayette, said the decision to launch Project MOM came from data and treating pregnant patients struggling to find medical care, even when they’re not also dealing with addiction.

“It just shouldn’t be that difficult for them to navigate the system,” Croughan said.

Croughan also noted that better data is critical moving forward. The current system relies on deeply de-

Melerine is the sponsor of the measure, House Bill 450.

Significantly, the House did not take up a measure Monday that the governor’s lobbying team is pushing hard.

House Bill 576 would give Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple greater freedom to reject excessive rate increases for car insurance a change Temple himself opposes.

House Republicans say privately they have pressured Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, to slow walk the bill to express their dissatisfaction with Landry’s support.

Temple said HB576 would allow future commissioners to act capriciously, noting that three successive insurance commissioners elected in the 1980s and 1990s went to prison after facing accusations of accepting illegal favors from insurance companies. Temple, pointing to the governor’s own words, believes that Landry wants to put a greater onus on the insurance commissioner to blame him if car insurance rates keep rising

Temple, who supports the proindustry bills approved Monday sat on the side of the House chamber while the measures were being heard

Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Stagni, RKenner went to the House floor to say that his office has received emails from constituents urging him “to implement overdue legal system abuse reforms in our state.”

Stagni said his office checked with 20 people listed as having sent the emails. None of them actually sent the emails, Stagni said, adding that he has asked Attorney General Liz Murrill to investigate the matter Senators were buzzing because members of the Senate Insurance Committee received individual text messages over the weekend listing how much they received in insurance industry campaign contributions. The texts also used the same language that Landry has used in pushing HB576, the bill that Temple opposes.

“Let’s empower our Insurance Commissioner, legislature and citizens to fight BIG INSURANCE for better rates,” read the text sent by a group called Enough Is Enough.

Two people who incorporated the group said they had nothing to do with the texts. One is Lee Mallett, a business owner who was reappointed by Landry to the LSU Board of Supervisors. The other is MaryPatricia Wray, a lobbyist and political consultant.

Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@ theadvocate.com.

tailed but delayed case reviews that lag by about three years. One of the initiative’s 90-day goals is improving real-time data sharing between hospitals and the state, including reporting overdoses at emergency departments

Dr Benjamin Springgate, an addiction medicine specialist at LSU Health New Orleans, said OBGYNs are often the first point of contact for pregnant women with substance use disorders, but many providers aren’t trained to respond.

“A lot of women who are pregnant don’t necessarily immediately seek addiction services,” Springgate said. They will go to obstetricians to get the usual care, and that is the best entry point for many of them.”

A 2023 Health Department survey of OB-GYNs found that only 20% were comfortable treating patients with opioid use disorder, and only 7% prescribed medication for the condition, said Croughan.

That’s because many OBs feel uncertain about what to do when a patient screens positive, he said. They’re usually not trained in addiction medicine. As a result, some avoid screening altogether Partnerships with physicians comfortable prescribing buprenorphine could help.

Springgate pointed to programs in Bogalusa, where OB-GYNs and family medicine doctors provide integrated care for pregnant patients with substance use disorders.

Still, stigma remains a major barrier “It’s hard to find another group more harshly judged in society than pregnant women who use drugs,” he said. “That creates so many opportunities for mistreatment and missed care.”

At Willis-Knighton Bossier, Latiolais said staff have focused on reducing stigma in small but meaningful ways — using the term “substance use” rather than “drug abuse,” for example. What resonated most, she said, was hearing directly from women in recovery.

“When you meet someone who’s been through that and hear the struggles that they have gone through, it will pull at your heartstrings,” she said. “We’re in the business of helping people, wherever they are in their journey.”

Email Emily Woodruff at ewoodruff@theadvocate.com

George — don’t go into that fund. With the District Attorney’s Office seeking a new tax, and with Baton Rouge officials scrambling to fill budget holes, some argue that system means the four other cities aren’t paying their fair share. They say those cities should start pitching in, or East Baton Rouge should make a fundamental change to how the parish is organized. Who pays for the justice system?

District Attorney Hillar Moore is asking voters to approve a property tax Saturday that would generate $24 million for his office for the next 20 years, separating the office from the city-parish’s budget entirely

Moore says it’s a necessity, as he can no longer keep up with caseloads and pay attorneys competitively due to city-parish budget cuts to compensate for revenue lost from the incorporation of St. George.

As his staff analyzed the office’s costs with the help of the city-parish finance department leading up to his tax proposal, Moore said, it became apparent that some in the parish weren’t paying for his office and others.

“I was told by the (parish’s) auditors that those cities don’t have any specific tax that they’re taxed for that goes directly to the district attorney or public defender or constitutional offices,” Moore said. “The taxes, the money that’s paid to the DA’s Office, come directly from Baton Rouge city and unincorporated residents.”

Still, some argue that Baker, Central, Zachary and St. George pay for these services indirectly in other ways, as other parishwide taxes levied in their boundaries go into the city-parish’s general fund, the bucket that funds constitutional offices.

The problem arises when a major cut impacts the general fund, as it did with St. George’s incorporation. With an estimated $40 million to $50 million hole the city-parish made sweeping cuts to account for the lost revenue.

Some of that budget cut is mitigated by the fact that Baton Rouge is no longer responsible for much of the work done in St. George. But as some Metro Council members point out, that’s not true for the district attorney, prison and other agencies that still serve the whole parish.

That’s why District 12 Metro Council member Jen Racca has long said that “constitutional offices cannot be cut” as St George transitions into a full-fledged city

“So then the question becomes, how are Central, St. George, Zachary and Baker contributing to the constitutional offices?” Racca said.

“Because with constitutional offices, regardless of how many independent cities are out there that are now incorporated, they still serve the same amount of the public.”

Racca said she “hasn’t gotten a

SCHOOLS

Continued from page 1A

30 gatherings with groups in town. Those discussions, however were short on most details, meaning that Monday was the first time the public had a chance to sound off on an actual plan.

Much of the discussion Monday centered around the impending merger of Capitol High and Capitol Middle schools. It will mean the high school will leave the 1000 N. 23rd St. campus where it has operated for more than six decades.

“I do think it would be a detriment to take Capitol High School away from our community,” said Eureka Gaston, a 1995 graduate of the school.

Capitol High alumni have been trying to revive the once-popular high school. In 2022, then-Superintendent Sito Narcisse waged a successful public campaign to bring the high school back under the control of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, with promises of building a new facility and a partnership with nearby Baton Rouge General Medical Center

Board President Shashonnie Steward, herself a Capitol High graduate, said she has also been worried about the fate of her alma mater

“I had to take my emotions out of it,” she said. “I’m not attached to the building. The school will always have memories for me. But you’ve always got to put the students first.”

The merger with the middle school was in part prompted by a sharp dip in enrollment after Capitol High returned to East Baton Rouge in 2023. Both schools are also “F” schools which also spurred demands for change.

clear answer” from either former Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s administration or Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ team regarding what role Baker, Central, Zachary and St. George should have in funding constitutional offices versus the rest of the parish

“(Moore) would not need his own tax if everyone paid their fair share,” Hurst said. “And so you don’t want more taxes, but you’re not currently paying for what you’re getting, and that creates a disparity that favors those areas but causes challenges and questions that we have to answer for the people that live in the city of Baton Rouge.”

‘They should chip in’

When asked what responsibility Baker, Central, Zachary and St. George should have in funding those offices, Edwards did not answer directly

“I’m committed to making Baton Rouge a better steward of taxpayer resources,” Edwards said via email. “That’s why we collaborated with the Metro Council to produce the ‘Thrive! EBR’ plan to help balance the budget and fairly allocate resources.”

The Thrive! plan, which would rededicate some of the Baton Rouge library system’s funding to the city-parish’s general fund, will be on voters’ ballots in November It is a parishwide initiative that Edwards said will help the parish mend the financial hit felt by St. George’s incorporation.

Edwards was also asked whether Baker, Central and Zachary are paying their fair share to the district attorney, public defender, coroner and Parish Prison. He responded, “Questions regarding their finances will have to be answered by them individually.”

Central Mayor Wade Evans said he is not responsible for managing the parish’s budget.

“I do not set the necessary millage for constitutional offices,” Evans wrote in a text message. “Hopefully, the Administration can figure out what they need to do to fix the problems going on for decades.”

Zachary Mayor David McDavid echoed Evans and said he’s only responsible for his city’s budget, adding, “We pay a lot of taxes” to the city-parish When asked how St. George funds constitutional offices, Mayor

Steward said she’s interested in turning the old high school into an alumni center, similar to the conversion of the original McKinley High into an alumni center Of the nine schools closing when the school year ends May 23, three were previously approved: IDEA Bridge, IDEA Innovation and J.K. Haynes Elementary School.

In addition to Capitol Middle, five new schools being closed or consolidated are:

n Bernard Terrace Elementary, 241 Edison St.: Its students are being reassigned to Dufrocq elementary EBR Virtual Academy is moving into Bernard Terrace.

n Eva Legard Learning Center, 408 E. Polk St.: The 70 students in that specialized environmental education program are relocating to Glasgow Middle and McKinley High. The formerly Polk Elementary campus would become office space.

n Ryan Elementary: Its 200 students are being reassigned to Progress Elementary EBR Readiness Middle School is taking over the Ryan campus. n Westminster Elementary: Its 200-plus students are being reassigned to Wedgewood and Highland elementary schools. The Westminster campus is to turn into affordable housing for teachers.

n Winbourne Elementary: Its 290 students are being reassigned to Capitol and Melrose elementary schools. It will become the new home of Belfair Montessori School.

Brent Aucoin, a teacher at Eva Legard, expressed concern about the future of that school, which is only in its third year of operation. He notes that teachers have $50,000 in hydroponics and aquaponics equipment acquired through grants. “I’m going to need a truck at

Dustin Yates said, “The bigger issue really with all of it is the way our consolidated form of government is set up.

“it can be difficult to see it, but the city-parish general fund, that fund is made up of both city as well as parish dollars. And the parish by law is constitutionally required to fund these offices,” Yates said, referring to the district attorney, public defender, coroner and prison. “So technically, the city of Baton Rouge doesn’t pay for those offices either.”

Chief Public Defender Kyla Romanach said, “It makes sense that if we’re providing our services” to Baker, Central, Zachary and St. George, “they should chip in.”

Deconsolidating government

Now that there five cities in East Baton Rouge Parish, some officials wonder if it’s time to decouple Baton Rouge and the parish government altogether

This would mean a separate Baton Rouge city government and an East Baton Rouge Parish government, the latter of which would be solely responsible for funding parishwide offices.

Some wonder if that might simplify things.

“I have definitely asked myself the question, would it be easier for the public to understand? Would theyhavemoreconfidenceinwhat’s going on?” said District 11 Metro Council member Laurie Adams.

But Adams also notes two HR departments, two finance departments, etc., could create some inefficiencies and administrative bloat to use up even more government funds.

While mayors Yates and McDavid both said deconsolidation might be worth exploring, neither was sure whether it would be a solution. Edwards, on the other hand, said the consolidated form of government is the best avenue for the parish collectively

“There is strength in numbers, and we are stronger together in both our stance at the state and federal level,” Edwards said. “Deconsolidation would be a step backwards for the parish It would lead to higher taxes, higher insurance rates and duplicated services.”

Email Patrick Sloan-Turner at patrick.sloan-turner@ theadvocate.com.

least,” Aucoin said. “And I’m going to need to know where to move it.” Elementary education will now look a lot different in much of north Baton Rouge. Four elementary schools there will draw from wider areas but educate fewer grade levels.

Melrose and Merrydale elementaries will focus on prekindergarten to second grade. These new “foundational learning centers” will have two teachers in every classroom, an approach popularized at schools such as LSU Lab and Mayfair Lab. Capitol and Glen Oaks Park will shift to educating kids strictly in upper elementary grades. Capitol Elementary will add a sixth grade, a grade currently served at Capitol Middle. The approved plan also calls for upgrades to current schools. That includes adding programs in STEM short for science, technology, engineering and math programs — to Crestworth and Progress elementary schools, both in the Scotlandville area. That area is close to ExxonMobil, which has a long-standing partnership with Scotlandville High And schools near Baton Rouge General that feed into Capitol High will all set up medical programs.

Claiborne and Capitol elementaries as well Park Forest Middle will spearhead the district’s adoption of a popular school reform known as the Teacher Advancement Program, offered by the Arizona-based National Institute for Excellence in Teaching. It centers around creating higher-level teaching positions where teachers earn more money for coaching their peers and improving the school while still keeping their hand in the classroom.

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

St. George Mayor Dustin yates speaks during the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council meeting at City Hall on Wednesday.

WhiteHouse marks100 days of Trump’s2nd term

Administration focusesonborder crackdown

BY MICHELLEL.PRICE and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The White House on Monday opened aweeklong celebration of Donald Trump’sfirst 100 days in office by focusing on his border crackdown,an area of relative strength for the president at atime when there are red flags for him in the latest round of polling. Yard signs with mug shots of immigrants who have beenaccused of crimes like rape and murder wereposted across the White House lawn, positioned so they would be in the background of television broadcasts outside the West Wing. Tom Homan, Trump’stop border adviser,told reportersthere hasbeen “unprecedented success” on the border effort and “we’re goingtokeep doing it, full speed ahead.”

ImmigrationisTrump’s leading issue in public opinion surveys, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at amorning briefing the administration is in “thebeginning stages of carrying out thelargest deportation campaign in American history.”

About 139,000 people have

BY GRANT PECK Associated Press

BANGKOK Hundreds of thousands of survivors desperately needhumanitarian aid amonth after Myanmar’s deadlyearthquake, compounded by airstrikes the militarygovernmentisreportedly carrying out despite ceasefires meant to aid relief efforts during the country’s civil war The 7.7 magnitude March 28 quakehit awide swath of the country,causing significant damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyitaw.Myanmar’s Department of Meteorologyand Hydrologyreported Monday there had been 157 aftershocks after the big quake, ranging in magnitude from 2.8 to 7.5.

State-run MRTV televisionreported on Monday the quake’sdeath toll had reached 3,770, with 5,106 people injured and 106 still missing. The earthquake left many areas without power telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, in addition to tens of thousands of buildings. In some quake-hit areas, bereaved relatives and friends of thedisaster’s victims on Monday offered donations to monks, aBuddhist tradition to transfer merit and blessings to the deceased. MRTV reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the ruling military council, and his colleaguesperformed thesame ceremony in Naypyitaw Areport released Monday by theMyanmar Witness project of the London-based Centre for Information Resilience said the group had documented 80 post-quake airstrikes by themilitary across multiple regions, including 65 after the army declared its unilateral ceasefire on April 2,

beenremoved so far, according to the White House.Deportations have occasionally lagged behind Democratic President Joe Biden’snumbers, but Trump officials reject thecomparison as not “apples to apples”becauseso many fewer people are crossingthe bordernow

Later Monday, Leavitt held asecondbriefingexclusively for“newmedia,” where Trump-aligned socialmedia influencers asked friendly questions and applauded at the end.

Tuesday will be Trump’s 100th day in office, and the Republican president plans to mark the dayinMichigan, where he will hold arally in Macomb County,an automotive hub north of Detroit. After relatively little travel so far in his term, Trumpwill also deliver acommencement address Thursday at the University of Alabama.

Trump is also doing anumberofinterviews timed to the 100-daymark, including an Oval Officeinterview with ABC News that is to air Tuesday night. He also talkedwith journalists from TheAtlantic magazine, apublication he hasfrequently attacked for its critical reporting.

Trump told The Atlantic he feels more powerfulin his second turn in the White House. Hisadministrationis stockedwith loyalists, and he’sbecomeeven more confrontational with ajudicial

PresidentDonald Trumpwaves Saturdayashearrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J.

system that at times serves as acheck on his agenda.

“The first time, Ihad two things to do —run the country andsurvive;I hadall these crooked guys,” he said. “Andthe secondtime, Irun the country and the world.”

Pr es id ents have markedthe initial 100daysof their terms since Franklin DelanoRooseveltmoved swiftly to counter the Great Depression after taking office in 1933.

Trumpwasn’t so bullish aboutthe idea during hisfirst term, when he wasplagued by setbacks, investigations and turnover in hisranks, at

that time callingthe 100-day mark“anartificialbarrier.”

Butnow he’strying to harness themoment to mark the ambitious agenda he’s pursuedinhis first months. Leavittsaid Trump had already signedalmost as many executive orders as Biden did during his entire term. But many Americans believe Trump has mostlybeen focused on the wrong issues.

Americans are nearly twice as likely to say Trump has been mostly focusing on the wrong priorities as to say he has been focusing on the right ones, according to an AP-NORCsurvey, andonly

about half of Republicans say he’smostly had the right focus. Anotherone-quarter of Republicans say it’sbeen about an even mix of right andwrong priorities, and about 1in10say he’sfocusing on the wrong things.

Andamong Trump’sown supporters, theshare of Republicans who say he has been at least a“good” president has fallen about 10 percentagepointssince January

Otherpolls conductedin recent weeks have found similarlevelsofdissatisfactionwith Trump’sfirst few months,particularlywith his economic policies and

approach to tariffs. Trumplashed out at the results on social media as “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.” As he’s pushedtocrack down on illegal immigration, Trump has drawn criticism as he hasstrainedthe limits of executive power,attacked judges who’ve ruledagainst him, senthundredsofalleged Venezuelangangmembers to amega-prisoninElSalvador in defiance of acourt order and balked at aSupreme Court order that his administration must facilitate the return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador His plans to carry out a mass deportation have not yet shaped up, but the White House is ramping up efforts to encourage people who are in the country illegally to “self-deport,”withactions that include stiffer fines and incentives to leave, including airfare and stipends. Hisadministration has pointedtothe steep dropin the number of illegalborder crossings as an early and significant sign of success. Trump signedtwo executive orders later Monday related to immigration, including one directing state and federal officials to publish a list of “sanctuary city” jurisdictions. Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

Israel’s domestic security chieftostepdown

BY NATALIE MELZER Associated Press

following similardeclarations by its battlefield foes.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army’s2021 takeover ousted theelected government of Aung San Suu Kyi,which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalatedinto armed resistance, uniting pro-democracyactivists andethnic minority guerrillagroupsthathave long been fighting for autonomy

“Myanmar’spopulation was already on its kneesafter years of SAC aggressionand armedconflict,” said MyanmarWitness project director Robert Dolan,referring to the military’sruling State Administration Council. “The layers of suffering are hard to comprehend —we’veseen regions wrecked by war and then the earthquake,only to sustainfurther damage from continued airstrikes.”

The bombingshaveprimarily targeted civilian areas markets, residential zones, Buddhistmonasteries, and Christian churches—resulting in thedeaths of over 200 civilians, including at least 24 children, from March 28 to April 19, 2025, according to astatement from theshadow NationalUnityGovernment, the main opposition group coordinatingresistance to military rule.

Dave Eubank, aformer U.S. Army SpecialForces soldier who founded the Free BurmaRangers, aprivate aidorganization, said two of hismedics had been killed in military attacks since the earthquake, which have primarily struck villages.

“These attackshave not slowed down at all, attacks by drones,airstrikes, mortarsand artillery continue unabated,” said Eubank, who was in Myanmarwhenthe earthquakehit butiscurrently outside the country, though his teams continue to operatethere

TEL AVIV,Israel The head of Israel’sinternal security service says he will resign in June over the failure of his agency to warn of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023,attacks —defusing an escalating battle withPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shin Bet chief RonenBar announced his resignation Monday,saying he will formally stepdown June 15. “Afteryears on many

fronts, one night, on the southern front,the skies came down,” Barsaid during remarks at amemorial event for fallen Shin Bet soldiers. “All systems collapsed. The Shin Bet also failed to give awarning.”

Netanyahu moved to fire Barlast month over what he said was acrisisofconfidencesurrounding Hamas’ attack. But thestep sparked an uproar in Israel because theagency is investigating ties between the Israeli leader’soffice andQatar

—a key mediatorbetween Hamas and Israel over the warinGaza.

Criticssaidthe firing was tainted by aconflictofinterest meant to derail that probe, acharge Netanyahu denies.

Israel’sSupremeCourt froze thefiring following multiple legal challenges against it andcalledonthe sidestoreach acompromise

In his address, Bar said the court case “is not about my personal case butabout

ILLINOIS

the independence of the next heads of the Shin Bet.” He said the agency’s “proper functioning is of inestimable importance to thesecurityofthe state and to Israeli democracy. I have been fighting forthis forthe past month, andthis week the necessary infrastructure was laid before the High Court of Justice. I hope that the ruling that will be given will ensure that the Shin Bet will be preserved as such, over timeand without fear.”

4killedwhencar smashesthrough

By The Associated Press

CHATHAM, Ill. Four children werekilled and several morewereinjured when acar smashed through abuilding during an after-school program Mondayafternoon in a town outside of Springfield, Illinois,police said. Officers respondedat about 3:20 p.m. to calls about avehicle hitting three people outside, rammingthrough the building and then hitting another person before exiting the other side, Chatham Police DepartmentDeputy Chief Scott Tarter said. Those killed were between the ages of 4and 18,IllinoisState Police said in an emailed statement.

Several other people werehurt and taken to hospitals,police said.

The driver,who was uninjured, was the sole occupant of the vehicle, and was taken to ahospital for evaluation, Tarter said.

The building and facilities house YNOT Outdoors, which holds after-

building

school programs and summer camps, according to its website. Chatham is asmall town of about15,000 people just outside Springfield,

Carney’s Liberal Party wins Canadian election

Campaign upended by Trump’s trade

bluster

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO Prime Minister

Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservative Party, though it wasn’t immediately clear if they would win an outright majority that would allow them to pass legislation without needing help. The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump’s actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power

“We were dead and buried in December Now we are going to form a government,” David Lametti, a for-

mer Liberal Justice Minister, told CTV

“We have turned this around thanks to Mark,” he said.

The Conservative Party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose.

But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker became the Liberal Party’s leader and prime minister

Trump was even trolling Canada on election day, suggesting on social media that he was in fact on the ballot and repeating that Canada should become the 51st state — an assertion that Canadians find deeply insulting. He also erroneously claimed that the U.S. subsidizes Canada, writing “It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”

Poilievre, who has been criticized for not taking a firmer stance against Trump, responded with a post of his own

“President Trump, stay out of our election. The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box,” he posted hours before polls closed.

Trump’s truculence has infuriated many Canadians,

leading many to cancel U.S. vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day

“The Americans want to break us so they can own us,” Carney said in the run-up to the election. “Those aren’t just words. That’s what’s at risk.”

Election day came as the country grappled with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street fair that led to the sus-

pension of campaigning for several hours. Police ruled out terrorism and said the suspect is a local man with a history of mental health issues.

Poilievre implored voters to “Get out to vote — for a change” as he and his wife cast their ballots Monday in their Ottawa district

After Trump seized the election spotlight, though, his similarities to the bombastic American president might have cost him.

Reid Warren, a Toronto res-

ident, said he voted Liberal because Poilievre “sounds like mini-Trump to me.” And he said Trump’s tariffs are a worry

“Canadians coming together from you know all the shade being thrown from the States is great, but it’s definitely created some turmoil, that’s for sure,” he said.

Historian Robert Bothwell said Poilievre appealed to the “same sense of grievance” as Trump, and that, “It’s like Trump standing there saying, ‘I am your retribution.’”

“The Liberals ought to pay him,” Bothwell added, referring to the American president. “Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives.” Foreign policy hadn’t dominated a Canadian election as much since 1988 when, ironically, free trade with the United States was the prevailing issue. Carney and the Liberals cleared a big hurdle by winning a fourth-straight term, but they have daunting challenges ahead.

In addition to the sweeping U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, Canada has been dealing with a cost-of-living crisis for some time. And more than 75% of its exports go to the U.S., so Trump’s tariffs threat and his desire to get North American automakers to move Canada’s production south could severely damage the Canadian economy While campaigning, Carney vowed that every dollar the government collects from counter-tariffs on U.S. goods will go toward Canadian workers who are adversely affected by the trade war He also said he plans to keep dental care in place, offer a middle-class tax cut, return immigration to sustainable levels and increase funding to Canada’s public broadcaster,

FDA scrutiny of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine sparks uncertainty

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration’s effort to impose new requirements on Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine the nation’s only traditional protein-based option for the coronavirus — is sowing uncertainty about updates to other vaccines, too. Novavax said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration was asking the company to run a new clinical trial of its vaccine after the agency grants full approval. The company said it had responded and that it believed its shot remains “approvable.”

But a weekend post on social media by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggested the prospect of needing a new trial before the shots’ yearly strain update something unlikely to be possible before fall. That’s raised questions about whether other vaccines will be caught in the turmoil.

“I don’t think because there’s a strain change that this is a new product,” said Dr Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. If that’s the new policy, “you’d always be doing clinical tri-

ALASTAIR GRANT

ation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential agency matters. But Trump appointees directed FDA scientists to pause their decision, according to one of the people. Since that highly unusual move, Novavax and the agency have been discussing additional requirements for approval.

In his weekend tweet,

FDA’s Makary referred to the Novavax vaccine as “a new product,” presumably because it had been updated to match last year’s common coronavirus strain.

“New products require new clinical studies,” Makary added.

als and you’d never have a vaccine that was up to date.”

The unusual move at FDA come shortly after the agency’s longtime vaccine chief was forced out over disagreements with Makary’s boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr Kennedy won Senate confirmation to his job, in part, by promising not to change the nation’s vaccine schedule. Since taking office, he’s promised to “investigate” children’s shots, canceled meetings of expert vaccine advisers and directed officials to look again for connections between vaccines and autism, a link long-ago debunked The Novavax vaccine,

which originally showed effectiveness in a nearly 30,000-person clinical trial, is still being sold under emergency use authorization in the U.S. The nation’s other two options, mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, have earned full FDA approval for certain age groups.

Because the coronavirus continually mutates, manufacturers follow instructions from FDA to make one change each year to their recipe — which strain to target — just like flu vaccines.

The FDA was on track to grant Novavax full approval by its April 1 target date, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situ-

Storms strike in upper Midwest

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS Storms with lightning and hail and at least one observed tornado moved through the upper Midwest Monday with the potential for strong tornadoes

The National Weather Service said the highest risks

— a 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 — were in portions of southern Minnesota, including the Minneapolis area, northern Iowa and western Wisconsin. While forecasters expected two rounds of severe weather, the second, in the afternoon and evening, could be the most impactful.

“The most dangerous period is likely during the late afternoon and evening when strong tornado potential should be maximized. Scattered large to very large hail and damaging winds are likely as well,” meteorologists at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, wrote.

Depending on how the storms form, tornadoes in the EF2 range or greater are

possible, the weather service office for the Minneapolis area said. The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said Monday afternoon that it had a report of an observed tornado looking west from Fairmont, Minnesota, which is southwest of Minneapolis. No damage was immediately reported and it was not immediately known if the observed twister touched down The Storm Prediction Center said a lesser potential for severe weather extended as far south as parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Minneapolis on Monday reiterated its messaging to residents asking them to prepare. The city urged them to ensure they have multiple ways of getting weather alerts, are prepared to take shelter, secure outdoor furniture, and prepare for potential power outages by charging phones and other devices and having flashlights.

Monday’s first round of storms darkened skies over downtown Minneapolis around 9 a.m. and brought brief heavy rains, but it trig-

gered no weather warnings as it passed through. The weather service said the situation for the afternoon’s main event remained volatile and could spin up strong tornadoes.

The City of Minneapolis closed its public-facing nonemergency city facilities, including its main service center, as of 2 p.m and activated its emergency operations center

The Minneapolis, St Paul and Bloomington school districts were among several in Minnesota that canceled evening activities ahead of the storms. Some Iowa schools also closed early for the day or canceled evening activities.

As severe thunderstorms began popping up in the early afternoon, the National Weather Service reported 2.8-inch hail near Beaver Creek in southwestern Minnesota. Forecasters issued tornado watches for almost the entire southern half of Minnesota, plus much of northern Iowa and western Wisconsin effective until late Tuesday

An administration spokesman didn’t respond to specific questions about Pfizer and Moderna but suggested all COVID-19 vaccines could face stricter requirements.

“It’s now been years since COVID has presented the threat it once did, and the urgency to rush approval of boosters without normal oversight no longer exists,” said Andrew Nixon, a Health and Human Services spokesman, in a statement.

PRESS PHOTO

Amazon launches its first internet satellites

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Ama-

zon’s first batch of internet satellites rocketed toward orbit Monday, the latest entry in the mega constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX’s thousands of Starlinks.

The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles.

Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version The latest satellites also are

coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers.

Stargazers oppose the fastgrowing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions.

Founded by Jeff Bezos, who now runs his own rocket company Blue Origin, Amazon aims to put more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast, affordable broadband service around the globe.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX already has launched more than 8,000 Starlinks since 2019 The company marked its 250th Starlink launch Sunday night. More than 7,000 Starlinks are still in orbit some 300-plus miles above Earth

The European-based OneWeb satellite constellation numbers in the hundreds in an even higher orbit.

Amazon already has purchased dozens of rocket launches from United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin for Project Kuiper, as well as others.

“There are some things you can only learn in flight” despite extensive testing on the ground, said Rajeev Badyal, the project’s vice president.

“No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey,” he said in a statement ahead of the evening liftoff.

The first liftoff attempt earlier this month was nixed by bad weather It took until now to secure another spot in the launch lineup at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Trial begins in Paris over jewel heist aimed at Kim Kardashian

BY NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

PARIS A trial began Monday in Paris over the 2016 heist in which armed robbers tied up Kim Kardashian in her bedroom and stole millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry during Fashion Week.

The robbery was considered the biggest heist targeting an individual that Paris had seen in decades. The jury of six citizens will conduct the trial along with three magistrates — a procedure in France reserved for the most serious crimes.

Ten people, nine men and a woman, face charges of robbery and kidnapping of the media personality and the concierge of the residence where she was staying on the night of Oct. 2, 2016. Two have acknowledged their participation. The others have denied it.

Kardashian has described being terrified, thinking she would be raped and killed when criminals broke into her bedroom and pointed a gun at her Her lawyers said she will testify in person. She is expected to speak on May 13 The trial is scheduled to run through May 23.

“Ms. Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court and jury and does not wish to elaborate further at this time,” they said. “She has great respect and admiration for the French justice system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities.”

In a 2020 appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix

show, Kardashian tearfully recalled thinking: “This is the time I’m going to get raped. I’m like, ‘What is happening? Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children. I have babies, I have a husband, I have a family.’”

Twelve people were originally expected in the defendants’ box. One has died and another is seriously ill and can’t be tried. According to the investigation, five of the 10 defendants were present at the scene of the robbery

The French press has dubbed them “The Granddad Robbers” because the main defendants are older and have been bank robbers with long criminal records. Kardashian told investigators she was taken to a bathroom and placed in the bathtub. Her attackers fled on bicycles or on foot, and she freed herself by removing the tape

She rushed to her stylist’s room and called her sister Kourtney Shortly afterward, Kardashian told investiga-

tors that she had not been injured. She filed a complaint, adding that she wanted to leave France as soon as possible to be reunited with her children.

According to her testimony and that of the concierge, at least one suspect had a handgun with which he threatened the victims.

Henri de Beauregard, the lawyer representing Abderrahmane Ouatiki, the concierge, said the intruders “were experienced, determined criminals who did not hesitate to threaten him while he was working nights to finance his studies.”

The gangsters stole many pieces of jewelry estimated to be worth $6 million, including Kardashian’s engagement ring. Only one piece a diamond cross on platinum that was lost during the suspects’ escape has been recovered.

Two of the accused have partially confessed to the crime, as their DNA was found at the scene.

Houthi rebels say U.S. strike hit prison holding African migrants

Group says at least 68 killed in yemen

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a U.S airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The U.S. military said it was investigating. The strike in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country’s decadelong war to see African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations killed while crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

It also likely will renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as “Operation Rough Rider,” which has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The U.S. military’s Central Command, in a statement early Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign. The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing

details of our ongoing or future operations,” Central Command said. “We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”

Late on Monday night, the military said Central Command was “aware of the claims of civilian casualties related to the U.S. strikes in Yemen, and we take those claims very seriously.”

“We are currently conducting our battle-damage assessment and inquiry into those claims,” it added.

Graphic footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.

BY ADRIAN SAINZ and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn A historic Black church in downtown Memphis that was the organizing point for Martin Luther King Jr.’s final campaign in 1968 caught fire early Monday morning and suffered significant damage

“The inside is a total loss, but we’re still somewhat hopeful that some of the facade will be able to be left standing,” Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said at a Monday morning news conference. She said the fire was reported at 1:39 a.m through a commercial alarm service. Local fire and police officers are investigating the cause, along with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is “way too early” to know anything more, Sweat said. King was drawn to Memphis in 1968 to support some 1,300 predominantly Black sanitation workers who went on strike to protest inhumane treatment.

Two workers had been crushed in a garbage compactor in 1964, but the faulty equipment had not been re-

born Temple was undergoing a $25 million restoration that was slated for completion in 2026. The initiative aims to preserve the architectural and historical integrity of the Romanesque revival church and includes the restoration of a 3,000-pipe grand organ. At the same time, the project seeks to help revitalize the local neighborhood with a museum, cultural programing and community outreach, according to a news release on the renovation. Memphis church pivotal in MLK’s final days suffers devastating fire

placed. On Feb. 1, 1968, two more men, Echol Cole, 36, and Robert Walker, 30, were crushed in the compactor The two men were contract workers, so they did not qualify for workmen’s compensation, and had no life insurance Workers wanted to unionize, and fought for higher pay and safer working conditions. City officials declared the strike illegal and arrested scores of strikers and protesters Before the fire, the Clay-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN RAOUX

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with a payload of Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellites prepares for launch Monday at Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By AURELIEN MORISSARD Reporters cover the opening day of the trial of the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian on Monday at the palace of justice in Paris.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KAREN PULFER FOCHT

The historic Clayborn Temple, a landmark from the civil rights movement with ties to Martin Luther King Jr caught fire Monday in Memphis, Tenn.

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LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Songwriting exceeds expectations

Last October,when Istarted making alist of Louisiana adventures Icould do for my Tuesday column (in its 30th iteration this week), “help write asong” was on thelist. Jodi James jumped to the top of my mind because Iconnected with her music so much. Ireached out and had the outing set up quickly We met on acold, rainy day back in early December at her home in Burnside. In one sense, the experience far exceeded my expectations. The act of collaborating creatively was abeautiful thing. We built on each other’s ideas. Iloved beingable to connectthe many randomthoughts in my head to her music. In another sense, this adventure turned out to be much more complicated than expected hence the nearly five-month wait on writing the column.Songwriters and musicians know that sometimes once asong is written, things become more tangled. The first time Iever heard James and Clay Parker sing, I immediately recognized that they wrote, played and sang the kind of music that gets in my brain and makes itself comfortable. Their song, ”Nothing at All,” was on acontinuous loop in my life for most of 2024. The song we wrote that day doesn’tevenhavea name. At this point, its only recording is on my phone. When we finished that day,wewere both so pleased with it. In the weeks thatfollowedour lovely time together shedecided she needed time to sit with the song.

She messaged me this week that it has bubbled back toward the top of her mind, and she’s starting to think about it again. Even if the song never goes further than my phone recording, that alone provides plenty of evidence of James’ beautiful voice and guitar playing.

Listening to the song now is a bitofinsight into the magic of that day

James and Ibriefly met twice before thatcold December day WhenI arrived at her house with sandwiches, we ate lunch and then got right to work on writing asong —made possible by her sheer talent, matched by my enthusiasm and love of words.

Ihad no idea how to start the process of writing asong. Fortunately,James did. She picked one of the many little riffs that had been rolling around in her head, played it on her guitar,and we were off. She told me how musical phrases come into her head. She usually records them and saves them in this case, for arainy day To write the song, back in December, James and Isettled on arhymescheme. We worked through the song’snarrator’s perspective. We hadtoagree on thechorus and figured out where the bridge would go. James has serious musical chops. Iwas able to contribute specific words and ideas —including the openingline based on theview out my bathroom window, whereIlike to watch the morning sun. Iwas also thinking alot about horizons backthen and was able to work that in, too. She added the beautiful line to start the second verseabout “an achingly familiar sky andshadow.” Ithought of thewhimsical decision-makingprocess involving picking petals from adaisy and themouse in the nursery rhyme who ran up the clock and was able to incorporatethose ideas into the song. Here are the lyrics we wrote that day:

METRO

Edwards backsDA’stax proposal

Mayor-presidentsayshecastvotetofundbudget

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

EastBaton Rouge ParishMayor-

President Sid Edwards said he supports District Attorney Hillar Moore’sproposal to levy anew property tax, which will be on voters’ ballots this Saturday Edwards, aRepublican, voted early infavor of the Democratic district attorney’stax, which would generate about $24 million for the DistrictAttorney’sOffice, he said in atextmessage to The Advocate. Edwards previously said Moore’s officewas operating under a“woe-

ful deficit,” overseeing Louisiana’s most populous jurisdiction while operating on lessfunding than Orleans or Jefferson parishes.

“I have already voted yes to support the DA on this critical issue,” Edwards said Sunday

He said the tax, whichwould costthe average homeowner $5 a month, wouldhelptoimprove public safety in BatonRouge, which hasseen increased violentcrime ratesover thepastfew years

“Although it’sjust onepiece, it is an importantpiece,” Edwards said. “For around five bucks a month, we can getcriminals off the streetsand better support

the public defender,aswell. It’sa smallpricetopay to substantially improve public safety acrossthe parish.”

If the taxpasses, Edwardshas pledged to give an undetermined amount of the $8.7 millionthe cityparish allocates to Moore’soffice to the public defender’soffice.

About 53% of Moore’sbudget comes from thecity-parish general fund. However,ifvoters approve the tax, the district attorney’sbudget will operate entirely independently from the city-parish.

Mooresaid he was grateful to get support from the mayor-president and former Baton Rouge Police

Department ChiefJeffLeDuff, whoserves as Edwards’assistant chief administrative officer

“These are twoextremely credible messengers, and they have looked at andunderstandour budget and our dire needs. We appreciatetheirsupport,” Moore said.

The 20-year tax is worth 4mills and would bring Moore’soverall budgetonpar withOrleansand Jefferson parishes, the next two most populated in Louisiana. Amill is onedollaroftax on every thousand dollars of assessed property values.

TheBaton RougeAreaChamber also endorsed Moore’stax, as did local police chiefs in Baker,St. George and Central.

WALK &TALK

ABOVE: East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards gets ‘five’ from Asen Jackson during a community meet andgreet walk along Tams Drive on Monday in Baton Rouge RIGHT: Baton Rouge Police DepartmentLt. Leonard Harry hands out sno-balls

TwoLa. sites arecoal-fired

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

President Donald Trump has grantedtwo Louisianacoal-fired power plants two-year exemptionstonew airpollutionlimits delaysthatcould signal moreto come for other industries as his administration seeks to boost energyproduction Environmentalists and others say thecoal plant exemptions

allowthe continuedrelease of pollutantsthat causeillnessand death—and could be part of broader plantoeliminate the new environmental rules permanently Aunit at Entergy Corp.’sRoy S. Nelsonplant in Westlake and another at Brame Energy Centerwest of Alexandria, run and partially owned by Cleco, are among 68 U.S. plants granted exemptions to limits on fineparticulates from their coal-burning boilers, the U.S. Environmental

Judgesentences Zachary manto318 yearsinjail Official callssex crimes ‘pureevil’

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

AZachary man convicted of abusing and sexually assaulting foster children in hiscarewas sentencedtomore than 300 years in prisonon10child molestation charges Monday District Judge Louis Hines Myers handed down maximum sentences on 10 child molestation countsand ordered Michael Lane Haddentoserve his time behind

bars on each of them successively.The judge sentenced Hadden without thepossibilityofparole, probationoranearly release on all but twoofhis sentences. “And if, for some reason, you are able to live through the 318 years that Ijust gave you, you will be on lifetime parole and will be required to haveaGPS ankle monitor forthe rest of your life,” Hines Myers told him On April 8, at the end of the 10daytrial,anEastBaton Rouge jury found Hadden, 54, guilty of threecounts of sexual battery of

STAFFPHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

TrialbeginsinHarahan killing

Womanaccused of murdering 6-year-old girl

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Bunnak “Hannah” Landon, the Harahan woman accused of killingher boyfriend’s 6-year-olddaughter andleaving the child’sbody in abucket on her biological mother’sfront yard. Landon, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in thedeath of Bella Fontenelle.

She’salso charged with two counts of obstructionofjustice forallegedly moving Bella’s bodyand burying her cellphone to keep it from authorities, according to Jefferson Parish court records.

Landon has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’sOffice is not seeking the death penalty Bella, the daughter of Landon’s

longtime boyfriend, Michael Fontenelle, died on the night of April 25, 2023, inside the DonelonDrive home thecouple shared in Harahan,according to Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators. Landonisaccused of beating andstrangling the 6-year-old while Michael Fontenelle was working late. Authorities say Landon then stuffed the little girl’sbodyinto a12-gallon pool chlorine bucket that she loaded into awagon Video surveillance cameras onestreet over recorded awoman fitting Landon’sdescription pulling the bloody bucketover to the nearby home of Bella’s mother. Landonleftthe bucket on the front lawn where it was discovered the nextmorning, authorities said.

Landon then went to theHarahan PoliceDepartment complaining of family issues, investigators said. Shewas eventually taken to East Jefferson General Hospitalfor amental health evaluation

Shewas arrested at thehospital in Bella’sdeathseveral hours later

MichaelFontenelledidn’t come home until after Bella wasalreadydead and herbody moved,accordingtothe Sheriff’s Office. He wentstraight to bedand didn’tnoticehis youngest daughter and Landon were missinguntil he woke thenext morning, according to the authorities.

He reported them bothmissing to Harahan police, kicking off thesearch that ended with the grisly discovery of Bella’s body.Sheriff’s detectives have said theydon’t believe Michael Fontenelle wasinvolved in any way with Bella’s death

But court records involving custody disputes and dustups between Landon and Bella’s mother —including ascuffle at the girl’sswim meet thatresulted in asimple battery summonsfor Landon —highlight acontentious andcomplicated family dynamic, according to prosecutors.

Jury selection continued into Mondayevening. The trial could last for at least aweek.Ifconvicted of murder,Landonfaces amandatory sentence of life in prison.

Parentscharged in shooting of La.native

Officialssay they didn’t secure gun properly

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

The parents of ateen accused of killing 14-year-old Opelousas native Anaya Zachary at an apartment complexplayground in Baytown, Texas, have been charged, KPRC-TVreports. Kenneth Coney,61, and Cassie Coney, 37,haveboth been charged with making a firearm accessible to achild, amisdemeanor,the newsoutletreported Monday.Authori-

RISHER

Continued from page1B

Ican almost see the lake this timeofwinter /Against thenew bright morning sun /And they say the horizon goes forever / but from where Istand, Ican’t see one.

CHORUS: So Iturn the page / To amodern age /Shelter from thecold /Iwas never bold.

There’sanachingly familiar sky and shadow /And another April gone away /And the birds are singing songs that Idon’t yet know /And the daisy petals say come what may Chorus repeats. The clock strikes twilight,the mouse runs down /Feel the pull, it comesonstrong /One too many times around /The years are short and the days arelong. Chorus repeats.

Whether our song ever reaches awider audience or simply stays asecret between us, the joy of building something new with someone who understands the languageofmusic and memory was areminder of how art connects us, even when the final product remains unfinished.

SENTENCE

Continued from page1B

ajuvenile, three counts of molestation of ajuvenile and four counts of aggravated crimes againstnature on ajuvenile.

“Weare pleased with thecourt’s 318-year sentence of this defendant, which is in effect alife sentence,” East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said afterward Monday.“This sentence reflects the very heinous crimes which he committedto those vulnerable victims that were under his care.”

Hadden was aDepartment of Child and Family Services foster parent who cared for children through the state’s foster program. According to court records, he rapedand sexually abused several of his foster and adoptivechildren over the years. The trial stemmed fromallegations made by three of his foster kids that surfaced in 2022.The first victim came forward in January of that year,about two years after being removedfrom Hadden’s house.According to acivil lawsuit the child’s adoptive parentsfiled

ties allege the parents did not secure the gun in away that prevented their 14-yearoldson from accessing it and using it.

The incident occurred March 21 at approximately 4p.m. Officersweredispatched to an apartmentcomplex in the 4600 block of Village Lane after receivingreports of a shooting When they arrived, officers found Anayaneara playground with agunshot wound. Officersimmediately began lifesaving measuresuntil medics arrived and she wastransportedtoalocalhospitalwhere she was later pronounced dead

Anaya’sfamily said sherelocated to Texasfrom Opelousas to live with her dadwhen she was11. She wasinher last year of middle school, and the family said they are devastatedshe will never experience allthatlife hadtooffer “A part of ourlife, ourfamily, hasbeentaken away.There will neverbeenough justice served because we don’tget herback,” heraunt, Nicole Ferguson,said in an interview earlier this month.

The Baytown Police Department has not yet responded to The Advocate’srequests for information about charges against the alleged shooter’s parents

against Hadden and the department, the victim finally broke their silence in the daysleading up to an adoption hearing. The civil suit, whichremains ongoing, alleges thedepartment’snegligence led to theagency’sfailures in protecting thechild.

Three months later,anautistic child who sufferedfroma severe mental health disorder reported sexual abuse to ahigh school social worker,according to arrest affidavits. Theteen told aforensic investigator in June2022 that Hadden inappropriately touched them, accordingtothe warrant.

In May 2022, thethird victim reportedabuse about five weeks after being removedfromHadden’s housetolive with different family members.The teen reported being forced to have sex withHadden on numerous occasions, beginningin 2021. Deputies saidHadden also forced the children to perform sexual acts on each other while he watched.

Some of the victimssat in the courtroom Monday and watched as theirformer abusermet his fate. Relatives of the juveniles spoke on behalf of the boys and talkedabout the impact Hadden’s

COAL

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Protection Agency says.

The exemptions are the first of potentially several that the EPAis considering for industries facing stiffer pollution controls under changes finalized during the Biden administration.

Early in the new administration, Trumpand Lee Zeldin, his EPAadministrator,declared they might permanentlyrescind the rules.

“At EPA, we arecommittedto protecting humanhealth andthe environment;weare opposedto shutting down clean, affordable andreliable energy forAmerican families,”Zeldin saidina statementinMarch.

Business and industrygroups have cheered theeffort to unwind Biden-era limits as aneeded corrective of regulatory overreach.

JayTimmons, CEOofthe National Association of Manufacturers, saidthe administration has“answered the calls of manufacturers across the country to rebalanceand reconsider burdensomefederal regulations harming America’sability to compete.”

Phasing outcoal

The coal plant exemptions come as increased electrical demand is expected from alarge data center planned in north Louisiana, asteel furnace planned near Donaldsonville and billions of dollars in industrial growth aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

YetLouisiana electricutilities saythey are preparing for those energy demands while still turning away from coal in favor of natural gas or renewable energy sources.

Clecoand Entergyofficials said their plants receiving the exemptions will stop using coal within five years: by October 2028 for Cleco’sunitinthe BrameEnergy Centerand by 2030 for all of Entergy’scoal-fired generators.

Spokespeople forEntergy and Cleco saidthe utilities sought the exemption becausetheywillbe ending coal burning in afew years and don’twanttopassontoratepayers the long-term costs of new pollution controls. Theyaddedthat the EPAhas said preexisting air qualityrules protect public health andthe environment.

“Thisextensiongivesustime to responsibly plan forthe future of theunitwithout placing undue financial burdens on customers,” said Brandon Scardigli, an Entergy spokesman Cleco’sDolet Hills coal plant in DeSoto Parish was closed in 2021 and is beingconverted into asolar farm.

The state’sother coal power plant,Big Cajun II east of New Roads, was not grantedthe twoyear exemption, according to an EPAlist. The plant was scheduled to transition the second of its three coal-burning boilers to natural gas this month

Undera2012 EPAconsentdecree to lower airpollution, Big CajunIIswitchedanother boiler to natural gas in 2015, state permit papers show Officials at Big Cajun II declined to comment about whether they sought the exemption. The plant is owned by aprivate investment grouptransitioningother coal plants it ownstorenewable fuels. Mercury, othertoxics

The exemption applies to aBidenerarevisionknown as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule. The change, now pausedfor abouta fifth of all coal plants nationwide, cutsthe federal limit on particulate emissionrates by two-thirds.

The rule also holds plants using adirtier form of coal,lignite, to thesame mercury pollutionstandard other coal plants have had for years.

Thepower plants emit notonly carbon dioxide, agreenhouse gas, but also particulates that include toxic heavymetalssuchasmercury,cadmium, chromium and arsenic, along with the “acid gases” hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen chloride, according to the EPA. Mercury builds up in the food web and is deposited in fish and otheranimals people eat, and can cause neurological damage. Some particulates cause heart and breathing problems.

One Louisiana environmental group calledthe coal exemption a“free pass” to pollutefrom the Trump administration.

“Our communities have raised theirvoices over andoveragain to demand clean air to breathe and clean water to drink —but this administration is only listening to corporate polluters,” said Margie Vicknair-Pray,conservation coordinatorwith the Sierra Club’s Delta Chapter. “These plants could still choose to curb how muchthey pollute, and we fully intend to hold them accountable if they do not.”

Thelonggame?

Aformer EPAofficial claims the two-year exemptions improperly shortcut federal rulemaking and came after afederal appellatecourt andthe Supreme Court late last year refused to halt legal challenges by industry groups andsomestates.

JosephGoffman,aformer assistant administrator for air and radiation under President Joe Biden, saidthe coal andotherexemptions maybethe first in atwo-step process to eliminate the new rules on toxins without forcing companies to comply

He noted coal exemptions were offered under aClean Air Act provision tied to national security and whether plants face technological challengesinmeeting newrules. At thesametime, he said,Trump EPAofficialsframed their broader review of thenew rules on toxins as “major deregulatory” initiatives. Goffman asserts that “gave away thegame.”

“By the time we gettothe end of thetwo-year extension,Ithink it’s a safe bet they will have repealed the underlyingrules,” he said.“This is settingthe stagefor communities not to see asingle pound more in reductions of toxic air emissions.”

Half of the nearly 300 coal plants the EPAreviewed already hit particulate emissions rates that were 60% below the newstandard. Agency officials suggested about adozen plants would need major capital upgrades.

The total cost would be an estimated $880 million between 2028 and 2037 andreturn an estimated $390 million in health andotherbenefits, theEPA calculated Another potential two-year exemption significant to Louisiana wouldbetosweepingemissionslimits andmonitoringrequirements on sixcommon airtoxinsinthe state: ethylene oxide,chloroprene, butadiene, vinyl chloride, ethylenedichloride and benzene. Those limitsaffect 51 facilities in Louisiana.

In March,trade groups American Chemistry Council and American Fueland Petrochemical Manufacturers asked the EPAfor atwoyear exemption to that rulefor “all sources.”

Late last year,accordingtostate records, several Louisiana chemical facilities asked the EPAfor compliance extensions and were denied. The EPA, then under Biden, said the rule already hada time extension for compliance built into it

acts had on them.

Oneofthe victims was 11 years old when the caretaker began molesting him. Hisaunt read a statementthat he wrote. In it, the victim saidhefelt shame and guiltfollowing yearsoftorment at the hands of Hadden. The victim, who hasrandomflashbacksto this day,wrapped himselfinlayersofblanketsatnight to avoid being touched in his sleep. He said he still tenses up when men touch him and can’teven bear to be hugged by his father

“I wanttobeabletosleep at night knowing that he (Hadden) got what he deserved and justice is served. Idon’t want him to affect anybody else’slife,” thevictimsaid.

Anotherrelative said she spent nine years fightingfor custody of her grandson.She saidchild welfareworkers from thestate repeatedlytook the boyfrom Hadden andgaveher temporary custody only to return him to Hadden’shouse afew days later.She said her grandchild recounted howHaddenlocked therefrigerator and cabinets to deprive the victims of food andthreatened them. She saidthe abusemade theonce happy child isolated and

withdrawn. “Weneed so much more for our children.Wereallydo. They’re being harmed andkilledevery day,”the woman said. “He used to be loved andhefeltloved, untilMike Haddengot ahold of him. After that, he became another child.”

Hadden’sattorney told the judge about anumber of religious coursesand Bible study programs he’scompleted while in jail awaitingtrial over thepast 21/2 years

Hadden maintains his innocence, despite his conviction, and denied ever being violent with the children or making any threats to them or theirfamilies. He also bemoaned thefactthathecould never be afosterparent again.

“I really,sincerelycare forall thechildren that Ihad. Ireally do. Ipray for themevery dayinEnglishand in Spanish,” he said. Judge Hines Myers reviewed juvenile court records that were included in the case file and said it showed Hadden victimized other boys in addition to the three he was convicted of abusing. He traveled to Guatemala and adopted two orphan boys. One of them testified thatHadden began abusing them when he got them

back to Louisiana. When that child got old enough to begin protesting, he said, Hadden started plying him withalcohol to squelchhis attempts to stopthe abuse. When the twoorphaned children became old enough to move out in 2016, Hadden gotthe state to license him to fosterand adopt boys between the ages of 8and 14 yearsold.

“You didn’thave anybody to abuse anymore,soyou sought out thesechildrenwhose lives were the most volatile. Youwere supposed to be their guardian and theircaretaker,” HinesMyers said. “You targeted boys thatwere young enough that you might not have to supply alcohol to. That’s just pure evil.”

Email Matt Bruceatmatt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

DieboldJr.,Joseph Greenoaks FuneralHome, 9595 FloridaBoulevard, at 2p.m

Petrie Jr., Richard Greenoaks FuneralHome, 9595 FloridaBoulevard, at 10 a.m.

Pursnell,Allan

St.Jude theApostolic Church,9150 HighlandRd.,Baton Rouge, LAat 11am

Obituaries

BarbierSr.,Kenneth

Lucien 'Bubby'

KennethLucienBarbier Sr., affectionately known as “Bubby”, passedaway on Monday,April 28, 2025, at theage of 92. He wasa native andresidentofPort Allen. Bubbywas aUSAir ForceVeteran that served 1952 to 1956, during theKo‐rean War. He wasa retired electricianwithLocal UnionIBEW995 with 37 yearsofservice.Bubby en‐joyedwatchingthe LSU Tigers andNew Orleans Saints.Visitationwillbeat Holy Family Catholic Church in Port Allenon Thursday,May 1st,from10 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 12 p.m.,cele‐brated by Rev. Jerry Martin Burial will follow in Greenoaks Memorial Park in BatonRouge.Bubby is survived by hiswifeof73 years, JoyceMorales Bar‐bier;their sevenchildren, KennethBarbier Jr and wife Ruth,CharleneTreuil andhusband Joey, LawrenceBarbier andwife Renee, KeithBarbier and wife Debbie,LoriLasseigne andhusband Mark,Rhonda Messina andhusband Kurt ValerieDaigleand husband Aaron; 13 grandchildren, ScottMiller,Jessica Maranto, JanDavid,Blair Dickey,Celeste Gross, Jody Treuil,Trent Daigle,Marcus Lasseigne, HeatherGas‐con, Yvette Aillet,Kristel Spradley,TanaLefebvre andClairePratt; 24 greatgrandchildren;one sister Ella MaeBarbier.Bubby wasprecededindeath by hisparents,Shelbyand RosalieGuillotBarbier; brothers,ShelbyJr, Bruce andEverette Barbier; sis‐ter, Evelyn Simoneaux; and grandson,JakeShearer Bubbywas amemberof theKnights of Columbus 2875,AmericanLegionand wasa foundingmemberof Lucky7 Club.Pallbearers will be ScottMiller,Jody Treuil,Trent Daigle,Marcus Lasseigne, LucasMiller, Cole Davidand Ethan Gross. In lieu of flowers, memorialdonations may be made to Holy Family Catholic Church.The fam‐ilywould like to thankSt. Joseph Hospiceand AudubonHospice.Please sharememoriesatwww wilbertservices.com.

Brown, Josie Ann Beatrous

Josie Ann Beatrous Brown passed away on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at the age of 92. She was a native of Bayou Goula, LA, and aresident of Baton Rouge, LA. She was known for her sweet, compassionate and kind heart. During her high school years, she was agreatbasketball player and loved the sport. She would then go on to become Miss White Castle. Josie's greatest joy were her grandkids and greatgrandkids and her face would light up anytime they came to visit. There was always oneofthemin herlap. She was an avid LSU sports fan. Anytime she was watching an LSU football or baseball game we are certain the neighbors heard her cheering them on. She adored her sweet rescue dog, Anni They were so good for each other. She had avery strongFaith life and we are certain and find comfort in knowing she heard "Well done my Good and Faithful Servant." Matthew 25:23 Josie is survived by her daughters, Jan Youngblood (Bernard), JamieWhite (Norman), and Jodi Wilson;

affectionately known as "Maw" to her grandchildren, Angie (Ted), Faith Melissa, Josh (Jessica), Lauren (Ben), and Chelsea (Wesley);20great grandchildren; 4great-great grandchildren; loving stepchildren and step great-grandchildren; and a host of other lovingfamily members. Josie is precededindeath by herhusband,James T. Brown; parents,Thomas and Virtle Beatrous;sisters, Kathleen, Evelyn and Mary Lou; and son-in-law, Stewart "Stu" Wilson. Visitation willbeatMostBlessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 15615 Jefferson Hwy.,Baton Rouge, LA, on Wednesday,April30, 2025, from9:30am until the Mass ofChristian Burial at 11am. Burial willimmediately follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park. Pallbearerswill be Josh White, BenMcDonald, WesleyTanner,Brennan Soileau, Drake Jeansonne Ryan Meyer andJohn Guercio.Honorary Pallbearer is Bill Ishmael. We willforever begrateful to the staffatOchsner Medical Center of BatonRouge. Theywentabove andbeyond in their care for our mom. Specialthanks to Dr. Nipur Patel for being the most compassionate and caringdoctor. Also, special thanks to Audrey Richard, PA-C

It is with profoundsad-

nessthat we announce the passing of Theressa Denay Cowart, who departed fromthis world on Wednesday April 23rd 2025 at the young ageof33. Theressa was abeloved young woman, known for her kindness, generosity, and unwavering spirit even in thehardestoftimes. Born on May1st 1991, Theressa spent her formative yearsinPrairieville, LA, whereshe cultivated deepconnections and lifelongfriendships. Theressa wasa loving mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece and friend whose warmth and compassion extendedbeyond familyto everyone she encountered Herpresence wasa source of warmth and laughter, and she willbedearly missed.Throughout her life, Theressa exemplified resilience, facing challengeswith unwavering courage. Herlegacyisone of inspiration andhope,reminding us alltolive with purpose and love.Theressa was preceded in deathby her grandmothers,Sharon "Kaye" Cowart &Janet Marie Fontenot; and Aunt Melanie Fontenot. Sheis survived by her grandfather,Tommy "Pug"Cowart; Parents,Joey &Paige Fontenot, Nicholas &Shai Plumer; Threechildren, Brendon Cowart, Dixie Musser and Mason Fontenot; Onebrother and sister-in-law,Christopher Fontenot &MorganHigley; Two sisters, Katelynand RyleePlumer; Two nephews, Slade andMaddoxFontenot; Aunts, Connie Savage,TkayeHill and Denise Noyes; Uncle, Reese Cowartand along list of cousins and close friends.Funeral services will be held on Wednesday April 30th at Ourso Funeral Home in Gonzales, LA (5:00PM-8:00PM) where friends and familywill gathertocelebrateTheressa'sextraordinarylife. We extend our deepestcondolences to Theressa's family and friends during thisdifficulttime. Theressa s memory willforever remain in our hearts. Rest in peace, Theressa. You willalwaysberemembered

Grant, Frederick William 'Ted' Frederick William" Ted Grant peacefullypassed awayApril 20, 2025. Ted was bornAugust2,1926in West Monroe, Louisiana. He was marriedtohis belovedwifeRita Aucoin Grant on June 12, 1954. Ted and Rita wereboth active members of First United MethodistChurch in Baton Rouge for morethan50 years.Ted was aretired

Army Colonel with more than 36 years of service anda veteran of World War II and theKorean War. Ted attended WestPoint, and earneda bachelor's and master's in business administrationatLSU.He was aCPA and worked for Kaiser Aluminum, and Hill Medical formorethan 40 years. Ted was aselfproclaimed M.O.M.(mean old man), butthose of us who knew him best, knew a kind and giving man. His mottowas "LifeisGood" Ted is survivedbyhis nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 70 years, Rita AucoinGrant;parents, Fred M. Grant and Elvie Sutcliff Grant; and brother, Boyd S. Grant. The family would like to thank,Dr. Susan Richarme, AmedisysHome Health, Williamsburg and caregivers Dan, Willy, Augustine and Angie.Visitation forTed will be held at Rabenhorst FuneralHome East, 11000 FloridaBlvd.,on Tuesday April 29, 6- 8pm; continuing on Wednesday April30, 9- 10 am. There willbea short funeralservice at 10 am followedby burial at Greenoaks Memorial Park

Kenneth Graves Grider, age96ofBaton Rouge, La passed away Thursday, April24th, 2025 at Clarity Hospice in BatonRouge. He was born August 14th, 1928, in Warren Arkansas to Howard Graves Grider and Sarah Marie Gorman Grider. After Graduating from Hermitage High School in Hermitage Arkansashe went to CommunityCollege in Pine Bluff Arkansas where he received an associate's degree in ac-

counting.Itwas in Pine Bluff where he met the love of his life IvaJean Vanlandingham Grider who he was married to for 67 years. After marriagehe served in theArmyasSergent during theKorean War.

Ken worked as an accountant in Little Rock Ar. Before moving to Baton Rouge to continue his career in accounting where he worked forUnionNational Life Insurance until he retired in 1995. He then workedathis son Randy Grider's business as a bookkeeperuntil theage of 91.

Hisfavoritethingstodo were hunting and fishing, cheering on the Hogs, eating Jeans good cooking and spending time with his family at theGriderfamily reunions and annual beach trips. He was adedicated grandfather and loved watching his grandchildren play sports.Healso enjoyed getting to know his threegreat-granddaughters and givingthem ridesonhis walker.

He was afollowerofJesus Christ and faithful member of Florida Boulevard Baptist Church for50 years where he served as deacon

Kenneth is survived by his son Randy Grider; son in law TerryBozeman; grandchildrenKellenBozeman, Brennan Bozeman, CadeGrider, and Conner Bozeman; great-grandchildren Asa, Charlie and Parker Bozeman; brothers Gorman and Robert Grider.

He is precededindeath by his wife Jean Grider; daughter Lisa Bozeman; Parents Howard and Marie Grider; Brother Gary Grider. The pallbearers will be Kellen Bozeman, Brennan Bozeman, CadeGrider, Jay Grider, Josh Bozeman, Jameson Bozeman.

Visitation willbeFriday May 2nd at Greenoaks Funeral Home beginning at 12:00 until thefuneralservice begins at 2:00, followedbya gravesideservice at Greenoaks Memorial Park

chair, swinging in thesun‐shine. Oneofher greatest joys waswatchingher grandkidsdothe things they loved, always cheer‐ingthemonand sharingin theirhappiness. In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be made to:WestFeliciana 4HOffice P.O. Box1934, St Francisville,LA70775. Sharesympathies,condo‐lences andmemoriesat www.CharletFuneralHome. com.

Lynette Wheat passedaway on Thursday, April 24th, 2025 at theage of 53. Tonya wasborna native of Livingston on November 19th, 1971 to parents Debbie andWayne Wheat

Tonya lovedthe most importantthingsinlife, she loved beinginthe presence of familyand friends alike, sheenjoyed watchingfootball,and lovedloved lovedTALKING!

Tonya Wheat is survived by motherDebbie Beregi Wheat;sister Stephanie "Rosie" Wheat;nephew TannerJohnson;and niece WhitleyJohnson

Henrietta "Susan"SlaughterMaryman,a resident of St.Francisville, passed away on Sunday,April 27, 2025. Shewas 76 yearsold andwas aSeamstressfor over 50 years. Visitation will be at CharletFuneral Home in ZacharyonTues‐day, April29, 2025 from 6pmuntil 8pmand on Wednesday, April30, 2025 at BakerPresbyterian Church from 10amuntil serviceat11amconducted by Rev. Anne Cramer.Bur‐ialwillbeinStarHillCeme‐tery,St. Francisville.She is survived by herhusband of 53 years, Joseph “Joe Pete” BehrnesMaryman.Daugh‐ter, Deanna Herbersand husband,Jason andJoe Maryman, Jr., andwife, Casey. 2Sisters,Carolyn Gaines andhusband,Bill andDorothy Grangerand husband,Kenny.2 broth‐ers, Mansel “Spec” Slaugh‐terand wife,Philand JamesSlaughter andwife, Pam. 3grandchildren, Kyanna Herbers, Brandon Herbersand RyleeJoMary‐man. Sheisprecededin deathbyher parents, Mansel Spencerand Pearl McKowenSlaughter.Pall‐bearerswillbeBrandon Herbers, Adam,Jarrod, Coreyand DylanGranger, Spencerand Cody Slaugh‐ter, Tim, Matthew,Andrew, Trey andChristopher Gaines andJakeSlaughter Susanloved spending time with herfamilyand visiting the 4-Hoffices, where she taught sewing classesto children.She hada passion workingfor thepublic, al‐ways making sure every‐one’sdreamscametrue whenitcametotheir wed‐ding dresses, prom dresses andpilgrimageoutfits.She went outofthe wayto meet everyone’s needsand wants. Susanalsoloved beingoutside andstaying

simply rela ng he

Sheispreceded in death by father Huey Wayne Wheat;grandparents Huey andGloriaWheat, andJimmy and Eleanor Beregi. Servicesfor Tonya will be held on May2nd, 2025 at RedOak Baptist Church 28760 S. RedOak Rd.Livingston,LA70754. Visitation will take place from 9:00 AM untila religious service at 11:00 AM. Burial church

Wheat, TonyaL.

Tonya

Grider, Kenneth

Cowart,TheressaDenay

OPINION

OUR VIEWS

Everyparent should take heed and preventspread of measles

With two measles cases recentlyreportedin Louisiana, hospitalsare gearinguptotreat the highlycontagious disease thathas seen aresurgenceasvaccination rates havedeclined across the country.Inneighboring Texas, an outbreak that started in Januaryhas seen around 600 confirmed cases and two deaths, both in unvaccinated children.

While the Texas outbreak has spreadtothe neighboringstates of NewMexico,Kansas and Oklahoma, officials say theLouisianacases so far don’tappear to be linked. The first case was discovered in theNew Orleans area in an unvaccinatedadult who had traveled internationally When looking at the contactsofthat patient, health officials uncovered another case. Since the cases became known, public health officialshaveclearly andconsistently recommended thatchildren getvaccinated to prevent thespreadofmeasles. We aregrateful that despite Surgeon General Ralph Abraham declaring that the Louisiana Department of Health would end mass vaccination effortsearlier this year,itappears that the measles caseshave prompted aserious response. The health department hasput information aboutthe measles vaccine on its website, andAbraham reaffirmed that the department recommends thevaccine forchildren.

Fortunately, no pediatric cases have yetbeen reportedinLouisiana, butdoctorsatareahospitals say it’sonly amatter of time.Westrongly encourage every parent in Louisiana to take steps nowtomake suretheir children getthe vaccineand are protected.

We note with sadness that despite thesafety and effectiveness of themeasles, mumpsand rubella —orMMR —vaccine, fewerand fewer children in thestate are getting it In some parishes, vaccination rates have dipped below the threshold requiredfor “herd immunity,” which makes community transmission more likely MMR vaccination rates amongkindergartners statewide dropped from about96% in 2020 to 92% in the 2023—2024 school year, according to the CDC. Several parishes, includingLivingston, East Baton Rouge, St. Tammany,Acadia, Lafayette,Terrebonne,Union, Ouachita andWest Carroll, have rates below 90%.Herd immunity for measles occurs when about 94%of the populationofagiven areaisimmune through vaccination or prior infection.

We know there arededicated doctors and nursesthroughout our statewho are preparing to treat all patients they encounter,nomatter theirvaccination status. But measles, once considered eradicated in thiscountry,isa disease that many have not seen before, and thereare few good options to treat it oncea child is infected.

We recognize that vaccination has become ahighly politicized topic in these times.Yet it is one thing to argue when children’slivesare not in imminent danger.Wehope that as the measles threat increases, everyone will make the health of our children our only priority

HERE AREOUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

AIcould help detect problems in family court

Iamwriting to urgently request our Louisianalegislators develop and enact legislation mandating thecreation and use of artificial intelligence software to detect potential judicial corruption within Louisiana family court cases. The integrity of our family court system is crucial. However,serious concerns persist regarding bias and corruption, leading to devastatingly unfair outcomes, especially for victimsofpost-separation abuse —aharmful pattern tragically linked to increased risk of violence during separation. The traditional appeals process often fails against judicial corruption, particularly when records are falsified. The current system for addressing judicial misconduct through theJudiciary Commission of Louisianasuffers unacceptable delays, with investigations commonly taking two to five years to complete, leaving victims in prolonged injustice. Ethically developed AI software offers apowerful tool for transparency

and fairness in family court. By analyzing case data, financial disclosures and procedural patterns, AI can identify potential misconduct missed by human oversight, significantly reducing investigation time and improving accuracy AI can analyze case handling, financial discrepancies, bias, network relationships and whistleblower data. AI can also address concernsabout racketeering by analyzing referral patterns and fee structures. Judicial corruption devastates post-separation abuse victims. AI software can increase public trust, deter corruption, promote fairness, provide datafor reform and drastically reduce investigation times compared to thecurrent judicial complaint process.

Iurge our legislators to consider the profound impact of judicial corruption on Louisiana families. By championing legislation for AI detection software, we can significantly enhance the justice, equity and trustworthiness of our family court system.

KATHERINE DIAMOND Baton Rouge

Schools, roads, environmentdependonenergyrevenue

Every year,Louisiana collects billions in tax revenue from oil and gas production —$4.5 billion in 2019 alone. That money goes directly into schools, infrastructure and environmental restoration projectsacross the state. These are not handouts from Washington;they are earned dollars generated right here at home.

We have achoice to make: Support theindustry that funds so much of our public good or risk undermining the very foundation of our statebudget. Oil andgas isn’tjust about drilling and refining, it’sa value chain that touches almost every part of our economy.The jobs, thewages, the lo-

cal investments —they all add up. If we start sending signals that Louisiana isn’tenergy-friendly,itcan discourage investments.

Let’sbeclear: Environmental responsibilityand energy development can coexist. In fact, much of the tax revenue from this industry already funds environmental projects. With the right leadership, we can ensure this relationship benefitsboth oureconomy and our environment. Let’ssupport smart, sustainable energy policies that keep Louisiana moving forward.

STEVENBRAUD owner,4BPlastics

Howcan anyone approveofcutstovital partsofour economy?

MARY-PATRICIAWRAY Baton Rouge LETTERSTOTHE

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone 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.

Like almostall professors across the country,the universityIworkfor is struggling underbudget shortfalls that stemfromthe drastic Trump/Musk cuts to the NationalInstitutesofHealth, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agencyand other agencies thatfund university researchers andcoordinatethe amazing research productivity of our nation. Arethere any people in our country besides President Donald Trumpand

Elon Musk who think this is agood idea or approve of Trump’shandling of the economy? No, this is not arhetorical question. Anybody? Trump’s agenda goes unchallenged by Congress because 75% to80% of conservatives continue to support him.TomyRepublican friends and neighbors, is there ever apoint at whichyou decide the negatives outweigh thepositives?

DAVID KIRSHNER Baton

Rouge

As amothertoabright, curious 7-year-old boywith autism, Iwas disheartenedbyHealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’srecent remarks. At anewsconference on April 16, he described autism as a“preventable disease” andan“epidemic,” suggesting thatenvironmental toxins aretoblame forrising diagnosis rates. He pledgedtouncover these causesbySeptember, despite extensive research indicating thatautism is acomplex neurodevelopmental condition with strong genetic components. Kennedy’sportrayalofautism as atragedy is notonly scientifically unfounded but also deeply offensive to families like mine My sonisnot atragedy; he is a joy. The real tragedy lies in the systemic barriers that hinder his potential—barriers like inadequate accesstoearly intervention services,increased potential for child abuse andaschool system thatreinforcesillegaldiscrimination. In Louisiana,these challenges areparticularly pronounced. The state ranks poorly in child health outcomes, andmanyfamilies struggle to obtain timely diagnosesand support fortheir children with autism. It’snohelpthatthis administrationisdecreasing enforcement of antidiscrimination laws acrossagencies. Autism is nota disease to be eradicated.The only tragedy I’m awareofisPresident Donald Trump’scontinued dismantling of support andlegal enforcement for people with autism. While the president andElonMusk arebusy erasing the protections ourchildrenneed,Kennedy nowwants to eraseour children altogether.Asa taxpayer,I’m dismayed. As amom, I’m disgusted. We should eradicate this bigotry, notour kids.

BubbaHenry wasLa.’s Lincoln

Much has been written —deservedly so —about Bubby Henry’stransformative impact on the arc of Louisiana politics and government during his tenure as House speaker,chair of the 1973 constitutional convention,lobbyist and statesman. Not enough has been said of theman himself. Aself-styled“country lawyer,” Bubba represented the closest Louisiana has evercometoits ownAbe Lincoln, partly because of his imposing physical presencebut more so because of his keen politicaland people skills. And his hallmarksenseof humor Like Lincoln, Bubba faced existential challenges without buckling under stress, used his sharp wit to charm friends and disarm foes and convinced warringinterests to work togetherfor thegreater good —becausefriendand foealike trusted him.

Most of all, he had an unshakable faith in amerciful, lovingGod.And unlike so many politicians today, Bubba didn’twear his faith on hissleeve —he lived it. Quietly,humblyand courageously He was an early memberand president (in 1994) of the Baton Rouge Federation of Churches andSynagogues, one of the oldestinterfaith organizations in the nation. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, Bubba convinced the group to change its name to the Interfaith Federation of GreaterBaton Rouge and include Islamic members Bubba donated to prisonministries andpublicly opposed the death penalty —even speaking against it before legislative committees in the Capitol. He took alot of heat for that and other principled stances, but he never wavered.

He participated in ecumenicalChristian retreats. With his son Patrick,he made more than 30 silentretreats at Manresa, the pastoral Jesuit retreat house on the river road inConvent The Manresa retreats, said Patrick, made Bubba realize how alike his own Baptist faith was to St. Ignatius’ spirituality “He began reading Ignatius’ writings andletters and was inspired by them,” Patrick told me recently. “Heloved to walk among the oaks at Manresa. Sometimes we’d take silent walks to the river levee. And every yearwewentto

FILE

Manresa,hewrote me abeautiful letter. He would shove it undermydoor the night before the retreat ended.”

Patrick recalled thatone of his dad’s last letters to him said, “After I’m gone, if youwalk the oaks towardthe river, meet mehalfway …I’llbethere with you.”

Jeff Brooks, alobbyistwho worked closely withBubba, told me that it was fitting for Bubba and Pope Francis —the Catholic Church’sfirst Jesuit pontiff —tohave theirfunerals on the same day.Daysearlier,Brooks had written to colleagues of Bubba,“Ihave neverwalked theVatican withthe Pope, but Icame awfully closewalking the halls of the Louisiana Legislature with BubbaHenry.”

Butch Speer,who worked for Bubba at the 1973 constitutional convention andlater as thelongtimeclerk of the House of Representatives,saw firsthand Bubba’s rare combination of principledleadership and pointed humor

“The Legislature went from atotal clown show …tonascent independence underBubba as speaker,” Speer recalled.Headded, “If he had not been thepersonwith his hand on the tillerat theconstitutional convention, there’s no telling howthat convention would have ended. Absent Bubba, Iknow we would nothave adopted thatconstitution.”

At the same time, Bubba kept everybody guessing withhis penchant for pranks. Speersaid Bubba once gave him apaycheck for $1 and toldhim, “Here’syourpay,Speer.And damn if you’re not overpaid.”

Bubba also gave astaffer agift certificate for $1,000 that was “redeemable anywhere,”and he had occasionally

had House pages deliver phone messagestolawmakerswiththe number of the BatonRouge Zooonit, instructing themtocall “Mr.G.Raff” right away, pranking lawmakers and zookeepers alike.

Nor was he above making ajoke from the speaker’s chair.After acontroversial bill to give lawmakers apay raise narrowly failed, he announced, “I’ve neverseen morepeople ‘praying yes’ and ‘voting no’ in my life.”

Perhaps no one sawall sides of Bubba morethan Anne Cramer,his longtime assistant. “He stood on principle,” Cramer told me, noting that he had aplayful side as well.

“Keeping his calendar was achallenge,” she said. “If Itold him he had a conflict,hewould say, ‘No, you have a conflict —you keep my calendar.’” Cramer once confided to Bubba that she and her bestfriend “married two brothers.” To which he responded, “Each?”

I, too, was blessed to know Bubba on apersonallevel. We became professionally acquainted in the late 1970s and friends adecade later when Bubba, Patrickand Iwereguestsatamutual friend’sduck hunting camp. Itreasure memories of those hunts, where Bubba sharedmany not-to-be-repeated anecdotes sprinkled with wisdom.

We’d often seeeach other in the halls of the Capitol where Bubba, in his country-lawyerly way,offered bits of advice, suchas“Don’ttrouble trouble until trouble troubles you,” and “Worry is afastgetaway on ahobbyhorse.”

Most recently,between 2018 and 2020, Ihad the honor of editing “The LastConstitution,” abook on the 1973 constitutional convention written by LaPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford and based on more than 700 pages of adaily journal that Bubba kept while chairing thatconvention.

The book (in which Ihave no financial interest) is apricelesstime capsule from apivotal time in Louisiana history —atime when aLincolnesque country lawyer from Jonesboro led what Alford correctly dubbed “Louisiana’sgreatest political generation” in drafting our state’s first forward-looking constitution. So long, Bubba. Youbelong to the ages now Clancy DuBosisaretired political columnist for Gambit, TheTimesPicayune and The Advocate.

Court case couldstall charterschoolmovement

“You’re doing fine, Oklahoma,” proclaimed the 1943 Broadway musical. Soon, the Supreme Court might disagree. On Wednesday,itwill hear oral arguments about an Oklahoma dispute involving the tension between the First Amendment’sproscription of the“establishment” of religion and its guarantee of the “free exercise” of religion And about whether charter schools are “state actors.” Specifically: Is an explicitly Catholiccharter school an extension of the state government,orisitaprivate entity contracting with that government? Oklahoma charter schools, noneofthem religious, serve about 7.2% of the state’spublic school pupils. They are operated by private entities. In 2022, the Supreme Court held that Maine had unconstitutionally discriminated against religion by excludingreligious schools from participatinginthe state’s school choice voucher program. So, the Catholic Church in Oklahoma asked to participate in thestate’scharter school program with the St. Isidore of Seville school,which saysit“fully incorporates” church dogma in “every aspect” of the school —e.g., students areexpected to adhere to thebelief that “Christ is present in theHoly Eucharist.” Charter schools arepublic in that they receive state funds and are open to all children. Like private schools, however,they can be created by private initiative and enjoy wide exemption from public school districts’ policies regarding curriculum, admissions, hiring and operations. The court has held that theConstitution’sfree exercise guarantee forbids government rules that require religious groups to choose between living their faith and being eligible for a government benefit by collaborating

with government in providing social services, including education.Furthermore, because the nation’s many governments lack the resources to perform all the tasks they think necessary,theysubsidize,often substantially,private organizations, many of them faith-based. In the debate aboutSt. Isidore, there is awkwardness all around.

President Donald Trumpistorching the U.S. economy.He’sattacking our trade alliances and our ability to control inflation. Yetcorporate and political leaders whoshould have the greatest interest in condemning such destruction remain oddly quiet.

Nearly all Republican lawmakers, whose own voters are hurt mostbyTrump’strade agenda, remain loyal cheerleaders forthe president’s whims. Corporate executives, whose stock prices have plummeted, likewise refuse to question Trump’sactions publicly,saying they will do so only if things get much worse.

But what exactly are they keeping their powder dry for?

The president’serratic tariffpolicies are already paralyzing businesses and raising costs. American farmers are shedding customers as other countries retaliate. Yetthe captains of industry whomight be expected to speak up have mostly rolled over.Even trade associations that loudly criticized economic policies from previous presidents have been curiously restrained.

Sure, there have been someisolated tariffexemptions, such as foriPhones. But even those are temporary,while the administration prepares moredurable duties on the entire semiconductor supply chain. There have also been periodic “leaks” about how anewly chastened Trumpis making deals and de-escalating trade wars, thanks to closed-door discussions with wise American executives. But these deals keep turning out to be vaporware.

One such newscycle happened this past week. Anonymous officials told the Wall Street Journal that Trumpmight reduce his China tariffs from 145% to “only” 50 or 65%. Markets were euphoric. Huzzah, the trade wars might end soon!

But there are at least twoproblemswith this narrative: First, even a50% tariff on Chinese goods is still gargantuan. It’s morethan double the average rate the United States levied on such products last year.U.S. companies simply cannot absorb that additional cost.

The second, bigger problem:There’snoevidence Trumpwill actually do it. He claims he’s had great negotiations with the Chinese government, suggesting aresolution is nigh. But Beijing denies the twocountries have spoken at all, calling reports of an imminent deal “fake news.”

The newscycle then moves on —and the U.S. companies that stand to lose out still say little publicly,aside from bland statements thanking the president for“productive” private meetings. Trump’sthreats to fire Jerome H. Powell are another example. The president has criticized the Federal Reserve chair forpausing interest-rate cuts and warning that escalating tariffs might lead to higher prices. Trumphas demanded the Fed slash interest rates anyway,even though that might worsen inflation.

Fordecades, public school advocates have said chartersare private schools siphoning resources away from public education. Charter advocates have responded that chartersare publicschools. Now both sides have executed semanticsomersaults,with charter advocates saying their schools are private,meaning notstate actors, and critics saying the charters are state actors, and hence not private. When religion becomes part of the debate,new antagonisms mirror old ones. Oklahoma’sattorney general, before he persuaded the state Supreme Courttoruleagainst St. Isidore, warned the head of Oklahoma’scharter school board that approving St. Isidore would require alsoapproving charters run by all faiths, including Islam, adding that “most Oklahomans” consider non-Christian faiths“reprehensible.”

The U.S. Supreme Court hasheld that once government elects to fund aprivate activity,asOklahoma does regarding access to private schools, it cannot disqualify some entities “solely becausetheyare religious.” Victory for St. Isidore might, however,stallthe impressive momentum of the national charter school movement. None of the 45 states with charter schools has religious ones, andmany leading advocates of charters oppose bringing religious schoolsinto their ranks. This is understandable, given the fierce historical disputesthatstill

simmer in America, disputes that might derail the charter movement. Michael J. Petrilli of theThomas B. Fordham Institute and Stanford’s Hoover Institution anticipates yearsof litigation unless the high court, while siding with St. Isidore, simultaneously answers numerous thorny questions: “The main oneiswhether religious charter schools will be allowed to prioritize members of their faith when admitting students. (Charter schools generally have to take all comers andholda lottery if oversubscribed.) Also, will they be allowed to exclude childrenorfamilies that don’tabide by their values, including LGBTQstudents or families? Couldtheyhireonly adherents to their religion as teachers andother staff?”

ASupreme Court victoryfor St. Isidore would enable opponents of charters andother forms of school choice to warnthatgovernment entanglement with religion inevitably brings intense disputesabout religious demands for exemptions from generally applicable laws pertainingto, for example,nondiscrimination in hiring. More than amillionpupils nationwide are in private schoolswithfinancialassistance from states’ school choice programs. Nearly 4million pupils attend8,000 charters. NinaRees, writing for Education Next, says that during the coronavirus pandemic’s school closures, regular private schools lost 1.4 million students, while charters attracted almost 450,000 new families. School choice —the great civil rights issue of ourday —has advanced dramatically in redstates. But expanding in blue states, where teachers’ unions are powerfuland implacably opposed, would become even more difficult in the wake of aSt. Isidore victory.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

This erosion of Fed political independence could inflict much greater long-term damage than Trump’strade wars. Countries where politicians, rather than independent civil servants, control the money supply —such as Venezuela and Turkey tend to have much worse inflationary outcomes. That’sbecause the public starts to doubt that the central bank will makeunpopular decisions necessary to control price growth.

Unfortunately,GOP lawmakers and bank execs have mostly refused to sound the alarm about these risks. Instead, unnamed Republican Senate aides only say that their (also anonymous) Senate bosses “care aheck of alot” about Fed independence. They just don’tcare enough to, you know, say so publicly The closest thing so fartoopen pushback came when U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy,R-Louisiana, said “the Federal Reserve ought to be independent.” But Kennedy immediately followed that with: “I think that Jay Powell and President Trumpneed to sit downand once again, have ahug and cup of hot cocoa and work it out.”

Asking the Fed chair to prostrate himself before the president over cozy beverages is hardly an impassioned appeal forcentral bank independence. Days later,after somemarket turmoil, Trump claimed that he had “never” considered firing Powell and that the media fabricated the entire Fed-bullying narrative. Wall Streeters breathed a sigh of relief,apparently believing the threat had passed. Iwish Icould take comfort in this development, too. Ican’t.

That’sbecause I’ve heard all the other threats Trumphas madeagainst Powell and the Fed. Trumphas also telegraphed plans to nameamuch morepliable Fed leader soon.

The lesson here is that private pleas and even market panic do not chasten Trump. The U.S. economy,like the U.S. democracy,needs real leadership, preferably from people Trumpmight actually listen to. Sooner or later,business leaders and Republicans must rise to the occasion —ifnot out of courage, at least due to naked self-interest.

Email Catherine Rampell at crampell@washpost. com.

Clancy DuBos

Catherine Rampell

George Will

ADVOCATE

PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Stan Duval, left, chats withBubba Henry at the44th reunion of the folks whowrote thestate Constitution on Nov. 10, 2017, in Baton Rouge.

SPORTS

STRONGFINISH

LSUsoftballemphaticallytakes crucialseriesvs. Florida

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

Aseries that started withadisaster finished with aflourish for the LSUsoftball team.

The No. 10 Tigers escaped with anarrow win Sunday before posting eightruns in the sixth inning againstNo. 8Florida on Monday for a10-2mercy-rulewin to take the series at TigerPark.

LSU (39-11, 11-10 SEC) lost 14-4on Saturday,thenwon on abad-hop single Sunday.OnMonday,Avery Hodge broke a2-2 tie with asacrifice fly in thesixth, and Danieca Coffey contributeda tworundouble to propel theTigers into their final SEC series of the season at No. 9Arkansas beginning on Thursday “They were really loose when Igot here today,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “There wasn’t anything we hadtosay to

them, no need foraspeech. They were ready to go, upbeat. Ifelt good aboutit from thejumptoday.”

The series victory was huge forthe Tigers, who hadlostsix of their previous sevenSoutheastern Conference games. Sydney Berzon, who pitcheda two-hit complete game victory Sunday,cameout of the bullpen and allowed only one run

ä See LSU SOFTBALL, page 4C

Pitching questionsremainfor LSUbaseball

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU earned acrucial series

victory over the weekendby taking down Tennessee twice in their three-game series at Alex Box Stadium.

The Tigers came back from a 3-0 deficit in the ninth inning to win 6-3 on Friday before dropping Game 2onSaturday 9-3. They clinched the series with an emphatic 12-2win in eight innings

Sunday Here are five takeaways from the weekend: Sunday startersettled?

Sunday was freshmanrighthander CasanEvans’ first collegiate start, but from the second inning on, he pitched like aFridaynight starter Evans tossed five shutout inningsand allowed just twobatterstoreach baseafter surrendering two runs in the first. Once he started locating the ball better in thelowerhalf of thezone, he found success.

“There were acouple pitches Imade mistakes on and they got some hard-hit balls whichled to thetwo runs in thefirst inning,” Evans said. “So going back out there the next inning, Iwas like,

LSU

ä SoutheasternatLSU, 6:30P.M.TUESDAy,SECN+

‘I’m going to throw everything down because that’stheir weak spot.’ “ Evans’ performance against oneofthe most talented lineups in the country begs the question of whether he’ll become LSU’s Sunday starter.Besides going

six innings, he also threwaseason-high 85 pitches and his last pitch touched 97 miles per hour

LSUcoach Jay Johnson wasn’t willing to commit to Evans becoming afull-timestarter, even admittingthathewould’ve pitchedhim Saturday if the Tigers had taken the lead or tied thegame in the later innings.

“Wecouldn’tdoitunless we were tied or ahead because the

volume he needed to cover today,” Johnson saidSunday What’s next forShores?

After losing his spot in the starting rotation, redshirt sophomore right-handerChase Shores came on in relief vs. Tennessee, pitching in Game 2and allowing four runs, but only one earned, in an inning of work. Despite allowing just one hit, his lack of command came back to bite himagain as he hit two batters andwalkedanother Adefensive miscue from juniorfirst baseman Jared Jones played abig part in his ugly line, but Tennesseewasn’tintimidatedbyShores’ 100 mph fastball or fooled by his slider

The rocky outing pushed Shores’ ERA up to 5.53. Given Evans’ fantastic outing and junior left-hander Conner Ware’s solidstartthe previous week against Alabama, it’shard to imagine Shores regaining his starting spotanytime soon.

Taking stockofbats

LSUhad struggled at the plate since its 5-3win over Nicholls StateonApril 8. Thosestruggles continued through thefirst two games

The morewelearn about the Derek Carr situation, the moreconfusing it gets.

There’sseemingly anew twist to the story daily

And the morewehear,the more suspicious everything sounds, which might explain whyCarr and Saints officials keep sounding like Officer Barbrady from “South Park” when dealing with the subject: “This isn’t happening. Everyone look away Nothing to see here!” Carr has maintained alow profile during the offseasons throughout his NewOrleans tenure. For him,it’satime to get away from football and focus on his family,sohis silence this spring was not entirely out of character

But obviously,this is different.

Ashoulder injury serious enough to possibly require surgery and potentially derail your season is a development not just worthy of commentary andtransparency,but one that requires it.

Better than anyone, Carr knows teammates, coaches, fans and support staffare counting on him to lead the team,both on and off the field. Communication is one of the requirements of the position.

And so far, everyone involved in this situation has failed at it.

Until Carr’scomments on Sunday, we’d heard nothing from him.Instead, he left it to intermediaries to disseminate information.

Twelve days afterhead coach KellenMooresaidatthe NFL owners’ meetings he was“excited to team up with Carr”, the NFL Network broke the news aboutCarr’sshoulder Twoweekslater,Carr’sbrother David said the injury is believed to have occurredwhen Derektook a headfirst fall against the New York Giants on Dec. 8and that Derek didn’tthrowfor alongtime during the offseason. It’simportant to note that Carr’s shoulderwas never listed on any of the officialinjury reports the Saints submittedtothe NFL after the Giants game.Only left hand and concussionwerelisted on the reports. Likewise, not once in the four months sincethe injury supposedly occurreddid anyone mention ashoulderinjury whendiscussing Carr or his injury status. Youmight recallthat after the Giants game,the Saints maintained the possibility of Carr returning to the field at some point during the 2024 season Are we to believe Carr didn’ttry testing outhis throwing shoulder once during the month between the injury andthe season finale Jan. 5against the Tampa BayBucs? Wouldn’tthathavebeen the starting point forany evaluationofhis potentialplaying status?

And even if he didn’t, it strains credulity to think thatastarting NFL quarterback who statedpublicly thathis topoffseasongoal wasto “gethealthy” would not try to throw or test outhis throwing shoulder at some point during the offseason, and certainly before mid-April. If you’re confused by the story, suspicious of its timing andskeptical of the explanations being presented so far,you’re notalone. Little of it makes sense.

ä See DUNCAN, page 4C ä See LSU BASEBALL, page 4C

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

pitcher Casan Evans finishes apitch in the first inning of the game against Tennessee on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium

Jeff Duncan

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU shortstop AveryHodgetosses her bat after drawing the game-ending, bases-loaded walk in thesixth inning against Floridaon Monday at TigerPark.

Clark, Feverraising thebar

BY MICHAEL MAROT AP sportswriter

INDIANAPOLIS Indiana Fever star

Caitlin Clark slapped the court with both hands and started gesturing in her side’sdirection after forcing a5-second call near the end of Tuesday’spractice.

It was only Day 2oftraining camp, yet this is what Clark has yearned for these past seven months —going back to work with anew coach, arevamped roster andevenhigher expectations in hersecond WNBA season.

After leading the Fever to their first playoff berth in eight years, winning the league’sRookie of the Year Award, being named Associated Press 2024 FemaleAthlete of the Year and Time magazine’s 2024 Athlete of theYear,Clark returned to Indianapolis astronger, wiser player,more determined to win the championship that eluded her in college.

“It was an adjustment sure, because Iwas so used to playing minutes for,well, basically a year of my life. That’sall Idid,” Clark said.“So the rest was good. Ithought it was going to feel long and it really didn’t. We werein here all the time. But that rest aspect, just gettingmybody where it needed to be and really on things Ineededtowork on was super important. But I’m readyto compete again.”

It wasawell-deserved vacation forperhapsthe busiest player in women’sbasketball.

Shecapped herfinalcollege season by playing a39-gameschedule while leading Iowa to asecond straight national championship game. One week after losing to South Carolina, the Fever drafted her No. 1overall and 13 days after that, training camp opened Afterabriefpreseason, Clark made her regular-seasondebut May 10. That started agrueling 42-game grind during which the Fever overcamea 1-8 start to finish 20-20. Then they were swept out of the playoffs

The only real stoppage forClark during that 81-game, 101/2-month span was the monthlong Olympic break.

Clark’simpact

Clark turned sellouts at college and WNBA games into the norm as she found her every move scrutinized on social media. Fans complained she was beingtreated poorly by the league’solder players and some even argued the physical play was racially motivated. Her friendships and relationships became all the rage, and nothing seemed to be off limits.

But Clark never complained, neverbowed to the pressure and used this seven-month break to focus on being herself. She completed one bucket list item— attending the finalround of The Masters earlierthismonth —and had her college jerseyretired. She attended aTaylor Swift concert, an NFLgamewith Swift and, of course, Pacers games.

Now,though, shesounds refreshed as shesings thepraises of aveteran team full of title dreams and championship résumés from coach Stephanie White to teammates Natasha Howard and37-year-old DeWanna Bonner

And the early returns seem to show thepersonalities are aperfect match

“Everything is just absolutely good,” All-Starguard Kelsey Mitchellsaid. “It feelsfresh. It feelskind of like when you take your clothesout of thedryer.It just feels different anditfeels good because we have new leadership.”

Newlook

It’s not just the overhauled ros-

ter,either Mitchell, one of the few holdoversleft from lastseason, also sees adifferent version of Clark, oneshowcased in aphoto posted on social media last month

“From aphysical standpoint, herstrength andher ability to make plays thatpeople don’tthink about—thatskippass from here to here,” Mitchell said. “A person of her caliber,itseems small but it’sgoing to help her go from having 10 assists to 12. And then after that the professional learning, watching film,knowing what you need.”

Just thethought of an improved Clark this season could make opponentsjittery Clarkled theFever in minutes (35.4 per game) and steals (1.3) shared team scoringhonors with Mitchell (19.2 points), and broke the WNBA’ssingle season mark for assists with 337. Not bad for arookie trying to fit in and find her way

But theintensity andpassion Clark plays with, even in practice, seem to have her more comfortable playing theleading role from

thestartofthis season, too.

“She doesn’t waste reps and she literally embodies the value that howyou do anything is howyou do everything —whether it’s aballhandling drill or ashooting drill or settingscreens,” White said. “She approaches it with sucha discipline that she doesn’twaste time and Iappreciate that.”

Biggoals

Clark, meanwhile, is just focused on winning games.

TheFever will play at heralma mater andNotre Dame in the preseason, with the real tests set to begin withIndiana’sseason opener May 17 at Chicago and her old rival, Angel Reese. And you can bet, Clark will be just as eager to celebrate then as she wasinpractice.

“Don’t get me wrong, Ilovebasketball, like that’sone of the most fun things in the world,” she said. “Wehad agreat year and eventually getting away from that, Icame to apoint where Iwas itchingtoget back in here after like amonth. So I’m happy to be back.”

Achilles puts Lillard’snextseasonindoubt

has a torn left Achilles tendon, confirming the Milwaukee Bucks’ worst fears after the seven-time

guard was helped off the court Sunday night. The Bucks announced the severity of Lillard’sinjury after he had an MRI on Monday Theinjuryknocks Lillardout for the rest of the postseasonand could put his statusfor next season in doubt as well. When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals, he ended up missing the entire 2019-20season The Bucks had been bracing for this outcome after Milwaukee’s 129-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4. Milwaukee trails the IndianaPacers3-1 in theirEastern Conference first-round series. Game 5isTuesdayatIndianapolis Lillard’sinjury occurredinhis third game since comingback from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. “This is atoughone, honestly,” Bucks coach Doc Riverssaid after Sunday’sgame. “Blood clot,

ter when the ball bounced toward him.Lillard used his left hand to tip the ball toward teammate GaryTrent, then went down and grabbed the lowerpart of hisleft leg. He continued to sit on the floor as play resumed on the other end of the court.

When Lillardgot up, he couldn’t put weight on his left leg. He eventually was helped off the court and into the locker room.

“He’sone of the toughest guys I know,sowhenhestays down, you feel for him,” said teammate Pat Connaughton, who playedwith Lillard in Portland andMilwaukee.

LSU gets commitment from top-100 cornerback

LSU football landed acommitment from four-star cornerback Havon Finney forits 2026 recruiting class Monday Finney announced the decision on his Instagram account. He is the No. 54 overall player and the No. 7 cornerback in the country,according to the247Sports composite. He pickedLSU over Southern Cal, Michigan, Oregon and others. Finney is the first cornerback in LSU’s2026class, which is ranked fourthnationally by 247Sports. The Tigers now have 10 players committed, headlined by five-star wide receiverTristenKeysand four-star defensivelineman RichardAnderson. Finney, who’sfrom Chatsworth, California, plays at Sierra Canyon High. He reclassifiedfrom the 2027 class earlier this year

Saints sign free agent DL with ties to DC Staley

The NFL draft is over,but the NewOrleans Saints are still adding to their defense. The Saints announced Monday thatthey’ve signed defensiveend Chris Rumph to aone-year contract. Rumph, a2021 fourth-round pick, spent hisfirst four seasons with the Los AngelesChargers, meaning he’llreunitewithdefensive coordinatorBrandonStaleyin NewOrleans. In three seasons, Rumph appeared in 37 games as arotational pass rusherand hasthreecareer sacks. He has also dealt with injuries. His 2023 campaign was cut short when he suffered aseasonending foot fracture in November He also missed alloflast year when he wasplaced on injured reserve in August.

NBA said referees missed foul on Lakers’ Doncic Referees missed the LosAngeles Lakers’ LukaDoncic getting fouled with 33 seconds left in Game 4oftheir playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBAsaid Monday The Lakers were down 114-113 in Sunday’sgamewhenDoncicgot trippedup—itappeared to be inadvertent —byMinnesota’sJaden McDaniels near midcourt.

Doncic retained possession as he hit the floor and the Lakers called a timeout to avoid an 8-second violation. Hadthe foul been called, Doncic would have gone to the freethrow line with achance to tie the game or give the Lakers the lead. Instead, Minnesota stole LeBron James’ ensuing inbounds pass and Anthony Edwards made two free throwswith 10.9 seconds leftfor a 116-113 lead.

Madrid Open suspended becauseofpoweroutage

MADRID Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament has been suspended because of amajor power outagereported in Spain andPortugal.

The ATPToursays two singles matches andone doubles match were underwaywhenpower was lost at 12:34 p.m.local time. It adds that “the cut is preventingthe useofelectroniclinecalling systems and also left aspider camdanglingoverthe court inside Manolo Santana Stadium.”

Grigor Dimitrov wasleading Jacob Fearnley 6-4,5-4 inside themainstadiumwhen play was stopped. There werealso women’smatches scheduled. The tournament said later that “in ordertoguarantee general safety” all of the day’s matches were postponed.

and family around him.He’sjust such agreat freaking dude,ona basketball level, but more impor-

tantly as ateammateand afather and all thatstuff.” Lillard, 34, was behind the 3-point line around the top of the key midwaythrough the

Lillard’s toughness had been apparent fromthe fact that he was playing in the first place after missing the Bucks’ final 14 regular-season gameswith deep vein thrombosis, an abnormalclotwithin avessel where the congealing of blood blocksthe flow through on theway back to the heart. He was taken off blood-thinning medication and cleared to resume full basketball activity after the

He missedGame

MLBchief,Trump discuss permanent ban of Rose NEWYORK— Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trumpatameetingtwo weeksago and he plans to rule on arequest to endthe sport’spermanent banof the career hits leader,who died in September Speaking at ameeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred saidheand Trumphave discussed several issues, including Manfred’sconcerns over how Trump’simmigration policies could affect players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries Manfred is considering apetition to have Rose posthumously removed from MajorLeague Baseball’spermanently ineligible list.

regular season.

1ofthe Pacers series to work his wayback and then returned in Game 2.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFFREy PHELPS Milwaukee Bucksguard Damian Lillard grimaces as he falls to the floor against the Indiana Pacers during Game 4ofanEasternConference first-roundplayoff series Sunday in Milwaukee.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

GuardCaitlin Clark led the Indiana Feverinminutes playedper game (35.4) andsteals(1.3) last season. Shealso tied KelseyMitchell by averaging 19.2points per game. Theeye-popping number for Clark in her rookie season in theWNBAwas aleague-record 337 assists.

Examining how Fulwiley fits in with LSU women

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

On April 6, MiLaysia Fulwiley used her jersey to wipe away tears.

No one knew it at the time, but the appearance she made here — inside a scrum of cameras and reporters in the South Carolina locker room — would be her last in a Gamecocks uniform.

“We just gotta get back in the gym,” Fulwiley said while sniffling, “and get better individually.”

UConn just had routed South Carolina in the national championship game, forcing Fulwiley to wrestle with an unfamiliar feeling That Sunday, her hometown Gamecocks suffered just their fourth loss in two seasons Two of them were to the Huskies, the team that recently ended South Carolina’s bid for a second straight national title.

“These teams are gonna come for us,” Fulwiley said. “UConn is gonna be our rivalry for the next few years. They’re young just like we’re young. We got to get better.” Fulwiley decided to transfer five days later Now the dynamic 5-foot-10 guard is signed with LSU, locked into a star-studded backcourt with Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams.

Why did Fulwiley hit the portal?

And why did she choose the Tigers? Those questions underline one of the most compelling transfers of the 2025 cycle, while also turning LSU into one of the most intriguing teams of the 2025-26 season, whether it lands its final high-profile portal target or not Coach Kim Mulkey and her staff have taken these kinds of swings before. In 2023, they locked down the nation’s top two transfers, teaming Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow up with Angel Re-

ese, Johnson and Williams. That team reached the Elite Eight.

The one LSU is building now has a similar composition And it may climb back into the Final Four, but only if Mulkey can take the pieces — two star returners, three or four transfers and four high-profile freshmen and make them fit.

Fulwiley, a junior next season, is one of the most electrifying players in college basketball, but it’s unclear exactly which responsibilities Mulkey will give to her Fulwiley could start. She also could come off the bench like she did at South Carolina. Maybe she plays off the ball, or maybe she takes up the Tigers’ primary ballhandling duties, the same ones Van Lith struggled to grasp in her lone season at LSU.

“(Point guard) is the hardest position on the floor to play,” Mulkey said in November “It’s like the quarterback in football. The point guard’s gotta know everybody You gotta run the show You gotta point your fingers. You got to correct them. You got to get them going. That’s a lot to ask of a new player.”

Fulwiley burst onto the scene as a freshman, then saw her numbers plateau as a sophomore In two seasons, she averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game all while seeing an average of only 19 minutes of action each night. Coach Dawn Staley started her in just three of the 77 games she played at South Carolina.

Had Fulwiley stayed with the Gamecocks, she likely would’ve continued to enter games off the bench. On April 8, former Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer, announced she was transferring to South Carolina. Then Raven Johnson, one of the incumbent starting guards, revealed later that day that she had

decided to return for her final season of eligibility

Fulwiley told The Greenville News on March 27 that she “would love” to team up with Latson at South Carolina.

But less than a week after Latson committed to the Gamecocks, Fulwiley’s name appeared in the transfer portal. It took her 10 more days to announce that she was transferring to LSU.

“I’ve probably lost recruits because I’m never going to tell any young person that you’re going to automatically start,” Staley said on April 5 before the national championship game “Young people, you need to bet on yourself if you think you’re that good, right? You don’t need a handout. You just allow your work to speak for itself. If it finds you in the starting lineup — nameless, faceless production is the thing that matters.”

The next day, Fulwiley scored nine points and assisted four shots against UConn. She also committed a couple of turnovers in the first half and missed a key defensive assignment in the second, prompting a frustrated exclamation from Staley on the bench.

“That’s how we operate,” Staley said the day prior “I just wanted to say that because I did do that when I was in my first couple of years of coaching. I started someone off of potential. (She) wasn’t nearly the hardest worker Super talented. Backfired. Never do it again. The cream will always rise.

“For us, if you’re in the starting lineup, it’s because you’ve consistently performed and practiced.”

Will Fulwiley find herself in Mulkey’s starting lineup? That, too, is an unfamiliar position for the transfer guard, the one who made the intriguing decision to leave her hometown program for one of its chief rivals.

Aggressive Randle takes Timberwolves to new level

BY DAVE CAMPBELL AP sports writer

MINNEAPOLIS Julius Randle

dropped in another timely basket in the second half and turned toward the sideline as he shuffled back on defense, beating his chest with both fists to further boost the decibel level at a Target Center that was roaring all afternoon as the Minnesota Timberwolves took control of the series with the Los Angeles Lakers. Randle has been a handful for the Lakers in this matchup, delivering for the Timberwolves a consistent scoring alternative to star Anthony Edwards. He has taken grueling turns guarding Luka Doncic and LeBron James, too, and played with a gusto that wasn’t on display that much during an up-and-down regular season.

Leaping to keep offensive rebounds alive, diving on the floor for loose balls and encouraging the crowd to get louder with flex poses and primal screams during the two wins at home, Randle looks like he has found his footing in these NBA playoffs.

“He played phenomenal,” said Edwards, smiling at the mention of his urging Randle after Game 3 to significantly increase his shot attempts from the 13 field goals he put up Friday “I tell him to take

more shots, he took more shots, and it helped us win. He was aggressive on the boards. Julius has been playing great.”

Many of those fans directing full-throated cheers at Randle this week weren’t so sure about him at first, following the surprise trade right before training camp began that brought Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota and sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. Moving his family and adjusting to a new life on the fly was a challenge, as was meshing with a new team.

“I’ve had to grow other areas of my game. We’ve got such a talented group,” Randle said. “We’ve got so many versatile players. For all my career, I’ve always been asked to score the ball at a high level, rebound at a high level, but I think it’s like the little things that I’ve been able to do for the team and take joy in.”

Randle’s scoring average (18.7 points per game) during the regular season was his lowest in seven years, but he topped that yet again with 25 points in the 116-113 win in Game 4 on Sunday. After going 6 for 13 from the floor for 22 points in Game 3, Randle took the advice from Edwards and took 22 shots to match his most attempts in a Timberwolves uniform. He has 90 points

Cavaliers win by 55 points to sweep Heat

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

MIAMI Cleveland moved into Round 2 with the most lopsided series win in NBA playoff history.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 19 and the Cavaliers led by as many as 60 points before beating the Miami Heat 138-83 on Monday night to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round series in four games. Ty Jerome had 18 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and Jarrett Allen had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six steals for the Cavaliers. Cleveland won the series by a combined 122 points, one more than the previous record for series margin set by Denver over New Orleans in 2009.

“We came out here with a goal in mind,” Mitchell said.

The 55-point margin in Game 4 was the fourth-biggest playoff win ever The record is 58 points, done twice: Minneapolis over St. Louis in 1956 and Denver over New Orleans in 2009 The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 points in 1973.

Nikola Jovic led the Heat with 24 points. Ban Adebayo scored 13, while Pelle Larsson and Andrew Wiggins each added 12 for Miami.

“Damn, it was humbling. This series was humbling. These last two games were embarrassing,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“But Cleveland’s also a very good team. They showed us why we weren’t ready for that.”

Cleveland will play either Indiana or Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pac-

ers lead that series 3-1; regardless of whether the Pacers or Bucks advance, Game 1 of that series would be in Cleveland and not played until Saturday at the earliest.

“I’m always a big fan of rest,” Mitchell said.

This is the third instance of Miami being swept in a best-ofseven series. The others: against Chicago in 2007 and against Milwaukee in 2021, both of those in the first round and both also ending on the Heat home floor It was over fast. Cleveland — which used a 33-5 early run to blow Game 3 open — led 43-14 late in the first quarter before Davion Mitchell beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer The 26-point margin matched the worst quarter in Heat playoff history; it was the second-best margin for any quarter in Cavs playoff history And the lead only kept growing It looked every bit like a 64win team that led the East wireto-wire going up against a 10thplace finisher that needed to win two play-in games just to get into the tournament.

“We came down here with the right mentality and again, our maturity, our leadership, all that stuff we’ve been talking about all year,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We don’t seem to have letdowns. That’s rare.”

Cleveland’s lead was 39 7233 — at the half, the third-largest lead after two quarters in NBA playoff history The only halftime leads bigger than that: Cleveland by 41 over Boston on May 19, 2017 and Detroit by 40 over Washington on April 26, 1987.

Pels players undergo surgical procedures

in the series. Game 5 is Wednesday in Los Angeles.

“He doesn’t feel the pressure that he’s got to go out and score 30 every night for us to win,” coach Chris Finch said. “He trusts his teammates. He’s finding them now at a higher rate. He’s always been a really good passer, so I just feel like he’s unburdened from that responsibility and just knows that one night it might be 10, 11 shots, but the next night, he can still go for 30 and have a massive game.”

Despite being an 11-year veteran of the league, Randle has by far the fewest postseason games played in Minnesota’s eight-man rotation He missed the playoffs with a shoulder injury last year with the Knicks. The first four seasons of his career were spent with some forgettable Lakers teams, coinciding with their six-year absence from the playoffs. Then he spent one season with New Orleans, where Finch was an assistant and quickly grew fond of his muscledriven paint game that also offers a smooth left-handed touch from 3-point range. “Man, it’s a pleasure to have him, just because of the physicality that he plays with,” Finch said. “You need that at this time of the year, and it doesn’t seem to get him off his game. He actually relishes it.”

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

Two New Orleans Pelicans players underwent surgery on Friday, the team announced Monday Center Kelly Olynyk had surgery on his left heel and ultrasound-guided tendon debridement The team described the surgery as “minimally invasive.” Olynyk’s surgery was performed in London. Brandon Boston, meanwhile, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle in Los Angeles.

Olynyk came to the Pelicans in February as part of the trade for Brandon Ingram. He played in 20 games, all starts, for the Pelicans. He averaged 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds. His best game came against the Utah Jazz when he scored 26 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists.

Olynyk just completed his 12th NBA season and has one more year remaining on his contract with the Pelicans. Olynyk’s recovery time is expected to be between 3-4 months, which should get him back in action no later than late August.

The Pelicans gave the same 3-4 month timeline for Boston, who just completed his first season in New Orleans.

Boston was claimed off waivers by the Pelicans in October and signed to a two-way contract. In February, he was signed to a two-year deal.

Boston, in his fourth NBA season, averaged 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the 42 games he played. That included 10 starts. His best game was a 26-point outing against the Orlando Magic in November His last game of the season was Feb. 8. He missed the final 30 games of the season while dealing with the ankle injury

In total, Pelicans’ players missed 380 games because of injuries this season. It was a big reason the team finished 21-61, the second-worst record in franchise history That led to the dismissal of David Griffin as executive vice president of basketball operations. Griffin was replaced by Joe Dumars, who addressed the injury issues during his introductory news conference last Tuesday “I’ll sit and talk to the medical staff and the health and performance people and just try to get a handle on what’s been going on, what’s been happening,” Dumars said. “I think that’s the best thing you can do is listen to the people who are dealing with this on a daily basis.”

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, left, plays defense as New Orleans Pelicans forward Kelly Olynyk dribbles during the first half of a game earlier this season at the Smoothie King Center

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHRIS CARLSON

South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley reacts after getting fouled during the second half of a game against LSU in the Southeastern Conference Tournament final on March 10, 2024, in Greenville, S.C.

Saints’Carrspeaksabout injury at church service

BY RASHAD MILLIGAN Staff writer

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has provided an injury update via aSunday church service.

The starting quarterback of the Saintsisdealing with ashoulder injury,and there is still agood deal of uncertainty about whether he’ll take the field during the 2025 season.

The veteran quarterback found himself in aLas Vegas pulpit on Sunday divulging details of his shoulder injury that neither Saints general manager MickeyLoomis nor Carr publicly has discussed much this offseason.

“Yes, Ihave ashoulder injury,” Carr said during his sermon as the guest pastor at ChurchLV. “De-

spite what ESPN says, and some lady with apodcast mic. Ihavea report to prove it, the team knows about it, we’ve been in constant communication. There’snothing wrong, we’refiguring it outand we’re goingtogoforward with that, is that OK?”

Carr then shifted hisfocusonthe public’sreaction to theinjury

“I’ve been dealing with people lying on me. I’ve beendealing with them saying this and that, and I’m like, ‘Lord, why do Ihavetodeal with thisnonsense?’“Carrsaid.

“’What is going on?’ And Isay thattopreface with, ‘You never knowwhatsomeone’sreally going through.’ And so why do we continuetoattack people, andIwould say attack peoplethat are trying to do things the right way.Why do we always have to have an opinion?

Twitterand Instagramhas ruined some people because now,all these people thinkthey have voices that have to be heard.

“It’slike, ‘Some people’s voices don’tneed to be heardright now.’ Ijust have to be honest with you. Because not oneofour opinions in here matters. Theonly opinion that mattersisthat text right there, [which] is theword of God.”

The Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round of the2025 NFL Draft on Friday. Loomisstill publicly backed Carrasthe team’s starting quarterback as longas he is healthy.

Email Rashad Milligan at rashad.milligan@theadvocate. com.

DUNCAN

Continued from page1C

The timing alone begs for skepticism. It’sanunusual time for major injury news to occur.Ican count on one hand the number of major injuries that have come to light in mid-April during my 25 years of covering the NFL. Let aloneone as significant as the throwing shoulder of the starting quarterback Protocolistoaddress injuries as soon as possible to giveproper time for rehab and recovery entering the next season. Adding to the confusion and

LSU SOFTBALL

Continued from page1C

on twohits in four innings with two strikeouts and no walks Monday.

“Never countthe Tigers out.No matter what happens in the beginning, we always talk about throwing the last punch,” said Berzon, who improved to 17-5. “Wewereable to show up this weekend and do just that

“With everything happening yesterday,wewere super excited. It remotivated us and helped us show up today.”

The decisive sixth started with four-pitch walks to Maci Bergeron and Tori Edwards, which endedthe night for Florida starterKeagan Rothrock, who won Saturday.Jadyn Laneaux, who was 3for 3, singled off reliever Katelyn Oxley to load the bases, and Hodge gave the Tigers the lead with adrive to center field. Then the floodgates opened. Pinch hitter SavannaBedell sliced asingledownthe left-fieldlinetomake it 4-2. After Sierra Daniel was hit by apitch, Coffey doubledoverthe head of left fielderKorbe Otis for two more runs. Jaila Lassiter laid down abunt to scoreDaniel, and when Oxley’sthrow to theplate got past catcher Jocelyn Erickson, Coffey sprintedhometobeatErickson’sthrow to Oxley Florida (41-12, 12-9) went to the bullpen again,but after getting a fly ball for the second out, reliever Olivia Miller walked four consecutive batters while throwingonly one strike in 17 pitches. That forced in two more runs toend thegame. Hodge was credited with the game-ending RBIonher bases-loadedwalk. “Competitive,” Coffey said when asked to sum up thesixth inning.“It started yesterdaywhen (assistant coach) Bryce (Neal) said we were one pitch away. It rolled over to today.Weknew the adjustments we needed tomake. We were focusing on doing the

heightening the suspicion is the strange way both sides have treated the situation.

Carr stayed silent untilSunday, when avideo of hissermon at a LasVegas church was released Saints officials, meanwhile, have refused to comment directly on the subject, other than ashort statement by general manager Mickey Loomis at hispre-draft newsconference last week that said little more than the Saints still were seeking “clarity”onthe shoulder injury When Loomis and Moorewere asked about the injury again over the weekend, they danced around the subject. If everything is jake, whybeso

Saints quarterback Derek Carr walks off the field after an injuryagainst the Newyork Giants last season in East Rutherford, N.J.

ASSOCIATED

secretive andevasive?

Instead of hiding behind offseason protocols andinjury policies, whynot just address the situation in anews conference over Zoom? Thatwould go alongway toward ending the rumors andspeculation that everyone says they fear andloathe. Certainly,the Saints andCarr have the right to remainsilent aboutthe situation. It’stheir prerogative to keep things private. Just as we have the right to remainskeptical when Officer Barbrady tells us, “There’s nothing to see here.”

Email Jeff Duncanatjduncan@ theadvocate.com.

LSU second

things we do. Floridascored arun off of starter Jayden Heavener,but LSU answered with two in the fourth. Bergeronled off with asingle to right, and Edwards slammed a doubletoleft-center.Pinchrunner Madilyn Giglio scored when McKenzie Redoutey grounded outtosecondbefore Laneaux hit an infield single to second to score Edwards. Floridatieditinthe fifth on asolo homerbyRyleeHoltorf off of Ber-

Johnsonagreesto1-year deal with Cleveland

BY JOEREEDY AP sports writer

CLEVELAND— Wide receiver Diontae Johnson agreed to terms on aone-year deal with the Cleveland Browns on Monday, aperson familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The personspoke to the AP on conditionofanonymity because the deal has notbeenannounced. Themovewas first reported by NFL Network. Clevelandwillbethe fourth team thatJohnson has been on in ayear.Hebegan last season with Carolina before being traded to Baltimoreinlate October.Johnson —who led the Panthers with 30 receptions and 357 receiving yards at the time of the trade hadonly one catch in four games for the Ravens whenherefused to entera Dec. 1contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson was suspendedone game and then waived by the Ravens on Dec. 21. He was claimed by Houston and had three receptions, including one for 12 yards in the Texans’ wild-card playoff

win over the Chargers. Johnsonthough was waived shortly after that game as Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said it didn’tworkout. Johnson was then claimedbyBaltimore, but the Ravens did thatinorderto possibly geta compensatory pick in the 2026 draft. The 28-year oldJohnsonhas plenty of experience playing in theAFC North. He was drafted in the third round by Pittsburgh in 2019 and spent fiveseasons with the Steelers. His best year wasin 2021 when he had 107 receptions for1,161 yards and eight touchdowns.

Johnson joins aBrowns receiving room that doesn’thave many viable options other than Jerry Jeudy Who Johnson willbecatching passesfromduring offseason workouts and training campwill be of more interest. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are expected to battlefor Cleveland’sstarting quarterback job, but the Browns madethings interesting during thedraft with theselectionsof Shedeur Sanders andDillonGabriel.

LSUBASEBALL

Continued from page1C

against Tennessee. The Tigers scored in only three of the first 18 innings of the series, tallying six runs in theirmiraculous ninth-inning comeback Friday before hitting two solo home runs in the seventh and another in the eighth on Saturday But that was before LSU flipped thescript Sunday. The Tigers had13hits, including eight forextra bases, and ended the game in eight inningsona two-run double from senior Luis Hernandez. Not facing Tennessee’stop starters, Marcus Phillips and Liam Doyle, playeda major part in the Tigers’ success. They managed to score just two runs in 131/3 innings against the duo on Friday and Saturday

ButLSU hadalso been struggling against pitchers who were nowhere near the caliber of Phillips and Doyle. Sunday’soffensive explosion was agood reminder of what this attack can still do whenit’srolling, scoring in numerous different ways— from bunting over runners to blasting homers —and receiving contributions from up and down thelineup.

Importance of long ball

Hitting homeruns and preventingthemwentalongway in LSU winning the Tennessee series. The Tigers blasted seven home runs and held the Vols to just one, despiteTennesseeentering theseries secondinthe conference in homers. Where LSU would findpower was aquestion markentering the season.Besides Jones, the Tigers didn’thave any proven commoditiesinthe homerun departmentagainstSoutheastern Conference competition. Jones blasted the first homer

a

zon. But she closed thedoor,coming up with akey strikeout to end the fifthwith arunneronthird.

The LSU bats did the rest.

“Our offense is really special,” Torina said. “We’re having an incredible season, and it’sfun to seethem have moments like that, aplayer like Jadyn Laneauxhaving anight like that thinking of all thework she put in. She watched us play alot last year and never checked out. She’s reaping the

ON DECK

WHO: LSU(36-9) vs SoutheasternLouisiana (33-11) WHEN: 6:30 p.m.,Tuesday WHERE: Alex Box Stadium

ONLINE: SECNetwork+

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans); KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSUisNo. 2by

D1Baseball; Southeastern Louisiana is unranked

of the seriesFriday, atowering 452-footwalk-offshot. Butafter that, LSU got homers from four players whocombined to hit just eight balls over the fenceagainst SEC clubs last season. Sophomores Steven Milamand JakeBrownhomered on Saturdayand Sunday, respectively Freshman John Pearson hit the second homerun of his career Saturday, andseniorMichael Braswell crackedhis firsttwo homers of the year over Saturday and Sunday LSU entered Sunday’s contest just 10th in the SEC in homers against conference competition. If theweekend demonstrated anything, it’sthat the long ball will need to be an important part of the offense heading into the final stretch of the season. Third-base situation

Braswell’sstruggles during nonconference play have become athing of the past.

In 18 SEC games this season, the veteran third baseman has an .888 on-base plus slugging percentage. His twohomers this weekend equaled the number of long balls he hit over hisfirst three years combined in conference play

He hasonly 55 plate appearances against the SEC this seasonafter losing playing time to redshirt junior Tanner Reaves. But Reaves’ defensive struggles and struggles against conference pitching reopened apath forBraswell to return to the starting lineup.

“I think the at-bats have just continually gotten better as we’ve gone along in the season,”JohnsonsaidofBraswell. “He gotoff to alittle bit of a slow start, (but the) defense has never wavered. And to have two shortstops on the leftside of the infield is areally big plus forour team.”

Email Koki RileyatKoki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU— TBA; Southeastern Louisiana —TBA

WHATTOWATCH FOR: Junior left-hander ConnerWare didn’t pitch this past weekendagainst Tennessee, making him astrong candidate to start against the Lions. SoutheasternLouisiana heads into the matchup having wonits latest series against Houston Christian in Southland Conference play.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU third baseman Michael Braswell fires the ball across the diamondagainst Tennessee on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium.

PHOTO By JOHN MUNSON

STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

baseman Sierra Daniel beats the throwhomefor arun against Florida in the sixth inning on MondayatTiger Park.

LSU center fielder Jalia Lassiter dives as shetries to make thecatch on

Florida hit in the topofthe sixth inning on MondayatTiger Park.

THE VARSITY ZONE

Diamond days near end for well-known coaches

Bourgeois, Cassard are retiring after this season

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH

Staff writer

As he left the field after a 10-4 victory over Rosepine on Saturday, Episcopal coach Travis Bourgeois was hit by a wave of emotion and a flood of memories.

“I am just so thankful to get one more week of baseball,”

Bourgeois said. “That was a good Rosepine team we played and there was no guarantee.

“Baseball is the sport I started with. I remember my T-ball team and every other team I’ve ever played on or coached. I started picturing all the teams in my mind. That (link) ends when the season does.”

Live Oak head coach Jesse Cassard and Bourgeois are getting closer to different retirement plans as their teams prepare for quarterfinal best-of-three series this weekend against Slidellbased opponents.

Cassard is stepping away from Class 5A Live Oak to concentrate on work in private business. Bourgeois will continue as head football coach for the Class 2A Knights.

Top-seeded Live Oak (28-5) hosts No. 8 Northshore (31-6) in a Division I nonselect series that begins with a 6 p.m. Thursday game. Sixth-seeded Episcopal (21-12) travels to No. 3 Pope John Paul II (24-8) for a series that begins at 5 p.m.

“It’s an early retirement,” Cassard said “I’m 46, but it’s something my wife and I have talked about for a while that this might be the time.

“When I started in this business (2D Sports), we had no idea it would take off like it has. With Cal

(youngest son, starting outfielder) graduating, it makes sense.”

The 54-year-old Bourgeois’ reasons for taking a step back from baseball also are family-based.

“I coached girls basketball for 14 years along with football and after being an assistant baseball coach, this is 11 years as a head baseball/head football coach,” Bourgeois said. “This is basically 30 years here (at Episcopal) and a lot of them coaching two sports.

“It’s time to let someone else have it and see what they can do.

For the last 20 years I’ve had a child in school here. My youngest (daughter) graduates this year I’ll have more time to do things with my family away from school.”

Cassard enters the weekend series with a career mark of 472119 in 18 seasons as a head coach with stints at Zachary and Live Oak He won two LHSAA titles at Zachary

PREP REPORT

Cassard is co-owner of 2D Sports, which hosts more than 300 baseball and volleyball events in multiple states Cassard started his career at Lake Charles-based Barbe and credits his success to Bucs coach Glenn Cecchini.

Episcopal is the only place Bourgeois has coached. Bourgeois has a football record of 185-93 and is poised to move into football’s revered 200-wins list. His baseball record is 188-118.

With close wins over other multiple top teams during the season, Cassard enters the weekend series with confidence. Bourgeois is confident too.

“These guys have bought in and done everything we’ve asked them to do,” Cassard said. “At this point you just play Whatever happens, happens.”

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

Baton Rouge area softball teams set for state tourney

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

Culturally speaking, the number nine is a symbol for wisdom and leadership.

Completion/fulfillment also is part of its symbolism, which is exactly what nine Baton Rouge area teams are seeking when they head to the LHSAA softball tournament set for Friday and Saturday at Sulphur’s North Frasch Park.

Three area teams from District 5-5A are set to compete in the highest division — Division I nonselect in the semifinal round. Action begins at noon Friday

Three-time reigning champion St. Amant, the No. 4 seed, faces top-seeded Sam Houston, while 5-5A rivals Dutchtown and Walker square off on an adjacent field.

Two Division IV select teams also have 5 p.m. semifinals. Topseeded Catholic High-Pointe Coupee, a runner-up a year ago, meets No. 5 Menard. Sixth-seeded St. John takes on reigning champion Opelousas Catholic another 5 p.m. matchup.

Another runner-up from a year ago, Division III nonselect Doyle, along with Division III select Parkview Baptist play noon semifinals.

Fifth-seeded Doyle avenged a 2024 title-game loss to Sterlington in the semifinals. They face top-seeded Kaplan. No. 4 seed Parkview makes its first tourney appearance since 2019 vs tradition power Calvary Baptist of Shreveport.

At 2:30 p.m. reigning champion Lutcher, a No. 5 seed, and secondseeded Brusly play Division II nonselect semifinals. The Bulldogs meet top-seeded North DeSoto, the team they beat in last year’s title game. Second-seeded Brusly faces No. 3 Assumption.

Monistere picks ISU Parkview Baptist distance runner Aiden Monistere committed to Iowa State over the weekend.

Monistere established himself

as one of the nation’s top distance runners during the fall cross country season and also ranked among the elite runners in the mile and two-mile during the indoor season.

“It took me a little bit longer because I got faster during the summer before my senior year,” Monistere said about his commitment. “I took my time and made six visits.

“Some schools still don’t know what they can commit to for track/ cross country (scholarship wise) because the (NCAA) settlement is not finalized. I am happy with my decision.”

Monistere’s finalists were Iowa State, Washington and Villanova. Zheng, Bears win

Catholic High senior Kevin Zheng had never carded an official sub70 round during his high school career That changed on Monday Zheng posted a 4-under-par 68 as the Bears held off Mandeville to win the Division I, Region 2 team title at Beau Chene Country Club.

“I just kept it in play and below the hole,” Zheng said. “I made putts when I had to. I just tried to keep it simple, and it worked. I think my irons and putting were the key.”

The Bears took the team title with a combined score of 295 to beat second-place Mandeville by nine strokes.

David Marsh (73), Andres Prieto (74) and Nyles Williams (80) filled out the Bears’ qualifying scores.

Prep notables

n The day after winning last week’s Girls Metro golf title at Beaver Creek Golf Course with an 8-under-par score of 64, Episcopal’s Sophia Macias learned her score set a course record for male and female competitors.

n Mina Williams, a veteran assistant coach at Walker, has been hired as the new girls basketball coach at Barbe.

Williams was part of four straight LHSAA tourney appearance for Walker

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

Staff report

When he became head coach at Class 4A West Feliciana two years ago, Devin Ducote said he did not expect to be lured away by another school.

But the chance to return to his alma mater, Parkview Baptist, was one the 37-year-old Ducote could not refuse.

“There’s blood on that uniform,” Ducote said. “I wore it, I walked those halls and I played on that field. It’s home.

“It’s hard to leave West Feliciana. It’s a wonderful school, the kids work hard and great things are coming with that new fieldhouse. Being at Parkview is one of the only things that could pull me away.”

Ducote previously served as a defensive coordinator at West Feliciana and Catholic. In 2021, he was part of the Catholic High staff that won a Division I select title.

A star player at Parkview from 2004-06, Ducote earned multiple all-state honors playing for the late Kenny Guillot. He became an AllAmerican safety on the collegiate level at FCS Stephen F. Austin. A former assistant/analyst on the college level, Ducote had stops at LSU, Auburn, Kansas and Central Florida.

Ducote replaces Stefan Lefors, who left Parkview to become a college head coach at Division III Gallaudet earlier this month.

Ducote had a record of 16-8 at West Feliciana. It was his first stint as a head coach. The Saints were 9-3 his first season and 7-5 last fall. Both years the Saints advanced to the Division II select regionalplayoff round.

Live Oak baseball coach Jesse Cassard owns a 472-119 career record, including a stint at Zachary where he won two state titles.

STAFF FILE PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK

Dunham baseball coach Hayden Jennings, left, and Episcopal

coach Travis Bourgeois, center, meet with game officials before the District 8-2A tournament final on March 26 at Episcopal High School.

GET SOME AIR

Spring’s a good time to give your lawn some breathing room

you have

of weedsin your

Any areas of thin or dead grass? Does your yard justlook stressed overall? These could all be symptoms of acommon problem: soil compaction

“Soil compaction is soil particlesgetting pushed closer and closer together,resultingin aloss of pore space for airand water,” explained EricDeBoer, an assistant professor of turfgrassmanagement withthe LSU AgCenter Compaction makes for atough environment for plant roots to grow.Itcan happen in areas that get alot of foot or vehicle traffic, and it’smore prevalent in finetextured clay and silt soils.

To test whether your soil is compacted, you can push a screwdriver into the ground. If it’snot relatively easy to insert, your soil is probably compacted.

The fix is aprocesscalled aerification or aeration, and spring is agood time to do it

For the best results, you’ll need to visit an equipment rental facility for amachine called an aerator,amotorized tool that you push like alawn mower.Ithas spinning tines that poke holes in the ground and pull out coresofsoil.The machine ejects the soil cores as it is pushed acrossalawn Aeration helps reduce soil density and creates new channels for water,oxygen and nutrients to infiltrate the soil, DeBoer said. That ultimately translates to ahealthier yard

Using an aeratorcan make abig difference, and one pass over alawn is typically enough, DeBoer said.

“You may even see agreening effect around each hole within acouple of weeks,” he said.

Youcan leave the soil cores

ä See AERATION, page 2D

Do youremember Piccadilly in its heyday?Wewantto hear from you.

Did yougrowupeating at Piccadilly? Do youhavecherished memories of favorite foods at the restaurant? Maybe youstill eat thereonthe regular.Wewant to hear about your connection to the Baton Rouge-based cafeteria-style institution. Send us your stories about Piccadilly in its heyday. Do you remember watching the restaurant grow from ahometown success to achain across the South? Please email us your storytoSerena. Puang@theadvocate.com. Include your name and town, and (not for publication) adaytime phone number

TiffanyKersten not onlyleads birding trips to the Rio Grande Valleyinher homestate of Texas,but also to Panama, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador

Spreading herwings

FBY COLETTEDEAN Contributingwriter

ouryears ago, Texas birder Tiffany Kersten hadnoidea she wouldbecomearecordbreaker,muchless aspokesperson helping to highlight aserious plight faced by many birders.

It was 2021 when Kersten found herself out of ajob as anaturecenter manager due to thepandemic, and the gym whereshe hadbeen training for TV competition series “American Ninja Warrior”was closed. So, she took aspontaneous trip to Floridawith friends and saw 200 species of birds. Onceback home in Texas, she saw several more species and with some encouragement, madeacommitmenttodoabig year.Anindividual

Briskets in the smoker at Salt Pepper Oak

PROVIDED COVER ILLUSTRATION

Shortly after TiffanyKersten’s record-breaking bigyear,she and her storywere featured on the coverofTexas Monthly magazine.

challenge or competition amongbirders, duringabig year the goal is to identify as many species of birds as possible,bysight or sound, within acalendar year.Kersten not only

‘BIRDIE BIG YEAR: ELEVATING WOMEN BIRDERS’

Presented by theBaton Rouge Audubon Society l 6p.m.Thursday l EBRPSouth Branch Library, 2210 GlasgowAve l Free, limited seating.Registration encouraged at eventbrite.com l For more info, go to braudubon.org.

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

For Salt Pepper Oak owner Vincent Hunt, becoming aTikTok-er wasn’tthe planoreven an aspiration, but after

“I washookedafter that,” he said. Now,he’samassed nearly 125,000 followers on the platform and grown his business. He’s movedhis business to

Out-of-townman’s personalityshifty

Dear Harriette: Earlier this year Imet someone at afriend’s birthday party.Ithought he was handsome,and my friend ended up fixing us up. We live in different states, so we exchanged numbers and kept in touch.We talked often on the phone, andI feltcomfortable withhim. He offered to visit me in person, staying in a hotel and taking me out throughout the weekend Iappreciated that he wasn’tpresumptuous, but upon his arrival, everything seemed to change. Apparently,hecame with expectations. Whenever we were together,he’d make sexual advances, which came as asurprise tome since we hadn’tentered that territory yet. Throughout the weekend, his mood and attitude wavered,and Icouldn’tpinpoint why.Eventually he admitted that he was sexually frustrated. Ifeel violated even though technically nothing happened Why would someone giveme one impression and then fly1,000 miles in hopes of something else? Icut ties with this person, but Ican’tseem to shake the feeling that Iwas too naive. Why is this bothering me so much? Any advice? —Wrong Impression Dear Wrong Impression: These days, it’snot surprising that if this man flew 1,000 miles to see you, he expected sex in return. That doesn’tmean you were obligated to do it, but it’snot an unusual thought. Youtwo probably should have spoken openly about your expectations for the weekend. Youcould have stated that you were looking forward to seeing him and getting to know himbetter,but also that you intended to take it slow.Yes, you probably were abit naive. In the future, if you find yourself in a similar situation, state what you

By The Associated Press

wantupfront so there’snoroom for misinterpretation.

Teacher’sthank-you notes provideadditionallessons

should continue?

Gentlereader: Yes! Continue!

Dear Harriette: My middle-aged sonrecentlymoved out,and I don’tthink he is prepared. He’s hadahardtime taking responsibility over the pastdecade or so,and he hasnot been great with staying employed. His decision camejust acouple of months after securing anew job. It’snot that I don’twanthim to be on his own two feet —trust me, Ido—but Iworry that this is apremature decisionthatmay cost him apretty penny.When he gave me the news, he’d alreadysigned asublease with afriend who is out of town indefinitely.None of this makes me feel any moresecure about hisdecision.Itall cameas asurprise to me because he said he’d already started moving his stuff to his newplace and would be gone withina day or two of the conversationwewerehaving.

Dear Miss Manners: As ateacher for thepast 30 years, Ihave been fortunate to receive thoughtful giftsofthanks and appreciation from my students and their families during the holiday season and at the end of the school year These gifts often include mugs, chocolates, baked goods or gift cards. (Between us, I will admit that my favorite giftsare notes of appreciation from students and parents.)

Today is Tuesday,April 29, the 119th day of 2025. There are246 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On April 29, 1992, ajury in Simi Valley,California, acquitted four Los Angeles police officers charged with assault and using excessive force in the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King; the verdicts were followed by six days of rioting in Los Angeles which destroyed hundreds of businesses andresulted in more than 60 deaths

On this date:

In 1916, the Easter Rising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrenderedtoBritish forces. In 1945, during World WarII, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp

In 1991, apowerful tropical cyclone made landfallinBangladesh, creating astorm surge that resulted in more than 138,000 deaths.

In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention, aworldwide treaty

Iwant to beable to give him some pointers withoutthat conversation being riddled withmy personal emotionssurrounding hisabrupt notice. I’m not sure I knowhow to be supportive while I’moffended —Moving Out Dear MovingOut: Your middleaged son should not need your advice at this stagefor how to live alone. Good for him that he is making the effort to cut the cord.Let him. If hemakes mistakes, so be it. He has to learn to be independent. Do not be offended. Thoughhe didn’thandle hisleaving in thebest way,heis leaving, andthat is agood thing for both of you. Let it be with your blessing.

Send questions to askharriette@harriettecole. com or c/oAndrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO64106.

TODAYINHISTORY

banning the use of chemical weaponsand mandatingthe destruction of existingchemical weapons, went into effect.

In 2008, Democratic presidential hopeful BarackObama denounced hisformerpastor,the Rev.Jeremiah Wright, for what he termed “divisiveand destructive” remarks on race.

In 2011, Britain’sPrince William andKate Middleton were married in an opulent ceremony at London’sWestminster Abbey Today’sbirthdays: Musician Willie Nelson is 92. Baseball Hall of FamerLuisApariciois91. ConductorZubinMehtais89. Singer Tommy James is 78. Golf Hall of Famer JohnnyMiller is 78. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 71. Actor Kate Mulgrew is 70. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 68. Actor Michelle Pfeiffer is 67. SingerTV personality Carnie Wilson is 57. TennisHall of Famer Andre Agassi is 55. Actor Uma Thurmanis55. Actor Megan Booneis 42. NHL center Jonathan Toews is 37. Pop singer Foxes is 36. Golfer Justin Thomas is 32.

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO By OLIVIA McCLURE

Eric DeBoer,anassistant professor of turfgrass management withthe LSUAgCenter,demonstrates using an aerator

AERATION

Continued from page1D

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy on the ground. They’ll eventually break down and return some nutrients to the soil.

DeBoer recommends aerating once per growing season or as neededtoalleviate majorcompaction issues. When renting an aerator,be sure it’samodel that has hollow tines that pull up soilcores. De-

In return, Ihave always taken the time to write careful and personal thank-you notes for each of these gifts. Partofmy motivation has been to set an example for my students, demonstrating the importance of expressing gratitude through a handwritten note. However,this practice is timeconsuming, particularly during my breaks, when the sheer volumeofletters overwhelms me. At Christmas this year,the time it took prompted metopause and reflect: Is it truly necessary to write athank-you notefor a thank-you gift? It feels abit circular Ican’timagine not writing the notes, but Ifeel compelled to ask: Would asimpler acknowledgment suffice, or is this atradition I

Boer advises against using amachine with solid tines or trying to aerate ayard withapitchfork or other spikytools because they don’tremovesoil. “Solid tines do create channels in the soil for nutrients and air and may bebetter than doing nothingatall, but it doesn’tdo anythingtoalleviate soil compaction,”DeBoer said. “If you continuetopokeholes to the same depth year after year,you can actually createahardpan and makethe problem worse.”

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Let us not risk perpetuating that prevalent, but totally false, idea that apresent given in thanks need not be acknowledged —that it would lead to aloop in which thegiver and recipient would spendthe rest of their lives thanking each other Nonsense. Aletter of thanks does not require a response; apresent, given for whatever reason, does. Those children were probablysomewhat involved in giving you those presents —they may even have chosen them. Do you want to leave them wondering if you even cared?

Children almost never receive letters (well, neither do adults, these days), so these would be special. Youappreciate letters from them and their parents, so you ought to understand how much they would appreciate lettersfrom you.

Anditwill be an additional boon to theparents whoare requiring their children to write letters of thanks for their birthday and holiday presents.

Dear Miss Manners: I’mfeeling stuck abouthow to respond to atext message that combines a thank-you and acompliment. For

example, would you respond to a text message that says, “Thank you forthe delicious dinner” with a“thank you” (for appreciating the dinner), a“you’re welcome” (for the thank-you), or both? Gentle reader: Neither.You’re off free.

Dear Miss Manners: Iampermanently in awheelchair as aresult of an injury.There is nothing wrong with my mind. Many people assume Icannot speak formyself,and somemove my wheelchair in directions Idonot wish to go. What can Isay to these strangers to convey that Iamcapable of speaking formyself and that Ido not care to be treated like apiece of furniture? Somepeople are considerate —holding doors for me and asking if Iwould like help. Others are quite rude. Gentle reader: “Excuseme, but Iam right here” to those who talk above you. And “STOP!” to anyone rude enough to move your wheelchair without your permission.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St Kansas City,MO 64106.

BIRDER

Continuedfrom page1D

checked the number of species to qualify as abig year,but she also broke the record for the lower 48 states big year of 724 species.

As asingle young woman crisscrossing the country toremote sites with no cellphone service, there were more than afew times when she felt uneasy,like the time she found herself alone on amountaintop with two men who were wandering about,one lighting a cigarette.

“I was having afull-blown panic attack at this point,” she said.

Fortunately,the men drove off.

As aprevious assault survivor, she thought, “Am Iputtingmyself in asituation where this could happen to me again?”

As she continued withher big year,she was also determined to find away to makethe outdoors asafeplace for women. While on abird species hunt in California an ad for Birdiepersonal safety alarms poppeduponher phone The alarms hook onto keys or bags andwhenthe topsare pulledoff, they flash abright LEDlight and chirp loudly.The companyalso givesa portion of its proceedsto organizationsthatsupportwomen’sempowerment.

BARBECUE

Continuedfrom page1D

opening was April 19. Salt PepperOak started two yearsago in PassChristian, Mississippi, as apartnership between twin brothers Vincent and Andrew Hunt. The restaurant’sname is an homage toAnthony Bourdain, who once said “Salt, pepper,oak,period” during aYouTube video after taking abite of abrisket.

VincentHunthas lived in Baton Rouge since 2007, and he commuted two hours each way to runthe businessthree days aweek. He’d drive out on Thursday and return

Saturday

“It was atest of my faith in my abilitytoreally want this,” Hunt said. “Baton Rouge was the long game. Ijust didn’tknow how Iwas

Kerstenreachedout to Birdie’s femaleowners, who offered hera 50% discount on the alarms. She alsoset up aGoFundMe page whichhas helped purchase more than 900 devices.Her “Birdie Big Year” mission had begun.

Kerstencontinuedtogiveout alarms during her quest andnow gives out the devices at speaking engagements. “It’sbeen areally powerful experience notonlyfor me,but fora lot of other women,” she said.

Kerstensaidshe knows the alarms won’tsolve the problem completely buthopesher larger effort will help create change.

“I believeI can help by being thevector through which tough conversationscan be hadand shared. It is aresponsibilityofus all—men and women alike —to change thenarrative here,tocreate asafe, welcoming place forall in this community,” she said.

Shortlyafter her record-breaking year,Kersten and her story were featured on the cover of Texas Monthly magazine and she started abusiness, Nature Ninja Birding Tours, offering customized private guiding in the Rio Grande Valley. Some, but notall, of her tours are specific to women. Her business has grown, and in addition to the Rio Grande Valley trips,she now offers birding trips to Panama, Taiwan, CostaRica, Co-

gonna get here.” Hunt is originally from Mississippi, and he knew that opening a business in his home state would allow him to try something new with the support of his old friends and family He’sbeen in therestaurant industryfor over 20 years and moved to Baton Rouge forajob opportunity

While opening abarbecue business in BatonRouge has been his goal, he said the time in Mississippi taught him aboutbarbecue, which he didn’tgrow up with.

People say,“you either go World WarIIorbarbecue at 35,” Hunt quipped. He chose barbecue. He uses 100% oak wood and prides himselfonhis “chef-driven sides.”

“Our baked beans are not baked beansout of acan;they’re pinto beansthat we make in-house with chili peppers,” he said. “Our potato

lombia and Ecuador

Baton Rouge willbeher second stop in amultistatespeakingtour called “Birdie Big Year: Elevating WomenBirders,” sponsored by the Baton Rouge Audubon Society Thefree talkwill take place on Thursday at the East Baton Rouge Parish South Branch Library,2210 Glasgow Ave. She’ll be giving away 10 Birdies as door prizes.

Kersten’s“Birdie Big Year” tour in Baton Rouge had to be rescheduledfrom last spring.She took a break afterbeing diagnosed with breast cancer following aroutine annual exam.Surgery andtreatmentwere successful, so she is back on track this spring.

“Now there’sanother group Ibelongtoand want to help support,” she said.

“Lastweek,Texas Monthly reached out to do afollow-uparticle; sort of a‘where is she now?’” Kersten said. No doubt Kersten’s adventures will continue to take flight, continuing to encourage and empower womenasshe glides along.

This articleissuppliedbythe Louisiana MasterNaturalists of Greater Baton Rouge, which seekstoadvanceawareness, understandingand stewardship of thenaturalenvironment. For more information,email info@ lmngbr.org.

salads are not your basic mushy yellow mustard/mayonnaise potato salad.It’sroasted creolepotato salad with roasted red potatoes.” Unlike their old location, which was only open on weekends, the new location will be open 11 a.m to 5p.m.Tuesday through Saturday. They’realso goingtohavean expandedmenuwithitems like pork belly lollipops, asmashburger made with ground brisket, onion rings and wings. There will also be cocktails like thehot honeysmoked lime margarita, andafter he gets up and going, he hopes to expand to breakfast items with more menu items that highlight thesmokyflavors he’splaced at the center of his business. For example, he hopes to add asmoked brownsugar shaken espresso to the menu.

Email SerenaPuang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Birdie alarms hook onto keys or bags and when the topsare pulled off, they flash abright LED lightand chirp loudly

BUSINESS

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

FedEx to close BR distribution center

FedEx said it will close its one of it’s Baton Rouge distribution facilitiesinJune, amove that will put 74 employees out of work.

The shutdown of the shipping center at 10781 Coursey Blvd. is part of an ongoing effort by FedEx to streamline its delivery operations. Many of the employees at the center will be offered other jobs with FedEx, the company said. The affectedworkers are receiving job placement assistance, relocation aid and severance packages, if applicable FedEx has more than 450 employees in the Baton Rouge area, workingout of 11 facilities. The company said the closure of the Coursey site will not lead to delays in package pickups or deliveries.

The delivery giant said that, by May,itwillhaveshut down 250 delivery stations in the U.S. and Canada since 2022 as part of thestreamliningeffort. It has seena10% dropinpickup and delivery costs in areas where stations have closed.

The 81,500-square-footdistribution center sold earlier this year to an Oklahoma investment company for $5.9 million. FedEx has been in the building since 1998

Deliveroo gets takeover offer from DoorDash

SharesofDeliveroo, thefood delivery service based in London, hit three-year highs on Monday after it received a$3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash Deliveroo announced thebid after markets closed in Europe on Friday.OnMonday,the company also said that it was suspending a$133.5 million share buybackithad announced last month.

Deliveroo said Friday that its board has informed DoorDash that if afirm offer is made at the financialterms provided,it willrecommend the bid to its shareholders. DoorDash runs its business in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Deliveroo, which was founded in 2013,operates in 10 markets worldwide, including the U.K., Italy and France. EPAallows sale of cheaper E15 gasoline

Consumers across the U.S. still will be able to buy higherethanol blend E15 gasoline this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday,saving them alittle money at the pump but risking potential damage to the air and water.

The emergency waiver issued by the EPAprevents retailers in most states from having to stop selling E15 gasoline on Thursday.While the waiver remains in effect only throughMay 20, EPAAdministrator Lee Zeldin signaled that he plans to keep issuing waivers through Sept. 15,the date when the federal government typically would allow E15 sales in all states again. Most gasoline sold across the U.S. isblended with 10% ethanol, but15% blends are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the Midwest, where most of the nation’s corn is grown. E15 gasoline generally costs at least 10 cents lessagallon than E10 gasoline, but the EPAhad previouslyprohibited its sale during the summer over concerns that its use during the summer driving season could increase smog. But the EPAhas relaxed restrictions on E15, granting a series of short-termwaivers in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to allow its sale nationwidethroughthe summer. And last year,the EPA issued arule allowing yearroundsales in eightMidwestern states —Iowa, usually the nation’stop corn producer,aswell as Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio,South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Trump administration officials saidMonday’saction will lower consumers’ costs and give them more choicesatthe pump while also increasing the demand for corn.

Wall Street ends on amixed finish

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stocks drifted to amixed finish on Monday, ahead of potentialflashpoints this week that could bringmoresharp swings for financial markets.

The S&P 500 inched up to extendits winning streak to afifth day.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up, andthe Nasdaq compositeslippedslightly

Therelative lull in trading offereda respite fromthe sharp, historic swings that have rocked marketsfor weeks, as hopes rose and fellthat PresidentDonald Trump may back down on his

trade war.Manyinvestors believeTrump’s tariffs couldcause arecession if left unaltered. Coming intoMonday,the S&P500 had roughly halved its drop that had taken it nearly 20% below its record set earlier this year Mixedtrading for some influential tech stocks ahead of their earnings reports this week pulled theS&P 500 back and forth between modestgains and lossesfor much of Monday Amazon fell 0.7%,Microsoft dipped 0.2%, Meta Platforms added0.4% andApple rose 0.4% All areonthe schedule to report theirlatest resultsthis week, and they’resome of Wall Street’s most

influential companies because they’vegrown to becomesome of the biggestinterms of size,byfar That gives their movements extra weight on the S&P 500 andother indexes Outside of Big Tech,executives from Caterpillar,Exxon Mobil and McDonald’smay also offerclues this week about how they’re seeing economic conditions play out.

Several companies acrossindustries have already slashed their estimates for upcoming profit or pulled theirforecasts entirely because of uncertainty aboutwhat will happen with Trump’stariffs.

“Weheard more plans to mitigate tariff impacts than in prior

months andthanduring 2018” from U.S. companies, including preordering, shifting production andincreasingprices for their ownproducts, according to Bank of Americastrategist Savita Subramanian. But she also said in a report thatshe’s seeing “some indications of apause: no hiring/no firing, no newprojects/no cancellations etc.” Afear is thatTrump’son-againoff-again tariffs maybepushing households and businesses to alter their spending and freeze plansfor long-term investment because of how quickly conditionscan change, seeminglyby the hour

VOLATILITY ANXIETY

Market turmoilhas many afraid to checkretirementsavings

BY MATT SEDENSKY AP national writer

NEWYORK— Michael Montgomery usedto check thebalance on his retirement account once aweek andsmile. Butlately,not wanting to getupset and question if he could retire in afew years, there was only onesolution

“I’m not looking,” says the66-year-old professor from Huntington Woods, Michigan. As the White House simultaneouslyinjects turmoil into financial marketswith itstrade war and dismisses fears of adownturn, retired andnear-retired Americans are anxiously looking on, worried about outliving their savingsorhaving to put off entries on their bucket lists.

Keeping logged off his account has made Montgomery’sdays less worrisome. He and his wife adjustedtheirportfolio after Election Day,including moving moremoney into bonds. But he’snot sure what more he cando if the entire world economy can be affected by Washington’sdecisions.

“I hope like hell Idon’tlose all my retirement savings,” he says.“Butwhere else could you putthe money that these people could not disorder?They can’tget into your mattressbut that’sabout it.”

Many experts warned U.S. stocks were overpriced and duefor acorrection even beforePresident Donald Trump reclaimed theOval Office. Butahistoric blanket of tariffs have injected new uncertainty into the market

Though stocks have rallied recently,the S&P 500isdown 10% fromanall-time high reached in February.Lossesinthe Nasdaq and among small-cap stocks are steeper. Even bonds and theU.S. dollar have been volatile.

Many economists arewarning of apossible recession.

Earlier this month, the CboeVolatility Index, considered a“fear gauge” of investor pessimism, reached its highest level in five years.The index,known as VIX,has since retreated but is still in territory reflecting fearful investors. Anothermeasure of

market sentiment, the Cboe S&P 500 Left Tail VolatilityIndex,whichtracksinvestor worry about so-called “black swan” events such as the 2008 housing crash that spurred theGreat Recession, likewisehas backed off from highs but remains elevated.

Trump hasurgedpeople to “becool”in assessing theimpact of tariffs on theirinvestments. Asked abouthis ownsavings earlierthismonth, he chuckledand replied: “I haven’tchecked my 401(k).”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meantime,brushedoff the possibility that some might need to delay retiring, saying people “don’tlook at the day-to-day fluctuations of what’shappening.” That seeming nonchalance isn’tsitting well with someolder investors.

PeterRost, 72, retired from his software development job last year and planned to start tapping his retirement savings to supplement Social Security.But he doesn’twant to bake in his losses.

“I’m looking to take $2,000 and meanwhile the account drops by $30,000,” he says.

BigTech’senergydemands making coal-fired powerattractive

BY MARC LEVY Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa.— Coal-fired power plants, long an increasingly money-losingproposition in the U.S., are becomingmore valuablenow that the suddenly strong demand for electricity to run Big Tech’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence applications hasset off afull-on sprinttofind newenergy sources

President Donald Trump, who has pushed for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market and suggested that coal can help meet surgingpower demand, is wielding his emergencyauthoritytoentice utilities to keep older coal-fired plantsonlineand producing electricity

While some utilitieswere already delaying theretirementofcoalfiredplants, the scores of coal-fired

plants that have been shut down the past couple of years, or will be shut down, are the object of growing interest from tech companies, venture capitalists, states andotherscompeting for electricity

That’s because they have avery attractive quality: high-voltage lines connectingtothe electricity grid that they aren’t usinganymore andthatanew powerplant could use. That ready-to-goconnection could enable anew generation of power plants—gas,nuclear,wind, solar or even battery storage —to help meet the demand for new power sources morequickly For years, thebureaucratic nightmarearound building newhighvoltage power lineshas ensnared efforts to getpermits for such interconnections for newpower plants, said John Jacobs, an energy policyanalyst forthe Washington,

D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center.

“They are very interested in the potential here. Everyone sort of sees the writing on the wall forthe need for transmission infrastructure,the need for clean firm power, the difficulty with siting projects and the value of reusing brownfield sites,”Jacobs said.

Coincidentally,the pace of retirements of thenation’s aging coalfired plants had been projected to accelerateatatime when electricitydemand is rising for the first timeindecades.

The Department of Energy,ina December report, said its strategy for meeting that demand includes re-using coal plants, which have been unable to competewitha flood of cheap natural gas while being burdened with tougher pollution regulations aimedatits comparatively heavyemissions of planet-

warming greenhouse gases. There arefederal incentives, as well —such as tax credits and loan guarantees —that encourage the redevelopmentofretired coal-fired plants into new energy sources. Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of the Electric Power Supply Association, which represents independent powerplant owners, said he expected Trump’sexecutive orders will mean somecoal-fired plants runlongerthantheywould have, but that they are still destined for retirement. Time is of theessenceingetting power plants online.

Datacenter developers arereporting ayearlong wait in some areas to connect to the regional electricity grid. Rights-of-way approvals to build power lines can also be difficult to secure, given objections by neighbors whomay notwantto live near them.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByPAULSANCyA

TAURUS (April20-May 20) Take theinitiative and finishwhat you start. Clearing apath to freedom will offer satisfaction andinsight into how to turnyour dreams intoareality.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Distance yourselffrom those who make you doubt your inner voice. Base the changes you makeonwhat feels right.Change your surroundings

CANCER (June 21-July22) Takeastep forward and back your words and promises with action. Your objective is to have an impact on and to influence those who are sitting on the fence.

LEO(July 23-Aug. 22) You will attract attention if you are vocal, participate anddoyour parttospread the word. Now is not thetime to sit on the sidelines. Act on behalf of those who cannot act for themselves.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Get your facts straight beforeyou share information. Take the high road, promote the truth andmakethe changes necessary to reach your goal. Partnerships require openness and honesty.

LIBRA (Sept.23-Oct. 23) Broaden your knowledge, andyou'll gain perspective regarding something you want to pursue. Planning atrip, signing up for acourse or engaging in arally will give you asense of belonging and purpose.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Use your energy wisely. Exercise, competitive sports,physical challenges and motiva-

tional activities will positively impact your life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov.23-Dec. 21) Domestic issues will surface if you are reluctant to handle matters. Hesitation will lead to accumulated mistrust with someone you need to get along with.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listen, observe and protect your achievements and possessions. Achange of attitude regarding who you allow in your inner circle will help you maintain your status quo.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Stay calm, pace yourself and make only necessary changes. Focus on broadening your outlook, skills and pursuits and pouringyourenergyintoactions.Stepaway from disagreement and discord.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Settle in and look at the big picture. Before making amove or altering how you do things, be sure to study the consequences and who stands to win or lose.

ARIES (March21-April19) Look for the best deal, prepare to barter and make your money stretch. Thejoy of less debt will improve your perspective. Tidy up your lifeand your look. Focus on reaching your goals.

The horoscope, an entertainmentfeature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2025 by NEA,Inc dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothat each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS Hi and LoiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Surrealist painter Salvador Dali said, “At the age of 6, Iwantedtobeacook. At 7, Iwanted to be Napoleon. Andmy ambition has been growing steadily ever since.”

If your partner’s ambition in the bidding carries youtoheightsthatyour cards do not justify, try to findaline of play that willjustify hisoptimism.

In today’s deal, for example, suppose North and South soar to seven spades. West leads the club king. What should Southdo?

The first three bidsinthe auction are predictable (unless you have some snazzy responses to astrong, artificial and forcing two-clubopening bid).

Then, though, North’s actual choice of sixspadeswouldnotmeetwithuniversal approval.

Ajumptofourheartswouldbepopular if it were read as asplinter bid, showingsomevalues, four-plus spades and at most asingleton heart. WhenNorth jumped to thesmall slam,though, South read his partner for strong trumps, so thought hisfouraces justified raising to the grand slam.

Declarer has to assume the diamond finesseiswinning.But he still needsto be careful with hisentries.

Southshouldwinwithhisclubace,cash twoheartstodiscarddummy’sclubloser (and to reduce the undertricks should things take anasty turn), play off the spade ace, and lead aspade to

Each Wuzzle is aword riddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name,place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters.

toDAY’s WoRD oRAcLE: OR-uh-kul: Apersonthrough whom adeityis believed to speak.

Average mark 16 words

Time limit 20 minutes

Canyou find21ormorewords in ORACLE?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD— ALMost

dummy’s queen. He continueswith adiamond to his queen, the diamond ace, aspade to

Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Jesus is Lord!Heiscoming back and allwill bend the knee to him. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

p isfactory to LDWF.Bid applicationnotifications andforms canbeprinted from LDWF’s websiteat https://www.wlf louisiana.gov/page/ alligator-hunting,bere‐questedbyphone at 337735-8720, or obtained via emailbycontactingLAal‐ligatorprogram@wlf.la. gov. Completedbid appli‐cationforms canbe mailed or hand delivered to andmustbereceived by 11:00 AM on May20, 2025 in Room 1007 of the LDWF Office at 200 Dulles Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506. However, bidders areherebynotified that LDWF is notresponsible forany delays caused by thebidder’schosen method of biddelivery. Failureofthe bidto reachRoom1007 by the designated time and date shallresultinrejec‐tion of thebid.Bid open‐ingwillbeonMay 20, 2025 at 11:30 AM at the LDWF LafayetteOffice 1st FloorConference Room #1002, 200 Dulles Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506. Thepublicisper‐mitted to attend.Se‐lected bidderswillbeno‐tified by phone. 138344-apr28-29-may56-4t $76.16 at

PUBLIC NOTICE REQUISITION11297657 OFFICIAL PUBLIC NOTICE OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE ANDTHE CITY OF BATONROUGE Notice is hereby givento allcitizensofthe City of BatonRouge,Parishof East BatonRouge andto allother interested per‐sons,ofthe introduction at theregular meetingof theMetropolitanCouncil of theCityofBaton Rougeand Parish of East BatonRouge,heldon April23, 2025 of thepro‐posedresolutions/ordi‐nances,the titles of whichare setforth here‐

inafter,and that public hearingwillbeheld thereonbythe Metropol‐itan Councilat4:00P.M., Tuesday, May28, 2025, in theCouncil Chambers (Room 348) on thethird floor of theCity-Parish Governmental Building in this City,these proposed resolutions/ordinances beingentitledasfollows: ORDINANCE Amending theCodeof Ordinances of theCityof BatonRouge andParish of East BatonRouge so as to addChapter 25 to Title9 (Licensing and Regulation of Trades and Occupations) to estab‐lish theLocal Healthcare Provider Participation PrograminEastBaton RougeParishinaccor‐dancewithLa. R.S. 40:1248.1through 1248.10. By Councilwoman Laurie Adams& Councilman BrandonNoel. 138446-APR29-1T $46.62

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE theLa. Dept.of Energy andNatural Re‐sources, Office of CoastalManagement (OCM)has received the followingapplication(s) fora CoastalUse Permit (CUP)inaccordancewith theState andLocal CoastalResources Man‐agementAct of 1978, as amended, (La. R.S. 49:214.21-214.41),and the rulesand regulationsof theCoastal Resources Program.Applications forthe proposedwork maybeinspected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, BatonRouge,LAor on theOCM webpageat: http://dnr.louisiana.gov/ index.cfm?md=pagebui lder&tmp=home& pid=591. Copies maybe obtained upon payment of cost of copying. Writ‐tencomments, including suggestionsfor modifi‐cationsorobjectionsto theproposedworkand statingthe reasons thereof, arebeing so‐licited from thepublic. Commentsmustbere‐ceived within 25 days of thedateofpublication of this notice.Comments should be uploaded to ourelectronicrecord, but maybemailedor emailedtothe desig‐natedOCM Reviewer.All commentsmustcontain theappropriateapplica‐tion numberand the

commenter's full name andcontact information. Anypersonmay request, in writing, within the comment period speci‐fied in this notice,that a StateorFederal public hearingbeheldtocon‐siderthisapplication. Re‐quests forpublichear‐ings shallstate,withpar‐ticularity,the reasonsfor holdinga public hearing andmustcontain the name andcontact infor‐mation of therequester Beloware thereferenced application(s): *******OCM; P. O. Box 44487, BatonRouge,LA 70804-4487; Phone: (225) 342-4766; Email: bryan. alleman2@la.gov; OCM Reviewer:Bryan Alle‐man; CUPNUMBER: P20250241Name: Hotard Ronnie 200 Brighton Lane Berwick, LA 70342 Attn: Ronnie Hotard Location: SaintMaryParish, LA; Lat.:29-43-20N,Long.:9114-8W;Lot#Willowcrest Subdivision17A &C1; 200 Brighton Lane Berwick, La.70342 Description: Personal usebulkhead andboatstorage located behind residence on WC Canal, Berwick, La 138709-apr29-1t $25.77

PUBLIC NOTICETheDepartmentofNat‐ural ResourcesOffice of CoastalManagementis currentlyreviewing the followingproject forCon‐sistency with theState andLocal CoastalRe‐sourcesManagementAct of 1978, as amended(La R.S. 49:214.21-214.41),and theregulations of the LouisianaCoastal Re‐sourcesProgram (LCRP) Pursuant to Section306 (d)(14) of theCoastal Zone Management Actof 1972, as amended (CZMA),the public may submit commentson proposed projects to OCMConsistency Sec‐tion,P.O.Box 44487, BatonRouge,LA708044487. Applications may be inspectedduringOCM business hoursat617 N. 3rdStreet,Baton Rouge, LA.Commentsmustbe received within 15 days of this notice to be con‐sidered. Formoreinfor‐mation,contact Mark Hoganat(225) 219-9530 or (800) 267-4019

MINUTES CITY COUNCILMEETING CITYOFBAKER PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA COUNCILCHAMBERS 3325 GROOM ROAD, BAKER, LOUISIANA 70714 www.youtube.com/@bakerforward April 22, 2025-6:00p.m

The City Council of the City of Baker,Louisiana, met in regular sessionon April 22, 2025, with the following members in attendance at themeeting: MAYOR Darnell Waites

COUNCILMEMBERS Desiree Collins Rochelle Dunn Cedric Murphy Dr.CharlesVincent

ABSENT Robert Young

CALL TO ORDER –Mayor Waitespresided

Theinvocation was given by CouncilMember Murphy.

ThePledge of Allegiance wasled by Council Member Vincent

DISPOSITION OF THE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The motion was made by CouncilMember Vincent,seconded by Council Members Collins/Murphy to approve the minutes of the meeting held on April 8, 2025.

YEAS: Collins,Dunn, Murphy,Vincent

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Young ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 4-0.

RECOGNITIONS

PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS

Council Member Young arrived

RESOLUTIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS

1. Resolution to Designate Authority for Baker Blvd.and Bentley Drive Improvements –Project No. H.015126 (Mayor) Janna Rogers read the resolution.

Themotion was made by Council Member Vincent,seconded by Council Member Murphy to adopt the resolution.

YEAS: Collins,Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Young

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

2. Proclamation declaring April 2025FairHousing Month in the City of Baker (Mayor) Janna Rogers read the proclamation.

The motion was made by CouncilMember Vincent,seconded by Council Member Dunn to accept the proclamation

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Young

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

3. Proclamation declaring April 2025 Alcohol Awareness Monthinthe City of Baker (Vincent) Janna Rogers read the proclamation.

The motion was made by CouncilMember Vincent, seconded by Council Member Dunn to accept the proclamation

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy, Vincent, Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

4. Proclamation declaring April 2025MedicaidAwareness Month in the City of Baker (Vincent) Janna Rogers read the proclamation.

The motion was made by CouncilMember Vincent, seconded by Council Member Collins to accept the proclamation

YEAS: Collins,Dunn, Murphy,Vincent, Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Schedule work session to discuss updating thecurrent sign ordinance (Mayor)

The motion was made by Council Member Collins, seconded by Council Member Vincent to schedule aworksession to discuss updating the current sign ordinance on Tuesday,May 6, 2025, at 4:30 p.m

YEAS: Collins,Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None ABSTAIN: None The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

PUBLIC MEETING

ANNOUNCEMENTS/COMMENTS

1. Running Reverend 5K Run and Walk –Saturday, April 25, District 3 meeting –Thursday,May1, RonaldBradyBenefitSoftballTournament and Family Day in the Park, Saturday, May 10th at Baker Park (Collins) Council Member Collins announced theRunning Reverend 5K Run and Walk is being held Saturday,April 26, 2025, in thepark. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and therun starts at 8:00 a.m. She saidthe District 3meeting will be held on Thursday,May 1, 2025, and thelocation will be announced. Council Member Collins announced the RonaldBradyBenefitSoftball Tournament and Family Day inthe Park, is being heldSaturday,May 10, 2025, at Jefferson Street Park.

2. District 2announcements (Dunn) Council Member Dunn announced a fishing tournament/community fun day is being planned for Saturday,August 9, 2025. Sheasked that each of hercolleagues get

4. Streetlight call-ins, thanks for progress on LaveyLane,assistance for District Chief Ronald Bradyofthe Baker FireDepartment, and Keep Baker Beautiful (Vincent) CouncilMember Vincent verified that the city’sprocedurefor reporting streetlights that areout remains the same. He thanked the mayor for the progress on Lavey Lane,saying thework is slow,but theyappear to be workingcarefully and doing agood job. Council Member Vincentthanked everyone whohas helped the Bradyfamily in their time of need. He asked that everyone continue to support District Chief Ronald Brady andhis family as they fight against AML. FireChief Keith Pease said another blood drive is being planned for June and abenefitwill be held in August as well. CouncilMember Vincent thanked everyone who made Love the Boot week asuccess. He said therewas agood turnout for the Love the Boot eventheld Saturday,April 12, 2025. He said the Keep Baker Beautiful effort is comingalongnicely andcommended Dr.Ebony Iheanacho for her dynamic leadership

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

The mayor said approximately 1.2 million dollars will be spent onroad work this year with the majority of the repairsbeing completed on the north side of the city

The mayor said alist of legislative activity is available to anyone interested and that two of the bills important to the city pertain to adjudicated property and trafficcameras.

The mayor reminded everyone that grass season has begun and asked that they stay vigilant and keep their yards cut.

CouncilMember Dunn announced amaternal healthfair is being held Saturday,April 26, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 2021 Harding Boulevard. The event is being hosted by Zeta PhiBeta Sorority, Incorporated, Mu Zeta Chapter.Registration is required for this event. To register contact Janice J. Scott at (225) 235-8752 or muzetastorknest@ gmail.com.

APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

1. Appoint Councilmember Cedric Murphy to the Baker MainStreet Economic Development District Board(Murphy)

The motion was madebyCouncil Member Vincent, seconded by Council

Member Young to appoint Council Member Murphy to the Baker Main

Street Economic Development District Board.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent, Young

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

CONDEMNATIONS

1. 1916 Florida (Mayor)

2. 2235 Chamberlain (Mayor)

3. 1984 Chamberlain (Mayor)

4. White house next door to 1984 Chamberlain (Mayor)

5. 2845 Groom Road (Mayor)

6. 1637 Robinson Street (Mayor)

7. 12979 Wedgewood (Mayor)

8. 2165 Chamberlain (Mayor)

9. 1752 Clark (Mayor)

10. 1905 Alabama Street (Mayor)

11. Chamberlain Avenue at John Marks (Mayor)

12. 1903 Carolyn (Mayor)

13. 2441 Ray Weiland(Mayor)

14. 1008 Epperson (Mayor)

The mayor stated the building inspector will be submitting hisreport on condemned properties tomorrow and demolition of said properties will begin.

REPORTS ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

1. Planning and Zoning Commission

2. Annexation Review Committee

3. Economic Development Team

4. Heritage Museum/Related Committees

5. ABC Board

6. Other SpecialCommittees

a. Buffalo Festival b. Prayer Breakfast

c. Strategic Planning Committee

d. CitizensAdvisoryBoardtoLaw Enforcement

e. MainStreet District Committee

ADJOURN The motion was madebyCouncil Member Dunn, seconded by Council Members Murphy/Vincenttoadjourn.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent, Young

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None The motion passed with avote of 5-0.

CITY OF BAKER

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

STATEOFLOUISIANA I, Angela CanadyWall, certify that IamClerk of theCouncilfor the City of Baker,Louisiana, and that the above and foregoing is acopy of the minutes of aregular meeting of theCouncil for theCity of Baker,Louisiana held on April 22, 2025.

Angela CanadyWall, LCMC

Clerk of Council

MINUTES

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

HILLCREST MEMORIAL GARDENS CITY OF BAKER

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE

STATEOFLOUISIANA

3325 GROOM ROAD BAKER, LA 70714 April 22, 2025

The City Councilofthe City of Baker,Louisiana, sitting as the Boardof Commissioners for Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, met in regular session on April 22, 2025, with the following members in

Direct FederalAction: C20250045COE-NOD CY 2025 &2026 Maintenance Dredging of Venice Har‐bor, PlaqueminesParish FederalLicensesorPer‐mits: C20250035 (P20250280) CPRA NorthwestLittle Lake MarshCreation &

COMMISSIONERS

Desiree Collins Rochelle Dunn Cedric Murphy

Dr.Charles Vincent Darnell Waites RobertYoung

CALL TO ORDER –Commissioner Waitespresided.

DISPOSITION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The meeting wascalledtoorder and themotionwas made by Commissioner Waites, seconded by Commissioners Dunn/Murphy to approve theminutesofthe meeting held on April 8, 2025.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites, Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None The motionpassed by avoteof6-0.

PUBLIC NOTICE

NEW BUSINESS

OTHER NECESSARYBUSINESS

1. Monthly Business Report

2. OtherReports

3. Items Requiring Action

ADJOURN Therewas no other business to come beforethe commission. The motion wasmade by Commissioner Waites, seconded by Commissioners Dunn/ Vincent to adjourn.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites, Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None The motionpassed by avoteof6-0.

CITY OF BAKER PARISH OF EASTBATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

I, Angela Canady Wall, certify that IamClerk of theCouncil forthe City of Baker,Louisiana, and that theabove and foregoing is acopy of the minutes of aregular meeting of theBoardofCommissionersfor the Hillcrest MemorialGardens held on April 22, 2025.

Angela Canady Wall, LCMC Clerk of Council

MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

BAKER CONSOLIDATED UTILITIES SYSTEM CITY OF BAKER PARISH OF EASTBATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA 3325 GROOM ROAD BAKER, LA 70714 April 22, 2025

The CityCouncil of theCity of Baker,Louisiana, sittingasthe Boardof Commissioners forthe Baker Consolidated UtilitiesSystem, met in regular session on April 22, 2025, with thefollowing membersattending: COMMISSIONERS Desiree Collins Rochelle Dunn Cedric Murphy Dr.Charles Vincent Darnell Waites RobertYoung

CALL TO ORDER –Commissioner Waitespresided.

DISPOSITION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The meeting wascalledtoorder and themotionwas made by Commissioner Waites, seconded by Commissioners Murphy/Vincent to approve theminutesofthe meeting held on April 8, 2025.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites, Young NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motionpassed by avoteof6-0.

PUBLIC NOTICE

NEW BUSINESS

OTHER NECESSARYBUSINESS

1. Monthly Business Report

2. OtherReports

3. Items Requiring Action

ADJOURN Therewas no other business to come beforethe commission. The motion wasmade by Commissioner Waites, seconded by Commissioner Dunn to adjourn.

YEAS: Collins, Dunn, Murphy,Vincent,Waites, Young

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAIN: None

The motionpassed by avoteof6-0.

CITY OF BAKER PARISH OF EASTBATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

I, Angela Canady Wall, certify that IamClerk of theCouncil forthe City of Baker,Louisiana, and that theabove and foregoing is acopy of the minutes of aregular meeting of theBoardofCommissionersofthe Baker Consolidated Utility System held on April 22, 2025.

Angela Canady Wall, LCMC Clerk of Council

v. Keith Wilsonand City/Parish”, Suit no. 718,790 on the docket of the 19th Judicial District Court, in the amountof$250,900.00, plus court costsinthe amount of $1,192.53, for atotal amount of $252,092 53;and appropriating $252,092.53 for such purpose. *Thismatter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisCory Roy &Chris Jeansonne, Roy Scott &James.). By Parish Attorney Introduce for public hearing/meetingonMay 14, 2025 Cover Letter Resolution RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute asettlement and release agreement with Triumph Construction, LLC, related to the Elm Grove Gardens Pedestrian Improvements Project (City/Parish Project No 17-SW-US-0029), in an amount not to exceed $443,776.51, to resolve all Contractor Claims asserted by Triumph and Owner Claims asserted by the City/Parish, in connection with the completion and final acceptance of the Project. By Transportationand Drainage Director.ByTransportation and Drainage Director RESOLUTION

Authorizing settlementofthe claim of Mario and Allison Saenz for damages resultingfroma sewer back-up in claimant’shome, for atotal amount of $34,263.54, which amount shall be paid from the account designated “Insurance -General Liability” (1000. 4700. 10. 0550. 0000. 0000. 000000.644110).*This matter may be discussed in Executive Session.ByParish Attorney RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an agreement with Spurlock Company,Inc for Demolitionand Abatement Services, Package A5 in an amount not to exceed $92,250. By Development Director RESOLUTION

Authorizing settlement of the matter entitled “Jean Paul Guillory v. Quinesha Perkins, et al,” Suit no. 723,344 on the docket of the 19th Judicial DistrictCourt, in the amount of $41,000.00, plus courtcostsin the amount of $307.76 for atotal amount of $41,307.76, whichamount shall be paid from the account designated “Insurance –Auto Liability” (1000.4700.10.0550.0000. 0000.000000.644120). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisLuke Williams, Luke N. Williams Legal.). By Parish Attorney RESOLUTION

Authorizing settlement of theclaim of Mary Burns for damages resulting from an auto accident caused by aBaton Rouge Police Officer,inthe amount of $14,000.00, which amount shall be paid fromthe account designated “Insurance -Auto Liability” (1000.4700.10.0550.0000. 0000.000000.644120). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. By Parish Attorney

RESOLUTION

Authorizing settlement of the claim of State Farm Insurance Company as subrogee of Demikal McCoy and Terri Johnsonfor damages resulting from an auto accident caused by aBaton Rouge Police Officer,inthe amountof$14,777.17, which amount shall be paid from the account designated “insurance -auto liability” (1000.4700.10.0550.0000. 0000.000000.644120).* This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. By Parish Attorney.

RESOLUTION

Declaring apolicy vehicle (UNIT P071, 2008 DODGE RAM, property tag no. 115386) surplus and notneeded for apublic purpose and allowing donation of thevehicle to theTown of Cottonport Police Department. By Police Chief.

RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute aJoint Funding Agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey Lower Mississippi-GulfWater Science Center and East Baton Rouge Parish-Department of Public Works for the operation and maintenance of 23 real-time water level monitoring stations, for the Annual Fee of $205,170.00 for the time period of January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025

(Account No.1000-7100-30-7120-X-X-X-643500).ByTransportation and Drainage Director

RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute Supplemental Agreement No.3inanamount of $212,340.63, forProfessional Engineering Services with Forteand Tablada, Inc. for services associated with MOVEBR Enhancement project Florida Blvd Seg 2Corridor Enhancement (22nd St to Airline Hwy), being City-Parish Project No.20-EN-HC-0003, bringing the total amount of the contract to an amount not to exceed $3,962,588.15 (Account No.4370-20000-0000000000-653240).ByTransportation and Drainage Director

RESOLUTION

Rescinding and directing the clerk of court to cancel the Notice to Attend recorded on September 6, 2024, at Original 130 of Bundle13331, Original 131 of Bundle13331, Original 132 of Bundle 13331, Original 133 of Bundle13331, and Original 134 of Bundle 13331 In The Matter of “City Of Baton Rouge vs. Johnetta Yvette Richardson, CarltonV.Howard, Theresa A. Howard, Reginald R. Howard, and Casey G. Howard” and the Decision and Order recorded on February 3, 2025, at Original 187 of Bundle13354 In The Matterof“City Of Baton Rouge vs. Johnetta Yvette Richardson –Condemnation Proceeding No.11468 (2528 Sherwood St Lot 19, Sq. 5, Suburb Scott Subdivision). Reason for rescission: Property has been approved to close with the Louisiana Housing Corporation as part of the LA Rental Restoration and Development Program. By: Councilwoman Coleman

RESOLUTION

Rescinding and directing the Clerk Of Court to cancel the Notice To Attend recorded on October 13, 2023, at Original 745 of Bundle13279 and the Decision and Order recorded on October 30, 2023, at Original 317 of Bundle13282 in the matter of “City of Baton Rouge vs. Angel D. BonillaVelasquez”- Condemnation Proceeding No.11289 (5465 Linden St Lot 9, Chidester Place Subdivision, Section 1Filing). Reason for rescission: Owner has paid for apermit.By: Councilwoman Harris

RESOLUTION

Rescinding and directing the clerk of court to cancel the Decision and Order recorded on July 29, 2022, at Original 771 of Bundle13203 In The Matterof“City Of Baton Rouge vs. Harriett Sensley” -Condemnation Proceeding No.11104 (1674 N. 44th St.Lot 37, Sq. 27, Greenville Extension Subdivision). Reason for rescission: Property is being sold and new owner plans to make repairs. By: Councilwoman Harris

RESOLUTION

Rescinding and directing the clerk of court to cancel the Notice to Attend recorded on May16, 2024, at Original 636 of Bundle 13312, and Original 637 of Bundle13312 and the Decision and Order recorded on August 19, 2024, at Original 799 of Bundle13327 In The Matterof “City Of Baton Rouge vs. AbdallahShehadeh and Ahmad Shehadeh “ -Condemnation Proceeding No.11382 (1435 SouthSt.,Lot 26-A, Sq. 7 or 347, Favrot of Powers Subdivision aka Property #194476). Reason for rescission: Ms. Richardson is preparing for the closing process with the Louisiana Housing Corporation as part of the LA Rental Restoration and Development Program. By: Councilwoman Coleman RESOLUTION

Authorization for the Mayor-President and/or Chairman of the Airport

Commission to execute acontract with OOK Janitorial for janitorial services at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport,inanamount not to exceed $492,000.00. (Account No.5810-0900-30-0940-0000-0000000000-642200-). By: AviationDirector

RESOLUTION

Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an agreement between the city of Baton Rouge, parish of East Baton Rouge, on behalfofthe Office of CommunityDevelopment, and Research Foundation of the City University of New York, for an amount not to exceed $396,000.00. The agreement shall commence on June 1, 2025, and expireonMay 31, 2027, and authorizing the execution of allrelated documents. By: Community Development Director CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS

Annie T. Hawkins, Ricky J. Williams, Cathy Bowers, RichardWilliams, Tyrone Williams, Turmelovea Theus Smith, J. W. Theus, James Theus, James William Theus, James W. Theus, James G. Theus, Catrina Williams Richardson, Josette Booth Williams, Anthony L. Theus, BessieTheus Scarbrough, RussellHawkins, and Rossell Theus Hawkins 8607 Scenic Hwy.(Church and House), Lot 23, Sq. 9, Scotland Heights Subdivision -CouncilDistrict 2– Kenney

VanBui 690 Lorri Burgess Ave. (Sometimes knownas690 E. Washington St.), Lot 5, Sq. 10, South Baton Rouge Subdivision -Council District 10 -Coleman

Jehane Draper 1021 N30th St. (Red Brick Church on South CornerofNewton andNorth 30th Street), Lot 52, Sq. 1, Progress Park Subdivision -Council District 10 -Coleman Mack Willis, Jr; The UnopenedSuccessionofRhonda Coleman, and(The Succession of Mack Willis, Sr.and Mary Green Willis) 2735 Washington Ave. (House, Any &All AbandonedVehicles, Camper, CarDolly,and Utility Trailer), Lot 10, Sq. 13, Fairfields Subdivision -Council District 7-Harris.

MatthewByrd, Jr Cedric TerenceByrd, andGwendolyn Byrd 221 Jefferson St. Lot 20 PT (Lot 19 &the western30foot of Lot 20) South Baton Rouge Subdivision -Council District 10 –Coleman

CFB1956, LLC 4736 Loyola Dr Lot 11, Sq. 8, University Hills Subdivision -Council District 12 –Racca

138442-485496-APR 29-1T $523.96