The Times-Picayune 04-29-2025

Housepassespro-insurance industry measures

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Aslate of

Billsaim to help lowerstate’s high rates ä See BILLS, page 3A

powered past the objections of lawmakers who expressed the view of trial lawyers thatthe changeswon’t help consumersin astate where car insurance rates are among the highest nationwide. In general terms, the measures wouldmakeitharderfor people injured in car accidentstofile lawsuits and win big payouts—inthe

belief that lower payouts would lead insurance companies to pass along the savings to consumers Critics of thebills don’tthink that would happen. Thebills passed mostly along

Car insurancerates in Louisiana are among the highest nationwide. State representativeson Mondayadvanced aslate of bills aimed at reining in rising costs.

Councilpanstrash bids forFrenchQuarter

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

An IV Waste truck spraysalemon-scented wash on the streets Wednesday while cleaning theFrench Quarter. IV Wastehaulstrash in NewOrleans’ French Quarter and DowntownDevelopment District under adeal awarded last year,whichMayor LaToyaCantrell wants to abandon.

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

New Orleans City Council members

grilled officials from Mayor LaToya Cantrell’sadministration Monday about ahotly disputed garbage contract in the French Quarter,criticizing what they describedaslegalinconsistenciesand a lackoftransparencyinthe bid process. The hearing marked the latest flashpoint in alegal standoff betweenthe council and mayor,asCantrellpushesto

terminateanemergencycontract held by business owner SidneyTorres’ IV Waste. IV Waste hauls trash in New Orleans’ FrenchQuarterand Downtown Development District under adeal awarded last year, as infighting over adifferent, longterm waste disposalcontract threatened to leaveNew Orleans without atrash hauler ahead of Super Bowl LIX in February. Cantrellwants to abandonTorres’ deal and allowthe $73 million long-term deal, whichthe city inkedwith Troy Henry’s

Henry Consulting lastJuly, to take effect. Members of the council have fought that push at every turn. They dug in their heelsagain Monday, describingHenry’s contractaslegally flawed andsaying it could not takeeffect until the council approves it —something Cantrell has disputed.

Council memberslashed Cantrell’s chiefadministrative officer, sanitation departmentdirector,chief infrastructure officer andanassistantcityattorney withquestion after question about the deal.

See TRASH, page 5A

DisbarredN.O.attorneycharged in killing

Federalwitness in truckwreckingcase murdered

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Federal prosecutors have secured fresh murdercharges against adisbarredNew Or-

leans attorney at the center of asprawlingvehicle-wrecking scheme, accusing him of orchestrating the death of akey witness whowas gunneddown on hismother’s doorstep five years ago. Sean Alfortish, 57, already faced aslew of federal charges underanindictment filedlate last year,allegingthat he and a group of associates, including his fiancée, attorney Vanessa Motta, staged vehicle wrecks with big rigtrucks in aploy to secure large insurance payouts. Thenew chargesfiledFriday in the New Orleans-based U.S. District Courtfor theEastern District of LouisianaaccuseAlfortish and an alleged associate, Leon “Chunky” Parker,ofplottingtokill Cornelius Garrison, a veteran “slammer”who staged

those crashes. Garrison told the FBI before his death in 2020 that he would funnelhis passengers to agroup of New Orleans attorneys,including Motta, to represent them in bogus lawsuits, according to court records. Garrison was shot 10 times on his mother’sdoorstep in Gentilly on Sept. 22, 2020. He had been

ä See ATTORNEY, page 3A

‘Illegal reentry’ charges surgingin Louisiana

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

AHonduran manaccused of reentering the UnitedStates illegally arrived with his wife, an American citizen, for aU.S. Customs appointment in New Orleans in early April, hoping to emerge astep closer to securing citizenship himself.

Instead,customsofficers acting on amandate from President Donald Trump called New Orleans’ Immigrationand Customs Enforcement field office. ICE agents arrivedmidwaythrough theappointment and arrested the man, Pedro Alejandro Lujan-Martinez, then whiskedhim to detention Lujan-Martinez, who holds amortgage on aNew Orleans-area home andhas no othercriminal record, two days later found himselfina witness boxinNew Orleans, charged in federal court with reentering the United States after being deported to Hondurasa decadeago.Fourothermen accused of thesame violation satbeside him. Ajudge speaking through asingle Spanishtranslatorheard all five cases at once, speeding the process along.

As Trump directsthe might of federal law enforcement to pitch in on his sweeping immigration crackdown, theWhiteHouse hasfrequently publicized arrestsofmigrants accused of trafficking, drug smuggling andother graveoffenses.

Meanwhile, prosecutors scrambling to fall in line with the president’sagenda have pursued an un-

STAFF FILE PHOTOByCHRISGRANGER

Sevenmonths into the 2025 fiscal year,prosecutors in the NewOrleansbased U.S. District Courtfor the EasternDistrict of Louisiana have charged more peoplewith illegal reentrythan in the entire prior fiscal year,according to data.

ä See CHARGES, page 5A

STAFFFILE

PHOTOBy 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. It also shredded the majority of another building just to the west.

The force of the blast also could be seen, with what appeared to be two craters measure some 165 feet across. Other containers nearby appeared smashed and distended by the explosion and the intense fire that followed.

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.

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.

CANADA

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.

WhiteHouse marks100 days of

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 been accused of crimeslike rape and murder wereposted across the White House lawn, positioned so they would be in the background of television broadcasts outsidethe West Wing. Tom Homan, Trump’stop border adviser,told reporters there has been “unprecedented success”onthe border effort and “we’re going to keep doing it, full speed ahead.” ImmigrationisTrump’s leading issue in public opinion surveys, and White House press secretary

Karoline Leavittsaid at a morning briefing the administration is in “the beginning stages of carrying out the largest deportation campaign in American history.”

About 139,000 people have been removed so far,according to the White House. Deportations have occasionally lagged behind Democratic President Joe Biden’snumbers, but Trump officials reject the comparison as not “apples to apples” because so many fewer people are crossing the bordernow

BILLS

Continued from page1A

partisan lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

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

“It’sapiece of the puzzle,” said Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport, repeatinga phraseusedbyothers.

The bills passedasa behind-the-scenes battle heated up over what is the biggest political issue during the two-month regular legislative session, which entered itsthird 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 akey part of the governor’spolitical base but are unhappy that he is not supporting all of the proindustry measures

Landry said he is steering amiddle course that doesn’t favor one side or the other

The Republican-majority House spoke decisively on that question Monday,led by agroup of freshmen members who say theywere elected in 2023 by constituents demanding dramatically cheaper car insurance rates.

Rep. Brian Glorioso,RSlidell, told his colleagues

ATTORNEY

Continued from page1A

cooperating for more than a year as afederal witnessin the sprawling investigation dubbed “Operation Sideswipe.” Dozens have pleaded guilty acrossa series of indictments that mostly have charged passengers, recruiters and the slammers that drove thecrash cars. Garrisonwas killed four days after his name appeared atop one suchindictment.

In January,Ryan “Red” Harris, amentee of Garrison in the slammer game, pleaded guilty to federal charges and admitted in a factual basisthat he helped orchestrateGarrison’s killing to silence him. Harris acknowledged connecting Alfortish with Parker,sayingthat the two men plotted to killGarrison.

The admission stoked

President DonaldTrump wavesSaturday as he arrives at Newark Liberty International

LaterMonday,Leavitt held asecond briefing exclusively for “new media,” where Trump-aligned social media influencers asked friendly questionsand applauded at the end.

Tuesday will be Trump’s 100thday in office, and the Republican president plans to mark the day in Michigan, where hewill hold arally in Macomb County,anautomotive hub north ofDetroit. After relatively little travel

that hisHouse Bill 34 would allow lawyers for insurance companies to telljurors how much people injured in wrecksactually payinmedical bills. Under currentlaw, jurors hear thetotal amount billed,regardless of what theplaintiff paid.

“It’sfairer if you don’thide this information from the jury,”Glorioso said,adding that passage ofHB34 would align Louisiana with Texas legally on this question.

But Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, noted that legislators have passed proinsurance industrymeasures in previous years, yet rates keep going up. She asked Glorioso if he could guarantee that rates would drop if hislegislation passed.

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

Rep. Emily Chenevert, RBaton Rouge, asked legislators to pass House Bill 431 to bar drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receivinga damage award to cover their injuries. Under currentlaw, adriver responsible for, say,51% of theaccident can collect apaymentequal to 49% of theoveralldamage award

Chenevert said thebill wouldreducefrivolous lawsuitsthatallow people to collectadamageaward even thoughthey aremostly at faultfor causing an accident Rep. Kyle Green, D-Mar-

speculationamong legal observers that Alfortish, too, would soon face murder chargesinthe blockbuster case. In abriefstatement, Alfortish’sattorney,Shaun Clarke, calledthe new indictment charging his client with murder “expected.”

“Sean is not guilty and we are preparing his defense,” Clarkesaid. Attorneys forParker could not immediately be reached. The fresh indictment charges Alfortish with conspiracy to commitwitness tampering through murder; witness tamperingthrough murder;conspiracytoretaliateagainst awitness through murder; retaliation againstawitness through murder; and causing Garrison’sdeath through the use of afirearm.

Motta and Alfortish, along with the firms Motta Law and TheKing Firm, already facedcharges of fraud,obstructingjustice and witness tampering under the initial

so far in his term, Trump will also delivera commencement address Thursdayat the University of Alabama.

Trump is also doing anumber of interviews timed to the 100-day mark, including an Oval Office interview with ABC News that is to air Tuesday night.Healsotalked with journalists from The Atlantic magazine,a publication he hasfrequently attacked for its critical reporting.

rero, twice asked Chenevert if she could define afrivolous lawsuit.

Chenevertreplied that she’snot an attorney,adding that she favored “commonsense” changes With littledebate, the House also approved ameasure thatwould raise to $100,000 the threshold for adriverwithout car insurance to begincollectingfor bodily injury medicalexpenses. Rep. Jason Dewitt, R-Alexandria, is the sponsor of House Bill 434. Alsowith little debate, the House approvedreversing aLouisianaSupreme Court judicial precedent known as the“Housley presumption.” That doctrine says if evidence pointstoacausal connection between acrash and an injury when symptoms appear after an accident, thenit’spresumed the accident caused the symptoms. Melerine is thesponsor of the measure, HouseBill 450. Significantly, theHouse did not take up ameasure Monday thatthe governor’s lobbying team is pushing hard.

House Bill 576would give Insurance Commissioner TimTemple greater freedom to reject excessive rate increases forcar insurance —achange Templehimself opposes.

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

indictment in the case, filed in December of last year

AttorneyJason Giles also faces chargesfrom theindictment, accused of conspiracy,fraud, obstruction of justice andwitness tampering over the alleged staged-crash scheme. Giles does notfacecharges related to Garrison’sslaying. Alfortish, Motta and Giles all have pleaded not guilty. Before thatindictment, the probe had landed charges against only oneattorney: Danny Patrick Keating, who pleaded guilty and admitted to working withadifferent slammer,Damian Labeaud. Keating’ssentencing was recently delayed until October Alfortish previously spent 28 months in federal prison after pleading guiltyin2011 to conspiracy to commit fraud. He was accused of rigging elections of the Louisiana Horsemen’sBenevolent and Protective Association and, as its president, misspending its funds.

Presidents have marked the initial100 days of their terms since Franklin Delano Roosevelt moved swiftly to counterthe Great Depression after taking office in 1933.

Trump wasn’tsobullish aboutthe idea duringhis first term,when he was plagued by setbacks, investigations and turnover in his ranks, at that time calling the 100-day mark “an artificial barrier.”

But now he’strying to harness themomenttomark the ambitious agenda he’s pursued in his first months. Leavitt said Trump had alreadysigned almostasmany executive orders as Biden did during his entire term

But manyAmericans believe Trumphas mostly been focused on the wrong issues.

Trump told The Atlantic

he feels more powerful in his second turn in the White House.His administration is stocked with loyalists, and he’s become evenmore confrontational withajudicial systemthat at times serves as acheck on his agenda

“The first time, Ihad two things to do —run the countryand survive;I hadall thesecrooked guys,” he said. “And the second time, Irun the country andthe world.”

Temple saidHB576 would allow future commissioners to act capriciously,noting thatthree 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’sown words, believes that Landrywants to putagreater onusonthe insurance commissioner to blame him if car insurance rates keep rising.

Temple, who supports the pro-industrybills approved Monday,sat on the side of the House chamber while the measures were being heard. Meanwhile, Rep.Joe Stagni, R-Kenner,went to the House floor to say that his office hasreceivedemails from constituents urging him “to implement overdue legalsystemabuse reforms in our state.”

Stagni saidhis office checked with 20 peoplelisted as having sent theemails. Noneofthemactually sent theemails, Stagni said, adding thathehas asked Attorney General Liz Murrill to investigate thematter Senators were buzzing becausemembersofthe Senate Insurance Committeereceivedindividualtext messages over the weekend listinghow muchthey receivedininsuranceindustry campaign contributions. The texts also used thesame language that Landry hasused in pushing HB576, the bill

Americansare nearly twiceaslikely to sayTrump has been mostly focusing on the wrong priorities as to say he hasbeen focusing on the right ones, according to an AP-NORC survey,and only abouthalfofRepublicans say he’smostly had the right focus. Another one-quarter of Republicans say it’sbeen aboutanevenmix of right andwrong priorities, and about 1in10say he’sfocusing on the wrong things.

And among Trump’sown supporters, the share of Republicans whosay he hasbeenatleasta“good” president hasfallenabout 10 percentage points since January

Otherpolls conductedin recentweekshavefound similar levels of dissatisfac-

that Temple opposes.

“Let’sempower our Insurance Commissioner,legislature andcitizens to fight BIGINSURANCE forbetter rates,” read the text sent by agroup called Enough Is Enough.

tion with Trump’sfirstfew months, particularly with 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 illegalimmigration,Trump hasdrawn criticism as he has strained the limitsofexecutive power,attacked judgeswho’veruled against him, sent hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to amega-prison in El Salvador in defianceof acourt order and balkedat aSupreme Court orderthat his administrationmust facilitate the return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenlydeported to El Salvador His plans to carry outa mass deportationhavenot yet shaped up, but the White House is ramping up efforts to encourage people who are in the country illegally to “self-deport,” with actions that include stiffer fines and incentivestoleave, including airfare and stipends. His administration has pointedtothe steepdropin the number of illegal border 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 Sanderscontributed to this report.

Twopeople who incorporated the group saidthey hadnothing to do withthe texts. OneisLee Mallett, a business owner whowas reappointedbyLandry to the LSUBoardofSupervisors. The other is Mary-Patricia Wray,alobbyistand political consultant.

Email TylerBridges at tbridges@theadvocate. com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

Conclave to elect new pope will start on May 7

BY NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Catholic car-

dinals on Monday set May 7 as the 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 better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted questions about the mood inside and whether there was unity. A reporter for a satirical Italian television program asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on finance-related charges 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 will not be allowed into the Sistine Chapel once 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-old archbishop of Cordoba who Francis made a cardinal 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, rather than continuing Francis’ social justice focus and outreach to women and gays.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, in a homily in St. Peter’s Basilica on the third day of official mourning for Francis’ death, urged fellow cardinals to continue the Argentine pope’s reforms and avoid “power alliances” and “re-

is choosen

The College of Cardinals meets in the Sistine Chapel to select a

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

One at a time, in order of seniority, each cardinal approaches the altar holding out his ballot; he kneels, offers a short prayer, rises and says aloud in Latin, ‘I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think should be elected.’

taliation” 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.

Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo

Canada goes to the polls for national vote

Election dominated by Trump’s trade war and bluster

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO Canadians voted Monday on whether to back their new prime minister, Mark Carney, and extend his Liberal Party’s decade in power or hand control to the Conservatives and their populist leader, Pierre Poilievre. But the election was also a referendum on someone who isn’t even Canadian: Donald Trump. The U.S. president trolled Canadians on election day by suggesting on social media that he was in fact on the ballot and repeating that Canada should become the 51st state, incorrectly claiming the U.S. subsidizes Canada. “It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!” Trump wrote.

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. “Canada will always be proud, sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st state.”

Until Trump won a second term and began threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty, the Liberals looked headed for defeat. But 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 Trump’s attacks also put

Poilievre and the opposition Conservative Party on the defensive and led to a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative

“The Americans want to break us so they can own us,” Carney said recently, laying out what he saw as the election’s stakes “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 suspension 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 and his wife walked hand-in-hand to vote in their suburban district near the nation’s capital, Ottawa. “Get out to vote for a change,” he implored voters.

Poilievrehadhopedtomake 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 and immigration surged.

But then Trump became the dominant issue, and Poilievre’s similarities to the bombastic president could cost him.

“He appeals to the same sense of grievance,” Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said of the Conservative leader 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 hasn’t dominated a Canadian election this much since 1988 when, ironically, free trade with the United States was the prevailing issue

He places his ballot on a gold plate called a paten slides the ballot into a large gold-plated urn and returns to his seat. Collected ballots are removed and counted; if the total does not correspond to the number of electors, they are burned and a new vote is taken.

Approx. 33 in.

If numbers match, the first scrutineer opens a ballot and notes the name; the second repeats the process; the third reads the name aloud and writes the name; if one man receives two-thirds of the vote, a valid election has taken place; if the number is not divisible by three, two-thirds plus one is required.

If the cardinals are deadlocked after 13 days of voting, they pause for a day of prayer and reflection, then move on to runoff ballots between two leading candidates; ballots are burned in a stove after each day’s vote; black smoke indicates voting is inconclusive; white signifies there is a new pope.

Ballots inserted here Backup stove

Chemicals used to

expressed confidence that once the conclave begins, a decision would be quick, “between two and three days.”

The College of Cardinals that will elect a new 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 spent little or no time in Rome getting to know colleagues, injecting some uncertainty into a process that requires two-thirds of the voting-age cardinals to coalesce behind a single candidate.

Israel’s domestic

BY NATALIE MELZER Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel — The head of Israel’s internal 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 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar announced his resignation Monday, saying he will formally step down June 15.

“After years on many

Nichols acknowledged that the 135 cardinal electors 108 of whom were appointed by Francis — don’t know each other very well.

The last 20 were appointed in early December “We’ve got all week,” Nichols said as he arrived.

Only cardinals under 80 are eligible to vote, and it is not clear how many of the 135 will participate A Spanish cardinal has said he won’t come to Rome for health reasons. A big uncertainty is whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once one of the most powerful cardinals in the Vatican, will be allowed in the Sistine Chapel. Francis in 2020 forced Becciu to resign as head of the Vatican’s saintmaking office and renounce his rights as a cardinal because of allegations of embezzlement and financial fraud. Becciu denied any wrongdoing but was put on trial in the Vatican criminal court and convicted of finance-related charges in December 2023. He is appealing the conviction and has participated in the pre-conclave meetings, but there is a lingering question about whether he is entitled to vote. The Vatican’s official statistics list him as a “non-elector.” When he was ousted in 2020, Becciu told a hastily arranged news conference that he wouldn’t be voting in any future conclave, but recently he has insisted he is entitled to vote, and canon lawyers have been poring over the Vatican document regulating the conclave to determine if he’s right. The case was discussed Monday by cardinals but there was “no resolution,” the Vatican said.

While Francis stacked the ranks with his cardinals, it is not necessarily the case that all of them will want to see the church continue in his image. On Monday, any glimpse of a red cap appearing along St. Peter’s Square’s stately colonnade set journalists running with cameras and voice recorders aloft to capture the mood inside.

Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, considered a contender to be the next pope, navigated the scrum of journalists with humor, joking that he was “holding his breath” as the microphones and cameras surrounded him all the way to the Vatican gate.

security chief to step down

fronts, one night, on the southern front, the skies came down,” Bar said during remarks at a memorial event for fallen Shin Bet soldiers. “All systems collapsed. The Shin Bet also failed to give a warning.”

Netanyahu moved to fire Bar last month over what he said was a crisis of confidence surrounding Hamas’ attack. But the step sparked an uproar in Israel because the agency is investigating ties between the Israeli leader’s office and Qatar

a key mediator between Hamas and Israel over the war in Gaza.

Critics said the firing was tainted by a conflict of interest meant to derail that probe, a charge Netanyahu denies.

Israel’s Supreme Court froze the firing following multiple legal challenges against it and called on the sides to reach a compromise.

In his address, Bar said the court case “is not about my personal case but about the independence of the next heads of the Shin Bet.” He said the agency’s “proper functioning is of inestimable importance to the security of the state and to Israeli democracy I have been fighting for this for the past month, and this 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 time and without fear.”

Myanmar still reeling after March quake

BY GRANT PECK Associated Press

BANGKOK Hundreds of thousands of survivors desperately need humanitarian aid a month after Myanmar’s deadly earthquake, compounded by airstrikes the military government is reportedly carrying out despite ceasefires meant to aid relief efforts during the country’s civil war

The 7.7 magnitude March 28 quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyitaw Myanmar’s Department of Me-

teorology and Hydrology reported Monday there had been 157 aftershocks after the big quake, ranging in magnitude from 2.8 to 7.5. State-run MRTV television reported on Monday the quake’s death 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 the disaster’s victims on Monday offered donations to monks, a Bud-

dhist 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 colleagues performed the same ceremony in Naypyitaw A report released Monday by the Myanmar Witness project of the London-based Centre for Information Resilience said the group had documented 80 post-quake airstrikes by the military across multiple regions, including 65 after the army declared its unilateral ceasefire on April 2, following similar declarations by its battlefield foes.

ILLINOIS

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army’s 2021 takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance uniting pro-democracy activists and ethnic minority guerrilla groups that have long been fighting for autonomy

“Myanmar’s population was already on its knees after years of SAC aggression and armed conflict,” said Myanmar Witness project director Robert Dolan, referring to the military’s ruling State Administration Council.

“You keep sayingthe issue is resolved,” council President JP Morrell told the city officials. “But how can the issue be resolved when the council hasn’tsigned the contract? Are you telling me acontract unsigned by the council is avalid contract?”

Cantrell’spress staff issued astatement late Monday saying that “questions raised at today’smeeting are the result of the City Council not signing the Henry Consulting contract, and that thisaction has led Henry Consulting to take their case to court.”

But in asign of the discord that has emerged over the contracts, Cantrell’s chief administrative officer and her infrastructure czar broke from some othertop administration officials by saying that rebidding Henry’scontract may present the best path forward.

“I don’tknow with all the dynamics swirling hereif anybody can be successful without having afresh start,” Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño said.

Disputereaches ahead

The political battle over trashhauling —partofa series of council challenges to Cantrell’s politicalpower since the onset of her second term —started when the trash contract grew in value after Henry secured the rights to the 10-year,$73 million deal through abid process last summer.The council later took issue with Henry swapping out asubcontractor, Richard’sDisposal, Inc. The city approved the emergency deal for IV Waste as the spat risked leaving thedowntown without sanitation servicesduring the Super Bowl anda busy festival season. Henry and Richard’s would later patch up their dispute, and in March, Henry began pressing the city to uphold the deal with his firm.

Council members mustapprove that contract before Henry Consulting begins its work, under acity ordinance two Orleans Parish Civil District Court judges have said is unlawful, though the council hasappealed in both cases. The council has refused to sign off on it, citing an outpouring of positive feedback in recent weeks for IV Waste’sperformance and problems they identified with the original Henry Consulting contract.

IV Waste’strack record in the area has become arare source of consensusamong residents, businessesand varied political interests that often butt heads in the French Quarter

“Friends come to visit and say they’ve never seen the French Quarter so clean,” said Tatianna Macchione, aFrench Quarter business owner and resident who spoke in supportofkeeping IV Waste’scontract in place.

Cantrell plans to move forward with the contract and has said the company will start work on Aug. 1. Andrew Gregorian,a deputy city attorney,onMonday said the main issues with Henry’scontractwereaddressed after the dispute betweenHenryand Richard’s disposal was ironedout.The administration thus believes the contract should move forward, he said.

“That issue has been addressed,” he said. “And Ibelieve it has beenaddressed to everyone’ssatisfaction.”

Henry provided awritten statement Monday echoing thatstance “(Henry Consulting) is prepared to start and perform on August 1,” he said. “Welook forward to demonstratingour ability to perform at ahigh level.”

Re-bidding thedeal?

DuringMonday’shearing, City Council Vice President Helena Moreno,who is running for mayor,asked Montañotodescribe aseries of meetings in which the decision emerged to hand over the contract.

Montañoresponded that Henry had approached Cantrell and her top officials “about amonthago.”

In that meeting plus asubsequentone in theMayor’s Office, Montaño described the mayor, infrastructure chief Joe Threat, Henry, Turner and Cantrellchiefof staff Cliff Davis reaching the decisiontonullify the current IV Wastecontract andhaveHenry begindoing the work.

Morrell used Monday’s hearing to lay outwhat he described as araft of problems plaguing the original Henry Consulting contract. It was “not just (Richard’s Disposal),” he said. “This contract is like anasty onion: We peel each layer back, andit’sworse,” he said He doubleddown on his previous criticism that the Cantrelladministration loosened bid requirements to Henry’sbenefit, questioning city officials at length abouta reduced suretybond requirement in the contract that the officials acknowledged would save Henry money

The request for proposal on the contract,Morrell noted, had called for alarger bond. He saidhewas “challenging whether thelower bond is legal.”

Theacknowledgment from Montaño and Threat that Henry’s contract may need to be rebid came near the end of themeeting, under questioningfromMoreno. “Do you believe that the best case scenarioistogo outand rebidalong-term contract again?” Moreno askedthe officials

“Anything movingforward outside of that is goingtobemessy,” replied Montaño, who has taken positions at odds withothers in themayor’s office inrecent months.

UntilCantrellsought to cancel it, IV Waste’semergencycontract was setto remain in place through December.Threat saidhe’d hoped that timeline would letthe city start anew with afresh bidding process following theacrimony over Henry Consulting’soriginal deal

“I thought thatwith allthe issueswehad,ifthis (emergency) contractplayedout untilDecember,that we couldput it back out on the streetscompetitively,” he said. “That wouldn’tprevent Henry Consultingfrom coming back and rebidding the contract on an even playing field.”

Council members also lamented that Cantrelland Turner didn’tarrive to answer questions about that processthemselves.

“Decisions are made and people whomadethose decisions comebefore this counciland do not answer questions,” said councilmember Freddie King III, whose District Cencompasses much of theareaaffected by the contract disputes.

“They send staff members to take the heat, to answer questions. It’sreally notfair to y’all.”

CHARGES

Continuedfrom page1A

precedented numberof criminalcases against people like Lujan-Martinez —immigrants whose only alleged crimes are that they reentered the United States afterhaving been deported.U.S. Attorney’sOffices have done so by makingprodigious use of astatute that deems“illegalreentry” intothe country afederal felony,according to a Times-Picayune review of federal court documents andJustice Department data.

Therecords shed new light on amajor shiftunderway within the Justice Department, which haspivoted from historic priorities such as public corruption, environmental crimes andcivil rights violations as it aims to implement Trump’s“Operation Take Back America.”

The department historically preferred to leave cases where immigration violations were the sole offenses to immigration courts, whoseproceedings are civil, rather than criminal.

“(Immigration) may have been right abovethe duck docket,” saidHarry Rosenberg, whowas U.S Attorney in New Orleans under Republican President George H.W. Bush, usinglegal parlance for theleast-coveted cases amongfederal prosecutors.“Butitwas always a de minimis percentageof theU.S. Attorney’spractice.”

Now,seven monthsinto the 2025 fiscal year fourofwhichcame after thestart of Trump’s second term —prosecutors in the New Orleans-based U.S.DistrictCourt for theEastern District of Louisiana have charged more peoplewithillegal reentry than in the entire prior fiscal year,according to data.

The numbers have surged in the Shreveportbased Western District, too. In the Baton Rougebased Middle District,an outlier,they are on pace to slightly exceed last year’s total.

AJusticeDepartment spokesperson declinedto answer detailed questions about the wave of prosecutions.

Amongthe lowest-level immigration-related felonies in the federal system, illegal reentry is theonly charge faced by nearlyall those in thenew wave of defendants.

Claude Kelly,the chief federal public defender in New Orleans, saidthe fresh focusonimmigration appears to have sowed confusion among the tangle of federal agencies now taskedwith carryingout Trump’sagenda.

Somedefendants who bond outhavebeenswiftly rearrestedand deported by ICE, “ineffectending thecriminalmatter,” said Kelly,whose office is representing the bulk of the wave of defendants.

“Everyone, including our office, is in the process of figuring out this newworld,”hesaid.

Amajor shift

Trump in January signed an executive order directing theJustice Department to “prioritize the prosecution of criminaloffenses related to the unauthorized entry or continuedunauthorized

presence” of immigrants

Thedirectivewas “unprecedented in thatitredirects thefull energy of the DOJ to punish immigration-status basedoffenses,” attorneys withthe Immigration Legal ResourceCenter,anadvocacy group, wrote in response to the order.

Criminal immigration caseloads across Louisiana soonbegantoskyrocket, data show: n The New Orleans-based U.S. Attorney’sOffice has filed45illegalreentry prosecutionssofar in the 2025 fiscal year,whichishalfway concluded. It filed only 24 such cases during theentire 2024 fiscal year,and 20 the previous year n Prosecutors in the Western District,which covers Lafayette, LakeCharles, Shreveportand other swathes of the state, have filed27illegalreentry cases this year,compared with 12 cases last year and nine cases theprioryear n TheBaton Rouge-based Middle District isanoutlier, as prosecutors there have charged just 14 cases midway through thecurrent fiscal year,compared with 26 total last year andseven cases theprioryear

In NewOrleans, the prosecutionsswelledparticularly in April, when 21 people werecharged for illegal reentry,according to court records.

Of the defendantscharged in that latestwave, all of whom were men,one had aprevious rape conviction; three had faced domestic abuse charges; onehad been accused of anonfatal shooting; onehad aprior drug possession charge; andone hadbeen arrested for fleeing atrafficstop.The remaining 14, including Lujan-Martinez, had no prior criminal records, according to federal court filings. The trend in prosecutions is similar nationwide. Justice Department attorneys filedmore than 14,000 illegalreentry cases halfway through the 2025 fiscal year —roughly equal to the totalfrom2023 and putting thedepartment on pace to exceed last year’stotal, of 18,000, by about 10,000 cases.

Trumpinhis second term haslaid outafar more aggressive immigration agenda thanduring his first presidency,promising to deport millions of people and collaborating with the president of El Salvador to ship hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to anotoriousprison

in the Central American country.Hehas defied federal judgeswho weighed in to stophim. On Friday, ICE officials deporteda 2-yearoldBaton Rouge-areagirl who is aU.S. citizen with “no meaningful process,” afederaljudgewrote in a court order.The administration also deported twoother U.S.-born children

Immigration attorneys and advocates have argued that prosecuting migrants in criminal court unnecessarily burdens the federal system andadds to fear felt by immigrantcommunities. But charging people with felonies forillegally reenteringpresents advantages to an administration trying to gettoughonimmigration, said Walter Becker,a former federal prosecutor: Afelony conviction makes someone eligible for harsher punishment if they illegally enter the United States again.

“Operation Take Back America requires that (federal law enforcement) surge existing resources to addressthe JusticeDepartment’scoreenforcement priorities: stopping illegal immigration, eliminating Cartelsand TCOs,and endingillegal traffickingof dangerousdrugsand human beings,” Deputy U.S.Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in aMarch memo outlining thenew Justice Departmentagenda FBI agents in recent weeks have been reassigned from their typical duties to full-time immigrationenforcement. The bureau historically played“zero”role in those operations, said Kenneth Polite, aformer Assistant U.S. Attorney General who was NewOrleans’ top federal prosecutor under Democratic President Barack Obama.

The effects of Trump’simmigration agenda arelikely to be felt acrossthe federal system—not just in cases involving immigration charges, Politesaid.

“Whenthey’recritical witnesses at trialorgrand jury (inother cases), those crimes don’tproceed in terms of investigation or prosecution, because people do not show up before the government,” Politesaid.

Effects on courts

Rosenberg, the George H.W.Bush-era former U.S. Attorney,described attending ahearing several weeks agowhere sevenofeight defendants in the jury box were men facing immigra-

tion charges. Such scenes have become commonin federal courtroomssince Trump’sinauguration

On the morning of April 11, when Lujan-Martinez faced amagistrate judge, the Spanish translator spoke in alow murmur as the judge explained to the men in the jury box how they hadbeen accused of federal crimes As the judge heardarguments aboutwhether LujanMartinezcould walk free on bond while his criminal case unfolds,the ICE agent who arrested him, WilliamPhillpott, testified that LujanMartinez, who wore awhite shirt, close-cropped hair andshacklesonhis hands, had been detained and deported once before in 2015. In April, whenLujan-Martinezand hiswifescheduled acustoms appointment for her husband to obtain a green cardunderaprocess advertised forundocumented partners of U.S. citizens, customsagents alerted ICE. Theydid so underanorder by Trump’sadministration compelling federal agencies to collaborate on immigration arrests, Phillpott said. Prosecutors arguedthat Lujan-Martinez should remain locked up pending the conclusion of hiscriminal case. But due to his lack of criminal history, hismarriage to an American citizen andhis status as amortgage holder, the judge ruledhe should be freedona$5,000 bond andanankle monitor His wife shifted nervously in the courtroom, blowing herhusband akissashe walked to the jury box. “Te amo,” she mouthed to him Spanishfor “I love you.”He noddedback,smiling softly Lujan-Martinez’swife declined to be interviewed after the hearing, saying she was distraught by the possibilitythather husband might be deported His future appeared uncertainthis week. Though Kelly notedthat ICE has swiftly deported somemigrants released on bonds in their criminal cases, leading federal prosecutors to drop their criminal cases, others have remained outonbond as the cases proceed Courtrecordsshowed Lujan-Martinez’scasewas still active on Friday.His next court appearanceisscheduledfor May7 James Finncovers politics for TheTimes-Picayune | Nola.com. Email him at jfinn@theadvocate.com.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

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.

S&P5 528.

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

MichaelMontgomery, 66,sayshehas currently refrained from checking the balance in his

weekly.‘Ihope likehell Idon’t lose all my retirement savings,’the Michigan professor said.

account, something

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

retirement

he used to do

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APRIL2025

NewOrleans Forecast

ForecastFrom WWL-TV,Your Local Weather Experts

Fest

BY MARCIADUNN

AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Ama-

zon’sfirst batch of internet satellites rocketed toward orbit Monday,the latestentry in the mega constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX’sthousandsof Starlinks. The United Launch Alliance’sAtlas Vrocket carried up 27 of Amazon’sProject 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.

Amazon launches its firstinternetsatellites

AUnited Launch Alliance Atlas Vrocket with apayload of Amazon’sProjectKuiper internet satellites prepares for launch MondayatComplex 41 at the CapeCanaveral Space ForceStation in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Twotest satellites were launched in 2023,alsoby an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites also are coated with amirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers. Stargazersoppose the fastgrowing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions. Founded by Jeff Bezos, who now runshis ownrocket company,Blue Origin, Amazon aims toput more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast,affordable broadband service aroundthe globe. Elon Musk’sSpaceX 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 OneWebsatelliteconstellation numbers in thehundredsin an even higher orbit.

Amazon alreadyhas purchased dozens of rocket launches from United Launch Allianceand Blue Origin for Project Kuiper, as well as others.

Storms strike in upperMidwest

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS Storms with lightning and hail and at least one observed tornado moved through the upperMidwest Monday with the potential for strong tornadoes. The NationalWeather Service said the highest risks —a4onascale of 1to5 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 islikely during thelate afternoon andevening when strong tornado potential should be maximized. Scattered large to verylarge hail and damaging winds are likely as well,” meteorologists at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, wrote. Dependingonhow the storms form, tornadoes in theEF2 range or greater arepossible,the weather serviceoffice for theMinneapolis area said.The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said Monday afternoon thatithad areport of an observedtornado looking west from Fairmont,Minnesota, which is southwest of Min-

neapolis. No damage was immediatelyreported andit was not immediately known if the observed twister touched down. The Storm Prediction Centersaid alesserpotential 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 cityurged them to ensure they have multiple waysofgetting weather alerts, are preparedtotake shelter,secure outdoor furniture,and prepare for potentialpower outages by charging phones and other devices and having flashlights

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By JOHN RAOUX

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Songwriting exceeds expectations

Last October,when Istarted making alist of Louisianaadventures Icould do for my Tuesday column (in its 30th iteration this week), “help write asong”was on thelist. Jodi James jumpedto the top of my mind because Iconnected with her musicsomuch. Ireached out and had theouting setupquickly

We met on acold, rainy day back in early December at her home in Burnside. In onesense, the experiencefar exceeded my expectations. The act of collaborating creatively was abeautiful thing. We built on each other’s ideas. Iloved being able to connectthe many random thoughts in my head to her music In another sense, this adventure turned out to be much more complicatedthan 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, Iimmediately 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’teven have aname. At this point, its only recording is on my phone. When we finished thatday, we were both so pleased with it In the weeks that followed our lovely time together,she decided she needed time to sit withthe song.

Trial beginsin Harahan killing

Womanaccused of murdering 6-year-old girl

BYMICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

Jury selection began Monday in thetrialofBunnak “Hannah” Landon, the Harahan woman accused of killing her boyfriend’s 6-year-old daughter and leaving the child’sbody in abucket on her biological mother’sfront yard.

Landon, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Bella Fontenelle.

She’salso charged with two counts of obstruction ofjustice forallegedly movingBella’s bodyand burying her cellphone to keep it from authorities, according toJefferson Parishcourt records.

Landon has pleaded not guilty andnot guilty by reason of insanity.The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’sOffice is not seeking thedeath penalty. Bella, the daughter of Landon’s longtime boyfriend, Michael Fontenelle,died on thenight of April 25, 2023, inside theDonelon Drive home the couple shared in Harahan, according to Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investiga-

METRO

Philanthropist Merrickdiesat80

N.O. real estate executivewas acivic leader

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Robert “Bob” Merrick, a businessman, civicleader and philanthropistwho grew New Orleans-based Latter &Blum from asmall residentialreal estate firmintoone of the largest commercial andresidential brokerages in theGulf South before selling it last year, died Monday He was 80 and died after a lengthy battle with cancer,according to familymembers.

Friends and business colleagues said Merrick possessed arazor-sharp mindand tireless work ethic.Above all, though, he wasremembered Monday for his generosity to NewOrleans and Louisianacharities. In 2014, he became the first person to give a$1million gift to theUnited Wayof Southeast Louisiana. Five years later,hewas awarded The Times-Picayune Loving Cup.

“I don’tknowanyone who has donated as much time,energy andmoney to the community as Bob has,” said developer Paul Flower,who knew Merrick for 60 years andworkedwithhim on various real estate projects, including the conversion of the World TradeCenterinto aFour SeasonsHotel. “He wasanunbelievable individual, averygood businessman, ajoy to work with andhecared deeply about this city and its people more than anyone Iknow.”

Merrick came from humble roots. Hisfatherdied when he was14. He began working in real estate afew years later, while still in high school. His stepfather ownedacommercial real estate appraisal firm and taughthim how to run real estate records, according to a2019 profile

After graduating from Tulane Universityin1967 andserving

two years in theU.S. Air Force, he returned to therealestate business, shifting his attention from appraising propertytodeveloping and brokering industrial space.

By themid-1980s,hehad become the largestowner of warehousing and distribution space in the New Orleans area.

“People probably don’trealize howmuch industrial property in this market was developed by BobMerrick,” said Paul Richard, acommercial broker with NAILatter &Blum and one of countless local real estate agents who learned theropes from Merrick over the years. “Hewas a greatman.”

In 1986, Merrickpurchased Latter &Blum,which was foundedin1916 and doing about $350 million ayear in sales at thetime.Over the ensuing decades,heexpanded thecompany through aseries of mergerswith

TAKE PAWS

brokerages across the state. He eventually grew its footprint into Texas, Mississippiand Alabama.Atits peakbeforethe pandemic, the company’ssales volumetopped $6 billion.

“He wasthe idea guy with a knack foralways finding great deals,” said Joe Exnicios, alongtimefriend and former president of Hancock Whitney Bank. “I asked him once whyhealways had partners in his deals.Hesaid it made it more fun.” In 2019, Merrick named his daughter LaceyMerrick ConwayasLatter&Blum’sCEO, though he remained chairman.

“He was adored by so many and gave so much for the city he loved,” Conway said in astatement Monday

LastApril, Merrick announced theyweresellingthe company to thepublicly traded Compass Real Estate, the largestresidential brokerage in the U.S., adecision that he said was bittersweet.

N.O. AmeriCorps workersterminated

City to lose workers in over adozen departments

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE and KASEY BUBNASH Staff writers

New Orleans will lose workers in over adozen city departmentsafter afederal grant for the AmeriCorps VISTAprogram was terminated,one of many programs the Trump administration has slashed in the name of cost savings. In an announcement Monday Mayor LaToya Cantrell’sadministration said the “abrupt decision is deeply disappointing and impacts the critical work ourVISTAmembers provide to our community.” Officials are “exploring options

to retain their talent within our city” according to thestatement.

The cityhas hired 51 people through the AmeriCorps VISTA programsince October 2020, officialssaid, with 21 continuing to work across13different city departments. New Orleans employs atotal of roughly 4,000 employees.

Aspokespersonwiththe Mayor’s Office didnot immediately respond to aquestion about which departments the staffers work in.

Thecity’swebsite describes VISTAasa federalgrant program that supports City Hall by expanding its abilitytooffer resources to “under-resourced and disproportionately impacted communities.”

Members of theprogram, according to the city,werecharged with everything from research and data evaluation to community

NewOrleans council couldinvestigate claims

City workersallege harassment

BY SOPHIEKASAKOVE Staff writer

New Orleans’ Public Works Departmentmay face an investigation by the New Orleans City Council after employees accused department leaders of harassmentand retaliation. Aresolution approvedunanimously by acouncil committeeMondaywouldimmediately launch the investigation into the department and“anyother departments, offices, or agency where working conditions may be impacting the work product of city employees.” The full council mayconsider the ordinanceas soon as its next regular meeting May 8. The proposal comes six months

afteragroup of Public Worksemployees appeared before acouncilcommittee meetinginanunusual public reveal of complaints aboutallegedinsults, harassment and retaliation by supervisors. The October meeting wasorganized by the council’sthen-Vice President JP Morrell, whose staff played video recordings of meetings between Public Works staffers that showed supervisors telling their employees to remain quiet about insults and tearing up written grievances.

“The abuse thesupervisors give us is ridiculous. They handle us like we areslaves, or like we are in ajail,” Vashon Watson, a vacuum truck driver, said in October

Morrell said Mondaythatthe council also planned to investigate Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s

STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Adog catches the breezewhile cruising withits owner down Rampart Street in NewOrleans.

Spill cleanup starts for marsh leak

Plaquemines Parish crude oil spill spotted

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

A Delaware company has started cleanup operations after crude oil began leaking into marshes on Saturday near the mouth of the Mississippi River

An overflight by an air crew from the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office spotted the leak and the presence of oil near a Garden Island Bay production facility and well in Plaquemines Parish, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Sunday evening.

The Coast Guard did not disclose the size of the leak but said it came from a previously capped well. The well is 82 years old, state records show, but has mostly passed state inspections in the past two decades. There had not been any reports of injuries or impacts on wildlife as of Monday morning.

Spectrum OpCo, which took ownership of the well last year, received approval from state and federal authorities to begin a cleanup effort.

The Coast Guard, Spectrum OpCo and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office have also established a unified command to manage the leak response, the Coast Guard said. Cleanup contractors working for Spectrum OpCo are Forefront Emergency Management, Environmental Safety & Health Consulting Services, and Clean Gulf Associates.

Spectrum OpCo took control of 292 mostly oil and gas wells in the Garden Island Bay field in August 2024 from former operator Whitney Oil and Gas, according to state oil and gas records.

Most of the wells are shut-in but listed as having a potential for future use, including the well

MERRICK

Continued from page 1B

New Orleans-based Rampart Wurth Holding, founded by another longtime Merrick colleague, Joseph Pappalardo Sr., has since purchased the commercial division of NAI Latter & Blum back from Compass.

“He had a great real estate mind,” developer Pres Kabacoff said. “I watched him through his whole career and when you talked to people who worked with him, they would say when they were absolutely at a loss to solve a problem, they’d go see Bobby.”

Over the years, Merrick, known for an understated and genteel demeanor, parlayed his business success into civic and charitable endeavors, serving on numerous boards and, more often than not, making financial contributions behind the scenes. The United Way gift was likely one of many $1 million donations Merrick made, Exnicios said “That’s just the only one we

Continued from page 1B

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 bit of insight into the magic of that day James and I briefly met twice before that cold December day

When I arrived at her house with sandwiches, we ate lunch and then got right to work on writing a song — made possible by her sheer talent, matched by my enthusiasm and love of words. I had no idea how to start the process of writing a song. 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 a rainy day

To write the song, back in December, James and I settled

An aerial photo taken April 27 from an overflight shows marsh affected by an oil and gas leak near Garden Island Bay in Plaquemines Parish. The U.S Coast Guard and other agencies have implemented a safety zone in the area and boom has been placed to contain the released product.

in question, according to a Louisiana Office of Conservation listing. Nearly 35 are actively producing or used for underground injection

The leaking oil well, No. 59 in Garden Island Bay, was first drilled in late 1942 and has changed hands multiple times along with many other wells in the area, according to state records.

At nearly 6,900 feet deep, Well 59 was reworked in 1989 and again in 1994 in attempts to hit different oil production zones underground The well has been shut in since 2015.

State reports about a series of

heard about,” he said “Bobby saw wealth as a gift, never a weapon.”

Among the organizations Merrick supported were the Red Cross, University of New Orleans, Ochsner Health System, Boy Scouts of Southeast Louisiana, Son of A Saint, Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Fore Kids Foundation and Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans.

His list of honors includes the National Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award and the UNO Chancellor’s Medallion for Distinguished Service, the New Orleans Council for Community & Justice’s Weiss Award, and the Loving Cup

“He was deeply civic, the epitome of what you would hope to find in a CEO,” Kabacoff said “He will be missed.”

Merrick is survived by his wife and four daughters. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Staff writer Anthony McAuley contributed to this report.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

inspections going back to 2008 show the well has passed those reviews, with the exception of missing signage noted in 2008 and 2023. The Garden Island Bay field has 2,219 wells in total, according to state data, but little more than 13% are listed as still active. Two companies operate them: Spectrum OpCo and Texas Petroleum Investment Co

The field has been an area of oil and gas production for decades, though it has fluctuated through the years. Spectrum OpCo is domiciled in Delaware but has ownership in New York state, according to

KILLING

Continued from page 1B

tors.

Landon is accused of beating and strangling the 6-year-old while Michael Fontenelle was working late. Authorities say Landon then stuffed the little girl’s body into a 12-gallon pool chlorine bucket that she loaded into a wagon.

Video surveillance cameras one street over recorded a woman fitting Landon’s description pulling the bloody bucket over to the nearby home of Bella’s mother Landon left the bucket on the front lawn where it was discovered the next morning, authorities said.

Landon then went to the Harahan Police Department complaining of family issues, investigators said. She was eventually taken to East Jefferson General Hospital for a mental health evaluation. She was arrested at the hospital in Bella’s death several hours later.

Michael Fontenelle didn’t come home until after Bella

on a rhyme scheme. We worked through the song’s narrator’s perspective. We had to agree on the chorus and figured out where the bridge would go. James has serious musical chops. I was able to contribute specific words and ideas — including the opening line based on the view out my bathroom window, where I like to watch the morning sun. I was also thinking a lot about horizons back then and was able to work that in, too. She added the beautiful line to start the second verse about “an achingly familiar sky and shadow.” I thought of the whimsical decision-making process involving picking petals from a daisy and the mouse in the nursery rhyme who ran up the clock —

engagement and outreach, serving full time 40 hours a week.

In return for their service, VISTA members received a biweekly allowance of a little less than $900 paid for by AmeriCorps, an end of service stipend, child care assistance, health care benefits and other loan forbearance and professional development benefits, according to the city’s website.

AmeriCorps placed most staff members across the nation on administrative leave in mid-April amid Trump administration cuts to the federal workforce and services according to The Associated Press.

The agency oversees a number of volunteer-based programs and dispatches roughly 200,000 volunteers across the country to work with schoolchildren, veterans and seniors, according to its website. AmeriCorps volunteers are often among those who ship out to the sites of natural disasters such as hurricanes, offering to help run shelters, patch damaged roofs and clean up debris.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, took issue with the cuts to AmeriCorps on Friday

Louisiana business records. Records from the state Office of Conservation show the company is managed out of Houston. Company officials in Houston did not respond to requests for comment on Monday Coast Guard officials said mariners should report any observations of oil to Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Command Center at (504) 365-2200 and any observation of impacted wildlife to Wildlife Hotline Phone Number at (832) 514-9663.

David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

was already dead and her body moved, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He went straight to bed and didn’t notice his youngest daughter and Landon were missing until he woke the next morning, according to the authorities.

He reported them both missing to Harahan police, kicking off the search that ended with the grisly discovery of Bella’s body Sheriff’s detectives have said they don’t believe Michael Fontenelle was involved in any way with Bella’s death.

But court records involving custody disputes and dustups between Landon and Bella’s mother — including a scuffle at the girl’s swim meet that resulted in a simple battery summons for Landon highlight a contentious and complicated family dynamic, according to prosecutors.

Jury selection continued into Monday evening. The trial could last for at least a week. If convicted of murder, Landon faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate.com.

and was able to incorporate those ideas into the song. Here are the lyrics we wrote that day: I can almost see the lake this time of winter / Against the new bright morning sun / And they say the horizon goes forever / but from where I stand, I can’t see one.

CHORUS: So I turn the page / To a modern age / Shelter from the cold / I was never bold. There’s an achingly familiar sky and shadow / And another April gone away / And the birds are singing songs that I don’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 comes on strong / One too many times around / The years are short and the days are long. Chorus repeats. Whether our song ever reaches a wider audience or simply stays a secret between us, the joy of building something new with someone who understands the language of music and memory was a reminder of how art connects us, even when the final product remains unfinished.

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

“I support improving efficiency and eliminating waste,” Cassidy said in a statement posted to X, “but I would have to object to cutting AmeriCorps grants like those that support Louisiana’s veterans and organizations that provide crucial support after hurricanes and natural disasters.”

Cantrell said she stands with Cassidy in expressing her disappointment over the decision to cut programs that have had last effects on communities across the country

“To our VISTA members: your service has made a lasting difference, and we are profoundly grateful for all you have done for New Orleans,” she said.

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.

CLAIMS

Continued from page 1B

administration’s handling of sexual harassment allegations and poor working conditions in some city departments.

“There are different ways to harass and mistreat people; there are different ways for the city to not meet its obligations of providing for its employees,” Morrell said “It’s past time to look into all of that collectively.”

In a statement Thursday, Cantrell’s administration said that the Department of Public Works was “already proactively working on matters involving employee claims.”

An internal audit investigation was initiated Sept. 26, according to the statement, and has been completed. The recommendations of the audit are under consideration by Joseph Threat, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure. Threat “will submit the findings with his recommendations for further actions, and implementation of corrective improvements of the CAO’s policies and procedures,” the statement said, but it did not share a timeline for that process.

According to the council’s proposed resolution, the council may use its powers to execute “subpoenas, to compel the production of any documents, to request any testimony under oath” related to the subjects of the investigation. The resolution identified likely subjects as Threat; Gilbert Montaño, chief administrative officer for the city; and Clinton “Rick” Hathaway, Public Works Department director

The department is comprised of five divisions: engineering, maintenance, ground transportation, parking and traffic. Hathaway joined the department as director in December 2023.

In October, Morrell said the council had intervened because “people need to know what city employees are dealing with.”

“The stuff that y’all put up with is breathtakingly bad. It is awful,” Morrell said.

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Jodi James plays guitar in her Burnside home on Dec. 7.

PROVIDED PHOTO By U.S COAST GUARD

Jenkins, prominent criminal defense attorney,diesat67

Causeofdeath notimmediately known

BY JOHN SIMERMAN

Staff writer

Robert Jenkins,a promi-

nent New Orleans criminal defense attorney who rep Nagin on 20 of 21 charges, andhewas sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. With Jenkins as hislawyer,Broussardin2012 pleadedguilty to corruptioncharges, including accepting bribes. Broussard spent 42 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to accepting$66,000 in bribesfroma parish

NewOrleans Area Deaths

Gaines andLaura(Gaines) Enlow;former son-in-law Louis Gomez, Jr.; grandchildrenJohnGomez (Shannon), Emilio Gomez (Katherine), Jacob Enlow andVirginia Enlow; and great-grandchildren Dimitri, Olivia andMila Gomez. Marthawas born in St.Louis, MO butmoved to NewOrleans in 1973, eventually settling downin Belle Chasse in 2007. She workedinthe telephone, recyclingand transportation industries.She was known for herlove of John Waynemovies and romance novels;her collection of frogs (knickknacks) androcks from othertowns/states/countries; and howmuch she lovedand valuedspending time with herfamily.

Bourg, Madeline Coxe,Mary Foll, Richard Gaines,Martha Hargis,Giorgina Koock, Gregory Moore,Arizona Parker,Bonnie Parker,Thomas Pierre,Brenda Redmon Jr., Harry Hargis,GiorginaM.Trippi

Stella,Martha Wursteisen,Philip

NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Pierre,Brenda

DW Rhodes

Moore,Arizona

Greenwood

Stella,Martha

Lake Lawn Metairie

Coxe,Mary Foll, Richard

River Parish Millet-Guidry

Bourg, Madeline

West Bank Mothe

Hargis,Giorgina

Parker,Bonnie Parker,Thomas

Obituaries

Bourg, Madeline MarieWaguespack

Madeline MarieWaguespackBourg passedaway ather residencesur‐rounded by herfamilyon Sunday, April27, 2025, at the ageof82. Shewas a nativeofMt. Airy anda longtimeresidentof Laplace.Beloved andde‐voted wife of Neil T. Bourg for 63 years. Loving mother ofConnieParr(Darry), Adeline Arnoult(Jeffrey), NelsonBourg (Jennifer) Kevin Bourg(Michelle)and Melissa Bourg(Jeffery) Daughterofthe late JosephB.Waguespack, Sr and Thelma Deslatte Waguespack. Sister of Joseph“T-Joe” B. Wagues‐pack, Jr., (the late,Karen) and thelateHueyWagues‐pack(Juanita),the late Percy Waguespack (Ber tha), thelateRubyBour‐geois (George).Alsosur‐vived by 10 grandchildren, 14great-grandchildren,1 great-great grandchild and precededindeath by 1 great-grandchild. Relatives and friendsare invitedto attend theFuneralService onWednesday,April 30, 2025, at St.JoanofArc Catholic Church,529 W. 5th St.,LaPlace.Visitationwill beheldfrom10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with theFuneral Masstoimmediatelyfol‐low at 12:00 p.m. Interment inSt. PeterCemetery. ArrangementsbyMilletGuidryFuneralHome. To viewthe obituary or share condolences andmemo‐riespleasevisit www.mil letguidry.com

MaryHargis

2025, spending her last days surrounded by family and her dearest friends. A lifelong resident of New Orleans, Mary was bornon May 9, 1945. Mary was the daughter of the lateMilton Josephand Rhoda Meyer Hargis. Due to thedeathof her mother when she was twoyears old, Mary was raised by her grandparents, thelate Walter Conrad and MaryLouise SairMeyer. Mary attended HolyNameofJesus, Mercy Academy and Loyola University. Mary managed Quality Restorations, her husband's construction company where she gainedinvaluable business experience that enabled her to transitiontoa successful 38-year career in thearts as theDirector of Dyansen Gallery and Martin Lawrence Gallery, both located on Royal Street. She was preceded in death by her husband John Marshall Coxe, and later,her dear friend, Dr. Manuel(Manny) Paez,MD. She is survivedbyher son, Jack Coxe, stepsons Leland(Kathy), David, and Johnny (Carol) Coxe, and her brother, Dr. Robert Hargis, MD of Covington, grandchildren, Hope Gann ChristopherCoxe (Brittni), and Stefanie Coxe (Christian), nieces, Rhoda Hackman (Jeff), Mary Hathorn(Miles), and RachelRush(Allen), and numerous greatnieces and nephews. Throughout her final journey, Mary was lovingly cared forbyher closestfriend, Janie Strayhan, as wellasPinky Daigre, Suzie McKinney, LindaGreen and others Their compassionand support brought comfort and dignity to Mary'stwo-year battle withcancer. The Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00AMon Thursday,May 1, 2025, at St.RitaCatholic Church, 2729 Lowerline St.New Orleans, LA. 70125. Visitation willbeginat9 :00 AM. Burial willfollow, privately, at Metairie Cemetery at theMeyer family tomb.

Acelebration of Mary's life will be held on May 22nd at Martin Lawrence Gallery at 6:30 PM.Inlieu of flowers,donations in Mary's memory can be madetoSt. Rita Catholic Church Building Fund at https://stritanola.com/pla nned-giving or by mailing to 2729 Lowerline Street, NewOrleans, LA 70125. To view and signthe Family online guestbook, please visitwww.lakelawnmetairi e.com

Richard Ryan Foll,age 93, of Destin, FL, passed away Thursday,April 3rd, 2025. He is survived by his loving wife of 39 years Julie Gagliano Foll, daughters Denise FollofSlidell,LA, MichelleFollCook(Wayne) of Athens, AL,sons Sean Foll (Christine) of Morrisville, PA,Jared Acosta(Tanya) of Spanish Fort, AL,nine grandchildren and threegreatgrandchildren. Services willbeheldatLake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home on Friday, May 2, 2025 with visitation beginning at Noon, followedbya FuneralMass at 2pm. See fullobituary at www.lakel awnmetairie.com

Georgiawhere he became amember of Tau Epsilon Phifraternity (TEP). He later earnedhis bachelor's degree from DeltaState University in Cleveland, Mississippi. Greg wasan active member of the Mississippi Jewelers Association throughout his career

As atalentedjeweler andaward-winning jewelry designer,Gregcreated beautiful wearable art Outside of work, he enjoyed golfing, fishing, GeorgiaBulldogs, theNew OrleansSaints, and of course, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Oneofhis favorite pastimeswas tailgating with friends and attending baseballgames at Pete Taylor Park.

Giorgina M. Trippi Har‐gis,age 98, enteredinto eternal rest on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Belovedwife ofthe late VincentM Trippi who wasthe father ofher children.She was fortunate to find love again and remarriedand spent 18wonderful yearswith the late AlvinA.HargisSr. Daughterofthe late Guido Mazzonciciand thelate Maddelena Cappeli Motherand mother-in-law ofAlvin A. Hargis,Jr. (Gretchen), MichaelTrippi (Jill), DianeHargisMyer (Michael),Ann E. Trippi Naquin(Steve).Sisterof GinaSpadacci (Julio). Sur‐vived by many grandchil‐dren, greatgrandchildren a host of nieces and nephews andmany friends.Giorginaworkasa sales auditorinthe retail industryfor D.H. Holmes and wasa member of the ItalianAmericanSociety She wasa volunteer for WestJefferson Hospital for over10years andfor the Aquariumofthe Ameri‐cansfor more than 2years She also volunteered for the VaticanPavilionatthe 1984 NewOrleans World's Fair, knownasthe "Trea‐sures of theVatican." Rela‐tives andFriends of the Familyare invitedtoat‐tendthe Visitation at Mothe FuneralHome, 2100 WestbankExpressway, Harvey, LA on Saturday, May 3, 2025 from 12:00 PM to1:30PM. AMasswillbe celebratedatthe funeral homeat1:30PM. Interment willfollowinLakelawn Cemeteryand Mausoleum, New Orleans, LA.The fam‐ily wouldliketothank her caregiver,Deborah Francis, for herlove, compassion and assistance.For further funeral information, direc‐tions,ortoviewand sign the online guestbook pleasevisit www.mothefu nerals.com.

Gregory MitchelKoock, 60, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi passed away on April 23, 2025. Amemorial service willbeheldon Wednesday, April 30th in Hattiesburg,Mississippi at Moore's Funeral Service 805 Hardy Street Hattiesburg,MS39401. Vistiatition will begin at 12:30 with a1:30 memorial service to follow.

Gregory was born January26, 1965, in New Orleans, LA, and resided in Hattiesburg,MSfor the last 25-plusyears. He was known for his sharp and witty sense of humor, and hisloyaltyand love forhis familyand friends. He touched thelives of many with hiskindnessand compassion

Greg wasprecededin death by hisfather,Victor Ivan Koock, andgrandparents, Victor andKlara Koock, andIsadore and Dora Cotlar.

He is survived by his mother, Barbara "Bunny" CotlarKoock; hissister Barrie KoockStevens (Neil); hisnieces, Klara Stevens andIsadora Stevens Althans(Michael); and hisgreat-nephews Harrisonand Theodore "Teddy" Althans. Along with hischerished family andfriends, Greg's life was also brightenedbyhis beloveddog, Cookie, whose loyal companionship broughthim endless joyand comfort.

An additional service will be held in NewOrleans at alater datewith further details to be announced Allwho knew andloved Greg are welcome to attend andcelebrate hislife.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Greg'sgenerous spirit,the familyrequests donations be made to the Crohn's& Colitis Foundation, https://www.c rohnscolitisfoundation.org / or theHub CityHumane Societyhttps://hubcityhu manesociety.org/oryour charity.

Therewill be a livestream of Mr.Koock's service availableathttps:/ /www.facebook.com/even ts/673111158914315/

Moore, ArizonaLouisa ArizonaLouisaMoore August31, 1937 -April 16, 2025. ArizonaLouisaMoore departedfromthisearth onWednesday,April 16, 2025 at 1:15 p.m. Shewas the youngestdaughterof parentIsaac andMargaret ofMississippi.The family moved to NewOrleans withher threesiblings, Georgia Grant, HarrietCor‐ral andLeo Moore. Arizona precededher parents, sis‐tersand brotherindeath Arizona taught school at WarrenEastonHighSchool for 40 years. Herteaching professionobtainsa fully certified teacherinBiol‐ogy,Math, GeneralScience and Physical Science. This professionincludeda highlysuccessful34years ofbackground teaching ju‐niors andhighschoolstu‐dents in OrleansParish. She washighlyinvolvedfor 10years with civicand church fund raisingactivi‐ties, bereavementcommit‐tees,parishcounsel events, andEucharistic Ministry. ArizonaMoore willbemissedbymembers ofSt. Joan of ArcChurch parishioners, friends, neighbors,students, coworkers,and church com‐mittees.Asthe Executive DirectorofEldercare Sup‐portServicesand Family Ministry, Ihaveworked withArizona Moorefor 10 years or more,and her brother,Leo Moore. Ipro‐vided variousreligious counselingand social ser‐vices forbothshe andher brother.I will miss them dearly. Maytheyrestin God loving hand of mercy. Relatives andfriends of the family, also priest and parishionersofBlessed Sacrament andSt. Joan of Arc Catholic Church arein‐vited to attend aMemorial MassatBlessedSacra‐mentand St.JoanofArc Catholic Church,8321 Bur‐the St., NewOrleans,LA 70118 on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 10:00 am.Please visit www.rhodesfuneral com to sign theonline guest book,share memo‐ries, andcondolences to the family.

Martha Ann Kutzgar Gaines passedaway in her sleep on April 8th, 2025 at theage of 85. She was precededindeath by her parentsJohn and Esther (Weiss) Kutzgar and;her olderbrothers Georgeand Ronald Kutzgar. She is survivedbyher children Leslie (Gaines) Gomez, Michael

Growing up in New Orleans, he made many lifelongfriends through his involvementinJewish youth groups, such as B'nai Brith Youth Organization(BBYO)and Southern Federation of Temple Youth( SoFTY). He spent many summers at HenryS.Jacob's Camp wherehelater became a camp counselor.Gregattended theUniversity of

Mary HargisCoxe passed away at her Uptown home on April 19, See more DEATHS page

Foll, RichardRyan

Koock, Gregory Mitchel 'Greg'

Gaines, MarthaA

Coxe,

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 a highly politicized topic in these times.Yet it is one thing to argue when children’slivesare not in imminent danger.Wehopethatas themeasles threat increases, everyonewillmake the health of our children our only priority

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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.

TO SEND US A LETTER SCANHERE

Port NOLA pushingproject that fewresidents want

The massive proposed container port project known as the LIT that Port NOLA plans to develop is in Violet, a small community in St.Bernard Parish. This project has recently been exposed to be unviable, and it may never recover all of the costs associated withit, according to anewly released report conducted by thenationally acclaimed shipping authority Martin Associates. This report reveals that there is no demand that warrants such amassive expanded and tremendously costly container terminal in Violet. It further reveals that Port NOLA’s container terminal in New Orleanswould likely never reach itsmaximum capacity This report was commissioned by the newly formed Louisiana Waterways Investment Commission by Gov.Jeff Landry

The report indicates that in the future, acontainer port should be built downriver from New Orleansthat would in fact, be able to accommodate thenext generation of larger and deep-

Iread on Nola.com that People for theEthical Treatment of Animals staked out Central CityBBQ on April 2toraise awareness of the concerns about consuming meat from animals It seems if they had waited until that weekend, they could have had apresence at Hogs for theCause, which had slabs of roasting meat splashed across theLiving section in the paper Meat consumption is ahuge contributor to climate change and world hunger,not to mention acruel treatment of the animals themselves. As we continue to create more demand for meat, we are forced to burn down therainforests of South America, displacing Indigenous peoples and reducing the Earth’sabilitytoabsorb carbon from theatmosphere. Asubstantial amount

er drafting container ships. Plaquemines PortCommission is in theprocess of developing exactly that type of container port downriver and, in the spirit of cooperation, has offered 50% of the project to Port NOLA. This new port would eliminate the competition of two new ports and more importantly,eliminate the wasted and duplicated coststothe state and taxpayers of having to fund twosets of infrastructure to serve two new container ports.

At present,the Port NOLA rejects thePlaquemines Port offerand pushes forward theproject in Violet. Why? Because themighty and greedy Port NOLA wants total control. The vast majority of residents and all elected officials of St. Bernard oppose this project in Violet. Gov.Landry,please cut wasted taxpayer funds and consolidate thecontainer terminal in Plaquemines. PHILLIP DIFATTA formercommissioner,St. Bernard Port Harborand Terminal District

of our arable land is used to grow crops for animal, not human, consumption. Andthose precioushogs forsome vague cause? Their waste leaches into streamsand rivers and creates toxic nightmares on theland on which they are grown. Remember in “Mad Max” when Tina Turner was capturing methane from hogs to powerher fortress? Were it that simple. Methane is anoxious gas that stays in the atmosphere much longer than carbon dioxide and is amajor contributor to climate change. So skip thehogs. Plant atree or compost your table scraps instead. Whatever thecause, our planet is more important because it sustains us all, including the hogs.

KEVIN J. FITZPATRICK NewOrleans

Gordon Dove, board chairman of the Coastal Protection andRestoration Authority,just killed theBarataria diversion project. He seemstoknow morethan all the expertsand scientistswho approve it. In just three days of southwinds and our roads are covered with water Barataria Bay has becomepart of the Gulf of America with just Grand Isle in the way.What is Dove’salternative, makeusmove?

CHRISFOURNIER Barataria

Irecently saw aman on TV whosaid he was80years old and thought citizens should not be responsible forcleaning catch basins; the Sewerage &Water Board should do that. ASewerage &Water Board official commented that there are morethan 70,000 catch basins to be cleaned.

I’massuming that the 80-yearold is infirm with health problems that would limit his activities. Is it outrageous in apoor city with chronic flooding problemsthat a citizen would remove leaves from acatch basin near his or her home if able to? From childhood, my family regularly cleared our catch basin and others. We didn’tthink this was ahuge imposition. We thought it helped with flooding. Until we vote moremoney to a revolutionized Sewerage &Water Board, quit whining and get out your shovels.

JULIE MCCOLLAM NewOrleans

Like almost all professors across the country,the university Iwork for is struggling under budget shortfalls that stem from the drastic Trump/Musk cuts to the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies that fund university researchers and coordinate the amazing research productivity of our nation. Are there any people in our country besides President Donald Trumpand Elon Musk whothink this is agood idea or approve of Trump’shandling of the economy? No, this is not arhetorical question. Anybody? Trump’sagenda goes unchallenged by Congress because 75% to 80% of conservatives continue to support him To my Republican friends and neighbors, is there ever apoint at which you decide the negatives outweigh the positives?

DAVID KIRSHNER Baton Rouge

BubbaHenry wasLa.’s Lincoln

Clancy DuBos

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 the man himself. Aself-styled“country lawyer,” Bubba represented the closest Louisiana has evercometoits own Abe Lincoln, partly becauseofhis imposing physical presencebut more so because of his keen politicaland people skills. And his hallmark sense of humor Like Lincoln, Bubba facedexistential challenges without buckling under stress, used his sharp wittocharm friends and disarm foes and convinced warring interests to work togetherfor the greater good —becausefriend and foe alike 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 his sleeve —he lived it. Quietly,humblyand courageously

He was an early memberand president (in 1994) of the BatonRouge Federation of Churches and Synagogues, one of the oldest interfaith organizations in the nation. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, Bubba convinced the group to change its name to the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge and include Islamic members. Bubba donated to prison ministries and publicly opposed the death penalty —even speaking againstitbefore legislative committees in the Capitol. He took alot of heat for that and other principled stances, but he neverwavered.

He participated in ecumenicalChristian retreats. With his son Patrick, he made more than 30 silent retreatsat Manresa, the pastoral Jesuit retreat house on the river road in Convent. TheManresaretreats,said Patrick, made Bubba realize how alike his own Baptist faith was to St. Ignatius’ spirituality “He began reading Ignatius’ writings and letters 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

ADVOCATE FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Stan

Manresa, he wrote me abeautiful letter.Hewould 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 you walkthe oaks towardthe river, meet me halfway …I’ll be there with you.”

Jeff Brooks, alobbyist who worked closely with Bubba, told me thatitwas fitting for Bubba and Pope Francis —the Catholic Church’sfirst Jesuit pontiff —tohave theirfunerals on the sameday.Daysearlier,Brooks had writtentocolleagues 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 the1973 constitutional convention and laterasthe longtimeclerk of the House of Representatives,saw firsthand Bubba’s rare combination of principled leadership andpointed humor.

“The Legislaturewent from atotal clown show …tonascent independence underBubba as speaker,” Speer recalled. He added, “If he had not been the person with his hand on thetiller at the constitutional convention, there’s no telling howthat convention would have ended. Absent Bubba, Iknow we wouldnot have 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 notoverpaid.”

Bubba alsogave 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 withwisdom.

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 ClancyDuBos is aretired political columnist forGambit,The TimesPicayune 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

GOPand Wall Street execs mumon economy

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.

George Will

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. Fordecades, publicschool advocates have said charters areprivate schools siphoning resources away from public education. Charter advocates have responded that charters are publicschools. Now both sides have executed semanticsomersaults,with charter advocates saying their schools areprivate,meaning notstate actors, and critics saying the chartersare 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 also approving 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,and many 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 years of 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 victory for St. Isidore would enable opponents of chartersand other forms of school choice to warn that government 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 areinprivate schoolswithfinancialassistance from states’ school choice programs. Nearly 4million pupils attend8,000 charters. NinaRees, writing for Education Next, says that during the coronaviruspandemic’s school closures, regular private schools lost 1.4 million students, while chartersattracted almost450,000 new families. School choice —the great civil rights issue of ourday —has advanced dramatically in redstates. But expanding in blue states, where teachers’ unions arepowerfuland implacably opposed, would become even moredifficult in the wake of aSt. Isidore victory.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

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.

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.

Catherine Rampell

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

Parker,Bonnie Louise Pitre

Bonnie Louise Pitre Parker,ofHarvey, Louisiana, passedaway on Monday,April 21, 2025at theage of 77.She is sur‐vivedbyher loving andde‐votedhusband of 58 years Sherwood Parker,daughter Dana Parker,grandson PatrickBeckham and cousin andtruefriend HollyBradshaw(Randy Causin). Bonnie is the daughter of thelate George andNancy Pitre. Sheisthe sister thelate Lelia “Pete” Boudreaux (James “Bo” Boudreaux) Bonnie is also survived by severalniecesand nephews. Bonnie wasa graduate of Redemptorist High School,Class of 1965. Bonnie retiredfromthe Jef‐ferson Parish Sheriff’sOf‐fice in 2003 after 27 years of serviceand shewas a member of TheFraternal OrderofPolice, Lodge12, until herpassing.Bonnie wasa member of TheTer‐rytown Volunteer Fire De‐partment’sAuxiliary,The StonebridgePropertyOwn‐ersAssociation, TheStone‐bridge Garden Club,Stone‐bridge Neighborhood Pot Luck Groupand The GumboYaYaBook Club Shewas an avid reader lovedgardening andtrav‐elingand sheloved and cherishedher constant companion, LaceyGirlher Yorkie.A specialthank you to Bonnie’s lifelong friend, Bonnie Tonglet(Gerald)for herconstantfriendship throughout theyears and fortakingher to lunches with “The SassyLassies” allgraduates of Redemp‐torist High School.For Sandilyn Brunetand Julie Taylor foralwaysmaking sure shewas included in allactivities, functionsand travels. Thefamilywould like to expresstheir sin‐cere appreciation to Guardian AngelHospice, NurseMaria andstaff for theirkindnessanddedica‐tion to thelovingcareof theirpatients. We would also like to thankher care‐takers,Paula LaChica, ShirleyBurkert andMarie fortheir loving care throughthe good times andthe many strugglesof dementia.Relatives and friendsofthe familyare in‐vitedtoattend theMemor‐ialMassatSt. Joseph Catholic Church,610 Sixth Street,Gretna, Louisiana, on Tuesday, April29th, 2025 at 11:00 am.Visitationfrom 9:00 until mass. Interment will be at alater date.In lieu of flowersthe family requests memorial dona‐tionstobemadetoSt. Michael’sSpecial School 1522 Chippewa St,New Or‐leans, Louisiana70130 https://www.stmichaelsp ecialschool.com/supportsmss/remembrancesform cfmormemorialmassesat either St Joseph Catholic Church,610 SixthSt, Gretna,Louisiana 70053 or InfantJesus of Prague Church,700 MapleDr, Har‐vey, Louisiana70058. Fam‐ilyand friendsmay view andsignthe online guest book at www.mothefunera ls.com

Thomas T. Parker,61, of Avondale,Louisiana,passedawayonApril 21, 2025 Born on March19, 1964, in Pensacola, Florida, Thomas wasthe sonofthe late ElizabethCaswell Parker andAubry Lynn Parker Thomas wasa devotedfa‐ther,proud grandfather, andbeloved brother. He is survived by hisdaughters HeatherKoenig(Rusty) andBrittnieParker(Fred Denham), andhis cher‐ishedgranddaughter Coraline Koenig.Heisalso survived by hissiblings: brotherAubry Parker,sis‐ters PennySmith and RobinWiese.Hewas pre‐cededindeath by his brotherMikeParker. A skilledmechanicbytrade, Thomas hada passionfor workingwithhis hands andtook pridein fixing just aboutanything. Out‐side of work,hefound joy in thesimplethings—espe‐

cially theloyal companion‐ship of hisdogs,who were neverfar from hisside. Thomas wasknown forhis strong work ethic, quiet strength,and warm sense of humor.Hevaluedfamily aboveall else andwas a steady,lovingpresencein thelives of thosewho knew him. Family and friendsmay view andsign theonlineguest book at www.mothefunerals.com

Pierre,BrendaCooper

Brenda Cooper Pierre passedawayonWednes‐day, April23, 2025, at the ageof78. Brenda is sur‐vivedbyher children:Crys‐talCooper Rafiel (Joseph), Samantha Geason Willis Wharton(Jerry), Elgin Pierre,and IanPierre (Tara);her step-children: NancyPierreand Alvin Pierre Jr.; hergrandchil‐dren:Natalie Rafiel,Joseph Rafiel III, SpenserRafiel, JanvierWharton,Jared Wharton, Jeremy Wharton, JudahWharton,Jolie-Sarah Wharton, Mikell Humphries, Heaven Pierre,Brae‐denPierre, andEthan Pierre.Alsosurvivedby KevinCooper (Jacqueline), MuReeClark Lane,Alexis ClarkRumph (Winfield), Gia Clark, Tyrone Cooper (Laura), JoannCooper,Bar‐bara AnnCooper,Dineshea Cooper Morris, Inez Cooper Bossier,GaryCooper,Tyra Cooper,James Cooper,Jr., MichaelBaker,and ahost of otherrelatives and friends. Preceded in death by grandparents:Selina Mitchell Clarkand John Clark, Sr.; mother:Pearl ClarkCooper;father: JamesCooper,Sr.,son: ByronCooper,and brother: Kresslin Clark. Family and friendsare invitedtoat‐tend theCelebration of Life ServiceonWednesday, April30, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Mount Zion Baptist Church,10867 RiverRoad,

ceded himindeath. He is survivedbya son, Marshall Redmon(Missy); four stepchildren, Steve Victory(Lanie),LeighMoss (Robby), Lane Mosby (Billy) and Derek Victory (Ashley);and eleven grandchildren, Jordan Redmon, Melissa Redmon Slaughter(Matthew), Hunter Redmon, Janeand Thomas Victory, Hartson and MaddoxMoss, Taylor and Cheney Mosby, and John and Tatum Victory

After graduating from St.Martin's Episcopal School, he attended LouisianaState University, where he earneddegrees in microscopic paleontology and law. Thereafter, he served in theJudge Advocate General Corps of theUnitedStatesAir Force attaining therank of captain. Upon his honorable discharge, he joinedthe lawfirm then named PhelpsDunbar Marks Claverieand Sims, ultimately servingten years as itsmanaging partner. He was amember of several barassociations and societies, including theAmerican Collegeof Trial Lawyers. Adevoted LSUalumnus, upon his retirement in 1996, aprofessorship was endowedinhis name at thelaw school.His civic activitiesincluded service on the boardofthe LSU Health Foundation,on which he became president and chief endowment officer.Healso served on theboards of WYES and Bridge House. He was amember of social organizations including the NewOrleans Country Club,the Pass ChristianYachtClub,The Boston Club,Stratford Club and The RexOrganization. Special thankstoMary JaneMcAlister, VeAnn Bourgeois and Dr. Kenneth Smithfor their companionship, care, and comfort Amemorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, at St Martin's Episcopal Church, Metairie,Louisiana. Areception willfollowatthe NewOrleans Country Club In lieu of flowers,donations may be madetothe LSULaw School.

Sulphur for70years.When shewas young,she worked as anurse’s aide then became ahomemaker androom mom. Laterin life sheworkedatSig’s Restaurant andDr. Woess‐ner’soffice.After Hurri‐cane Katrinadevastated thearea, shewas forced to leavePlaquemines Parish Forever, Port Sulphur was home andfor many years shelongedfor thelifeshe missed. Shehoped to re‐turn to thehouse where sheand Mitchell, who were marriedfor 47 years, raised theirchildrenonUd‐stad Lane.She missed everything aboutlifein Port Sulphur---her family living closeby, shopping forgroceries at Fremin’s IGA, andattendingmassat St.Patrick’s Church,the Davisesfromthe ShellSta‐tion who helped herwith many littleproblemsthat came up,and beingsur‐rounded by thekindest neighbors. Martha moved to Metairie andlived next door to daughter,Tricia, for24years.One year ago, shemoved down theblock to an assisted living home Shenow hadthe compan‐ionshipofthe otherresi‐dents, in addition to the love andcareofthe staff who took excellentcareof her. They even introduced hertonew foodswhich sheloved.Theyplayedher favorite songssoshe could sing andshuffleher feet to thebeat. This January, they helped herpeek out‐side to seethe snowfall, andlet herthrow snow‐balls at them,all of which shesoenjoyed.Itwas a happyyearatHenican House. Thankyou to those who helped hernavigate this finalstage of herlife. Aspecial thankyou to dear familyfriend, OvaBarrere who foryears caredfor Martha like anotherdaugh‐ter. Ova’scareand friend‐ship with Martha wasex‐ceptional. Ovatoldus many timesthat“Miss Martha”was very well knownather favorite stores,Zuppardo’sFamily Market andthe Dollar Gen‐eral where shewas made to feel specialevery time shearrived.Also, thank youduringthislastyear, to Milagros “Mimi” Calixand all thestaff of Henican Housewho welcomed Martha as their firstresi‐dent.Marthawas called “the queen”and was treatedlikeone sincethe dayshe movedin. Thank youalsotoKatrina Copper, Jackie Trotter& Genell

Yager, Arlene andSabrina formanyyears of caring forMartha. Relativesand friendsare invitedtovisit Greenwood FuneralHome, 5200 CanalBlvd.,New Or‐leans, LA 70124, on Thurs‐day, May1,2025, starting at 11:00 AM.A Funeral Mass will follow thevisita‐tion at 1:00 PM.The burial will be in Westlawn Memo‐rial Park,1225 Whitney Ave.,Gretna, LA.A recep‐tion will follow theburial at Greenwood Funeral Home’s BoulevardRoom We also invite youtoshare your thoughts,fondmemo‐ries,and condolenceson‐line at www.greenwoodfh com. Your shared memo‐ries will help us celebrate Martha’s life andkeep her memory alive.

Wursteisen, Philip Joseph

PhilipJoseph Wursteisendeparted from this life on April 25, 2025 in Houston, TX wherehehas resided for 35 years. Philipwas born on February 2, 1939 to thelate Joseph G. Wursteisenand CorinneGraner Wursteisen. He was their firstborn andonlyson,but more importantly, he was thefirst Grandson of his belovedGrandmother, CorinneChildress Graner. This afforded hima special place with her- afacthe nevermindedsharing with others.Hewas also the Grandson of the late Joseph Felix and Magdalena Wendling Wursteisen. He graduatedfrom Mater Delorosaand East JeffersonHigh School with ashort stint at De La Salle High School, whereaccordingtoPhilip, "his contract wasn't renewed." He served in theUnited States Navy andupon hisreturn began his career in theOil &Gas businessinNew

hunting, building and/or fixing things andhis motto was, "ifyou take it apart, you canfigureout howto fix it!" He wasalso an expert on watches,collected various typesofguns, and hadnouse for spelling,but give hima math problem andhewas quite ingenious. Hisdrink of choice wascoffee, but on special occasionsindulgedina spicy Bloody Mary. Philipissurvived by his wife, Chrys Wursteisen, anddaughterSamantha W. Frederick andher husband DylanofHouston,TX. He is also survived by histwo sons, Michael Wursteisen(Lisa) and StevenWursteisen(Kelly), anddaughters, Wendi Horshok(Steve), Staci McAdam (Brad)and Phyllis Wursteisen(Gina) and theirmother, Jean Bienvenue Wursteisen. He wasthe Grandfatherof10 andGreat-Grandfather of 7. He is survived by two sisters, Fay Wursteisen Harrisand AnnSilvas, as well as hispartner in crime andcousin, PaulGraner Funeral serviceswill be private andPhilipwill be laidtorest in thefamily tomb in Greenwood Cemetery,New Orleans, LA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to theWounded Warriors ProjectinPhilip'sname.

es

Stella,MarthaTyson

Parker,ThomasT

EYEBROWS RAISED

Themore we learn about the Derek Carr situation, the more confusingit gets There’sseemingly a newtwisttothe story daily

And the more we hear,the more suspicious everything sounds, whichmight explain why Carr and Saints officials keep sounding like Officer Barbrady from “South Park” whendealing with the subject: “This isn’thappening. Everyone look away.Nothing to see here!” Carr has maintained alow profile duringthe offseasons throughouthis New Orleans tenure. Forhim, it’s atime to get away from football andfocus on his family,sohis silencethisspring wasnot entirely out of character

But obviously,this is different Ashoulder injury serious enough to possibly require surgery and potentially derail your season is adevelopment not justworthy of commentary and transparency,but one that requires it.

Better than anyone, Carr knowsteammates, coaches,fans andsupportstaff are counting on him to lead the team, both on and off the field. Communication

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU earned acrucial series victory over theweekend by taking down Tennessee twice in their three-game series at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers came back from a 3-0 deficitinthe ninth inning to win 6-3 on Friday before dropping Game 2on Saturday 9-3. They clinched the series with an emphatic 12-2 win in eight innings

Sunday Here are fivetakeawaysfrom the weekend:

Sunday startersettled?

Sunday wasfreshmanrighthanderCasanEvans’first collegiate start, but from the second inning on, he pitched like aFridaynight starter

Evanstossed fiveshutout innings and allowed just twobatters to reach baseafter surrendering two runs in the first. Once he started locating the ball better in the lowerhalf of the zone, he found success.

“There were acouple pitches Imade mistakes on and they got some hard-hit balls whichled to thetwo runsinthe first inning,” Evans said. “So going back out there the next inning, Iwas like, ‘I’m going to throw everything down because that’stheir weak spot.’ Evans’ performance against one of the most talented lineups in the country begs thequestion of whether he’ll become LSU’s Sunday starter.Besides going

BY REED DARCEY

On

“Wejust

UConn just had routed South Carolina in the national championship game, forcingFulwiley to wrestlewithan unfamiliar feeling. ThatSunday, her hometown Gamecocks suffered just their fourth loss in two seasons. Two of them were to the Huskies, the team thatrecentlyendedSouth Carolina’s bid forasecond straight national title.

“These teamsare gonnacomefor us,” Fulwiley said. “UConn is gonna be ourrivalry forthe next fewyears. They’re young just like we’re young. We got to get better.”

Fulwileydecided to transfer five days later

is one of the requirements of the position. And so far,everyone involved in this situation has failedatit.

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

Twelve days after head coach Kellen Moore said at theNFL owners’ meetings he was“excited to team up with Carr” the NFL Network broke the news about Carr’sshoulder.

Twoweekslater,Carr’sbrother David said the injury is believed to have occurred when Derek took aheadfirst fall against the New York Giants on Dec. 8 and that Derek didn’tthrowfor along time during the offseason

It’simportant to note that Carr’sshoul-

derwas neverlistedonany of the officialinjury reports the Saints submitted to the NFL after theGiants game. Only left hand andconcussion were listed on the reports. Likewise, not once in thefour months since the injury supposedlyoccurred did anyone mention ashoulderinjury when discussing Carr or hisinjury status.

Youmight recallthatafter 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 Carrdidn’ttry testing outhis throwing shoulder once during the month between the injury and the season finale Jan.5against the Tampa BayBucs? Wouldn’tthathave been the starting point for anyevaluation of his potential playing status?

And even if he didn’t, it strains credulity to think that astarting NFL quarterback who stated publicly that his top offseason goal was to “get healthy” would nottry to throw or test out his throwing shoulder at some point during

thegame in the later innings.

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

LSUcoach Jay Johnson wasn’t willingto committoEvans becoming afull-time starter,even admitting that he would’ve pitched him Saturdayifthe Tigers had taken theleadortied

“Wecouldn’tdoitunlesswe were tied or ahead because the volume he needed to cover today,” Johnson said Sunday What’s next forShores?

After losing his spot in the starting rotation, redshirt sophomore right-handerChaseShores came on in relief vs. Tennessee, pitching in Game2and allowing four runs, but only one earned, in

an inning of work.

Despite allowing just one hit, his lack of commandcame back to bitehim again as he hit two batters and walkedanother

Adefensive miscue from junior first baseman Jared Jones played abig part in his ugly line, but Tennessee wasn’tintimidated by Shores’ 100mph fastball or fooled by his slider The rockyouting pushed Shores’ ERAupto5.53. Given Evans’ fantasticouting and juniorleft-hander Conner Ware’s solid start the previous week against Alabama, it’shardto imagineShores regaining his starting spot anytime soon. Taking stockofbats

LSUhad struggled at the plate since its 5-3win over Nicholls StateonApril 8. Thosestruggles continued through thefirst two games against Tennessee. The Tigers scored in only three of the first 18 innings of the series, tallying six runs in their miraculous ninth-inning comeback Friday beforehitting two solo home runs in the seventh and another in the eighth on Saturday

But that was before LSU flipped the script Sunday.The Tigers had13hits, including eight for extra bases, and ended thegame in eight innings on a two-run double from senior Luis Hernandez. Not facing Tennessee’stop starters, MarcusPhillips and Liam Doyle, played amajor part in theTigers’ success. They

Nowthe dynamic5-foot-10 guard is signed with LSU,locked into astarstudded backcourt with Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. Why did Fulwiley hit the portal? Andwhy did shechoose the Tigers? Thosequestions underlineone of the mostcompelling 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 andher staff have taken these kinds of swings before. In 2023, they locked down the nation’stop two transfers, teaming Hailey VanLith and Aneesah Morrow up withAngelReese, Johnsonand Williams. That team reached the Elite Eight. The oneLSU is building nowhas a similar composition. And it mayclimb back into the Final Four,but only if Mulkeycan take the pieces —two star returners, three or four transfers and four high-profile freshmen —and makethem fit. Fulwiley, ajuniornext season,isone of themost electrifyingplayers in college basketball, but it’sunclear exactly which responsibilitiesMulkey will give to her.

Fulwileycould 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 VanLith struggledto grasp in herloneseason at LSU.

“(Point guard) is the hardest positiononthe floor to play,” Mulkey said in November.“It’s like thequarterback in football. The point guard’s gotta knoweverybody.You gotta run theshow. Yougotta point your fingers. Yougot to correct them.You got to get them going. That’salot to ask of anew player.”

Fulwiley burst onto the scene as afreshman, then saw her numbers plateau as asophomore. In two seasons, she averaged 11.7 points, 2.9rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 stealsper ä See FULWILEY, page 3C

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU pitcher Casan Evans finishes apitch in the first inning of the

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOHN MUNSON

Saints quarterback Derek Carrwalks off the field after an injuryagainst the Newyork Giants last seasoninEast Rutherford,

ä See DUNCAN, page 4C

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

MILWAUKEE DamianLillard has a

tendon,

ing the Milwaukee

fears after the

guard was helped off the

Sunday

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.

by this.It’sjust tough. That’swhy

of the key midwaythrough the first quar-

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 regular season. He missedGame 1ofthe Pacers series

his

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.

to work

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.

left plays defense as New

during the first half of a game earlier this

Pels players undergo surgical procedures

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 twoyear 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 secondworst 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.”

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

Nuggets insist they need to seize the momentum

BY ARNIE STAPLETON AP sportswriter

DENVER The vibe surrounding the Denver Nuggets’ practice Monday was equal parts celebration and caution.

Aaron Gordon’s buzzer-beating dunk tied their series against the Los Angeles Clippers 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game 5 Tuesday night in Denver But before he slammed home Nikola Jokic’s errant 3-pointer with nary a second to spare Saturday the Nuggets had blown a 22-point fourth-quarter lead. So, Christian Braun bristled at the suggestion the Nuggets had seized momentum in the tightly contested series.

“I think they have the momentum,” Braun said. “They played really well in the fourth quarter and it felt like they had all the momentum and then Aaron made a big play I think we need to be the team that’s the aggressor I think we need to bounce back, and we need to regain the momentum.”

Their fourth-quarter follies Saturday harkened back to their stumble against Minnesota last year when an exhausted Denver team coughed up a 20-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 7 of their second-round series.

The Nuggets were outscored 34-16 in the fourth quarter Saturday, and their shorter bench was one reason.

All five Nuggets starters logged at least 42 minutes and in the fourth quarter, Michael Porter Jr (11 minutes, 52 seconds) nearly joined Gordon, Jokic and Christian Braun without a break. The only starter to get a break was Jamal Murray, who subbed in for Peyton Watson at about the nineminute mark.

It wasn’t quite the Los Angeles Lakers, who didn’t make a single substitution in the second half in their Game 5 loss to the Timberwolves over the weekend, but it was close.

Looking back, Adelman said he should have had another starter join Murray on the bench to start the fourth quarter: “I think it would have helped to have two mentally fresh guys coming in at the 8- or the 9-(minute mark).”

Yet, Adelman wasn’t secondguessing himself for riding with his starters.

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 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.”

“And by the way, I see J.J. Red-

dick getting killed for playing those guys. If they don’t reverse that call and win that game, you think J.J. Reddick made the right call?” Adelman said. “Yeah, sometimes you go with your gut, man. And what I watched yesterday was the Lakers go up 12, 14 points because of what he did and the decision he made. Yeah, you can’t worry about what they’re going to say afterward.”

“And it’s tough. Our starting five has to be on the court the majority of the game, and I’m going to do my best to make sure they get breaks and at the same time keep three or four (starters) on the court so they can make plays offensively and defensively,” Adelman added. Teams tend to shorten their bench in the playoffs even with games every other day

“Obviously, they’ve played more guys than we have consistently But that’s who we are and our guys have played big minutes throughout the season,” Adelman said. “I understand the mental fatigue, the wear and tear But I think there is something to the moment and finding that extra gear and finding your third and fourth win in these games. And you know, not everybody can be OKC and just chill for a week. So, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win games.”

Porter punishment?

Adelman also said he hadn’t heard from the league — nor does he expect to — about Porter leaving the bench during the skirmish just before halftime between Braun and Harden that resulted in six technicals but no ejections. NBA rules prohibit players from leaving the sideline during an altercation.

“No, and I understood that back in the day when fights were actually fights,” Adelman said. “I thought Mike made a nonaggressive walk and I didn’t see anything dangerous about that. You’ve got guys slapping each other out there.

“This isn’t, I don’t know, some of the fights I saw growing up will scar you for life This was just a disagreement between a bunch of guys that probably are going to play in the summer together in L.A.”

FULWILEY

Continued from page 1C

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.

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

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham,

Orleans Pelicans forward Kelly Olynyk dribbles

season at the Smoothie King Center

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABBIE PARR

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, left, celebrates next to Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves after making a shot during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round playoff series on Sunday in Minneapolis.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK J. TERRILL Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon drives while under pressure from Los Angeles Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round playoff series Saturday in Inglewood, Calif.

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-

LSU shortstop AveryHodge tosses her bat after drawing the game-ending, bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning against Florida on Mondayat TigerPark.

By

MICHAEL JOHNSON

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.

Tigers take crucialseriesvs. Gators

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

Aseries that started withadisaster finished with aflourish forthe LSU softball team.

The No. 10 Tigers escaped with anarrow win Sunday before posting eight runs in the sixth inning against No. 8Florida onMonday for a10-2 mercy-rule win to take the series at Tiger Park. LSU (39-11, 11-10 SEC) lost14-4 on Saturday,then won on abad-hop single Sunday.OnMonday,Avery Hodge broke a2-2 tie with asacrifice fly in the sixth, andDanieca Coffey contributed atwo-run double to propel the Tigers into their final SEC seriesofthe season at No.9 Arkansas beginning on Thursday

“They were really loose when I got here today,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “There wasn’tanything we hadtosay to them,no need for aspeech.They were ready to go, upbeat. Ifeltgood about it from the jump today.”

The series victory was huge for the Tigers, who had lost six of their previous seven Southeastern Conference games. Sydney Berzon, who pitched atwo-hit complete game victory Sunday,came out of the bullpen and allowedonly one runontwo hitsinfourinnings with twostrikeouts andnowalks Monday

“Never count the Tigers out. No matterwhat happens in the beginning, we always talk about throwingthe last punch,”saidBerzon, who improved to 17-5. “Wewere able to show up this weekend and do just that. “Witheverything happening yesterday,wewere super excited. It re-motivated usand helped us show up today.”

Thedecisive sixth startedwith four-pitch walkstoMaci Bergeron and Tori Edwards, which ended thenight forFlorida starter Keagan Rothrock, who won Saturday Jadyn Laneaux, who was 3for 3, singled off reliever Katelyn Oxley to load the bases, andHodgegave the Tigers the lead with adrive to center field

Thenthe floodgates opened. Pinch hitter Savanna Bedell sliced asingledownthe left-fieldlineto make it 4-2. After Sierra Daniel was hit byapitch, Coffey doubled over the head of left fielderKorbeOtis for two more runs. Jaila Lassiter laid down abunt to score Daniel, and when Oxley’s throw to the plategot past catcher Jocelyn Erickson,Coffey sprinted home to beatErickson’sthrow to Oxley Florida (41-12, 12-9) went to the bullpen again, but after getting a fly ballfor thesecond out, reliever Olivia Miller walked four consecutivebatters whilethrowing only onestrike in 17 pitches. That

forced in two moreruns to end the game. Hodge was credited with the game-ending RBI on herbasesloaded walk.

“Competitive,” Coffey said when askedtosum up the sixth inning. “Itstarted yesterdaywhen(assistant coach) Bryce (Neal) said we were one pitch away.Itrolled over to today.Weknew theadjustments we needed to make. We were focusing on doing thethings we do.”

Florida scored arun offof starter Jayden Heavener,but LSU answered withtwo in the fourth. Bergeron ledoff with asingleto right, andEdwards slammeda double to left-center.Pinch runnerMadilyn Giglio scored when McKenzie Redouteygrounded outtosecondbefore Laneauxhit an infield single to second to score Edwards.

Florida tied it in the fifth on a solohomer by Rylee Holtorf off of Berzon. Butshe closed the door, coming up witha key strikeout to endthe fifth with arunneronthird.

The LSUbats did therest.

“Our offenseisreally special,” Torina said. “We’re havinganincredible season, and it’sfun to seethemhavemoments like that, aplayer like Jadyn Laneaux having anight like that thinking of all the work she putin. She watched us play alot lastyear and never checked out. She’s reaping the benefits of that right now.”

Johnsonagreesto1-yeardealwithBrowns

BYJOE REEDY AP sports writer

DUNCAN

Continued from page1C

the offseason, and certainly before mid-April. If you’re confused by the story,suspicious of its timing and skeptical of the explanations being presented so far,you’re not alone.

Littleofitmakes sense. The timing alone begs for skepticism.

It’s an unusualtime for major injury news to occur.Ican count on one hand the number of majorinjuries that have cometo light in mid-April during my 25 years of covering the NFL. Let alone one as significant as the throwing shoulder of the starting quarterback. Protocol is to address injuries as soon as possible to give proper time for rehab and recovery enteringthe next season. Adding to the confusion and heightening the suspicion is the strange wayboth sides have treatedthe situation.

Carr stayed silent until Sunday,when avideo of his sermon

LSUBASEBALL

Continued from page1C

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 of theseries Friday,a towering 452-foot walk-off shot. But after that, LSU got homers from four players who combined to hit just eight balls over the fence against SEC clubs last season.

Sophomores Steven Milam and Jake Brown homered on Saturday andSunday, respec-

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

CLEVELAND Wide receiver Diontae Johnson agreedtotermsona one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns on Monday,apersonfamiliar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the APon condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. Themove was first reported by NFL Network. Cleveland will be the fourth team that Johnson has been on in ayear.Hebegan last season with Carolina before beingtradedto Baltimore in late October.Johnson —who led the Panthers with 30 receptions and 357 receiving yards at the time of the trade had only one catch in four games for the Ravens when he refused to enter aDec. 1contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson was suspendedone game and then waived by the Ravens on Dec. 21. He was claimed by Houston and hadthree receptions, including one for 12 yards in the Texans’ wild-card playoff win over the Chargers. Johnson thoughwas waived shortly after that game as Hous-

ton coach DeMeco Ryans said it didn’twork out. Johnson was then claimed by Baltimore, but theRavens did thatinordertopossibly get acompensatory 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 five seasons with the Steelers. His best year was in 2021 when he had107 receptions for 1,161 yards andeight touchdowns. Johnson joins aBrownsreceiving room thatdoesn’t have many viable options other than Jerry Jeudy WhoJohnson will be catching passesfrom during offseason workouts and training camp will be of more interest. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are expected to battlefor Cleveland’s starting quarterback job,but theBrownsmade thingsinteresting during the draft with the selections of Shedeur Sandersand Dillon Gabriel.

at aLas Vegas church was released.

Saints officials, meanwhile, have refused to comment directly on the subject, other than ashort statement by general manager Mickey Loomis at his pre-draft news conference last week that said little more than theSaintsstill were seeking “clarity” on theshoulderinjury WhenLoomisand Moore were askedabout theinjury againoverthe weekend, they danced around thesubject. If everything is jake, why be so secretive andevasive? Instead of hiding behind offseason protocolsand injury policies, why notjust address the situationina news conference over Zoom? Thatwould go along waytoward ending the rumors and speculation that everyone says they fear and loathe. Certainly,the Saints and Carr have the right to remain silent about the situation. It’stheir prerogative to keep things private. Just as we have the right to remain skeptical whenOfficer Barbrady tells us, “There’snothing to see here.”

tively.FreshmanJohnPearson hit the secondhome run of his career Saturday,and senior Michael Braswell cracked hisfirst two 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.

PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

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

AP FILE PHOTO By NICK WASS Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Diontae Johnson looks on before agame against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 7inBaltimore.

STAFF PHOTO

THE VARSITY ZONE

Chapelle substitutes rebuilding with resolve

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Chapelle had just won the softball state championship when Addy Stein told her coach, “We got it.”

The senior center fielder did not want to hear the chatter about this season being a rebuilding year Not even after the Chipmunks graduated five seniors from the starting lineup and began this season with mostly freshmen and sophomores in their place.

“I didn’t think there was any reason for us to have a growing year,” Stein said.

“I know the talent on the team, and I think that we’re capable of doing it.”

She might soon be proven right. Stein and her Chapelle teammates have advanced to the state tournament for the fifth year in a row and will face No 4 John Curtis in a semifinal that is set for 5 p.m. Friday at Frasch Park in Sulphur Stein is the only senior on the team, and No. 9 Chapelle (17-10) has thrived with the belief that she has instilled in her teammates from the start.

“You lose five seniors and then everybody says, ‘What’s the identity of the team?’ ” Chapelle coach Scott O’Brien said “And then Addy Stein grabs the team and says, ‘No, no, no, this is the identity of the team.’ And she’s like, ‘You know what, we’re going to fight. We’re not going to be who we were (with those five seniors), but we’re going to fight.’” O’Brien said it was during the summer when Stein told him, “Coach, we got it. I think we’re going to be good. We’re going to be all right. We’re going back to state.” Stein kept that positive approach throughout the season. She continued hyping up her team through the first five innings of a state quarterfinal game Saturday on the road against topseeded Pineville By that point, Chapelle had just one hit and trailed 1-0. But the sixth inning began with sophomore Liv Nevels getting hit by a pitch. Then freshman Taylor Allen drew a one-out walk. That brought sophomore Kam DiMaggio up to bat, and the first

“You lose five seniors and then everybody says, ‘What’s the identity of the team?’ And then Addy Stein grabs the team and says, ‘No, no, no, this is the identity of the team.’

And she’s like, ‘You know what, we’re going to fight.’ ”

SCOTT O’BRIEN,

Chapelle coach

pitch came to the inside part of the plate, and she pulled it down the line in left field for a two-run double that made the score 2-1.

The next batter flied out, and junior Kelsie Schmidt came to bat and worked the count to two balls and two strikes. She blasted the next pitch over the fence in left-center field for a home run that not only gave her team a 4-1 lead but also lifted the weight of what had been a season filled with inconsistent hitting and frustration, she said.

“Coming up in the big moments, that’s what I play for,” Schmidt said. “The rush of emotion, the success just overcomes all that

failure.”

Chapelle kept that three-run lead through the final two Pineville at-bats. A walk and a single brought the potential tying run to bat with one out in the seventh. That batter grounded out to Allen at shortstop. The final batter flied out to left fielder Meg Cash, an eighth grader

“It was really moving to see that we don’t stop,” Stein said. “We don’t go down without a fight. It was really moving to see that we really do play for each other.”

The semifinal against Curtis will be a rematch of last season’s state final when Chapelle won 2-1. Curtis won 1-0 in the regular season this year But both teams have played several games since then.

Attached to a fence outside the Chapelle dugout is a sign that reads, “Exit 20,” which is the mile marker exit to Sulphur and the location of the state tournament.

O’Brien installed that sign as a reminder for his team’s goal Something that remained possible for at least another week.

Zheng-led Catholic wins golf regional

Mandeville finishes as team runner-up

BY JOSEPH HALM Staff writer

Catholic-Baton Rouge senior

Kevin Zheng had never carded an official sub-70 round during his high school career

That changed on Monday

He 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 I was close to my number on every hole. I made some long putts, so it just worked out today.”

Zheng’s day could have been even better if not for a double bogey on the long 18th hole, but it was still the only sub-70 score of the day

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

“Regional titles aren’t easy, especially when you have to come over here and play Mandeville and St. Paul’s on courses that they are used to playing,” Catholic coach Christopher Davis said. “We put a lot of value on winning these regional championships because they are not easy to do It’s a goal that we have.”

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

Mandeville freshman Parker

Green and sophomore Bradley Wall both carded 1-over 73s for the Skippers. Juniors Ben Hendricks and Matthew Yeung rounded out the other qualifying scores with a 77 and an 81, respectively Mandeville coach first-year coach Allison Radtke said her team is full of good recovery players who made smart decisions and battled to finish second.

“Our team is very young, so some people who didn’t score very well at district last week stepped it up, and then some people who excelled at district struggled a little bit today,” Radtke said. “Overall, everyone competed really well. All of them had a tough front 9 and then picked it back up on the back 9. They just kept battling.” Jesuit finished third with a team total of 313, led by Brooks Blanchard’s 71. Brother Martin was fourth with a 317 team total, one stroke less than fifth-place St. Paul’s. Gavin McDermott had the lowest score for the Crusaders, with a 76, while Hunter McDermott and Sawyer Bernard carded 78s. The top four teams and individuals on non-qualifying teams will compete in the Division I state tournament set for The Wetlands in Lafayette on May 5-6. The four lowest-scoring individuals included St. Paul’s Rylan Hess (73), St. Paul’s Bennett LaNasa (74), Northshore’s Justin Lotz (74) and Live Oak’s Cole Carlos (79). Contact Joseph Halm at jhalm@ sttammanyfarmer.net.

Jesuit-Brother Martin matchups possible in state tennis finals

Staff writer

The Division I boys tennis state finals will feature New Orleans players no matter which players advance beyond the semifinals on Tuesday In the opening rounds played Monday at Forsythe Park in Monroe, Brother Martin’s Mitchell Armbruster and Jesuit’s Jake Bravo advanced to meet in one singles semifinal and Jesuit’s Alton Swan advanced to meet Mandeville’s Lucas Montero in the other Armbruster who won a doubles championship two years ago with older brother Mark as his partner, also is a younger brother to twotime LHSAA singles champion Matthew Armbruster Mitchell Armbruster won the regional tournament earlier this month when he beat Swan in the final. The doubles final could be a rematch from when Jesuit seniors

Leo Congeni and Scott Harper defeated Brother Martin’s Reed MacAlester and Sal Trujillo in the regional finals. Other semifinalists are St. Paul’s juniors Jeffrey Roth and William Cather and Jesuit’s Andrew Cavallino and Cody Martinez.

Jesuit holds and edge in the team point standings with 12 points, three ahead of Brother Martin, which is in second place.

Semifinalists from the New Orleans area in other divisions include Ciara Sergi in Division I girls singles and Ben Franklin’s Nathin Tejas Hinkle and Peter Simenov in Division II boys doubles. Three-time reigning Division II girls champion My-Anh Holmes could face younger sister My-Linh Holmes, also of Willow in the state final for the second year in a row Mallory Kymes of Ben Franklin also reached the semifinals.

Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

Brother Martin’s Mitchell Armbruster will meet Jesuit’s Alton Swan in one of the Division I semifinals at the LHSAA tennis tournament.

Chapelle softball players Kelsie Schmidt, right, and Addy Stein hold hands

20,’ the place where the team will exit Interstate

Chapelle softball player Kam DiMaggio takes her turn during batting practice at Butch Duhe Park on Monday in Kenner

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE

Drive-thru crepeshop opensin Bucktown

BY POET WOLFE

Staff writer

In aNew Orleans cigarbar

nestled on acorner of Tchoupitoulas Street, Séverine Cholet would sell homemade crepes while enveloped by billows of smoke and live jazz.

Nearly adecadelater,her days of sellingaquintessential French street food Uptown at Dos Jefes and other local establishments are over.Because what started as apop-up in 2016 has now secured apermanent home that she runs with her business partner,Ronnie Lejeune.

In March of this year,Cholet —a native of Brittany,France, where crepes were invented— openedCrêpes Rendez-Vous Café on 1712 Lake Avenue in Bucktown,a village-turnedsuburb along Lake Pontchartrainknown for its seafood restaurant scene.

Crêpes Rendez-Vous Café is currently one of the few French establishments in Metairie’s waterfront neighborhood.Itis also the latest pastry shop to debut in the New Orleansarea, where ahandful of creperies haveopenedwithin the last decade, including most recently Commander’sPlace’ssibling Le Petit Bleu, proving that the city’sFrenchinfluence remains unwavering.

But Cholet knew that she wanted to open acreperie long before it gained afoothold in New Orleans.

She worked for acompany in Laillé, France, that sold homemade crepes during soccergames in her20s.Tohone her skills, Cholet enrolled ina three-month training program at the acclaimed Ecole des Maître Crepiers in Rennes,France, where she earnedthe title of “maître crepier,”ormaster crepe-maker

Then, after monthslong solo trips to the United States, Cholet knew exactly where she wantedtolaunch her pop-up: in acitythat embodies the spirit of Europe in its culture,architecture and cuisine.

“MychoicelandedonNew Orleans,”she said, “BecauseI totally fell in love with the city, its festive ambiance, its people.”

Acrepe andgalette foldedand servedinasleeveatCrêpes Rendez-Vous Café.

WhyBucktown?

When deciding on apermanent location for Crêpes Rendez-Vous Café, she landed on Bucktown in part because its waterfront views remindedher of her hometown.

“Becausebeing from Brittany —onthe ocean where we have alight house —itjust felt like a sign,” Cholet said.

The exterior of the cafe does, in fact, resemble alighthouse with its towering structure that overlooks alocal seafood market across the street. Its architecture merges together coastal and southern designs, with louvered black shutters surroundingeach window andawhite picket fence next to acluster of palm trees. Aside from the flag of Brittanydangling from the balcony, the elements of France become apparent once you browse the cafe’svast menu.

ä See CREPE, page 2D

LIVING

UNCHARTED WATERS

Xavier University becomes firstHBCU to have acoedvarsity rowing

BY KAYLEE POCHE Gambit Weekly

Arshay Cooper remembers an interesting object sitting in his school lunchroom in Chicago’s West Side during the’90s: awhite boat.Hehad no idea what it was for

“I rememberthisWhite lady walkinguptomeand saying, ‘You want to joinacrewteam?’” Cooper said.

The wordcrew had adifferent meaning to him at the time.

“I was like, Idon’tknow what that is, but Iknow my uncle told me if someoneasked me to join a crew,run theother way as fast as I can,”hesaid. “I was like, ‘Oh,Lord, there’ssomanycrews andgangs. NowthisWhite lady is starting a gang in my school.

Thewoman then showed him footage of rowing, also called crew at the Olympic Games. Enticed by free pizza, he ended up joining the Manley High team,the firstallBlackhighschoolrowingteamin the country.Itchanged his life.

Cooper has sincewritten abook abouthis experiencetitled“AMost Beautiful Thing” andstarted a foundation under thesame name.

“Togofrom seeing dirt andconcretetowater andgrass changed everything forme,” he told agroup

BY COLETTE DEAN Contributing writer

team

of students from Xavier University of Louisiana,atanevent to debut therowing team’snew varsity status.

Rowing has been aclub sport at Xavier in New Orleanssince 2023, butitwill become an official university sport in the fall —making it thefirsthistoricallyBlackuniversity in the U.S. to have aco-ed varsityrowing team.

It’sanothermilestone in the attempts to diversify the sport,

whichislargely associated with upper-class White people and is less popular in the Gulf South.

Gathered at theBlack-owned BackatownCoffee Parlour in New Orleans one evening in February to celebrate becoming avarsity team, club co-captain Kamryn Days noted that thegroup achievedthisfeat despite not having aprevious background in rowing.

PROVIDED PHOTOS FROM XAVIER ROWING

Xavier students rowalong BayouSt. John.

Xavier’srowing team

STAFF PHOTO By POET WOLFE

By The Associated Press

TODAYINHISTORY

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

BIRDER

Continued from page1D

“I was having afull-blown panic attack at this point,” she said Fortunately,the men drove off.

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

As she continued with her big year,she was also determined to find away to make the outdoors asafe place for women. While on abird species hunt in California, an ad for Birdie personal safety alarms poppeduponher phone. The alarms hook onto keys or bags and when the tops arepulled off, they flash abright LED lightand chirp loudly.The company also givesa portion of its proceeds to organizations that support women’sempowerment.

Kersten reached out to Birdie’s female owners, who offered her a 50% discount on the alarms. She also set up aGoFundMe page, which has helped purchase more than 900 devices. Her “Birdie Big Year” mission had begun Kersten continued to give out alarms during her quest andnow gives out the devices at speaking engagements.

“It’sbeen areally powerful experience not only for me, but for alot of other women,” shesaid Kersten said she knows the alarms won’tsolve the problem completely but hopes her larger effort willhelp create change.

“I believe Ican help by being the vectorthrough whichtough conversations can be had and shared. It is aresponsibilityof us all —men and women alike— to change the narrative here, to create asafe, welcoming place for all in this community,” she said.

Shortly after her record-breaking year,Kersten and her story were featured on the cover of Texas Monthly magazine andshe started abusiness, Nature Ninja Birding Tours, offering customized private guiding in theRio Grande Valley.Some, butnot all, of her tours arespecific to women. Her business has grown, and in additiontothe Rio GrandeValley trips, she now offers birding trips to Panama, Taiwan, Costa

CREPE

Continued from page1D

Aninsidelookatthe menu

Thesweet crepescomewith achoice of filling, rangingfrom Nutella and salted buttercaramel to more natural flavors like honey and lemon. Some of the toppings include strawberries, bananas and homemade whipped cream.

The galettes, which are savory crepes made of buckwheat flour, can be filled with ingredients including ham, eggand briecheese.

The cafe offers chicken and sausage gumbo made by Lejuene, who becamepassionate about cooking at 19 when he wasa food runner for Commander’s Palace. It also serves breakfast croissants, banana and chocolate shakes, banana rum bread and coffees.

Howacrepe drive-thru works

On arecent morning, Cholet wearingastriped T-shirt —made adouble shot of espressopaired with abutter and sugar crepe and aturkey and brie cheese galette

Both were shaped into triangles and tucked into paper cones, like folded letters in envelopes, when servedwithin less than 5minutes.

banning theuse of chemical weaponsand mandating the destruction of existingchemical weapons, wentintoeffect.

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 Famer Luis Aparicio is 91. ConductorZubin Mehta is 89. 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.

“Wehavemadehistorywithno prior knowledgeinrowing,” she said. Andmost of all, they’ve been enjoyingthe ride.

“Weget to wakeupevery day and get in theboat with what Icall them, ourboat besties, and have fun making history,” Days said. Anotherbarrier broken Rowing haslongbeena predominantly White—and wealthy —sport, despite somebarriers having been brokenoverthe last two centuries. A2021 study of the National Collegiate Athletic Association found that only 2% of its women athletes who participated in rowing were Black.

Ahistory of racism has affected therelationship Black people have had withwater over the years.

gattas, akarowing races and tournaments, whetherthat’stransportation, hotel stays or other costs.

PROVIDED COVER ILLUSTRATION

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

Rica, Colombia and Ecuador

Baton Rouge will be her second stop in amultistatespeaking tour called “BirdieBig Year: ElevatingWomen Birders,” sponsored by the Baton Rouge Audubon Society.The free talkwill take place on Thursday at theEastBaton Rouge Parish South Branch Library,2210 Glasgow Ave. She’ll be giving away 10 Birdies as door prizes.

Kersten’s“Birdie BigYear” tour in Baton Rouge hadtoberescheduled from last spring. She took a breakafterbeingdiagnosedwith breast cancer following aroutine annualexam. Surgery and treatment weresuccessful, so she is backontrack thisspring.

“Now there’sanother group I belong to and wanttohelp support,” shesaid

“Last week,Texas Monthly reached out todoa follow-up article;sort of a‘where is she now?’ ”Kersten said.Nodoubt

Kersten’s adventures will continue to takeflight,continuing to encourage andempower women as she glides along

This article is supplied by the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater BatonRouge, which seeks to advanceawareness, understanding and stewardship of the natural environment. For more information, email info@ lmngbr.org.

The drive-thru concept made sense for Cholet because of how quick it is to make acrepe, contrary to popular belief. Unlike many creperies in France, American shopstend to put the batter on alow-heatedgriddle for longer than necessary

“The high heathelps it,” Lejeunenoted.“It cooksalmost instantly after.”

Drippingwith an alchemy of sugar and butter,the crepe was subtly sweet with alacy,pliable dough. Tiny holes covered the deep brown surface of the galette, which had crispy edges compared to thecrepe.

Cholet andLejeune plan on openingthe building’ssecond floor for monthlymeetings, where people can socialize and work over various breakfast items.

Thebusiness partners will eventually host aprivate dining event that will feature a10-course tastingmenu

They will serve crepes during this spring’smatchesplayed by NOLA Gold Rugby’s, acontact sport that was born in England and has slowlyevolvedinto an internationally beloved game, especially amongthe French.

Email Poet Wolfe at poet wolfe@theadvocate.com.

As mentioned in a2018 article for theAfrican American Intellectual History Society, “Slavery at Sea” author Sowande Mustakeem said thatAfricans originally had positiveassociations with water, but being transported across the Atlantic Ocean,the water began to represent “a repository of bodies, death, pain and suffering.”

Then segregation anddiscriminationmeant many Black people didn’thave access to public pools or even beaches.

For instance, throughout the Jim Crowera,the only beach along the Gulf Coast available to Black Americans was Gulfside, aresortand Methodist religious retreat runbyaBlack minister in Waveland, Mississippi. Even after desegregation, pools that served Black communities were —and often continue to be —underfunded and staffed,makingithard for familiestoaccessswimming lessons for their kids.

Meanwhile,spaces like Gulfside and New Orleans’Lincoln Beach along Lake Pontchartrain, which were historically for Black people, fell intodisrepair and were eventually abandonedafter the Supreme Court ostensibly barredsegregation, removing what little opportunities to learn to swim thatdid exist.

Thesport is alsoexpensive,requiring alot of equipment, includingboats,oars andindoor rowing machines. Because public schools are funded throughlocal tax dollars, many with mostly Black students don’thave those kinds of resources.

Nevertheless, in 1867, two years after theCivil Warended, Frenchy Johnson, aformer enslaved person, moved to Boston,where he and a fewfriendsformedthe first African American rowing club. Johnson became arowingphenom, taking on some of the toprowers of the time.

In the early’60s, Howard Universitybecame the first all-Black crew team in the United States, thankstothe efforts of alum and real estate broker Howland Ware The universitycouldn’tafford it, so he spent more than$10,000 of his own money andnineyears forming aprivate club there.The students had little to no experience withrowingand werecompeting with Ivy League students,manyof whom had started in high school.

Aquil Abdullahbecame the first African American man to win a rowing national championship in 1996 and the first African American man to qualifyfor theSummer Olympics in rowing in 2004.

Abdullah rowed in high school and was the only Black person on his rowing team in college. He was thefirst African American to competeinthe Olympics on Team USA in 1996, andonlyfourmore Black people have done so since.

In 2022, North Carolina’sSaint Augustine Universitybecame the first HBCU women’srowing team, joining Howard as the second HBCU to form arowing team, according to the school.

“Ifyou’re doing anything well, it’s hard,”Kevin Harris, who’scoached rowing at theUniversityofTulsa for more than two decades, told Xavierstudents at the event. “If you’re the first to do it,it’sharder.”

‘Myfrienddared me to’

CoachesChloe Jobin and Beth Manley and afew students formed Xavier’srowing club in the fall of 2023, with support from the New OrleansRowingClub and Xavier’s Athletics Department.

Their first task was getting people to sign up forasport they probably didn’tknow much about.

Word of mouth, including in parent groups, lead to morepeople hearing about the team.

Days’mother told her she should join as away to get back into organizedsportsand getsomestructure in herlife. At first, she was hesitant, but her mom insisted she try.

“She said, ‘Go do it,’”Days says. “And Iloved it.”

Similarly,Taylor Kentish’smom and her friend’smom told them about the team.But she didn’tdecide to do it until her friend dared her to.

“Wewere bothlike, ‘Oh no, we won’tdothat.’ My friend dared me to do it, and Iactually stuck withit, and Ireally ended up enjoying it,” Kentishsays. “I love trying new things. So it was like, whynot?”

Victoria Duffey wasanother Xavier student whosigned up in those early days. Her middle school in Jacksonville,Florida,had arowingteam, butshe didn’t join —too busy with other sports. She was also familiar with someofthe workout equipment from growing up doing CrossFit.

She still wasn’tsure if she could makerowing work in herschedule, but because the club was new, shefelt less intimidated knowing they’d all be learning together And that’sexactlywhat happened, starting with introductory sessions to teach students the basics, including howtorow on an erg machine, which simulates rowing without water.Regular practices followed.

“As my friends say, ‘You’re always doing side quests.’ I’m like, let me do alittlesidequest and start on the rowing team,” Duffey says. “I didn’trealize it wasgonna turn intosomething so big.”

Practice makes perfect

Now,inits second year as aclub sport,teammates estimate that 15 to 16 studentsshowuptothe water practices on Bayou St. John at the crack of dawn, with 13 attending consistently

The team is made up of mostly women, with around five men.But that is to be expected given that Xavier’sstudentbodyisabout three-fourthsfemale, which is not unusual for an HBCU Athletes have at least five practices aweek,three on thebayou and at leasttwo indoors. Those practices on the water are an early wakeup call, running from 5:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. And taking thebus to practicemeansgetting up even earlier.

It’s ahardsell formanycollege students whoprefertogoout at night, but teammates say —despite this author’sskepticism that there areupsides to the early start time.

For one, it’sanexercise in selfdiscipline.

“Just being able to tell myself theday before, like, OK,you have to go to bed on time so you can wake up and make sure you set your alarmsand everything, that has definitelytranslated into other partsofmylife,” Kentish says.

Andwhen the timecomes, Kentish feels at peace watching the sun rise on the still bayou.

“You take adeep breath, and it’s like, Ikind of like this,” she says.

Partofthat is the nature of rowing itself. Jobin and Days saythat unlike some other sports, which mayrequire high-intensity practices, improving in rowing is all about consistency

“Rowing is asport where you have to slow it down in orderto go fast, as thegreat Coach Kevin (Harris of the University of Tulsa) once said,” Days says. “You have to control your breathing. Youhave to control your movement. Everythingisacontrolled piece, and you have to do everything with purpose,whichmeans that you have to slow down and think about every single movement you make before you makeit.”

Varsitystatus

Butsomething that hasn’t happenedslowlyisthe team’s upgrade from club sport to an official varsitysport starting in the fall.

The switch will mean the team will rely on university funding rather than funding from the New Orleans Rowing Club. They’ll also get afull-timecoach whowill spend time recruiting fromhigh schools. Plus, there will be six scholarships available forathletes.

“That would also really broaden the pool of athletes. thatwantto attend an HBCU and also want to continue rowing in college,” Jobin says. “That’snot really something that they can do and perform at the varsity level until this programbecomes avarsity sport.”

Getting university funding also meansthere will be moreresources available for athletes to go to re-

“Itjustshows thatthe university, the institutionasitis, wants to invest in the program and thinks that theprogram is worthwhile and worth investing in,” Jobin says. There are two rowing seasons, one in the fall and the other in the spring. So far, the fall season has consisted of morescrimmages, aka practice or informal competitions, on Bayou St. John. The spring season is more time-based andfast-paced.There arealso indoor races, where participants areset up on abunchofrowing machines in abig gym and have to row acertain number of meters. They’re usedtoracing against the NewOrleans Rowing Club but will start racing the rowing teams at Tulane and LSU, including at the Intercollegiate Louisiana State Championships this season.

Rowing was able to go from a club sport to avarsity sport in a few short years at Xavier thanks to acollective effort fromthe coaches,athletes,higher-ups at Xavier andnationalrowing advocates, like Cooper and Harris.

Curtis Wright,Xavier’svice president of student affairs, spoke to Harrisand Cooper as well as others.

“Having themkind of discuss the meaning and the impact of the sport beingatanHBCU, and how important thatisfor the sport as awhole andhow important that would be forXavier,I think that really kind of was alittle bit like alight bulb moment,” Jobin says. All of them showed up to February’sRowing with aPurpose event alongwithAbdullahand fellow Black Olympian Alex Osborne. “And just like that, we are standinginhistory,because just like that, Iamhere looking at what I never had,” Abdullahtoldstudents at the Backatownevent. “I wasthe only,Kevin (Harris) was the only Manleycrewwas the only when they showed up at regattas.”

‘I candohardthings’

Members of theXavier rowing team saythe sport hastaught them lessons that go farbeyond rowing. For one, it’staught them teamwork and given them strong friendships with their teammates. They see each other most days and often carpool together They wenttoWaco, Texas, together for aweek during their winter break. Training together twice aday and sharing acabin, they got to know each other on amore personal level.

“I think thesaying ‘You become the average of the five people that youspend themost time around’ really plays abig part here,” Days says. “Westarted in the beginning as complete strangers to one another,tonow making sure each otherisreaching ourgoalsand that we are eating right and being there for each other and celebrating together.”

“There is nobody else in the world who Iwould ratherwake up at five o’clock in the morning andspend the first part of my day with,” she adds. At thesametime,rowing has also shown the students their own individual strength.

Duffey says joining asport by herself that she had no experience with wasn’tsomething that she would have done prior to attending Xavier

“That’staught me, Ican do hard things. Ican do things alone. Ican work as ateam,” she says. Days says the sport has increased her confidence and showed her the importance of celebrating successes, both big and small.

“What I’m mostappreciative of is realizing the impact that selfconfidence has on anything that you do,” she says. “You can’tdo anything with determination, with purposeand perseverance,ifyou don’thavethatvoice insideyour head telling you, ‘Do it again. You are supposed to be here. Youare correct. Youcan do this.’”

Email Kaylee Poche at kpoche@ gambitweekly.com

PROVIDED PHOTOFROMXAVIER ROWING

Xavier students rowonBayou St. John.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Take theinitiative and finish what you start. Clearing apath to freedom will offer satisfactionand insight into how to turn your dreams into areality.

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

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Take astepforward and back your words and promises with action. Your objective is to have an impact on and to influencethose who are sitting on the fence.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You will attract attentionifyou are vocal, participate anddoyourpart to spread the word. Nowisnot 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 before you share information. Take the high road,promote the truth andmake the changes necessary to reach your goal. Partnerships require openness and honesty.

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

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

tionalactivities will positively impact your life.

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

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listen, observe and protectyour 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 andmake 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 (March 21-April 19) Look for the best deal, prepare to barter and make your money stretch. The joyofless debt will improve your perspective. Tidy up your life and your look. Focus on reaching your goals.

The horoscope, an entertainmentfeature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2025 by nEa,inc dist.Byandrews mcmeel syndication

Celebrity Cipher cryptogramsare created from quotations by famous people, past and present.Each letterinthe cipher stands for another.

TODAy'SCLUE: CEQUALS H

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

SALLYForth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle basedona9x9 grid with several given numbers. The objectistoplace the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the samenumber only once.The difficulty levelofthe sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZardoFid

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

BY PHILLIPALDER

Surrealist painter Salvador Dali said,

“At the age of 6, Iwanted to be acook. At 7, IwantedtobeNapoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.”

If your partner’s ambition in the bidding carriesyou to heights that your cards do not justify,try to find alineof play that will justifyhis optimism

In today’s deal, for example, suppose North andSouth soartoseven spades. West leadsthe clubking. What should Southdo?

The first three bidsinthe auction are predictable (unless youhave some snazzy responsestoastrong, artificial and forcingtwo-club opening bid).

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

Ajumptofourheartswouldbepopular if it were read as asplinter bid, showing some values, four-plus spades and at most asingleton heart. WhenNorth jumped to thesmallslam, though, South read hispartner for strong trumps, so thought hisfouraces justified raising to thegrandslam.

Declarer has to assume the diamond finesseiswinning.But he still needsto be careful withhis entries.

Southshouldwinwithhisclubace,cash twoheartstodiscarddummy’sclubloser (and to reduce the undertricks should things take anasty turn), play off the spade ace, and lead aspade to dummy’s queen. He continues with adiamond to hisqueen, the diamond ace, aspade to dummy’s king, and adiamond ruff. Then he can claim becausedummy is high, stating that he will ruff aheartora club to get over there. ©2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrewsmcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzleisa word riddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previousanswers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or moreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” maynot be used. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD oRAcLE: OR-uh-kul: Apersonthrough whom adeity is believed to speak.

Average mark 16 words

Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 21 or morewords in ORACLE?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —ALMost

alms also alto atom last loam lost malt mast moat molt most oast salt slam slat slot

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Jesus is Lord!Heiscoming back and all will bendthe knee to him. G.E.Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition. For more informationontournaments andclubs,email naspa– northamerican sCraBBlE playersassociation: info@scrabbleplayers.org. Visitour website: www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzleinquiries contact scrgrams@gmail.com. Hasbro andits logo sCraBBlE associated logo,the design of thedistinctive sCraBBlE brand game card, and the distinctive letter tile designs are trademarks of Hasbro in the

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

Yesterday’sPuzzle Answer

and Canada. ©2021 Hasbro. allrightsreserved.DistributedbyTribune

WiShinG Well

HErE is aplEasanT liTTlE

thenumber of lettersis6ormore,

is

bers, left to right. Thenread

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

roSe

ANDRM.

AS FOLLOWS: QuintellPratherRM0060mattressMic haelGrecoRM0016speakersmixerWar renSantinacRM0075washerdryerJas mineRandallRM0087toteshelfTamar aWalkerRM2701boxesleatherfurnitur eAnthonyTrinityJrRM0006tvtrashbag stvBlancheLemonRM0084totesrefrid geratorDannyBlackRM0097bikeplast ictotesRoxanneSamRM0096tallchairl ampKabbrishaBryantRM0079chairto teRockellWilliams0003laundrybaske tplastictubAndreaBernardRM0100fa nboxesDanielBonneyRM0011totesbo xesJamesSmithRM0001tabledryerJa vonnaHolmesRM0036boxestotesAsc enseWoodsonRM0089girlsbikemattr ess 138392-April29, 1t $231.58

NOTICE IS

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6 Green,Harris, NAYS: 0

ABSENT:King -1 AND THE AMENDMENT WASADOPTED.

AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE CAL. NO.34,962 NO 4,962 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL AND GIARRUSSO -Anamendment MORRELLAND -An amendment to change the funding source from the CultureFund (5149) to General Fund(1000).

CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Morrell, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Moreno -1 AND THE AMENDMENT WASADOPTED. SA ED. AMENDMENT TO ORD. CAL. NO.34,963 AMENDMENTTOORD.CAL.

General Fund(1000).

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell,Thomas -7 NAYS: 0

WASADOPTED. ORDINANCESONFINAL PASSAGE

and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6 Green,Harris, NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King -1 ABSENT AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,949 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GREEN(BY REQUEST) -An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and Amtrak, with aterm greater than one year,for thepublic the public purpose of providing transportation to the residents of New Orleans in the event of adisaster,both natural and man-made, as morefully detailedin adisaster,b detailedi the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise theCooperative to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5 Green,Harris, NAYS: 0

ABSENT:King, Moreno -2 ABSENT:K AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,950 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO,MORENO -B GIARRUSSO, MORENO, MORRELL, HARRIS, KING, GREEN AND THOMAS -AnOrdinance to amend section 154-1701 andtoordain section 154-1705 of the Code oo Co of the City of New Orleans, relative to the automated trafficenforcement system and the division and reporting of the revenue generated therefrom; ro and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. ovide

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6 Green,Harris, Morrell,Thomas NAYS: 0

ABSENT:King -1 ABSENT:K AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED. WA ED.

CAL. NO. 34,951 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL AND GREEN -An Ordinance to effect azoning change from an S-RS Suburban Single-Family az Residential District to an S-LRS2 Lake Vista and Lake ShoreSingle-Family

Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Moreno -2 T: ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED. CAL. NO.34,954 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS

use to permit areception facility in an ENORC EasternNew Orleans Renaissance CorridorUse Restriction Overlay District, on Lots E-1-A and F-1, Section39, Gentilly Lands, in the ThirdMunicipal District, bounded by Chef Menteur Highway,Interstate 10, Old Gentilly Road, and Downman Road (Municipal Addresses: 6324-6400 Chef Menteur Highway); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (Zoning Docket NO.92/24)

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:King,Moreno -2

ABSENT: King, Moreno

ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,955 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GREEN (BYREQUEST) -An COUNCILMEMBERGREEN

Ordinance authorizing the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and Regional Transit Authority, with aterm greater than one year than forthe public purpose of providing transportation to the residents of New Orleans in the event of adisaster,bothnatural and man-made, as more fully detailedinthe Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King -1 T: ANDTHE ORDINANCEWAS ADOPTED. NANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,956 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO (BYREQUEST)

-AnOrdinance to authorize the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to authorizethe Mayor of the enter into Amendment No.1 to the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”)between the Mosquito, Termite, &Rodent ControlBoardand The Administrators of the Tulane EducationFund (“Tulane”) to extend the CEA’s term forfour (4) years, to increase the CEA’s compensation,and to A’sterm for four compensati ,and modify certain terms and conditions, as morefully set forth in the form as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Moreno -2

ANDTHE ORDINANCEWAS ADOPTED. NANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,959 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO (BYREQUEST)

-AnOrdinance to amend and reordainSections 62-60 and 62-95 of the Code of the City of New Orleans relative to the fee schedules for the New thefee forthe Orleans Emergency Medical Services; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Moreno -2

ANDTHE ORDINANCEWAS ADOPTED. NANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,960 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO (BYREQUEST)

-AnOrdinance to authorize the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”)with Tulane University Police to provide mutual law enforcement aidwithin the boundaries of Tulane University fora three (3) year term,asmorefully set forth in the form as Exhibit “A” and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King - 1 ABSENT:King -1 ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,961 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL -AnOrdinance to authorize the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into Amendment No.1tothe Amended and Reinstated Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and New Orleans Community SupportFoundation(“NOCSF”),relative to funding the administrative fees related to the New Orleans Recreationand CultureFund, as morefully set forth in Amendment No.1tothe Amended and Reinstated CEAasExhibit “1” and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Morrell -5

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Moreno, Thomas -2 ABSENT: Moreno, ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,962 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL ANDGIARRUSSO

-AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.29,735 M.C.S., as amended,

entitled “An Ordinance providing an Operating Budget of Revenues for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2024” to

funds to the City Council to provide for use of fund balance to cover the administrative fees for the program established in Ordinance No.30,035 M.C.S.; and forthe otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:0 ABSENT: 0 ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,963 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL ANDGIARRUSSO

-AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.29,736 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance providing an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:0 ABSENT: 0 ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,964 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS (BYREQUEST) -An Ordinance to authorize the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into Mayor of the aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and the Water Institute of the Gulf (“TWIG”), the National Wildlife Federation (“NWF”), the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable and Engagement and Development (“CSED”), and Nunez Community College (“Nunez”), fora term of four years, forthe public purpose of supporting the restoration of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle as part of the City of New Orleans’ National Coastal Resilience Fund awardand Coast Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants forUnderserved Communities award, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement Endeavor form as “Exhibit 1”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:0 ABSENT: 0 ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO.34,965 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS (BYREQUEST) -AnOrdinance authorizing the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into an amendment to aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) between the City of New Orleans (the “City”), the StateofLouisiana, Division of Administration, Office of Community Development (“State”), to increase the compensation by $21,560,744.85 for the public purpose to allow additional resiliency

BE IT FURTHERMOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motiontothe Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Department of Safetyand Permits, and the applicant. The Department of Safetyand Permits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission and the Council if the applicant fails to securepermits within the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permitisrevoked. JANUARY9,2025 THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL; THEROLL WAS THEFOREGOING CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King -1 RECUSED: 0 ANDTHE MOTION WASADOPTED. MOTIONS/RESOLUTIONS

NO.R-25-1 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS THOMAS, MORENO, MORRELL, GREEN RRELL, KING ANDHARRIS

ARESOLUTION in support of requests from the Lower Ninth Ward Communitytoconduct environmental and social impact assessments Community to conduct concerning the proposed expansion of the Sunrise Foods grainterminal and associated rail line WHEREAS, the Lower Ninth Ward,one of the areas most severely affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, despite making considerable progress in rebuilding and recovery,continues to experience afragile state of development; and WHEREAS, residents of the Lower Ninth Ward have expressed concerns that the proposed project may jeopardize the community’s recovery efforts by introducing airpollution, increased traffic, and noise pollution, which collectivelycould lead to adverse health effects and adiminished quality of life forresidents; and WHEREAS, the primary concerns articulated by Lower Ninth Ward residents include, but arenot limited to: Rail Safety Hazards –freight trains operating in close proximity,approximately 10-15 feet from residential homes, may disrupt daily activities, obstruct emergency services, and pose risks to children and pedestrians; Environmental and Health Risks –emissions from graindust and diesel exhaust threaten respiratory health, and the loss of green spaces is anticipated; CommunityDisplacement and Economic Harm –the proposed project is projected to decrease property values, displace families,and disrupt community cohesion; Broader Implications –approval of this project may establish aprecedent forindustrial developments within residential neighborhoods, prioritizing corporate interestsover community welfare; and WHEREAS, there has been alack of substantial analysisregarding the therehas environmental impacts, health effects, and potential effects on property values presented to the Lower Ninth Ward community; and WHEREAS, StateSenator Joseph Bouie, by letter to constituents, has expressed full support forthe residents of the Lower Ninth Ward’s positions regarding the environmental and safetyissues they’ve raised; and WHEREAS, it is essential thatthe community’svoices areheard, and their concerns and recommendations areactively sought and integrated into the decision-making process; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That the New Orleans City Council expresses its unwavering support for the Lower Ninth Ward Community’srequests and strongly urges the State Legislaturetoconduct comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments regarding the proposed expansion of the Sunrise Foods grain terminal and rail line BE IT FURTHERRESOVLED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITYOFNEWTHECOUNCILOFTHE CITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That the Clerk of Council shall transmitcertified copies of this resolution to the entireNew Orleans legislative delegation to include: Representative Candace N. Newell, Representative Jason Hughes, Representative Delisha Boyd, Representative JacobBraud, Representative Aimee Adatto Freeman, Representative Stephanie Hilferty,Representative AlonzoKnox, RepresentativeMandie Landry Representative Shaun Raphael Mena, RepresentativeMatthew Willard, Senator Joseph Bouie, Senator Jimmy Harris, Senator Royce Duplessis, and Senator Gary Carter THEFOREGOING RESOLUTION WASREAD IN FULL, THEROLL WASCALLED ON THEADOPTION THEREOF,THE RESULT WASAS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Giarrusso -1 ABSENT: Giarrusso ANDTHE RESOLUTION WASADOPTED.

NO.M-25-2 BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

WHEREAS, Section21.8.C.18.m of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Section21.8.C.18.mofthe (“CZO”)permits the issuance of only one non-commercial short-term rental permit within each city block, inclusive of alllotsfronting any exterior boundary of said block and all interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZOSection 21.8.C.18.r authorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-block cap imposed by Section 21.8.C.18.m and to allow for the issuance of up to two additional noncommercial short-term rentals in any given block; and WHEREAS, Dustin Hartman has applied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the property located in Square430 and bearing municipal address 3102 Saint Ann Street; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCILOFTHE CITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That the Council, having reviewed the report and recommendation provided by the City Planning Commission staffpursuant to CZOSection 21.8.C.18.r does hereby GRANT Dustin Hartman aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.m block limit on non-commercial short-termrentalsfor the parcel of property located in Square430 and bearing municipal address 3102 Saint Ann Street (the “Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, and subject to,Section 21.8.C.18.r of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. BE IT FURTHERMOVED, That if the applicant fails to obtainnon- FURTHE commercial short-term rental owner and operator permits for the Property within 30 days of the adoption of this Motion, or in the event the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked or the applicant transfers the property,the special exception granted herein shall be void. BE IT FURTHERMOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies OVED, Co dcopi of this motiontothe Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, re the Department of Safety and Permits, and the applicant. The Department of Safetyand Permits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission and the Council if the applicant fails to securepermitswithin the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked. THEFOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THEROLL WAS THE FOREGOING CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, Morrell, Thomas -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: King, Moreno -2 T: RECUSED: 0 ANDTHE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO.M-25-3 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORENO, MORRELL, GIARRUSSO, HARRIS, KING, GREEN ANDTHOMAS

WHEREAS, Rule 8ofthe Rules and Regulations of the Council provides Rule8 of the that at its organizational meeting the Council shall elect aPresident and aVice President and that those positions shall rotate annually thereafter between two Councilmembers-At-Large; and WHEREAS, on January 4, 2024, the Council adopted MotionNo. M-24-1 electing Helena Moreno as Council President and JP Morrell as Council Vice President; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That Councilmember-At-Large (Division 2) JP Morrell be and hereby is elected ell to serve as President of the Council for the term beginning January 9, 2025 and ending upon the inaugurationofthe next Council on January inauguration of the 12, 2026; and BE IT FURTHERMOVED BY THECOUNCILOFTHE CITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That Councilmember-At-Large (Division1)Helena Moreno be and hereby is elected to serve as Vice President of the Council for the term beginning January 9, 2025 and ending upon the inauguration of the next Council on January 12, 2026. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THEROLL WAS FOREGOINGMOTION CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 T: ANDTHE MOTION

RECUSED:

to the LADOTD for the period October 1, 2023 through November15, 2024.

1. Thatthe Parish hasperformedall interim inspection on allParishowned or maintained bridges in accordance with the NationalBridge Inspection Standards.

2. Thatall bridges owned or maintained by Parish have been

all bridges where it hasbeen determined by the LADOTD thatthe maximum legalloadunderLouisiana State Lawexceeds the loadpermittedunder the AASHTO operatingratings.

4. Thatthe Parish hasupdated loadposting information to reflect all structural changes, anyobsolete ratings, or anymissing structural ratings. 5. Thatall Parish-ownedormaintainedbridges whichrequireload posting or closing areloadpostedorclosedinaccordance with the table rd in the LADOTD Engineer Directivesand StandardsManualdirective No. 1.1.1.8.;and further, thatall LADOTD-suppliedloadposting information LADOTD-suppliedl osting concerning abridge thathas been critically reviewed by the Parish Engineer prior to loadposting.

6. When the currentlist of off-systembridge information is presented presented to the Parish by the LADOTD andhas been reviewed andcorrected as andcorrected necessary,itwill be transmittedtothe LADOTD within thirty (30) days for bridge closures, loadpostings andquarterly reports, andonorbeforethe requireddateset by LADOTD for LADOTD Bi-Annualcomputerreports. THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION WASREADINFULL, THE ROLLWAS CALLEDONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas- 6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Giarrusso -1 AND THE RESOLUTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-6 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO

WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.mofthe Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuanceofonly one non-commercialshort-term rentalpermit within each city block, inclusive of alllots fronting any exterior

herein or if the applicant’sowneroroperator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREADINFULL, THE ROLLWAS CALLEDONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas-6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:King -1 RECUSED: 0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-7 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.mofthe Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuanceofonly one non-commercialshort-term rentalpermit within each city block, inclusive of alllots fronting

REVISED OFFICIAL

PROCEEDIN GS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

REGULAR SESSION

CITY HALL: April 4, 2024

The Council of the City of New Orleans met this day in Regular Session, at 10:13 A.M., in the Council Chamber,City Hall, Council President Helena

Moreno presiding. On calling the roll, the following members answered to their names:

PRESENT: GIARRUSSO

GREEN

HARRIS

KING MORENO (PRESIDENT) MORRELL (VICE PRESIDENT)

THOMAS SEVEN MEMBERS PRESENT,CONSTITUTING AQUORUM.

ROLL CALL

LORA W. JOHNSON

CLERK OF COUNCIL

INVOCATION

PASTOR BRANDON BOUTIN

UNTIED FELLOWSHIP FULL GOSPELBAPTIST CHURCH

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

FREDDIE KING III.

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT “C”

AMENDMENT

AMENDMENT TO CAL. NO. 34,596

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBERGREEN

1. On page 3, in Section 3, delete lines 13-15 and replace them with the following: “(2) The street relocation plan must be approved by theLouisiana Department of Transportation and Development.”

ADOPTED.

HDLC APPEAL OF ZACH SMITH, ZACH SMITH CONSULTING &DESIGN -Requesting to appeal the Historic District Landmarks Commission’s(HDLC) decision of “approval” of the raising of the building less 12 (twelve) inches of the proposed drawings and “denial” of the removal of thehistoric wood casement windows for the property located at 27 Newcomb Boulevard. WITHDRAWN. (At the applicant’srequest).

ORDINANCES ON FINAL PASSAGE CAL. NO. 34,596 -BY:

COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

-AnOrdinance authorizing the acquisition of aportionofSquareRP6X,Lot 6A/6B, in the First Municipal District, bounded by Annunciation Street, Thalia Street, the PontchartrainExpressway,Tchoupitoulas Street, and Melpomene Street (Municipal Address: 28726 MelpomeneStreet, ¬hereinafter referenced as “the Portion of SquareRP-6X”) by the City of New Orleans from the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority; authorizing the dedication of the Portion of SquareRP-6Xasa public right-of-way for the relocation of aportionofthe MelpomeneStreet right-of-way,located in the First Municipal District, between Squares RP-6X and RP-5X, bounded by Annunciation and Tchoupitoulas Streets, hereinafter referenced as “the MelpomeneStreet Portion”; revoking the street dedication of the Melpomene Street Portion; authorizing the transfer of the Melpomene Street Portion from the City of NewOrleans (“City”) to the ErnestN.Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority in exchange for the Portion of SquareRP-6X; and otherwisetoprovide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno -5

NAYS: Thomas -1

ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE ORDINANCE, AS AMENED, WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,597 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERGIARRUSSO(BY REQUEST)

-AnOrdinance to ratify the execution and delivery by the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor Management Corporation (“MYHMC”) of anew boathouse lease form to be used between the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor Management Corporation and lessee(s) of Boathouse Slip 31 and Boathouse Slip 127 (the “Subject Boathouse Properties”), as Exhibit “A” (the “BH 127/31 Lease Form”); and otherwise to providewith respect thereto.

ROLL CALL

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Morrell, Thomas -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Moreno -1 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,604 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GREEN (BY REQUEST) -An

Ordinance to approve and authorize the Mayor of theCity of NewOrleans (“City”), acting by and through the New Orleans AviationBoard (“NOAB”), to enter into aLease Agreement at LouisArmstrong NewOrleans International Airport with GATAIRLINE GROUND SUPPORTINC.; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0

AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,612 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERGIARRUSSO(BY REQUEST)

-AnOrdinance to amend and re-ordainOrdinance No.29,737 M.C.S., entitled “An Ordinance Providing aCapital Budget forthe Year 2024”, to effect the following change to the 2024 Capital Budget:tode-appropriate funds from the Chief Administrative Office, the DepartmentofProperty Management, the DepartmentofPublic Works, the New Orleans Health Department, theNewOrleans Fire Department,the New Orleans Mosquito Termite and Rodent Control Board, the New Orleans Public Library,the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission,and Stormwaterand Green Infrastructure; to appropriate funds to the Chief Administrative Office, the Department of Parks and Parkways, the Department of Property Management, the DepartmentofPublic Works, the Department of Sanitation, the New Orleans Fire Department, the New Orleans Mosquito Termite and Rodent Control Board, theNew Orleans Recreation Development Commission, and Stormwater and Green Infrastructure;and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris,Giarrusso, King, Morrell, Thomas -6

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Moreno -1 AND THE ORDINANCE, AS AMENDED, WASADOPTED. CAL. NO. 34,615 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO- An Ordinance to amend and reordain Articles 4and 18 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended by Ordinance No. 26,413 M.C.S. and subsequent amendments) to establish anew overlay district named the University Area Design Overlay,the intent of which is to provide Design Advisory Committee review for new residentiallyzoned structures, or major renovations or expansionsofresidentiallyzoned structures locatedinthe University Area, for allproperties located in the area generally bounded by: South Claiborne Avenue in thenorth, Nashville Avenue in the east, Saint Charles Avenue in thesouth, and South Carrollton Avenue in the south; and otherwisetoprovide with respect thereto. (ZONINGDOCKET NO. 89/23)

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Giarrusso, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Green, Harris -2 AND THE ORDINANCE, AS AMENDED, WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,616 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, MORRELL, HARRIS, THOMAS, GREEN AND KING -AnOrdinance to codify thecity’s NET 30 obligations to its vendors and contractors for the payment of all undisputed amounts within 30 days of receipt of avalid invoice; to amend and reordain section 2-551 of the City Codetorequire city departments to appear beforecouncil to discuss the reports detailingall outstanding vendor invoices required therein; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 34,628 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -

An Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of NewOrleans toenter into aFirst Amendment to Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (“City”), and TotalCommunity Action, Inc.,with total compensation exceeding $1,000,000.00, for the public purpose of supporting the City’sefforts to address the needs of homeless individuals and families and to maintain ongoing operationsofthe Low Barrier Shelter in the City of New Orleans,asmorefully detailedinthe First Amendment to Cooperative Endeavor Agreement as Exhibit“A”; and otherwisetoprovide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, Moreno, Morrell -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0

RESCUSED: King, Thomas -2 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED. CAL. NO. 34,629 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS KING, GREEN

the French Market

Corporation (“FMC”) for the design and construction of improvements to the Upper PontalbaBuilding, including the repair and replacement of the HVAC system, related electrical andmechanical systems, courtyards, windows, facades and other exterior and interior repairs, as set forth as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -7

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

MOTION (LYING OVER) NO. M-24-111 CITY HALL: March 21, 2024

BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN

WHEREAS, street lighting is acritical componenttoproviding public safety, bolstering safe andefficient transportation, enhancing community identity,and adding aesthetic value to aCity’shistoric fabric; and WHEREAS, consistent street lighting as part of roadway maintenance provides economic andsocial benefits to thepublic as well, including: reduction in accidents, safety for pedestriansand bicyclists, prevention of crime and aiding law enforcement protection, facilitation of traffic flow promotion of business and industry,enhancing visibility,creating security in our neighborhoods, and the encouragement of community spirit and growth; and WHEREAS, thereisalong-standing correlation between lighting and incidents of crime -street lighting is aproven component to reducing theft, property defacement, property damage, and reducing riskstoavoid fosteringcriminal activity; and WHEREAS, it is critical that the City of New Orleansensurethat neighborhoods, streets, highways, and interstates within OrleansParish boundaries areappropriately and consistently lit and leverage best practices and innovative models to ensureconsistent lighting, cost savings measures areleveraged, and appropriate and reliable maintenance is scheduled; and WHEREAS, another major issue involves copper wiretheftfromutility poles on surface streets and interstate corridors leading to devastating effects on public safety,leading to blocks withoutoverhead lighting until repairsare made; and WHEREAS, per the Department of Public Work’s (DPW) Interstate Lighting Asset Vandalism andTheftStatus 2024 report, the followingupdates were provided therein:

•I-10, btw Elysian Fields and St BernardEB/WB On/Off-Ramp:60% of the lights arefunctional due to damagedfeed points and stolen wire. Lane closurerequired.

•I-10, btw St BernardEB/WB On/Off-Ramp andOrleansAve EB/WB On and Off-Ramps: 20-30 outages (45% Functional): Issues included fuses blowing, breaker tripping, and stolen wireaswell as required maintenance. Land closurerequired.

•I-10 btw Orleans EB/WB On/Off-Ramp andSuperdome Exit 235B: 25-35 outages (45% Functional); power is restored but laneclosure is needed to perform maintenance on the lights. Issues included fuses blowing, breaker tripping, and stolen wire.

•I-610 EB &I-10 WB on ramps& Cloverleaf: Area is 25% functional and still under investigation; issues include missing poles due to theft, deteriorated conduit, and deteriorated wiring. To continue the investigation forsafety purposes, DPWwill have to schedulealane closure.

•I-610 (St Roch &I-10 Interchange on ramps& offRamps to Louisa: Train Trestle to 17th Street Canal: (40) Missing poles and fixtures have been ordered.

•MichoudExchange/ to I-510: All lights areoff.All poles on the overpass and on and offramps have been cut and sold. Thereisalso stolen wireinthisarea.

•Dwyer Overpass to Chef Overpass: This area is 35% functional. DPW is investigating the feed point and has reinstalled afew missing poleswith additional installations planned.

•Highrise: Thereare 48-52 outages. Issues include stolen wireand damaged feed points.

•I-610 to Louisa (base of high-rise west side): Thereare 25-35 outages. Issues include fuses blowing, breakers tripping, missing poles, stolen wire, andbad foundations. DPW has ran new wirewherenecessary installed e-boxes in locations whereknockdowns occurred to continue the circuit, and blew trash out of existing conduit. Thereare approximately 1-3 knockdowns between the I-610 flyover to the base of the High Rise.

WHEREAS, the New OrleansCity Councilbelieves it is incumbent on the Department of Public Workstocreate amaster plan for city lighting that includes exploring innovative solutions being adopted throughout municipalities worldwidetobetter promote public safety by reducing copper wiretheft; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Councildirects the Department of Public Workstotake all steps necessary to create amaster plan for city lightingthat includes full lighting inventory and finds effective solutions for reducing outages including the reduction thetheft of copper wiring from the city’sstreet lighting system.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW

ORLEANS, That thegoal of such analysis referenced above is to discover new solutions and best practices, potentially being utilized by other cities, that arecost-effective and will prevent outages and damage to New Orleans’ streetlights.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, for thepurposes of reducing copper thefts, the analysis of new and innovative technologies shall include amenu of options to help combat the theft of copper wirefromCity infrastructure cost analysis, and projected timelines for implementation for each solution identified.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That as partofthisprocess, the Department of Public worksshallrequest evaluation of each solution explorethe following information: •Exploring options to curtail copper wiretheftfromstreetlight networks such as solar-powered lighting, putting alarms on pull boxes, and camera installation.

oThe solution’seffectiveness at preventing/deterring copper wiretheft

oThe solution’sease of installation

oThe solution’sscalability across the City’sstreet lightnetwork

oThe solution’scost-effectiveness

oAny value-added capabilities of the solution

APRIL 4, 2024

THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-113

CITY HALL: March 21, 2024

BY:COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS (BY REQUEST)

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO

WHEREAS, Section 70-10 of the Code of the City of New Orleansrequires that certain contracts providing for theaggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds duringthe initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year or providing for legal services must be signed by the Presidentofthe City Council; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10 further provides that the President of the City Councilshallnot execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Councilmotion; and WHEREAS, The City of New Orleans, Chief Administrative Office and Global Solutions Group, Inc., RFP.1584, desire to enter into acontract for cybersecurity systems andservices, ,increasing the contract total by $954,000.00, making the new maximum aggregate amount not exceed $2,406,000.00; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the Presidentofthe Councilshallbeadded as asignatory to the Amendment No. 2tothe contract between the City of New Orleansand Global Solutions Group, Inc.; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That thePresidentofthe Councilishereby authorized to sign the Amendment No. 2tothe contract between the City of New Orleansand Global Solutions Group, Inc., as attached hereto as *Exhibit A; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That theClerk of Councilshallforwardcopies of this motion, including Exhibit A, to theCity Attorney’sOffice to effectuate this request. APRIL 4, 2024 THE FOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.

(**Attachments canbeseen in full in theClerk of Council’sOffice, 1300 PerdidoStreet, Rm. 1E09) NO. M-24-115

CITY HALL: March21, 2024 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO

Motion approving the favorable recommendation of approval by the City Planning Commission for ZoningDocket No. 21/24 is hereby granted. WITHDRAWN. MOTIONS/RESOLUTIONS NO. R-24-119 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORENO,MORRELL, GIARRUSSO,HARRIS, GREEN AND THOMAS

RESOLUTIONAND ORDER APPROVING PHASE II OF

ORLEANS, LLC ‘S BATTERYSTORAGE DEMAND RESPONSE PILOT PROGRAM DOCKET UD-22-03 WHEREAS, pursuant to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana and the

Home Rule Charter of theCity of New Orleans (“Charter”), theCouncil of theCity of New Orleans (“Council”) is thegovernmental body with the power of supervision, regulation, and controlover public utilitiesproviding service within theCity of New Orleans (“City”); and WHEREAS, Entergy New Orleans, LLC (“ENO”) is apublic utility providing electric and natural gas service to New Orleans; and WHEREAS, ENO is awholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company,LLC; and WHEREAS, theCouncil has recognized theimportance of improving demand response consistently,and in thewake of Hurricane Ida stakeholders calledfor moreaccess to battery storage; and WHEREAS, on March9,2022, ENO filedanapplicationrequesting to implement theBattery Storage Demand Response Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”), whichwouldinclude “30 residentialcustomerswith existing solar-connected smartbattery systems” and connect them to thebattery system; and WHEREAS, on November 3, 2022, theCouncil approved ResolutionR-22483, granting ENO’s request to implement thePilotProgram; and WHEREAS, on December 1, 2023, ENO filedits report on Phase Iofthe Pilot Program and requested approval of Phase II; and WHEREAS, as part of Phase II, thePilotProgram would be expanded to up to 140 customers(125 residentialcustomersand 15 smallcommercial customers) and ENO would partner with EnergyHub as theprogram implementer; and WHEREAS, ENO proposed implementing Phase II during Program Year 14 of Energy Smart; and WHEREAS, ENO anticipatesthe cost of Phase II at $236,466, requests recoverythrough theEnergy Efficiency Cost Recovery (“EECR”) Rider,and estimates that thebill impact of Phase II forresidentialcustomerswould be approximately$0.08; and WHEREAS, upon review of ENO’s ReportRegarding Phase One of the Battery Storage Demand Response Pilot Program and Applicationfor Approval of Phase Two, theCouncil finds that Phase II of thePilotProgram meetsthe criteria set forth in ResolutionNo. R-16-106, and deems it in the public interest to launch theprogram; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That 1. Phase Iofthe Pilot Program met theCouncil’sobjectives.

2. ENO’s request to implement Phase II of thePilotProgram during Energy SmartProgram Year 14 is GRANTED.

3. ENO’s request forEnergyHub to serve as thePhase II program implementer is GRANTED.

4. ENO’s request to recover thecost of Phase II of thePilotProgram through Rider EECR is GRANTED. THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE RESOLUTION WASADOPTED. NO.R-24-120 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORENO,MORRELL, HARRIS, GREEN AND THOMAS RESOLUTION AND ORDER APPROVING ENTERGY NEW ORLEANS, LLC’S RENEWABLE AND CLEAN PORTFOLIO STANDARD COMPLIANCE FILING FORTHE YEAR 2022

DOCKET NO.UD-19-01

WHEREAS, pursuant to theHome Rule Charterofthe CityofNew Orleans (“Charter”), theCouncil of theCityofNew Orleans (“Council”) is the governmental body with thepower of supervision, regulation, and control over public utilitiesproviding service within theCity of New Orleans; and WHEREAS, pursuant to its powers of supervision, regulation, and control over public utilities, theCouncil is responsible for fixing and changing ratesand charges of public utilitiesand making allnecessaryrules and regulations to governapplications forthe fixing and changing of ratesand charges of public utilities; and WHEREAS, Entergy New Orleans, LLC (“ENO”) is apublic utility providing electric and natural gas service to allofNew Orleans; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section4(f) of therules governing theRenewable and Clean Portfolio Standard(“RCPS”),the Council requires ENO to submit aCompliance DemonstrationReportregarding its achievement of the RCPS goal forthe prior calendar year and its plan for· achieving thegoal in thecurrent calendar year as part of thethree-year RCPS Compliance Plan no later than May1ofeach year;and WHEREAS, ENO filedits 2022 Compliance Demonstration ReportonMay 1, 2023; and WHEREAS, in its Compliance Demonstration Report, in additionto describing its generationresources, ENO requested approval of abill insert explaining theRCPS, its compliance, and theestimated bill impact forresidentialcustomers; and WHEREAS, on June 8, 2023, theCouncil adopted ResolutionR-23-255 establishing acomment period forpartiestorespond to theCompliance Demonstration Report; and WHEREAS, theAlliance forAffordable Energy filedCommentsonJuly 3, 2023; and WHEREAS, ENO filedReplyCommentsonAugust 4, 2023; and WHEREAS, aftera review of theCompliance DemonstrationReportand thecomments filedbythe Alliance forAffordable Energy,the Council finds that ENO compliedwith therequirementsofthe RCPS forthe year 2022; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That 1. ENO is IN COMPLIANCE with the2022 RCPS requirementsof64% Retail Compliance Load, with not morethan 25% compliance through renewable energycreditspurchased without associated energy

2. ENO DID NOTEXCEED theCustomer ProtectionCost Cap. 3. ENO’s proposed bill insertasdescribedonpage 11 of theCompliance Demonstration ReportisAPPROVED.

4. ENO’s proposal to recover thecostsofRECs retired for2022 compliance ($1.54 million) in theFAC over/underrecoverybalance is APPROVED. THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE RESOLUTION WASADOPTED.

NO.M-24-123

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN

BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That theappeal of David O’Reilly,ofthe Historic District Landmarks Commission’sdecision of denial of theapplicationfor retentionofthe fence and gateatthe front of thebuilding forthe property located at 518 SouthRampartStreet,ishereby approved and thecommission’sdecision is reversed.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That theClerk of Council shall forward copies of this motiontoall affected commissions and departments. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Morrell, Thomas -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Moreno -1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.

NO.M-24-124

BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING (BY REQUEST)

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO

WHEREAS, Section70-10 of theCode of theCity of New Orleans requires that certain contractsproviding forthe aggregateexpenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds during theinitialtermand allallowable renewal termsorhaving an initialtermofmorethan one year or providing forlegal services must be signed by thePresident of theCity Council; and WHEREAS, Section70-10 furtherprovides that thePresident of theCity Council shall not executeany such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, on December 15, 2022, theCity of New Orleans (“City”) and Presidio NetworkedSolutions, LLC entered into aProfessional Services Agreement forCisco Branded Productsand Services and relatedservices; and WHEREAS, theCity and Presidio NetworkedSolutions, LLC, each having theauthoritytodoso, desiretoenter Amendment No. 1toextend theterm of theProfessional Services Agreement forone (1) year from theeffective date through December 15, 2024; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That thePresident of theCouncil shall be added as asignatorytoAmendment No. 1tothe Professional Services Agreement between theCity of New Orleans and Presidio NetworkedSolutions, LLC; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That thePresident of theCouncil is hereby authorized to sign Amendment No. 1tothe Professional Services Agreement between theCity of New Orleans and Presidio Networked Solutions, LLC, as attached heretoasExhibit “A”; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That theClerk of Council shall forward copies of this motion, including *Exhibit “A”, to theCity Attorney’sOffice to effectuatethis request THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Morrell -1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. (**Attachmentscan be seen in full in theClerk of Council’sOffice, 1300 Perdido Street,Rm. 1E09).

NO.R-24-125 BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO SECONDED BY: COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL WHEREAS, in June 2023, Governor John Bel Edwards signed Act 230, a first-of-its-kind lawfor New Orleans that allows thecity to set aside