The Advocate 05-02-2025 by The Advocate

LOUISIANA

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BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Bills to ban fluoride in the state’s publicwater systems and make ivermectin available over thecounter havesofar advanced swiftly throughthe Louisiana Legislature, easily passing the Republican-controlled Senate.

The proposed changesare linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who this year was appointed to runthe nation’s healthdepartment under President Donald Trump.

Andthey come as some Republican state lawmakers and ofﬁcials across the country hitch theirwagons to Kennedy’sMake

America Healthy Again movement.

ABOVE: Students hold onto their pool floats Thursday as they swim duringthe annual end of year East Ascension High School pond jump. The tradition takes place after seniors finish their final tests.

LEFT: Students begin to make their way to landafter the dip.

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Parish leaders back taxto fundDA

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

At the top of manyballots in East Baton Rouge Parish on Saturdayisa newproperty tax carryingmajor implications forthe parish’sfinancial future. With election day approaching, District Attorney HillarMoore is receiving asurge ofvocalsupportfromparishofficialsforthe tax proposal, which would significantly boost his budget and expand city-parish funding if approved. Thenew taxwould provide about$24 million annually to fund East Baton Rouge’s districtattorney, bringingtheofficeuptopar with their counterparts in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, the secondandthird-most populous in thestate behind East Baton Rouge. Several officials havevocally endorsed themeasure over the past weeks, including East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, ahandful of police chiefs in the parish and District 12 Metro Council memberJen Racca.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump

Louisiana Surgeon General Dr Ralph Abraham, the state’stop public health ofﬁcial and avocal backerofKennedy’shealth agenda, lobbied for both bills during public testimony before the Senate Health and WelfareCommittee.

He said both are “patient freedom” issues.

“Putting achemicalinthe waterwithout the patient’s consent

is problematicfor me as aphysician,” Abraham said of proposed water ﬂuoridation ban. Both bills advanced outofthe Senatecommittee on apartyline vote, with itssix Republican members voting yes and three Democratic members voting no.

The full Senate passed the bills nearly along partisan lines,withjustafew members breaking ranks.The measures now head to theHouse, which is alsocontrolled by aRepublican supermajority.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Astronauts perform 5th all-female spacewalk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An astronaut who missed out on the first all-female spacewalk because of a spacesuit sizing issue got her chance six years later Thursday NASA’s Anne McClain emerged from the International Space Station alongside Nichole Ayers. Both military officers and pilots, they launched to the orbiting lab in March to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts, who are now back home. Outside for nearly six hours, the spacewalkers prepared the station for another new set of solar panels and moved an antenna on the 260-mile-high complex. They were welcomed back inside by the space station’s commander, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi. “We are so happy to have you back, and your dinner is ready so don’t worry about it,” Onishi said The space station had to be raised into a slightly higher orbit to avoid space junk: part of a 20-year-old Chinese rocket. McClain, an Army colonel and helicopter pilot, should have taken part in the first allfemale spacewalk in 2019, but there weren’t enough mediumsize suits. The first women-only spacewalk was by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir This was the first spacewalk for Ayers, an Air Force major and former fighter pilot, and the third for McClain.

‘60 Minutes’ Harris story nominated for an Emmy It got “60 Minutes” sued by the man who became president of the United States. Now it’s up for a major award — for precisely the same aspect of it that so enraged Donald Trump.

Last fall’s “60 Minutes” story on Kamala Harris — the subject of Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS was nominated for an Emmy Award Thursday for “outstanding edited interview.” Trump, in his lawsuit, complained that the interview was deceptively edited to make his Democratic election opponent look good.

The annual News & Documentary Emmys will be awarded in late June.

The fallout over the Harris interview still hangs over CBS News. The news division claims to have done nothing wrong, but its parent company, Paramount Global, is reportedly negotiating a settlement with Trump.

Many CBS News journalists oppose a settlement. Former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who has fought against such a deal, resigned last month. Owens cited in his resignation the corporate restrictions placed on him in the wake of the Harris story which is also the subject of an investigation by President Trump’s FCC chairman. Trump complained about the interview again on Wednesday in a Truth Social post. This time, his anger spread to The New York Times, which in a story on Tuesday said that “legal experts have called the suit baseless and an easy victory for CBS.”

“They don’t mean that, they just have a non curable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” the president wrote, saying he’s looking into potential legal action against the newspaper

“The New York Times will not be deterred by the administration’s intimidation tactics,” the newspaper said in response.

CORRECTION

An article published in The Advocate Wednesday on solar energy regulation misidentiﬁed the affiliation of Don Caffrey He is the president of the Natural Resources Management Association.

Trump threatens sanctions against Iranian oil buyers

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Presi-

dent Donald Trump on Thursday threatened sanctions on anyone who buys Iranian oil, a warning that came after planned talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program were postponed.

Trump wrote on social media, “All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!” He said any country or person who buys those products from Iran will not be able to do business with the United States “in any way, shape, or form.”

It was unclear how Trump would implement such a ban as he threatened to levy secondary sanctions on nations that import Iranian oil.

But his statement risked further escalating tensions with China — Iran’s leading customer — at a time when the relationship is severely strained over the U.S. president’s tariffs.

Based on tanker tracking data, the U.S. Energy Information Ad-

ministration concluded in a report published last October that “China took nearly 90% of Iran’s crude oil and condensate exports in 2023.” Trump has separately placed 145% tariffs on China as a way to raise federal revenues and rebalance global trade.

Trump’s social media threat came after Oman announced planned nuclear negotiations for this coming weekend had been postponed Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement in a post on the social platform X. “For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May 3rd,” he wrote. “New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.”

Al-Busaidi, who has mediated the talks through three rounds so far, did not elaborate.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as being “postponed at the request of Oman’s foreign minister.” He said Iran remain committed to reach-

ing “a fair and lasting agreement.”

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the U.S. negotiators said America “had never conﬁrmed its participation” in a fourth round of talks in Rome. However, the person said the U.S expected the talks to occur “in the near future.” The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity The negotiations have been led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian ofﬁcials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

The U.S. president with his

Ukraine, Russia exchange drone strikes;

U.S. and Ukraine approve deal for mineral rights

BY HANNA ARHIROVA and ELISE MORTON Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian drone attack left at least seven people dead and a Russian strike on Odesa killed two people on Thursday, ofﬁcials said, just hours after Kyiv and Washington signed a long-anticipated agreement granting U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.

The attack in the partially occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine, which struck a market in the town of Oleshky killed seven and wounded more than 20 people, Moscow-appointed Gov Vladimir Saldo said.

“At the time of the attack, there were many people in the market,” Saldo wrote on Telegram After the ﬁrst wave of strikes, he said, Ukraine sent further drones to “ﬁnish off” any survivors.

Meanwhile, a Russian drone strike on the Black Sea port city of Odesa early Thursday killed two people and injured 15 others, Ukrainian emergency services said.

Regional Gov Oleh Kiper said the barrage struck apartment buildings, private homes, a supermarket and a school.

Videos shared by Kiper on Telegram showed a high-rise building with a severely damaged facade, a shattered storefront and firefighters battling flames.

A drone struck and ignited a ﬁre at a petrol station in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov Following the attacks, Ukrainian Presi-

9 killed

dent Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had ignored a U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire for more than 50 days now

“There were also our proposals at the very least, to refrain from striking civilian infrastructure and to establish lasting silence in the sky, at sea, and on land,” he said. “Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults.”

Agreement on mineral wealth

The U.S. and Ukraine on Wednesday signed an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, finalizing a deal months in the making that could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that President Donald Trump might scale back support in ongoing peace negotiations with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy originally proposed such a deal last year as a way of helping to secure Ukraine’s future by tying it to U.S. interests. Ukrainian ofﬁcials said previous versions of the accord would have reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country’s resources, but that the version signed Wednesday was far more beneﬁcial to Ukraine.

During his nightly address, he said that, per the signed agreement, there were no debts to be paid from past U.S. aid to Kyiv He said the agreement will be sent to the parliament to be ratiﬁed

The deputy chair of Russia’s National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that Trump had forced Ukraine to effectively “pay” for American military aid with its mineral resources.

Trump speaks at University of Alabama

BY KIM CHANDLER and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — President Donald Trump offered some encouraging words and advice for graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday in a speech interspersed with impressions of transgender weightlifters, accusations that judges were interfering with his agenda and attacks on his predecessor, Joe Biden

The Republican’s jolting speech was standard fare for Trump and well-received by the crowd in deep-red Alabama, which backed him in all three of his presidential runs.

“You’re the ﬁrst graduating class of the golden age of America,” the president told the graduates.

But he quickly launched into a campaign-style diatribe, saying that the U.S. was being “ripped off” before he took ofﬁce and that the last four years, when he was out of power, “were not good for our country.”

“But don’t let that scare you,” he said “It was an aberration.”

Trump did a grunting impression of a female weightlifter as he criticized the participation of transgender women in sports. He bragged about how tech moguls have warmed up to him, saying, “They all hated me in my ﬁrst term, and now they’re kissing my ass.” He told them they were never too young to be successful.

Former Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban also spoke, regaling the audience with a story about visiting the Oval

Ofﬁce in 2018 during Trump’s ﬁrst term.

threat on social media would be going after Iran’s major economic resource. It produced an average of 2.9 million barrels a day in 2023 of crude oil, according to the Energy Information Administration. Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran’s program. However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues an airstrike campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider,” that has been targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who long have been backed by Iran. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth early Thursday warned Iran over the rebels.

“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” he wrote “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

Driver who killed 4 in

Illinois may have had medical emergency

BY JOHN O’CONNOR Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The driver of a car that barreled through a building used for a popular after-school camp in central Illinois, killing three children and a teenager, was not under the inﬂuence of drugs or alcohol and may have had a medical emergency, police said Thursday No decisions have been made on whether to file charges against the 44-year-old driver, Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly said at a news conference. The driver is not in custody, Kelly said. Evidence that she may have had a medical emergency was “not conclusive” and the investigation is ongoing, Kelly said. The car went off the road Monday crossing a field and smashing into the side of the building in Chatham used by Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors, also known as YNOT It traveled through the building, striking people before exiting the other side.

Six other children were hospitalized. Four of them remained hospitalized, including one in critical condition, a state police spokesperson said after Thursday’s news conference. Those killed were Rylee Britton, 18, of Springﬁeld; Ainsley Johnson, 8; Kathryn Corley 7; and Alma Buhnerkempe, 7. All of the children were from Chatham, a community of about 15,000 outside the Illinois capital of Springﬁeld. The driver was not injured but was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash, Kelly said She voluntarily submitted blood and urine samples that tested negative for drugs and alcohol, he said. Security camera footage showed the vehicle was “a substantial distance” away when it left the roadway, said Jamie Loftus, founder of YNOT Outdoors. It crossed the field, a road, the sidewalk and YNOT’s parking lot before crashing through the building “with no apparent attempt to alter its direction,” Loftus said earlier this week.

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PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

A rescuer helps evacuate residents from their damaged house Thursday following Russia’s air raid in Odesa, Ukraine.

PHOTO PROVIDED By NASA

Astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers work outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Thursday.

Trump’s policies loom over May Day marches

BY THOMAS ADAMSON and YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press

PARIS French union leaders condemned the “Trumpization” of world politics, while in Italy, May Day protesters paraded a puppet of the American president through the streets of Turin. Across continents, hundreds of thousands turned out for Thursday’s rallies marking International Workers’ Day, many united in anger over U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda from aggressive tariffs stoking fears of global economic turmoil to immigration crackdowns.

In the United States, organizers framed this year’s protests as a pushback against what they called a sweeping assault on labor protections, diversity initiatives and federal employees.

In Germany, union leaders warned that extended workdays and rising antiimmigrant sentiment were dismantling labor protections. In Bern, Switzerland, thousands marched behind banners denouncing fascism and war — part of a wider backlash against the global surge of hard-right politics.

In France, union leaders predicted hundreds of thousands would join demonstrations across the country fueled by anger over U.S. military and trade influence in Europe Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the U.S. of pushing Europe toward conﬂict and economic subservience.

BY RICK PEARSON Chicago Tribune (TNS)

CHICAGO Four Democratic state chief executives on Tuesday night called for Democrats to mobilize and protest outside Republican congressional offices to oppose President Donald Trump’s administrative actions following his ﬁrst 100 days in ofﬁce.

“It’s time to ﬁght,” Illinois Gov JB Pritzker said during a virtual town hall. “Everybody has to get up, stand up, speak out, show up And if you can’t go somewhere to do that, well, go online and make sure you’re speaking up and showing up online And if you can’t do that, how about calling your congressperson, your senator to make your voice heard? Everybody has got to stand up for not only what’s best for themselves and their families, but also their neighbors and their friends.”

The potential 2028 presidential aspirant continued: “If you’re not out there protesting in front of a Republican congressman’s ofﬁce, or out in the street making your voice heard, or calling your friends in another state to have them do it, or showing up in Washington, D.C., in front of their ofﬁces, those Republican congressmen, then you’re not doing what’s necessary to put pressure on them to vote the right way.”

“If the North Americans don’t want our goods anymore, we can just sell them to others,” he said.

In Spain, thousands marched in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities, with demands ranging from a shorter workweek to answers for a historic power outage that blacked out the Iberian Peninsula earlier this week. Trump’s name also surfaced.

“The world has changed a bit with Trump’s arrival,” said Ángel López, 56, a worker from Madrid “The arrival of the far right to a country like the United States is a major global shift.”

Economic fears in Asia Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te cited new U.S. tariffs under Trump as he promoted a sweeping economic package aimed at shoring up jobs and industry In the Philippines, protest leader Mong Palatino warned that

Pritzker was joined by Govs. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the unsuccessful 2024 vice presidential nominee, Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Kathy Hochul of New York in an hourlong, livestreamed question-andanswer event hosted by the MeidasTouch Network. The online site has used its social media platforms and other channels to sharply criticize Trump and Elon Musk, the presidential adviser who heads up the Department of Governmental Efﬁciency

The governors were asked about formulating a new messaging strategy following the party’s poor showing last November and current public polling indicating dissatisfaction with Democrats for failing to address kitchen table issues and for not helping working families once a core constituency

The forum comes as Democrats also are trying to reconcile divisions between the party’s progressive wing and more moderate Democrats who feel the party’s leftward drift was a major factor to last year’s election results.

Of the three other governors, Hochul was the most vocal in echoing Pritzker’s call for Democrats to take their objections of Trump and Musk directly to members of the Republican-controlled House.

“I believe that we all ought to be mobilizing. The best

“tariff wars and policies of Trump” threatened local industries and people’s livelihoods.

In Japan, Trump’s image loomed over the day — quite literally as a truck in the Tokyo march carried a doll made to resemble him. Demonstrators there called for higher wages, gender equality health care, disaster relief, a ceaseﬁre in Gaza, and an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tadashi Ito, a union construction worker said he feared the rising cost of imported raw materials.

“Everybody is fighting over work, and so the contracts tend to go where the wages are cheapest,” he said. “We think peace comes first. And we hope Trump will eradicate conflict and inequalities.”

Worries over U.S. tariffs

Under overcast skies, about 2,500 union members

way for us to get across what we really believe is that you show up at your Republican congressman’s office and let them know: Quit shutting down veteran services. Quit taking away Social Security and Medicaid — and we know that’s what they’re about to do,” the New York governor said.

Walz said the country knew what it was getting with a second Trump presidency and referred to his tenure so far as “100 days of crap” and Pritzker called it “disastrous,” while Healey said that, on the economy, “the one thing that he ran on, he has been an abysmal failure” over his on-again, off-again tariff policies.

“Donald Trump killed a lot of things,” Hochul added “What he killed was killing our economy He’s killing education. He’s killing health care But you know what? He’s also killed complacency.”

“I don’t think there’s an American alive right now who’s watching what is unfolding over these last 100 days — and there’s 1,362 more to go — that are feeling complacent or apathetic and are going to sit on the sidelines,” she said. “No. No. No. They are energized. They’re mobilized.”

The event occurred after Pritzker gained national attention for a ﬁery weekend speech before New Hamp-

marched from the Taiwanese presidential ofﬁce in Taipei, warning that Trump’s tariffs could lead to job losses.

“This is why we hope the government can propose plans to protect the rights of laborers,” said union leader Carlos Wang. An autoworkers’ union carried a cutout car topped with a photo of Trump.

In Manila, thousands of Filipino workers rallied near the presidential palace, where police blocked access with barricades. Protesters demanded wage hikes and stronger protections for local jobs and small businesses.

In Jakarta, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto addressed a cheering crowd at the National Monument Park. “The government that I lead will work as hard as possible to eliminate poverty from Indonesia,” he said.

Roughly 200,000 workers were expected to take part in May Day rallies across Southeast Asia’s largest economy, according to Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions.

Big rallies in Chicago, L.A

In Chicago, thousands of people rallied in a West Side park before marching through downtown streets to the lakefront. Some played drums and danced while others chanted “No justice, no peace!” The crowd included union workers, immigrant rights advocates, pro-Palestinian activists and students calling for better-funded public schools.

shire Democrats in which he declared that Republicans “cannot know a moment of peace” as he called for “mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption” in telling Democrats they “must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.”

Latrina Barnes, a 48-yearold certified nurses assistant, said worries that Medicaid and Medicare might be affected under the Trump administration inspired her to protest in a May Day rally for the first time. “We need to stand up and fight back,” she said. Some used humor to protest, including a Trump puppet, an inflatable Trump baby chicken and a Trump pinata shaped like a bull.

Hoisting signs saying “Immigrants make America great,” “Migration is beautiful” and “It’s not the time to be silent,” thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully through downtown Los Angeles. With bands playing and ﬂags waving, the gathering had the feel of a celebration. The march began after a number of speakers demanded elected officials protect workers’ and immigrants’ rights. With the slogan “One Struggle, One Fight — Workers Unite,” the event was organized by the Los Angeles May Day Coalition, made up of labor unions and communitybased groups.

“We’re bringing the fight to the billionaires and politicians who are trying to divide us with fear and lies,” said April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million workers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA Demonstrators march to the White House during a May Day protest Thursday in Washington.

Dentists raiseconcern aboutfluoridebill

tion of childhood tooth decay.”

BY EMILYWOODRUFF Staff writer

The efforts underway by Louisiana lawmakers to ban ﬂuoride from publicdrinking water are bringing warnings from dentists and health experts, whosaid Thursday that the mineral has improved dental health and that removing it from watersupplies is likely to leadtomore cavities and tooth decay Senate Bill 2, whichpassed the Louisiana Senate and is nowheaded to the House, would repeal the state’s ﬂuoridationprogramand prohibit any public water system from adding the mineral.

Fluoride, anaturally occurring mineral in water,soil and food, strengthens tooth enamel.Since the1940s, many U.S. communities have added ﬂuoride to their watersupplies for that purpose, and it is largely celebratedasa win for public health. Research suggests that drinking waterwith addedﬂuoride can reducecavities by up to 25 percent.

Dr.Felicia Rabito, an epidemiologist at Tulane University,said its benefits for oral healthare well-established.

“There is arobust bodyofevidencethatshows theseprograms work,” she said, pointing tostudies that showed how cavities rose in other cities and states that ended ﬂuoridation programs.

The Canadian cityofCalgary stopped ﬂuoridating its water in

BILLS

Continued from page1A

Senate Bill 2would outlaw ﬂuoridation of Louisiana’spublic water systems

But it would give residents serviced by local water systems the option to petition and hold an election to opt-in to ﬂuoridation.

The ﬂuoride ban would take effect Jan. 1should the bill pass and win Gov.Jeff Landry’s signature.

“Informed consent is themajor thing,” said bill sponsor Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma. “You’re being forced to take something into your bodythat you may not want.”

Dentists and otherhealth professionals have opposed eliminating ﬂuoride from water systems, saying it has dramatically reduced tooth decay and that there is no evidence fluoride causes health problems.

The Centers for Disease Control currently says on its website, “The safety and beneﬁts of ﬂuoride arewell documented and havebeen reviewed comprehensively by several scientific and public healthorganizations.”

Kennedy last monthtoldThe Associated Press that heplans to tell theCDC, adivision of the Department of Health and Human Services, to stop recommending water ﬂuoridation.

“We’re talking aboutmake America healthy again. This is anonpartisan, bipartisan issue, with Secretary Bobby Kennedy, who is aDemocrat,” saidSen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, of the ﬂuoride ban.

Lawmakers in Utah and Florida

2011, and by2019, elementary studentssaw arise in cavities in baby teeth to 64.8%, compared with 55.1%inEdmonton, which kept ﬂuoridation. Decay in permanent teeth more than doubled.

In Wisconsin, cavity rates increased by 200% in secondgraders within ﬁve years of stopping ﬂuoridation in 1960

Both cities ultimatelyvoted to resume ﬂuoridation in response to the rise in tooth decay

“This has been alow-cost, very successful program for communitiesthroughout the country,” Rabito said. “The children that are at greatest risk are those who don’thave access to good oral care.”

Fluoridated water,likevaccines and processed foods, hasbeen a longstanding focus of skepticism forU.S.Healthand HumanServices Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the position has been taken up by some conservative Republicans.

Kennedy has claimed it is linked to various health issues, including reduced IQ in children.

And while some studies have shown an association of ﬂuoride levels with lower IQ in children, it is only at much higher levels than what is allowed in the U.S. water supply,said Rabito.

“Itabsolutely had no evidence at allofthese associations at the levels that we have in community fluoridation programs,” Rabito said.

Louisiana’s fluoridation policies

In Louisiana, only 38%ofthe population is served by systems that ﬂuoridate water,well below the nationalaverage of 72%, ac-

this springpassed legislation banningthe addition of ﬂuoride to public water systems.

Ivermectin

Fesiisalso sponsoring SB19, which would allow pharmacists to dispenseivermectin to patients overthe counter,meaning adoctor’sprescription would not be necessary Ivermectin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat some parasitic wormsand someskin conditions like rosacea.

During the COVID-19 pandemic,some people began using ivermectin to treat the virus

“When Icaught COVID, Itook ivermectin for twodays, got betterquickly.Mywholefamily took ivermectin,” Fesi said. “I think it’simportant for us to get it over the counter.” Abrahamsaidthat, “every day in aphysician’spractice, drugs are used off-label.”

“Ivermectin has been shown to have some quiteimpressive antiviral qualities, and that’swhy some of us,including myself, started using it during the COVID epidemic,”Abraham said.

TheFDA currently says it has “not authorized or approvedivermectin foruse in preventing or treating COVID-19inhumans or animals,” and has “determined that currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19inhumans.”

Kennedy in asocial media post last fall included ivermectin in alist of itemsthat he said were subjectto“aggressive suppression” by the FDA.

TheIdaho Legislature recently passeda law making ivermectin

cording to the federalCentersfor Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2008, Louisiana lawmakers passedthe CommunityWater Fluoridation Act, which required publicwater systems with more than 5,000 service connections to fluoridatetheir water,but only if thestate could find funding for it Only ahandful of water systems in Baton Rouge,Lafayette and Shreveport fluoridate thewater beyond what is naturallyoccurring.

New Orleans water ﬂuoridation began in June of 1974, according to theSewerage &Water Board Dentists soundthe alarm

Some dentists are sharply critical of the state’smove to eliminateﬂuoridation entirely

“If this passes, we’re going to seeahuge increase in childhood cavities, especially in areas with low accesstocare,” said Dr.Jacob Dent,a Lake Charles-based dentistwho alsohas apractice in Baton Rouge.

He said thatwhile some parents may considerrelying on ﬂuoride varnishesorother treatments, thosemeasuresdon’treplace systemicﬂuoride intake.

“Ifyou take theﬂuoride outof thewater,what areyou going to do to supplementitsowedon’t have adownturn in oral health?” he said. “I haven’tseen anything proposed to ﬁll that gap.”

Dr.Gregory Guerra,president of theNew Orleans Dental Association, said he sees children with tooth decay regularly

“There’s so much disease out there, andit’stotally preventable,” he said. “Fluoridation is a major contributortothe preven-

“When Icaught COVID,I took ivermectin for two days, got better quickly. My wholefamily took ivermectin.I think it’s important for us to getitover the counter.”

SEN. MIKE FESI, R-Houma

available over thecounter, and other states like Alabama have weighed similar measures Louisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, said, “I look forward to the conversations”inthe House on bothissues. DeVillier said he expects to seedebateonallowing for alocal votetoopt-in to ﬂuoridation of public water systems.

Andhesaid he expects the ivermectin proposal to“be fully discussed by House members, adding that, “personally Isupportthe abilitytodispense ivermectin without aprescription.”

Make AmericaHealthy Again

Tooth decay causes kids to miss school and parents to miss work for dentist appointments. Untreated decay can lead to infection, systemicillness and problems with the alignment of permanent teeth.

He also warnedthatswitching to afluoride toothpaste or inoffice fluoride treatments alone isn’tasufficient replacement.

“The fluoride is incorporated intothe teethwhile they’re forming in utero and early in life,” Guerrasaid. “That’sawindow of opportunity you’ll miss if kids don’tget it.”

The American Dental Association criticizedLouisiana Surgeon General Dr.Ralph Abraham for supporting thebill. TheLouisiana Dental Associationand theNew Orleans Department of Health also oppose the ﬂuoride ban. What happens next

If passedbythe House and signed into law by Gov.Jeff Landry,Louisiana’sﬂuoride ban would take effect Jan. 1.

Underthe bill, public water systems would only be allowed to add ﬂuoride back if at least 15% of registered voters in the affected area sign apetitionrequesting ﬂuoridation, and amajority votes to approve the measure in an election. No similar election can have occurred in the previous four years.

Residents can check theirwater system’sﬂuoridation levels at the CDC’sMyWater’sFluoride Website.

Email Emily Woodruff at ewoodruff@theadvocate.com.

eﬁts, among other provisions. McMaththis week said 30 state legislatures acrossthe country are debating measures thatare partofthe MAHA movement.

“I thinkfor the ﬁrst time in a very long time, andperhaps maybe ever,Americans(and) Louisianians, are paying close attention to what ourindividualhealth outcomes are,” he said.

McMath has Abraham’s backing as well as thatofLandry,who recentlyinvitedKennedy to return to Louisiana for avisit.

Landry in 2021 when he was attorney general hosted Kennedy as aguest.

Kennedy at thetimetoldstate lawmakers theCOVID-19 vaccine“is the deadliest vaccine ever made.”

On Thursday,Landry announcedanexecutive orderdirecting the state’sDepartment of Children andFamily Services, which administers Louisiana’s SNAPprogram,toask the federal governmentfor awaiver to exclude soft drinks andcandy from eligibility for SNAP purchases.

Continued from page1A

No organized campaigns have surfacedagainstthemeasure,butsome residents havevoicedopposition to Moore’sproposition on social media.

In ajoint appearance on 107.3 FM Wednesday alongside Moore and Gautreaux, the mayor called the proposal“abig piece” to lowering the heightened violent crimerates that have plagued Baton Rouge in recentyears.

“The way Ilook at Saturday,for Hillarand those guys,isfor the cost of acup of coffee amonth, that will be abig bite outofwhatwe’retrying to do to keep Baton Rougeand our entire parish safe,” Edwards said.

Thedistrict attorney tax is estimated to cost the average property owner $5 each month.

In campaigning forthe tax,Moore hasrepeatedly said his ofﬁcecannot keep up withabacklogofcases that areamong the highest in Louisiana as the most populous parish, as he is able to fund only 54 prosecutors withhis current $16 million budget. Meanwhile, Jefferson Parish’s$24 millionbudget is able to pay for 70 to 75 prosecutors, and Orleans’ 83 prosecutors are funded with a$22 million budget, Moore points out.

“It’sdiscouraging. …Itbogs down the whole system,” Gautreaux said aboutMoore’sbudgetand backlog, adding the proposed tax “helps us movepeople through the system quicker.”

If thetax is approved, the$8.7 million allocated to Moore’soffice by thecity-parish would be given back to Edwardstoallocate elsewhere, helping ease the financial burden imposed by tax revenue lost due to St.George’sincorporation Edwards haspledgedtoallocate an undetermined amount of those funds to the Public Defender’sOffice, whose chiefofficer,Kyla Romanach,has also endorsed thetax Polls open at 7a.m. on election day andclose at 8p.m.

WALTZ

Continued from page1A

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltztobe thenext United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on thebattlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, MikeWaltz hasworked hard to put ourNation’sInterests first,” Trump wrote on social media. “Inthe interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serveasNational Security Advisor,while continuing hisstrongleadership at theState Department. Together,wewill continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN.”

While ivermectinhas receded from spotlight in debates tied to Kennedy’sMAHAmovement, fluoride is firmly on the MAHA agenda, which in Louisiana is being championed by Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington.

Perhapsthe centerpiece of theeffort in Louisiana is SB14,sweepingnutrition legislationMcMath is sponsoring that wouldban ultra-processed food in schools and seek to restrictthe purchase of sugary drinks using SNAP ben-

The order also urgesthe LegislaturetopassSB14.

In avideo on social media, Landry said he listenedtotestimony from moms,doctorsand community leaders supporting McMath’s“incredibly important Make America Healthy Again bill.”

“Our nation is stronger when we arehealthier,”hesaid. “And I’m committedtoworking alongside President Trumpand Secretary Kennedy to bring theMakeAmerica Healthy Again movement to every corner of our state.”

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse pfeil@theadvocate.com.

There is precedent for thesecretaryofstatetoservesimultaneously as national security adviser.Henry Kissinger held both positions from 1973 to 1975. It’s notclear howlongRubio will hold both roles.

Buthe’llbedoing doubleduty at a moment when the Trump administrationisfacing no shortage of foreign policy challenges —the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Iran’srapidly advancing nuclear program and an uncertain world economyinthe midstofTrump’sglobaltariff war. Waltz cameunder searing criticism in March after revelations that he addedjournalistJeffrey Goldberg to aprivate text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was usedtodiscuss planning for a sensitive military operation against Houthimilitants in Yemen.

McMath

Bill wouldrequire schoolstooffer pregnancyresources

Informationwould sharewhere to find adoption services,prenatalcare

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Public college and high school health clinics would have to share information with pregnant students about where they canfind adoption services or pregnancy care under anew bill that critics say could direct young women to unlicensed medical providers.

The legislation, House Bill 478 proposed by Rep Dodie Horton, R-Houghton, requires waiting rooms in school health clinics to carry pamphlets and display signs pointing patients to the pregnancy page on the state’s Department of Health website. The website provides information about the risks of pregnancy and resources for pregnant women, as well as the numberofan“abortion alternatives hotline.” It also refers to “the unborn child,” aterm favored by anti-abortion groups.

Abill proposedbystate Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Houghton, would require public high schools and colleges to share certain information with pregnant students, including alist of agencies that provideneonatal care butnot abortions. Critics worrythe proposal would direct students to largely unregulated, faith-based clinics.

Thepamphletswould also include alist of public and private agencies that offer pregnancy care, adoption services and care for newborns Those in favor of theproposal, also known as the Signs of Hope Act, sayit would be beneﬁcial to young expectantmothers, especially those who don’t have strong support systems.But opponents say the billdoes not require that the listed agenciesbelicensed health care professionals, raising concerns that students will be directed to unlicensed providers.

Lawmakers on theHouse Education Committee voted 11-0 Tuesday to advance the bill.

Horton,a conservative lawmaker whose previous bills required public schools to display the TenCommandments and the U.S. motto “In God We Trust,” told the committee Tuesday thather aimistolet pregnant studentsknowtheir options. She pointed out that before Roe v. Wade wasoverturned in 2022, triggering astatewide ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy,Louisiana abortion clinics were required by law to hand out similarpamphlets.

“Praise God, we don’thave those anymore,” Horton said, referringtothe clinics.

She saidshe wanted to create similar pamphlets that studentscan take home with them from school health centers.

Rebecca Bolen,a proponent of the bill, told the committee that having outside support and access to resources when she discovered shewas pregnant her senioryear of high school in St.Tammany Parish allowed hertocontinue her education.

She pointedtodata that shows pregnancyisone of the leading reasonsteenage girls and young women fail to ﬁnish their education.

“These statisticsrepresent real livesand lostopportunities, andI was almost one of them,” Bolen said. Girls “deserve toknow that

theirdreamsdon’t haveto end with pregnancy.”

However,critics who spoke against Horton’sbill expressedconcernthat the required pamphlets could steer young people to clinicsthatare not medically licensed, including to socalled “crisispregnancy centers.” Those are faithbased nonproﬁtsthat critics say employ manipulative tactics to convincewomen to keep their pregnancies.

Michelle Erenberg, executive director of Lift Louisiana, anonprofit reproductiverights organization, said the bill “opens the door” to promotional material for crisis pregnancy centers.

“Public educational institutionshave aconstitutional obligation to remain neutral in mattersofdeeply personal and political significance,” said Erenberg, who signed up to speakonher own behalf not her organization’s. “Requiringschools to promote the viewpoints of nonmedical, religiously motivatedorganizations threatens this neutrality and exposes institutions to potential legal challenges.”

Severalmedicalassociations saythe centers are notheldtothe same safety standards as other medical facilities, warning that they sometimes use untested procedures, such as abortion pill “reversals,” for which thereislittle scientiﬁcevidence of their safetyand efﬁcacy

In a2020 National InstitutesofHealthreport,re-

searcherswho examinedthe websitesof348 crisis pregnancy centers nationwide found that 80% provided “at least one false or misleading piece of information” regarding pregnancy,includingsomethatfalsely linked abortion to adverse mental health impacts, breast cancer and future infertility Many also failed to provide transparent information aboutstaffers’ medical training.

Horton declinedtocommentonthe criticismsand redirected questions to the state’sDepartmentofHealth, which will be charged with printing and distributing the signs and pamphlets. The DepartmentofHealth did notimmediately respond to arequest for comment.

Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, expressed concernthatmedical providers may interpret the bill’swording as arequirement that they hand each patientabooklet, rather than simply offer the information to those whowant it.

She successfully petitioned to add an amendment removing aline from the bill

stating that health care staff “shalloffer abooklettoeach pregnant patient.” The committee approved the amended bill. The legislation’sﬁscal note projects it would cost taxpayers just over $270,000 duringthe 2025-26fiscal year and $128,000 each year after,though Horton told the committeethose are estimates and that she expects the actual cost will be lower once the state determines how manypamphlets need to be printed. An outspoken abortion opponent, Horton voted last year against abill that would have allowedminors who are victims of incest or rape to terminate their pregnancies. She also expressed support last year forabill imposing harsher penalties on those who provide abortion pills to apregnant person without theindividual’s knowledge or consent, and she co-authored another bill designating June as “Sanctity of Preborn Life Month.” Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate. com.

BY CURT ANDERSON Associated Press

STARKE, Fla. An Army combat veteran whoseGulfWar experience triggered severe mental problems was executed Thursday eveningin Florida for the 1998 shotgun slayings of his girlfriend and her three young children.

Jeffrey Hutchinson, 62, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. following alethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was the fourth person executed this year in Florida under death warrants signed by Gov.Ron DeSantis. Hutchinson had no last statement but appeared to be mumbling to himself as the procedure started just before 8p.m. Hislegs shook sporadically and he seemed to have body spasms for several minutes,then was still. The process took alittle more than 15 minutes.

The execution was carried out soon afterthe U.S. Supreme Court rejected aﬁnal appeal without comment.

Hutchinson had long claimed he wasinnocent and that two unknown assailants perpetrated the killings un-

deraU.S. government conspiracy aimed at silencing his activism onclaims including Gulf Warillnesses involving veterans. Hutchinson served eight years in the Army,part of it as an elite Ranger Courtrecords, however, showed thatonthe night of the killings in Crestview, Florida, Hutchinsonargued with hisgirlfriend, 32-year-old ReneeFlaherty, thenpacked his clothes and gunsinto atruck. Hutchinsonwenttoabar and drank some beer,telling staff there that Flaherty was angry with him beforeleaving abruptly Ashort timelater,a male callertolda911 operator,“I just shot my family” from the houseHutchinson and Flaherty shared with the three children: 9-year-old Geoffrey,7-year-old Amanda, and 4-year-old Logan. All were killed with a12-gauge shotgun that was found on a kitchencounter. Hutchinson was located by police inthe garage with aphone stillconnectedtothe 911 center and gunshotresidue on his hands At his 2001 trial, Hutchinson’s defense was basedon his claim that two unknown mencame to thehouse, killing Flaherty and thechildrenafterhestruggledwith them.Ajury found Hutchinson guilty of four countsof first-degree murder and

he was sentenced to life in prison for Flaherty’skilling andreceivedthreedeath sentences for the children. Hutchinson hadfilednumerousunsuccessfulappeals,manyfocused on mentalhealthproblemslinked to his Armyservice. In late April, hislawyers sought to delayhis executionby claiming Hutchinsonwas insane andtherefore could not be put to death.

Bradford CountyCircuit Judge James Colaw rejected that argument in an April 27 order.“This Court ﬁnds that Mr.Hutchinson’spurported delusion is demonstrably false. Jeffrey Hutchinson does not lack themental capacity to understand the reason for the pending execution,” the judge wrote.

In their court filings, Hutchinson’s lawyerssaid he sufferedfrom Gulf War Illness—aseries of health problems stemming from the1990-91 war in Iraq —as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia related to his claim that he had been targeted by governmentsurveillance.

Florida’slethal injection protocol usesasedative,a paralytic anda drug that stops the heart,according to the state DepartmentofCorrections. So far this year 15 people have been executedinthe

U.S. includingHutchinson. AﬁfthFlorida executionis scheduled May 15 forGlen Rogers, whowas convicted of killing awoman at amotel in 1997. Rogers also was convicted of another woman’s murder in California.

East Baton Rouge Parish MosquitoAbatement and Rodent Controlwill be ﬂying thedistrict’stwo twin-engine aircraftfor MOSQUITOCONTROL in East Baton Rouge Parish. Both aircraftare white twin-engine Britten-NormanIslanders, one with black and redtrim, theother with black and blue trim. Thewords “MOSQUITOCONTROL”are on theunderside of thewings of bothaircraftinlarge letters. If you have questions concerning theoperations of theaircraft, please call East Baton Rouge Parish MosquitoAbatement and Rodent Controlat(225) 356-3297 between 7:00 am and 3:30 pm Monday through Friday,orwrite to:

STAFF PHOTO By TRAVIS SPRADLING

JusticeDepartmentsues4statesoverclimate actions

BY ALEXA ST.JOHN Associated Press

DETROIT— The U.S. Justice Department filed lawsuits against four states this week, claiming their climate actions conflict with federal authority and President Donald Trump’senergy dominance agenda.

The DOJ on Wednesday filed lawsuits against Hawaii and Michigan over their planned legal action against fossil fuel companies for harms caused by climate change. On Thursday,the DOJ sued New York and Vermont, challenging their climate superfund laws that would forcefossil fuel companies to pay into state-based fundsbased on previous greenhouse gas emissions.

The suits,which legal experts say are unprecedented, mark the latestof the Trump administration’s

attacks on environmental work and raises concern over states’ abilities to retain the power to take climate action withoutfederal opposition

DOJ’scourt filings said thestates’ plans and policies “impermissiblyregulate out-of-stategreenhouse gasemissions andobstruct theClean Air Act’scomprehensive federal-state framework andEPA’s regulatory discretion.”

TheDOJ saidthe Clean Air Act —a federallaw authorizingthe Environmental Protection Agency to regulate air emissions —creates “a program for regulating airpollution in the United States and “displaces” the abilityofStatestoregulate greenhousegas emissions beyond their borders.”

DOJ argued Wednesday that Hawaiiand Michigan areviolating theintentof the act that enables theEPA

authoritytoset nationwide standards forgreenhouse gases, citing the states’ pending litigation against oil and gas companies for alleged climate damage.

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last year tapped privatelaw ﬁrms to go after thefossil fuel industry for negatively affectingthe state’sclimate and environment.

Meanwhile, Democratic HawaiiGovernorJosh Green planstotargetfossil fuel companies that he said should take responsibility for their roleinthe state’s climate impacts, including 2023’sdeadly Lahaina wildﬁre.

“This lawsuit is at best frivolous andarguably sanctionable,” Nessel said in a statement, which notedthat Michigan hasn’tﬁled alawsuit. “If the White House or Big Oil wish to challenge our claims, they can do so when

our lawsuit is ﬁled; they will notsucceed in anyattempt to preemptively bar our accesstomake our claimsin the courts. Iremain undeterred in my intention toﬁle this lawsuit the President and his Big Oil donors so fear.”

Green’s office andthe Hawaii Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile,Thursday’s ﬁlings called the Superfund Act —a federal law enacted to address theharm associated with hazardous waste sites —“atransparent monetary-extractionscheme.”

Trump hassuggested thesuperfund laws “extort”payments from energy entities.

“By purporting to regulate theeffectofgreenhouse gasemissions on climate change,the Actnecessarily reaches far beyond” the states of New York and

Vermont, theDOJ argued, saying it incorrectlylooks to regulate nationwide and global airspace.

“At atime when States should be contributing to anational effort to secure reliable sources of domestic energy,” all four states are choosing “to stand in the way,”all four ﬁlings said.

In itsﬁlings, the DOJrepeated the Republican president’sclaims of America’s energy emergency and crisis.

But legalexperts raised concern over the government’sarguments.

Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of the Columbia University Sabin Center forClimate Change Law, saidusual procedure is the DOJ asking acourt to intervene in pending environmental litigation —as is the case in some instances across the country While this week’ssuits

are consistent with Trump’s plans to oppose state actions thatinterfere with energy dominance, “it’shighly unusual,” Gerrard told The Associated Press. “What we expectedistheywould intervene in the pending lawsuits, not to try to preempt or prevent alawsuit from being filed. It’sanaggressive moveinsupport of the fossil fuel industry

“Itraises all kinds of eyebrows,” he added. “It’san intimidation tactic, and it’s telling the fossil fuel companies how much Trumploves them.”

Trump’sadministration hasaggressively targeted climate policy in the name of fossil fuel investment. Federal agencies have announced plans to bolster coal power,roll back landmark water andair regulations, block renewable energy sources and double down on oil and gas expansion.

BY SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House voted Thursday to block California from enforcing first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The move comes aday after the chamber votedto halt California standards to cut tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as curb smogforming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.

“The passage of these resolutions is avictory for Americans who will not be forced into purchasing costly EVs because of California’sunworkable mandates,” Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Morgan Grifﬁth R-Va.,said in astatement

“If not repealed, the California waivers would leadto higher prices for both new and used vehicles, increase our reliance on China, and strain our electric grid.”

California for decades has been given the authority to adopt vehicle emissions standards that arestricter than the federal government’s. Democratic Gov Gavin Newsom in 2020 announced plans to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehiclesinthe state by 2035, as part of an aggressive effort to lower emissions from the transportationsector Plug-in hybrids and used gas cars couldstill be sold.

State regulators then formalized the rules, some other states announced plansto follow them, and the Biden administration approvedthe state’swaiver to implement them in December,amonth before President Donald Trump returned to ofﬁce

This week’sHouse votes fell largely along party lines, though someDemocrats joined Republicansto advance them. That would

San Francisco-Oakland

be against the adviceofthe Senate Parliamentarian, who sides with the U.S.General AccountabilityOffice in saying California’spolicies are not subject tothe review mechanism used by the House.

Republicansused theCongressional Review Act, alaw aimed at improvingcongressional oversight of actions by federal agencies,totry to block the rules. The Trump administrationin2019 revoked California’sability to enforce its own emissions standards, but Biden later restored the state’sauthority

Butthe California standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act, theU.S GovernmentAccountability Office, anonpartisan congressional watchdog, wrote in aletter to Congress in March.

Newsom said theeffortis another signal of Republicans’ideological shiftover thedecades from an era in which former presidents RichardNixon and Ronald Reagan signed landmark environmental lawstoone in which Trump is pushing for environmental rollbacks

“Clean air didn’tused to be political,”Newsomsaidina statement. “Ourvehicles

program helps clean the air for all Californians, and we’ll continue defending it.”

Aspokesperson for the California AirResources Board, whichpassed the vehicle emission standards, said theagency “will continue itsmissiontoprotect the public health of Californians impacted by harmful air pollution.”

It is unclear what will happen in theSenate. The SenateParliamentarian in Aprilreafﬁrmed the GAO’s findings that California’s Clean Air Actwaivers are notsubject to theCongressional Review Act, according to California Sen. Adam Schiff’s ofﬁce.

The American Petroleum Instituteand the American Fueland Petrochemical Manufacturersapplauded Thursday’svote, calling it a“huge win for U.S. consumers.”

“California’sunlawful ban should never have been authorized,and Governor Newsom should never have been allowed toseize this much control over the American vehicle market,” MikeSommers, theinstitute’spresident andCEO, and Chet Thompson,the manufacturers group’spresident andCEO, said in ajoint statement

leaves behind hisstepgrandchildren Braden Wheat and Timothé and Chloe Duplantis, all of whom he loved as his own.

DEATHS continued from strengthwill liveoninall whoknew her. 8:00am until thereligious servicesat10:00am,fol‐lowed by intermentinthe church cemetery.Arrange‐ments arebyWilliams& SouthallFuneralHome, 1204 ClevelandSt, Thibo‐daux, LA 70301.

Bob Merrick, atrue son of New Orleans, has left this world amuch better place. May he rest in peace, forever cherished and remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

Acelebration of life will be held at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church on Friday, May 2nd at 12:00pm with familyvisitation from 10:30am12:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Bob's honor to TheUnited Way or Son of aSaint. Reception to follow funeral at the New Orleans Country Club.

BerthaCox Morel, age 92, of McComb, Mississippi,passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Born in Convent,Louisiana, Bertha liveda life rooted in service, compassion, and deep love forher family

Berthadedicated much of her professionallife to helping others.She worked forthe State of Louisiana in Social Services, specializinginadoptionservices whereher care and dedicationchanged countless lives. Alongside her beloved husband,Ralph J. Morel, sheco-owned Successful Human Development,a personal and professional consultingbusiness that supported businesses,organizations, and individuals in achievingtheir fullpotential Family wasatthe heartof everything Berthadid.She wasa devoted wife,mother,grandmother, and sister wholovednothing more than being surrounded by loved ones. She also found great joyintending to her garden, particularly her cherished roses, which she nurturedwiththe samelove and care she gave to the people in her life.She waspreceded in deathbyher husband, Ralph J. Morel; her son, George LouisMorel;her parents,George Louis Cox and Cecile MayBarbier Cox;and hersister, LorraineMontero. Bertha is survivedbyher children, Charmaine(Tommy)Barrilleaux, Maris (David) Martinez, andSigmund (Staci) Morel; her sister, Lucie (Charles) Conrad;her brother,G.L. (Joe Anne) Cox;and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and extended family members whowill carryher memory forward. Pallbearerswill be Mark Barrilleaux, Jeff Martinez, JamieBarrilleaux, Lucas Barrilleaux, Brady Martinez, Paul Barrilleaux, andSethMorel. A visitationfor Berthawillbe held on Saturday,May 3, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at OursoFuneral Home, 13533 Airline Hwy, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737, followedbya funeralservice at 2:00 PM.Bertha'slegacy of love, service, and

Njepu, Annah Joy

AnnahJoy Njepu was born on January4,2024, in Houston, Texas, to Crystal (Hall) and Christian Njepu. Annahdeparted this life on April 25, 2025. Celebration of Life-Saturday, May3,2025,at Mount Gideon Baptist Church, Maringouin, Louisiana 70757. Visitation and viewing from 9a.m. to 11 a.m. Servicesbegin promptlyat11:00 a.m

Mavis Marie Pierre,a lifelong resident of Simmesport, LA transitioned to her heavenlyhome on April23, 2025 at the ageof 68. Visitation willbeheld on Saturday, May3,2025, 9AM until Religious Service at 11AM,St. James Baptist Church,266 VoorhiesLane, Moreauville,LA71355, conductedbyRev. Reese Turner.Interment in church cemetery. Survived by five children; Latashia Spears, Gwendolyn, Allegra, Russell and Desmond Pierre, six siblings;Alice O'Conner, SheliaPreston,Marvis Ann, Dorothetta, Irvin, and Zedrick Pierre,(18) grandkids, (12) great grandkids, nieces, nephews,otherrelatives and friends including aspecial friend; Kenny Ray Collins. Precededin death by her parents; Dorothy &Dempsey,Sr, son;Darryl Pierre, siblings; Marsha, Larry,and Dempsey Pierre, Jr.Professional Services Entrusted To:A.Wesley Funeral Home.

Thomas,BrendaM.

BrendaM.Thomas of Baton Rouge,transition fromlabortoreward on Sunday, April 20, 2025 at theage of 77, surrounded by her lovedones. Brenda was bornonNovember 18, 1947 and was theonly child of Lizzie Tillman.Brenda acceptedChrist at an early age and was baptized at Popular Grove Baptist Church under theleadershipofReverend J.H. Freeman. She was agraduate of Capital SeniorHigh School and The Baton Rouge Business College. She later starteda career as acivil servant with the Baton Rouge City Police Department until her retirement.She lovedhosting herfamily and friends for social gatherings, to simply see asmileoneach of their faces.She enjoyed cooking,baking, playing cards, and especially spending time with her grandchildren. Aboveall these thingsshe loved serving theLord. She prioritized instilling thewordof God intothe livesofher children and grandchildren.She regularly attended Sunday School and Bible study until her health begantofailher. Nevertheless, she continued to fellowship in her home on weeklyBible Study and Prayer Calls.Brendaissurvivedbyher twosons Albert Johnsonand Jamie Sam, her grandchildrenAlronJohnson, JosephPearson, SkyeJohnson, Porche Pearson, JamieRobinson, JerbriaPearson, Lizzie Robinson, and Destiny Robinson. Four special cousins that were more like sisters Gayle Dolliole Willie Marie Scott,Sarah Thomas, and Arnethia White. She is also cherishedbyseven greatgrandchildrenand ahost of cousins She is proceeded in death by her grandparents, Martha and CharlieTillman, her mother Lizzie Tillman, and several beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.

BornMarch 4, 1947, Judy was atrue "peopleperson" who thrived on being with otherpeople whom she truly loved. She worked in nursing homes where she improvedthe livesofthe residents. She wasa volunteer fordifferent organizations. Her home was arefuge for strayanimals (some she adopted) and she donated regularly to rescue organizations. She lovedlivetheater. In addition to attending performanceswhenever and wherever possible, she was on theBoardofDirectorsatthe Baker Little Theatre, whereshe also worked backstageand performed. She was amastergardenerand an avid reader, particularlyfond of James Lee Burke and John Grishum. She was preceded in death by her parents Alvey and RubyBoudreaux and is survivedbyher husband, Donald Trahan, cousins and her many friends who were also her family Amemorial willbeheld on May 31st from 1:30-3:30 at The Residence Inn, Marriott. 7061 Commerce Circle, Baton Rouge, La 70809.

West, Leona 'Big Momma'

It is with profoundsorrowand solemn reverence that we announcethe passing of Leona MaeNoilWest,who departedthis earthly life on the 24th of April,inthe year of our Lord 2025, at thedistinguishedage of 81. Apublic viewingshall be held in his honor on Saturday, the3rd of May, commencing at 9:00 AM at Winnfield FuneralHome, wherefamily andfriends may gatherto pay theirfinal respects. A CelebrationofLife shall follow at 11:00 AM.Her earthly remains shall be laidtorest at Winnfield Memorial ParkThe distinguished& solemn arrangements have been entrusted to thecareofWinnfield Funeral Home of Baton

Morel, BerthaCox

Pierre, Mavis Marie

Runoffstobedecided Saturday

Election carriesweightfor city’s buddingfuture

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

While many races were decided shortly after qualifying or in Louisiana’sMarch election, runoffs for two seats on the St. GeorgeCity Council will be decided Saturday, with implications for the city’sfuture. One of the council’stwo at-large seats is up for grabs, as the only Democrat running for ofﬁce in the new city faces aRepublican who has been present in the St. George

movement formore than adecade. In District 4, aRepublican interim council member hopes to hold off a challengefrom an independent and keepthe seat Here’s howthe tworaces shape up asvotersprepare to weigh in before polls close at 8p.m. Saturday After Republican candidate David Dellucci wonanat-large seat outright on March 29, Republican Jim Talbot andDemocrat Shaunn Wyche will face off to decide the other In the primary,Talbot finished

ELECTION 2025

ST.GEORGE CITy COUNCIL

with 23% of the vote behind Dellucci’s 28%, whileWyche tallied20% and came in third.

Talbot, an appointed memberof St.George’sTransitionDistrict, at 84 years old is theoldestcandidate running for ofﬁce in St. Georgein thecity’sﬁrst election cycle.

AparticipantofSt. George’sorigi-

nal petition drive forincorporation morethan adecade ago, Talbot said ﬁscal responsibility was amajor pillar of theSt. George movement and will be afocus of his if he is elected.

“If Isee ahint of taxpayer dollars wasted, I’mgoing to scream bloody murder,” Talbot said on arecent appearance on WRKF’s“Talk Louisiana” with Jim Engster Talbot is aformer member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, andhehas been endorsed by St.George Mayor Dustin Yates andthe Republican WomenofSt. George.

BACK ON TRACK

Police:Man dies

in apartment parkinglot shooting CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

Aman was shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex Wednesday nightand later died after being takentoa hospital, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said. The victim, David Turley III, 25, was shot shortly after 6p.m. in aparking lot at 16441 S. Harrell’sFerry Road, theaddress of the Reserve at White Oaksapartments, theSheriff’sOffice said. The investigation is ongoing. Man dies after being hit by truck on Airline Baton Rouge police are investigating afatal pedestrian crash Wednesday afternoon on

BY MADDIE SCOTT Contributing writer

still building this baby,” Tully said about the event. “It’sour smallest,compared to ZippityZoo Fest, which has been around since the1970s; Booatthe Zoo, which we’vehad over 20 years;

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

PHOTO By MADISON SCOTT

Talbot Wyche

Cook Madaffari

ä See RUNOFFS, page 2B

Womangets40years forSlidell inmate’s death

Suit filedagainst thejailonbehalf of children

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

ASlidell woman accused of sneaking fentanyl into the Slidell jail and failing to assist hercellmate after she overdosed on the drug pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. SarahBlackmon, 40,was sentenced on April 21 in connection with Theresa Zar’sNovember 2023 drug overdose death, authorities said. Blackmon pleaded guilty to manslaughter,bringing drugs into the jail and failure to seek assistance for the woman who overdosed, the Northshore District Attorney’sOffice said in anews release.

ZOO

Continued from page1B

andcharacter meet-and-greets. The zoo education team will also bring outsome animals for petting, and a food court with sno-balls, lemonade, blooming onions and other treats will be available.

Each art piece in the atrium gallery has apaper sign with thetitle, artist and category.Ifthe artist is offering the piece for sale, 20% of the proceeds willsupport conservation programs such as Bowling for Rhinos, Bat Conservation International and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

Five awards will be announced at thefestival. Theprizesare handmade (or paw-made) paintings created by animals in the zoo. The process for creating each piece was different, according to zoo educator Conni Pope, who helped the animals create their masterpieces.

Pope sprinkled mealworms around the paper for leopard geckos Norma and Goldie,sothatasthey hunted, they also painted.Similarly Cypress the nutria chaseda carrot through the paint and paper There are also paintingsbyRosalind the American alligator,Fossa

RUNOFFS

Continued from page1B

Wyche represents an outsider candidate option for voters this Saturday,hoping to joina group already elected to the council many of whom were also organizers in the early St. Georgeincorporation movement.

The Democrat said he started to participate in theearly days of St. George’sgovernmentlast year andthat participation evolved into hopes of further involvement as a council member

Acommon speaker at St. George council meetings, Wyche has asked for better transparency from St. George’s interimleaders andhas spoken out against the salaries approved for the city’selectedofﬁcials. Wyche recently told Engster that those wages do not coincide with the city manager position proposed by aHome Rule Charter that failed in March.

“You can’thave the large salaries that were approved and then hire

REAL ESTATE

Continued from page 1B

that changing,” said TomCook, an appraiser with Cook, Moore, Davenport &Associates, who gave apresentation on the residential market.

The number of new homes permitted in Ascension and Livingston parishes plunged in 2024, dropping by more than 15% and comingin at their lowest levels since 2015, when Cook said he started tracking permits. Ascensionand Livingston have both had development moratoriums to allow the fast-growing parishes to set growth rules.

New home permits in East Baton Rouge Parish were up by 58% in 2024, whichcaused themetro area to see a14.7% rise to 3,443 permits. The dollar value of all homes sold in metro Baton Rouge peaked at $3.79 billion in 2022, butfell to $2.65 billion in 2024.That$1.14 billion drop had an impact on the local economy.Since the average home price is $264,900, that is equivalent to nearly 4,300 houses not being sold, which means less money for appraisers, homeinspectors, title

Meanwhile, Chad and Abigail Brewer,who have adopted Zar’s two minor sons, have ﬁled acivil lawsuit on behalfofthe children against thecity ofSlidell, Slidell City Jail, SlidellPoliceDepartment,PoliceChief RandyFandal andindividualcorrections ofﬁcers.

Thesuit accuses the defendants of allowingBlackmon to bring drugs into thefacility, not conducting regular in-person cellchecks and failingtomorequickly discover Zar,who lay unresponsive in her cell for approximately 16 hours.

TheSlidell Police Department declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation, as did thedefendants’ lawyers.

‘Senseless’

Zar was found dead in ajail cell the morning of Nov.22, 2023, District Attorney Collin Sims’ office said in anews release. An autopsy revealed she had died of afentanyl

overdose, according to the District Attorney’sOfﬁce.

The day before, Blackmon, who had been moved into the same cell as Zar, was seen on the jail’ssurveillanceremoving something froma body cavityand passing it to Zar, according to the DistrictAttorney’s Ofﬁce.

Thevideo showsBlackmonlater stepping toward Zar,who was lying on abed,according to the news release. Shelifted Zar’sarm andlet it go.The armimmediately fell back to thebed.Blackmon, whowas visibly emotional, thencovered Zar witha blanket but did not alert anyone about Zar’sstate

Blackmon later said she believed Zar was dead,but did notseek assistance because she knew she providedthe drugs that likely caused herdeath, according to the District Attorney’sOfﬁce.

“This whole thingwas senseless. Shecould have savedTheresa,and

PHOTO By MADISONSCOTT

The Baton RougeZoo houses 40 artpieces for the Artfor Animals Exhibition for a9-month-long event ending on May9

thetenrec, Noodle the domestic ferret, Lunch the box turtle and Wilbur thewestern hognose snake. Pope said all animals were given the choice whether to participate or not.Somemay choosenot to come

outofthe enclosure. Others may hang around the paperbut notpaint, in whichcase, staff sat with them for abit beforeputting them back in an enclosure. “Some enjoy exploring and inves-

she would have been saved from getting additionaltime,” said Mary Hall, Zar’solder sister,about Blackmon.

In addition to the40-year manslaughter sentence, Judge Alan Black, of the 22ndJudicialDistrict, also sentenced Blackmon to 5years each for each of the other charges. Those sentences will be servedat thesame time as the manslaughter sentence.

Jail changedpolicies

Thelawsuit ﬁledinNovember 2024 seeks damages forZar’schildren,arguing thecorrections ofﬁcers and other defendants showed adeliberate indifference to Zar’s safety andwell-being, in violation of herstateand federalconstitutional rights.

The suit argues the jail’scorrections ofﬁcers failed to perform an adequate search of Blackmon after she arrivedatthe jail. At the

tigating, so painting is just them exploring thesmells and textures of the paint, paper,the space we’re using,” Pope said.

Pope’sfavorite painting of the bunch goes to Cypress. Blues, teals andgreens wereselected forthe nutria.

“I think my brain goes, ‘She’san aquatic animal, these are aquatic colors.They go together,’”Pope said. “ButI also really love the adorablelittlefootprints we get fromthe leopard geckos andtenrec.”

After seeing thesuccess of last year’s Art forAnimals, Tully extended the exhibition. She said it will be headed by anew program manager next year,sothings are bound to change as they experiment withthe event.

“We’re continually growing this event,” Tully said. “What it looks like each year maychange, but we may still keep things the same.”

This story was reported and writtenbyastudent with the support of the nonproﬁt Louisiana Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalitionofeight universities fundedbythe Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthurfoundations

time of Zar’sdeath,the SlidellPolice Department said in anews release that ofﬁcers searched Blackmonbut did not locate the drugs concealed in abody cavity

The suit also argues that correctionsofﬁcers failed to regularly conduct in-person cell checks.

AfterZar’s death,the jail changed practices, requiring ofﬁcers to perform physical walk-throughs once everytwo hourswhile on duty, as well as at the endoftheir duty,according to the lawsuit.

In acourt filing responding to the lawsuit, lawyers forthe defendants denied mostofthe lawsuit’s allegations.

The partiesare now waiting on the judge to set adate forascheduling conference, according to Laci Hamilton,the plaintiffs’ lawyer

Email Willie Swett at willie swett@theadvocate.com.

BLOTTER

Continued from page1B

Airline Highway,which resulted in the death of 20-year-old Julius Torres.

Accordingtoauthorities,the incident happened around 1:40 p.m. when aRam truckwas traveling south on Airline Highway and proceeded through agreen light at the Goodwood Boulevard intersection. The truck struck Torres, whowas crossing the roadway Torreswas taken to ahospital in critical conditionand later died from his injuries.

The crash occurred just afew hundred feet from Baton Rouge PoliceHeadquarters. Investigators, reviewing surveillancefootage and statements from multiple witnesses,determinedthatTorres ran across Airline Highway during thegreen light. Homicide detectivesbelieve he may have intentionally entered the path of thetruck

Baton Rouge police are continuing to investigate theincident. BR policerelease footage in fatal shooting

in acity managerataneven higher salary,” Wyche said. Since making the runoff, Wyche has had asteadystream of campaign contributions from individuals totaling more than $7,000 as of April 13. He also has received recent in-kind help from the Louisiana Democratic Party Meanwhile, Talbot haslargely self-funded his campaign, contributing more than$9,000ofthe $11,100 reported to date.

District 4

PattyCook is thelone member of St. George’sinterim City Council whohad arace on her hands in March and now in Saturday’s runoff.

The Republican, who was appointed to her currentcouncil position by Gov.Jeff Landry last year is hoping to topple challenger David Madaffari,anindependent candidatewho came out ahead of two other candidates in the primary Cook secured45% of the vote in the first round, while Madaffari’s19% wasjust three votes more than third-placefinisher

companies and real estate agents.

Onesector that has seen improvement in recentyearsisthe industrial market,where the inventory remainstight and rental rates increasedbynearly4.7%fromthe start to the end of 2024.

EvanScroggs, of Lee &Associates, saidthe demand for warehouse and distributionspace in the local marketwill increase, thanks to recenteconomic development wins likethe $5.8billionsteel plant Hyundai Motor Group plans to build in Donaldsonville “There’salot of positive momentum to capitalize on,” Scroggs said. “Thiscouldbea period of renaissance for our region.”

The keyistobuild more industrial space in metroBaton Rouge. Over thepast two years, Scroggs said 47 businesses —including Fortune 500 companies— asked about warehouse anddistribution space in thearea, butdropped plansbecause there wasn’tenough space for them. There are only twomajor empty spaces —a 250,000-squarefoot warehouse in Port Allen that Conn’shad untilitwent bankrupt and a211,000-square-foot maritime facility on the Port Allen Lock.

Justin Turner. Hercandidacyislargely centered on efforts for St.George to start its own school district,a ﬁght she has been party to sinceday one, she says, andone she would like to continue.

“If I’m elected to thecouncil to serve for the next 4years, Iwon’t give up. Iwill ﬁght forSt. George like I’ve done foryears,” she said in remarks to the St. George Rotary Club.

Cook hasreceivedendorsements fromYates,the parish Republican Party,District9Metro Council member Dwight Hudson and others already chosen by voters to serve on St. George’sﬁrst elected City Council.

She hassignificantly outpaced everyother remaining candidate in fundraising, bringing in more than $63,000 in monetary contributions since the start of the election cycle.

Madaffari, who had raised nearly $7,000 by early April, also represents an outsider candidate challenging established leadership in the budding city

BillSanders, also of Lee&Associates,said the office markethas improved after arough couple of years following the COVID-19 pandemic More employees started going back to theoffice, andtenants started leveling up and going intonewer buildings with amenities such as fitness centers.

The occupancy rate for Class Aofﬁcespace,such as the newer buildings downtown,increased from 73.8% in 2023 to 83.6% in 2024.

“There’s aflighttoquality,”Sanders said. One uncertain part of theoffice marketisthe fate of One American Place. The 24-story building was seizedbythe East BatonRouge Sheriff’s Officelastyear and was purchasedbythe lender,WilmingtonNational Trust Association

The owners of One American Place owed $24.2 million in principal, interest and latecharges on $31.5 million theyborrowed in 2018.

Sanders said it could take several yearsfor OneAmerican Placeto ﬁnd abuyer, andthe building’stenantscouldseekamorestableoption.

McGlinchey Stafford announced in September it was moving out of the building after morethan 30 years;

He hasechoed someofWyche’s concernsabout transparency from the city’searly leadership and called out the salaries adopted forthe mayor,council and police chief.

The issue has madeupalarge part of his platform, as have methods to make it easyfor St. George residentstoparticipate in the city’searlygovernment process.

Madaffari has pitched implementing quarterly town halls and Q&As, if he’s elected, as well as regular surveys he would like to putout to his constituents ahead of council votes to be informed on his residents’ viewpoints.

“I believe I’mthe only one who’s giventhese concretethingsI will do,” Madaffari saidabout his transparency initiatives. “We should be going above and beyond.

…Weneed to do abetter job in St. George.” Election Day polls open at 7a.m. Saturday and close at 8p.m.

EmailPatrickSloan-Turner at patrick.sloan-turner@ theadvocate.com.

ofﬁcials with the law ﬁrm said the uncertainty surrounding One American Place was afactor in thedecision to relocate.

BrianAndrews, executive director of the Real Estate Institute at LSU’sE.J. Ourso College of Business, said themarket is in an uncertain place. The shifting tariffs being implemented by President Donald Trump are causing concern and could lead to more inﬂation. That mayhinderthe outlookfor more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve

But Andrews said the market always movesina cycleand things will eventually be OK

“Stop doomscrolling anddon’t do anything stupid,” he said. TheTrends seminar started in 1988 as ajoint project of the commercial and investmentdivisionof LSU’sReal Estate Research Institute. The goal of the program is to educatemembers of thedivision, theirclients and other real estate practitioners in the Baton Rouge area about thelocal real estate market.

Email TimothyBooneat tboone@theadvocate.com.

Ofﬁcers’ body camera footage of the fatal shooting of an armed man in the parking lot of ahotel on April 20 has been released by the Baton Rouge Police Department.

The two officers, who were put on administrative leave after the shooting, were called to theSuper 6Innsand Suites in the 9000 block of Gwenadele Avenue around 3a.m.inresponse to adisturbance involvingan armed man In arelease accompanyingthe footage, PoliceChiefThomas Moore said the responding officersfound thesuspect,later identified as Kevin Vallian, in a vehicle with its alarm going off. Officerstried to deescalatethe situation, Moore said.

“Thesuspect,however,grabbed andfiredanAR-style rifle,” Moore saidinthe release. “One officer wasable to return fire, fatally wounding thesuspect.” Theofficers were abletoget the rifle and ahandgun from the suspect and “began lifesaving measures, including CPR, while awaiting EMS,” Moore said. The department has identified the officers as David Jennings and GeneMeazell.

While both ofﬁcershavebeen placed on leave, “I believe their quickthinking andintensive training is what brought them home safely to theirfamilies that night,” Morse said. Noting thataninternalinvestigationisunderway, Mooreadded that, based on apreliminary review of all related video footage, he doesn’t anticipate any disciplinary action for either of the ofﬁcers involved.

LOTTERY

WEDNESDAY,APRIL30, 2025

PICK 3: 8-9-1

PICK 4: 0-0-3-6

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ficial notification, keep your tickets

BRIEFS

FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

McDonald’sstore traffic falls unexpectedly

McDonald’sstore trafﬁc fell further than expected in the ﬁrst quarter as economic uncertainty weighed on diners.

The trouble was particularlyacute in the U.S., where same-store sales —or sales at locations open at least ayear —slumped 3.6%. That wasthe biggest U.S. decline McDonald’s has seensince 2020, when apandemic shuttered stores and restaurants and other public spaces nationwide.

McDonald’sChairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said lower-and middle-incomeconsumers, worried about inﬂation and the economic outlook, cut back on fast food during the January-March period.

Industrywide traffic from consumers making $45,000 per year or less wasdownbydouble-digit percentages, he said, andtraffic from middle-incomeconsumers was down nearly as much. Only traffic from those making $100,000 or more remainedsolid, he said.

McDonald’srivals have reported similar downturns. Yum Brands, which owns the Taco Bell,KFC, Habit Burger & Grill and Pizza Hut brands, said Wednesday that itsU.S.samestore sales fell 2% in the first quarter. Chipotle also reported weaker-than-expected samestore sales in the ﬁrst quarter

Ninja-branded pressure cookersrecalled

SharkNinja is recallingmore than2million pressure cookers sold in the U.S. and Canada after consumersreported more than 100 burn injuries spanning from ahazard that can cause hot food to spew out. According to arecall notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday,Ninja-branded“Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers” have alid that can be opened while the cooker is in use. That can cause hotcontentstoescapefromthe product, posing serious burn risks.

SharkNinja has received106 reports of burn injuriesinthe U.S. —including more than 50 reports of second or third-degreeburns to the face or body, per theCPSC, which adds that 26 lawsuits have been filed as aresult. No additional injuries have been reportedinCanada, according to an accompanying notice from Health Canada.

Those in possession of the now-recalled cookers are urged to immediately stop using the pressure-cooking function and contact Massachusetts-based SharkNinja for afree replacement lid. But you can still use the cookers’ other functions, including air frying, which are not affected by the recall.

The multiuse cookers were made in China and sold between early 2019 and the spring of 2025 at major retailers like Walmart Costco, Sam’sClub, Amazon and Target, as well as Ninjakitchen com, for about $200.

Average 30-year mortgage rateeases

The average rate on a30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased again this week, modest relief for prospective home shoppers during what’straditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

The rate fell to 6.76% from 6.81% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday Ayear ago, the rate averaged 7.22%.

Borrowing costson15-year fixed-rate mortgages,popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate dropped to 5.92% from 5.94% last week. It’s down from 6.47% ayear ago, Freddie Mac said. After climbing to ajustabove 7% in mid-January,the average rate on a30-year mortgage has remained above 6.62%, where it was just three weeks ago. It then spiked above 6.8% thenexttwo weeks, reﬂecting volatilityinthe 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as aguide to pricing home loans.

Microsoft, Meta boostWallStreet

BigTechcompanies report bigger profits

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEWYORK Microsoft and Meta Platforms led Wall Street higher Thursday after theBig Tech companiesreported profitsfor the start of the year that were even bigger than analysts expected.

The S&P 500 rose for an eighth straight gain, its longest winning streak since August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also climbed.

Microsoft rallied 7.6% after the software giant said strength in its cloud computingand artiﬁcial intelligencebusinessesdrove its

overall revenue up 13% from a year earlier Meta, theparent company of Facebook andInstagram, also topped analysts’ targets for revenue and proﬁt in the latestquarter.Itsaid AI tools helped boost its advertising revenue, and its stock climbed 4.2%.

They’re two of themost inﬂuential stocks within the S&P 500 andother indexesbecause of their massive sizes, andtheyweren’t alone. CVSHealth, Carrier Global and abevy of other companies also joined the stream of betterthan-expected proﬁt reports that have helped steadyWall Street

over thelastweek. TheS&P 500 is backtowithin9%ofits record setearlier thisyear,after briefly dropping nearly 20% below the mark. Still, plenty of uncertainty remains about whetherPresident Donald Trump’strade warwill force the economy into arecession. Even though companies have been reportingbetter profitsfor thefirst three months of the year than analysts expected, manyCEOs are remaining cautious about the rest of the year General Motors cut its forecast for profit in 2025, forexample.It said it’sassuming it will feel ahit of $4 billion to $5 billion because of tariffs, and it expects to offset at least 30% of it. GM’s stock slipped

0.4%. The uncertainty has already shown up in surveys of consumers, which say pessimism is shooting higher about where the economy heading. On Thursday,acouple reports aboutthe economy came in mixed, following up on several recent updates that suggested it’s weakening.

The first of the reports said more U.S. workers filed for unemploymentbenefits last week than economists had forecast, setting the stage for amore comprehensive report on the job market arriving Friday

But alater update said U.S. manufacturing activity wasbetter last month than economists had feared, though it still contracted again.

BYANNE D’INNOCENZIO

and DIDI TANG Associated Press

NEWYORK Consumers can expecthigher prices and delivery delayswhen theTrumpadministration ends aduty-free exemption on low-value imports from ChinaonFriday

Theexpiration of the so-called de minimis rule that has allowed as many as 4million low-value parcels to come into theU.S every day —mostlyfrom China —isalso forcing businesses that have built their models on sourcing production in China to rethinktheir practices in order to keeptheircosts down. Butsomemight actually beneﬁtfrom thetermination of the duty exemption. For instance, companies that make their goods in the U.S. mayfeel relief from the competition of cheap Chinese

It’llbeVenture Global’s second plant

imports, andlikelyexperience a brighter sales outlook.

Themove, which appliesto goods originating from mainland China and Hong Kong, comes on top of President Donald Trump’s new tariffs totaling 145% on China. Beijing has retaliated with tariffs of 125% on theU.S., fueling atrade war between the world’stwo largest economies. Sellers are already seeing cautiousconsumers.

On Wednesday, Trumpcalled thedeminimis exemption “a big scam going on against our country,against really small businesses.

Introduced in 1938, thedeminimis exception was intended to facilitate the ﬂowofsmall packages valued at no more than $5, the equivalent of about $109 today. The threshold rose to $800 in 2016. Butthe rapid rise of crossbordere-commerce, drivenby

China,has challengedthe intent of the decades-old customs exception rule.

Chineseexports of low-value packages soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billionin2018, according to aFebruary report by the Congressional Research Service. And the U.S. market has been amajor destination.

Consumerswill face higher prices and delivery delays now that parcels will go through a more complicated customs process to enterthe U.S. involving declaration andduty payment.

Businesses could factor tariffs into the ﬁnal price, or they can list them separatelyinthe same way as sales taxes. For instance, Temu,which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, now lists “import charges” that have reportedly doubled manyitems’ prices. (The retailer also hasa “local ware-

house” option for someproducts, which are shippedfrom within the U.S. and therefore avoids the import charge.)

Parcel carriers will be burdened with collecting duties, and the paperwork to comply with the newrule could result notonly in higher prices but also delays and even disruptions to delivery, said Ram Ben Tzion of the vetting platform Publican.

Major commercial carriers such as UPSand FedEx have saidthey are well-equipped and preparedtocollect dutieson internationalparcels in compliance with local laws, including the new U.S. rule.

Commercial carriers will be collecting 145%tariffs on declared values. The U.S. Postal Service, agovernment agency that offers international mail service, can choose either to charge a120% tariff on low-value packages or aﬂat feeof$100 per shipment, which is set to rise to $200 on June 1.

VentureGlobal saidithas pur-

chase agreements with companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and ChinaGas for the LNG produced at theplant. TheLNG export business has been booming in Louisiana since at least 2010, when Cheniere Energy ﬁrst appliedtoshipthe fuel from its then-planned Sabine Pass terminalinsouthwest Louisiana. Threeother LNG terminals have opened in the state since then, mostrecently Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG, whichstarted production in December.Venture

Global announced plans in March for an $18 billion expansion of Plaquemines LNG, which would make it the largest exporter in North America. Earlierthis week,Woodside Energy madeaﬁnal investment decision to go ahead withthe Louisiana LNGproductionand export facility in Calcasieu Parish. The $17.5 billion facility is expected to start production in 2029.

Email TimothyBoone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

Ferdinand, Willie Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 4848 Hollywood St Baton RougeLiveStream on ZOOM:242116-169 Passcode: 541955

Fitzsimmons,Brady

St.Rita Catholic Church in Santa Rosa Beach,FL, at 2p.m

Grider,Kenneth Greenoaks FuneralHomeat2pm

Junot,Carrie

Holy Family Catholic Church in Port Allenat10am.

Mathews, Lois OldFountain BaptistChurch at 11:00am.

Merrick,Robert St.Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church at 12pm

Rivere,Regina

Holy Rosary Catholic Church,44450 Highway 429, SaintAmant,LAat 11am

Romero,Jerome CathedralofSt. John theEvangelist in Lafayette at 3p.m

Wheat,Tonya RedOak BaptistChurch.28760 S. RedOak Rd Livingston, LAat 11am

Obituaries

Banks, PamelaLockett

Pamela Lockett Banks, a retired educator in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System entered eternal rest on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at the age of 70. She was agraduate of Southern University Laboratory School and Southern University and A&M College. Survived by her sons, Gregory Banks, Jr. (Shuntay) of Haughton, LA and Christopher Banks (Simone) of Charlotte, NC; agranddaughter Ella Renée Banks of Charlotte, NC and ahost of family and friends. Visitation Saturday May 3, 2025, 9:00 AM until religious service at 11:00 AM, Greater Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, 1414 Sora St., Baton Rouge, LA. Pastor Clee Lowe officiating. Entombment willfollow at Heavenly Gates Mausoleum, 10633VeteransMemorial Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70807

Blanchard, Gerald Paul

Gerald Paul Blanchard, 80, aresidentofLakeRose‐mound,wenttobewithhis Lordand Savior on Thurs‐day,May 1, 2025 at his homesurrounded by his lovingfamily. He wasborn January 27, 1945. He retired fromEthyl Corp,Reynolds Metals, AlcoaCorpand Great Lakes. Visitation will beonMonday, May5,2025 atOur Lady of Perpetual HelpCatholicChurch,3147 Church Street,Jackson,La 70748 from 9:00 am until Rosaryat10:30 am and massat11:00 am con‐ductedbyFr. Brad Doyle. BurialwillfollowinHill‐crestCemetery, Norwood.

Gerald is survived by his wifeof47years,Diane Hadskey Blanchard, chil‐dren, RhondaMiller(Ivy), Leigh Anne Blanchard (William) andGeraldPaul Blanchard II (Julee), grand‐children, Al Prewitt, Han‐nah Prewitt, Jordyn Man‐chester,VictoriaHadden, WilliamJosephBlanchard and Amelia MarieBlan‐chard and6 greatgrand‐children. He is preceded in death by hisparents,Cot‐ton and Inez Blanchard, brothers, Glynnand Donald Blanchard andsister, Bar‐baraAnne Blanchard. Ger‐ald graduatedinthe first class of Jackson High School in 1963 andat‐tendedLSU.He proudly servedinthe US AirForce duringVietnam.Hewas a 4th Degree Archbishop An‐toine BlancAssembly2047 Knights of Columbus of Lakeland, LA and3rd De‐greeCouncil #7856 Knights of Columbus of St Francisville. He waspast Grand Knight andFaithful Navigator.Heloved fishing, hunting, volunteering and cooking. He wasa season ticketholderand never misseda LSUfootballand baseballgamein62years Special thanks to Hospice ofBaton Rouge forall the careand love showntoour familyinour time of need In lieu of flowers, please makememorialdonations toOur Lady of Perpetual HelpCatholicChurch.Pall‐bearers will be Al Prewitt, Will Blanchard, JamieGuil‐lory, JamesWilliams, Paul Blanchard,Ivy Miller,Benji Felker, KenJenkins,Heath Allen,and BillyMickens Honorarypallbearers are his brothers in theKnights ofColumbus.

In LovingMemory of CatherineBryantMuse (1933 -2025) "But they that waitupon the Lord shall renewtheir strength..." —Isaiah40:31. Catherine BryantMuse, a devoted mother, grandmother, and womanof faith, passed awaypeacefully on April 22, 2025, at the age of 91. Shewas born on September28, 1933,in Clinton, Louisiana,tothe late Haywood and Lizzie Bryant.She was united in marriage to the late John Delee Muse,and together they raised sevenchildren. Her memory is lovingly cherishedbyDarlene (Arthur) Joseph of Irvine, California; Barbara (Bennie) ArmsteadofClinton, Louisiana;Jeanette (John) Matthews and John L. Muse,both of Slaughter, Louisiana;Judy (Merlin) Miller of Baton Rouge, Louisiana;and Charles(Lydia)Muse of Houma, Louisiana.and ahost of grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, great-great grand children and extended family. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, daughter Geraldine Muse,three grandchildren, and several siblings. Catherine's life was atestamenttograce and faith.Her love and legacy willliveoninthe hearts of allwho knew her. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May3, 2025,at12:00PMatEast

Feliciana STEAMAcademy, 9414 Plank Road,Clinton, Louisiana 70722.

JefferyJerome Coleman age 44 was called home on Sunday April 27, 2025 at his home with lovedones. He was born in BatonRouge, La. to Elaine (Rev. David) NelsononAugust 27, 1980. Jeffery graduated from WhiteCastle HighSchool in 1998. He exchanged vows with his wife Tiffany Coleman in December 2020. He is survived by his 5kidsJermaineLandry, Timothy Simmons, A'niyah Allen, Anthony Allen, and AlaysiaAllen, and 4grandkids,and his 4stepchildren Breshon Lewis, Meisha Lewis, Major Lewis Jr., MarlonLewis, his grandparents Dorothy and (Curtis) Burks and his sibilings Gennifer Coleman, Daniel Coleman, WadeColeman and Dorthy Coleman II and ahost of aunts, uncle's, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Jeffery enjoyed fishing spending time with family and friends, cooking (mainly barbecue), and showing so much love.Healso enjoyed travelingwithhis wife and kids as wellashis favorite football team theSan Francisco 49ers. He's preceded in death by his grandfather Marcelis Coleman, Uncle Ed Coleman, and Geraldine Coleman.

Religious Service SaturdayMay 3, 2025 at St Paul Baptist Church 33110 BowieStat11:00 am White Castle,La70788 Visiting at RoscoeMortuary Plaquemine from5 to 7pmofficiating by RevSam Pierre

Candice Renea Craig, age 40, went home to be with her Lord and savior on April24, 2025, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was born on June 15, 1984, to CurtisRobertsonSr. and Pamela CraigRobertson. She acceptedGod into herheart at an early age and remained devoted throughout her life Avisitationwillbeheld on Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Winnfield Funeral Home, 7221 Plank Road,Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ACelebrationofLife service will follow from2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

of Belle Rose,LA, passed awaypeacefullyather homeonApril 17, 2025, at the ageof73. Visitation on Friday, May2,2025, at Williams &SouthallFuneral HomeinNapoleonville,LA, from2:00pmto4:00pm. VisitationonSaturday, May 3, 2025, at GreaterIs‐raelBaptist Church from 9:00amuntil thetimeofre‐ligious services at 11:00am Intermentwillfollowinthe church cemetery.Arrange‐ments by Williams & SouthallFuneralHome, 5414 Hwy1,Napoleonville LA70390. Formoreinfor‐mationortosignthe guest book,pleasevisit their website at williamsand‐southallfuneralhome.com

www.williamsandsouthall funeralhome.com

King,Ray Andrew 'Stepper'

Hall-Njepu, Crystal Shabrell

Enteredinto eternal rest on April15, 2025 at theage of 63. Survived by her daughters, Demetricand Anitric Pate; son, John Fruge' Jr.; sisters,Brenda Davisand Mary Ann Dabney; brother, Nathaniel Javius; grandchild, Jalaysia Drake; Preceded in death by Viola C. Javius, Lisa Javius, Edwin. L. Javius, WilbertMoore,Jr.,Virgil Javius, Jr CharlesRay Javius, and Larry Javius. Visitation Saturday, May 3, 2025, Saint Gerard Catholic Church, 3808 Saint Gerard Avenue,Baton Rouge, LA., 9:00 am until religious service at 10:00 am. Father Tate Hoang, C.Ss.R officiating.Interment Southern Memorial GardensBaton Rouge, LA. FuneralService EntrustedtoHallDavis and Son.

Allen“Skinny Al”Green Sr. departed this life on Sunday, April13, 2025, at Chateau Napoleon Caring inNapoleonville,LA. He was 66, anativeand resi‐dentofNew Orleans, LA VisitationonSaturday, May 3, 2025, at Williams & SouthallFuneralHome from9:00amtoreligious servicesat11:00am.Inter‐mentprivate.Arrange‐ments by Williams & SouthallFuneralHome, 5414 Hwy1,Napoleonville, LA70301. To sign theguest book andoffercondo‐lences,visit ourwebsite at

CrystalShabrellHall Njepuwas born on November20, 1985, in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, to Dianne (Wiley) and Lawrence Hall. Crystaldeparted this life on April 25, 2025. CelebrationofLife-Saturday, May3,2025, at MountGideonBaptist Church,Maringouin, Louisiana 70757. Visitation andviewing from 9a.m. to 11 a.m. Servicesbegin promptly at 11:00 a.m.

Travis Heath Henderson aresident of Rosedale, LA passedawaypeacefullyat hisresidenceonApril 18, 2025 after hisbattle with Canceratthe age of 56. Travis made acareerinthe railroadindustry with UnionPacific. He enjoyed ridinghis Harleyand hada talentfor findingthe best "hole in thewall bar"in anytown he visited. He truly enjoyed hislifetothe fullest in everyway that he could. ACelebrationofRemembrance honoring the life of Travis will be held on Saturday, May3,2025, 11:00 A.M., 14105 Hwy. 77, Rosedale, LA 70772. Travis is survivedbyhis mother; JoyLockwood, Willard, MO brother; Chad &wife Tina Henderson, RuralHall, NC, sister;Chrissy &husband Shawn Ritchey, Wasilla, AK ,two nephews; Skyler and Gavyn Henderson, two nieces; Ryley andBristol Ritchey, andmanyclose friends whoheconsidered family. Travis waspreceded in death by hisfather; Charles Ronald Henderson. Professional ServicesEntrustedTo: A. Wesley FuneralHome Maringouin, La.

With profound sorrow andsolemn reverence, we announce thepassing of ourbeloved Ray Andrew "Stepper" King,who departedthis earthly life on the21st of April,inthe year of ourLord2025 at the age of 83. Apublicviewing shall be held in hishonor on Saturday, the3rd of May, from 8:00a.m. to 9:50a.m. at F.T. Missionary Baptist Church,4712 Highway10, Jackson,LA. The celebrationoflifeservice will follow at 10:00a.m. His earthly remains shall be laidtorest at McKowen Baptist Church,7325 Jones ConnellRoad, St.Francisville,LA. Arrangements have been entrusted to Richardson Funeral Home of Clinton,11816 Jackson Street,Clinton,LA

Jo Ann“Jody”Landry passedawaypeacefullyat the ageof84onFriday, April 25, 2025, surrounded byher family. Shewas a lovingand devotedwife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.Jody was born in NewRoads, Louisiana,and movedto Baton Rougeata young age.She attended St.Ger‐ard Majella Catholic School and graduatedfromRe‐demptoristHighSchool in 1958. Jody completedtwo years of collegeat Louisiana StateUniversity. She wasemployedat Exxon FederalCreditUnion for over 20 years, where she beganasa tellerand retired as theChief Execu‐tiveOfﬁcer. Beyond her noteworthycareer,Jody was alongtimeparishioner ofSt. PatrickCatholic Church.Her devotion to her faith wasalsoreﬂected inher outreach to thecom‐munity as theCo-director ofthe Associates with the School SistersofNotre

Escude’, Ursula St Paul theApostle Catholic Church in Mansuraat11am.

Coleman, Jeffery Jerome

Landry,JoAnn 'Jody'

Fruge', Patricia J.

Bryant Muse, Catherine

HENDERSON, TRAVIS

Craig, Candice Renea

GreenSr.,Allen 'SkinnyAl'

Dame,where shededi‐cated herselftospreading the “good news”ofJesus Christ. Sheembodiedthe CorporalWorks of Mercyin every aspect of herlife. In 2011, Jody wasinducted intothe Redemptorist High SchoolHallofFame, which represented herprofes‐sionalaccomplishments and well as herdedication toChristian servicetothe Catholic Church,the SchoolSisters of Notre Dame, andher community Her favorite pastimes in‐cludedpraying,helping others, cooking, and spendingtimewith her family. Jody waspreceded indeath by herbeloved husband of 33 years, Leroy J.Landry; herparents,Leo and ChristineGoudeau;her brother,Leo Dale Goudeau; her sister-in-law, Betty Goudeau;her great-grand‐son,William Bailey,III; and her stepdaughter,Debra LandryDiez. Sheissur‐vived by hertwo children CherieCampagnaBailey and herspouse, Bill,and LynnGregoryCampagnaJr. and hisspouse, Mary Beth; ﬁve grandchildren, Bill Bai‐ley andhis spouse,Tiffany, Christopher Bailey andhis spouse, Meranda, Made‐lineBailey, Ryan Cam‐pagna andhis spouse, Holly,and Caroline Cam‐pagna;and four greatgrandchildren,HarperBai‐ley,BrooksBailey, Flora Bailey, andDaphne Cam‐pagna.She is also survived byLeroy's children and grandchildren,whomshe consideredher own, Roy Landryand hisspouse, LaDonna,and Todd Landry and hisspouse, Shannon; her sevengrandchildren, Jacob Diez andhis spouse Jessica,AmandaDiezand her spouse,Elvis,Josh Landryand hisspouse, Sylvia, ChristinaLandry and herspouse, Tanner TaylorLandryand his spouse, Caroline,Derek Landryand hisspouse, Aimee, andKarlynLandry; and hertwelvegreatgrandchildren,Rebecca Diez, Landry Diez,Debra Grace Stewart, Ella Stew‐art,Blake Stewart, Sophia Landry, Isabelle Landry, Brayden Gutierrez, Gage Gutierrez,Drake Gutierrez, Julia Landry,and Priscilla Landry. Thefamilyre‐queststhatvisitinghours beobservedonSaturday, May 3, 2025, at St.Patrick Catholic Church,12424 Brogdon Lane in Baton Rouge from 9:00 a.m. until the Mass of ChristianBur‐ial at 11:00 a.m.,celebrated byFatherMichael Miceli Pallbearers includeBillBai‐ley,Christopher Bailey, Ryan Campagna,Jacob

Diez,JoshLandry, Taylor Landry, andDerek Landry

The intermentwilltake place at ResthavenGar‐densofMemory. In lieu of ﬂowers, please donate to the School SistersofNotre Dameorthe LouisianaHe‐mophiliaFoundation. Fam‐ily andfriends maysign the online guestbook or leave apersonalnoteto the family at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com

Lusted, Barry Emile

BarryEmile Lusted, age 71, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,passed awayon February 25, 2025.Hewas a well-lovedand respected classical guitarist and guitar instructor. Barryperformedinvarious local venues and taught guitar through the Division of Continuing Education at LSU,atTrafton Academy at Episcopal High School, and in aprivate studiofor over 50 years. He was an avid scuba diver and spear fisherman. He also hada loveand giftfor cooking He was alife-long member of Broadmoor United MethodistChurch. Above all, he was passionate abouthis familyand friends. Barry is preceded in deathbyhis parents, EmileWarren Lusted and HildaBarr Lusted. He is survived by his lovingwife of 42 years, Dona Lusted; his children, Lori Nesbitt (Nick) and Luke Lusted (Jennifer); grandchildren, NoraNesbitt,Nathaniel Lusted, and Bennett Lusted; brother,John Lusted (Cathie); sister,Hilary Cheek(Larry); and many dear friends. Avisitation willbeheld at 9:00AMon Saturday, May 3atBroadmoor UnitedMethodist Church followed by a memorialservice at 11:00 AM. The family wishesto thankthe compassionate staffatMaryBird Perkins CancerCenter and Baton Rouge General Bluebonnet

In lieu of flowers,donations can be madetothe music ministry of BroadmoorUnited Methodist Church.

Maracalin, Tyrone Micheal

Entered into eternal rest on April23, 2025 at theage of 70. He was aLab Analyst,for WestlakeCorporation, retiredwith40years of service. Survivedbyhis wife, Carol TillmanMaracalin; daughter,Taylor MichelleMaracalin; sisters, Barbara M. Diggs and KarlaM.Jordan; brothers, Frank Maracalin Jr.and Julius Maracalin. Preceded in death by his parents, Frank Sr. and Gladys K. Maracalin; Jacqueline M. Williams and Jonathan Maracalin. Visitation Friday, May 2, 2025, Mount Zion InnerCity, 24400 EleanorDrive, Plaquemine, LA 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Visitation continues, Saturday, May 3, 2025, 9:00 am until religious service at 11:00 am. Reverend Ricardo Handyofficiating.Entombment Heavenly Gates Cemetery of BatonRouge, Baton Rouge,LA. Funeral Service EntrustedtoHall Davis and Son. www.halldavisandson.com

Robert W. Merrick,Jr. August 31,1944 -April 28, 2025. It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Robert W. Merrick (Bob), abeloved civic leader, philanthropist, keen flyfisherman, husband, father, step-father, grandfather and greatgrandfather, on April 28th, at theage of 80.

Bob was known for his zest for life and unwavering deep commitment to both his beloved Louisiana and thepassions he cherished. Bornand raised in NewOrleans, Bob was a man whose spirit embodiedthe rich culture and grit of his hometown.

Bob attended Sam Barthe Elementary school, St.Martin'sEpiscopal high school, and Tulane University, where he formed many lasting friendshipsand created a foundationfor his illustrious career.

Throughout hislife,Bob was known for his commitment to making New Orleans abetterplace.He dedicatedcountless hours and significant resources to philanthropic endeavors that arenearlytoo numerous to count.Hegavegenerously to theRed Cross, University of NewOrleans, OchsnerHealth System, MD Anderson, Boy Scouts of SoutheastLouisiana, Sonofa Saint,RuthFertel Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, ForeKids Foundation, Junior Achievement of Greater NewOrleans, theUnited Way of Southeast Louisiana, theNational WWIIMuseum, March of Dimes, St.Martin's Episcopal School, and Isidore Newman School. He was honoredtobethe first personinthe state of Louisiana to give over million dollars to both the United Way of Southeast Louisiana and theRed Cross.

In recognitionofhis

generosity, Bob was honored with TheNational Red CrossHumanitarian of the Year Award,The University of NewOrleans Chancellors Medallion for DistinguishedService,The NewOrleans Councilfor Community& Justice's WeissAward,Mobil Oil Company"Strategic Partnerofthe Year", Gambit'sNew Orleanian of theYear, TheAlexis de Tocqueville Lifetime AchievementAward from United Way, andthe prestigiousTimes-Picayune Loving Cup.

Bob excelledinthe business world, earning the respect and admiration of colleaguesand competitors alike.Bob formed his owncompanyin1973, Robert W. Merrick, Inc., Realtors handlingappraisal and brokeragewith particular emphasis on commercial andindustrial properties. During that time, Bob andone of his mentors, Heidel Brown,negotiatednumerousbrokerage transactionsofmajor Mississippi Riverindustrial sites from Baton Rouge to Plaquemines Parish _In 1986, Bob purchased Latter &Blum, Inc./Realtorsone of thelargest and oldest, full service real estate companiesinLouisiana. Subsequent to this initial acquisition,Bob hasacquirednumerous local brokerage firms andhas incorporated amortgage firm, atitle company, and insurance agency.In1995, Bob acquired C.J. Brown Realtors in Baton Rouge, themarket leader in that area, in 2009 he acquired Noles Frye Realtyin Alexandria, Louisiana, and in 2012 he acquiredthe largest real estatecompany in Lafayette, Louisiana, VanEaton &Romeo. In 2015 Latter &Blumacquiredone of the largest real estate companiesin Houston, Realty Associates with over 2,000 agents. Over thenext nearly forty years, Bob grew Latter and Blumintoone of the largest and most successful full service real estate firms in theGulf South,recently selling to NewYork basedCompass Real Estate.

It is impossible to encompass theamount of joy andpride Bob felt steering Latter andBlum throughoutthe years. Thecountless friendshipsheformed with itsemployeesand

agents filled his days with immensehappiness. The entire Latter andBlum/ Compass group was truly Bob's "other family", and we wouldliketoparticularly thank his loyal assistantofoverforty years, TerriBurke Bob hada wickedsense of humor and an uncanny abilitytoconnect with people from all walks of life. An avidlover of the outdoors,hefound immense joyinstalkingwild turkeyand fly fishingthe saltwater flatsofMexico with hisdear friendand guideChico (EutemioChin) by hisside. Bob's passion for theoutdoorsallowed himtoappreciatethe beautyofnature andforge unforgettable memories with familyand friends. Hisadventuresonthe waterwerelegendary, catchinganimpressive 138 Permitinhis lifetime,not to mention countless Tarpon, Snook, and Bonefish.Hewas happiest with arod or guninhis hand, aWinston cigarette betweenhis lips, andan icecold glass of Tito'sby hisside. Bob lived an incrediblyfulllife, packing tenlives into his80years, enriching theworld around himwith love,laughterand generosity. He didn'tburn thecandleoflifeatboth ends, he snapped it in half andburnedall four

He leaves behind not only alegacyofphilanthropy and leadership,but also aprofound impact on theheartsofthosewho knew him. Hisnumerous friends andcolleagues will miss hislargerthanlife presence, butnonemore than hisfamily. Bob was preceded in death by his parents Robert W. Merrick Sr., motherElaine Herbst MerrickGelpi,and stepsister Nita Weil.Heleaves behind his belovedwife Sheryl, sisters; Patricia MerrickBrinson (Vernon) andSusan Merrick; his daughters Elizabeth (Ellie) Merrick, ChristineMerrick Stewart (Andrew), Amanda MerrickSeale(Justin) Lacey MerrickConway (Jason), step-son Justin Duplantis(Adele), grandchildren; Taylor Ghere Smith (Taylor), Laney Ghere Marion(Ryan), Lillian Andersson, Merrick Andersson, Henry Andersson, Tatem Seale, Alexander Seale, Merrick Seale, Olivia Conway, and Hunter Conway. He also

Merrick, Robert Winfried

OPINION

Tulane must speakout,protect internationalstudents

Stan Oklobdzija GUEST COLUMNIST

The United States is once again proving that the only nation strong enoughtoundermine us is ourselves. The Trump administration’s recent attacks on foreign students have made our institutions of higher educationfar less attractive placestostudy and work. If American university presidents do not forcefully denounce these unconstitutional and unAmerican actions, our universities will soon be shells of their formerselves, like their counterparts in Russia, Hungary and other nations that have lapsed into authoritarian rule.

Tulane University —one of 60 universities speciﬁcally targeted by the Trump administration last month for alleged Civil Rights Act violations —ought to be among theﬁrst to draw aline in the sand and place itself on the right side of history America’suniversities are by far the best of any nation, pre-

Andrew Leber GUEST COLUMNIST

cisely because the best from other nations choose our universities over their own.Foreignborn scientists at American universitieshave won 90 Nobel Prizes and comprise 22% of faculty

Many of these eminent thinkers work in America because they came to study in America

In the past several weeks, more than1,500 of these students— including at least two from Tulane —have found themselves the subject of both summary revocationoftheir legal residency status or imprisonment in ICE facilities thousands of miles from theirhomes —many just afew hours away in Jena.

In some of these cases, video footage has emerged of plainclothed ICE agentsforcing these students into unmarked cars in scenes thatwould not be out of place in police states like Russia, Egypt or China. Though the Trump administration caved

to legal pressure and moved to restore some of these visas on April25, ofﬁcials told The New York Times that visa revocations would continue in the future.

The official justification by several Trump administration figures is that some of these students’ legal statuses were revoked becausetheyparticipated in protests againstthe Israeli invasion of Gaza. While some of these protests indeed turned violent,none of the students detained was accused of specific criminal behavior such as assault or property destruction For those like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, it was enough that these studentswere “a participant in those movements” to warranttheir summary deportation

The First Amendment does not just protect speech the government agrees with or speech by just onepreferred group of people. Rather,the First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of political speech to everyone standing on American soil.

University administrators are slowly beginning to speak out. Arecent letter signed by hun-

Amendments’failure offers cluestowhatcomes next

The defeat of all four constitutional amendments on the ballot in March came as asurprise to most political pundits. Particularly the margin of defeat and the size of the turnoutwhich, albeit small —21% —was certainly more than expected. Aquick look at electoral history shows that voters have been discerning when it comes to votingon constitutional amendments. Since enacting the Constitution in 1974, there have been more than 500 proposedamendments. Before this election, 321 had passed and221 had failed. That’sabout a60% pass rate,a failing grade by most standards. One of the challenges facingbill drafters is crafting “concise andunbiased” language to go on the ballot.These brief summaries are allavoter may know about an amendment. For example, Amendment 1was described as allowingthe Louisiana Supreme Court to disciplineout-of-state attorneys (this is already allowed bylaw). The ballot language added “andallowing the Legislature to create new specialty courts.” The latter provision wasseemingly the real purposeofthe bill. Voters either decided we have enough courts or they adopted the “vote no on everything” mentality and killed this otherwiseuncontroversialproposal.

to death,” legislatorsand supporters obviously believed the good outweighed the bad. Thepublic felt otherwise.

dreds of college anduniversity presidents —but notTulane’s —openly opposes “undue government intrusion in the livesof those wholearn, live,and work on our campuses.” This response heeds PastorMartin Niemoller’s famous aphorism of life in the early days of Nazi rule:Ifyou do not speak out, there will soon be no one left to speak out for you.

Universitieslike Tulane are respected institutions both in their own communitiesand throughout their expansive alumni networks. When we speak as one, we command attention andreafﬁrm our shared commitment to the moral foundations on which both democracy andacademicinquiry are based.

Moreimportantly,joining together now givesusstrength in numbers. As Benjamin Franklin supposedly said at the signing of theDeclarationofIndependence, “Wemustall hang together,or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

We urge President Michael Fitts and others in the Tulane administration to unequivocally and publicly denouncethe Trump

administration’ssummary revocations of students’ andscholars’ legalstatus. We further urge Tulane’s administrationtojoin otheruniversitiesinlegal action to enjoin the government and its agents from arresting, detaining or deporting university students, staff andfaculty for their political speech

Finally,weurge Tulane’sadministrationtopublicly pledge nottodivulge anypersonal informationofstudents, staff or faculty to Immigration and Customs Enforcementorany other federal agencies forpurposes of carrying outdeportations.

Many othercolleagues are currently at work helping noncitizen students navigate ahostile political landscapeand an uncertain future.

We encourage Tulane University to lead by example and show the nationwhatittruly means to act “Notfor oneself, but for one’s own.”

StanOklobdzija andAndrew Leber areassistantprofessors in Tulane University’sDepartment of PoliticalScience.

Anew modelisneeded with TOPS fallingshort

Legislatorsare looking into waysto improve TOPS to retain the state’sbest and brightest.

Jay Dardenne GUEST COLUMNIST

Contrary to somecommentary in the aftermath of thevote, this was not awatershed moment for Democrats. The party occupies no statewide ofﬁce and struggles under asuper majority of Republicans in the legislature. The state remains redder than abottle of hot sauce. Nor was this aSoros-led repudiation of Republican initiatives Left-leaning groups spent money, but not as much as those supporting Amendment 2. The amendmentswere trounced everywhere, including normally Republican strongholds.

Louisianans arenot “conditioned for failure” as thegovernor inappropriately suggested. Voterssimply were unwilling to accept this “one size ﬁts all” approach.

TOPS is an achievement-based scholarship. Studentsneed to earn aminimum ACT score of 20 to qualify for aTOPSaward. According to thelatest Board of Regents legislative report, the average ACT score is 24.5 and 38% of these high achievers earn abachelor’sin4.4 years, while 62% complete in six years, mostly after high school. The report also shows TOPS Tech students take 3.7 years to complete atwo-year degree after high school. What can we learn from this? Is the amount of the TOPS scholarship the issue or could it be something else?

More to thepoint was the language summarizing Amendment 2. Thiswas avirtuallyimpossible task sincethe amendment was acomplete rewrite of Article VII dealing with taxation. Anything dealing with taxes gets the voters’ attention. The summary led with apermanentpay raise for teachers and areduction in income tax. It described all of the “good”but omitted the provisions that wouldbeg formore information.

The amendment embraced many of the reforms that had been advocated foryears by good government groups; however, it also included some problematic changes that resulted from tryingtoaccomplish an entire rewrite in asingle amendment(the state’sversion of “one bigbeautifulbill”). The legislative instrumentcreating Amendment 2asintroduced was not nearly as far-reaching as the115-page end result. The complexity resulted from numerous amendments.Asone legislator observed years ago, amendinga billrepeatedly is “loving it to death,” i.e.,making it so lengthy and unwieldy that it fails to pass. Although Amendment 2was “loved

Gov.Jeff Landry was wise to impose a hiring freezeinthe wake of Amendment 2’sfailure and the cloud of uncertainty hanging over thestate as aresult of the DOGE initiative and the anticipated revenueshortfall in the upcoming year.The next Revenue Estimating Conference will hopefully adopt aconservative forecast, as has been the case for anumber of years. It is particularly important to do so this year,based on the speculative nature of theﬁscal notes created to compare reducing income tax and increasing sales tax, which thelegislature did last year Thehope is that they offset, but thepossibility exists that they won’t.

As the Legislature ponders its next move,it would be wise to do several things: de-linkand separate thecompetingobjectives that were rolled into one bill; put the purposed amendments on a fall ballot when turnout would be higher; focusonreforms like gradually reducing and eliminating thebusiness inventory tax with some concession to thefew local governments which arelargely dependent on this revenue source; provide easier legislative access to therelatively new Revenue Stabilization Fund but protect the Rainy Day Fund in its present form

Iamconﬁdent that the Legislature will give voters another opportunity to make necessary changes in the constitution in smaller and more understandable bites.

Jay Dardenne is aformer state senator, secretaryofstate, lieutenant governor and commissioner of administration.

lege classes, either.Students must meet the sameacademic expectations of any other college students, placing “college ready” on the Accuplacer assessment and/or having aqualiﬁed GPAtostart taking college-level classes. We provide remediation support to those who do not meet these standards. And students are rising to the challenge.

Kevin Teasley GUEST COLUMNIST

At GEO Next Generation High School, we are seeing atrend that is worthy of consideration.

It’snot only leading to better student outcomes but also saving big money for thestate and its families.

This year’sgraduating class continues to prove thevalue proposition the school makes to its students— do your part and theschool will do its part to maximize time and money,making sure you earn a college degree debt-free before graduating from high school.

The student population at the northeast-side open enrollment charter school is 100% minority and nearly100% low-income. The “B” state-rated school created aunique partnership with Baton Rouge CommunityCollege, placing nearly 50% of itshigh school students on the college campus every day.Studentsstartasearly as ninth grade taking college classes. They learn critical soft skills college professors expect, such as time management, self-discipline and how to workwith others. In short, they gain theknowledge, conﬁdence and grit they need to be successful in college—all while earning ahigh school diplomaand college credential simultaneously This doesn’thappen without areal commitment from school leaders. GEO’s staff provides academic, social and emotional support to ensure students succeed at the college level. After all, mostare theﬁrst in theirfamilies to go to college.

We don’trequire aminimum ACT score for studentstostart taking col-

Six (10%) earned their associate’sdegree in our ﬁrst graduating class. Fourteen (20%) completed their associate’sdegree last year And 20 (30%) of our 2025 graduates completed their associate degree beﬁre graduating from high school this year This is apositive trend. The impact of GEO’smodel extends beyond earning an associate degree in high school, too. This year,two of our six 2023 associate degree earners are completing their bachelor’sdegree from Xavier and LSUA, respectively,just two years out of high school. Three more will complete their bachelor’sfrom LSU next year,just three years removed from high school. Here is the real kicker.These students are earning these degrees without TOPS funding. GEOcovers 100% of all college costs incurred by our students while they are in our high school —tuition, textbooks and transportation —with the samestate funds provided to traditional public schools. There are no additional state costs.

GEO’smodel blurs the line between high school and college. We are improving high school graduation rates, accelerating time of college degree completion rates, using existing taxpayer resources (BRCC) and, perhaps most importantly,weare preparing students to enter the workforce and becometaxpaying citizens earlier in life.

TOPS is an important part of Louisiana’sfuture.

However,the Board of Regents notes that participation rates by minorities are moving too slowly to close achievementgaps fast enough. Hopefully,GEO has introduced anew,promising strategy to strengthen Louisiana’sfuture for all to consider

KevinTeasleyisfounder of the GEO Academy charter schoolsinBaton Rouge.

COMMENTARY

ROOM FOR DEBATE THE DEMOCRATS

After Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in thepresidential election, Democrats have struggled to define the direction of their party.Recent movesbytwo Illinois Democrats, however, maygivesomeindication.After serving 44 yearsinCongress,Sen. Dick Durbin announced he will not be running for asixthterm, opening anew leadership spotfor Democrats in the Senate.Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker,widely considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, gave a fieryspeech in NewHampshire urging Democratsto fight the Trump administration with everything they’ve got.Are these changes asign that the party is readytowelcomea newmessage and anew slateofleaders? Here are twoperspectives:

Durbin’s departurestirs ascramblefor Dems

As President Donald Trump’spolling takes atumble 100 days into his second term —and Dick Durbin,the Senate’s second ranking Democrat,announces his retirement —avery oldhit tune by Ethel Waters comes to mind:

“There’ll be some changes made.”

I’m gonna change my wayof livin’, and that ain’tnobluff

Why,I’m thinkin’ aboutchangin’ the way Igottastrut my stuff

Because nobody wants you when you’re old and gray

There’sgonna be some changes made today

sue— including inﬂation.

“Voters remain gloomyabout the economy,as71% rate economic conditionsnegatively and 55% say it is getting worse for their family,” Fox reported.

Clarence Page

Oh, really? Democrats havebeen grappling with their own version of thatresolution, especially ever since the disastrous defeat of their party’s presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, in November

“Ifyou’rehonest aboutyourself and your reputation, you want to leave when you can still walk outthe front door and not be carried out the back door,” said Durbin, the top Democrat on theSenate’s powerful JudiciaryCommitteeafter three decades in the upper body.

The “Biden Effect” is the label Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker applied to the wave of goodbyes now rolling through the Senate, as some longtime stalwarts show signs of gettingtoo long in thetooth.

Having covered Durbin numerous times during his tenure, I’ll miss him. He had amasterful commandofthe issues, whether Iagreed with him or not, andI often learned alot from him —which is more than Ican say foralot of other lawmakers in the Machiavellian mud wrestling that too often getsinthe wayofthe government’sability to help real people with real problems.

However,Ialso ﬁnd alot of agreement with those who say too manysenior lawmakers are simply too reluctantorstubborn to step aside and give some of the younger whippersnappers achance

If there were acomplaintaboutDurbin that resonated with me, it washis reluctance to put pressureonSupremeCourt justices for some questionable ethical practices. If nothing else, Durbin wasan institutionalist, which is notalways bad but also has its limits when changes need to be made.

His exit comes at atime when thetide seems to be turning against Trump.

Even Fox News, known for ﬁnding even the tiniest silverlining in any Trump tempest, offered little reliefto the president’sMAGA supporters in light of recent polls. Asthe 100thday of his second term approached,a FoxNews survey found voters approvedofthe job Trump was doing on border security,but displeased on just about every otheris-

Voters’ assessmentsofthe economy have improved slightly since December,before Trumptook ofﬁce, but only 28% felt like thingswere improving under Trump, while ahuge majority —bya22-point margin —think Trump’spolicies are further damaging theeconomy

Theyounger generation, as my own parentsand grandparentssoon learned, can bea lot less patient withthe problems their elders tolerate.

Forexample, about half of Americans approved of the job Trumpwas doing a week after he took ofﬁce, according to TheNew York Times averageofdozens of leading polls. About 40 %disapproved.

However,bythe 100-day mark, his approval ratinghad fallen to around 45% and more than half of the country disapproved of his performance.

Trumpmanages to eke out anet positive rating among voters on border security (55%), but on immigration voters disapprove at arate of 48%-47%. On the economy generally,his showing is 38% approveto56% disapprove.

“His worst ratings,”Fox concluded, “are on inﬂation (33% approve, 59% disapprove), followed by tariffs (33%-58%), foreign policy (40%-54%), taxes (38%53%), and guns (41%-44%).”

With much moredramacomingdown the pike in Trump’sglobal trade war, and as the deleterious effects of DOGE’s monkeywrenching of the federal government begin to dawn on the public, it’shard to imagine that voters will look more favorably on Trumporonthe Republican majorities in Congress that have let him operate unchecked

Yetwhat voters need to hear is aclear and persuasive alternative to Trump’s framing of theproblemsfacingthe nation. The Democrats seem still to be struggling with strategic direction: Shouldthey revive the“resistance” or (to quote Clintonista James Carville) “playdead?” Young Democratic insurgentshave suggested awave of primaryingtoget rid of feckless incumbents, and the old guardhas bitten back.

In short, both parties show signs of unease with their current leadership. We mayneed anew generation of leaders to step in, but, ﬁrst, we need to look for ways to give them some help.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47@ pagegmail.com.

Pritzker is theangriest Democrat in theroom

JB Pritzker,the billionaire hotel heir who since 2019 has served as governor of Illinois, wants to be president. Like manyDemocrats, Pritzker believes his partyhas not been tough enough in opposing President Donald Trump. Now,heisurging them to taketothe streetstoengage in massprotests,mobilization and disruption so that Republicans “never know amoment of peace.”Itisnot clear how far Pritzker wants Democrats to go in their disruptive activism, but when you vow that your adversary will “never know amoment of peace,” you probably mean just that, whatever ugly measures it might entail.

Sugarbush ski resort in Vermont who

denounced Vice President JD Vance before avisit there in which protests forced Vance and his family to relocate.

That wasanother reference to the ongoing debate Democrats are having about the 2024 loss.

Pritzker madethe vow in aspeech to Democrats in New Hampshire. Akey part of his address was to push back against members of his own party who say Democrats have gone too farleft and should moderate their positions in order to reconnect with morevoters.

First,Pritzker touted someofhis accomplishments in Illinois: “Weenshrined reproductive rights into law,” he said. “Welegalized cannabis. We protected labor rights. We joined the U.S. Climate Alliance.” Abortion, pot, minimum wage and climate —maybe that’snot acomprehensive platform, but it’s what Pritzker highlighted. And then he declared: “Wemay have to ﬁx our messaging and our strategy, but our values are exactly where they ought to be —and we will never join so manyRepublicans in the special place in hell reserved for quislings and cowards.”

It is common for aparty,following a painful defeat,tohave adebate about whether its beliefs and policies were theproblem,orwhether party leaders simply failed to communicate to voters how wonderful they were. The people who prefer themessaging explanation often prevail, because their solution moreand better spin —doesn’trequire any introspection.

So Pritzker was tellingthe New Hampshire crowd: Youdon’thave to change athing —just fight, fight, fight. SomeDemocrats really like that. Pritzker focused on thestories of three Americans he admires forfighting back against the Trump administration.“

He discussed Andi Smith,anEdwardsville, Illinois, woman who formed aTrumpprotestgroup; Gavin Carpenter,aYosemite National Park employee who supplied an American ﬂag displayed upside down as aprotestagainst Elon Musk and DOGE; and Lucy Welch, an employee of the

“Listen, Iunderstand the tendency to give in to despair right now,” Pritzker continued. “But despair is an indulgence that we cannot afford in the times upon which history turns. Never before in my lifehave Icalled formass protests, formobilization, fordisruption. But Iamnow.” With that the audience burst into applause, and one man in the audience yelled, “Yes!” Pritzker wenton: “These Republicans cannot know amoment of peace. They have to understand that we will ﬁght their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box and then punish them at the ballot box.”

If you get the sense that JB Pritzker likes to condemn people to everlasting punishment, you’re right. And if you get the sense that his talk will eventually end up where such talk always does, by likening President Trumpand his supporters to Adolf Hitler and Nazis well, Pritzker does that, too. He did not mention Nazis in his New Hampshire speech, but in aFebruary speech to the Illinois state legislature, he denounced the Trumpadministration and added, “Ifyou think I’moverreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this: It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle aconstitutional republic.”

Later,inatelevision interview,Pritzker said of the Nazi reference, “I’m not suggesting that’sexactly where we’re going.” But of course, that wasexactly what he was suggesting.

The 2028 Democratic race will be in the newsfrom now until anominee is chosen. Lately,we’ve heard alot about NewYork Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez and the big crowds she and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have attracted in their private-jet “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.” But don’tforget JB Pritzker,who can match AOC radical idea forradical idea, whohas afew billion dollars in personal fortune to run as long as he likes —and whocan make sure Republicans never know amomentofpeace.

Email byronyork@yorkcomm.com.

Byron York

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByREBASALDANHA

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.

Reese, VanLith return to PMAC

Former LSUstars setto play WNBA exhibition game

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Dickinson’sjourney to LSUwas along andwinding road.But he didn’t getthere alone.

LI TS GUIDING

Angel Reese and Hailey VanLith last played agame together whenIowa bounced the LSU women’sbasketball team outofthe NCAA Tournament in 2024. That fact will changeat8 p.m. Friday (ION), when theChicago Skyvisitthe Pete Maravich Assembly Center to playa preseason contest against the Brazilian National Team. The WNBA scheduledthe exhibition in JanuarysoReese could return to LSU. Then the Sky drafted VanLithin April, turning the game into areunion for her as well.

ä Brazil vs: Sky 8P.M. FRIDAy,ION

“I haven’tbeen back since I graduated,” Reese said, “which issocrazy.” After Reese left LSU, she playedinthe WNBA All-Star game and appearedinthe upstart 3x3 women’sbasketballleague Unrivaled. As arookie on the Sky,she scored 13.6 points pergameon39% shootingand set the

ä See WNBA, page

Derbyanalysis, selections from localexperts

BYJEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

ä 151st Kentucky Derby POST TIME: 5:57 P.M. SATURDAy,NBC

The Kentucky Derby will berun for the 151st time on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky Journalism has been installed as the3-1 morning linefavoritetotake home the$3.1 million ﬁrst-place purse. But that might not be a good thing.Since 2000, just 29.1% of morning line odds favorites(7of 24) havewon the Runfor the Roses. In the past two decadesalone, four horses have won the Derby with odds of 50-1 orhigher,including 81-1 Rich Strike in 2022. Mystik Dan won last year’sDerbyat18-1 odds.

ä See DERBY, page 3C

DanielDickinson remembers allofthe sports-related mechanisms he played with every summer as akid.

There wasabasketball hoop in the driveway and goalpostsand akickingtee in thebackyard He hadtennis balls to throw against the garage door and they owned apitchback net, adevice that allowed him to ﬁeld grounders andline drives.

Forhours, he’d hit abaseball tethered to two strings that were connected to apole. Every timehe’d hit theball, it would wrap around the post before slowly unwinding and whipping back into aposition where he could swing at it again

“I wasnever an inside guy,” Dickinson said,“and Iwould never play videogames.”

It was ahealthy and active lifestyle for akid growing up in the Tri-Cities area in southeast Washington. There was only one problem: He was often alone.

“It did getsad at times,” Dickinson said. “At times you would just feel lonely.You’dbelike ‘I havetogooutside and just throwa ball off of agarage.’But,I mean, it was good. It was ﬁne. Ihave no complaints, that’sfor sure.”

Butfor Dickinson to get to where he is today —atop-60 prospect in this year’sMLB draft,amember of last summer’sU.S.CollegiateNational Team and aﬁrst-team All-WAC selection at Utah Valley beforetransfer-

HEALING THROUGH MUSIC THERAPY

ring to LSUinJuly —heneeded some guidance.

Dickinson was raised by his mother andtwo dedicated coaches, mentors whohelped turn asweet and sensitive kid intoa hard-nosed second baseman eager to lead LSUinto College Station, Texas, for athree-game series with TexasA&M starting on Friday (6 p.m. SEC Network+).

Sometimes he was lonely,but he was never alone in his journey to Baton Rouge.

“It’s been the villagethathas ultimately takenover,” said Steven Whitehead, Dickinson’s longtime trainer,“to help guide this young man.”

Amother, afatherand afriend

It wasaquestion he’d often get, but Dickinson’sanswer stayed the same.

“A lotofpeople ask me, ‘Oh,where’s your dad?’ And Iwas like, ‘I don’thave one,’ “Dickinson said. “And they’d (say), ‘Oh, you have adad.’ And Iwas like, ‘I do, but technically Idon’t at the sametime.’

Dickinson was artiﬁcially inseminated from an anonymousdonor.His mother,Sharee, had Daniel as asingle parent andhas remained single to this day

ä See LSU, page 4C

Instructor, LSU

AP FILE PHOTO By FRANK FRANKLIN II ChicagoSky forward Angel Reese, aformer LSU star,takes the ball up the courtagainst the Newyork LibertyonMay 23 in Newyork.

Safety Haulcy planning weekend visit to LSU

Former Houston safety AJ Haulcy plans to visit LSU this weekend as he decides where to transfer his representatives at A&P Sports Agency told The Advocate. Haulcy’s agency said he had not scheduled the trip as of Thursday night. But after visiting Miami earlier this week, Haulcy is still considering his options. His agency said he has a top 3 of LSU, Miami and SMU.

Haulcy, a 6-foot, 215-pound senior, was a first-team All-Big 12 selection last year after posting 74 tackles, ﬁve interceptions and 13 passes defended.

LeBron uncertain about NBA future

Lakers bounced from playoffs by Timberwolves

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES LeBron James

wasn’t ready to make any decisions about his future in the painful moments immediately after his 22nd NBA season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers’ firstround playoff exit.

“I don’t have the answer to that,” James said Wednesday night when asked how long he will continue to play “Something I’ll sit down with my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it, and see what happens. Just have conversations with myself on how long I want to continue to play I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest.”

The 40-year-old James has given no public indication he is thinking about retirement this summer, but Lakers fans will be holding their breath until the top scorer in NBA history makes his plans ofﬁcial.

James provided no hints after recording 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Lakers’ 103-96 loss to Minnesota

“It’s up to me if I’m going to continue to play, or how long I’m going to continue to play,” James said. “It’s ultimately up to me, so it has nothing to do with anybody else.”

Most observers think the fourtime champion is planning to return for a 23rd season, which would break the NBA longevity record he currently shares with Vince Carter He is also just 49 regular-season games behind Robert Parish, who holds the

NBA record with 1,611 games played. James already holds the league record for career playoff games with 292. But his seventh season with the Lakers is over after the Timberwolves’ 4-1 series victory Los Angeles didn’t build a winning dynamic quickly enough to the midseason arrival of Luka Doncic in a seismic trade for Anthony Davis.

James’ Lakers have advanced in the postseason just once in the ﬁve years since their championship in the Florida bubble — but if James returns, he’s coming back to a completely reconfigured team built around his new partnership with Doncic. James and Doncic played only 21 games together after the deal and it wasn’t enough to maximize their

potential teamwork. Another full year together could raise their partnership to formidable levels, and James still seems intrigued by the prospect of playing a full year or more alongside the Slovenian superstar he has described as his favorite active player

“Anytime you make a big acquisition in the middle of the season, it’s always going to be challenging, not only for me, but for (Austin Reaves) and the rest of the group,” James said. “There were times where we obviously didn’t look so well, but I think we kind of ﬁgured it out later in the season, the more games we had. I still don’t think we had enough time to mesh, but for the time that we had, I thought we ended

the regular season very well to be top three in the West.”

Doncic isn’t the only teammate who could compel James to return: His 20-year-old son, Bronny is coming off a surprisingly solid rookie season with the Lakers in which they became the first father and son to play together in NBA history

Bronny James is hoping to carve out a bigger role alongside his father next season after getting sporadic playing time this year LeBron said the chance to work alongside Bronny this season was the “No. 1” accomplishment of his career

An eighth consecutive season with the Lakers would be the longest stretch of his career with one team, surpassing his first seven seasons with Cleveland — although he returned for four more years and a championship with the Cavaliers.

James’ level of play remained high in his 22nd season, confounding all previous notions of basketball longevity. He averaged 24.4 points per game along with 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds. James remained the Lakers’ heart while they won 52 games and the Paciﬁc Division title despite the midseason roster upheaval.

Every signiﬁcant contributor on this season’s roster is under contract for 2025-26 except for Dorian Finney-Smith, who has a $15.3 million player option, and inconsistent center Jaxson Hayes.

In a moment of reﬂection near his 40th birthday last December, James speculated that he could continue to play at this level for five to seven more years. He doesn’t intend to stick around that long, however

Knicks top Pistons, advance to second round

BY LARRY LAGE AP sportswriter

DETROIT Jalen Brunson made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left and finished with 40 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night and into the second round of the NBA playoffs.

“He’s at his best when his best is needed and he’s done it all year,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s what makes him special.” Detroit didn’t get a shot off to potentially tie the game and send it to overtime because Malik Beasley fumbled a pass with fourtenths of a second left.

The third-seeded Knicks will face second-seeded Boston, shooting to advance to the Eastern Conference ﬁnals for the ﬁrst time since 2000.

Mikal Bridges had 25 points

Continued from page 1C

league’s single-season rebounding record before a wrist injury cut her year short, opening the door for three-time MVP A’ja Wilson to set it herself.

Van Lith could’ve also entered the WNBA draft after her lone season with the Tigers

But she decided instead to transfer to TCU, a program she led to its ﬁrst 30-win season and its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2010. The Horned Frogs had never even reached the Sweet 16 until Van Lith arrived, won the Big 12 Player of the Year Award and guided them into the Elite Eight Along the way the former Louisville and LSU guard shot 45%

and OG Anunoby added 22 for the Knicks, who closed the game out with clutch shots and stops after losing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and a 15-point advantage in the second quarter

The sixth-seeded Pistons had an unprecedented turnaround during the regular season and ended the NBA’s longest playoff losing streak in their first postseason appearance since 2019, but broke another league mark with a 10th straight setback at home dating to 2008.

“We did so many things well and gave ourselves a chance,”

Detroit coach J.B Bickerstaff said. “They just made one more play than we did.”

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Cunningham was 0 for 8 on 3-pointers and his backcourt mate Tim Hardaway Jr was 1 of 6 beyond the arc and scored seven points.

from the field and assisted 5.4 shots per game both careerhighs.

Van Lith’s season at TCU was much smoother than the one she played at LSU.

But she told the Chicago Tribune during Sky training camp that her time with the Tigers — a rocky year that she spent learning how to play a new position – allowed her to see what she needed to improve before she could succeed in the WNBA.

“It was the year that helped me get ready for the league the most from a mental perspective,” Van Lith told the Tribune. “(That season at) LSU was like this is the mentality that you have to have to be a pro. You have to just ﬁgure out how to make things work when it’s not what you expected it to be.

“For me, LSU was just a year

that I had to make ends meet and ﬁgure it out no matter what And that’s what the pros is. You want to play on a team, you want to have a job, so you do whatever you need to do to make that happen.”

Last season, the Sky went 1327 and missed the playoffs It then ﬁred coach Teresa Witherspoon, a Louisiana Tech great, replaced her with Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh and added more veterans to its roster In February, the Sky signed free-agent point guard Courtney Vandersloot, a 14-year WNBA veteran who spent the first 12 years of her career in Chicago. Now the franchise, the 2021 league champion, is hoping that Vandersloot, Reese, former South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso and Van Lith can help it climb back into the playoffs, a goal the team will begin work-

ing to achieve on Friday in Baton Rouge.

“I think it’s gonna be a great experience,” Reese said. “I know they can’t wait for me to come back. They’re chanting ‘Bayou Barbie.’ That’s where I got my name from, so going back there, it gives me chills already just to know I’m going back home.”

Former LSU women’s basketball coach Pokey Chatman now coaches the Brazilian National Team, but because she also has a position as an assistant with the Seattle Storm, she will not coach in either of the two exhibitions that Brazil is playing against WNBA teams this preseason.

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

A Houston native, Haulcy began his career at New Mexico after leaving high school. He played in 12 games as a freshman, starting nine times, before transferring closer to home.

Cubs take Skenes deep thrice; Suzuki homers twice PITTSBURGH Dansby Swanson, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki all took Pirates ace Paul Skenes deep in the ﬁfth inning as the Cubs pulled away for an 8-3 victory on Thursday Suzuki later added a two-run shot off reliever Kyle Nicolas as Chicago took two of three from the last-place Pirates.

Skenes (3-3), fresh off a masterful performance in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers last Friday labored through his shortest start of the season.

The 22-year-old reigning National League Rookie of the Year lasted just five innings. His four walks matched his total on the season coming in and the aggressive Cubs pounced in the fifth to turn a two-run deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Gauff routs Swiatek reaching Madrid final Coco Gauff overpowered defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 to reach the Madrid Open singles final for the first time Thursday Gauff broke Swiatek’s serve three times in the ﬁrst set and twice in the second to cruise to a 64-minute semiﬁnal victory over the second-ranked Swiatek at the clay-court tournament.

It was Gauff’s ﬁrst win over Swiatek on clay Swiatek had recovered from losing the ﬁrst set 0-6 to Madison Keys on Wednesday “I couldn’t really get my level up,” the four-time French Open champion said. “Coco played good, but I think it’s on me.” The last time Swiatek won only two or fewer games in a match was a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham in 2019.

Mich. St.’s Haller leaves; Izzo to be co-interim AD

Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller is leaving the school and deputy athletic director Jennifer Smith and men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo will serve as cointerim ADs, university president Kevin Guskiewicz announced Thursday Haller’s last day will be May 11. Guskiewicz did not disclose the reason for Haller’s exit. Haller played football and ran track at Michigan State and later worked 13 years in the school’s Department of Police and Public Safety. He joined the athletic department in 2010 and had a number of roles.

Under Haller, the Spartans won Big Ten championships in men’s basketball, women’s soccer, women’s gymnastics, men’s hockey and women’s cross country

Yankees’ Stanton injured; OF De La Cruz claimed

The New York Yankees transferred outfielder and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to the 60day injured list on Thursday while claiming outfielder Bryan De La Cruz off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. Stanton is rehabbing from torn tendons in both of his elbows and hopes to be back sometime in June. He began doing some on-ﬁeld hitting about a week ago with the Yankees, who open a series against the Rays on Friday night

The 28-year-old De La Cruz,

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK J TERRILL

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks up toward the scoreboard in the closing seconds in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DUANE BURLESON

Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder drives against New york Knicks guard Miles McBride on Thursday in Detroit.

Scheffler returnstohometown, takeslead

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

McKINNEY,Texas Scottie Schefﬂer is happytobebackathis hometown event and showed it.

Cameron Champ isn’tfar from familiar territory,either,whichisa good thingconsideringhegot the call that he was in the ByronNelsonasanalternateabout18hours before his tee time.

Schefﬂer made the turn in 29 on his way to a10-under61for atwoshot lead over Rico Hoey and Jhonattan Vegas, with Champ among six players another shot backat 64. Defending champion Taylor Pendrith shot 67 with players allowed to lift, clean and replace their shots in the fairways after the par-71 TPC Craig Ranch got heavy rainfall

Wednesday

The top-rankedScheffler outshined fellow hometown star Jordan Spieth with the formerTexas Longhorns paired togetheralong with Si WooKim, aSouth Korean who also calls Dallas home and was showcased in an event sponsored by CJ Group, aconglomeratebased in his home country Kim shot 67, capping his round with alofty chip-in for eagle at the par-5 18th and rolling onto his back

DERBY

Continued from page1C

New Orleans is hometo some of the top horseracing experts in the nation. Each year Icorral agroupofthem to handicap the race. This year’slineup is excellent,as always.

Without furtherado, analysis and selections for the 151th Kentucky Derby:

 TOM AMOSS’ SELECTIONS

Twenty horses in the starting gate, all trying to navigate the shortest trip home to win. Welcome to the Kentucky Derby!

The Derbyisnodifferent than trying to navigate rush-hourtraffic on Airline Highway. If youget stuck behind slowercars, it doesn’t matter if you’re driving aFerrari. No one gets to see what that Ferrari can do. Jockeys, likedrivers, have to make the right split-second decisions, or theymay getstuck in traffic.This year marks the 151st running of the Kentucky Derbyand we have aFerrari in the field. His name is Journalism.

1. Journalism (3-1): He’snot only my pick to win, Ibelieve he has the ability to dominate the ﬁeld. Coming into the race after winning the Santa Anita Derby, Journalism has looked brilliant overthe Churchill Downs racetrack in the morning workouts.And he has something else, call it focus, athleticism, the “it” factor or as Iliketocall it “the look.”you see it in special athletes.This horse is special.

2. Sovereignty (5-1): He comes from Florida, where he was second in his last start, the Florida Derby from an extremeoutside post position. It was abetter race than it appears on paper.IfJournalism encounterstrafﬁctrouble, Sovereignty has the chance to beat him. But Ithink that’sthe only way he could beat him

3. Baeza (12-1): As of Thursday, he was still waiting to getinto the ﬁeld on alsoeligible list, but Iamconﬁdent that’sgoing to happen so I’m including him in my picks. Baeza was second to Journalism in the Santa Anita Derby. Long shot —Burnham Square (19-1): Meghan Trainor had ahit song called “All About the Bass.”In horse racing,it’sall about the pace. And the early pace in Kentucky Derbyisalways fast.That gives the opportunity for ahorse that conserveshis energyto pick up the pieces at the end of the race, and Burnham Squarehas abig chance to do that. .Having just wonThe Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland coming from well back, look for him running latetopossiblycomplete the exacta.

(TomAmossisoneofthe leadingthoroughbredtrainersin NorthAmerica.TheNewOrleans nativeisalsoalongtimeracing analystatFoxSports.)

 MICHAEL BEYCHOK’S SELECTIONS

I’m holding a60-1 Derby Futures bet ticket on Rodriguez to win the Derby, but Ijust don’t like

in celebration.Spieth is 2under. Vegas,anotherTexas alum,had a bogey-free round along with Schefﬂerand Hoey.

Theothers at 7under with Champ are Stephan Jaeger,MichaelThorbjornsen, Eric Cole, Andrew Putnam andPattonKizzire.

Schefﬂer missed last year’sevent in Dallas’ northern suburb of McKinney for the birth of his ﬁrst child, son Bennett.

“Jordan andI love playing here. This tournament has meant alot to us over theyears,” Schefﬂer said.

“ObviouslylastyearI wasmissing for some pretty good reasons.

Iwasn’t too sad about what was going on in my life at the time.”

Back then, he had 10 wins combined before May over athree-year stretch, includingthe Masters and Players Championship twice each Now, Schefﬂer is stillseeking the ﬁrst victory of 2025.

Not that he was playing poorly before posting hislowestroundof theyear.Scheffler finished fourth as the defending champion at Augusta and hasfourother top-10 finishes this year

“I wouldn’tsay anxious or eager, anythinglike that,” the13-time winner said of seeking his ﬁrst victory in 2025. “I got off to apretty

good start today,and there’s three more days of thetournament. Just focused on going home and getting some rest.”

Schefﬂer birdied four consecutive holes on thefront nine and added one morebeforeputting his approach at the par-5 ninth inside 5 feet for an eagle to get to 7under Achip for birdie stopped on the lip at thepar-4 11th, the second of three consecutive pars before he pulledevenwith Hoey with abirdie at 13. Schefﬂertook thelead by putting his tee shot on thestadium hole —the par-3 17th—inside 3feet.

Hoey,a29-year-old from the Philippinesseeking his first PGA Tour victory,started with eightparson the back nine before an eagle on 18 triggered an 8-under finishover his final 10 holes.

His 63 tiedhis career low on the PGA Tour.Hoey’sbest ﬁnish this yearalso was in Texas, atie for 11th at theHouston Open.

“It’sbeen up and down, but from the start of thelast season andcomparing it, Ithink I’mdoing away better job,” said Hoey,who won on the Canadian tour in 2017 and the Korn Ferry circuit two years ago.

“Just feel like there are rounds I’vebeen clicking; other rounds I haven’tput it up. Kind of nice to get

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByGARETH

Scottie Scheffler watches hisdriveonthe sixth tee during the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament on ThursdayinMcKinney, Texas

the momentum rolling now.” Champ, who lives in Houston and played at Texas A&M, washome when he gotthe call that he was replacingGaryWoodland, who withdrew.Hemade it to the Dallas area Wednesdaynight andcountered

two bogeys in his ﬁrst three holes with nine birdies.

The 29-year-old from California won threetimesfrom 2019-21 but missed 35 of 55 cuts over the previous two years. This is just his fourth start of 2025.

the waythe race sets up for him. There appears to be too many horses that want to go to the front —likeRodriguez —whichwill compromise hischances to win, so I’ll look in another direction for the winner

1. Final Gambit (30-1): Final Gambithas runfour races, and in all four he has passed horses from starttoﬁnish. Iexpect the pacetobehot and the horses whohaveproventheycan pass horses through trafﬁc to be the ones to beat.This is Brad Cox’s onlytrainee in the race after having multiplehorses on the Derbytrail.Final Gambit—a gray —will be along price but agood chancetomakeitinthe money.

2. Chunk of Gold (30-1): A Fair Grounds-based horse who ran second in both the RisenStar and the Louisiana Derby, Chunk of Gold has caught my eyethis week. He is anotherwho has shown he can pass horsesbut possessesa bitmore earlyspeed than the top choice, meaning Chunk of Goldcould getthe jump on the deep closers.Another who willbea very bigprice, so we are hoping for an in the moneyﬁnish.

3. Burnham Square(12-1): This one impressed me early in the spring,and that race in Floridamay have taken alot out of him, but he has rebounded nicelylately.Hewill be coming from behind —doyou sense a trend here? —and has Brian Hernandez, Jr., lastyear’s Kentucky Derbywinner, guiding him through trafﬁc Long shot —Luxor Café (151): Iwouldberemiss if Ididn’t mention aJapanese horse, since I’vepickedone the last twoyears, and Luxor Café certainly has the credentials to win this. Hisraces have been eye-catching,but you neverreally know whoisrunning behind him.He’sanother long shot to keep an eyeonand throw into those deep trifecta and superfecta boxes.

(MichaelBeychokisasenior partnerofOursoBeychokInc., anaward-winningnational politicalconsultingﬁrmbasedin Louisiana,andthe2012National HandicappingChampionshipand

2012EclipseAwardwinnerfor besthandicapper.)

 KEVIN KILROY’S SELECTIONS

1. Burnham Square (12-1):

He’sbeen kicking down his stall in Ian Wilkes’ barn, galloping with his neck bowed, full of energyin everyway,I have no doubt that Burnham Squarecame out of his hugeeffortinthe Blue Grass Stakes ready to runthe best race of his career.Myspeed ﬁgures have his best effortright there with Journalism. Louisiana’sown Brian Hernandez Jr.will be in the irons, looking for back-to-back Derbywins. Iwill takea swing with awin bet on Burnham Square at 8-1 or higher

2. Luxor Café (15-1): Though he did not win, the best effortin last year’sDerbyundoubtedly camefromForeveryoung.Hewas awell-hyped horse that was on everyone’sradars, but Luxor Cafe, this year’sJapanese invader with topcredentials, is flying under theradar.He’sa touch sloweron thespeed ﬁgures, but no other horse in the ﬁeld has been as impressivevisually in his races. He can put himself in amid-pack positionand then accelerate with an electric turn of foot. Iwill be bettinghim to win at 12-1or higher

3. Journalism (3-1): Iliveto fadea favorite, and Idobelieve there is aslight case to be made against Journalism. He’sbeen facing small ﬁelds made up of horses whocould not getthe distance, and in the Santa Anita Derbyherolled late down the center of thetrack on aday when insidespeed was dying on the vine. Still, he’snot only theproven fastest horse in the ﬁeld,heis also impressivephysically and energetically.Heisshowing all the signs that he is in top form, and Idobelieve he will getapieceof theDerbypie.

Longshot —Flying Mohawk (30-1) and Final Gambit (15-1): We sawFlying Mohawk win over theStall-Wilson turf course at Fair Groundsthis winter before he shipped to Turfwayand ran second in the Jeff RubyStakes

over thesynthetic course. Racing on dirtisthe question mark,but he has neverbeen outworked on adirttrack, including an impressivemove going better than Honor Marie this past week. Trainer Whit Beckman has been pushing himinthe mornings, and he looksreadytostep up. Final Gambit will be ﬁnding his best stride when other runners are waving the white flag.Although not alegitimate win contender,I thinkhis jockeyLuan Machado will have him rollinglate.

(KevinKilroyisaracinganalyst attheFairGroundsRaceCourse andChurchillDowns.Heisa two-timeNationalHorseplayers Championshipqualiﬁer,ﬁnishing 21stin2021.)

 PATRICKMCGOEY’S SELECTIONS

1. Journalism (3-1): Ithink he will be very difﬁculttobeat. He has thehighest speed ratingof

anyhorse in theﬁeld, is bread to go amile and aquarter,and he encountered alot of trouble in his last race and still won. His works leading up to theDerby look great, and Ithink he will only improveatthis distance. If he breaks clean, he should getﬁrst jumponthe closers and win

2. Baeza (12-1): Baezaisnot yetinthe ﬁeld, but if one horse scratches, he will draw into the race. He wasslowtodevelop, but he ranaverybig second to Journalism in theSantaAnita Derby. He is bred to wina classic, as his dam,Puca, foaledDerby winnerMageand Belmont winner Dornoch. He has looked great on thetrack at Churchill, and should improveoff of his last race. Flavian Prattisscheduledto ridehim,and that is abig jockey change. If he drawsintothe ﬁeld, he is acontender.

3. Burnham Square (12-1): This horse is improving at the

righttime. He wonthe BlueGrass Stakes with apowerful closing kick. He has thereigning derby winning jockey BrianHernandez riding him,and his recentworks have been on therail.That leads me to believe that Brian Hernandezwill trytoget another rail skimming trip likehedid last year on Mystik Dan. Long shot— Publisher (30-1): He has neverwon arace, but he is trainedbySteve Assmussen, themostwinning trainerever, is sired by Triple Crown winner AmericanPharoah and riddenby Irad Ortiz,one of thebest jockeys in America.With connections like these, he has ashot (albeit a long one)ofgetting his ﬁrst winin theDerby. (PatrickMcGoeyisa commerciallitigatorfromNew Orleansandwonthe2011& 2012Breeders’CupBetting Challengeand2018Kentucky DerbyBettingChallenge.)

 JEFFDUNCAN’S SELECTIONS

As adyed-in-the-wool, inkstained wretch,it’shardfor me to pick against Journalism and Publisher, but I’m acontrarianat heart. Here’show Isee therace: 1. Sovereignty (5-1): Mott has thistrainee readytorun the best race of his career.He’smore proventhan the other top pick, Journalism.

2. Final Gambit (15-1): My long shot special.This big gray colt is peaking at theright time. He’ll be flying down thelane late 3. Journalism (3-1): It pains me to go against ahorse with this name. He mightprove me wrong, but Ihavereservations about the limitedcompetitionhehas faced in California.

Long shot—Flying Mohawk (30-1): Anotherhorse that is ascending at theright time. TrainerWhit Beckmanisone of themost underrated trainers in thesport.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByCHARLIE RIEDEL

Ahorse comes off the track after aworkout at Churchill DownsonThursday in Louisville, Ky

PATTERSON

Baseball fanincriticalcondition afterfall

Pittsburgh police say it wasanaccident

BY WILL GRAVES Associated Press

PITTSBURGH Aman who fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesdaynight’sgamebetween the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs remained in critical condition on Thursday morning Pittsburgh PublicSafety,which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on XThursday that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature.”

The unidentified man fell onto the warning track in right ﬁeld just as PiratesstarAndrew McCutchen hit atwo-run double in the seventh inning to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man.

The fan was tended to for approximately ﬁve minutesbymembers of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the ﬁeld on acart.Hewas taken to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital, where

LSU

Continued from page1C

Sharee knewthe donor’smaternal and paternal familymedical history and basic physical features, among other pieces of background information, butshe does not know his name or have apicture of him.

“I don’tthink it’sweird, Idon’t think it’sodd,” Daniel said.“Iknow it’snot common, but it was just kind of my reality.”

Daniel’suncle,Dennis, lived with Sharee and Daniel fora few years. His other uncle, Brian, has been aclose supporter of theirs. And Daniel’s grandmother— who turns 92 this year —flew outto Baton Rouge to watch him play against Mississippi State and stayed for every inning of the latenight series.

But outside of that short period living with his uncle Dennis, it was just Daniel and Shareeathome.

“We’ve had alot of sacrifices, butwedon’tthinkofthem as sacriﬁces,”Shareesaid, “becausewe were able to do what we wanted to do, what we needed to do. We were always together.”

Sharee wasn’tjust Daniel’s mother,she wasalso hisfriend andhis father ﬁgure. Theywere teammates as much as theywere parent and child.

Daniel remembers thephone calls they’d have tryingtoorganize their schedules and figuring out ways to get him where he needed to go, whetheritwas Little League practice or school.

“I just remember multiple phone calls of just ‘Hey,wehave to do this. What time? Do youhave to walk? Do you have to rideyour bike?’ “Daniel said. “And it was just kind of ateamwork thing.”

And there were arange of activitiesDaniel needed to get toback then, whether it was jazz band, spelling bees,dramaand singing, to sportslike roller skating,ice skating, snowboarding, basketball or football.

But none of those activities ever captured Daniel’sattentionquite like baseball.Bythe time he started to walk, Sharee remembers howhe’d swing alittle plastic bat to smack plastic balls off awater baseball tee.

“He had atoy baseball tee that you hooked up to the garden hose, andsothe waterwouldcome up through the tee,and you’d set the ball on top of the tee, (and) the ballwouldoscillateand go up and down,” Shareesaid. “... Ithink that was one of his first things that helped him with hand-eye coordination.”

Baseball quickly became the center of Daniel’sworld. Sharee remembersDanielalwayswatching the College World Series at home, calling her while she was at work about the games and leaving numerous voicemails on her phone.

“When Iwould get home, we’d have endless conversations about how the different teams aredoing and who’swinning and who’sdoingwell,” Shareesaid. “. So when the different coaches actually appeared on hisphone (when he entered the portal),hewas like, ‘Oh my gosh, mom! Look who this is!’ ” As baseball became Daniel’stop priority,the sport became Sharee’s priority as well. She’d play catch with Daniel andthrow him soft toss in the batting cages as recently as last year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J. PUSKAR

Afan is carted off the field at PNC Park after falling out of the stands during the seventhinning of agamebetween the Pittsburgh Pirates and theChicagoCubs on WednesdayinPittsburgh.

he remained onThursday Pittsburgh owner BobNutting said the club was “deeply saddened” and “truly heartbroken” over what hecalled a“terrible accident.”

“Intimes likethese, we must cometogether,supportone another,and keep him and his lovedones in our prayers,”Nutting saidina statement. “Wealso want to thank

and appreciatethe efforts of the ﬁrst responders who rushed to his attention andprovided himwith compassionate care.”

The railing that runs along the Clemente Wall in right field is three feet (36 inches) in height, which exceeds the building code requirements of 26 inches, according to Pirates vicepresident of communicationsBrian Warecki.

Last Mother’sDay,her only request was to play catch with her son.

“I almost wanttosay we played catch for well overanhour,” Sharee said.

Sharee has never missed agame

Daniel’splayed in, going as far as retiringearly from her career as an engineertomakesureshe could go watch him play at Utah Valley

Her presence at games was something Daniel usedtotakefor granted beforecollege. But now, it’ssomethinghe deeply appreciates.

“She’sthe mother that all of us want,” Whitehead said. “. They’ve been lockstepand key theentire way.Hehasn’thad agreater support in his lifethan her.”

Howthe hotdog is made

Daniel isn’t afraid to tell the story

When he was in eighth grade,he was a5-foot-4, 160 pound “short, slow,fat kid” who rananeight second 60-yard dash. He wanted to be agreat athlete buthis body didn’t allow him to become theplayer he wanted to be.

He could barely lift anyweights.

“Most kids thathad his skill set at that age don’twant to be good and already put themselves to the back,”Whitehead said. “So he wanted to be at thefront.His athletic ability justwouldn’tallow him to do so at that time.”

Getting Daniel to where he wanted tobephysically is where Whitehead played an integral role.

As the owner and founder of Elite AthleticsTraining, he begantraining Daniel whenhewas no older than 12.

Twotothree times aweek,Danieland three other athletes would workout together under Whitehead’sguidance.The problem for Daniel was that he was lightyears behind his peers physically

“These guys are dead lifting 400

Fansweresitting in the front row above the Clemente Wall on Thursdayahead of the seriesﬁnale between thetwo teams.

McCutchen, aﬁve-timeAll-Star and franchise icon, said Thursday thatthe team was “devastated,” adding that they prayed together after thegame. Asked to describe his viewpoint of the sequence, McCutchen declined, saying he is trying not to think about it and is more focused on the man’s health.

“We’re just hoping for the best for him,” he said. “I hope he pulls through because he’s thereason whyweare here. He’s thereason why we play the game. People that showtheirsupport so we cando somethingwelove, partly because of him and because of fans. So,I just pray that he’sall right.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell bothalerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after theplay

“Eventhough it’s350 feet away or whatever it is, Imean thefact of howitwent down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, Imean Craig saw it, Isaw it. We bothgot out there,” Shelton said. “I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. It’sextremely unfortunate. That’sanunderstate-

ON DECK

WHO: LSU (37-9, 14-7 SEC) at TexasA&M (25-19, 8-13 SEC)

WHEN: 6p.m., Friday

WHERE: Blue Bell Park

ONLINE/TV: SECNetwork+

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

RANKINGS: LSUisNo. 2by

D1Baseball; Texas A&M is not ranked

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU— LHP

KadeAnderson (6-1, 3.76 ERA); TexasA&M —LHP Ryan Prager (2-3, 4.04 ERA)

PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate com/lsu ON X(FORMERLYTWITTER): @ KokiRiley

WHATTOWATCH FOR: Anderson starts a12th consecutiveseries opener forthe Tigers afterheallowed just twoearnedruns in 71/3 innings against Tennesseelast Friday. Prager gave up one earned runin52/3 innings last weekendatTexasinwhat became a2-1 loss forthe Aggies Koki Riley

es that don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Holdren said. “... What Steveand Ibothhaveisthick enough skin to knowwhattype of player you’ve got to be to get to an advanced level.”

ment.” Players from both teamscould be seen praying andMcCutchen held across that hung from his neck while thefan was taken off the ﬁeld.

The gamewas paused forseveral minutes while the man received medical attention but there was no ofﬁcial stoppage in play

Police said any medical update on thefan will be providedby medical personnel in conjunction with the man’s family

Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiumsinthe past. In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holderGregory K. Murrey ﬂippedoverguard rails fromthe upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after Shannon Stone, afirefighter attending a gamewith his 6-year-old son, fell about20feet after reaching outfor afoul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers’ former stadium

Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey’sfamily Aspectator at a2022 NFLgame at Pittsburgh’sAcrisure Stadium died following afallonanescalator

Utah Valley

The long hours with Whitehead andHoldrenwereﬁnally paying off.

“The biggest thing probably starts with (Sharee),” Holdren said.“Themothertrusting Steve, andwhathewas trying to do to help her son, and trusting me, and what Iwas trying to do to help her son.

“At the end of the day,what we’re trying to teach her sonare really life lessonsofhow youwanttobe as aman that directly translates to you as an athlete. Hard work and determination.Those whowork the hardest are the most determined to succeed and usually do.”

Gettingthe call

Daniel was in Massachusetts playing in theCapeCod Baseball League whenhegot acallfrom his coach at UtahValley,Eddie Smith. Daniel had madeTeam USA.The kidwho didn’tmakeKennewick’s varsity baseball team until his junior season would be representing his country just four years later

“It’sjust the highest level of college achievement in my opinion,” Danielsaid. “There’sobviously awards in season andstuff, but being abletoberecognized nationally and play foryour country is pretty special.”

pounds at 15 years old,” Daniel said.“AndI’m like,‘How is that even fair?’

He had alot of catching up to do andWhitehead wouldn’tslow downfor him

He was his trainer,but Whitehead played just as large of a roleincrafting Daniel’smental makeup. He became astern fatherﬁgurewho nevertooknofor an answer

WorkingwithWhiteheadwas as muchofamental test for Daniel as it was aphysical one.

“It was just like the father that is alwaysontheir kid, is always pushing them to work harder,but in amore stern and kind of manly way thanamom would,”Daniel said. “Because as soon as my mom would getonme, shewould feel badjust because she’sa mom. And then Steven brought the kind of hard working,‘F-you’ mentality to who Iamasaperson now.”

As Danielbegan to work on his body,healso started taking hittinglessons with Nate Holdren, eventually playingfor him and his River CityAthletics travel baseball program at 14.

SimilartoWhitehead,Holdren alsobrought amental toughness element to coaching Daniel that hasstuck with him to this day

“I hadfullauthority as hisbaseball coach throughhis years hangingaroundmetowhere Iwould ride him hard,” Holdren said. “I would getafter him. He’d fight back with me. I’d ﬁght back with him just because Isaw something that he didn’t knowhehad.”

Working with Whiteheadand playing for Holdren isn’tsupposed to be easy Holdren believes they’ve lost kidsbecause of their “tough love” coaching style, and they bothsay that many parents andplayers in the Tri-Cities area aren’twilling to go through thegrindthat’snecessary to becomeanelite athlete.

“There’stoo many parents/coach-

Theculture is in stark contrast to what Whitehead was accustomed to growing up in Louisiana.

Thelack of adversity the kids he works with face in comparison to what he andhis local peers went through growing up in Louisianais night and day

“I tell (parents) allofthe time, I’mlike, ‘You don’twant to see how ahot dog is made. Youjust want to eatit,’“Whitehead said, “. If you’re really trying to get akid to wherehe’stryingtogo, youhave to break them downand build them back up. And most parents don’twant to see their kids broken down.”

Holdren andWhitehead understand whatittakes to become aprofessional athlete. Holdren played baseballand football at Michiganand reached Double-A as aﬁrst baseman in the Colorado Rockies organization.

Whitehead is in the McNeese StateHall of Fame andparticipated in training camp with the New Orleans Saints in 2009. He later played in the Arena Football League in Alaska before ﬁnishing hisfootball career in theTri-Cities.

“Steve was notanNFL Hall-ofFamer.Iwas not an MLBHall-ofFamer.But we got close,” Holdren said. “Wegot closer than basically everybody in ourcommunitythat ever tried. So,ﬁrstofall,you know what kind of hard work it is. (But the) biggest thing is youknow what else is out there.”

By his junior year of high school, Daniel’sbody hadfinally developed to apoint where he could realistically play college ball. His late development didn’tresult in any Division Ischolarship offers, but he hadstarted to garner interest from junior colleges.

Danielwas locked intoacommitment with Ottawa University,an NAIA school, by the timehewas a senior.And by the end of that season, he received awalk-onspotat

Dickinsonspenttwo weeks in North Carolina playing with the best rising sophomores and juniorsinthe country. He became friends with Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston, Texas outfielder Max Belyeu and Vanderbilt outfielderRJAustin, allofwhom recruited him to enter the portal and join their respective schools. The confidence he gainedinhis time wearing the stars and stripes becameamajor factor in hisdecision to transfer and eventually land at LSU.

“The light switch kind of came on (and) he waslike, ‘I can do this,’ ”Sharee said. Iwant to do this. Iwant to compete at this level. I wanttocompete with the best. I wanttogotoOmaha.’ ” In his first season in the SEC, Dickinson has a1.046 on-base plus slugging percentage with eight home runs andmore walks than strikeouts.

But theworkisfar from over He’sstill eager to start his professional baseball career,enough so that he had to convince Sharee to allowhim to changehis major andlet him spend more time and energy on baseball as he becomes draft-eligible this year

Theextra workhas resulted in him becoming the No.58player in ESPN’s MLB Draftrankings and the No.66player on MLB.com’s list.

“My job is definitely baseball rightnow,” Daniel said. “And I can’twait until it’sactually my job in pro ball, and Ican wake up and Ican lift andIcan hit, and then my day is done.”

It still took years, tears and long hours on and off the ﬁeld for Daniel to even gettoBaton Rouge. There wasSharee, whowas always by his side, and two coaches who never allowed him to say no. But most importantly there was Daniel, the kid who kept smashing theballthatwould wraparound the pole.

“Anybody that broadcasts that they takecredit forDanny Dickinson,” Holdren said, “had nothing to do with Danny Dickinson.”

Email Koki Rileyat

Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

LSU second baseman Daniel Dickinson throws to first baseduring a game against Louisiana Tech on April 1atAlex Box Stadium

THE VARSITYZONE

Playinga hunch

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS

Contributing writer

The Dunham School’sﬁrstyear baseball coach Hayden Jennings said he was simply following his instincts. When his top reliever Josh Lim walked abatter with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Jennings, whose team was clinging to aonerun lead over Parkview Baptist, felt compelled to turn to Reid Baronwho further added to the drama with another walk that loadedthe bases. Baron then closed out No. 9Dunham’s3-2 victory with astrikeout of Sam Mitchell, sending the Tigers to a1-0 lead Thursday over No. 1Parkview Baptist in the best-of-three Division III select quarterﬁnal series at Parkview.

“That was agut (decision),” Jennings said of bringing in Baron for his ﬁrst save of the season. “It was just awhim when Igot Reid.”

Dunham (19-18), which wonfor the11thtime in the past 15 games, returns to Parkview Baptist (33-7) at 6p.m.Friday forthe second game ofthe series “Now we’ve got to regroup, and that’sthe beauty of the three-game set,” said Parkview coach Phillip Hawke, whose team had its 12-game winning streak snapped.

Parkview closed to within the ﬁnal score on Mitchell’s RBI-double offthe wall in right againstLim in the sixth.Lim, who hadcome into the gamefrom shortstop, stranded the bases loaded with astrikeoutof pinch-hitter Seth DeGeorge.

■ No. 3Dutchtown (24-9) vs No. 7 Walker (21-8), 5p.m.Field 18 Division II

■ No. 1North DeSoto(30-3) vs.No. 4 Lutcher (24-7), 2:30 p.m. Field 13

■ No. 2Brusly (29-3) vs.No. 3Assumption (29-5), 2:30 p.m. Field 14

Division III

■ No. 1Kaplan (29-2) vs.No. 5Doyle (24-7), noon Field 15

■ No. 2Pine Prairie (28-8) vs.No. 3 Jena (26-7), noonField 16 Division IV

■ No. 1LaSalle (32-3) vs.No. 4Oak Grove (17-8),2:30 p.m. Field 17 ■ No. 3Logansport(22-9) vs.No. Mangham (17-11), 2:30 p.m. Field 18 SELECT Division I

■ No. 4JohnCurtis (24-7) vs.No. 9 Chapelle (17-10), 5p.m.Field 13

■ No. 2St. ThomasMore(24-7) vs.No. 6Mt. Carmel (16-13),5 p.m. Field 14 Division II

■ No. 1Vandebilt (31-2) vs.No. 4 Buckeye(22-12), 2:30 p.m. Field 15

■ No. 2E.D.White (23-9) vs.No. 6St. Charles (25-7), 2:30p.m.Field 16 Division III

■ No. 1Calvary Baptist(35-1) vs No. 4Parkview Baptist(22-12), noon Field 13

■ No. 2D’Arbonne Woods (23-7) vs No. 3NotreDame(31-2),noon Field 14 Division IV

■ No. 1Catholic-PC (25-10) vs.No. 5 Menard(20-11), 5p.m.Field 15

■ No. 2Opelousas Catholic (23-8)vs. No. 6StJohn(23-8), 5p.m.Field 16

Class B

■ No. 1Quitman (19-10) vs.No. 4 Grace Christian (20-9), noon Field 17

■ No. 2Stanley (23-7)vs. No. 6Zwolle (20-12), noon Field 18

Class C

■ No. 9Calvin (15-13) vs.No. 4Summerﬁeld (16-7), noon Field 19 ■ No. 2NorthsideChristian (13-7) vs No. 3Claiborne Christian (12-14), 2:30 p.m. Field 19

Saturday’s ﬁnals

Nonselect

Division I: 3p.m. Saturday,Field 17

Division II: 3p.m.Saturday, Field 16 Division III: Noon Saturday, Field 15 Division IV: Noon Saturday, Field 15 Select Division I: 3p.m.Saturday, Field 15 Division II: 3p.m.Saturday, Field 14 Division III: Noon Saturday, Field 17 Division IV: 3p.m.Saturday, Field 13 CLASS B: NoonSaturday, Field 16 CLASS C: Noon Saturday, Field 13 Track and ﬁeld Region II-5Ameet at Ponchatoula High School BOYS Team totals: 1.Catholic,116. 2. Scotlandville, 80. 3. Dutchtown, 59. 4.Denham

The Eagles loaded thebases again in the seventh after twowere outbefore Baron ﬁnished it withastrikeout.

“Wecame in with not alot to lose as the ninth seed,” Jenning said. “I love our guys.The schedule we played this year was for moments like these. We played 20 5A schoolsand hada lot of closegames.Our guys were ready.”

Dunham, whichouthit Parkview 8-5, took a2-0 lead withruns in the second and thirdinnings against Mitchell (5-1), aULsignee.

Mitchell recorded theﬁrst two outs in the second when theTigersstrung together three consecutive singles from bottom of theirorder Crane sent aslow grounder between first andsecond base where Parkview secondbaseman Cade Durbin smothered the ball, jumped up andthrewtothe plate where Peyton was safe. Lim walked for thesecond

Javelin: 1. Robert Conley,Catholic, 191-08. 2. Austin Billot, St. Paul’s, 18600. 3. Cohen Naramore, Ponchatoula, 182-04. High jump: 1. Austen Nelson, Dutchtown, 6-07.00. 2. Keithon Womack, Central, 6-05.00. 2. Cayden Jones, Walker, 6-05.00. Shot put: 1. Darreyus Scott, Denham Springs, 60-06.00. 2. JackTorrance, Catholic, 56-02.00. 3. Keidrick Bailey Zachary,54-03.75. Long jump: 1. Ferzell Shepard, Scotlandville,23-09.25. 2. Marcus Watson, Central, 22-04.25. 3. Alex Hufﬁne, Catholic, 21-09.25. Pole vault: 1. Ryan Klester, Catholic, 14-00.00. 2. John Henry Overton, Catholic, 13-00.00. 2. Caden Heck, Covington, 13-00.00. Discus: 1. Darreyus Scott, Denham Springs, 168-11. 2. Jack Torrance, Catholic, 162-05. 3. Roman Jenkins, Liberty,157-11. Triple jump: 1. Ferzell Shepard, Scotlandville,47-04.00. 2. MaurjayWhite, Woodlawn, 46-07.25. 3. GenardGreen, Scotlandville, 45-09.00. Trackevents 4x800-meter relay: 1. Mandeville 8:00.21. 2. Baton Rouge, 8:06.50. 3. Scotlandville,8:07.62. 100: 1. Caleb Hinton, Zachary,10.65. 2. CedricThompson, Covington, 10.77. 3. BrodieRoberts, Denham Springs, 10.81. 110 hurdles: 1. Jaivyn Washington, Prairieville,14.45. 2. Fayden Brown, Scotlandville, 14.63. 3. Reece Thompson, Central, 15.00. 4x200 relay: 1. Scotlandville,1:26.53. 2. Catholic, 1:26.81. 3. Denham Springs, 1:27.89. 1,600 meters: 1. William Decuir, Catholic, 4:26.21. 2. Max Jacketti Mandeville,4:27.98. 3. Peyton Levy Walker, 4:28.35. 4x100 relay: 1. Dutchtown, 41.78. 2. Zachary,42.08. 3. DenhamSprings, 42.17. 400: 1. Jaylen Jackson, Hammond, 47.52. 2. Chandler Sears, Baton Rouge, 47.66. 3. Henry Mensman, Catholic, 48.00. 300 hurdes: 1. Dylan Evans,Scotlandville, 38.68. 2. Fayden Brown, Scotlandville,38.84. 3. Jaivyn Washington, Prairieville,39.04. 800: 1. William Decuir, Catholic, 1:53.47. 2. Brayden Berglund,Mandeville, 1:54.92. 3. Landen Juneau, Dutchtown, 1:57.10. 200: 1. Caleb Hinton, Zachary,21.34. 2. LekedrinHarvey,Dutchtown, 21.84. 3. Cedric Thompson, Covington, 21.95. 3,200: 1. AugustinJuneau, Catholic, 9:40.23. 2. RowanSilk,Denham Springs, 9:46.28. 3. Peter Watson, Catholic, 9:46.37. 4x400 relay: 1. Catholic, 3:17.92. 2. Scotlandville,3:19.77. 3. Zachary 3:23.59. GIRLS Team

totals: 1. St. Joseph’s, 109. 2. Zachary,90. 3. Dutchtown, 52. 3. St. Amant, 52. 5. Liberty,47. 6. East Ascension, 44. 7. DenhamSprings, 34.5. 8. Walker, 27.5. 9. Covington, 26. 10. Scotlandville, 24. 10. Ponchatoula,24.

time to lead off the third and stole second. Following astrikeout, Nunez Community College signeeWilliam Nikolaus singledand a ground ball from designated hitterHopelond Eldridge enabledLim to score ahead of Durbin’sthrow home.

The Tigers addedanallimportant run in the fifth when Delgado Community College signee Gabe Greene had aRBI single to right Crane (5-3) pitched into the sixth with alead,limiting Parkview to apair of runs on three hitswith three walks and two strikeouts.

“My teammates make the plays behind me; we may have the best middle inﬁeld (Limand Nikolaus) in the state,” said Crane, aNunez Community College signee. “I just throw strikes and they’regoing to make the plays. Idon’tstrikeout many people, but it doesn’tmatter because Iknow they’re going to makethe plays.”

Field events Javelin: 1. Saylor Woosley,Central, 116-03. 2. Taylor Smith, Denham Springs, 114-03. 3. MorganVincent, East Ascension, 107-04. High jump: 1. Sophia Agner, Ponchatoula, 5-01.00. 2. KyleighBrigalia, St. Amant, 4-11.00. 2. Julia Jenkins, Covington, 4-11.00. Shot put: 1. Kiristen Mcgirt, East Ascension, 45-06.00. 2. KaiRichard, Zachary,37-02.00. 3. CalliHargrave, St. Amant, 32-11.00. Long jump: 1. JuliaJenkins, Covington, 17-05.75. 2. Jaelyn Jones, St. Joseph’s, 17-03.25. 3. Chantel Hall, Baton Rouge, 17-03.00. Pole vault: 1. Annabelle Grifﬁn, Live Oak, 11-00.00. 1. Grace Ross, Walker, 11-00.00. 3. Lauren Joshua,St. Amant, 9-06.00. Discus: 1. Kiristen Mcgirt, East Ascension, 145-10. 2. Emily Payne, Dutchtown, 134-08. 3. KaiRichard,

The high school softball season ends afew days later this year,thanks to acalendar shift. For the nine Baton Rouge area teams headed to the LHSAA softball tournament, the timing is right and the weekend is rifewith opportunities. Semiﬁnal games begin at noon Friday at Sulphur’s North Frasch Park. For all you realists, I’ll start with the one sure thing.

TwoDistrict 5-5A rivals, third-seeded Dutchtown (24-9) and No. 7Walker (22-8),meet at 5p.m., which guarantees one area team a spot in Saturday’sﬁnal.

Everything else could evolve into an emotional crapshoot. It sometimes does because the margin of error is small and parity is often in play

Take the 2024 tourney as an example. It wasclassic thrill of victory vs. agony of defeat stuff.St. Amant and Lutcher won titles in the top twononselect divisions as underdogs.

Predicting winners here can be tougher than picking awinner in another big Saturday event, the Kentucky Derby.There is always room foranupset or two as St. Amant and Lutcher proved last year

The Gators werethe third seed in Division I and beat No. 4Ponchatoula in the ﬁnal to winathird straight title. Top-seeded Dutchtowndid not makeit to the tourney

St. Amant beat secondseeded Southside in the semiﬁnals. Of course, Dutchtownhas added motivation this year.And St. Amant (23-9) gets top-seeded Sam Houston (28-2), the lone Lake Charles area team in the tourney,also at 5p.m.

Zachary,131-02. Triple jump: 1. Camryn Houston, St. Joseph’s, 36-04.00. 2. Tyler Addison, Zachary,36-03.50. 3. Chantel Hall, Baton Rouge, 35-07.75. Trackevents 4x800-meter relay: 1. St. Joseph’s, 9:58.47. 2. Dutchtown,10:05.33. 3. Zachary,10:17.66. 100: 1. TalarJohnson, Zachary,12.14. 2. AlexandriaStewart, St. Joseph’s, 12.25. 3. DestinyHarrison, Liberty 12.29. 100 hurdles: 1. Serenity Early Zachary,14.77. 2. Joelle Adegboye Mandeville, 14.84. 3. Katie Truett, East Ascension, 15.11. 4x200 relay: 1. Liberty,1:40.97. 2. Scotlandville, 1:41.16. 3. Dutchtown, 1:42.44. 1,600:1.Michelle Daigle, St. Joseph’s, 5:20.66. 2. Ella Willoughby, St. Amant, 5:26.64. 3. Charlotte Beck, St. Joseph’s, 5:32.44.

Lutcher provided the shot heard round the world newsbyupsetting nationally ranked No.1 seed North DeSoto in the Division II final. The fifthseeded Bulldogs (24-7) face top-seeded North DeSoto (30-3) again. Both teamshave new faces, adding to the intrigue for the 2:30 p.m.game. Twoteams found themselves on the losing end 1-0 title games last year Both Division III nonselect Doyle (24-7) and Division IV select Catholic High-Pointe Coupee (2510) are back again. Meanwhile, three other traditional powers, Division II nonselect Brusly (29-3), Division III select Parkview Baptist (22-12) and Division IV St. John (23-8), return to the mix. Fifth-seeded Doyle avenged its 1-0 title-game loss to Sterlington with aquarterfinal win. The Tigers meet top-seeded Kaplan (29-9). Top-seeded CHSPC and District 5-1A rival Opelousas Catholic (23-8), now the No.2seed, have reversed seeding roles from ayear ago when they met in the Division IV select final. The Hornets face fifthseeded Menard (20-11) at 5p.m., seeking aposition rematch. Sixth-seeded St. John (23-8) meetsOCHS in another 5p.m. game. In Division II nonselect, Brusly plays No.3Assumption (29-5) in the other 2:30 p.m.semi opposite Lutcher-North DeSoto. Parkview arguably has the toughest draw in its first tourney appearance since 2019. The Eagles face top-seeded Calvary Baptist (35-1) at noon in Division III select action. Who gets the timely hit? Which team’s pitching holds up? Or whocommits the crucial error? That’s whyweplay them.So, it’s gameoninSulphur

4x100 relay: 1. Zachary,48.05. 2. Scotlandville, 48.30. 3. Dutchtown,48.95. 400: 1. Alexandria Stewart, St. Joseph’s, 56.75. 2. Mackenzie Jones, Liberty,57.51. 3. Asia Williams, St. Amant, 59.33. 300 hurdles: 1. Courtney Smith, Denham Springs, 43.99. 2. BayleeBryant, DenhamSprings, 44.81. 3. Brooklyn Baham, Covington, 44.95. 800: 1. KeiraMelan, Dutchtown 2:18.28. 2. Karlise Davison, Scotlandville, 2:20.18. 3. Candilynn Vega Walker, 2:21.24. 200: 1. AlexandriaStewart, St. Joseph’s, 24.61. 2. DestinyHarrison, Liberty,24.83. 3. TalarJohnson, Zachary,25.13. 3,200: 1. Michelle Daigle, St. Joseph’s, 11:31.68. 2. Emmaline Ritter, St. Joseph’s, 12:00.17. 3. Ella Willoughby, St. Amant, 12.17.79, 4x400 relay: 1. St. Joseph’s, 3:55.83. 2. Zachary,3:55.89. 3. Liberty,3:57.26.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Dunham pitcher Reid Baron, right,celebrates

DOUBLETHE FUN

The Louisiana Art&Science Museum,100 S. River Road, will celebrate Star Wars Day: “May theFourth Be With you” and AstronomyDay from 1p.m. to 5p.m.Sunday.Includes handson “Star Wars”-themed crafts and activities, $5 astronomy shows, and demonstrations. It’s also Free First Sunday.lasm.org

CRAWFISHFOR ACAUSE

The annual Crawfish King Cook Offwillopen at 4p.m. Friday at Rhorer Plaza, 200 St. Louis St. Taste, cast avote and see who’scrowned Crawfish King; benefits Junior Achievement and the Big Buddyprogram. Advancetickets, $35; at the gate, $40; kids 3-10, $10. crawfishkingcookoff.com/home.

MAKE NO MISTAKE

Comedian VarlaJean Merman will return

Southern bluesman to kick off

U.S. tour in Louisiana

Staff report

DevonAllman’s“BluesSummit U.S. Tour” will open Aug. 7 at the Raising Cane’sRiver Center in Baton Rouge. Allman andRuf Records announced the tour along withthe release of anew album titled “Blues Summit,” due out this summer.

Allman, 52, has been immersed in the world of blues and rock his entire life.Asthe son of the legendary Gregg Allman, he grew up surrounded by the rich musical legacy of the Allman Brothers Band, agroup that played a pivotal role in shaping the Southern rock and blues sound Led by Devon Allman and backed by TheDevon Allman Project Band,the tour brings together an all-star lineup including Jimmy Hall, Larry McCray andSierra Green and “promises to bringahigh-energy celebrationofblues music across the country,” arelease from Big HassleMediastates.

Meanwhile, the album features all-starappearances from Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Robert Randolph, Hall, McCray, Green and more The tour will wrap up Sept.12 at Colorado’sTelluride Blues & Brews festival. For tour updates, visit devonallmanproject.com

MEALS& MEMORIES

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

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

TEACHING THEBLUES

BY JOHN WIRT

Contributing writer

The youngest band to perform at the recentBaton Rouge Blues Festival, the Juke Joint Juniors feature middle and high school students enrolled in the West Baton Rouge Museum’sBlues After School program Blues After School connects young people to the music andhistory of West BatonRougeParish and neighboring parishes. The Juke Joint Juniors’ repertoireincludes “Rainin’ In My Heart” by Slim Harpo— thesinger,harmonica player and songwriter from Mulatto Bend who releasednational hits in the 1960s —and non-Louisiana songs suchasBen E. King’s“Stand

By Me,” B.B. King’s“The Thrill is Gone” and Tracy Chapman’s“Give Me One Reason.” ChristopherNeal Collins,ajunior at Port Allen High School, joined the BluesAfter School programin2019, its firstyear. Adrummer, he keepsthe bluesbeat for the Juke Joint Juniors.

“I’m proud of howfar everyone has come,” Collins said of theband’s musical progress. “Wehavesome people whostartedthis year,some who started lastyear.They grew to be very good musicians in theshort time we’ve had them here.”

Giventhe opportunitytoplaythe blues festival, Jeannie Luckett, di-

rector of programsatthe museum, said, “the kids wereoncloud nine.”

The museum in Port Allenisa natural spot for ablues school. In addition to Harpo, other noted musiciansfrom thearea include the Neal family from Erwinville and Buddy Guy from Pointe Coupee Parish. Across the river in East Baton Rouge Parish, Tabby Thomas operated Tabby’sBlues Box and Heritage Hall. For decades, Thomas, his Grammy-winning son, Chris Thomas King, Henry Grayand manymore played the Blues Box.

The Juke Joint Juniors and recreation of ajukejointonmuseum grounds were inspiredbytwo museum exhibits, 2005’s“Blues After-school programblendsmusic andhistory

PearlJam’s long historyinNew Orleans

PearlJam’sEddie Vedder wears aT-shirt thatsays‘Defend Team Gleason’ in tribute to former Saints player Steve Gleason, who introduced the band at the2016 Jazz Fest.

BYKEITH SPERA Staff writer

Pearl Jam’s34years of touring includes along andcolorful history withNew Orleans. It

PROVIDED PHOTO

are, front row, from left, Hazel Austin, Gerico Del Rosario,

King, Emma Lindsly,MacyBlountand

Blount; back row,Aylana Brown and De’Anna Johnson.

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday,May 2, the 122nd day of 2025. There are 243 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On May 2, 1994, Nelson Mandela claimed victory in the wake of South Africa’sﬁrstdemocratic elections.

On this date: In 1863, during the Civil War, Confederate Gen.Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally wounded by hisown men at Chancellorsville, Virginia; he died eight days later In 1997, Tony Blair, whose Labour Partycrushed John Major’s long-reigning Conservatives in anational election, becameBritain’syoungest prime minister in 185 years, at age 43.

In 2011, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who’d been killed hours earlier in araid by American forces at his Pakistan compound, was buried at sea.

In 2017, Michael Slager,a White former policeofﬁcer whose killing of Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man running from atrafﬁc stop, was captured on cellphone video, pleaded guilty to federal civilrights charges in Charleston, South Carolina. (Slager would besentenced to 20 years in prison.)

In 2018, in aFox News interview,attorney Rudy Giuliani

BLUES

Continued from page1D

HeritageofWest Baton Rouge” and 2015’s“Neal Family Blues.”

Grammy nominee Kenny Neal suggestedthe museum follow the Neal family exhibit with somethinglesstransitory, Luckett recalled. “Kenny said, ‘We’re so gratefulfor theexhibit that honors our local musicheritage —but what are you going to do next?’ And then he said, ‘Y’all need ajuke joint.’ ”

Modeled aftertraditional Southern juke joints, it opened on the museum’soak-tree-graced grounds in 2018. Luckett soon realized that the bluesiﬁed former BoyScout hut was an ideal space for music classes. The museum’sbudget and a community partnership grant from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation fund the tuition-free Blues After School. Michael Blountand Brady George fromthe Rockin’ Mozart Music Academy are the music instructors.

Some students in the program, like Collins, knew about blues music before they enrolled in Blues After School.

“I was raised in ahousehold of bluesand soul music,” Collins said. My great-grandmother,she played alot of blues music. My grandmother and my mom, they grew up on soul music. But all of it goes back to blues.” Collins appreciatesBlues After School’s mix of music andhistory

“Not only do we play blues, we learn where this music came from, why people createdit,” he said.

Although Emma Lindsly,13, bassist in the Juke Joint Juniors describes herself as atheater kid, she enjoys the entirely different kind of music taught at Blues After School.

“I thought blues was like sad soul music,” Lindsly said. “Once Istarted taking the program, I

said President DonaldTrump hadreimbursed Trump’s personal lawyer,Michael Cohen, for $130,000 in hush money paid to porn actor StormyDaniels days before the2016 presidential election, commentsthat appeared to contradict Trump’s past claimsthat he didn’tknow the source of themoney

In 2022,adraftwas leaked of a Supreme Courtruling throwing out the landmarkRoe v. Wade abortionrights ruling that had stood forahalf-century. The court cautioned thatthe draft was not ﬁnal. (The decision would be released inessentially the same form thefollowing month.)

Today’sBirthdays: Singer Engelbert Humperdinck is 89. Actor David Suchet is 79. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is 78. Singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin is 77. Rock singer LouGramm (Foreigner) is 75. Actor ChristineBaranski is 73. Basketball Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes is 72. Fashion designer Donatella Versace is 70. FilmmakerStephenDaldry is 65. Country singerTyHerndon is 63. Actor-wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is 53. Former soccer player David Beckham is 50. Actor Kumail Nanjiani is 47. Actor Ellie Kemper is 45. Singer Lily Allenis40. NASCARdriver Kyle Busch is 40. Olympic ﬁgure skating goldmedalist Sarah Hughes is 40.

realized that blues is so much more.”

De’Anna Johnson, 17, played piano even before jazz musician WessellAnderson, aBlues After School guest instructor,placed an alto saxophoneinher hands.

“Thatwas it,” said De’Anna’s mother, Bridget Johnson.

“De’Anna was like ‘I want to play thesax.’ It has been history from then on.”

AylanaBrown,19, graduated from Blues After Schooland Brusly High School last year She’snow apart-time tour guide at the museumand Blues After School mentor. Brown enrolled in Blues After School in 2020, afew weeks after her family’smove from Lubbock,Texas.

“I didn’tknow anybody andI didn’tknow anything about Louisiana,” shesaid.“My mom found this place on Facebook. Iwent the ﬁrst day and Ifell in love. It let me meet newpeople, it let me meet my museum family.”

Bridget Johnson has seen the Juke Joint Juniors’ confidence grow during her daughter’syears in the group.

“The morethey do, the more comfortable they getperforming,” she said. Even as one seems nervous, the others come together and encourage them. They’re alwayschecking on one another. If onedoesn’t come to class, they’ll ask ‘What happened to you last week?Are you OK? Can we do anything to help?’ The camaraderie here is exceptional.”

Lindsly enjoys the music and thefriendship.

“From this class, I’ve gained so many friendships,” she said. “It alsobrought me closer to music andhelped me learn about where ouroriginal music comes from. I love this program, Ilove music.”

Information about theWest Baton RougeMuseum’sBlues After Schoolprogram is available by calling themuseumat(225) 3362422.

Email John Wirt at j_wirt@msn. com.

PEARL JAM

Continuedfrom page1D

MunicipalAuditorium— the band’swebsite incorrectly lists the venue as theState Palace Theater —opening for headliner the Red HotChili Peppers andthe Smashing Pumpkins.

NOV. 16-19, 1993

Atriple gig and trouble

Soon after “Vs.,” Pearl Jam’s second album, solidiﬁedthe band’s status atop rock’shierarchy,Vedder andcompanyarrivedinNew Orleans for an action-packed,and infamous, few days.

They played sold-out shows at theUNO Lakefront Arena on Nov 16-17 and Nov.19. They spent time at U2 producer Daniel Lanois’ Kingsway Studio inside an Esplanade Avenue mansion working on songs destined for theband’s third album, “Vitalogy,” including “Tremor Christ” and“Nothingman.”

In thewee hoursfollowing the second UNO show,Vedder and his buddy Jack McDowell, apitcher for the ChicagoWhite Sox, got intoanaltercation withabouncer andanother man outside the Crystal nightclub on lower Decatur Street. Shoving and spitting escalatedtopunches. McDowell was knocked unconscious and went to the hospital for stitches. Vedder went to jail.

He posted a$600 cash bail and was released. The incident was splashed acrossthe front of The Times-Picayune underthe headline “SlamJam” on Nov.19. That night, Pearl Jam played itsthird show at the Lakefront Arena.

AUG. 16, 1994

Vedder’sday in court

In asport coat and slacks, Eddie VedderturnedupinDivisionC of Orleans ParishMunicipal Court to stand trial for the simple batterycharge that resulted from his brawl theprevious November Right after the prosecution rested, Judge John Shea dismissed the chargeagainstVedder, citing the witnesses’ lack of credibility. Thedefense didn’tevenpresent its case, muchtoVedder’sdisappointment.

APRIL 8, 2003

Another arena epic

PJ returned to the New Orleans Arenaduringthe “Riot Act”tour with Sleater-Kinney opening. Onceagain, theset list was extensive:19songs in the ﬁrst section, then 10 more across two encores. The ﬁnale? “Rockin’ in theFree World.”

This concert was also released as an “ofﬁcial bootleg” double-CD and digital download.

MAY1,2010

Post-oil spill venting

Days before the 2010 Jazz Fest opened,BP’sDeepwater Horizon rig in theGulf blew up, killing 11 men andspilling millionsofgallons of oil. The smell of petroleum wafting over New Orleansreportedly causedAretha Franklin to bail on her scheduled Jazz Fest show at the last minute. Pearl Jam played theFair Grounds as scheduled on May 1, but Vedder didn’t letthe disaster pass withoutcomment.Hesuggestedfrom the stage that BP executivesshould vacation on the Louisiana coast: “Send your sons anddaughters to clean up your f****** mess.” (Imagine the awkwardness hadthe blown oil rig

belonged to Jazz Fest title sponsor Shell.)

Another indication Vedder knew where he was: He wore aT-shirt featuring the stop-action“SaturdayNight Live”character “Mr Bill,” whosecreatorwas from New Orleans.

MAY3,2012

Buffett fills in for Vedder

In 2011, Eddie Vedder released “Ukulele Songs,” an album of original compositions and covers. Jazz Fest producer/director Quint Davis reached out to PearlJam’s booking agenttosee if Vedder wanted to play ukulele songs at thefestival.

He did. Vedder even booked a13city theater tour around his May 3 Jazz Festdate. But in early April,hecanceled theJazzFest appearance and postponed the tour because of an arm injury

Afew days earlier,Davis had watched his buddy Jimmy Buffett improvise an unplanned acoustic segment during afree Coral Reefer Band concert at Woldenberg Parkfor the NCAA Men’sFinal Four festivities. Davis recruited Buffett to playasimilar unplugged set at Jazz Fest as Vedder’sreplacement. The swap made sense “artistically and geometrically,” Davis said at the time.

At onepoint during his Thursday evening ﬁll-in gig at Jazz Fest, Buffettcracked, “It’snot Pearl Jam, but it’s as closeaswecan come.”

He also wished Vedder aspeedy recovery

NOV. 4, 2012

Gleason Gras jamming

FormerSaints specialteams

star Steve Gleason, now immobilized and conﬁned to awheelchair by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, grew up in Seattle, where he befriended the members of Pearl Jam. He’s especially close with guitarist Mike McCready McCready turned up at the 2012 Gleason Gras beneﬁt at ChampionsSquare,which raisesmoney forGleason’sfoundation. The guitaristsat in with Trombone Shorty &Orleans Avenue and the hardrockin’ Supagroup

Three months later,McCready returned to play“TheStar Spangled Banner” at the start of the Rock ’n’Roll Marathon in downtown NewOrleansonFeb. 24,2013.

NOV. 1, 2013

Voodoo with Gleason

Steve Gleason served as an honorary band member for Pearl Jam’sstellar performance at the 2013 Voodoo Music &Arts Festival in City Park.

Gleason helped write the hitsladenVoodoo set list and introduced theband using eye-tracking computer software anda synthe-

sized voice.

During the ﬁnal “Yellow Ledbetter,”Mike McCreadywalkedto the back corner of the stage where Gleason sat, immobilized. McCready locked eyes with Gleason and serenaded him with the elegiac guitar passage that concludes the song. It wasa remarkably emotionaland intimate gesture in front of thousands of onlookers.

APRIL 23, 2016

Jazz Fest redux

For the band’s2016 return to the FairGrounds,Gleason againintroduced his buddies. Vedderwore a “Team Gleason” T-shirt.

Acknowledging Prince’sdeath twodays earlier,Pearl Jam played “Even Flow,” whichPrince had covered with his band 3rdEyeGirl. Alocal horn section goosed a cover of The Who anthem “The Real Me.” For the concluding “Rockin’ in the Free World,” the RedHot ChiliPeppers’ Chad Smith gleefully thrashed away on drums while histhen-bandmate Josh Klinghoffer —who,since 2021 has been atouring memberof Pearl Jam —helped out on guitar 24 hours before the Chili Peppers’ Jazz Fest show.Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill joined in on tambourine.

It was agloriously messy,euphoric moment of rock ’n’ roll excess with abit of poignancy muchlike the two hours that preceded it.

MAY3,2025

‘Dark Matter’ at Jazz Fest

Pearl Jamwill makeits third Jazz Fest appearance as part of the 2025 leg of the tour forlast year’s “Dark Matter” album.

“Dark Matter” was produced by Andrew Watt, who specializes in helping veteran rock bands rediscover their mojo. Watt produced the Rolling Stones’ excellent 2023 album “Hackney Diamonds,” making Mick Jagger and company soundcrackling and fresh while still true to their sound. Watt performed asimilar service for Pearl Jam.Following the band’sdebut and its masterpiece “Vs.,” Pearl Jam albums often favored manic energy over melody Vedderand companystill raise a racket on “Dark Matter,” but the music hasroom to breathe. And in “Wreckage,” they crafted amelodic gem How much of “Dark Matter” will they play Saturday at the Fair Grounds? Will Vedder reminisce aboutOrleansParish Prison?Will he note the15th anniversary of the BP oil spill? Will special guests sit in?

All will be revealed as Pearl Jam writes another chapterofits New Orleans history

Email KeithSpera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByMATTHEW HINTON

Steve Gleason, hiswife Michel and hisson Rivers Gleason introduce PearlJam at the 2016 JazzFest in NewOrleans.

Dear Heloise: People often write about lost cellphones and how they recover them. Ihave a message on my home screenthat says: “If you ﬁnd this phone, please call (my husband’sphone number).” He has the same message on his home screen that lists my phone number.This way, if someone ﬁnds our lost phone, theycan call the number and reachone of us to return it. —Vickie S.,Chester,Virginia Sealedjars

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Why do food companiesmake it so hard to takethe

FRIDAY LIVE AFTER FIVE: 5p.m.8p.m., RhorerPlaza, 200 St. Louis St. Featuring Six String Soldiers and David St. Romain. Free. downtownbr.org/live-afterﬁve/. FRIDAY NIGHT LECTURE: 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., BREC’s Highland Road Park Observatory,13800 HighlandRoad. Skygazing tips, physics phenomena, space programs and famous events are covered. Forages 14 and older. Free. https://hrpo. lsu.edu/. Also, evening sky viewing 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

“AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS”: 7:30 p.m. Fridayand Saturday, and 2p.m. Sunday, Sullivan Theater, 8849 Sullivan Road. $23.50-$28.50 https://www.sullivantheater.com/.

SATURDAY

STRONG &CALM WARRIOR YOGA: 8a.m.-9 a.m., USS Kidd Veterans Museum, 305 S. River Road. Free, but bring amat.

BATONROUGE ARTS

MARKET: 8a.m. to noon, Fifth and Main streets, downtown. Vendors sell a variety of unique, original works of art including pottery,woodwork, textiles, glass, paintings sculptures, photographs, handmade soaps, handmade toys,jewelry and more. artsbr.org.

RED STICK FARMERS

MARKET: 8a.m. to noon, Fifth and Main streets, downtown. Farm-fresh produce,goods, cooking demonstrations. breada. org.

ARTFOR ANIMALS FES-

TIVAL: 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; awards, 1p.m.-3 p.m., Baton RougeZoo,3601 Thomas Road. Fun-ﬁlled daywith interactiveart for the kids,acaricature artist, face painting, character meet& greets, and more. brzoo.org.

FAMILYHOUR STARGAZING: 10 a.m., Irene W. Pennington Planetarium at the Louisiana Art &Science Museum, 100 S. River Road. Learn about the stars and constellations in the localnighttimesky followedbyanall-ages show. lasm.org.

BUILD YOUR OWNBOARD:

CHARCUTERIE WORKSHOP: 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m., Hampton Inn &Suites, 462 Lafayette St. Learn the ins and outs of creating acharcuterie spread; supplies provided. $35.

seal off of food jars? They are glued tightly all theway around thetops of thejars. They often don’thave much of atab to grasp, so one has to puncture the seal with a knife. It is rarely possible to getitoff cleanly.Iappreciate thesafety,but there hastobeasolution that is easier to open and still secure. —John M., aka Uncle Johnny, via email Savingsbonds

Dear Heloise: Here’sareminder for your readers: United States savings bonds stop gaining interest after 30 years. If you or your

AROUND BATONROUGE

eventbrite.com.

LEVITT AMP BATON ROUGE MUSIC SERIES: 2p.m.-7 p.m., Scotlandville Plaza. Livemusicand small-business vendors in acommunity event MONTHLY CONTRA DANCE: 4p.m.-6:30 p.m., St. Alban’s Chapel, corner of HighlandRoad andDalrymple Drive.Newcomer instruction at 3:45 p.m Singles and couples welcome. $7 per person;free for ﬁrst-timers. Louisianacontrasandsquares.com or (225) 803-9194. CAJUN DANCE: 7:30 pm RicSeeling Dance Studio, 10776 N. Harrell’s Ferry Road. Doors openat 6:30 p.m.and free dance lessons (after paid admission) begin at 6:45 p.m Featuring the livemusic of Jesse Deroche andThe Capital CityCajuns. Bring snacksand beverages. $10, CFMA members; $15, nonmembers; $10, students withID; free, children 12 and younger

SUNDAY

FREEFIRST SUNDAY: LouisianaArt &Science Museum, 100S.River Road; Old State Capitol, 100 NorthBlvd.; Magnolia Mound Plantation,2161 Nicholson Drive; LSU MuseumofArt, 100 Lafayette St.; and LSU Centerfor River Studies, 100 Terrace Ave. Free admission to all exhibitsand installations, plus reduced price entry to LASM’sIrene PenningtonPlanetariumshows

TUESDAY RED STICK FARMERS

MARKET: 3p.m.-6 p.m., Main Library at Goodwood, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. Farm-fresh produce, goods, cooking demonstrations.breada.org.

FLEXAND FLOW YOGA:

6:30 p.m., Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar,315 NorthBlvd. Rotating instructors and avariety of techniques. Free.

TRIVIA NIGHT: 6:30 p.m., Burgersmith, 18303 Perkins Road. Collect your team and jockeyfor ﬁrst place. loom.ly/y-CKtQ4

POETRYREADING: 7p.m., HayrideScandal, 510 Corporate Blvd.Withpoets Ed Ruzicka, Benjamin Morris and Justin Lacour. Music by Tim Kulage and open mic session.Hosted by thePoetry Societyof Louisiana; membership forms on-site.

WEDNESDAY

TRIVIA NIGHT: 6:30 p.m Burgersmith, 27350 Crossing Circle,Suite150, Denham Springs. Collect your

children have some tucked away check their issue dates. It might be time to turn them in. —John Q. via email Athlete’sfoot

Dear Heloise: Cracked heels that don’trespond to moisturizing is frequently asymptom of athlete’sfoot. —Steve H., via email Steve, cracked heels can be a sign of anumber of things. It’s besttoconsult with adoctor to see what can be done if your heels never seem to heal. —Heloise

Send ahinttoheloise@heloise. com.

teamand jockey for ﬁrst place. loom.ly/y-CKtQ4.

THURSDAY

RED STICK FARMERS

MARKET: 8a.m.tonoon

Pennington Biomedical Research Center,6400 Perkins Road. Farm-fresh produce, goods and more. facebook.com/redstickfarmersmarket.

MUSIC IN THE GAR-

DENS: 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. LSU AgCenterBotanic Gardens at Burden, 4560 Essen Lane. Featuring the band LeTrainiump, Molly Taylorand Rhett Glindmeyer. Also, food trucks $20, adults; $5, children; and 20% off, Friends of LSU AgCenterBotanic Gardens members. https://fobgburden.com/ event-6125085

TUT’STIPSY TRIVIA: EGYPTIAN-INSPIRED TRIVIA WITH ATWIST:

6p.m.-8 p.m.,Louisiana Art &Science Museum, 100 S. River Road. Trivia, drinks and snacks. $20, nonmembers; free, members. lasm.org.

TRIVIA NIGHT: 7p.m., Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar, 315 North Blvd. Test your trivia skills with your friends and family.Free.

ONGOING

ARTGUILD OF LOUISIANA: Independence Park Theatre, 7800 Independence Blvd. Deadline for the “River Road Show” is May 12. Upcoming workshops at Studio in the Park 2490 Silverest Ave, are as follows:Larry Downs, Acrylics 3—“More of Painting Your Way, Thursdays through May 22, 3p.m.-6 p.m.;Roberta Loﬂin, Watercolor Basics —“Focus on theColors of Spring,” Saturdays May3-24, 9:30 a.m.-noon; Introduction to SolventFree Painting,taught by MadhuriYadlapati, 1p.m.-5:30p.m.Saturday; Limiting Your Palette for ColorConﬁdence,taught by Nanci Charpentier May17, 1p.m.-5:30 p.m.; Alla PrimaStill Life taught by Nanci Charpentier and DavidGary,May 24, 1p.m.-5:30 p.m. Email cherie.gravois@gmail. com or call (225) 413-6941. artguildlouisiana.org.

BATONROUGE GALLERY CENTER FORCONTEMPORARYART: 1515 Dalrymple Drive. Free. batonrougegallery.org CAPITOLPARK MUSEUM: 660 N. Fourth St.“Billy Cannon: They CalledHim Legend,”through Jan.10. (225) 342-5428 or louisianastatemuseum.org.

CARY SAURAGE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER SHELL

GALLERY: 233 St.Ferdinand St. “Exonerated: Portraits of thewrongfully Convicted,” through May14. Hours arefrom 9a.m.to4 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2p.m.Saturday. artsbr.org.

ELIZABETHAN GALLERY: 680 Jefferson Highway. Groupshow. Call (225) 924-6437 or followthe gallery’s Facebook page. IN DEMAND ARTSTUDIOS: 5800 One Perkins Place, Suite5D. “This is Our Garden,”featuringthe work of eightBaton Rouge-area women artists.

LOUISIANA ART&SCIENCE MUSEUM: 100 S. River Road. “Discoveries on theNile: Exploring King Tut’sTomb and the Amin Egyptian Collection,”through Oct. 31. (225)344-5272orlasm. org.

LSU MUSEUM OF ART: ShawCenter for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.“Golden Legacy:Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books,”through May25. (225) 389-7200 or lsumoa. org.

MAGNOLIAMOUND MUSE-

UM +HISTORIC SITE: 2161

NicholsonDrive.Guided and self-guided tours. Hours arefrom10a.m.to 4p.m.Monday-Saturday and from 1p.m.to4 p.m. Sunday.brec.org/facility/ MagnoliaMound

OLD GOVERNOR’SMANSION: 502 North Blvd. Open for tours. Hoursare 9a.m.to4 p.m. MondayFriday. Free admission. oldgovernorsmansion com.

OLD STATECAPITOL: 100 North Blvd. “America’s Sacred Freedoms in the First Amendment,” yearlong exhibit. Free admission. louisianaoldstatecapitol org.

USS KIDD VETERANS MUSEUM: 305 S. River Road. Displays of avariety of artifacts that celebrate veteran and navalmilitary history.Note: Vessel is in Houma for drydock repairs. usskidd.com.

WESTBATON ROUGE MUSEUM: 845 N. Jefferson Ave.,Port Allen. “West Baton Rouge’sEducator EdwardSearcy,” through May18.(225) 336-2422 or westbatonrougemuseum. org.

CompiledbyJudy Bergeron. Have an open-to-the-public event you’d liketo promote? Emaildetails to red@theadvocate. com. Deadline is 5p.m Friday for the following Friday’spaper

FRIDAY

CHASE TYLER BAND/ ROCKIN’ DOPSIE JR.: Casa Maria, Watson, 4p.m

SIX-STRING SOLDIERS/ DAVID ST.ROMAIN: LiveAfter Five,Rhorer Plaza, 5p.m.

ORIGINAL MUSIC GATHERING: La Divina Italian Café, 6p.m.

CAITLYN RENEE: Galvez Seafood, Prairieville, 6p.m

3:05 EXPRESS: El Paso Denham Springs, 6:30 p.m.

DANIEL BAILEY: Le ChienBrewing Co., Denham Springs

6:30 p.m.

CHRIS ROGERS: The Brakes Bar, 7p.m.

HENRY TURNER JR.

&ALL-STARS: Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 8p.m.

CLINT BLACK: L’Auberge EventCenter 8p.m

DREW LANDRY/STEVE

JUDICE: RedDragon Listening Room, 8p.m.

THE BENDS: The Varsity Theatre, 8p.m.

N’TUNE: The Showroom, 9p.m.

JOEY &THE JUMPER

CABLES: TheEdgeBar at L’Auberge, 9p.m.

CHRIS LEBLANCBAND: Icehouse TapRoom, 9p.m

I-10BOUND BAND: Fred’sonthe River Prairieville, 9p.m.

KEEPIN’ TIME BAND: Sandy’s Daiquiris,Port Allen, 9p.m.

TAYLOR RAE DUO: Jack’s Place, Port Allen, 9p.m

SATURDAY

CARTER PARSONS: Leola’s Café, 11 a.m.

THE LEE SERIO BAND: Most Blessed SacramentChurch Fair, 3p.m

OPEN JAMSESSION: The Smokey Pit, 4p.m.

CORDON BLUEZ BAND: El Paso-Sherwood, 6p.m

FAIR PLAY: Rio Cantina, Brusly,6 p.m. DERRICK LEMON: Le ChienBrewing Co., Denham Springs 6:30 p.m.

BILLYCALLAWAY: The Brakes Bar, 7p.m.

SHOWSTOWATCH

ACOUSTIC NIGHTW/ HENRYTURNER JR.: Henry TurnerJr.’s Listening Room, 8p.m.

TAYLOR DAYNE: L’Auberge EventCenter 8p.m.

CHRIS LEBLANCBAND

&ZYDECO MIKE: Fred’s on theRiver,Prairieville,9p.m.

N’TUNE: The Queen Baton Rouge,9p.m.

COREY KENT/TYLER

HALVERSON: The Texas Club,9p.m.

SUNDAY

PECANPRALINES: Galvez Seafood, Prairieville,10:30 a.m.

JUSTIN BURDETTE TRIO: Superior Grill MidCity, 11 a.m.

ROBERTCALMES: Cocha, 11 a.m.

JOSH MARTIN: Leola’s Café,11a.m.

JOVIN WEBB: RedStick Social, noon

3RD STREET BAND: Fred’s on theRiver Prairieville,3p.m.

RYAN HARRIS: Chow Yum, 4p.m.

LUCY YOES: PizzaByronz, 5p.m.

JOVIN WEBB: Rio Cantina, Brusly, 6p.m.

DA VU 12: L’Auberge EventCenter,7 p.m

OPEN MIC JAM: FatCat Saloon, Prairieville, 7p.m.

MONDAY

BESIDE OURSELVES: El Paso,Gonzales, noon

SOUTH OF CENTRAL: Pedro’s,Siegen, 1p.m.

AARON DAY: El Paso, Gonzales, 3:30 p.m

JUSTIN CORNETT: Las Palmas,Gonzales, 5p.m.

VICTOR, SKIP &CARRIE: Phil Brady’s, 6p.m.

DOWNBEATLOUISIANA: Rio Cantina, Brusly, 6p.m.

NIGHTHOG: Modesto Tacos, 6p.m.

CLAVES 5NORTEÑO: El Paso,Gonzales, 7p.m. LAURENLEE BAND: Las Palmas,Gonzales, 7p.m. THE LEESERIOBAND: T’Quilas, Denham Springs,7:30 p.m

TUESDAY

RALPH DAIGLE: Rio

VerdeMexican, 6p.m.

EDDIE SMITH: On The HalfShell, Prairieville, 6:30 p.m

WEDNESDAY

PETER SIMON: BLDG 5, 5:30 p.m

THOMAS CAIN: Galvez Seafood, Prairieville, 5:30 p.m

SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC: Le ChienBrewing Co.,Denham Springs, 6p.m.

KIRK HOLDER: Bin77, 6:30 p.m

SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC W/HEATHRANSONNET: Coop’s on 621, Gonzales, 7p.m.

ANDYPIZZOTRIO: HayrideScandal, 7:30 p.m MATKEARNEY: Manship Theatre, 7:30 p.m DIXIE ROSE’SACOUSTIC CIRCLE: Teddy’s Juke Joint, Zachary,8 p.m

EDDIE SMITH BAND: La Daiquiris,8 p.m

OPEN MIC JAM: Brickyard South,8 p.m

THURSDAY KYBALION: El PasoSherwood,6 p.m OPEN MIC W/ AMANDA JO HESS: Istrouma Brewing, St. Gabriel, 6p.m.

LAURENLEE DUO: On The HalfShell, Prairieville,6:30 p.m THE BISHOP ELLIS TRIO: HayrideScandal, 7p.m. THE STARDUST BOYS: The Brakes Bar, 7p.m. DUSTIN GASPARD: Fred’s on theRiver, Prairieville,7p.m. SO GOOD! THE NEIL DIAMONDEXPERIENCE: Manship Theatre, 7:30 p.m HENRYTURNER JR. &ALL-STARS: Henry TurnerJr.’s Listening Room, 8p.m. BLUESJAM: Phil Brady’s, 9p.m.

Compiledby

MarchaundJones

Want yourvenue’s music listed? Email info/photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY forthe following Friday’s paper

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Takecare of responsibilities beforesomeone criticizes or complains. Efficiency is your key to keeping the momentum flowing and your social plans from being altered.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Step outside your comfortzoneand expand your mind and pursuits.Showing all sides of your personality andyourabilityto accept achallenge will give you acompetitive edge.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Thinkbefore you say something you will regret. Emotions are running high, and calming the storm brewing within isn't easy when dealingwithpeople who don't share your beliefs andvalues.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Let your actions, discipline anddedication speak for you, and finish what you start beforeyou move on to more enjoyablepastimes. Apersonal pick-me-up will feed your ego.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Distance yourselffrom peoplecreating havoc or confusion. Achange will do you good. Study, research and test drive somethingyou are considering or want to pursue.

LIBRA(Sept.23-Oct.23) Align yourself with people who have something to offer. An opportunity to travel, learn or expand your interests will open doors to individuals who canclear up any misconception or doubt you have.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Get out and see what life has to offer. Engage in events

or activities that provide insight into what othersthink and do to overcome boredom or to harnessand employ their gifts,skills and passion.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Fixyour surroundings to accommodate what you want to worktoward and share your thoughts with someone youlove. Take the input you receive to heart.

CAPRICORN (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Pay attention to what's happening at home. Adomesticshift can be beneficial if youare true to yourself and those you live with. It's best to handleanemotional issue before it becomes unmanageable.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.19) Agentle nudge, compliment and sound alternative will help you gain approval. Choose physical activity over getting involved in ano-win situation.

PISCES(Feb. 20-March20) Streamline your plans.Refrain fromoverdoing it or letting someone take advantage of your kindnessand generosity.A conversation with someone offering alternative suggestions will spark your imagination. ARIES (March 21-April 19) An emotional challenge will surface if youget into a scuffle. Focus on activities that depend on putting your time andenergy toward self-improvement, healthand living the lifethat makes you feel good.

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

PuzzleAnswer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

RobertOrben, whoisprimarily acomedywriter, said,“There are days whenit takes allyou’ve got just to keep up with thelosers.

He was not thinking about bridge, but he could have been. When you are in atrump contract, you shouldstart by counting your losers. Then, if there are not more than you canafford,you should draw trumps as quickly as possible. But if the loser count is too high, youmust calculate how to reduce the number.

In this deal, how shouldSouth plan the play in four hearts? West leads the club queen.

AfterSouthopenstwohearts,showinga decent six-card suit and 6to10high-card points,someplayers would be unable to resist responding two spades. But when you know of anine-card major-suit fit, why look elsewhere? Also, South’s hand will probably be useful only withhearts as trumps. North’s high cards will still be worth tricks in hearts.

South should see four losers: one in each suit.Itwill be impossible to avoid conceding tricks to the missing aces, so declarer must concentrate on that club loser

Note that if South immediatelyplays a trump, he should go down, East winning with his ace and returning aclub.

wuzzles

Declarerwouldliketoestablishhisdiamond suit, but he has no fast hand entry. Instead, he must lead dummy’s spade king at trick two. East winsand plays a club, but South takes that on the board and cashes the spade queen, discarding hislast club. Then he draws trumpsas quickly as possible. ©2025 by NEA, Inc dist.ByAndrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or

toDAY’s

Average

YEstERDAY’s