VATICANCITY— Cleaners and cooks. Doctors and nurses. Even drivers and elevator operators.
The support staff for the cardinals who will elect the successor to Pope Francis took an oath of secrecy Monday aheadofthe conclave that’sstarting on Wednesday.
The punishment for breaking the oath? Automatic excommunication.
The oaths of about 100 people were taken in the Pauline Chapelatthe Vatican for all those assigned to the conclave, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. They include clerics in support roles, among them confessors speaking various languages.
The cardinals will take their oaths in the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday,before they cast their first ballots.
An array of lay women and men are required to house and feed the cardinals. A conclave’sduration cannot be predicted —and it will only be known when white smoke rises out of the Sistine Chapel chimney to signal a winner All those people will be sequestered to be on hand forany medicalneeds,and maintain the majesty and ritualappropriatefor the election of the next headof the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church. Of the 133 cardinals expected to vote at theconclave, 108 were appointed by Francis.
The cardinals will be living in residences on Vatican
grounds,and theycan either walk less than amile to the Sistine Chapelortakea special busthat runs onlywithin thesealedVatican grounds —and for that, driversare also needed.
Phonesand secrecy Bruni initially said Monday that cardinals would be asked to leavetheir mobile phones at their Vatican residence, Santa Marta, but that they wouldn’t be confiscated.
Buthours later,atanevening briefing, he said that they would hand their phones over at SantaMarta and only get them backatthe end of the conclave.
But, he added, the matter goes “beyond just technical questions,” but is a“process unitedalso with prayer, with meditation, with thought aboutwho thepersoncould be whomthe Lordhas identifiedasthe pope of Rome.”
The Vatican also plans to usesignaljammingaround theSistine Chapel and the residences to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the conclave, with the Vatican gendarmes overseeing the security measures.
Theoath
The provisions for the oath-takingare laid downin Vatican law
St. John Paul II rewrote theregulations on papal electionsina 1996 document that remains largely in force, though PopeBenedict XVI amended it twice before he resigned in 2013. He tightened the oath of secrecy, making clear thatanyone
GeorgesMedia ad stafftaketop prizes at
pressawards
Staff report
Advertising staffs at the Times-Picayune |The Advocate and the St. Tammany Farmer took home top prizes in all categories in the Louisiana PressAssociation’s2024-2025 Better Newspaper Contest.
The advertising entries were judged basedon design, creativity and effectiveness, by the South Dakota Press Association.
Georges Media winners were named in the following categories: Best Ad Campaign, Division1, largedaily newspapers:
n First place, The Times-Picayune, Ryan Lips, “Ochsner to Your Health.”
Best Multiple Advertisers Page, Division1
n First place, The Advocate,BrianGolden, “Thanksgiving Co-op Page.”
In-Paper Promotion, Division 1
n First place, TheTimesPicayune, Ryan Lips, “The Story of Louisiana.”
n Second place, The Advocate, Ryan Lips, “Red Stick Rally United to
Give.”
In-Paper Promotion,Division 3
n Third place, St.Tammany Farmer,Julie Ricketts, “Friends of Slidell Library.”
Staff-generated Ad, Division 1
n First place, The Times-Picayune,Brian Golden, “Louisiana Travel Summit.”
n Second place, The Times-Picayune, Tiana Watts,“Artand Eyes.”
n Third place, The Times-Picayune,Brian Golden, ad for the Louisiana Senior Health Information Program. Best SpecialSection, Division 3 •Second place, The St. Tammany Farmer,“Football Preview” Also, The Times-Picayune |The Advocate and the St. Tammany Farmer were named“Newspaper of the Year” in each of their divisions, based on the totalpointswon in the contest for their placementsin the newsand advertising categories.
TheSt. Tammy Farmer also wonfirst place for General Excellence in Division 3.
whoreveals what went on inside the conclave faces automatic excommunication.
Under John Paul’srules, excommunication wasalways apossibility,but Benedict madeitexplicit
Those takingthe oath now declare that they “promise andswear that, unless Ishould receivea special faculty given expressly by the newly elected pontiff or by his successors, Iwill observe absolute andperpetual secrecy with all who arenot partofthe College of Cardinal electorsconcerning allmatters directly or indirectly related to the
ballotscast and their scrutiny for the election of the SupremePontiff.
“I likewisepromiseand swear to refrainfrom using any audio or video equipment capableofrecording anything which takes place during theperiod of the election within Vatican City, andinparticularanything which in anyway,directly or indirectly,isrelated to the process of theelection itself.
“I take this oath fully aware thataninfraction thereof will incur the penaltyofautomatic excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. So help me
Godand theseHolyGospels, which Itouch withmy hand.”
Finalappealfor victims
As the Vatican prepared for the conclave, its child protection advisory commissiononMonday urged cardinals to prioritize the clergy sexual abuse issue, saying theCatholic Church’s very credibility depends on accountability,transparency and justice forvictims.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is aVatican department created by Pope Francistoadvisethe church on
best practices to fight abuse.
Made up of clergy and lay experts, the commission issued acall to prayer to the cardinals whoare meeting in Rome this week before entering into the conclave on Wednesday
“Let no concern of scandalobscure theurgency of truth,” the text said. “Let no consideration forreputationimpede ourparamount responsibility to take action on behalf of those who have been abused.”
The abuse scandal has badly compromised the Catholic hierarchy’scredibility in manycountries around the world, with revelations of decades of abuse and cover-up by bishops and religioussuperiors.Francis andbefore himPope Benedict XVI took some steps to addressthe scandal, but aculture of impunity still reigns, there is no transparency from the Vatican about cases, andvictims say the very process the church has put in place to deal with allegations is often retraumatizing. The statement acknowledgedthe harm thescandal has done to the church’s reputation and said the cardinals beara responsibility to victims. “The church’s credibilitydepends on real accountability,transparency,and action rooted in justice,” it said.
The com missio n’ s president, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, is participating in the pre-conclave discussions but will not be voting in the election itself because he is over the age limit of 80.
BY MICHAELR.SISAK and LARRYNEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK The federal sextrafficking trialofSean “Diddy” Combs, whose wildly successfulcareer has been dotted by allegationsof violence, began on Monday in New York City with jury selection thatwas briefly paused when the hip-hop entrepreneur said he was “a little nervous” and needed a bathroom break.
Three dozen potential jurors were questionedby Judge Arun Subramanian about their answers on a questionnaire meanttohelp determine if they could be fair andimpartialata trial that will featureviolent and sexually explicit videos Opening statements and the start of testimonyare scheduled for next week.
The judge gave thewouldbe jurors abrief description of thesex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges against Combs, tellingthemhe’dpleaded not guilty andwas presumed innocent.
By theend of the day,the jury pool was half its size as somewere excludedfor personalreasons such as inabilitytoendurea trial projected tolast two months or because their opinions
or past experiences would makeitdifficult for them to remain objective.
Asimilar number of jurors was expected to be questioned on Tuesday.Ajury was not expected to be cho-
sen before Wednesday
Throughout Monday, Combs, 55, sat with his lawyers in asweater over awhite collaredshirt and gray slacks, whichthe judge hadallowedrather than jail
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByGREGORIO BORGIA
Aman gives the last touch Mondaytoared drape wrapped around acolumn of the central lodgeofSt. Peter’sBasilica in Vatican City,before the conclave starting on Wednesday, where theywill elect the 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church.
noticedthe FrenchQuarter seems cleaner than ever.Trash seems to disappearquicker,theysay.A lemony spray IV Waste uses to keep the streets fresh has drawn accolades.
So, afterPatio Planters, avolunteer group dedicated to beautifying the area, boughtand distributed about 400ofthe signsimploring Cantrell to keep the firm in the neighborhood,according to Torres, many have postedthemin support of Torres’ firm.
“IVWaste hasbeennothing short of amazing for our business,”said Tiffany Mandola, an owner of QuartermasterDeli, aBourbon Street po-boy shop and general store that is displaying one ofthe signs. The street outside her shop, located in arelatively quiet block in theFrench Quarter’seastern quadrant, has beenalmost shockingly clean lately,she said.
“Wewould have trash sit for days,” she said of workperformed by other sanitation firms. “Now as soon as we put trash out someone is scooping it up.” Torres said he was not involved with thesigneffort. “Weappreciate the support, butwe’re not out there putting signs up,” hesaid Joey DiFatta, the president of Patio Planters, said he has never seen the French Quarter’s varied interests so alignedona single issue as they’ve been on keepingIV Waste in serviceinthe area.
“I don’tknowifthe residents and the businesses havebeenon the same page for anything, anytime lately,but on this,theyare,” he said. “I don’tknowwhat the politics are,but Iknow what Isee.”
The dispute over sanitation work highlights anxiety amongresidents and business owners that the
JOBLESS
Continued from page1A
“Ifyou lose ajob, and there arelimited job opportunities in thecommunity, then it’sgoing to be difficult to try to get five applications out,”said state Rep. Ed Larvadain III,D-Alexandria, adding that the burden could be especially tough on single parentswho mightneedto drive long distances to complete work search actions.
Larvadain also worried the bill could force people to move away from their communities to reenter the workforce.
“You may not be able to find agood job in your area withinashort period of time,”Larvadain said.
On the House floor,Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, argued the bill would force people to applyto jobs that weren’tappropriate for them.
In an interview,Hebert disputed the notion that adding two more work search actions was an unrealistic requirement.
“We’re going fromthreeto five, so you could say that’s one action aday,Monday through Friday,” he said.“I don’tsee howthis will create any kind of additional burden or create scenarios to hurt individuals.”
Hebert said the idea for HB153 was brought to him
citymight fall short on providing a vital,but historically fraught, serviceinNew Orleans.
In the French Quarter,the specter of heapsofstinking trash —still freshinmany residents’ mindssince theaftermath of 2021’sHurricane Ida, whichsent thecityspiralinginto asanitation crisis —has many clamoring to hold on to IV Waste.
In an interviewonthe radiostation he owns, WBOK-FM, Henry said Monday morning that his firm was ready to perform just as well
as IV Wasteinthe French Quarter
New Orleanians should give his company achance, he said.
“Wehave aright to perform that work,” he said. “Itdoesn’t matter if there’sapopularitycontest underway,orifthe temporary(vendor) hasdoneagoodjob —he’ssupposed to do agood job.”
Eric Amer,abartender at Le BouchonWine on DecaturStreet whohas worked at French Quarter bars for the better part of three years, hasn’tfollowed the disputeover trash contracts.What
Amer has noticed, he said, is that the French Quarter seems much cleaner than in the past. He said he likes the subtle aestheticofIVWaste’sall-black trucks as well as the company’s lemony spray.“Why change somethingthat’sworking well?” he said.
If the city does moveforward with another contractor,Amer said, he would feelcomfortable providedthe newvendor has experience working in NewOrleans.
Henry Consultinghas helda series of public contracts with
the city of New Orleans since the firmlaunchedinthe early2000s, including cleaningcontracts with the Caesar’sSuperdome, the Louis Armstrong NewOrleans InternationalAirport andthe Downtown Development District. The subcontractor which Henry mended fences with earlier this year,Richard’sDisposal, handled sanitation services across aswath of New Orleans foryears before IV Waste snagged its contract in 2023. Richard’sstill manages services in Algiers.
Services in the 9th Ward and New Orleans East are managed by Waste Pro.
Backed by French Quarter residentsand business owners who have coalesced around IV Waste, City Council President JP Morrell, Vice President Helena Moreno andDistrictCCouncil Member
Freddie King III have takenjabs at Henry in recent weeks as they fight to keep IV Waste in place.
Morrell has questioned the legality of alower-than-normal performance bond includedin Henry’scontract,whichMorrell says would unfairlygiveHenry a higher windfall than mostcontractors receive.
On WBOK-FMMonday, Henry defended the way his contract was negotiated. He cast the outpouring of support for IV Waste as an expression of anxiety by the city’s business classwiththe conceptof aBlack business owner holding a primepublic contract.
Torres said his firm’swork speaks for itself and 95% of his workforce is African American, including morethana third of his managers.
Cantrell’spress staff did not respond to arequest for comment by press timeMonday on the support forIVWaste.
The popular lemony scent, Henry said, will remain in the French QuarteronceHenry Consulting gets to work: It’s in his contract.
by the Foundation for GovernmentAccountability,a Florida-based public policy thinktank HB153furthersayspeople maybedisqualified from receiving benefits if they miss ascheduled job interview or do notaccept asuitable job offer.The commissionalreadydisqualifiespeopleunderthose conditions, Schowen said,and the bill is simply codifyingthat practice.
In part,HB153 reflects a bidtocrack down on interview “ghosting,” in response to complaints from businesses who say they’ve scheduled multiple interviews aday onlytohave mostinterviewees not show up, Hebert said on theHousefloor. Onepractice that wouldbe newifthe bill passes: The bill says people could be disqualified from receiving benefitsfor failingtoattend jobtrainings, if they were assigned those trainings by the commission. The commission doesnot currently disqualify people for missed job trainings, Schowensaid. Thecommision isn’tlooking to takeaway people’s benefits for smalloversights such as one missedinterview,Schowensaid. If someonehas agood reason to miss an interview,they would not be penalized, she added. Instead, it is looking forrepeat offenders, people who are tryingtogamethe system by settingupinterviews andthen not attendingthem,
she said. “Our agency doesn’twant to play ‘gotcha’ to take away people’sbenefits,” Schowen saidinastatement. “Wecare abouthelpingpeople to get back to work quickly by ensuring they do what works to make thathappen. This legislation gives us toolsto achieve that goal.”
The commission has two portalswhere employers can report that someone missedaninterview or did not accept ajob offer
It received3,500 submissions through those portals last year,which led to 31 people being disqualified from receiving benefits, Schowen said.
HB153 would officially require the state to provide away for employers to report people who missedinterviews or didnot accept work, codifying the portals. Hebert said he wantstoensure the portals stay in place going forward.
Thebill comes one year after the Legislature passed alaw cutting unemployment benefits. Previously, jobless Louisianans could collect 26 weeks’ worth of benefits. Now,that number ranges from 12 to 20 weeksbased on the unemployment rate.
Under the current unemployment rate of 4.4%, benefits max outat12weeks, said Schowen.
As of mid-April, about 10,500 people werefiling continued claims for unem-
ployment insurance benefits, the commissionsaid. Those who receive benefits must be unemployed through no fault of their own. Louisiana offers some of themost meager unemploymentbenefits in the country
During the fourthquarter of 2024, claimants in Louisiana collected $253 aweek on average, according to data from the UnitedStates Department of Labor.That was less than every state except Mississippi, where the average was$223, the data shows.
About12% of jobless people receive unemployment benefits, thefourth-lowest rate among all 50 states, the data shows.
“Nobody is sitting at home eating filetmignon on the unemployment benefits that they are paid by the state of Louisiana,” said Jan Moller, executive director of Invest in Louisiana, an organizationthatsupportsstate programsthat help low-income people.
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LOUISIANA AT LARGE
KimMulkey fights fundraising fatigue
On Thursday,LSU basketball coach Kim Mulkey did something unexpected: She asked for help.
In aback room at Mansurs on the Boulevard, she met with eightBaton Rouge women —not to talk about X’sand O’sbut about money.Some of the women were die-hard fans. At least one admitted she didn’tknow “what afree throw does.” That didn’t matter.Mulkey was there to explain how women’ssports survive in today’sworld.
Thanks to the transfer portal andthe rise of name, image and likeness —which allows athletes to earn money while still in school— recruiting has become ahigh-stakes game.
Once the ladies took their seats, Champagne in hand, Mulkey who has “never had adrop of alcohol or coffee” —told them she’s not afundraiser and doesn’t enjoy playing that role.
To stay in the game, in every sense, Mulkey has got to figure out away to supplement the money the women’sbasketball program gets from the LSU athleticdepartment.
“I want to educate you in away where you understand what’s going on. LSU takes care of me, OK? Our coaches are well paid; I’m wellpaid,” Mulkey said. “But this NIL, here’sthe deal.” Mulkey gave acrash course on college sports economics —the tectonic shifts of NIL andthe power and reach of “television money.”
“For all of us in athletics, we’ve got to pull for football, andwe’ve got to pull for men’sbasketball because the NCAA Tournament is where the men in basketball getthe money and we reap it. When we get to the College Football Playoffs, we reap it.” Mulkey explained that none of the big women’sbasketball programs make money —not LSU, not UConn, not Tennessee, not even South Carolina,a programthat generated nearly $5.9 million in revenue in fiscal year 2024. The program’sexpenses were at $11.5 million, resulting in a$5.6 million loss.
“Even though you win national championshipsand you get to the tournament, there’snodollar value from TV that they’re paying the same way they do for the men,right?” Mulkeysaid.
Mostofthe women gathered previously had understood NIL to mean that an individual player can get acontract with asponsor —like Olivia Dunne and Flau’jae Johnson have done —and not that university athletic programs had to guarantee top dollar to athletes to persuade them tosign on the dotted line. For star players, Mulkey explained, the program itself has to offer what amounts to an annual salary —$400,000 or more for topwomen’s players, andeven higher for the men.
Recruiting wins like LSU getting former South Carolina player MiLaysia Fulwileydon’t come cheap. When askedwhat aplayer like Fulwiley costs, Mulkey said “some kids can be $400,000. Some kids can be $500 grand.” Jennifer Roberts, an LSU assistant coach who has been with Mulkey since her days at Louisiana Tech, said she organized the lunch to help get the word out.
“Kim is the only boss that I’ve ever had,” Roberts said.“Iwent straight to work forher (after college) and sheistired.”
These were seasoned lunchgoers, but this gathering wasn’ta
ä See RISHER, page 2B
Victoryfails to silence critics
Hutson says
BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer
Twoyears ago, after Orleans Parish SheriffSusanHutson’s proposal to double atax that her office collects took an epic pounding —losing by 91% of the vote —some wondered if Hutson had come up on thewrong end of the most lopsided election in city history Saturday, heroffice wasnamed thewinner of what might have been its closest.
After more than25,000 ballots were counted, Hutson’slatest measure to renew adecade-old tax passedbytwo votes, an unheard of, almost impossible margin. The millagerenewal required a simple majority of the vote, meaning that if asinglevoter who voted yes had instead voted no, it would have gone down.
“I’venever seen anything like twovotes,” said SilasLee, asociology professor at Xavier University and veteran political strate-
gist. “It just shows: Elections can be unpredictable.”
Turnoutwas just under 10%.
Hutson’sreaction? “Amazement” at howclose it was, she said in an interviewMonday,adding that “a win’sawin.”
Thus far,the resultsstand. As of late Monday,noone had requested arecount, according to Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry’soffice. The deadline to do so is 4:30 p.m.Tuesday
Clerk of Criminal Court Darren Lombard’sofficesaidithad not
SERENE SCENE
received arequest for arecount on Monday.Lombard is thechief parish elections officer
Hutson’s claiming ahard-fought victory,one that had to overcome amisinformation campaign fronted by “NoNew Taxes” signs that croppeduparound NewOrleans, urging the city’sresidents to vote no.
“That was abig hill we had to climb,” Hutson said.
TheSheriff’s Office millage datesto2014, but it requiredrenewal from voters because it was settoexpire at the endofthis
spillway, as it remained just below the minor flood stageof17feet.
School Boarddeclinestosettlesuitagainst city
BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
The OrleansParishSchool
Board on Monday declined to settle alawsuit against thecity of New Orleans as board members wait to seewhether an appeals court will approvemorefavorable settlement terms —including the end of acity fee that hascost the school system tens of millions of dollars over the years.
The tentative deal theboard considered Monday came after Mayor LaToyaCantrell pulled out of asimilar agreement earlierthis year,saying the city could not afford the$90 million settlement.
The revised deal, like the original, would have the city pay the school district $20 millioninthe near future andanother $70million over the next decade, according to board attorney Bill Aaron. But, unlike the earlieragreement, the city could continue to impose an administrative fee on taxes it collects for the School Board. That charge, which is at the centerofthe board’slawsuit against the city,costs the school system about $11 million annually
Afterseveral hoursinexecutivesession on Monday,the board directed Aaron to press pause on the latest deal. “At this juncture they did not make adecision on what wason the table,” Aaron said. At the attorney’srecommendation, the board is waiting forthe outcome of apossible appeals court ruling on the case. If the court rules in the board’sfavor, the city would have to abide by
Parish Councilpostpones vote on ICEresolution
BY WILLIESWETT Staff writer
After hearing pushback from residents andnoting alack of formal support fromthe parish’s law enforcement agencies, the St Tammany Parish Council postponed aresolution to support St Tammany agencies that formally agreetoassistImmigration and CustomsEnforcement. Since PresidentDonald Trump tookoffice in January promising thelargest deportation in U.S. history,hundreds of local law enforcement agencies have formally agreed to assist ICE under its 287(g)program, first established by theImmigration and National-
ity Act in 1996. The program authorizes local policeofficers to perform some immigrationenforcement functions. FloridaGov.Ron DeSantis recentlytouted his state’sinvolvement in the program when he announced thearrest of 1,120 people. Parish Council member David Cougle said in an email thathe wrotethe resolution after learning about theKenner Police Department’sdecision to sign up for the program. The Police Departmentisenrolled in theprogram’s “jailenforcement model,” which allows some trained local police
Authoritiesseekto remove ‘bad actors’ from area
BY JILLIAN KRAMER Staff writer
Stateand federal law enforcement agencies have seized a Central City car wash theysay has beena hub forillegaldrug activity and violence. The seizure of 5-Star Auto Car Wash on the corner of Felicity Street andSouth Claiborne Avenue capped amonthslong investigationsparkedbyresident complaints,saidOrleansParish District AttorneyJason Williams,
who announced the bust at anews conference Monday afternoon. The car wash had “harmed families and businesses in this neighborhood” foryears, Williams said,prompting“real and repeated” calls for action from the public.
“Wewanttosee local businessesthrive,” Williams said. “But when abusiness is used as a cover forcriminal activity …we will not look the other way.” The Data Informed Community Engagement division of the District Attorney’sOfficeworked with the NewOrleans Police Department,HomelandSecurity Investigationsand thefederal
STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Acouple and their dogrelax on ablanket beside the Mississippi River at The FlyinAudubon Park as the river nears flood stageinNew Orleans. The Bonnet CarreSpillway, a flood control structure upriver fromNew Orleans, will remain closed as the Mississippi River’s flow rates have stayedbelowthe thresholdrequired for its operation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that the river’screst, which reached 16.8 feet at the Carrollton Gaugeon Thursdaydid not necessitate opening the
ä See VICTORY, page 2B
OPINION
OUR VIEWS
Insteadof
fluoride, lawmakersshould focusonpriorities that move La.forward
The current legislative sessionisracingtoward the finish, and lawmakers are considering ahost of bills, many tacklingthe state’sinsurancecrisis as well as important fiscal reforms. However, we’d like to see them pullthe plug ontwo fastmoving bills, which supporterssay aim at improving the health of Louisianans, but in reality do nothing of the sort and drain focusfrom the other,biggerissuesfacingthe state Senate Bill 2would ban the fluoridation of water in public water systemswith 5,000ormore people.While municipalitiescould petition for fluoride to be reinstated after avote, adding fluoride would be banned starting Jan. 1.The bill, authored by Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma,recently passed the Senate and is nowheaded to the House for avote.
Another Fesi bill, Senate Bill 19, would make ivermectin availableover the counter. The drug has been touted in some quarters as atreatment forCOVID andother ailments, but thereisno conclusive evidence of itsbenefitsother than to treat some parasitic worms and some skin conditions, as approved by the Food and Drug Administration. That bill has also passedthe Senate. Indeed, in afiscalsession, onemight wonder why we’re even messing with these bills atall. The issues they purport to addresswould certainly rank low amongthe serious health challenges, such as high ratesofmaternal mortality, that remain unaddressed in Louisiana,whichlast year was ranked as the second leasthealthy state in the union.
The Louisiana Department of Health is already backing away from aonce-successful regimeof childhood vaccinations.These two bills would continue that deleterioustrend againstsound medicine.
The undeniable fact is that fluoride helps prevent tooth decay.Inthe 80 yearssince widespread fluoridation of drinking waterbegan, dentalhealth has risen precipitously,and places with fluoridated waterconsistently boast considerably better oral health.
Nobody here is just saying trust the experts Instead, the imperative is to trust the actual empirical data. There is no goodevidencethat fluoride at the low levelsaddedtodrinking water poses any threat.
It’sone thing to allow doctors to prescribe ivermectin for off-label use. But why would anyone want to let individuals self-administera potentially dangerous drug without aphysician’s prescription?
The bills are in line withHealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. KennedyJr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement. Increased focusonthe drivers of illness in theUnitedStates is welcome, but not health proposals based on conspiracy theories and bad science There is amessage that bills like thesesendto therestofthe country and the world. Louisiana is at acrossroads, withour state making news for major new investments and economic activity.Weencourage lawmakerstobuild onthis momentum by focusing their energy on solving ourinsurance crisis, whichisthe biggest threat we face. We hatetosee debatesoverfluoridation and ivermectin take center stage when theydon’t help advance the prioritiesthat will help our state move forward.
Letters are
identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND US A LETTER SCANHERE
Don’tabandon immigrants that helped us afterKatrina
After thelevees failed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’sfury 20 years ago this August, we sawwith our own eyes how hard-working and peace-loving thevast majority of immigrantswho cametorebuild our communityshowed themselves to be.
A2006 study by Tulane University found that one-fourth of Katrina recovery workers were undocumented immigrants. Unlike so manyyoung Louisianans, manyKatrina immigrantschose to stay in our communities and build happy and productive lives for themselves and their children. Of course, if these folks could have entered the U.S. with visas they would have, but virtually no immigrant visas exist for the type of jobs manyimmigrantsare willing totake and for which millions of Americans are eager to hire them.
Now,because of ahandful of horrific crimes committed by aminuscule number of immigrants, suddenly our immigrant neighbors are to be feared?
Let’sbelieve our own eyeballs
The Trumpadministration claimsto
be arresting only “bad hombres,” but like so much of what they say,this is a lie. Their complete disregard fordue process for immigrants should appall every American who values our Constitution.
Because of PresidentDonald Trump’smass deportation madness, loving parentsare being separated from their U.S. citizen children throughout theNew Orleans area. It is important to understandthat mostparents, if deported, will not wanttotake their children back to live in the poverty and danger they fled years ago. With theexception of thecity of New Orleans, local police agencies are enabling Trump’smass deportation madness, often through traffic stops. Demandthat your local police stop wasting valuable resources to terrorize our immigrant friends, parishioners and co-workers, and that Congress create afair and humane immigration system that keeps families together and helps our country to prosper SUE WEISHAR NewOrleans
West EndLakeShore Park should be recognized as aspecial habitat
With Earth Day just passed, we should review theimpact that the actionsoflocal politicians and governmentagencies are having on the environment and wildlife. West End Lake Shore Park(WELP) is agreat example. Reporter Stephanie Reigel correctly refers to thearea as West End Park. The word “park” is important. Since politicians and appointed commissioners do not want to be seen as developing a“park,” they have “renamed” the site. Council member Joe Giarrusso refers to thearea as “WestEnd.” The New OrleansMunicipal Yacht Harbor Management Corporation refers to the area as “The West End Parking Lot.” From the1930s to 1960s, thesitewas agarden with 5,500 rose bushes. Since Hurricane Georges in 1998, migratory birds have turned thepilings intoa seasonal rookery WELP adjoins the$15 million, 40acre Bucktown Harbor and Marsh. The Department of Ornithology at Cornell lists “West End Park” as having over 110 species of birds. This includes endangered and exotic species, such as eagles.The Pontchartrain Con-
servancy has bird-watching tours. Buildinga65-foot high, two-story parking garage withthree stories of bars, retail and office space plus arooftop deck will bring noise and lights that will negatively impact the wildlife habitat and undermine the $15million spent making Bucktown Harbor an environmental showplace. Residents have been advocating for theelimination of outdoor amplified sound in West End for years.
Feasibility studiesbythe Regional Planning Commission show the area to be “saturated” withbars andrestaurants. In thepost-COVIDarea, existing office space in the area exceeds theneed by 30%. Residents have asked forrecreation in WELP to replace the Mickey Retif Playspot,which was lost to the new pumping station.
Hopefully,Jefferson Parish officials will decline to participate in this attempttodestroy apublic park for profit
CHARLES MARSALA director, West End Lake Shore Park Civic Association
Thank you to former U.S. Rep. Garret Graves on behalf of all who are benefiting from his dedication to sign into law the Social Security Fairness Act. Ithank him.For more than 41 years, the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset unjustly denied Americans our full retirement benefits. For years, promises weremade by manypoliticians to have these lawsrepealed. However,Graves was the only representative whowas able to complete the task. As aresult, Ifirmly believe he could successfully move our state forward, including having anew I-10 bridge built. If he has given up on the thought of running forgovernor,I strongly encourage him to reconsider.Wedesperately need someone whoishard-working, action-oriented, listens to the needs of the people and fights forjustice. Graves has proven he is up to the task and would certainly have the support of those he has served. Again, thank you to Graves forhis service, his dedication and his courage to do the right thing.
CATHERINE
ALTAZAN Port Allen
Recently,The Times-Picayune had agreat article about James Buchanan Eads, the 19th-century engineer whocreated our deep water port with his sheer engineering genius. Last month, Iwas delighted to read Francis Vicidomina’sletter,“New Orleans should reimagine drainage system using tunnels,” suggesting asolution to our age-old drainage problem.Hepoints out that, unlike Eads’ solution, there are existing successful examples of drainage tunnels in Tokyo, and even in “softearth” locations like San Diego, Houston and Washington, D.C. Wouldn’titbewonderful to solve our street flooding problem once and forall?
ROBERT GROSS NewOrleans
pokedinthe eyeduring agameagainst
Bitof Pels’
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
LSU baseball struggled at the plate last weekend against Texas A&M, resulting in aseries loss at Blue Bell Park that dropped the Tigers to 38-11 and15-9inthe SoutheasternConference. LSU played a doubleheader Saturday,losing the first game3-1 beforewinning Game 2byafinalof2-1. TheTigersthen dropped the series finale Sunday 6-4. Here arefive takeaways from the series loss.
What went wrongatplate?
The LSU hitters struggledmightily over the weekend.
The Tigers scored just sevenruns across thethree games.Theyhad only 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position all weekend and went just 7for 33 with runners on base.
Some of LSU’sstruggles may have resulted from an undisciplined approach, or it could be because the unit waspressingasa whole. Therough weekend also could be attributed to the Tigers’ recentproblems against lefthanded pitching.
Facing threeleft-handed starters, LSU posted a.214 batting average in 84 at-batsagainst TexasA&M lefties. The subpar showing was actually an improvementfrom last weekwhenthe Tigers were 3for 36 against Tennessee left-handers.
This problemextends to the series againstAlabama and Auburn. The Tigers were 7for 33 against the Crimson Tide lefties after they went7 for39 against Auburn southpaws.
Cowan’srough weekend
Junior right-hander Zac Cowan has been one of the best relievers in college baseballthisseason,enteringthe weekendwitha1.07ERA in Southeastern Conference play
TheNew OrleansPelicans, as you know,didn’tcome close to sniffing the NBA playoffs this season.
So if you’re afan of the Pelicans, you’ll have to settle for the next bestthing: rooting for guys who once wore Pelicans uniforms.
Of the eight teams remaining,the DenverNuggets are the only team remaining that doesn’t have at least one former Pelican on their roster
In all, there are eightformer Pelicans whoadvanced to the second round.
How many of those players will reach the conference finals? Well, some exPelicans mayhave alot of say-so in whetherthey do or not.
So here’sour ranking,from most
important to least important, of which former Pels need to play thebest in the playoffs to give their teams achance to move on
1. Julius Randle (Timberwolves) Randle spent the2018-19 season in New Orleansbefore signing with the
BYNOAHTRISTER AP baseball writer
New York Knicks the next season. He was traded from the Knicks to the Timberwolves before thestart of this season and has been akey piece in gettingMinnesotaastep closer to the Western Conference finals for asecond straight season. Randle will have to play well for them to get past theWarriors in the next round. Randle averaged 18.7 pointsper game in theregular season, but he upped his scoring to 22.6 ppg in a gentleman’ssweep over the Los Angeles Lakers in thefirst round. While Anthony Edwards is thestar in Minnesota and Rudy Gobert dominated in the close-out gameinL.A., Randle’splay likely will
TedWilliams is thelast American League player to hit .400, and there areactually plenty of similaritiesbetween him andAaron Judge. Theone majordifferenceisin the strikeout column, and that’s whyJudge is highly unlikely to repeat Williams’famous feat. With a.423batting average through34games, Judgeleads themajor leagues in hitting by
But in two appearances against the Aggies, he surrendered as many earned runs to TexasA&M (four) as he hadall season against the SEC before the start of the series. He recorded only two outs and failed to get astrikeout. Cowan threw strikes, but his changeup-fastballcombination wasn’tenough to fool A&M hitters. They had five hits, including twofor extra bases, against the Wofford transfer
Eyanson flourishing
Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson had the best performance of his college career in Game 2onSaturday
The UC San Diego transfer struck out 14 batters and allowed just one run in a complete game. He threw nearly twice as many strikes as balls and surrendered just three hits.
Notonly did he display superb command, his fastball velocity satat94mph in the ninth inning.
awhopping 74 pointsoverNew York Yankees teammate Paul Goldschmidt. Judge’sOPS of 1.287 is actually the same numberWilliams finishedwithwhen he hit.406in1941. Williams averaged ahomer every 12.32 atbats that year.Judge is hitting one every 11.82 so far this season. But Williams struck out only 27 times in allof1941. Judge already has done so 31 times. Judge has struckout in 20.3% of his plate appearances. In the live ball era, only one player in the AL or NL has even hit .350 withastrikeoutrate of at least 20%. That was Manny Ramirez at .351 in 2000. Still, Judge’sstrengths —and hisone bigweakness —can help us comeupwith aroadmap of
sorts for aspiring .400 hitters. Step One: Shrink the sample size It’snoaccident that all of baseball’s.400 hittersplayedbefore the season expanded to 162 games. Smallersamplesleadtomoreextremestats, and whenWilliams hit .406 in 1941, he played in only 143games.GeorgeBrett played in 117 games when he hit .390 in 1980.TonyGwynn topped outat .394 in 1994 —the season that ended in mid-August because of astrike No,that doesn’tmean players should try to get injured or miss
for
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday reactstogetting
the Portland Trail Blazersatthe Smoothie King Center on Feb. 11, 2020.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By PHOTO By MICHAEL DEMOCKER Pelicans center Julius Randle dunks during agamebetween the Sacramento Kings and Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on March 28, 2019.
Ravens releaseembattled kicker Tucker
BY NOAH TRISTER
AP sports writer
The Baltimore Ravens are describing it as afootball decision, and it came before the NFL completed its investigation intoJustin Tucker
Whatever the underlying reasons, the team is movingonfrom its star kicker
The Ravens announcedMonday they’ve decided to release Tucker months after reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists.
Afive-time All-Pro, the 35-year-old Tucker has played his entire 13yearcareer with Baltimore. He’s considered one of the best kickers in NFL history,although 2024 was his worst season. The Baltimore Bannerhas reported thatmore than adozen massage therapists have accused Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior. The NFLsaiditwould investigate, and the Ravens drafted kickerTylerLoop late last month.
“Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in astatement issued by the club.“Considering our current roster,wehavemade thetough decision to release Justin Tucker.”
That comment was consistent with what coach John Harbaugh said at rookie camp Sunday,when he indicatedadecision on Tucker might come before the NFL com-
roomafteragameagainst
Inglewood, Calif.
pletedits investigation.
“Every decision we makehas to be based on football,” Harbaugh said. “You’ve got arookie kicker in here. Youtook him in the sixth round, early in thesixthround.
He’sa talentedguy.Just from a footballstandpoint —salarycap, all the different things thatyou just takeintoconsideration
whatever we decide to do over the next fewweeks will be basedon football.”
Tucker hasmaintained he did notact inappropriately while receiving professional treatment. Amessage seeking comment was left with his publicist Monday
Tucker holds therecord for the longest kick in NFLhistory at
“Sometimesfootballdecisions are incredibly difficult,and this is one of those instances. Considering ourcurrent roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker.”
ERIC
DECOSTA, Ravens generalmanager
66 yards, andhis success rate of 89.1% on field goals is the best alltime among players with at least 100attempts. He wasthe last remainingplayeronthe Ravens from their most recentSuper Bowl title, which occurred when he was arookie.
In 2022, he agreed to afour-year contract extension through the 2027 season.That dealincluded $17.5 million guaranteed.
Tucker missed acareer-high eight field goal attempts last season, although he reboundedabit down the stretch. Thencamethe Banner’s reportinJanuary that left his future in doubt.
“Justin created manysignificant and unforgettable moments in Ravens history,” DeCosta said.
“His reliability,focus, drive, resilienceand extraordinary talent madehim oneofthe league’s best kickers for over adecade. We are grateful forJustin’s many contributionswhile playing for the Ravens. We sincerely wish him and hisfamilythe very best in this next chapter of theirlives.”
Sources: Michigan’s Mooresuspended fortwo games
BY LARRYLAGE AP sports writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. Michigan is expected to suspend coach Sherrone Moore fortwo games next season to address allegations that he failed to cooperate in the NCAA’s sign-stealing investigation that rockedcollege football duringthe Wolverines’ championship season under Jim Harbaugh in 2023, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Moore is expectedtomiss the Wolverines’ third and fourth games —home against Central Michigan on Sept. 13 and at Nebraska aweek later —and all athletic-related duties during those weeks, they said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the school’s proposed self-imposed sanction has not been announced. It has also not been finalized, according to athird person with knowledge of the situation, also speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.
The NCAA investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign stealing by Michigan hung over the second half of the team’s unbeatenseasonin2023 and is still looming over college football’swinningest program.
The NCAA does not have rules against stealing signs,but it does prohibit schools from sending scouts to the games of future opponents andusing electronicequip-
menttorecord another team’s signals. Records from other Big Tenschools showed former staffer ConorStalions bought tickets to games involving future opponents, sending peopletodigitally record teamswhenthey signaled plays Stalions initially wasplacedon leave by the school andlaterresigned. He did not participate in theinvestigation Last August, the NCAA alleged in anotice relating to itssignstealing investigation that Moore violated rules as an assistant un-
ON DECK
“I just honestly put everything together.Iwant to getearlyand aheadinthe count. Iwanttothrow fastballs well, curveballswell (and)everythingwell,” Eyanson said. “And Ithink just tonight, everything clicked for me.”
Relieversstep up
Cowan’sstruggles aside, the LSU bullpen had one of its stronger performances of the season Tiger relievers not named Cowan allowed just three earnedruns and four hits in six innings. They were helped by Eyanson’scomplete game, but thatsame group of pitchers also struckout 11 batters and walked two. Four of those strikeouts came from freshman right-hander Mavrick Rizy.The Massachusetts native struck out four batters in 12/3 innings without allowingahit in Game 1onSaturday.
Commanding the ball has been an issue for Rizy,but on Saturday he threw 15 of 22 pitches forstrikes.
“I thoughtRizywas really good, LSU coach Jay Johnson said.“That kind of flew under the radar.”
LSUrelied on its bullpen heavily Sunday because freshmanrighthanded starter Casan Evanslasted just 31/3 innings. Until Cowan’s eighth-inning struggles, theunit kept the Tigers ahead.
PROBABLESTARTERS:LSU —TBA; Grambling State— TBA WHAT TO WATCH FOR: LSU did not turntofreshman righthander William Schmidt over the weekend. Afterstarting last week’smidweek matchup,there’s astrong chance he gets the ball again Tuesday. Grambling enters Alex Box Stadium after aseries victoryoverthe weekend against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. KokiRiley
Redshirtsophomore right-handersJaden Noot andChase Shores bothhad strong performances. They eachallowed arun but attacked the strikezoneand combined to strike out fivebatters in 32/3 innings. Also getting the
der Harbaugh, who served athreegame suspension in exchange for theBig Tendroppingits owninvestigation intothe allegations after thetwo wound up in court.
Moore was accused of deleting text messages with Stalions before they were recovered andprovided to theNCAA. Moorehas saidhe has and will continue tocooperate with the NCAA’s investigation. Mooreserved aone-game suspensionduringthe 2023 season related to recruiting infractions and filled in as head coach for four
Michigan head coachSherrone Moore, center, talks with quarterbacks Jadyn Davis and Bryce Underwood after the spring game in Ann Arbor,Mich on April19.
ASSOCIATED
games that season when Harbaugh was punished by the school and the Big Ten. The NCAA previously put Michiganonthreeyearsofprobation, finedthe school and implemented recruiting limits after reaching a negotiated resolutionina recruiting caseand banned Harbaugh from coaching college football for four years. Michigan opens the season on Aug. 30 at home against NewMexico State and at Oklahoma, where Moore was an offensive lineman.
reasonably low.Williams had only 456 at-bats in 1941 because he drew147 walks. Ichiro Suzuki was aprolific contact hitter whodidn’twalk much. He would routinely end up with around 700 at-bats in a season,and it’sextremely hard to sustaina .400 averagefor thatlong.
StepTwo: Make contact. This is the problemfor Judge and other power hitters of this era. Aplayerwho strikesout in 20% of his plate appearances hastohit .500 on the PAshe doesn’tstrikeout in if he’s going to bat.400 overall. Right nowJudge is 55 for 99 when he doesn’tstrike out—anextraordinary mark but not one that is likely to last.
Step Three: Ride aBABIP heater There’sa lotofluckinvolved in aplayer’sbatting average on balls in play(BABIP), but there are some waysa hitter can improve it. Hitting line drives is obviously preferable to hitting popups, and speedy players can turn grounders into infieldhits, boosting their BABIP —and batting average —that way George Sislerhad aBABIPof .422 in 1922 when he hit .420.
StepFour: Hit homers. Unfortunately,BABIP numbers such as Sisler’sdon’thappenmuch,especially now. The overallBABIP acrossthe major leaguesthis year is .288. It was over .300 back in 1930, which happenedtobethe year Bill Terry became the last National League playertohit .400. Fielders have more success turning balls in play into outs than they did then,but one way to avoid that is to hit alot of homers. When Rod Carew hit .388 in 1977, he wasboosted by aBABIP of .408, but it was also the year he tiedhis career-high with 14 home runs. Needless to say,there aren’t many players who can combine high walk and home run rates with low strikeouts in away that adds up to a.400 average. For example, Barry Bonds homered every6.52at-bats in 2001 and posted career-best walk (37.6%) andstrikeout (6.6%) rates in 2004. His best BABIP was .330 in 2002. Nowlet’s imaginehepulled offall those career-best rates in the sameseason, and let’sgive him 600 plate appearances. The rest of the numbers would shake out like this: 226 walks, 40 strikeouts, 374 at-bats, 57 homeruns and 148 hits. But thatwould still only be an average of .396.
Oneplayerwho could have made arun at .400 butnever really did was Wade Boggs, whose highest average was .368. Boggs had aBABIPof.396 in 1985, then posted his one big home run year in 1987 whenhehit 24 —one every 22.96 at-bats. In 1988, he struck out in aminuscule 4.7% of hisplate appearances while walking in 17.4% If we combine thoserates into onehypothetical season like we did with Bonds, we endupwith: 600 PAs, 104 walks, 28 strikeouts, 496 at-bats, 22 homers and 199 hits. That’sa .401 average.
LSUbatter Derek Curiel watches a lowpitch against Alabama earlierthis season at AlexBox Stadium.
PHOTO By JOHN OUBRE
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By KyUSUNGGONG
BaltimoreRavens kicker Justin Tucker walks back to the locker
the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 25 in
PRESS FILE PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA
Jesuit,SacredHeart golfersshine at state
Jays in third; Cardinalsgirls sitinsecond
BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer
Jesuit was among the top Division Iboys golf teams after the first 18 holes of the LHSAA golf tournament MondayatThe Wetlands in Lafayette. Jesuit finished one strokebehind C.E. Byrd and Catholic-Baton Rouge, who were tied forfirst. Jesuit sophomore DukeNitcherhad the best score among Division I boys, shooting 8-under 64and held
atwo-strokelead Nitcher was oneoftwo Jesuit golfers who finishedthe first round betterthanpar.Freshman Brooks Blanchard shot 1-under 71. Juniors William Boasbergand Julien Tullier were the next highest finishersfor Jesuit. Boasberg shot 2-over 74, and Tulliershot 5-over 77.
Mandeville is fourth, six strokes in back of the leaders, with sophomoreBradley Wall shooting a team-best 2-under70. Brother
Martin is 21 strokes back in seventh.
Northshore sophomore Justin Lotz was tied for second on the individualleaderboardhavingshot 6-under 66.
St.Paul’sfreshman Rylan Hess shot 3-under 69 and was tied for fifth.
Boys Division II
DivisionIIboysgolferstook to thecourse MondayatFarmd’Allie in Carencro, withSt. Charles among the contenders.
St. Charleswas third as a team after the first18, trailing
Sinner returnsfromdoping bantogreat fanfareinRome
BY ANDREW DAMPF AP sportswriter
ROME Rarely has an athlete been welcomedbackfrom adoping ban with so much fanfare.
Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner was treated to astadium
filled with nearly 5,000 fansfor his first practice sessionatthe Italian Open on Monday —the day his three-month banishment from the sport expired.
The training session —which was shown live on local TV came after Sinner was the most celebrated player in aceremony to honor the Italian teams that swept the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup last year
Both trophies were on hand and the Campo Centrale crowd belted out Italy’snational anthem.
It’sthe first time that Italy has had aNo. 1player for its home tournament. Still, Sinner wasata loss to explain why he attracts so much attention.
“I don’tknow.Honestly,I think
I’m asimple 23-year-old kid. I’m good at playing tennis but I’m not changing the world,” he said.“Ialways remember that Icomefrom asmall town of 2,000 people. BeinghereinRomeand playing in front of so many people is abig
deal.”
With aconclave to elect anew pope set to begin just down the road at theVatican onWednesday, Sinner’sreturn prompted local headlines that declared “Habemus Sinner” —a variant of the Latin words “Habemus Papam!” that areannouncedfromthe balcony of St.Peter’s Basilica when a pope is elected.
Lost andconfusedbyban
The scene at the Foro Italico came in sharpcontrast to how Sinnerfelt back in February when he received athree-month ban in asettlement withthe WorldAntiDoping Agency.
“At thestart Iwas abit confused because Ididn’tknowexactly what Iwanted todo,” Sinner said. “Then Iwent home andstayed with my family.I tried to understandbetterwhat wasreallyimportant to me.
“I know how many sacrifices I made and my daily routine was always practice, practice, practice. But at thatmoment Ididn’thave anyofthat. Icame to understand that what’simportant to me are the peoplebyyour side. That they give you the strength to move forward and continue smiling.”
Besides his familyinthe Ger-
man-speaking Alto Adigeregion of northern Italy, Sinneralso spentmore time with friendsat home in Monaco, participated in other sports like cycling, and then only graduallycamebacktotennis
“Wewent about amonth without touching (a racket)and then we restartedreallysoftly,”Sinner said. “Whenwestartedpushing more, blisters developedon my hands. That was something Ihadn’texperienced in along time.”
Didn’t want to accept ban
The settlement was made after WADA appealed adecision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to fully exonerate Sinnerfor what it deemed to be an accidental contamination by abanned anabolic steroidin March 2024.
Thesettlement raised questions, since it conveniently allowed Sinner not to miss anyGrandSlams andreturn at his home tournament.
TheItalian Open is the last bigclay-courtevent before the French Open, which starts on May 25. “I didn’twant to do it in the beginning, andalso it was abit not
first-place St. Louis andsecondplace Teurlings. Senior Dane Galiano led St. Charles, shooting 6-over 78.
Holy Crosssophomore Fulton Pigeon shot 3-over 75. Pigeon was secondamong DivisionIIindividuals and is six strokes out of first place.
GirlsDivision II
Sacred Heat was one strokebehind Episcopal-Baton Rouge, finishing second among Division II girls teams Monday at LesVieux Chenes in Youngsville.
Sacred Heart freshman Jade
Neveshad thetop Division II individual score with an even-par 74. JuniorMadeline Rudolph had thesecond-best score forSacred Heart, and sophomore Grace Gunn wasthird on the team.
Ursuline Academy sophomore Ashley Biehl finished third among individuals. Biehl was four strokes behind Neves witha scoreof 4-over 78.
The state golf tournament’s secondday begins at 8a.m.Tuesday with ashotgun start.
Email Spencer Urquhart at surquhart@theadvocate.com.
easy for me to accept it, because Iknow what really happened,”
Sinner said of the ban. “But sometimes we have to choose the best in averybad moment, and that’s what we did.Soit’sall overnow So I’m happytoplay tennis again.”
Many fellow pros feel Sinner was treated toolightly
Serena Williams told Time magazineshe “would have gotten 20 years” if she was involved in a similar case: “Let’sbehonest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.”
“I just arrived45minutesago,” Sinner said. “I haven’t seen so many (other players).It’sall fine at the moment, but Ihaven´t seen most of them.”
Sinner playsonSaturday Sinnerhasn’tplayeda match since January whenhewon his second straight Australian Open title
Aftera first-round bye in Rome, he will be playhis opening match on Saturday againstNo. 99 Mariano Navone or 18-year-old Italian wild cardFederico Cinà. The last Italianman to win the Rome title was Adriano Panatta in 1976.
“It’savery,very low expectation tournament in general for me,” Sinner said. “It’sa very strangefeeling againinthe beginning to be around so many people and attention. But it’snice to be back.”
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByALFREDO FALCONE
Jannik Sinner practices ahead of the Italian Open on MondayinRome. The Italian Open will be Sinner’s first tournament after athree-month dopingban. The ItalianOpen started Mondaywithqualifier matches.
tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Change begins with you, but first tidy up unfinished business. It will make your journey and your choices easier. You'll face opposition if you allow others to weigh in on a subject that's meaningful to you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Consider your options and align yourself with people who are as diverse and innovative as you. Don't pressure someone uncomfortable with your plans to join in, or a setback will occur.
cANcER (June 21-July 22) Distance yourself from situations you cannot resolve, and you'll gain insight into unique options. Altering your lifestyle to suit your demands will speed things up.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Live and learn. Your actions and words matter, so act and speak with caution and courage. Put your energy where it counts and be true to yourself. Don't hesitate to take on something that matters to you
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Press forward with passion, experience and knowledge, and you will leave a lasting impression. Taking short trips and reconnecting with associates or partners will be uplifting.
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Be silent while you observe what others do and say, and you'll spare yourself ridicule and criticism. Expand your interests, and you'll connect with someone who intrigues you.
scoRPIo (oct. 24-Nov. 22) You'll crave change, excitement and being in the
middle of the action. Before you rush in and share your thoughts, consider who you are dealing with.
sAGIttARIus (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Opportunity is within reach. Keep the momentum going and share your vision with the people you care about most. You'll get the input you need, but at a cost you may not like.
cAPRIcoRN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take a backseat and consider your options. Attend events that allow you to network, connect and position yourself strategically. An energetic approach to partnerships will encourage closer ties.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Pay attention to money matters and save for a rainy day Expand your interest in something that you can use to boost your qualifications. Rethink your lifestyle and make healthy choices.
PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Stick to your plans; any deviation will cost you. Trust your instincts, follow your heart and distance yourself from those offering chaos and divisiveness.
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Consider your options, ask an expert and adjust your plans to meet demands. Participate in events and build direct links to what interests you. Personal gain is apparent.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
toDAy's cLuE: X EQuALs G
FAMILY CIrCUS
CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
LAGoon
dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
Puzzle Answer
InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a
WiShinG Well
Scrabble GramS
Get fuzzy
jump Start
roSe iS roSe animal crackerS
DuStin
Drabble
Wallace the brave
breWSter rockit
luann
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