The Acadiana Advocate 05-14-2025

Medicaid bill could affect many in La.

Congress eyes billions in cuts, removal of enrollees

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WATER WOES

Rural areas of Louisiana dealing with systems that some fear are ‘ticking time bombs’

mates could cut $715 billion from Medicaid. Roughly 8.5 million

beneficiaries, about 10% of Medicaid’s rolls, would be removed and upward of 13.7 million low-income Americans would be left without health care coverage by 2034, the budget office stated.

It’s not yet clear precisely what affect the changes would have on Louisiana, which has 1.6 million enrolled in Medicaid, about a third of the state’s population. When all the various match rates for all the different programs are averaged, Louisiana is responsible for about

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

The water started showing signs of trouble a couple of years ago. It smelled like rotten eggs or bleach It sometimes came out of the tap brown and murky In the small town of Monterey along Louisiana’s eastern border, about 30 miles southwest of Natchez, Mississippi, Jennifer Barrington looked for ways to cope. Barrington, 55, said it got bad enough that she bought an expensive water filter for her home. She can’t cook with the

tap water because it’s too salty, and it destroyed two of her hot water heaters over the span of about two years, she said.

“You can’t even use it for ice,” she said.

“It’s been getting worse.”

Like many small communities around the state, Monterey is dealing with a problem that elected officials have long known was coming. Louisiana’s aging water systems are decaying.

Hundreds of water systems around the state are in dire need of fixes Many are decades old, with years of deferred maintenance. Cast-iron or clay pipes are

breaking down. Chemicals needed to purify the water are creating brown, murky water Treatment centers and pumps are faltering. Some small towns are hanging on by a thread, nervous that one well breakdown could threaten their ability to supply residents with water

The state got a windfall of federal funds during the pandemic to address many of the problems plaguing the systems. And the money routed through the state’s Water Sector Program, has been widely touted for repairing some of the most

ä See WATER, page 5A

Lawmakers weigh seed oil labeling law

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

Louisiana lawmakers are considering a bill that would require restaurants to disclose their use of seed oils, a move aligned with claims by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and the “Make America Healthy Again” movement that the cooking oils are harmful. In a hearing two weeks ago before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, a pediatrician called seed oils “toxic.” A wellness coach labeled them “inflammatory.”

30% of the total costs. Many health care leaders in the state said they wanted to see the final proposal before commenting on the impact it would have here.

Republicans argue they are reining in a program that has grown too expensive.

“Medicaid was created to protect health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves. The Democrats expanded

Residents want input on new jail

Proposed location in north Lafayette raises concerns

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Nearly 40 residents gathered Monday in north Lafayette to discuss their concerns over the lack of information on plans for a new jail and the need for community input before decisions are made.

“We know there are people that are not good in our community that need to be incarcerated,” said event organizer and former CityParish Council member Chris Williams, of United Ballot. “We just want to be involved in the dialogue.”

The decision by the previous city-parish administration to build a new jail on Willow Street was essentially made by a handful of officials with no community input, he said.

Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet, who took office in January 2024, halted a proposed public-private partnership plan by previous Mayor-President Josh Guillory to build a new jail on Willow Street near a transitional facility operated by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Many in north Lafayette oppose that location because of its proximity to schools and residences.

The Parish Council in 2023 allocated money to buy land in the 1800 block of West Willow Street, between North Pat Street and Hebert Road, for the jail. Guillory had brokered a deal for a private company to build the jail and rent it to the parish.

The parish by law is required to provide a jail. The Lafayette Parish Correctional Center in downtown Lafayette is not large enough and is in need of repairs, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Officials have long touted the economic benefits

Sen. Patrick McMath, RCovington, who authored the bill, also claimed that certain ingredients in seed oils, most commonly referred to as vegetable oils, cause “chronic inflammation, which causes chronic disease.”

But as Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, pointed out in the meeting, “we like to fry stuff in Louisiana.” Seed oils — including canola, rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower and soybean — have been staples in Louisiana

ä See OIL, page 4A

STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE

Monterey resident Jennifer Barrington and her husband Todd say they can’t cook with the tap water because it’s too salty and it destroyed two hot water heaters over the span of about two years.

The small town of Monterey in Concordia Parish saw its water system grade from the Louisiana Department of Health drop from an ‘A’ to a ‘C’ this year

Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, is sponsoring a bill requiring restaurants to disclose the use of seed oils.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Court continues to block Florida’s drag-show ban

ATLANTA An injunction barring the enforcement of Florida’s drag-show ban will remain in effect after a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the law is likely unconstitutional

A three-judge panel for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to back a lower court decision that described Florida’s law, purportedly aimed at protecting children from drag shows, as overly broad and vaguely written The case now returns to the Middle District of Florida, where a federal bench trial can be scheduled.

Attorney Melissa Stewart, who is representing Hamburger Mary’s, a drag-themed casualdining restaurant, said they’re thrilled the First Amendment rights of Floridians will remain protected as the case continues.

“The Court’s opinion recognizes this law for what it is — an egregiously unconstitutional attempt to censor the speech and expression of citizens,” Stewart said.

Brian Wright, a spokesman for the Florida governor’s office, called the ruling an overreach by a federal court.

“No one has a constitutional right to perform sexual routines in front of little kids,” Wright said. “We will do everything possible to have this lawless decision overturned.”

The Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando, which filed the lawsuit in 2023, regularly hosted drag shows, including family-friendly performances on Sundays that children were invited to attend. The restaurant closed its downtown location last year but plans to reopen at a new spot in nearby Kissimmee. The restaurant’s owner has said the Florida law violated First Amendment rights by chilling speech.

Pope Leo XIV is back on social media

VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV has taken over the Vatican’s official social media handles, with a first Instagram post on Tuesday repeating the first words he said to the world as pope: “Peace be with you all!”

The @Pontifex – Pope Leo XIV post featured some of the photos that have documented the first days of history’s first American pope.

The Vatican said it was archiving the posts from Pope Francis’ 12-year papacy On X, the new account didn’t appear to be active Tuesday

The Vatican launched the @ Pontifex handle in 2012 during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. It now comes in a variety of nine languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Polish, Arabic and Latin and counts a combined 52 million followers Past popes didn’t actually send the posts, which were curated by the Vatican. The former Cardinal Robert Prevost occasionally posted on X in an account started in 2011. It had been dormant since July 2023 but came back to life earlier this year to share criticism of Trump administration migration policies and comments by Vice President JD Vance.

Nvidia to send 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabia

U.S. chip maker Nvidia will partner with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund-owned AI startup Humain and will ship 18,000 chips to the Middle Eastern nation to help power a new data center project.

The partnership was revealed Tuesday as part of a White House trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been working to develop its artificial intelligence capacity and strengthen its cloud computing infrastructure with the help of foreign investment.

“AI, like electricity and internet, is essential infrastructure for every nation,” said Jensen Huang, founder of Nvidia. “Together with Humain, we are building AI infrastructure for the people and companies of Saudi Arabia to realize the bold vision of the Kingdom.”

The cutting-edge Blackwell chips will be used in a 500 megawatt data center in Saudi Arabia, according to remarks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli army airstrike on the European hospital in Khan younis, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. The Israeli military said it had carried out a strike targeting what it said was a Hamas ‘command and control center’ located beneath the hospital.

Netanyahu: ‘No way’ Israel halts war

BY MELANIE LIDMAN and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza — where airstrikes on two hospitals Tuesday killed at least eight and wounded dozens even if a deal is reached to release more hostages.

Netanyahu’s comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas released the last living American hostage on Monday in a gesture to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region but skipping Israel.

They pointed to a potentially widening rift between Netanyahu and Trump, who had expressed hope that the release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander would be a step toward ending the 19-month war

The Israeli military on Tuesday struck what it said was a Hamas “command and control center” located beneath a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis The strike on the European hospital was the day’s second strike on a hospital, and left at least six people dead and 40 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry

The dead were taken to Nasser hospital, which Israel struck earlier in the day, saying militants were operating inside it, without identifying them. Two people were killed in that strike.

In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day the prime minister said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of

force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. It means destroying Hamas.”

Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary the prime minister said. If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages, “we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said. “We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.”

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The dispute over whether to end the conflict has been the main obstacle in negotiations going back more than a year

Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with as many as 23 of them said to be alive, although authorities have expressed concern about the condition of three of them. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war were freed in ceasefire deals.

Monday’s release of 21-year-old Alexander resulted from negotiations between Hamas and the Trump administration that appeared to have largely bypassed Israel, which made no concessions for his release.

Alexander, who was 19 when he was taken from an Israeli army base during the 2023 attack, was the first hostage released since Israel shattered an eightweek ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.

Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing Gaza and displacing much of the territory’s population again.

French actor Gerard Depardieu convicted of sexual assault

BY SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

PARIS French movie star

Gérard Depardieu was convicted Tuesday of sexually assaulting two women on a set and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence in a case that was widely seen as a post#MeToo test for the country’s film industry.

The 76-year-old Depardieu, one of the most prominent figures in French cinema for decades, must also pay both accusers a total of around $32,350 in fines, and the court ordered that his name be listed in the national sex offender database

The actor was convicted of groping a 54-year-old woman responsible for decorating the set and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”) in 2021 Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, did not attend the hearing in Paris. His lawyer said that his client would appeal the decision.

The case offered a fresh assessment of how French society and its filmmakers would handle sexual misconduct allegations against a top actor in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

One of the accusers, the set dresser, said she was

A plaintiff arrives in a Paris court Tuesday before French actor Gérard Depardieu was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women who were working on a film with him in 2021.

“very much satisfied” with the verdict “I’m very moved,” she told reporters. “That’s a victory for me, really, and a big progress, a step forward. I feel justice was made.”

Her lawyer, Carine Durrieu Diebolt, said “it is the victory of two women, and it is the victory of all women beyond this trial.”

“Today we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema,” Durrieu Diebolt said “I think that with this decision, we can no longer say that he is not a sexual abuser And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I’d like the film world to spare a thought for Gérard Depardieu’s victims.”

Schumer vows to push for answers about Qatar luxury plane

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he will hold up all Department of Justice nominations on the Senate floor until he gets more answers about the free Air Force One replacement that President Donald Trump says would be donated by Qatar

Trump said this week tha t he wants to accept the $400 million plane, and that it would later be donated to a presidential library White House press

secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that the details of the donation are still being worked out.

The plan, Schumer said, “is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat.”

Schumer said he wants answers from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration about whether it is investigating activities inside the United States by Qatari foreign agents that could benefit Trump or his business.

He also wants to know if Qatar will be responsible for adding security measures to the plane and how it will be built and paid for.

“The Attorney General must testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause — which requires congressional approval or any other ethics laws,” Schumer said.

Democrats have expressed uniform outrage about the potential foreign gift and many Republicans are uneasy about the plan, as well.

Returning to Washington on Monday evening, senators in both parties questioned how the deal would

work and stressed the importance of following federal laws that govern how a U.S. president can accept gifts from foreign countries.

“We need to look at the constitutionality of it,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who said she’d be concerned about possible spying devices installed on the plane

Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said that Trump had said he would follow the law, and “that’s the right answer.”

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Trump shouldn’t accept the jet. “I don’t think it looks good or smells good,” Paul said. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he’d prefer “a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America.”

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma was one of the few senators defending the deal. “Why would we care if another country wanted to give the United States a gift?” he asked.

Schumer’s holds mean that the Senate can’t quickly confirm any of Trump’s Justice Department nominees. Many lower level nominations, such as U.S. attorneys, are often approved in groups by voice vote.

Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey also have said they will call for a vote this week to reaffirm the “basic principle” that public servants should not take foreign gifts for personal gain.

Murphy said in a floor speech Tuesday that Trump’s corruption is “wildly public” and that his hope is that “by doing it publicly he can con the American people into thinking it’s not corruption because he’s not hiding it.” Coons raised security concerns.

“The Trojan Horse was a gift, too,” he posted on X.

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A suspended sentence means that Depardieu does not have to go to prison unless he commits another offense. Suspended sentences are common in France for a wide range of crimes.

The court said it took into account Depardieu’s age, his poor health and his criminal record, which included one prior unrelated conviction, although the court offered no details.

Depardieu’s long and storied career — he told the court that he’s made more than 250 films has turned him into a French movie giant. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1991 for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM DAGGA

Schumer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By THOMAS PADILLA

BY SAMYA KULLAB and ILLIA NOVIKOV

Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian

President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he will be waiting for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in the Turkish capital this week to conduct face-to-face talks about the more than 3-year war amid heavy pressure from the U.S. and European leaders to reach a settlement.

Putin hasn’t yet said whether he will be at the talks, which U.S. President Donald Trump has urged the two sides to attend as part of Washington’s efforts to stop the fighting.

Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations He will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin to arrive, he said.

Zelenskyy said he would “do everything to agree on a ceasefire, because it is with (Putin) that I must negotiate a ceasefire, as only he can decide on it.”

Zelenskyy said that if Putin chooses Istanbul to hold the meeting, then both leaders will travel there from Ankara.

“If Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point that he does not want to end the war,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader added that if Putin doesn’t show up, European and U.S. leaders should follow through with threats of additional and heavy sanctions against Russia Trump, who is on a fourday Middle East trip, said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would attend the talks. Special envoy Steve Witkoff also is set to take part, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview plans that have not been made public.

Washington has been applying strong pressure on both sides to come to the table since Trump took office in January with a promise to end the war Military analysts say that both sides are preparing a spring-summer campaign on the battlefield, where a war of attrition has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides along the roughly 620-mile front line. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Monday that Russia is “quickly replenishing front-line units with new recruits to maintain the battlefield initiative.”

Ball is in Putin’s court International pressure has been growing to push Ukraine and Russia into finding a settlement.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pressed

again for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as he met his Greek counterpart in Berlin on Tuesday “We are waiting for Putin’s agreement,” he said. “We agree that, in case there is no real progress this week we then want to push at European level for a significant tightening of sanctions,” Merz added. He said that “we will focus on further areas, such as the energy sector and the financial market.”

Merz welcomed Zelenskyy’s readiness to travel personally to Turkey, “but now it is really up to Putin to accept this offer of negotiations and agree to a ceasefire. The ball is exclusively in Russia.”

Putin may not attend talks

Overnight Russia launched 10 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said. It was Russia’s smallest drone bombardment this year

The Kremlin hasn’t directly responded to Zelenskyy’s challenge for Putin to meet him in person at the negotiating table.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined for the second straight day Tuesday to tell reporters whether Putin will travel to Istanbul and who else will represent Russia at the potential talks.

“As soon as the president considers it necessary, we will make an announcement,” Peskov said. Russia has said that it will send a delegation to Istanbul without preconditions.

Putin ‘dragging his feet’

Zelenskyy won’t be meeting with any Russian officials in Istanbul other than Putin, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said Tuesday on a YouTube show run by prominent Russian journalists in exile.

Lower-level talks would amount to simply “dragging out” any peace process, Podolyak said. European leaders have recently accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts, while he attempts to press his bigger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.

Russia effectively rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, starting Monday, that was demanded by Ukraine and Western European leaders, when it fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine Putin instead offered direct peace talks. But the wrangling over whether a ceasefire should come before the talks begin has continued.

“Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations with Russia, but a ceasefire must come first,” Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Tuesday

Trump plans to ease sanctions on Syria

BY ZEKE MILLER, BASSEM MROUE and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will ease sanctions on Syria and move to normalize relations with its new government to give the country “a chance at peace.”

Trump made the announcement shortly before he was set to meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of longtime leader Bashar Assad.

Trump said the effort at rapprochement came at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump said of Syria, adding, “I say, good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”

The developments were a major boost for the Syrian president, who had been imprisoned in Iraq for his role in the insurgency following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the Arab country Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir alSham, or HTS, that stormed Damascus, ending the 54year rule of the Assad family

The U.S. has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and want Trump to follow believing it is a bulwark against Iran’s return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad’s government during a decadelong civil war

Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.

Before Trump spoke, the White House said he had “agreed to say hello” to the Syrian president while in Saudi Arabia.

The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump and put him at odds with longtime U.S. ally Israel, which has been deeply skeptical of al-Sharaa’s extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new government.

Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, alSharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq. The U.S. once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to alQaida.

Al-Sharaa came back to his home country after

an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Syria has historically had fraught relations with Washington since the days of the Cold War, when Damascus had close links with the Soviet Union and later when Syria became Iran’s closest ally in the Arab world. The removal of the Assad family could change the track.

the conflict began in 2011 and led al-Qaida’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front. He later changed the name of his

group to Hayat Tahrir alSham and cut links with alQaida.

He is set to become the first Syrian leader to meet

Ibrahim Hamidi, a London-based Syrian analyst, said Trump’s planned meeting with al-Sharaa marks a “strategic shift” for the country “The Syrian-American meetings in Riyadh open the gate for the two sides to start discussing issues of disagreement between them in a positive atmosphere,” said Hamidi, editor-in-chief of the Arab magazine Al Majalla. “This is important.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump speaks at the Saudi-U.S Investment Forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.

La. Senate takes up car insurance legislation

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Why are car insurance rates so high?

State senators battled over that divisive question Tuesday before a Senate committee. Some pressed the pro-industry view that Louisiana’s laws encourage too many lawsuits and big payouts, while others pushed the trial lawyers’ view that government regulators must force insurance companies to direct some their profits to lower rates.

The packed committee room — with dozens of people declaring support or opposition to each bill

— reflected the stakes.

“It’s still the No. 1 issue in my district,” said Rep. Jason DeWitt, R-Alexandria, one of the representatives who presented a bill before the Senate Judiciary A Committee, reflecting the view of many colleagues. Each side could claim victories Tuesday

The Senate committee approved three bills sought by insurance and

OIL

Continued from page 1A

cooking for decades Nutrition scientists say they are perplexed by the backlash.

“Seed oils got a bad name for a couple reasons, mostly — I hate to say it this way — but uninformed people on TikTok,” said Dr Ron Quinton,medicaldirectoratTulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine.

Quinton, who spent 40 years as a thoracic-cardiovascular surgeon before leaving to teach nutrition, said seed oils aren’t the problem. It’s that they often wind up on long ingredient lists for packaged foods.

“The real problem isn’t the seed oils themselves — it’s that they are often used in ultraprocessed foods. And ultraprocessed foods cause a lot of different health problems,” he said.

The extraction process for seed oils involves pressing and heating the seed, then refining the oil with certain solvents to make it taste better in a process that is “kind of like percolating coffee,” said Joan King, a food chemist at the LSU School of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

Soybeans, for example, are pressed into flakes, then heated to destroy an enzyme that interferes with digestion. A compound called hexane is introduced to help purify the oil, removing free fatty acids (which cause a soapy taste), color and soy lecithin (which can cause allergic reactions in some people).

Nearly all oils undergo some form of refinement, which makes them taste better, look better, last longer and allows cooking at relatively high heat points without smoking The exception is oils that are cold pressed, though those oils are generally not heat stable and may release harmful chemicals at high temperatures during cooking.

Opponents of seed oils have pointed out that hexane,

business interests and was poised to pass two more Tuesday night.

But the committee took up only a handful of the pro-industry bills that overwhelmingly passed the House, indicating that the others may die from a lack of attention.

The insurance industry and such trade groups as the Louisiana Association for Business and Industry and the Louisiana Motor Transport Association have been fighting the trial lawyers’ lobby for years over how to rein in Louisiana’s insurance rates.

When the House took up and passed 16 bills favored by business interests, the trial lawyers’ advocates put up little opposition.

That changed Tuesday in the Senate, when the Judiciary A Committee heard the House-passed bills.

Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, had House members and industry representatives squirming as they tried to answer his pointed questions while testifying in favor of those bills.

“The goal is to reduce lawsuits

the chemical solvent used to refine cooking oils, is a neurotoxin. They have also said it is carcinogenic, though it is not recognized as a cancercausing substance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Experts note that hexane all but entirely evaporates during the refining process. The amount of hexane present in food-grade oils is negligible compared to other environmental exposures, like gasoline fumes.

“Once the oil is extracted, it undergoes refining processes involving heat and vacuum (treatment) to remove the remaining hexane,” said Subramaniam Sathivel, a food scientist at the LSU Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering “As a result, the residue of hexane in the oil is typically very low.”

While hexane is a neurotoxin at high exposure levels, the trace amounts present in refined edible oils are within safety limits set by regulatory agencies and are not considered a health risk, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is also a better alternative to animal fats, which are high in saturated fats, according to scientific literature.

“There have been a lot of scientific studies, probably about 100, comparing vegetable oils and seed oils with animal fat sources such as butter and lard. Almost every one has shown healthier outcomes with the seed oils,” Quinton said.

Catherine Champagne, a nutrition scientist at the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center, pointed out that seed oils are generally healthier than animal fats because they are higher in polyunsaturated fats, particularly omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which our bodies need but cannot produce on

by taking away people’s rights to sue?” Luneau, a trial attorney, asked DeWitt at one point.

“I’m trying to reduce the number of the people on the road without insurance,” DeWitt replied about his House Bill 434, which would keep injured uninsured drivers from receiving the first $100,000 from any payout, up from $15,000 under current law

“How much is it going to lower rates?” Luneau asked DeWitt a bit later

“It depends on how many bills get across the finish line,” he replied.

Luneau noted that the Legislature in 1996 limited injured drivers without insurance from collecting on the first $15,000 in a claim, then asked how much that reduced rates.

“I don’t know,” DeWitt replied.

“It didn’t reduce rates a penny,” countered Luneau.

Sen. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans, repeatedly pointed out to DeWitt and other pro-industry officials that

their own.

In contrast, animal fats and coconut oil are typically higher in saturated fats, which can be problematic for people with heart disease or blood lipid issues.

Champagne, who helped develop the groundbreaking DASH diet, said she avoids using animal fats because of their documented negative impact on heart health.

“I cook with canola oil because it has a high content of monounsaturated fat similar to olive oil, both of which are heart healthy.”

The claims that seed oils are inflammatory are also not backed by scientific evidence. A large analysis of studies found no connection between inflammatory markers in the blood and seed oils.

Quinton said older studies from the 1970s suggested omega-6 fatty acids, which are present in seed oils, might cause inflammation because they can metabolize into arachidonic acid, an inflammatory substance. However, he noted that more recent research disproves this concern.

“The amount of omega-6s metabolized into arachidonic acid is limited by the body So the more omega-6s you eat, doesn’t mean the more arachidonic acid,” he said.

“In fact, omega-6 fatty acids actually reduce heart disease, reduce diabetes, and are healthier than what I was taught when I was in medical school quite a few years ago.”

Seed oil disclosure is just one part of the bill. Other parts of the bill limit soft drinks for SNAP recipients, ban certain ingredients in ultraprocessed foods from school meals, and require more nutrition education for physicians — the last two of which Quinton said he supports.

The bill passed through the Senate with the vocal support of Kennedy, Gov Jeff Landry and Surgeon General Dr Ralph Abraham It is now awaiting scheduling for the House Health and Welfare Committee.

the measures they supported had no language ensuring the changes would actually lower rates.

“If you look at insurance companies, they’re having record profits,” Carter said.

Will Green, LABI’s president and CEO, told Carter the legislation would lead to fewer lawsuits and fewer payouts, translating into higher insurance company profits.

Louisiana’s insurance commissioner would then require the companies to lower rates, he said.

“We can become a more attractive state for carriers and business,” Green said.

The committee passed DeWitt’s bill, House Bill 431 by Rep Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, and House Bill 450 by Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport. Each bill heads to the full Senate for consideration.

Chenevert’s bill would bar drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receiving a damage award to cover their injuries. Under current law, a driver re-

sponsible for, say,

Chenevert said 38 other states, including Louisiana’s neighbors, have this law

Tom Clark, a lobbyist for Allstate, said statistics show the problem lies with Louisiana’s legal system,

Paul

desperate problems

But the $750 million in federal funds has not come close to solving all of the state’s water issues For instance: When the state began accepting grants, local governments applied for $2.2 billion in funding. Including local matches, the projects would have covered $5.5 billion in repairs and upgrades.

Monterey saw its water system grade from the Louisiana Department of Health drop from an “A” to a “C” this year The downgrade came after a swell of customer complaints and high levels of manganese, which turns water murky and brown once it reacts with chlorine, which the state requires to purify the water A group of residents filed a lawsuit this spring against the water system and its operator, JCP Management, a company linked to State Sen. Glen Womack, R-Harrisonburg.

Womack did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment Representatives of JCP did not respond to multiple queries.

A review of state data shows Monterey’s system has been flagged for repeated violations and boil advisories. Since the beginning of this year, Monterey’s water system has had six boil advisories, along with a violation for inadequate chlorine and two advisories about sodium and chloride levels.

One resident, who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation from elected officials, said she’s spent thousands of dollars replacing appliances rendered defective because of the water

“We haven’t consumed the water for drinking in my house in five years,” she said. “I even give my pets bottled water.”

Dozens of residents have compiled their complaints in a resident-led online form that volunteers provide to the local government. They shared reports of ruined clothes from the washer, broken appliances and dead plants.

In December, while Barrington and her husband were traveling in their RV for work, their vacant

JAIL

Continued from page 1A

of demolishing the jail and opening the downtown space for commercial development.

“We’re tired of hearing ‘We don’t know’ ” details about a new jail, City Council member Elroy Broussard said. “We want to know their intentions.” Broussard and several residents want to know the size of the proposed jail, the number of beds, how it will be paid for and what alternative programs will be offered.

Williams said someone with Boulet’s office confirmed that she would attend Monday’s gathering to answer questions Boulet was on her way to Wash-

MEDICAID

Continued from page 1A

the program far beyond this core mission,” House Energy Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said to open a hearing on the plan “We make no apologies for prioritizing Americans in need over illegal immigrants and those who are capable but choose not to work. Our priority remains the same — strengthen and sustain Medicaid for whom the program was intended to serve: expectant mothers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly.”

But Democrats argued the cuts are dangerous

“The CBO estimates the Republican bill will gut $715 billion from Medicaid, forcing 13.7 million Americans to go without basic health care,” U.S. Rep. Troy A Carter, the New Orleans Democrat who is member of the House Energy Committee, said before heading into what was expected to be a contentious hearing.

That’s not reform; it’s cruel and unacceptable,” Carter added.

The hearing, which started a few minutes after 2 p.m. Tuesday, quickly became rowdy, with members of the audience disrupting member speeches and being removed from the hearing room, while the Democratic and Republican members bickered.

An effort to shut down

house flooded. An abrupt pressure change in the house’s plumbing lines blew the porcelain top off their toilet, and water poured out.

A report from her plumber said the blowout happened after the water system operators repaired a leak on the same block and the pressure ramped up.

Barrington said the rust in the water coated her home, leaving it “pretty much done for.” She and her husband have been living in their RV with their two European basset hounds, Boudreaux and Bonnie. They’re unable to live at their home at the end of Patsy Brown Road with a big, fenced-in yard.

“We’ll probably never be able to live in it again,” she said.

Windfall of cash

State officials have allocated all of the federal money they received to fix up water systems.

And since then, state lawmakers have stepped up and steered additional money toward fixing the systems, including $75 million last year State Rep. Jerome “Zee” Zeringue, a Houma Republican

ington, D.C., on Monday afternoon on city-parish business, spokesperson Jamie Boudreaux said. She called it a miscommunication, explaining Boulet told her staff last week that she wasn’t able to attend Resident Kevin Ardoin suggested either remodeling the existing jail and adding floors or building a new jail on property on Louisiana Avenue at Shadow Bluff Drive that the parish bought to build a new library Boulet recently announced she is considering leasing land at the former Holy Rosary Institute on Louisiana Avenue near Carmel Drive for the library

The Rev Rick Andrus, of St. Anthony Catholic Church, said elected officials wouldn’t think about putting a jail in a neighborhood like River Ranch. They have no

the hearing came early but failed on a largely party line, 29-24 vote.

Democrats gave their speeches while holding photos of constituents on Medicaid. The majority refused to allow those constituents to testify at the hearing. Each side entered documents to support their contentions.

Republican members called Democratic members liars. When Democrats got their chance, Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said GOP leadership had lied about their plans to protect Medicaid rolls. Republicans objected, asking to suspend his comments.

“Only the Republicans can say ‘lie.’ I’m going to say the Republicans are misleading,” Carter said in his opening statement. “It’s essential that we overcome this notion that it’s all waste, fraud and abuse. We’re misleading the American people by saying, ‘Go home, you won’t be hurt.’”

The legislation, if passed by the House committee, will be merged into a single spending measure that includes much of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, which he and GOP leaders have taken to calling the “one, big beautiful” bill. Much of the savings to offset the increased border spending and tax cuts Trump wants come from reducing Medicaid spending.

The Republicans’ Medicaid proposal would require enrollees making more than

who co-chairs the Water Sector Commission that decides how to allocate the funds, said he’s targeting $100 million or more this year

But for the state to fix all of its water systems, it likely will take painful decisions, including raising rates on low-income residents in towns that have been losing population for years.

“The Water Sector Program was very successful in addressing a lot of those critical projects,” Zeringue said. “It definitely hasn’t solved the problem. There are going to continue to be problems with water systems, especially in rural communities, that the water sector will not be able to get to.”

To get the state money, water systems usually have to provide a plan that shows they’ll be able to pay for upkeep. Often, that means taking the unpopular step of raising water rates.

Ryan “Spanky” Meche, mayor of the town of Church Point in Acadia Parish, went after the grant money and secured several million to make upgrades. He recorded a podcast recently to respond to residents’ complaints about water is-

right to put it in a north Lafayette community without input, he said.

“We’ve got to have the spine that a lot of our politicians don’t have to stand up,” Andrus said.

The estimated cost to build the jail is $175 million to $200 million, Williams said The parish doesn’t have that kind of money

The state capital budget under consideration by the Legislature contains $35 million for the jail, said Consuela Gaines, of Voice of the Experienced. It is a priority 5, which is low

The city pays the parish $1.25 million to house city prisoners, City Council member Kenneth Boudreaux said. Parish Council member A.B. Rubin, he said, advised that the Parish Council has not allocated any money to build a new jail.

the federal poverty level —

$32,150 for a family of four in Louisiana or about 19% of the state’s population to start paying copays for each visit. If approved, the legislation also would require states to double-check income eligibility every six months or so and mandate work for all able-bodied and childless adults who get Medicaid.

Additionally, the measure would lower to 80% the federal match rate, currently 90%, for those who signed up for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, requiring states to pick up those costs. That includes about 500,000 people in Louisiana, which means the reduction would force state government to pick up a significant new share or reduce the number of people covered. New York, California and a couple of other blue states use their own money to cover undocumented immigrants with Medicaid. The law already forbids Medicaid coverage for most noncitizens. The proposal would penalize those states.

The bill, properly called a “title” because it is being merged into another bill, also would put a moratorium on “provider taxes” that most states use to come up with their portion of the match rate. The fees also are used in Louisiana to supplement hospitals where most patients are on Medicaid, which pays substantially less than Medicare and pri-

vate insurance.

sues, saying the “town will go down the drain” without the money, even if it means disruptive construction work and higher rates.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Meche said in an interview. “The state makes you get into compliance. But the only way to get into compliance is through grants. The only way to get grants is if you raise rates to make it accessible to get grants You don’t really have a choice in it.”

Brenden Gaspard works as an engineer for dozens of water systems around the state. He said there are a host of problems, from high iron levels to capacity problems. Water systems often have to use chlorine for purification, but some struggle to get the amounts right, especially when the tentacles of the system reach into far-flung areas. The solutions all boil down to money “The needs far outweigh the funding available,” he said.

Gaspard said the Water Sector Program was a “once in a lifetime” injection that helped many of the systems. But some can’t access the funds, and there aren’t enough oth-

er grant programs to go around. His advice to water systems is to decide whether the problems are dire enough to warrant raising rates to pay for them.

‘Ticking time bomb’

State Rep. Daryl Deshotel, RMarksville, sponsored a bill this legislative session to dedicate the proceeds of a new, statewide telecommunications tax to fund water improvements outside the Water Sector Program. Deshotel said one reason he filed the bill was because his communities aren’t able to tap into the program because they didn’t score highly enough on the Water Sector Commission’s rubric. Plus, a massive effort to install broadband across Louisiana is creating new water issues as providers drill into water mains.

“These water systems are in pretty dire straits,” he said. “My system, believe it or not, gets an ‘A’ from the state. The water is brown. Everybody is complaining about the water.”

But Deshotel’s bill raised concerns that the money would not be allocated based on a specific set of criteria, like the Water Sector Program. Deshotel recently told the House Appropriations Committee he would try to work out amendments to make it more palatable, but it’s unclear if the bill will pass through the full Legislature. Brenda Sampson, mayor of the town of Bunkie in Avoyelles Parish, said her 5,000 residents skew older, as young people flee for better job prospects. One of the town’s four water wells is inoperable. If another well goes down, she might not be able to service everyone.

“We would have to raise taxes to do anything,” she said. “It would be devastating to our elderly population.”

In nearby Hessmer, Mayor Robbie Dauzat said every day he doesn’t have a major water breakdown, he “thanks God.”

The water is often discolored, and even though health officials say it’s safe to drink, residents are rightfully concerned, he said. His town has a small tax base and he’s desperate for any funding he can get, he said.

“Our whole system,” he said, “is just a ticking time bomb waiting for something to happen.”

The impact on Louisiana is still being calculated, and many of the advocates for the state’s health care providers are keeping quiet until the title is finalized.

Still, the policies being forwarded by the Republicans in the base bill does influence the future of health care in Louisiana, maybe

not immediately but within five years, said Jeff Reynolds, executive director of Louisiana Rural Hospital Association.

“Adding work requirements and adding frequency to (eligibility) checks can’t help but lower rolls and increase more people uninsured. That will increase the administrative burden on the state, doing these tasks, while decreasing the rolls means hospitals will have to treat more people without insurance,” Reynolds said. “These changes are nothing new These policies have been talked about in the state Legislature for years. We now have to see how far they go at the federal level.”

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

The Monterey Rural Water System

Landry, students rally for LA GATOR

Event aims to send message to state lawmakers

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

As Gov Jeff Landry fights for state funding to help parents pay for private education, he got an assist Tuesday from hundreds of schoolchildren.

Himbola Manor has major gas leak

Service shut off to all apartments

Staff report

A gas leak at Lafayette’s Himbola Manor Apartments has resulted in gas being shut off in the entire complex

Tenants reported the smell of natural gas Monday evening, according to the Lafayette Fire Department, which responded about 8:15 p.m.

Upon arrival, firefighters found a cracked gas line behind one of the apartment buildings Emergency crews noted the sound of gas escaping from the pipe.

Atmos Energy was called to the scene and shut off the main gas line, disconnecting gas to all apartments in the complex Management of the complex was informed and said they would contact a plumber for repairs, according to a department statement.

Atmos Energy said it will restore the gas service once the repairs are inspected Residents of Himbola Manor Apartments have complained for some time about problems they say are not being repaired.

City inspectors in 2024 found 132 city code violations. They included mold that had been painted over, problems with plumbing, leaking roofs, pests and lack of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2024 found Agape Himbola Manor in default of its federal contract to provide safe and sanitary housing and ordered the owner to hire mold, roofing and plumbing professionals to identify needed repairs. The deadline for the owners to make more than 100 health and safety repairs passed Jan 31, but it’s not known how many of the problems have been corrected.

“On the count of three,” he told the students, many of whom had been bused to the state capital from New Orleans, “Say, ‘Please support the GATOR scholarships!’”

Held across the street from the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, the

Facing a row of TV cameras, Landry led the private school students in a chant aimed squarely at state lawmakers who have balked at spending the $93.5 million Landry wants for LA GATOR, his program to give families tax-funded tuition grants.

rally was part of a public pressure campaign that Landry and private-education advocates are waging against recalcitrant legislators Landry also appeared in a television ad, paid for by a billionaire-backed conservative group, that urged voters to tell their state representatives to “fully fund Landry’s plan.”

Tuesday’s event comes as the Louisiana House of Represen-

tatives is expected to vote this week on a state budget that includes the full amount Landry requested for LA GATOR. If passed the budget would move to the Senate, where it could face closer scrutiny — including from Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, who has said he wants to spend no more than $50 million on the program next school year

In a brief interview after the rally, Landry said lawmakers who are wary of the program’s

cost should speak with families who would benefit from it.

“Those senators that are skeptical, they should talk to the parents that are out here,” he said “They should talk to the kids.”

Passed with bipartisan support last year, the LA GATOR law gives tax dollars to eligible families to pay for private school tuition and other approved expenses, such as tutoring and special education services.

on Friday.

‘A chance to learn and explore’

Principal tapped to launch fine arts academy excited to grow program

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

Sarah Clavelle knows what it takes to build an arts program from the ground up.

She joined the Lafayette Parish school system in 2007 as Northside High’s choir

director She would stand in the hallway with a sign encouraging students to join the program and inquire about changing their schedules.

“The counselors loved me,” she joked.

Nearly 20 years later, Clavelle is helping the district build a fine arts academy at Cpl. Michael Middlebrook Elementary School to alleviate the waitlist for the arts program at J. Wallace James Elementary and give students in the parish more opportunities to interact with the arts.

“I’m so excited to offer this opportuni-

ty right here in LPSS schools,” Clavelle said. “I want to help mold and guide wellrounded students.”

Clavelle hopes to attract a diverse group of students and adults who work together to make connections and build each other’s confidence.

“I want to give everyone what they need and meet everyone where they are,” Clavelle said. “That goes for our diverse special education students to our gifted learners and learners we

Five Mile Eatery eyes move to Congress Street

BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor

A popular restaurant that opened in The Oil Center about three years ago is seeking to move into a former residence along Congress Street.

The owners of Five Mile Eatery 317 Heymann Blvd., are seeking

a rezoning and a conditional use permit from the Lafayette Consolidated Government’s zoning commission to open at 903 Myrtle Place. The board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday at 220 W. Willow St., Building C.

building.

“We’ve been looking for quite a while now, and this is by far the best option for us,” Trotter said.

“We’ve always wanted to be a neighborhood eatery We’re looking for our forever home, and this building, it’s kind of dreamy.”

Co-owners Sarah Trotter and Kelsey Leger have outgrown their original space and are looking for a larger one in a neighborhood setting. They are in negotiations to buy the 2,000-square-foot

The property sits at the corner of Congress Street and Myrtle Place, and applicants are seeking to rezone it from residential mixed to mixed-use neighborhood, which allows small busi-

nesses but would require a permit to allow for a restaurant. That section of Congress Street is now a principal arterial roadway but was not when the house in question was built, the report indicated. Other properties nearby have been rezoned to mixedusr, and those now house a dentist office, an interiors shop and a hand car wash.

The planning department is

Owners seek permit for location ä See EATERY, page 2B ä See LEARN, page 2B ä See GATOR, page 2B

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Sarah Clavelle, the new principal of Middlebrook Elementary, explains her plans for expanding the art instruction at the new arts academy

Theprogram,which launched this year, drew nearly 40,000 applications.

Howmanyfamilies actually receive grants will depend on how much money the Legislature puts into the program

The nearly $94 million Landry requested would fund grants for an estimated 12,000 students, or roughly athird of eligible applicants. But Henry said lawmakers only agreed to spend about half that amount, enough to provide grants for the roughly 6,000 students in the state’s existing school-voucher program. (That program, which helpslow-income families pay for private school,will end after this school year.)

“It will be no more,” Henry saidinan interview last month, “because that was the original agreement.”

The rally Tuesday was organized by Louisiana Kids Matter ActionFund, an education advocacy group with ties to Republican megadonor and Landry ally Eddie Rispone,and Americans For Prosperity-Louisiana, anational group that promotes privateschool vouchers and is affiliated with the conservative billionaire Koch family

The organizers estimated that more than 200 private school students attended the event held during school hours. Most came from Catholic schools in the ArchdioceseofNew Orleans.

Just over2,000 archdiocese students participate in the school voucher programand have appliedto LA GATOR, said RaeNell Houston,the archdiocese’s schoolssuperintendent. Shesaidthe grant amount —about $7,600 forlowerincomefamilies —would cover the fullcost of elementaryschool tuitionand most ofthe $12,000 averagetuitionfor grades eight through 12 Programs like LA GATOR benefit theentire Catholicschool system,not just individualrecipients, by helping the archdiocese enroll more students, Houston added

“Enrollment increases revenue,” she said,“andincreased revenue increases theresources that we have to serveour families.”

One parent hoping to receiveanLAGATOR grant is Brittini Gray,who has five children at aChristian schoolinNew Orleans.She said herchildren have excelled academically since she pulled them out of a charterschooltwo years ago and put them in the GoodShepherdSchool.

Asingle parent withsix children,she could not afford to pay their tuition out of pocket, she said. Her children already receive scholarships,but now she’s hoping to receiveLAGATOR grants “You’re giving kids the opportunityofa lifetime,” she said. “Don’t take it away.”

Email PatrickWall at patrick.wall@theadvocate. com.

The owners of Five Mile Eateryare seeking arezoning and aconditional use permit in order to open at 903Myrtle Place.

EATERY

Continued from page1B

recommending the commissionapprove the request. “The locationat903 W. Congress is no longer a desirable location fora house,” the report read “This is aproblem thatis occurring more and more in Lafayette—the formerly quiet street becomes a widened and then classified roadway and no one wants to live fronting the road anymore.” The proposalalso includes creating 18 parking

spaces on thewestside of thebuilding,which will be open only for breakfast and lunch andwill not serve alcohol,documents show Under those conditions, the restaurant “would be a goodfit for the edge of any neighborhood,” the report read

Thebuilding would allow therestaurant todouble its customerseating and expand its drink and food options, Trotter said. They plan to keep thehouse’s hardwood floors and use two of the bedrooms to installthe kitchen.

“Wealready have anumber of regulars who live in this neighborhood,too,”

she said. “Wewant to be part of the neighborhood. I do anticipate 30-50%ofour business comingfrom our neighbors.”

Email Adam Daigleat adaigle@theadvocate.com.

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LEARN

Continuedfrom page1B

don’tknowenough about yet. Iwanttogivethema chance to learn and explore and feel confident in what they’re doing.”

In return, she promised an equitable experience for every learner who enters Middlebrook. Opportunity to stick Creatinga fine arts academyatMiddlebrook was one of several suggestions from astrategicplanner hired by the district last year to evaluateprograms and facilities. The LafayetteParish School Board accepted the proposal at acontentiousand lengthy November meeting when it also voted against most recommended school closures and consolidations.

The academy at Middlebrook will hopefully eliminatethe waitlist for students who areinterested in J. Wallace James’fine arts academy.Both schools will feed into L.J. Alleman Middle School’s fine arts academy

In itsfirstyear, Middlebrook will offer visual arts, theater,dance, piano, band and chorus. Clavelle hopes to also have astrings program, if not by the fall, then in the future.

Theschool is undergoing some minor renovations to accommodate the new program. Speakers are being installed in adance room. The cafeteriaisgetting someupgradestocreate abetterblack box theater experience.

For the 2025-26 school year,all students will “sample” the program’sofferings. The following school year,itwilltransitiontoa modelsimilartoJ.Wallace James, where kindergarten through second grade students areona six-week rotation of exploration, thirdgradestudents pick four disciplines on anineweek rotation and fourth and fifth grade students choose asingle discipline to focus on. Families can still apply to enroll in theacademy.But zoned students will also have the option to experience the arts options.

Growing theprogram at Middlebrook isn’taoneperson job, Clavelle said. It takes all the adults on campus —counselors, teachers, tutors, paraprofessionals, custodial staffand cafeteria workers —pouring into students.

Clavelle saidthe school hasthe support of leadership at J. Wallace James, who is willing to offera helping hand. And the districtisstepping up to provide resources.

“Ittakes money to build a program like this,” Clavelle said. “But what is money when you’re giving kids the opportunity to be part of something that will always stick with them?”

All of that backing will help Clavelle and the Middlebrook staff create the “best first year possible.”

Passingonthe love

The first weekend of May, Clavelle andher husband moved her officetoMiddlebrook and she officially started May 5. Clavelle, whogrew up in St.Louisbefore meeting her husband and moving to Lafayette, comes from a family of educational helpers. She workedfor nine years at Northside High before movingtoOssun Elementary for three years. Clavelle served as an instructionalleader at Woodvale Elementary andasanassistantprincipalatboth AliceBoucher and Live Oak elementary schools. Herbachelor’s degree is in music education and her master’sdegree is in educational leadership. She has a passionfor musicand was in choirinschool andstudiedmusic performance as an undergrad. Performing helped Clavelle, aself-described “extroverted introvert,” come out of her shell when needed. The love of the arts is something she hopes to pass on to the students at Middlebrook. In those classes, Clavelle wants students to connect witheach other,trust each other and build safe places to make mistakes.

“I can’twait to grow this program,” she said. Email AshleyWhite at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.

Clavelle also hopes to get families involved in the school and signed Middlebrook up to have aLove Our Schools CAFE. Acadiana Center forthe Arts has agreed to be aco-champion of the school; Clavelle just needs someone else to step intothe other co-champion role.

PROVIDED PHOTO

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

Denka’scontroversial La.plant suspendsproduction

decision

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Denka’scontroversial plant in St. John the Baptist Parish has suspendedproduction andisexploring apotential sale of the site, the company said Tuesday,leavingthe future unclear for afacility that had become aflashpoint in a debate over environmental justice.

The plant, the only one that manufacturesneoprenein the United States, had also taken on politicalsignificance, with Gov.Jeff Landry visiting the site last year to announce the state’slegal supportasitfacedtightened restrictions under the Biden administrationover its emissions of chloroprene, classified as likely cancer-causing President Donald Trump’s administration has signaled a more friendly approach,but the company said it still faced regulatory uncertainty along with alist of otherchallenges. Those issues have included reduced demand for neoprene andcostincreases exacerbated by inflation at the site that employs 250 people, located along the border between LaPlace and Reserve.

The company said no decisionhas been made on a permanent closure, but it informed employees in aletter that it planned to “safely transition the facility to a mothball status.”

Denka’sboard decided Monday to “suspend production, including neoprene, at DPE’sLaPlace, Louisiana facility,” the company said in a statement, referring to its full name, Denka Performance Elastomer

“The facility had already safely ceased production last month as part of regularly scheduled biannual maintenance,”itsaid. “Nodecision was made regarding work-

force reductionsorany permanent closure of the facility

DPE is exploring all available options for thefutureofthe site, including asale of the facility.”

It said the decision was made “due to significant and ongoing economic and other pressures.” Those included costs related to pollution controls theJapan-based firm said were not anticipated when the facility was purchased in 2015 from DuPont Specialty Products USA LLC

“The facilityalso faces a sustained slowdowninthe global marketdemand for neoprene, alongwith increases in energy prices, raw materials,and repairwork that have been exacerbated by inflation,” it said

Thestatement made no specific mentionofthe tariffs Trump haspursued since taking office in January and related countermeasures, but noted “rising equipment repair and labor costs, as well as increasing prices for key rawmaterials”asfactors.

Landry and state Attorney GeneralLiz Murrill didnot respondTuesdaytoarequest for comment. Aprominent environmental group in St. John welcomed the announcement, but said it was dismayed that Denkablamed tightenedrestrictions on chloroprene as amongthe reasons for the decision

“Every protection that the communityhad hasbeen pretty much thrownaway, with the state as well as with the federalgovernment,” said Tish Taylor,aleader of Concerned CitizensofSt. John.

“So we know that the environmental part of this really had no impact on their decision it’sjust that they’renot making enough money.It’salways profit overpeople, and that’s what this is actually about.”

The plant,longlocated next to Fifth Ward Elementary School, has been responsible for 95% of chloropreneemissions nationwide, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. It is located along

the stretch of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and NewOrleans that activists have labeled “Cancer Alley.”

A2014 report from the Environmental Protection Agency said fivecensustractsnear the plant had the country’s highest risk of cancer because of exposure to airborne emissions.

Landry and other supporters of the plant have cited its importance to the economy and the demand for neoprene, including by the military,as reasons for defending itsoperations. Murrill haspreviously called theEPA’s tightened restrictions on the plant apoliticallydriven “assault” and contended they were “impossible to comply with.”

Denka has saidits coststo reduce chloropreneemissions by more than 80% were substantial. It noted that theTrump administration has committed to rewriting the Biden-era pollutionrule requiringfurther reductions, but “the outcomeis uncertain,” and addedthat it was “deeply grateful” for Landry’ssupport.

The new pollution rule announced last year was lauded by environmental activists and residents who had long fought for cleaner airintheir communities. The EPAchief under former President Joe Biden, Michael Regan, was thefirst Black man to lead the agency and put afocus on environmental justice, even speaking near the Denka plant duringavisit to Louisiana.

The agency under Biden and former President Barack Obama had defined environmental justice as “thefair treatment and meaningful involvement of allpeople regardless of race, color,national origin, or income” with respect to environmental laws. Petrochemical companies however harshly criticized therule, saying it wouldharm economic development, and Denka warned it would force it to idle operations.

Therule wasaimed at reducing emissions of chloroprene, ethylene oxide and four other likely cancer-causing air pollutants from more than 200 chemical plants nationwide, including 51 facilities in Louisiana. Part of it specificallytargeted Denka, setting twofenceline monitoring action levels forchloroprene and requiring compliance within 90 days. Legal challenges resulted.

The EPAhead under Trump, Lee Zeldin, has taken afar more business-friendly approach in leading the nation’senvironmental regulator.Landry has also pursued a more pro-business approach by the state’senvironmental regulator,the Department of Environmental Quality

State Sen. Greg Miller, R-Norco,whose districtincludes the plant, has been a supporter of Denka and said he was disappointed in the

“I’m very disappointed. It’s devastating for the workers andfamilies,” he said, adding he had tried to call company officialsTuesday to discuss thedecision buthad notheard

writers Tyler Bridges and Josie Abugov contributed to this story

John Foster’s wholesome appeal is making state proud

When Addis’ own John Foster stepped tothe American Idol microphone Monday night, the song he belted out was not from his usual repertoire. But it was Disney night on Idol, and to advance to the final three, Foster needed to make acompelling case. He went with“TheBare Necessities” from the classic animated film “The Jungle Book,” crooningout the up-tempo melody in away that both honored the original and glossed in Foster’smellifluous country tenor The performance capped awhirlwind few months for the West Baton Rouge Parish teen, astudent at LSU studying biology with the hopeofone day becoming an oncologist It’snot just Foster’ssinging, or histrademark hat, that has gotten him this far,though. Foster’slikability has sweetened his appeal.

“A lot of people think it’s just about singing, but people have to come to like you,” judge Lionel Richie said. “You’re doing alright, kid.” Foster’swholesomecharm was evident from early on, when he brought aselection of delicacies, including boudin, from his family’s meat shop for the judges to sample. It’s come through even more in his performances of songs like “Callin’ Baton Rouge” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

Foster has also revealed a deeper side. To get into the top 20, he sang one of his originals, “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” which is dedicated tothe memory of Maggie Dunn, afriend who was killed on New Year’sEve in 2022 when aBrusly police officer hit the car she was in during ahighspeed chase.

Foster’ssprint throughthe grueling American Idol process has beenadelight towatch, and like thousands of Louisianans, we have celebrated his ascentthrough the ranks of talented hopefuls.

No matter where he finishes, Foster is poised to become the latest in along line of Louisiana musicians who have made theirmark on the culture, alist that spans genres and eras, from Louis Armstrongtothe Lost Bayou Ramblers to Jon Batiste and so on.

Country may not be the genre one first thinks of when the topic of Louisiana music surfaces, butthe state has along historyinthat,too. The Louisiana Hayride, mostfamous for featuring ayoung Elvis Presley,was amust-stop for upand-comingsingers in the middle of the last century,asort of American Idol of the day. Foster is not the first Louisianan tomake it this far on the show: Livingston Parish’sLaine Hardy became the seventeenthAmerican Idol in 2019.

The show’sfinale will air Sunday night on ABC at 7p.m. We join the rest of Louisiana and millions around the country —who hope Foster comes out on top. But even if he doesn’t finish first, he and his home statehave already won.

Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

LA GATORprogram won’tfix

vu all over again” —Yogi Berra

“Deja

The suggestions for improving instruction offered by Nathan Sanders and Tracy Schmidley in their guest column “LA GATORscholarships can fuel education innovation” are worthy,and Iamdelighted by thesuccess of young Isak Schmidley.Iamoffended by the letter’ssimplistic assumptions.

When reading Ithought,“Wait, this microschool sounds good, but what about the parents? Without them, this doesn’twork.

It’sdeja vu, all over again.

History lesson: George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind”legislation passed, but it was underfunded.

Teaching middle school, my thought-

ful colleagues and Iknew this was the beginning of siphoning money from public education toshare with private and parochial schools.

The programs offered at Country Day Montessori School should be available to all students. With proper funding and good leadership at all levels of government (hard to find in this state), these are worthy goals.

The writers stated, “By expanding access to funding and resources ‘traditionally limited’ topublic school”... There is apowerful reason whythe funds and resources to public schools are limited.

It is thelaw Toomuch emphasis has been placed on obtaining adiploma at 18 years old.

Postal Serviceshouldnot be eliminated

Syndicated columnistCal Thomas recentlyproposed shutting down the postoffice because it is “too expensive and inefficient.” Idisagree.

It’simportant to remember that thefull name of thepostoffice is the United States Postal Service. It provides apublic service, like thepolice departmentand thefire department. We don’texpect them to pay their own way,and we should not expect thepostal service to do that, either

When our founding fatherscreated theU.S. government, they considered thepost office so importantthat they included it in theConstitution. It was thejob of the post office to help in the process of bindingthe separate states intoaunified nation. Andasthe new republic expanded, so did thepostal service —across the prairies and mountains to California, and north to Alaska. Thomas suggests that computer technology permitsustodispense with physical mail. Maybe that works for him, but it doesn’twork for me.

Iam85years old with limited visual acuity.Ican use computertechnology,but it is not easy formetodoso. Andsome older people cannotuse it at all. Andinsome rural areas,the postal worker goes where broadband doesn’t.

Thomas complains about his local postoffice being understaffed. That is Congress’ doing; its cuts to the budget of the postal servicehaveforced staff reductions. And he complains of mistakes being made,resulting in poor service. “Toerr is human.” Wherever humans are involved, mistakes will be made. But Imust say that my own experience at my local postoffice has been, on the whole, quitepleasant Sounding thedeath knell forthe postal service is premature. Congress should give it theresourcesthat it needs to do itswork well so that it can continue to deliver the mail wherever there are Americans.

SANFORD W. WOOD Eunice

Beinga pedestrian or driver in Lafayetteisn’t easy

Iwas reading commentsonsocial media about walking or bicycling around Lafayette and the lack of bike lanes and sidewalks

Therewere some comments about littleold ladies who shouldn’tbedriving. Iam83, and the reason Iget in my car is because of so few sidewalks

near me. Lotsofthem on Kaliste Saloom wherepeopledrive 60 mph in a45mph zone(already toofast). I would be afraid of someone jumping thecurb. Getting anywhere in Lafayette is terrifying, regardless of your mode of travel.

NONA

MCKINNEY Lafayette

Attention needs to begin at the age of 3. Under the conditions described by Sanders and Schmidley,almost all children would be moreengaged and enabled.

If achild can read, comprehend and recite what was read, understand and use measurements and estimation, makescientific predictions through life’sexperiences and observations and, mostimportantly,beexposed to all formsofartistic expression that show them that their thoughts, new ideas and creativity have no limits, the diplomaisanafterthought. Get involved!

CLYDE LEBLANC retired public middleschool teacher Baton Rouge

In an article, “Louisiana could repeal wrongful conviction compensation law” on Apr.26, Attorney General Liz Murrill first complains there are too many overturned convictions, which blatantly admits what shoddy jobs prosecutors have done, then she says the spike was caused by aonetime purge of cases, admitting that this is not an ongoing issue. If aone-time event caused the spike, then removing the compensation permanently is an overreaction. Furthermore, the convictions did not occur in parish or local courts, they occurred in state courts; therefore, it is the state’sresponsibility to pay If taxpayers in Caddo Parish aren’t happy paying for wrongful convictions in Orleans Parish, that should be awake-up call to demand better service, not weasel out of paying fair compensation.

In fact, Ishould have led with that. Instead of being appalled at paying compensation for,let’sremember., persons wrongly convicted of crimes deprived of freedom and denied the opportunity to earn money,which in turn affects retirement and Social Security benefits, our state leaders’ gut reaction is to stop fair compensation as opposed to improving the system to prevent such horrific denials of liberty.Our leaders are more concerned with money than the citizens they harmed. Shameful indeed.

MONICA K. MURPHY Baton Rouge

Black Creolesare claiming

Pope Leo as oneoftheir own

As an elementary school student at St.Alphonsus in New Orleans’ Irish Channel, Jari Honora was fascinated with history and learning abouthis family lineage. His grandmother,Jo Ann Duncan, reared him.She would drop himoff at the New OrleansPublic Library downtown and pick him up when the library closed. When his grandmother couldn’t take him to thelibrary, he caught the bus.He was such aregular that establishedgenealogists and historiansgot to know the Uptown kid, took him on and providedtutelage Lolita Villavasso Cherrie, founderof the Creole Genealogy Historical Association, has known Honora sincehe starteddoing research at thelibrary. “Heknew so much. He said, ‘I know thehistory and the genealogy of the cityand my people. Just show me where certain things are,’”she told a small group of friends anda few others at aMonday night celebration in Honora’s honor.Librarians andresearchers “were just flabbergasted that this little 10-year-old came and theyhad never seen anything like it,” shesaid.

Those of us who know Honora weren’tsurprised when hequickly dug up the family history of Pope Leo XIV Those of us who have broken bread with him and talked with him in more intimate settings have watched him snatch aname or apiece of information from aconversation andlaunch into acasual history lesson —without a computer,aphone or notes.

Honora goes deep into genealogy.Far more than an Ancestry.com search.Far deeper thanthe Mormon genealogy database search.

In less than two hours,Honora —one of only five African American certified genealogists in the nation —discovered that the man who had goneby the name Robert Francis Prevost has deep Louisiana Black Creole roots. So deep that we know exactly where thepope’sfamilylived in New Orleans. So deep that though his mother’sChicago birth certificate identifies her as White, most of his mother’ssisters, his aunts, are identified as Creole or mulatto on their birth certificates. So deep that the new pope’sgrandmother wasbaptized in St. Louis Cathedralin Jackson Square in the French Quarter, as an archivist with the Archdiocese of

New Orleans discovered. So deep that in Honora’sestimation, the new pope is quite likely to have ancestors who were enslaved Pope Leois one of us, y’all.

Within 20 minutes of his Facebook post, local news media had reached out to hisFacebook friends, St. Augustine High School classmates and others trying to reach him. That day,hedid six news interviews. Thenextday,hedid 16 interviews. He’s hadcalls each day since. This newspaperwas thefirst news organization to share Honora’snews. The New York Times, CBS, The Associated Press and others followed. Ajournalist from Spainreached out. “He’sour rockstar,” Wanda Rouzan, thefamous “sweetheart of New Orleans” entertainer told me as shetook apicture with Honora while diningatthe Chapter IV restaurant nearNew OrleansCity Hall. Honora wasn’texpecting all the attention.Hewas just doing what he does.

Likeme, Honora is aself-identified Black Creole withthe genealogical prooftoback it up.Mymother’s lineageisCreole and we have Haitian roots. Butdon’tget it twisted. Honora explained that Creole is aculture. It’s notacolor.It’snot an ethnicity or tied to the fineness of one’shair.“There are Black Creoles and White Creoles,” he

said. Since thepope’sLouisiana connectionshave been shared, there are lots of people claiming to be acousin or somekind of relative. While there are somewho have familial connections, Honora said not all Prevost and Martinez families are direct relations. Honora is looking forward to the pope’sAmerican visit, hoping New Orleans makes thetour.“We have to have asecond-line,” he told me. “Wehave to have St.Aug’sband. We have to have thebest gumbo from Dooky Chase for him.” ButisheBlack, Jari? “No,” he told me. “He hasn’tlived aBlack experience.”

As an American and as aLouisianan, I’m claiming thepope. As theproduct of aCatholic upbringing and aSt. Augustine High School education, I’m claiming the pope. As an Uptown baby who grew up in theLower 9th Ward and Gentilly neighborhoods in theculturally rich 7th Ward, I’m claiming the pope. As aBlack Creole with Haitian roots, I’m claimingthe pope. Louisianaissuch agumbo mix of cultures, ethnicities and races that we all should claim the pope. Welcome to the fold, Brother Pope!

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

We’ve gotten anew tidbit of information about efforts by the Biden White House and someinthe press to cover up President Joe Biden’sage-related infirmity.Itcomes from a new book, “2024: How TrumpRetook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” by reporters Tyler Pager,Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf of The NewYork Times,Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, respectively

At least six congressional Republicans are demanding aradical fix inthe 2017 tax law targeting residents of high-incomestates. If they don’tget it, they may sinkDonald Trump’stax-and-spending package, his “one big beautiful bill.” And who can blame these reps from New York, New Jersey and California? At issue is the unfair cap on the state and local taxes (SALT) their constituents may deduct fromfederally taxable income

can easily have acombined income of $200,000 —and no one would call them rich given housing prices. In decidedly middle-class Levittown, on Long Island, homeowners typically pay aproperty tax of about $16,000. Then there are state income taxes.

The SALTdeduction, unlimited before 2017, was set at amaximum$10,000 What made it sweet to otherRepublicans wasthat it paid for other tax cuts by milking taxpayers in wealthier Democratic states.And that has made voters in key suburban districtssore. What makes this attackonthe SALT deduction outrageous?For starters, it taxes income that Americanshave already paid in taxes. Secondly,incomes in these states are higher because their everyday costs are higher.Teachers, road workers and other public employees must be paid more justto maintain the living standardsenjoyed elsewhere.

Defendersofthe cap argue piously —and wrongly —that the SALTdeduction is atax break only for rich people It’strue that taxpayers with higher incomes tend to get the most outofthe deduction, but acop married to anurse in New York, New Jersey or California

LETTERS TO THEEDITORARE

If Washington’sobjective is to raise morerevenue from higher-income Americans, then fine.Justraise the federal tax bracketsfor high incomes everywhere in theU.S The most obnoxious argument for the SALT cap is that it forces “profligate” state governments run by Democrats to restrain their own taxes. What state andlocal governments levy in taxes should be no business of Washington’s. Americansunhappywith their local tax regimes can moveelsewhere, and some do.

Butmanyregard superior education systems and other public amenities worth thehigher taxes. Republicans should note that making it harder to paygood salaries to police is, in essence, aform of defunding thepolice. Raising thecap on this deduction mayrequire Washington lawmakers to find the revenues elsewhere. Well, that’stoo bad House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith representsthe most rural district in Missouri. It’seasy for himtosay Republicans from high-tax states may have to settle for an “un-

happy” compromise on theSALTdeduction. By that, he meansraising the cap to ameager $30,000. Republican reps from these swing districtsare having none of it,frankly, because their jobs are at stake. They know that the Republican brand has already fallen for their voters, given thetoll tariff chaos has taken on their businesses.

There’sa reason President Donald Trumpretreated on making New York Rep.Elise Stefanik United Nations ambassador.Hedoesn’twant to risk aspecial election that may replace her with aDemocrat. After 2022, Republicans flipped at least four New York districts, without which they wouldn’tnow enjoy aHouse majority New York Republican Nick LaLota spoke for others when he told reporters that theSALTtalks are far apart, on the 25-yard line with 75 yards to go. LaLota’sdistrict covers eastern Long Island. If House Republicans thinkthey can threaten these “SALTCaucus” membersfor killing one of Trump’s top priorities, they need hearing aids. The general election, not primary challenges, is what these politicians should worry about most. Democrats already see opportunity,and the elected Republicans know it.

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

The authors report that “top White House aides debated having [Biden] undergo acognitive test to prove his fitness fora second term but ultimately decided against the move,” according to areport on the book in The New York Times

The revelation is the latest in aseries of news nuggets aboutthe 82-year-old Biden’ssenescence —stories like White House aides putting tape on the floor so that Biden wouldn’twander off course —thathavebeen includedinnew booksabout the2024 election.More is promised in yetanother book to be published later this month. But the fact is, you already knew about Biden’scognitive decline because you saw it with your own eyes. There is an inside story of Biden’sdecline and an outside story of Biden’sdecline. The inside story is the effort by the White House staff, plus its Democratic allies, plus its supporters in the press, to conceal Biden’sproblem.The outside story is the manypublic appearances moments of Biden appearing confused, lost or frozen —during which millions of Americans could see forthemselves that the president had aserious problem

Another waytoput it would be to say that the inside story wasthe effort to deny that the outside story existed. That was the strangest thing about the whole situation. Biden’sdecline happened in public. People knew about it. Opinion polls revealed that large numbers of Americans believed Biden wasnot up to the job of president, or at least not up to asecond term in the White House. If it wasasecret, it was the world’s best-knownsecret.

And yet those in the White House denied that there wasaproblem,and their allies outside the White House echoed those denials. And they went beyond simple denial. They also attacked those whosaid Biden had aproblem.Remember “cheapfakes?” That waswhat Biden’s defenders in the Democratic Party and the media called the clear video evidence of Biden’s problem

When Biden drifted away from agroup of leaders at the Normandy anniversary in France; when he appeared lost and had to be guided by former President Barack Obama at aHollywood fundraiser; and when he froze at aJuneteenth event at the White House, the administration accused Republicans of manipulating videos of each moment. And manyinthe press went along with it, as if the GOPwere the problem and not the White House effort to fool the public.

One example. On June 17, 2024, areporter asked then-White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, “There seemstobeasort of rash of videos that have been edited to makethe president appear especially frail or mentally confused. I’mwondering if the White House is especially worried about the fact that this appears to be apattern that we’re seeing more often?”

“Yeah,” said Jean-Pierre. “And Ithink you all have called this the ‘cheapfakes’ video. And that’sexactly what they are. They are cheapfakes video. They are done in bad faith. And someofyour newsorganizations have been very clear,have stressed that the right-wing critics of the president have acredibility problem because the fact-checkers have repeatedly caught them pushing misinformation, disinformation.” In just afew words, Jean-Pierre managed to give apat on the head to those newsorganizations that displayed little curiosity about Biden’scondition but real energy in denouncing those whodid. And then, just 10 days after that exchange, Biden met Trumpfor the debate in Atlanta. It wasnolonger possible to hide the extent of Biden’ssenility.The inside story failed to suppress the outside story,and Biden wasdoomed as acandidate. Nowwe’re learning moreabout the lengths to which the Biden team and its manyallies in politics and media wenttoconceal the truth. There is likely alot moreyet to discover Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.Email him at byronyork@yorkcomm.com.

Will Sutton

Byron York

Froma Harrop

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE

JariHonoraisafamily historian at the Historic NewOrleans Collection in New Orleans.

Time set for LSU-Clemson opener

BY RASHAD MILLIGAN, REED DARCEY and SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writers

There now is a kickoff time for the LSU football team’s 2025 season opener. The Tigers’ first game, on the road at Clemson, will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on ABC on Aug. 30. It marks the first football matchup between the teams since the national championship game in January 2020. Led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and standout wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, LSU won 42-25. LSU and Clemson have played each other four times. In the battle of the Tigers LSU has a 3-1 edge over Clemson with the series starting on New Year’s Day 1959. This will be the first matchup between the two schools that isn’t in the postseason. They have played each other in the Sugar Bowl, twice in the Peach Bowl and the national championship game.

LSU notebook

This year’s LSU team is led by returning quarterback Garrett Nussmeier In 2024, Nussmeier completed 337 of 525 attempts for 4,052 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Clemson retained a lot of key players this season including quarterback Cade Klubnik In 2024, Klubnik completed 308 of 486 passes for 3,639 yards passing, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. Mulkey adds high schooler

The LSU women’s basketball team picked up a high school commitment Tuesday Meghan Yarnevich, a 6-foot-2 post player from Maryland, is set to become the fifth high school recruit signed to what’s already the nation’s top-ranked freshman Class of 2025. She likely also will be the final piece of the overhaul coach Kim Mulkey and her staff are giving their frontcourt.

“Her strength, physical presence, and relentless toughness will bring a powerful edge to

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier sets up in the pocket against Alabama on Nov. 9 at Tiger Stadium.

our frontcourt,” Mulkey said in a statement. “Meghan’s work ethic perfectly aligns with the culture we continue to build here at LSU, and we can’t wait to see the impact she’ll make on and off the court here in Baton Rouge.”

The Tigers now have four post players on the 2025-26 roster: two freshmen and two transfers In November, LSU signed Grace Knox, a California forward ranked as ESPN’s seventh-best prospect in the 2025 class. In April, it inked former Notre Dame forward Kate Koval, a rising sophomore, and exEast Carolina forward Amiya Joyner, a rising senior LSU had to replace eight of the 13 players from its 2024-25 roster So far, it’s added five freshmen and three transfers, including former South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley

Yarnevich signed with Georgia in November, then announced on May 4 that she was backing off that pledge and reopening her re-

cruitment.

She’ll enroll at LSU as a freshman alongside Knox and three top-35 guards: ZaKiyah Johnson, Divine Bourrage and Bella Hines

Gymnastics adds from portal

Emily Innes is trading one purpleand-gold leotard for another leaving Washington to spend her senior season at LSU. Innes announced her transfer Monday on her Instagram account.

“I have made the difficult decision to enter the transfer portal for my senior year,” Innes wrote.

“I want to thank uw (Washington) for the past three years. To all of the coaching staffs, support staffs, and teammates that I have had throughout my experience, you made my time here memorable and I will cherish that forever

“I have decided to commit to LSU on a full athletic scholarship!!! I am incredibly blessed to have this opportunity and can’t wait to see what the next year

brings!”

A senior for the 2026 season, Innes is the second gymnast to transfer to LSU this month. A week earlier, former Clemson gymnastics recruit Molly Brinkman announced her decision to compete for LSU after the firing in April of coach Amy Smith

A native of Pittsburgh, Innes competed this past season for the Huskies on floor, vault and balance beam.

It is on floor where she has excelled. During the 2025 season, Innes posted eight scores of 9.90 or better, with a season-high 9.925 three times. She won a 2024 NCAA regional floor title with a careerhigh 9.95.

Brinkman was one of three 2026 LSU gymnasts to win titles this past weekend in the DP Nationals meet in Salt Lake City, finishing first on vault. Incoming freshman Nina Ballou won the all-around, while fellow freshman Haley Mustari won bars.

AES hires ex-Lafayette leader as football coach

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Jay Domengeaux didn’t expect to become a high school head football coach again.

In fact, he was content serving as an offensive coordinator for Ascension Episcopal, a position he held for the past three seasons. But once Stephen Hearen resigned to take the head coaching job at Lafayette High, Domengeaux after conversations with Ascension Episcopal principal Sarah Davenport and athletic director Lonny Landry — decided taking over the program was a realistic possibility “Lonny and I have spent a lot of time together,” Domengeaux said. “There was no structured conversation or anything that was moving toward this (Domengeaux taking over the program).”

But that’s exactly what happened. Domengeaux has been hired as the new head coach of the Blue Gators, returning to the top spot of a football program for the first time since 2015 when he was the head coach at Lafayette.

“I ’m v er y ex ci ted ,”

Domengeaux said. “My family is very excited. I’ve had two sons play football at Ascension, and my daughter played sports at Ascension. We have lived in Youngsville for the past 15 years, and we have had no desire to leave. This is where we want to be.”

Domengeaux, who takes over a Blue Gators program that went 9-2 last year and reached the second round of the Division IV select playoffs, said “maintaining continuity” was a big reason why he accepted the position.

“It was a logical step,”

Domengeaux said. “It’s good for continuity with the players. One thing, here at Ascension, we have had continuity within the staff.”

It’s going to be Domengeaux’s third opportunity to be a head coach, as he previously held the same position at Lafayette and Franklinton.

“I’ve grown a lot since the last time I was a head coach,”

Domengeaux said “Even compared to my first job at Franklinton. Everybody grows as they get older in the profession. Hopefully it is a positive thing.”

Jay Domengeaux, who previously served as head coach at Franklinton and Lafayette High, is the new head football coach at Ascension Episcopal.

Domengeaux doesn’t foresee many changes to the offensive scheme, but he admits the defense will be tailored to fit the personnel returning.

“A lot of what we have been doing the past eight or nine years, we are going to continue to do,”

Domengeaux said “I don’t see much changing in that. A lot of what I did comes from the same system. The basics of what we do is going to be the same as what we did last year Defensively, what we do is going to be based on our personnel.”

Tatum out of playoffs after Achilles tendon surgery

BY KYLE HIGHTOWER AP sportswriter

When Jayson Tatum toppled to the court, writhing in pain and grabbing at

tendon that will sideline

for the remainder of the playoffs. The Celtics provided details on the extent of Tatum’s injury and announced news of the surgery a day after the six-time All-Star went down in the Celtics’ 121113 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks It puts the hopes of the reigning champions repeating in peril. Tatum’s playing status is unknown, although a full recovery is expected. The 27-year-old Tatum is lead-

ing the Celtics in points (28.1), rebounds (11.5) and assists (5.4) per game for the second straight postseason. The Knicks lead the Celtics 3-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals, he wound up missing the entire 2019-2020 season. Tatum was carried off the court with 2:58 remaining in Monday night’s game.

The Celtics had just turned the ball over and as Tatum moved for the loose ball, his leg gave out and he went down. He buried his face in a towel in obvious pain while grabbing at his leg above the ankle after the noncontact injury

Tatum scored 42 points, his highest total during these playoffs and one of the best all-round postseason performances of his career before he was hurt.

Pirates ace Skenes joins Team USA for WBC

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes announced Tuesday that he will join Team USA when the World Baseball Classic returns next spring.

The reigning National League Rookie of the Year — who spent two years at the Air Force Academy before transferring to LSU — is expected to be near the top of the rotation for the Americans, who are coming off a runner-up finish to Japan at the 2023 WBC. Skenes, who turns 23 later this month, was the top pick in the 2023 amateur draft. The 6-foot-6 righthander is 14-7 with a 2.16 ERA in 32 career starts. That includes a 3-4 mark with a 2.63 ERA this season. Skenes and the rest of Team USA will begin pool play in Houston from March 6-11.

Rangers place Seager on 10-day injured list

ARLINGTON, Texas Corey Seager was placed on the 10-day injured list again Tuesday by the Texas Rangers after the two-time World Series MVP shortstop had already missed four of their previous five games because of right hamstring soreness.

Seager is on the IL for the second time this season, with the latest move retroactive to Sunday He had played in only five games since being activated May 3 after missing 10 games with a right hamstring strain. There was no immediate move for right-handed closer Luke Jackson, who was struck on his pitching hand by a 111-mph comebacker liner on the only pitch he threw after coming into the ninth inning of their 2-1 win over Colorado on Monday night.

Yankees place Cabrera on IL with ankle fracture

New York Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle fracture ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners. In a corresponding move, infielder DJ LeMahieu completed his rehab assignment and was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In the ninth inning of New York’s 11-5 victory over Seattle on Monday night, Cabrera fractured his left ankle on an awkward slide when he reached back for the plate and scored the Yankees’ final run on Aaron Judge’s sacrifice fly Cabrera is in his fourth MLB season and has become a regular in the Yankees’ lineup. He is hitting .243 this season with one home run and 11 RBIs.

Curry ruled out of Game 5 due to hamstring injury

The Golden State Warriors have officially ruled out Steph Curry from Game 5 of their series with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Golden State must stave off elimination without its two-time MVP superstar in a road environment after losing the last three games since he went down with a hamstring injury in Game 1.

The team’s injury report submitted to the NBA on Tuesday afternoon confirmed what Curry and the Warriors had hinted Monday night after their loss to the Wolves in Game 4. In his postgame press conference, coach Steve Kerr declined to entertain the idea of Curry returning for Game 5. Curry has been on the sidelines of each game since, sitting on the bench and talking with his team during timeouts.

Sinner gets another win in return from doping ban

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner passed a big test in his return from a three-month doping ban, beating accomplished clay-court player Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (2), 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals. The 18th-ranked Cerundolo has a tour-best 18 wins on clay this year and was coming off a run to the Madrid Open semifinals.

Sinner raised questions after a settlement with the World AntiDoping Agency as the three-month suspension conveniently allowed him not to

It’s Sinner’s

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Scheffler warms up on the driving range before a practice round for the PGA Championship on Monday at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C.

ROSE

Continued from page 1C

commissioner Bud Selig never ruled on the request. Manfred in 2015 rejected a petition for reinstatement, saying “Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life.”

Rose died Sept. 30 at age 83, and a new petition was filed Jan. 8 by Jeffrey Lenkov, a lawyer who represented Rose. Lenkov and Rose’s daughter Fawn had met with Manfred on Dec. 17.

Rose’s supporters have included U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he intends to pardon Rose posthumously. Manfred discussed Rose with Trump when the pair met in April, but he hasn’t disclosed specifics of their conversation.

SCHEFFLER

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Now it might be Schef-

fler’s turn to be inspired He got the best seat on the 18th green at Augusta National to see McIlroy’s joy since Scheffler helped him into the green jacket.

“It was really cool to see Rory be able to finish that off and to be there for that moment,” Scheffler said.

“He’s a good buddy of mine out here, so I was very happy for him. That tournament and having to answer each year for a guy that’s had one of the best careers in the history of the game — for him to sit in here week in, week out and have to be asked about one single golf tournament I’m sure can be a bit frustrating. And I’m sure that’s why there was so

WALKER

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in a backcourt that will almost certainly be without Dejounte Murray (recovering from a torn Achilles) to start the season. Fears isn’t the best shooter in the draft (shot less than 30% on 3-pointers for Oklahoma), but he’s good in the clutch and can fill up a stat sheet His best game in his one season at Oklahoma was a 27-point, 10-assist effort against Mississippi State.

COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES

3

SOUTH CAROLINA: Dumars played on the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys teams, so we know he likes toughness. Murray-Boyles, a 6-7 forward, fits the bill. He played two years at South Carolina, earning secondteam All-SEC honors this past season. He had a 35-point game against Arkansas when he shot a Zionlike 12 of 16 from the floor

4

KHAMAN MALUACH, DUKE: Would the Pelicans draft a center in the first round for the second straight year after taking Yves Missi with the No. 21 overall pick last June? Don’t rule it out. The 18-year-old Maluach, who

Continued from page 1C

even allow those players to earn a share of athleticdepartment revenue under the proposed terms of the potential landmark House settlement. Current USCIS policy allows international students to accept off-campus employment opportunities, but only if the work is related to their major and if they first obtain special permission To remove those restrictions, international athletes can apply for a P-1A athlete visa, a classification typically reserved for professionals who move to the U.S. solely to compete in their respective sports or amateurs who play at an “internationally recognized level of performance.”

Poa applied for that visa but USCIS denied it in July

On Tuesday, U.S. attorney Alexandra McTague said that the “plain language” of the rule did not apply to Poa, an international student not in the U.S. only so she can play basketball. She’s also there to attend a university and work toward a degree, McTague said, two prereq-

much emotion coming out of him.

“It takes a lifetime of work to be able to even have a chance to win major championships, let alone win all four of them.”

They are the star attractions at soggy Quail Hollow and will be grouped together when the 107th PGA Championship starts Thursday, joined by reigning champion Xander Schauffele.

It’s a good thing Scheffler arrived early for nine holes Sunday — he was not at the PGA Tour event that week because Quail Hollow has been inundated by more than 3 inches of rain since Friday, with downpours each of the two days of official practice.

Scheffler meant to play nine holes on Tuesday He got in only five holes before the sun disappeared, dark clouds moved in and

stands 7-2, just started playing basketball five years ago. He is a true rim protector and could give the Pelicans the kind of depth inside that the Dallas Mavericks have with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively

5

DERIK QUEEN, MARYLAND: Queen, who also plays center, is about 4 inches shorter than Maluach While Maluach will make his mark early on defense, Queen’s strength is on the other end of the court. You may remember his gamewinning running fall-away jumper as time expired to beat Colorado State and send Maryland to the Sweet 16. If the Pelicans decide to take the best player available, he may be the pick

KASPARAS JAKUCIONIS

6

ILLINOIS: If the Pelicans are really in the market for a point guard and Fears isn’t available, this would be the way to go. He’s listed at 6-6 and is a nifty passer and has little trouble creating his own shot. Jakucionis, who turns 19 in two weeks, was named third-team All-Big Ten.

7

JASE RICHARDSON, MICHIGAN STATE: It was 24 years ago that Jason Richardson, Jase’s father, was drafted with the No. 5 overall pick by the Golden

uisites for her eligibility to compete at the NCAA level. Maldonado disagreed, arguing that Poa did in fact, move to the U.S for the primary purpose of playing college basketball. She should be allowed to obtain a P-1A visa, Maldonado said in the absence of a specific policy tailored to new-age international collegiate athletes. Such a classification does not yet exist, though David Weber — a Creighton law professor who specializes in NIL issues that affect international collegiate athletes said in November that Poa’s lawsuit could lead to a new policy

“What (the lawsuit) might do — and what is now overdue,” Weber told The Advocate, “is it might force USCIS to revise their policies and procedures for international college athletes Since July 1, 2021, they have been in a wait-and-see mode, and this lawsuit or other similar ones like it might finally give them the motivation to now make some updates or changes to the regulations governing student visas.

Florida immigration attorney Ksenia Maiorova, another lawyer representing Poa, told The Advocate shortly after the lawsuit was filed

thunder claps arrived, with heavy rain not far behind.

McIlroy was supposed to meet with the media Tuesday afternoon and moved it back to Wednesday because of the weather

That figures to make a 7,626-yard course even longer for a course where the strategy is the same for most players off the tee — grab driver and try to keep it in the short grass. The exceptions are the eighth and 14th holes, both par 4s that are reachable depending on the tees.

“Off the tee, you’re just trying to get the ball in the fairway, really, and get the ball in the fairway probably as far as you can down there, just so you can have a shorter club into the firm greens,” Scheffler said. “I think there will be a lot of strategy going into the greens, just not as much off the tee.”

State Warriors. Jase, a combo guard who attended the same college as his dad, could be a lottery pick, too. Richardson made thirdteam All-Big Ten in his one season with the Spartans. His ability to play both guard positions and NBA pedigree work in his favor

The silver lining in the Pels sliding to the No. 7 draft spot is they don’t need a player to come in to become the savior of the franchise. If healthy — and that has been a big IF over the years they have the pieces to be in the playoff hunt.

Williamson, of course, is the key to it all. He is the guy that previous executive director of basketball operations David Griffin built this roster around. The best guess is he’ll also be the guy Dumars will try to build around. Williamson represented the Pelicans in Chicago at the draft Monday night, a likely indication he’ll continue to be the face of the franchise. Who will the Pelicans add to the roster to play alongside him? You’ll have to wait six weeks (and seven picks) for the answer

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

that the former LSU guard also was hoping to raise awareness about the barriers that wall off international athletes from NIL deals while pursuing her visa.

“The purpose here is just to get a fair adjudication of her petition,” Maiorova said. “This is a case that is seeking a review by an impartial body of a denial that we feel is unjust.”

Poa, a senior who spent the first two seasons of her career at a junior college can play one more year of college basketball. She would’ve exhausted her eligibility at the end of the 2024-25 season had a separate lawsuit filed by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia not led the NCAA to grant hundreds of former junior-college athletes an extra year of eligibility

In April, Poa decided to play her final season at Arizona State.

She appeared in 102 games across three years at LSU, including the one in which the program took home its first national championship.

Jackson won’t rule on the motion to dismiss Poa’s lawsuit until at least both parties file post-hearing briefs, which he said are due by June 13.

In a letter to Lenkov, Manfred wrote, “In my view a determination must be made regarding how the phrase ‘permanently ineligible’ should be interpreted in light of the purposes and policies behind Rule 21, which are to: (1) protect the game from individuals who pose a risk to the integrity of the sport by prohibiting the participation of such individuals; and (2) create a deterrent effect that reduces the likelihood of future violations by others.

“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”

A 17-time All-Star during a playing career from 1963-86, Rose holds the record for hits (4,256), games (3,562), at-bats (14,053), plate appearances (15,890) and singles (3,215). He was the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, 1973 MVP and 1975 World Series MVP A three-time NL batting champion, he broke the prior hits record of 4,191 set by Ty Cobb from 1905-28.

“Pete is one of the greatest players in baseball history, and Reds Country will continue to celebrate him as we always have,” Reds owner Bob Castellini said. “We are especially happy for the Rose family to receive this news and what this decision could mean for them and all of Pete’s fans.”

Jackson was a .356 career hitter who was among the eight Black Sox banned for throwing the 1919 World Series. He died in 1951, but he remains one of baseball’s most recognizable names in part for his depiction by Ray Liotta in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams.”

What else needs to happen for Rose or Jackson to reach the Hall of Fame?

Under a rule adopted by the Hall’s board

of directors in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list can’t be considered for election to the Hall. Jackson was twice considered on ballots by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, but received just 0.9% in 1936 and 1% of a nominating vote in 1940.

Rose’s reinstatement occurred too late for him to be considered for the BBWAA ballot. If not on the permanently banned list, Rose would have been eligible on the ballots each from 1992 through 2006 He was written in on 41 votes in 1992 and on 243 of 7,232 ballots (3.4%) over the 15 years, votes that were not counted. Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement that players affected by Manfred’s ruling Tuesday would be considered.

“The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,” she said. “Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered.”

Without the ban, both players are eligible for the Hall’s Classic Baseball Era, which next meets to consider players in December 2027 and considers those whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980. A 10-person historical overview committee selects the eight ballot candidates with the approval of the Hall’s board and the ballot is considered by 16 members at the winter meetings, with a 75% or higher vote needed. The committee members include Hall of Fame members, team executives and media/historians.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

This undated file photo shows Shoeless Joe Jackson, who played in the major leagues from 1908-20. Jackson is often remembered for his association with the Black Sox Scandal, in which members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox participated in a conspiracy to fix the World Series.

Scottie

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOTO By MATT yORK

‘Scandal’ star Kerry Washington makesrare comments

BY VIVIAN KWARM Newyork Daily News (TNS)

NEW YORK When it comes to Kerry Washington’sfamily life withher husbandNnamdi Asomugha and their three kids, the actor typically doesn’tpublicly share much.

But in arecent interview,the “Scandal” star gave theDaily News rare insight into why she decided to keep her personal life under the radar after beingmore “public”earlier in her career “I was much more public about my personal life, and I realized that when you give that much, you can’tarbitrarily decide ‘Oh,now Idon’twant to talk about it,’”Washington told theNews. “I think fromthat point on, Ireally wanted to be more protective of my personal lifesothat Ifelt like it could belong to me.”

TheNew York nativesays she wanted to be sure her family’s choices were “authentic” and “not about theperformanceof who we are in the world.”

Much like the role Washington playsinthe new film“Shadow Force.”

Thefilm follows twoformer shadow operatives Kyrah, playedbyWashington, and herhusband Issac, played by Omar Sy.The couple is on the runfrom theirold team while trying to protect their son from the bounty of their heads.

As amother,Washington says she found thefilm’s plotrelatable as someone who inher personal life is “willing to do whatever it takes to protect” her children. When she’sout of town with her kids, the Emmywinning actress frequentlyenters hotels through kitchens to keep the paparazzi from seeing them.

“When they were really little,weneverwent through the frontdoor,Washingtonexplained. “And so they really thought that, like when you enter ahotel, you walk intothe kitchen.”

She continued: “It was avery theoretical idea before Ibecame aparent, and then you become aparent, and you’re like, ‘Oh no, Iwould literally kill for thisperson.’”

Aside from “Shadow Force” bringing Washington’sfirst starringroleinanaction movie, she also served as one of its producers, which has already earned herthe prestigious 2025 Ossie Davis Award for Innovation in Filmmaking.

The 48-year-old believes the action-packedthriller“allows a lot of us to have awindow into aworld that we may not think is ours,” she told The News. “I may not be Black, or Imay not be amom, butIenter into this story,and Iwatch it and I still see myself becauseI’m a humanbeing andI want to be safe.”

“Shadow Force” also stars recent Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Method Man.

From frog legs to crawfish bloody marys, British influencer duofound plenty to

love in Acadiana

‘THE BEAUTY IN CONNECTION’

The combination plate with chicken shawarma and gyro from Albasha in Baton Rouge

BY JOANNABROWN Staff writer

Joshand Jase rolled into Louisiana like an influencer tornado. There wasn’tmuch warning, andwhenthe social media duo hit thebayou state, it felt like they were everywhere at once. Joshua Cauldwell-Clarke and JasonRiley arefromthe English city of Nottingham (of Robin Hood fame), andthey’ve spent the past twoweeks traveling through Louisiana, hittingspotsfrom ShreveporttoHoumawhile scarfing down boudin, frog legs, crawfish and oysters in aLouisiana culinary whirlwind.

They brought more than 2.5 million social media followers with them— andlikely picked up severalthousand more on theway as their channels filled with eager Louisianans recommending the best,most unusual eats for the pair’sfirst visit to thestate. After abusy dayatthe Frog Festival in Rayne on Saturday, Cauldwell-Clarke and Riley posted on Facebook that “today reminded

us just howclose we canfeel to people we’ve only justmet.”

“We’re on amission to shinea light on the parts of America that are so easytooverlook, but so impossible to forget once you’ve experienced them,” they wrote.

“Today was oneofthose days. A reminder of thebeauty in connec-

tion, culture, and kindness.”

As fortheir Louisianahosts, the influencers’ triphas been areminderofjust howfun it is to share someofthe more unique aspects of the state’sfood culture with visitors from across the pond. After all, it’seasy to forget how lucky we are to have direct access to Little Big Cup’sspicybloodymary—and watching two British lads try one for the first time is almost as delicious as having one yourself.

According to Ben Berthelot, president and CEO of the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission, Cauldwell-Clarke’sand Riley’svisit was abit of an unexpected bonus for the Lafayette Travel team.

“I thought our team and others from around the state did agreat job capitalizing on the opportunity to the benefit of the areas they were able to visit, experience and share with their large audience,” Berthelotsaid. “Itwas agreat opportunity to share the uniqueness of our area and state to manyothers, whomay nothavehad thechance to visityet but will be intrigued by whatthey

THEBESTTHINGSWEATE THIS WEEK

and chicken are always tender yet crispy on the edges. The best. The added delicacies, hummusand tzatziki, makemyheart sing. Ilove that the plate offers the chance to try different combinations of flavors with the pita. Trypita with abit of gyro, hummusand rice. Or go forthe chicken, tzatziki and lettuce. Maybe you like avegetarian option with hummus, lettuce, Trya

Staff report

Combination plate n Albasha, 2561 Citiplace Court Baton Rouge,but thereare several locations around thecity

Oneofmyfavorite dishes in all of Baton Rouge is the triedand-true combination plate from Albasha, which comes with gyro and chicken shawarma, feta cheese salad, hummusand rice. The dressing on the salad alone is delicious, but the gyro

ä See BEST, page 6C

Cauldwell-Clarkeand Rileytried spicy bloodymarys during their trip throughLouisiana.

PROVIDED PHOTOFROMJOSH &JASE FACEBOOK

UK-based social media personalities Joshua Cauldwell-Clarkeand Jason Rileymade several foodstopsinthe Lafayette area on their trip throughLouisiana. Here, theytry frog legs in Rayne.

GETTy IMAGES PHOTO By THEO WARGO

Kerry Washington attends Lionsgate’s ‘ShadowForce’New york premiere at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on May1 in Newyork.

People lack respectfor thedead

Dear Heloise: Recently someone else wrote to you regarding cemetery thefts, and they mentioned that the cemeteries used stainless steel vases. This thievery is so sad; people are so disrespectful and greedy.Thank you foropening our eyes to this. —N.K., viaemail N.K., actually,they were brass vases that could be detachedfrom the grave marker.It’sunfortunate

that we’velost respect for theproperty of others.

Friend baffled by kid’sparty invite

Heloise Useit, wear it

Dear Heloise: Thank youtoyour reader who suggested bottle capsfor lotion bottles when the pumpstops working. Itook it upanotch —Itried acondimentcap that squirts! It works great anddoesn’t have to situpside down. Take that, manufacturers! Ican now get all

thelotion. —Beverly,inSpokane, Washington Beverly, Ibelieve in the old “use it up and wear it out” philosophy,soitannoys me, too, when Ican’tget all the lotion out of abottle.And here’sa hint for you: Iadd a little water to shampooand conditioner.Myhairdresser suggested this hint because salons do it all the time.It sure stretches out the number of shampoos Iget from one bottle. —Heloise Email heloise@heloise.com.

BEST

Continued from page5C

rice and alittle dollop of the dressing. Theoptions are endless.

Plus, almost every time I order this dish, Ihave leftovers. So I’m getting two meals in one

—Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator

BLT

n Black Cafe,518 S. Pierce St., Lafayette

Black Cafe is one of those quintessential neighborhood spots that offers coffee, sandwiches, cookies, conversation —you name it. They’re also the only spot in town that serves Scotch eggs, which is reason enough to go here. On this day,however,I decided to get one of my favorite breakfastfoods, a BLT.

Black Cafe has the kind of BLTsandwich that reminds you of home and sets your

INFLUENCERS

Continued from page5C

saw and hopefully inspired to visit themselves.”

Here’swhat CauldwellClarke and Riley tried in the Lafayette area —and what they thought.

Boudin andcracklinsfrom Billy’sBoudin& Cracklins

Cracklins from Billy’s were ahit, with CauldwellClarke remarking that the pork cracklins were “like fried brisket.” The pair were alittle flummoxed by boudin balls,saying that they felt similar to aScotch egg,“with alot of spare ingredients.”

“I don’tknow what to think of aboudin ball,” said Riley, on trying his first pepper jack cheese boudin ball from Billy’sinScott. Frog legs andalligator at theRayne Frog Festival

While the pair gave it their best shot after enrolling in the festival’sfrog leg eating competition, it was clear that quickly devouring apile of fried frog legs was difficult for the duo to handle. Riley stayed in the competi-

PROVIDED PHOTO Aclassic BLTonwheat toast from BlackCafe in Lafayette

entire day upfor success I’m afan of this sandwich for the way it kick-starts my morning with perfectly proportioned bites of protein, carbs and roughage, with no sacrifice in taste. Asimple sandwich done well is alwaysagreat option for breakfast or lunch, and that is what you’ll find throughout the menu at Black Cafe.

—JoannaBrown, staff writer

tion longer than CauldwellClarke, but remarkedthat he “kept thinking he was eatingKermit theFrog.”

Alligatoronastick went over abit better, with the pair pointing out thatthe preparation was done in “typical American style fried.”

“It tastes like chicken,” said Cauldwell-Clarke. “You can almost taste theswamp. Next thingyou guys will tell me you eatturtle.”

Charbroiledoysters from UncleT’s Oyster Bar

Cauldwell-Clarke’sand Riley’svideofrom Uncle T’sfeaturedmoreeating andless talkingasthey took in their pile of NOLA- and Cajun-style charbroiled oysters. Garnished with flavors like candied jalapenos, boudin, pepper jack cheese and plenty of Cajun seasoning, it was clearly an overwhelming, but delicious, experience as the paircommentedthat they were more usedtoraw oysters on ice.

“UncleT’s gotitdown,” saidCauldwell-Clarke, while workingthrough the Holly Beach Slammer,which features the full array of Uncle T’sspecialty oysters, includingNola style, Firecracker Classic Candyand Le Bon

Dear Miss Manners: Afriend sent me an invitation to her child’s7th birthday party; however,itcame with a handwritten message that stated, “It’s probably best to come after 4 when the party is over and all the children leave.”

Idonot have children, but Ihave several friends who do, and Itypically get invited totheir kids’ birthday parties. Iam happy to attend if I’m able, but Idon’texpect an invitation every time. Irealize someofthe parties are small, family-only types, or just for the kids in their child’sclass, etc.

Brie flambée, boudin pizza

n PizzaByronz, 8210 Village PlazaCourt, Baton Rouge

Istopped intoPizza Byronz for lunch because Iwas craving special pizza, you know, like thefancy kind.Ichose thebrieflambée, which is a thin and crispy pizza with brie, fig sauce, onion and mozzarella. For my husband, Ipicked the“By-oudin” classicpizza, atraditional pie but with aCajun twist. The brie flambée was aperfect mix of savory, tangy and sweet.Cooked to golden, crispy perfection, thepizza checked off my craving for fancy pizza.

The “By-oudin” had alittle morespice and salt withits boudin, mozzarella, bacon, onion and red sauce, yet also alittle tinge of sweetness withthe pepper jelly If you’re in themood for afancy or unique pizza, as well as some delicious appetizers, Pizza Byronz will satisfy your cravings.

—Joy Holden, features reporter

Cochon.“Iwish he was my uncle.”

CajunKevin Po-Boy and Surf nTurfsteak from Little BigCup

Thepairloved thevibes at this restaurant, which sits at ascenic spot on Bayou Fuselier in historic Arnaudville. Andthey were duly impressed by Little BigCup’selevated takes on classic Cajunmeals, such as theCajun Kevin —aunique take on apo-boy made by hollowing outFrench bread, andfilling it with shrimp, crab,crawfish, andouille sausage and arich, cheesy, creamy sauce.

“It tastes incredible,” said Riley. Cauldwell-Clarke ordered the surf and turf special, and seemed toespecially love the fried asparagus fingers, saying,“they look like awand from Harry Potter.”

Cauldwell-Clarke and Rileyare taking on Houma next,and from there they plan to continue their journeys pointing out unique foodsand special cultural facets of Louisianaand American culture.

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Why would Iwant to show up when my friends will probably be cleaning and everyone else will be departing? I’mnot sure if they just assumed Iwouldn’twant to come to the party because it will be a lot of children, but typically people would let me decide that when inviting me.

What do Imake of it? Should Ifollow up with, “Am Igoing to be the only one showing up at that time?” It feels awkward, so I’mthinking of politely declining, but it has truly leftmebaffled.

keeping up. Miss Manners believes that rather than insulting you, the likely intent was to offer you the choice of attending the full event or —onthe reasonable assumption that aroomful of rambunctious 7-year-olds is not always appealing to nonparenting adults showing up forthe adult after-party instead. Unfortunately,that explanation wasomitted, leaving you to makeachoice you did not fully understand or to call the host or another guest and ask forclarification.

ButIthought this was strange. It seemed like a way to invite me to aparty while sending aseemingly mixed message that I’m not really invited after all.

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, May 14, the134th day of 2025. There are 231 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On May 14, 1804, the Lewis andClark expedition,organized to explore theLouisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest, began its journey near present-day Hartford Illinois.

On this date:

In 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English settlementinNorth America, was established by membersofthe Virginia Company

In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner successfully inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.(Smallpox would be declared thefirst fully eradicated human

Gentle reader: Youhave fallen victim to the evolving etiquette of the children’sbirthday party which changes so fast that even the parents of young children have trouble

TODAYINHISTORY

disease in 1980.)

In 1948, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in TelAviv by David Ben-Gurion, who becameits first primeminister

In 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. (The pact was dissolved in 1991.)

In 1961, Freedom Rider civil rights activists were attacked by violent mobs in Anniston and Birmingham,Alabama.

In 1973, NASA launched Skylab, the first American space station, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In 2022, an 18-year-old White supremacist wearing body armor opened fire in asupermarket in apredominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people be-

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

fore being taken into custody.(The gunman, Payton Gendron, was sentenced to lifeinprison without parole in February 2023.)

Today’sbirthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Pérez is 83. Filmmaker George Lucas is

coverage fortheirentire working life,through employer-provided benefits.When those benefits endwithretirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock,leading people to put off or even go without care

Simply put— without dentalinsurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

When you’recomparingplans

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1

That’sright. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocovereverything. Thatmeans if you wantprotection,you need to purchase individual insurance. Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensive ones. The best waytopreventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. TheAmerican Dental Association recommends checkups twice ayear.

Robert Zemeckis is

Musician David Byrne is

Actor TimRoth is

Actor Cate Blanchett is 56. Filmmaker

Coppola is 54. Former NFLrunning back Frank Goreis42. Actor Amber Tamblyn is 42. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is 41. Former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is 36. Actor Miranda Cosgrove is 32.

STAFF PHOTO By JOyHOLDEN

By-oudin classicpizza from Pizza Byronz, 8210 Village PlazaCourt, Baton Rouge

Hints from Heloise

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Refuse to let stubbornness set in, whichcouldwreak havoc with others and stand between youand your goals.Bestrong, stand firm andget agreements in writing. Put safety first.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Keeppushing forwhat you want. Focus on home improvements, nurturing meaningful relationships and personal growth that helps you achieve your desired happiness.

CANCER(June 21-July 22) Refuse to let anyone pressure youinto something youdon't want to do.Concentrateon keeping the peaceand maintaining security. Avoidjoint ventures and shared expenses.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Up your game by keeping your image and appearance current and your body language approachable. Gettogetherwithanold friendorassociate to gaininsight into personal prospects.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22) Ashift in your surroundings will feed your soul and imagination, giving rise to new and exciting possibilities. Refuse to let emotional interference stifle your dreams.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Take pride in your work, and don't be shy about showing off your talents, intelligence and kindness. Expand your plans to meet demands, but don't go over budget.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Guard against anyone interfering in your life,position and plans. Set high standards and

adjust to changes as they occur. Protect against unsavory situations, arguments and injury.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) You know the rules, and you have the energy and the willpower to put your plans in motion. Make changes at home that add to your convenience and comfort. Aprofessional upgrade is within reach.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Keep tabs on your health and financial well-being. Money is available, but it will require time and effort to bring it to fruition. Leave nothing to chance.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keepyour thoughtsand plans to yourself.Someone will be happy to take charge or interfere, given the opportunity. Bring energy and apositive attitude into the mix, and you will gainground.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Refrain from sharing your plansuntilyou have everything in place. Your success depends on how you handleothers and promote yourself. Go about your business and implement your plans privately.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Keep an open mind andlet your intuition take the lead. Mix business withpleasure, and you'llbesurprised by what you achieve. Don't hesitate to travel if it will promote your intentions.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientificfact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Celebrity Ciphercryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, pastand present. Each letter in thecipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: PEQUALS M

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY Mother GooSe AndGrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe emptysquares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

BRIEFS

FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street rises again as S&P 500 erases loss

Most U.S. stocks roseTuesday following an encouragingreport that showed inflation unexpectedlyslowed across the country last month.

The S&P 500climbed, coming offanevenbiggergaintostart the week after the United States and China announced a90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell and the Nasdaq composite jumped as AI and other tech stocks led the way Stocks have been roaring back since the S&P 500 fell nearly 20% below its record last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will ease his stifftariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create arecession and send inflation spikinghigher.The S&P 500, which sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts, is back within 4.2% of its all-time high set in February and positive again for the yearsofar On Wall Street, Coinbase Global jumped 24% after the cryptocurrency exchange learned its stock will join the widely followed S&P 500 index nextweek. Thatmeans many investment funds will likewise add it before trading begins on Monday Coinbase will replace Discover FinancialServices, which is getting bought by Capital One Financial.

Stocks in theartificial-intelligence industry were also strong. Nvidia rose 5.6% and was the biggest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500. It’spartnering with Saudi Arabia’ssovereign wealth fund-owned AI startup Humain to ship 18,000 chips to the Middle Eastern nation to help power anew data center project.

N.J. says 3M agreesto ‘forever chemical’ deal

New Jersey’sattorney general said Tuesday chemical manufacturer 3M agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS —commonly referred to as “forever chemicals.”

The settlement is subjectto court approval and apublic commentperiod, Attorney General Matt Platkin’soffice said. St.Paul, Minnesota-based 3Mis expected to pay $285million this year,with additional amounts payable over the next 25 years. The total amount could reach $450 million, Platkin’soffice said.

“Corporate polluters must be held accountable whentheycontaminate our state’swatersupply,” Platkin said in astatement. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are agroup of chemicalsthat have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation’s air,water and soil.

3M said in 2022 it would end all PFAS manufacturing by the end of this year. In astatement, the company said it’sontrack to do so.

Microsoft to lay off about 3% of workforce

Microsoft began laying off about 6,000 workers Tuesday, nearly 3% of its entireworkforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years as thecompany spends heavily on artificial intelligence.

Hardest hit wasthe tech giant’shome state of Washington, where Microsoft informed state officials it was cutting 1,985 workers tied to its Redmond headquarters.

Microsoft said the layoffs will be across all levels, teams and geographies but the cuts willfocusonreducing the number of managers. Notices to employees began going out on Tuesday

The mass layoffs come just weeks after Microsoft reported strong sales and profitsthat beat Wall Street expectations forthe January-March quarter,which investors took as adose of relief during aturbulent time forthe tech sector and U.S. economy

Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual headcount. About 55% of those workers were in the U.S.

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

Economists expect inflationtowarminsummer

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Inflationcooledfor the third straightmonthinApril even after some of President DonaldTrump’stariffs took effect though economists and many business owners expect inflation will climb bythissummer

Consumer prices rose 2.3% in Aprilfrom ayear ago, the Labor Department said Tuesday, down from 2.4% in March and thesmallest increase in morethan four years. On amonthly basis,prices rose modestly,increasing 0.2% from March to April after falling 0.1% the previous month, the first drop in fiveyears.

Grocery prices dipped0.4% from March to Aprilinwhatwill come as arelief to many people stretching family budgetsfor the basics. It was the biggest decline in food costsathome since September 2020, thegovernment said. Egg prices fell sharply,declining 12.7%, the most in 41 years. Yet they are still 49% higherthana

Groceryprices dipped 0.4% from March to April. Eggprices fell sharply,declining 12.7%, the most in 41 years. yettheyare still 49% higher than ayear ago.

year ago. Overall, the reportsuggests tariffshaven’t yetimpacted prices for many items. Economists say the impact will more likely be seen by June or July.The 10% tariff on all goods thattook effect April 5 could take twotothree months to

feed into theinflation data. And many companies built stockpiles of products earlierthisyear, enabling them to delay price hikes in hopes that the trade war will cool.

ed, also saw increases. And acategory that includes baby strollers and car seats also got moreexpensive.

Thecost of clothing, which is mostly imported, declined 0.2% from March to April, Tuesday’s report said. Newcar prices were unchanged. And grocery prices fell despitefears that tariffs on some goods from Mexico would boost food costs.

“It’searlydaysfor tariff effects,” said Laura Rosner-Warburton, cofounder of MacroPolicy Perspectivesand formerly an economist at theFederal Reserve’sNew York branch.“More will comeinMay, June and July.There are plenty of price increases already scheduled andonthe way.”

Andtherewere some early signs thatthe dutiesare having an impact. Computer prices rose 0.3% from March to April, acategory that is heavily imported from China and usually sees mild price declines.Sportinggoods andtoys, where many products are import-

Drago’stoopennew restaurant in BR

Louisiana seafoodchain to take space in PerkinsRowe

BY TIMOTHYBOONE Business editor

Drago’sisset to open anew Baton Rouge restaurant in Perkins Rowe this summer,after it closed its first local location in January The restaurant will moveinto anearly 7,300-square-foot space that previouslyhad been occupied by Kona Grill. Tommy Cvitanovich, Drago’s owner,said the newlocation will be “extra cool” because of all of theeventsthatwillbeheld rightoutside therestaurant in the Perkins Rowe Town Square.

“I am really excited to reopen in Baton Rouge andadd breakfast like ouroriginal Metairie location,” Cvitanovich saidina statement. Drago’sisfamousfor its rich, garlicky charbroiled oysters. After years of eyeing aBaton Rougerestaurant, thechain opened aspot in the former FYE building near the intersection of Interstate 10 andCollege Drive in 2020. The business spent more than$6million to renovate thebuilding. ButinJanuary,Drago’s announced it was being bought out of itsleaseonthe propertyand was searching for anew location in Baton Rouge. Loft18, a Metairie-based chain of sports bars that offershigh-tech golf simulation bays,isset to open in the former Drago’sspace at theend of the month. Alongwith the originalMetairie location, Drago’shas restaurants in New Orleans,Lake Charles, BossierCity and Jack-

son,Mississippi. The space Drago’sismoving intohas been vacant since April 2019, when KonaGrill was forced to close due to financial struggles Will Chadwick, of Elifin Realty,who represented Perkins Rowe, said Drago’s is ahousehold name thatwill boost the restaurant lineupinthe lifestyle center Perkins Rowe has amix of national eateries, suchasJinya Ramen Bar, Texas de Brazil, Cava andCalifornia Pizza Kitchen, along withlocal operators such as Bin77, Rouj Creole andCaroline’sCookies. New Orleansbased Tacos del Cartel opened aPerkinsRowe locationlast month.

“It’sgreat to geta restaurant operator of that caliber,” he said. “It will be really good for theproperty.”

EmailTimothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

Still,excluding thevolatile food andenergycategories,coreprices were also muted, rising 2.8% in April compared with ayear ago, the same as in March. On a monthly basis, they increased a mild 0.2%. Economists watch core prices becausetheytypically provide abetter read on where inflation is headed.

Rosner-Warburton noted that someprices fell as business weakened, particularlyintravel. Air fares and hotel prices dropped noticeably last month, contributing to lower inflation, but that may have been driven by adecline in foreign visitors to the U.S. Matt Priest, president andCEO of theFDRA, said that thecost of shipping goodsfrom China likely will rise as many companies scramble to getorders to theU.S during the 90-day window “We’re not out of the inflationary cost woods yet,” he said.

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP business writer

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation’slargest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs. Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO,effective immediately,according to the Minnesota company Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain chairman of the company’s board. Witty will serve as asenior adviser to Hemsley It has been apunishing period for UnitedHealth, starting in December when executive Brian Thompson was targeted outside of aNew York City hotel andkilled. While unrelated to the financial operations of the $340 billion health care giant, its shares have tumbled severely since the attack.

“I’m deeply disappointed in and apologize forthe performancesetbacks we have encountered from both external and internal challenges,” Hemsley said during an early Tuesday conference call. “Many of the issues standing in the way of achieving our goals as well as our opportunities are largely within our control. Iam optimistic about our future as these issues are within ourcapacity to resolve. We willapproachthemwith humility,rigor and urgency.”

The 60-year-old Witty joined the company in 2018 after serving about nine yearsasCEO of the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. He was named UnitedHealth’sCEO in February 2021, replacing Dave Wichmann. UnitedHealth became one of the nation’slargest companies under Witty’s leadership. Total revenue topped $400 billion last year,a55% increase from the $257 billion UnitedHealth brought in the year before Witty became CEO. Shares of UnitedHealth rocketed higherunder Witty,too,up60.5% since he took the company’stop job. Yetthere have been several setbacks for UnitedHealth over the past five months as it wrestles with the national attention on Luigi Mangione, who was indicted last month on afederal murder charge in the killing of Thompson.

The casehas capturedthe American imagination, setting off acascade of resentment and online vitriol toward U.S. health insurers while rattling corporate executives concerned about security UnitedHealth cut its 2025 forecast last month following its first quarterly earnings miss in more than adecade. On Tuesday thecompany withdrew that financialforecastentirely,saying that medical costs from new Medicare Advantage members were higher than expected.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Witty

STAFF FILEPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Drago’sisfamous for its rich, garlicky charbroiled oysters. Along withthe original Metairie location, the chain has restaurants in NewOrleans, Lake Charles, Bossier City and Jackson, Miss., and is reopening soon in Baton Rouge.

[

25 IanMcNulty picksdishesfroma year in NewOrleans dining youshouldtry in 2025

Ihope you’re hungry.Hereare 25 tastes, snapshot style, of eating around NewOrleans through another busyyear covering this ever-changingdiningscene.

Roastbeefpo-boy Brocato’sKitchen,422 S. BroadSt.

This is not aranking. Instead, theseare dishes experiences and memories that have stayed with me through the year.Manyare from new restaurants from 2024, othersfromrestaurantsI’vebeen revisiting.

Here’s anew restaurant with an old soul,the type NewOrleans needs to freshen the ranks. It’s all about po-boysand plate lunches,and the roast beef is agood intro. Themeatisthin, wavy slices,with adark richnessthatsmacksonthe palate withstock and gleaming gravy. Youcan taste thegarlic and sometimes seeslices of the clovestoo

Cote de boeuf MaMou, 942N.Rampart St

Chef TomBranighan‘s dishes areas intricately detailed andbeautiful as the restaurantheand Molly Wismeier created. It’sone of the best in town. But it wasstraightforward, classic French treatmentofthis regal steak thatIkeep thinking about after my last visit.The cut, all marbled and succulent, is idealfor sharing around the table,aneventhe accompanying potatoes were perfection.

Hamburger RevelCafe& Bar 133N.Carrollton Ave.

Here’s asleeper hit still waiting to be discovered. It’sthe second restaurant from the ownersofLa TiaCantinainMetairie, and goes moreupscale andglobal. ABasque cheesecakefor dessert seems to be streaked with chocolate sauce. But scoopyourspoon through and this reveals itself as mole, the same as fromthe carnitas dumplings, bringingachocolatey-chile savory contrast to the richcake. It’s outstanding. So arethe cocktails; have another with dessert

Icould have included manymore, but youhave to stop somewhere. Ipicked 25 in sync with 2025togiveyou ideas fordining out in the year to come.

Glazed octopus TANA,2919MetairieRoad

TANA is thereincarnation of chef Michael Gulotta‘s one timepop-up on astylish and grand scale forhigh-end Italian cuisine, mixing the simplicity of fresh pasta and robust sauce next to more complexdishes thatbuild layers of flavor. This dish is apicture of composed Italian fine dining. Thethick leg of octopus is crisp on the edge,tender within, glazed with smokedbone marrow overacake made from squidink risotto

Basque cheesecake Aguasanta, 8312 OakSt.

Here’s asleeper hit still waiting to be discovered. It’sthe second restaurantfromthe ownersofLaTia Cantina in Metairie, and goes moreupscale and global. ABasque cheesecake fordessert seems to be streaked with chocolate sauce. But scoop your spoon through and this reveals itself as mole, the same as from the carnitas dumplings, bringinga chocolatey-chile savory contrast to the rich cake.It’soutstanding. So arethe cocktails; have another with dessert

Siciliansashimi

Porgy’sSeafood Market 236N.Carrollton Ave.

Porgy’scombines an old-school fishmonger with amodern seafood deli. I’mconstantly coming here foroysters andfresh fish for home (especially forDIY crudo). Thisdinein dishdemonstrateswhatyou candowith a fish case filled with fresh catches. It’scrudo 101, with just olive oil andsalt,maybe capers and celery,and achanging varietyoffish.Pair with one of the affordable winesbythe glass.

Laziji (dry chili chicken) Miss Shirley’s ChineseRestaurant 3009 MagazineSt.

Here’s adishfor chili lovers,orfor just lovers.Itstartedasaone-off special as the restauranthas brought deeper regional dishes into play, and customers have embracedit. The chicken is choppedintobitsonthe bone,deep fried and thenwok fried and comes an avalanche of toasted redchilies,along with heroicdoses of garlic and ginger.It’sadishI neverwanttostopeating, and one I keep thinking about whenImust

[ what we ate > what we loved- NewOrleans ]

Arestaurantthatfunctions as a mostly Greek delibyday (with asatelliteespresso barfrom Coffee Science too) turns into acasual taverna at night, with table service, reservationsand an expanded menu with moredishes

fit forsharing. That’show we took down this whole fish, with mild, yielding meat stuffed with ouzobraised leeksunder agolden-crisp surfacesparkledwith seasalt

Here’s one of my NewYear’s resolutions: I’m visiting the northshoremoreoften (and the Gulf Coast,and the West Bank,etc.). TheSt. Tammanydining scene is often on my mind, if not often enough on my schedule. This upscale Italian spot has been an anchor of it fordecades now, and areturn visit confirmed its excellentconsistency.Lamb ragu has been in rotation foreverhere–simple, deeply flavored, always satisfying.

Thenew ownersand operators at this Uptown gemhavebeen mixing their own signaturewith its long-standing style. This addition from chef RobMistry tells the tale, an eleganttakeonalocal fish,“scaled” with thin potato slices and dappled with the brinyburst of trout roe. TheVadouvan sauce gives the complexity of curry but with agentler spice thatmakes it agood fit for seafood in particular

fusionfind in eatmentofturkey ry morsels to pull bone. In nice weather antpatio herewith ote: hourschange us via instagram

The signaturedishofthis strip mall Dominican jointstarts with mashed plantain, smooth with olive oil, thick withgarlic and shot through withbitsoffatty fried pork. This is the basisfor anynumberofdishes,though the fat-gleaming crownonthe menu has to be the mofongocon chicharron, cut into thick squares likecracklin’ fused to acakeof tender,roasted pork.

7839 St.Charles Ave.

It wasthe deathoffounder VincentCatalanotto Sr.that broughtbeback to the Vincent’s restaurants overthe summer, to seehow these Creole Italian classics were faring as the next generationtook the helm.This dish wasthis epitome of comfort on aplate,withablend of veal and spinach in fatpasta tubesinan Alfredosauce baked to acreamy texture. The founder’s legacy feels well tended.

Le Ponce, 3133 PoncedeLeonSt.

Good bread, greatprices,early morning hours–it’sa simple recipe fora satisfying starttothe dayand that’sjust whatthis French bakery café from the family behind the adjacentCaféDegas bistro delivers. The build-your-own breakfast sandwiches areeverything they should be,with flaky croissantsor densebaguettesassembled with French ham,smokyandouille and other good fixingstospec. Youcan walk it off with stroll at nearbyCity Park to makeitfull morning.

[ what weate > what we loved- BatonRouge ]

24

Here arethe best things we atelastyearin BatonRouge:arancini, tuna tostadas andmore

The news team has thepleasureofgoing aboutthe BatonRouge area to try all sorts of differentfoods —sharing our favorites each week. Looking back at theyear,hereare the24best thingsweate in BatonRougein2024.

Peppers

If there’sone tapa youmust getfromSolera, it’sthe piquillo peppers. Stuffed with manchegocheeseand drizzled with rosemary-infused honey, the blistered peppersoncrostini areamix between sweet,savory andcreamythatdelightand surprisethe tastebuds

Also to note:the Brussels sprouts at Solera aresome of the best Brussels sprouts I’ve had with piquillo pepper jelly,chorizoand crumbled goat cheese.

Lauren Cheramie, FeaturesCoordinator

Afullrackofribs

TJ Ribs, 2324 S. AcadianThruway

I’mnot surewhattook me so long to visitTJRibs, but for my inaugural visit,ribs seemed likethe only option —and I’mglad of the choice. The restaurantproclaimsthatits ribs aremarinatedfor 24 hoursinasecret seasoningand then slow-cooked in whattheydescribe as a“special oven,” before the ribs arefinished on agrill and lightly glazed with asignaturebarbecue sauce. So tender.So flavorful. Though Idon’teat ribs often, I’ma fan—and knowwhere I’ll head the next timethe mood strikes JanRisher, LouisianaCultureEditor

SamplerPlatter

Jamaican Vibes, 4763 AirlineHighway

After tryingthe sampler platter fromJamaican Vibes, Ifelt likeplanning avacationtoJamaica andspending my wholebudget on food. Everything wascooked and seasoned to perfection. The jerk ribs fell off the bone when pickedup. They were incredibly tender,and the jerkseasoning wassweet,alittle spicyand well balanced. It’samust-try forany fanofpork ribs

Equally tenderwas the filling of the beef patty. The pastry encasing it wasdelightfully flaky. It wasmy first time tryingaJamaican beef patty, but Ican’t imaginetheyget anybetterthan this Javier Gallegos,staff photographer

Cast-ironredfish

LibraryWineand Provisions

7530 S. BurnsideAve., Gonzales

Theambience in theLibrary Wine and Provisionsiscozyyet sophisticated, with velvet seating, dimlighting and agallery wall that features legendary writers. Theinterior alone is reason to visit,but the food is worth it,too Formyentree, Idecided on cast-iron redfish with risotto,spinach, crawfish and aspicy buttersauce. Oh. My.Gosh. Theredfish melted in my mouthwith the buttersauce, and the risotto complementeditperfectly.I can’twait to go back and try something new.

Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

Potdecrème

Beausoleil CoastalCuisine 7731 JeffersonHighway

On some days,you just need alittle extraboost of happy. Occasionally,chocolate is the only fix. Last week,after along morning thatwas spectacularly cappedoff by alobster roll lunch at Beausoleil, Istill felt the needfor chocolate Potdecrème, translatesliterally to “potsof cream,”which doesn’t do this chocolate pudding dessert justice, in my opinion. Beausoleil’s version is aricher chocolate than mostothers I’ve tried—and that wasjustfine by me! JanRisher, Louisiana Culture Editor

Garlic knots

RoccaPizzeria 3897 Government St

CanIjust say: Theseknots arelife-changing?

When Itook my family to Roccafor dinner one evening, everyone kept saying, “Theseare so good. Thegarlic knots areenveloped in chimichurri,fresh herbs and grana,served in asmall cast-iron skillet with whippedprovolone on the side fordipping. Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

PhoCafé

3851 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd

Pho Café specializes in avariety of Vietnamesefare, but forme, the LemongrassChicken ClayPot with rice wonthe day. Served in ahomey, comforting claypot,the dish wasstuffed with savory and sweet chicken, squash, zucchini, bell peppers,onions,celery and rice.The vegetables were cooked to perfection, slightly crispyyet tender,and the chicken wasjuicy and flavorful

The best part of the claypot was the infusionoflemon grassflavor mingled together with the chicken, vegetables and rice.The serving size wasgenerous, and Ihad enough for leftovers.All of this deliciousness and aglassofsweet teamet my lunch cravingsfor about $15 JoyHolden, Features Reporter

Zorba’sisone of thoseplaces in BatonRougethat feels likeahiddengem becauseofthe location and the size of the restaurant. The restaurant’s atmosphereischarming, and the traditional Greek dishes aremouthwatering Thechicken el grecoisexcellent, which features zestyoliveoil and garlic sauce, sautéed mushrooms,tomatoes and Kalamata olives, served with salad, grilled vegetablesand ricepilaf for$17

This wassome of the best chicken I’ve had,and it marinatedsowell withthe olive oiland garlic. Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

[ what weate > what we loved- BatonRouge ]

H.B.I.C

Var’sPizza,3030Perkins

This particular pizza at Var’sincludes red sauce, whitesauce, roasted chicken, spinach, bell pepper,Romatomato,pesto, banana peppersand artichokehearts

Every ingredienttasted fresh, and each one had its shining moment. Forme, though, the star wasthe crust,whichishomemade every dayfromSt. Bruno Bread Company. It was thin enough to have crunch andthick enough to hold everything together —the perfect happymedium.

Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

Stir-friednoodles areone of the best stresstests of agood Chineserestaurant. It tellsyou the flavorpalette of aplace, and it showsyou howgenerous they arewith their liao (the non-noodle ingredients thatgointostir fry).

When Ibroughtmyvisitingfamily to eatatAsian Seafood House, Iwas excited about dimsum and congee, but morethan anything, Iwas impressedbytheir beef stir-fried fresh flatricenoodles ($16.80). The flavorissubtle anddelicious After tastingAsian SeafoodHouse’sricenoodles,myparents said theywanttodo Thanksgiving there.

Serena Puang,staff writer

Every Tuesday(and only on Tuesdays)ChowYum hostsTaco Tuesdaywith a birria taco special. Along with the birriatacos,there areother Tuesdaydrink and food specials

Foranappetizer,weordered The Mandu,which features fried spicy beef bulgogi dumplings,melted cheese, kimchi salsa, gochujang aioli, pickled jalapeños and scallions.The dish wasthe perfect amountofspicy without overpowering on the heat.

Next,itwas easytodecide on an entree because of theTuesdayoccasion. The bo kho birria tacos include three Vietnamesebeef stew-inspiredbriskettacos griddled with melted cheeseand onionsand served with Bo Rho consume, slawand pickledjalapeños.Each taco wascrunchyand full of flavor. The dipping juice wassurprising, as it wasspicy but alsoincluded ahintofmint.

Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

If youfind yourself at Gino’s, order the arancini. Thedish includes aball of goodnessstuffed with ground meatand peas and toppedwith sauce and Parmigiano cheese. Each biteisdelectable, and youmay find yourself wanting more than one.

Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

Theroasted vegetable lasagna from Cocha looks small but is the perfect portionsizetosavor every biteand not getsick of theflavor.Italso comes withalightsidesalad. This veganlasagna provides all the satisfaction of itsnonvegan counterpart and features at least eight different vegetablesfor avarietyoftastes in everybite. A greatlittle mid-week treat.

Serena Puang,staff writer

When Ilived in Nevada forsix years, Igrew accustomedtoenjoying restaurants inside casinos. Turns out,the same is true closer to homethesedays.

At 1717 in The Queen BatonRougecasino on the Mississippi Riverjust north of downtown, the Philly cheesesteak nachos blewmeaway. Iloved the loads of Philly cheesesteak atop agigantic pile of freshly made corntortilla chips —with grilled peppers, grilled onions and cheese sauce on top. Eating while enjoying the viewofthe Mississippi Riverwas the icing on the cake.It wasthe kind of spot thatmade me think, “I can’t wait to be herewithfriends.”

JanRisher, Louisiana Culture Editor

Theexecutiveclub from Martin’sisnot only one of my favorite sandwiches in BatonRouge, but it’s packed withflavor First, thereisoven-roasted turkey, grilled ham,hickory smokedbacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Then, youget to pick your bread.Iwentwith 7-grain. All of the contents arelayered amongst three toasty pieces of bread.The cheesemelted in my mouth withthe turkey and ham, and the smoked bacon addedacrunch. To smooth thingsover, the tomatoes and lettuce added a refreshing punchwiththe mayo Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

Lunch options at Chris’s includechicken Caesar salad wraps,Reuben sandwiches,po-boys and other weekly specials likerice and gravy. Iopted forthe catfish po-boy—something Ihaven’thad in avery long time. When thepo-boyarrived,itwas huge. The bread wassoft on the inside and crispy on the outside, and the catfish wassofresh thatittasted like someone broughtitinoff the boatthatmorning. Thefries were my favoritekind of fries:crispy, crunchyand topped with Cajun seasoning. Lauren Cheramie,FeaturesCoordinator

[ what we ate > what we loved- Acadiana ]

Jambon Beurre

Wild Child Wines

210E.VermilionSt.

Wild Child Wines,locatedin downtown Lafayette,has been serving up natural wines and unique pantry items—liketinned fish from around the world —since 2020.Thisyear theyexpanded the shoptoprovide in-housesourdoughbaked goodsand a Frid lunch tha air erfectly