DOHA, Qatar President Donald Trump’s trip to Qatar is off to a flying start.
Like Saudi Arabia a day earlier, Qatar didn’t bother waiting for Trump to land before setting out to impress him with a fighter jet escort.
As Trump flew into Riyadh on Tuesday and then in to Doha on Wednesday as part of his Middle East trip, he received ceremonial escorts from each country’s F-15 fighter jets, exceptionally rare sights.
A White House official, Margo Martin, posted videos of the escorts online.
“Saudi F-15’s providing honorary escort for Air Force One!” she wrote on Tuesday The Royal Saudi Air Force has the world’s largest fleet of American-made F-15s after the U.S. Air Force. Then on Wednesday, Martin posted: “what a view flying into Qatar!!!” She even captured one of the Qatari aviators, sitting in the F-15’s backseat, returning the favor by taking a picture of Air Force One.
New foreign minister named for Canada
TORONTO Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a major Cabinet shakeup, including a new foreign minister, Tuesday as he shapes a newly reelected Liberal government.
Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau earlier this year and won election last month, named Anita Anand foreign minister, replacing Mélanie Joly, who becomes the minister of industry Anand’s previous roles include defense minister François-Philippe Champagne retains his job as finance minister, while Dominic LeBlanc remains minister of U.S. trade at a time of a trade war between Canada and the United States. Carney won the job of prime minister by promising to confront the aggression toward Canada shown by U.S. President Donald Trump, while preserving the calm demeanor of an economist who has led the central banks of both Canada and the United Kingdom.
“Canadians elected this new government with a strong mandate to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States and to build a stronger economy for all Canadians,” Carney said.
Carney noted that King Charles III will deliver a speech outlining the Canadian government’s priorities on May 27, when Parliament resumes. Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
NASA rover spies Mars aurora visible to humans
NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected the first aurora at Mars that’s visible to the human eye, good news for future astronauts who can savor the view on the red planet.
European and U.S scientists reported that the green aurora in the dusty Martian sky was generated by a solar storm last year and had three days’ advance notice to set aside viewing time with the rover’s cameras. Previous auroras observed at Mars appeared only in the ultraviolet, but this one was in the visible wavelength It resulted from a solar flare in March 2024 that was followed by a coronal mass ejection of plasma from the sun that was directed toward Mars
These latest observations show that forecasting of northern and southern lights is now possible at Mars, allowing scientists to study space weather, said University of Oslo’s Elise Wright Knutsen, whose research appeared Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
“While the brightness of this event was dimmed by dust, events under better viewing conditions or more intense particle precipitation might be above the threshold for human vision and visible to future astronauts,” the researchers wrote.
This was the first time an aurora had been reported from the surface of a planet other than Earth, the researchers noted. Earlier observations were made from orbit.
Airstrikes in Gaza kill 70, officials say
BY WAFAA SHURAFA and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press
DEIRAL-BALAH,Gaza Strip Israeli airstrikes
pounded northern and southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children, according to local hospitals and health officials, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no way” he would halt Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory before Hamas is defeated.
At least 50 people, including 22 children, were killed in strikes around Jabaliya in northern Gaza alone, according to hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry
The strikes came after Hamas on Monday released an Israeli-American hostage, a gesture that some thought could lay the groundwork for a ceasefire, and as U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia during a multi-day trip to Gulf countries.
Israel’s military refused to comment on the strikes. It warned Jabaliya residents to evacuate late Tuesday, citing militant infrastructure in the area, including rocket launchers In Jabaliya, rescue workers smashed through collapsed concrete slabs using hand tools, lit by the light of cellphones, to remove children’s bodies.
In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. It means destroying Hamas.”
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s visit to the Middle East could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The war began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in a 2023 intrusion into southern Israel. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,928 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many
were combatants. Almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18, the ministry said.
Israel’s offensive has obliterated vast swathes of Gaza’s urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, often multiple times.
Israeli media reported that one target in a strike on a hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday was Mohammed Sinwar, younger brother of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last October The military would not comment beyond saying it had targeted a Hamas “command and control center” which it said was located beneath the European Hospital.
Mohammed Sinwar is believed to be Hamas’ top military leader in Gaza. Israel has tried to assassinate him multiple times over the past decades.
A senior health official in Gaza said Wednesday that ambulances were no longer able to reach the hospital due to damage from the strike, which had also forced the facility to suspend surgical operations.
Dr Marwan al-Hams, director general of Field Hospitals at Gaza’s Health Ministry said the strike had severely damaged the hospital’s water and sewage systems, as well as its courtyard. He added that the Israeli military hit a bulldozer brought in by hospital authorities to repair the area to allow ambulances reach the building.
“Until these damages are fixed, we will have to shut down most departments of the hospital,” he said, adding that he had no information about Israel’s claimed target of the strike
International food security experts warned earlier this week that Gaza will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn’t lift its blockade and stop its military campaign.
Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation while 1 million others can barely get enough food according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises.
Mexico confirms cartel family members entered U.S. in deal
By The Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s security chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration.
Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed a report by independent journalist Luis Chaparro that family members of Ovidio Guzmán López, who was extradited to the United States in 2023, had entered the U.S. Guzmán Lopez is one of the brothers left running a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel after notorious capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was imprisoned in the U.S Video showed the family members walking across the border from Tijuana with their suitcases to waiting U.S. agents.
Rumors had circulated last week that the younger Guzmán would plead guilty to avoid trial for
several drug trafficking charges in the U.S. after being extradited in 2023.
García Harfuch confirmed the family members’ crossing in a radio interview and said it was clear to Mexican authorities that they were doing so after negotiations between Guzmán López and the U.S. government.
He believed that was the case because the former cartel boss, whose lawyer said in January he had entered negotiations with U.S. authorities, had been pointing fingers at members of other criminal organizations likely as part of a cooperation agreement.
“It is evident that his family is going to the U.S. because of a negotiation or an offer that the Department of Justice is giving him,” García Harfuch said.
He said that none of the family members were being pursued by Mexican authorities and that the government of U.S. President Donald Trump “has to share information”
Virginia boy swept away as heavy rains, flooding hit states
BY GENE PUSKAR and SARAH BRUMFIELD Associated Press
WESTERNPORT,Md Officials
found the body of a 12-yearold boy who was swept away by rushing water on a Virginia roadway during a storm system that also forced a dozen students to stay overnight at a Maryland high school due to heavy rains that led to flooding in several states.
A 911 caller reported Tuesday night that the boy was walking outside when he was swept away by water that overtook the roadway from a nearby creek, Albemarle County Fire Rescue said in a social media post.
What is believed to be the body of Jordan Sims was found by crews searching for him about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, the county agency stated. He will be taken a medical examiner’s office in Richmond for positive identification.
“This is a heartbreaking outcome, and our hearts are with the Sims’ family and loved ones,” Albemarle County Fire Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston said in a statement. “We are incredibly grateful to our local and regional partners who supported this search effort with urgency, professionalism, and care.”
In far western Maryland’s Allegany County, officials said about 150 students and 50 adults were evacuated Tuesday afternoon
from Westernport Elementary School as floodwaters breached the second floor Crews used rescue boats to transport the children to higher ground. The small rural community of Westernport saw its downtown completely inundated for the first time in decades. Rapidly rising waters caught residents by surprise when a rainy day suddenly turned into an emergency situation.
“We went from just kind of puddles on the street to the whole town underwater in at most an hour,” said Chris Lafferty, deputy chief of Tri-Towns EMS in Westernport. “It turned basically all of downtown into a river.”
With a population under 2,000 people, Westernport is located in the far corner of western Maryland. Its modest downtown took shape in a valley where Georges Creek flows into the North Branch Potomac River People were also forced to relocate at two other county schools on Tuesday Allegany County Public Schools said 12 students stayed overnight at Mountain Ridge High School before being picked up Wednesday morning. County schools were closed Wednesday Emergency officials said no one had been reported missing or injured, but residents were urged to stay home anyway because several secondary roads had been washed out.
with Mexican prosecutors, something it has not yet done.
The confirmation by García Harfuch comes the same day that the U.S. Attorney General’s Office announced it was charging a number of top cartel leaders with “narcoterrorism” for the first time since the Trump administration declared a number of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
While prosecutors declined to comment on the video of the family U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California and other officials sent a warning to cartel members, repeatedly citing the Sinaloa Cartel by name.
“Let me be direct, to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, you are no longer the hunters, you are the hunted. You will be betrayed by your friends, you will be hounded by your enemies, and you will ultimately find yourself and your face here in a courtroom in the Southern District of California,” Gordon said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI
Palestinians inspect the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. According to local hospitals, 50 people were killed in the strikes including 22 children.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J PUSKAR Ashley Rishel, left, of the Allegany County 911, and Lesley Moran help clean
Senators turn up heat on insurance commissioner
Debate over auto insurance bills continues
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple had a rough day at the State Capitol on Wednesday as senators took out their frustration with him and the insurance industry over high car insurance rates in Louisiana.
Over Temple’s objections, one Senate committee approved legislation to turn his elected job into an appointed position, and another passed two bills that he contends distract from the real solutions to high rates.
“We’ve had better days,” Temple said in an interview afterward. “It may not be personal or political, but I can’t help but feel that it’s both.”
Temple had better days when the House two weeks ago passed more than a dozen pro-industry measures that he supports because they will address what he sees as the answer tilting legal scales away from trial lawyers and their injured clients to reduce how much the companies pay for insurance claims
“When loss costs go down, premiums go down,” Temple said. “It’s working in other states. It can work in Louisiana.”
But senators so far are showing they are less likely to buy that argument as they consider their own bills and House-passed measures.
That reflects how those who put less blame on trial lawyers and more on insurance companies have a greater voice in the Senate.
On Tuesday, the Senate Judi-
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representatives oppose the container terminal, but some opponents said they want to weigh in on the road to ensure they have a say in which alternatives are pursued if the terminal cannot be blocked.
St. Bernard Parish President Louis Pomes said Wednesday that he remains “firmly opposed” to the container terminal, but has clear preferences for which road and rail upgrades he would want to see.
“Our position is consistent: we are fighting the port’s placement in St. Bernard,” he said via email. “But if we lose that fight, we refuse to leave our people exposed.”
Shortlist
After whittling down dozens of potential new road routes over the past year, the Regional Planning Commission, or RPC, arrived at a shortlist of three in its final study All three routes would involve building an elevated
ANTI-HAZING
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Boyd’s bill that removed the semesterlong course mandate. Instead, the revised bill would update existing law by requiring student organizations to provide their members with a two-hour training, up from the current one-hour requirement, and adding a penalty for student groups that fail to train their members.
“I don’t believe it’s enough,” Boyd told The Advocate | Times-Picayune about the amended bill, which now heads to the full House. “It’s a start.” Wilson, who played trumpet in Southern’s renowned Human Jukebox marching band, died after being punched in the chest during an alleged hazing ritual that happened off campus. His death led to multiple arrests and spurred calls for reform, including by Wilson’s family
The Louisiana Legislature’s last major attempt to impose stiffer penalties for hazing came in 2018, when they changed criminal law to make hazing a felony
The law change followed the death of Max Gruver, an LSU freshman who died from alcohol poisoning after a fraternity hazing incident.
A Senate committee passed legislation Wednesday that would give Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Tim Temple more latitude to reject rate increases that he deems will lead to unreasonably high pro
ciary A Committee passed four pro-industry car insurance bills but watered down perhaps the most important one, which in its original form would have reduced how much an injured driver could collect in medical costs. The committee also heard less than half of the pro-industry bills passed by the House, and the committee chair, Sen. Greg Miller, R-Norco, said afterward he may not take up the other ones.
On Wednesday, Temple and Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, engaged in a heated debate over a bill to give the insurance commissioner more latitude to reject rate increases that he deems will lead to unreasonably high profits
The measure, House Bill 148, by Rep. Jeff Wiley, R-Gonzales, was approved in the House, with Temple and nearly half of the Re-
highway across part of the Central Wetlands Unit to connect the container terminal at Violet to the interstate junction 10 miles away
Pomes said the shortest and cheapest, at an estimated cost of about $700 million, was a nonstarter
“The route that begins at the Sinclair tract simply does not make sense, and therefore can’t be considered as a viable option,” he said.
He was referring to a route that would run for just under 5 miles, starting at Paris Road with an elevated highway over the wetlands north of Forty Arpent Canal, then turning into Judge Perez Highway (La. 39) between Maureen Lane and St. Marie Drive.
That option would require the port’s truck traffic to travel for about 5 miles on already congested Judge Perez Drive or East St. Bernard Highway, and was strongly opposed by local residents during the community outreach for the study. It would also mean lengthy and expensive reconstruction of existing highways, the RPC said
Another law the Legislature passed that year required new college students to receive a handbook on the dangers of hazing, and for student organizations to provide their members at least one hour annually of training on hazing prevention.
But Boyd, who said she met at length with Wilson’s parents before crafting her bill, decided the existing rules did not go far enough. She said she spoke with current and former college students who described rampant hazing on campuses across Louisiana, adding that many said they had been unaware the activities were illegal.
“None of the ones I interviewed was aware that it’s a felony offense now,” she said “Why are we not willing to empower these kids with that knowledge?”
Boyd said she envisioned a course that went beyond simply teaching students about the law to having them study real-life examples of hazing and discuss how they would handle such situations.
Some university leaders said they support the idea of enhanced anti-hazing education, but worried about the bill’s requirement to launch the class this fall, Boyd said. In response, she changed the course start date to August 2026. She also changed the bill’s name from the Caleb
publicans there opposed. Gov Jeff Landry has said that if the bill passes, he would blame Temple for high car insurance rates if they don’t go down.
Temple told the Senate Insurance Committee that Wiley’s bill would give him so much power he could rebuff rate increases arbitrarily, without having to rely on data from his department’s actuaries. That, he added, would introduce “uncertainty” and “instability” into the insurance market, to the detriment of consumers.
“This is a proposed monumental change to the Louisiana rating structure,” Temple told the committee members.
Duplessis pounced with a question.
“Don’t you think that the crisis that we’re facing in Louisiana probably deserves some monumental
The route that was most favored by St. Bernard residents in voting gathered at community meetings during the screening process was the one that connects directly to the terminal at Violet and then to Paris Road (La. 47) about five miles south of the interstate.
Onereasonitscoredhighest is because it requires the least amountoflandacquisition,according to the RPC report. That route would be just over 8 miles long, including an elevated roadway running along the Forty Arpent Canal Road and crossing Violet Canal via a newly constructed midlevel bridge. It would require reconstruction of about 2.3 miles of Paris Road to support the increased truck traffic running north to the Green Bridge, according to the RPC report.
“It is compatible with rail, comes directly from the port, and bypasses all traffic on Judge Perez and St Bernard Highway,” Pomes said. Road and rail
The RPC also studied rail configurations in the par-
Wilson Act to the Enough is Enough Act, saying she wanted to preserve Wilson’s name for future legislation.
The state’s public university systems also provided cost projections to the Legislative Fiscal Office The Southern University system estimated that about 80% of students join some type of organization and would have to take the one-credit course The system said it would cost nearly $2.6 million to develop and offer the course the first year, and about $1.9 million in later years.
Southern’s estimate was substantially higher than other systems. LSU projected a $1.6 million price tag in year one, while the University of Louisiana system thought it would cost about $390,000.
Rep Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, said the proposed course would create a new cost for universities, while the current law puts the burden on fraternities, sororities and other student groups to provide the anti-hazing training. He proposed an amendment to expand the current training rather than establish a new course.
“I’m just thinking about how we can reduce or eliminate the fiscal note,” he said during the hearing, referring to the legislation’s estimated cost.
Other members pointed to
type of policy changes to address this crisis as opposed to continuing to tinker around the edges?” he asked.
“We are suggesting monumental changes in legal reform,” Temple replied.
Duplessis persisted.
“You don’t believe we need to do anything outside of legal reform to address this monumental crisis?”
he asked.
“I don’t believe we can over-regulate ourselves out of the crisis,”
Temple replied, adding minutes later that he has rejected rate increases as “excessive” 21 times.
Shortly after that, Temple called the Wiley bill “a red herring.”
Countered Duplessis: “I think your push to go after lawyers is the red herring.”
The Senate committee approved HB148 and another bill, Senate Bill 172 by Sen. Robert Allain, R-Franklin. After approval of an amendment, SB172 stiffened the pro-industry language by saying the commissioner would use actuarial tables in determining whether a rate increase was “unreasonably high.”
Temple said he opposed Allain’s bill because he didn’t have time to review the amendment.
Across a hallway Temple didn’t have better success before the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee when it discussed Duplessis’ Senate Bill 214 to switch to an appointed insurance commissioner Under Duplessis’ bill, Temple could run for one additional term before having to step down, with the governor appointing his successor
“Very few people run for this seat or very people even know that it
ish, which already cause considerable disruption as rail traffic goes to and from existing industrial plants. The report concluded that the best short- to mediumterm option would be to build bridges over the choke points rather than to try and reroute rail traffic.
The RPC also recommended upgrades to the existing Paris Road intersections with Judge Perez and East St. Bernard highways. The recommended improvements would cost about $50 million whether or not the elevated highway options were pursued.
Port NOLA plans to find a private sector partner to build the new elevated expressway as a toll road so it would require relatively little public funding.
The port was successful last week in getting a bill introduced by Rep. Mark Wright, R-Covington, moved out of theHousetransportationcommittee for a full vote. It would fast-track efforts to line up a private sector partner Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development spokesperson Rod-
a resolution introduced by Rep. Jason Hughes, D-New Orleans, creating a task force to study the state’s anti-hazing laws and university policies and recommend improvements The resolution, which the education committee approved
exists,” Duplessis said, noting that Temple was elected in 2023 when no one else qualified for the race.
Duplessis added that most donations for the insurance commissioner come from industry interests.
“There is nobody that can match the power and influence and resources of the multibillion-dollar insurance industry,” he said.
Temple pushed back, saying, “I understand the frustration riding behind this proposal.” But, he added, “The people of Louisiana deserve a say in who their insurance commissioner is, and that person should answer to the voters, not to one person.”
Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, took the unusual step of popping into the committee room to support Duplessis’ bill. Henry, saying he had been watching the debate on his office TV, said having an appointed commissioner would reduce the role of politics and make it easier to lower rates.
Echoing Duplessis, Henry noted that 39 other states have appointed insurance commissioners and asked why insurance industry officials would oppose the change in Louisiana.
Afterward, in an interview, Henry said their opposition “implies that the insurance industry is concerned that with an appointed commissioner, they will have less influence over how the office is run.”
The committee approved Duplessis’ bill. The full Senate is expected to take up the various car insurance bills next week.
Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate.com.
ney Mallett said the next step is for DOTD to oversee a National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, study, which is required because at least $15 million of federal grant money will fund the project.
Mallett said it is too early for DOTD to comment on the merits of any of the options shortlisted.
Protest continues
St. Bernard businessman Sidney Torres III, a leading opponent of the project, said his group would continue to try and block it and argue for an alternative proposal to build a terminal on the west bank, in Plaquemines Parish.
“The road systems being considered would cause further damage to our residential community and would destroy wetlands critical to the future of our region,” he said Wednesday Brianna Assavedo, an organizer with Save Our St. Bernard, or SOS, the main opposition group, which claims to have gathered signatures from about 8,000 residents opposed to the
Wednesday requires the task force to issue a report before February
Several members advised waiting for the recommendations before requiring universities to develop a new anti-hazing course. But Boyd noted that the Legis-
project, shared a letter she wrote to state officials to appeal for support.
“The proposed LIT in St Bernard Parish would require $1.5 billion in new infrastructure spending, including road and rail access, utilities, and land preparation — all to create a facility from scratch in a highly vulnerable flood zone,” she wrote to the Louisiana Department of Governmental Ethics, the state auditor and others. The LIT project got a boost last week, when Gov Jeff Landry tapped economic development expert Michael Hecht, CEO of Greater New Orleans, the regional development agency, to ensure it gets completed. Landry’s move was the first time he explicitly endorsed LIT over alternatives. The project already has support from the state’s two U.S. senators, John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, and Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, both of whom have helped secure federal funds. Email Anthony McAuley at tmcauley@theadvocate. com.
lature and LSU established task forces after Gruver’s death, yet hazing has not stopped.
“I have to do something to make sure we don’t have another Caleb Wilson,” she said in an interview “One death is more than enough.”
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
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
CASE
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triple murder 30 years ago.
Murrill’s husband, John Murrill, is one of about three dozen partners in the Taylor Porter firm.
Frank’s attorneys are expected to argue in court on Thursday that Murrill’s office has overstepped its constitutional authority by taking over the defense of Frank’s conviction. Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Kimya Holmes is presiding over the case.
Ethics experts don’t see a problem with the firm’s work for the attorney general, generally. State ethics laws require a higher stake than John Murrill’s 2.5% share of Taylor Porter to call an ethics foul, they say Murrill says the state government work done by Taylor Porter, which currently has about $2 million in state contracts, has been carved out from their income since she took office early last year
“Neither my husband, nor I, get anything,” Murrill said of the state government work.
But legal ethics experts see a different problem in Murrill’s hiring of one of those four attorneys: Grant Willis, the former head of criminal appeals for the attorney general’s office who left in January 2024. State ethics law bars public employees from doing the same kind of work for their former agency for two years after their separations.
On Wednesday, after questions from The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, Murrill said her office would seek “clearance” from the state Ethics Board for Willis’ work on Frank’s case or others
“We won’t pay any billing for Grant until we obtain the clearance,” Murrill said. Murrill declined to provide the contract for the work by the Taylor Porter attorneys, saying it was pending approval by Taylor Barras, the state’s commissioner of administration. She said the AG’s office is paying them a standard rate for the work.
Veteran ethics lawyer Steve Scheckman said the statute mandating a break before public servants can contract with their former agencies is broad.
“The statute mandates a two-year pause or recess from contracting with the agency you worked with, or continuing to do the work that you were doing for that agency It’s not just for lawyers,” Scheckman said.
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 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
Scheckman said Willis’ contract “appears to be prohibited by that statute.”
Willis declined to comment, referring questions to Murrill’s office.
Dane Ciolino, a Loyola Law School professor who specializes in legal ethics, agreed that if Willis “did that sort of work for the AG while he was there,” a two-year freezeout would apply to him.
Murrill confirmed that Willis worked on at least one capital post-conviction case while serving as an assistant attorney general.
Murrill said the four Taylor Porter lawyers who enrolled in Frank’s case will help argue that death row prisoners like Frank have dragged their feet for too long to now dust off challenges to their executions. Taylor Porter is generally known for handling civil cases; the only criminal defense that any of its attorneys list as a practice area is white collar.
Frank was convicted of one of the most notorious crimes in modern New Orleans history: The slayings of fellow police officer Ronald Williams II and 17-yearold Cuong Vu and 24-yearold Ha Vu at the Kim Ahn Noodle House in New Orleans East.
Her co-defendant, Rogers Lacaze, was removed from death row in a 2019 deal with former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, who now heads Murrill’s criminal division.
The argument about death row prisoners taking too long to start their appeals has been met with mixed reviews so far in courthouses across Louisiana
Many capital post-conviction petitions have sat dormant for years, with neither side attempting to move them to a resolution. That changed last year, when the Legislature cleared a path to resume executions by approving nitrogen gassing and electrocution as additional methods.
The state restarted its death chamber in March with the execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr., who had exhausted his appeals. Judges have signed a host of other death warrants for other death row prisoners this year, but none so far has survived legal scrutiny
“We have brought in additional counsel to assist in moving these cases forward Antoinette Frank, for example, involves 16 boxes of documents that had to be indexed, organized, and evaluated under very short deadlines set by the court,” Murrill’s statement read.
Prosecutors and capital defense attorneys both say
Zeringue, a Houma Republican who co-chairs the Water Sector Commission that decides how to allocate the funds, said he’s targeting $100 million or more this year
grants is if you raise rates to make it accessible to get grants You don’t really have a choice in it.”
water issues as providers drill into water mains.
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.
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”
it’s unusual to see a private law firm step into a postconviction proceedings for the state.
“I’ve not seen this happen before,” said Matilde Carbia, who represents Frank and works for the Mwalimu Center for Justice, which represents a majority of Louisiana’s 55 death row prisoners.
“We’ve never sought outside counsel for that,” said East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore.
Murrill pointed to the expertise of Willis and Ryan French another Taylor Porter lawyer listed in Frank’s case, as being “particularly helpful in this matter.”
The Frank case landed with Murrill’s office at the invitation of Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams In a March 14 letter, Williams cited “the commonality of the issues in the various cases and the benefits of a united appellate response in these cases that will all travel the same procedural pathway.”
Keith Lampkin, spokesperson for Williams’ office, did not respond to questions about the move.
Murrill argued that the slow grind of death penalty cases has frustrated justice for families of victims. She pointed to a reported altercation Monday in a Rapides Parish courtroom, when a living victim of death row prisoner Larry Roy tried to jump him.
In that case, a judge blocked an execution warrant that had been signed for Roy, finding the so-called “Cheneyville Slasher” hadn’t yet exhausted his appeals.
Roy’s attorney Blythe Taplin, said Monday’s ruling “allows Mr Roy an opportunity to present evidence in support of his claims.”
She added: “I fear that the attorney general’s involvement in these cases is unnecessarily politicizing them, and causing confusion because her office is not familiar with the record or the history.”
Murrill aims to take more of those cases, however, while she seeks help from the Legislature. She pointed to a pending bill she supports, HB675 from State Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell. The bill would rewrite the rules for post-conviction in Louisiana, setting tight deadlines on defendants and judges to move their claims forward or abandon them.
“I’m using every tool available to move these cases,” Murrill said. In court, Murrill argues that Frank’s purported foot-dragging has resulted in “prejudicial delay,” noting the deaths of several
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 issues, 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 doubleedged 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
key players at her trial.
Murrill’s office is making similar claims against other death row inmates. And Orleans is not the only parish where her office has been invited to handle capital postconviction cases.
Moore, the district attorney in East Baton Rouge Parish, delivered four older capital cases to Murrill’s office in an April 29 letter, among about a dozen pending in the
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 farflung 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 other 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.
State Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-Marksville, 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
district. The four cases involve condemned inmates Robert Craig Miller, Gregory “Boo” Brown, David Bowie and Quincy Broaden. Moore said the four hadn’t “moved their cases” since at least 2010. Only after the Legislature cleared the way last year to resume executions by methods other than lethal injection did they begin to dust off their claims, he said.
“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.”
Moore said his office doesn’t have the manpower to argue those cases on their merits.
“No one currently in my appellate section has any actual knowledge of these 4 capital petitioners’ cases,” Moore said in a statement.
“Accordingly, any work to be done on these cases would be the first time anyone in EBR has ever seen the case. That’s a BIG problem.”
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
The Monterey Rural Water System is one of hundreds around the state that are in dire need of repairs.
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Stocks endmixed on Wall Street
Achoppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish for stock indexes Wednesday,asgains by several bigtechnology stocks helped temper losses. The S&P 500 edged up slightly after wavering between small gainsand losses much of the day.Most of thestocks in the index lost ground, but solid gains for severalheavyweighttechnologycompanies like Nvidia helped counter adecline in healthcare and other sectors
The Dow Jones IndustrialAverageslipped, while the Nasdaq composite rose.
Super Micro Computer
surged15.7% aftersigning a partnership agreement with Saudi Arabian data centercompany DataVolt.Advanced Micro Devices gained 4.7% after announcing a$6billion stock buyback program. Nvidia rose4.2% and Google parent Alphabet added 3.7% Other big gainers included eToro Group, aretail trading platform for stocks and cryptocurrency.Itrose 28.8% in its first day of trading.
ThebenchmarkS&P 500index, which sits at the center of many401(k)accounts, has erasedall itslossessincePresident Donald Trump escalated his globaltrade warin early April. It has now alsoerased its losses for the year and is back to within 4.1%ofits all-time high set in February
“The stock market’srally has legs, as the trade negotiation with Chinawas seemingly the toughest one on the docket,” said Rick Gardner,chief investment officer at RGA Investments American Eagle fell6.4% after the retailer withdrew its financial outlook for theyear citing “macro uncertainty.” GeneralMotors,UPS, Kraft Heinzand JetBlueare among the many companies representing awide range of industries that have warned about theimpact of tariffs and aweakening economy Boeing secures major ordersfrom Middle East
Boeing has secured apairof major orders in the Middle East during avisit to the region by President Donald Trump.
The American aerospace manufacturer confirmed a$96 billion order from Qatar,one day after announcing an order fromacompany in Saudi Arabia for 20 737-8 jets and options for 10 additional aircraft.
The Qatar deal, which includes Boeing’s 787and 777X jets, is the biggest order for 787s and wide-body jetsinBoeing’s history, the company confirmed.
It has been aparticularly good week for Boeing. According to several media reports, China lifted aban on itsairlines takingdeliveries of Boeing planes earlier this week as part of Monday’strade truce with the U.S. Shares of Boeing, which has beenmired in legaland regulatory problems since 2019, bounced to their highestlevel in more than ayear Wednesday It was the fifth straight day of gains for the Arlington, Virginia, company
Streaming service Max renamed HBO Max
HBO is returning —atleast in aname.
Warner Bros. Discoverysaid Wednesday that it was rebranding its streaming service as HBO Max this summer,instead of the current Max.
TheMax namedated to Warner’smerger with Discovery and wasconsidered acurious choice when made in 2023. HBO is widelyconsidered a gold standard for quality, while Maxwas areference tothe less well-regarded Cinemax network.
Twoyears later,the company is reviving the HBO Max name, which was used by Warner before the merger.While the companydidn’tacknowledge amistake, the move was loudly applauded Wednesdaywhen announcedatapresentationto advertisers.
CurbsonAIchipexports rescinded
Tech industry complained about restrictions
By The Associated Press
NEWYORK— Responding to complaints from thetechindustry and other countries, the U.S. DepartmentofCommercehas rescinded aBiden-era rule due to takeeffect Thursdaythat placed limits on the number of artificial intelligence chips thatcouldbeexportedto certain international markets without federal approval. “These newrequirements would have stifled American innovation and saddled companies with bur-
densome new regulatory requirements,”the Commerce Departmentstated in its guidance.
President Joe Biden established theexport framework shortly before he left office in an attempt to balancenational security concerns about thetechnology with the economic interests of producers and other countries. While theUnited States had already restricted exports to adversaries such as China and Russia, someofthose controls had loopholesand the rule would have setlimits on amuchbroader group of countries, including Middle Eastern countriesthatPresident Donald Trump is visiting this week.
The Bidenrule’ssorting more than100 countriesintodifferent tiersofexport restrictions drew
strong opposition from those countries, as well as U.S. chipmakers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. They arguedthe restrictions could actually push some countries to turn to China instead of the U.S. fortheir AI technology
What Biden’srule did “was send amessage to 120 nations that they couldn’t necessarilycount on us to provide the AI they want and need,” saidBrad Smith, Microsoft’spresident, at aU.S. Senate hearing last week.
Commerce Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler said Tuesday the Trump administration will work to replace thenow-rescindedrule to pursue AI with“trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out
of thehands of ouradversaries.”
The administration said areplacement rule is coming in thefuture but hasn’tsaidwhatthe newrule will say
TheEuropeanCommission welcomed the change, said spokesperson Thomas Regnier,arguing that the Biden rule, if it took effect, would “undermine U.S. diplomatic relations with dozens of countries by downgrading them to secondtier status.”
European Unioncountries should be able to buy advanced AI chips fromthe U.S. without limitations, Regnier said. “Wecooperate closely,inparticular in the fieldofsecurity,and represent an economic opportunityfor the U.S.,not asecurity risk,” he said in astatement.
Trumphas talked of victoryafter reaching aweekend deal with China to reduce the sky-high tariffs levied on each others’ goods, businesses in China are reacting to the temporary deal with caution. TheU.S. and China have cut the tariffsleviedoneach other in April, withthe U.S. cutting the145% tax Trump imposedlast month to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S.goodsto10% from 125%. The lower tariff rates cameintoeffect on Wednesday Whilethe markets have responded to the agreement with gusto,rebounding to thelevelsbeforeTrump’stariffs,business owners remain wary Businesses like onekitchenutensil factory in southern Guangdong provincewere eager to getbacktowork. The business saidthey put at least fourorders from their American clients back into production on Tuesday afterthe tariff pausewas announced.
“Wethought the negotiation would bring the tariffs down abit, but didn’texpect it would be so much,” saidMargaret Zhuang, asalespersonfor theutensil factoryinGuangdong province, one of China’s manufacturing hubs. Kahlee Yu,sales manager of Yangjiang HongnanIndustry andTrade Company whichalso manufactures kitchenutensils, said he was reaching out to Americancustomers again. “We’re alittle bit optimistic about thetradedeal between thetwo sides. But it is still possiblethe tariff policies will change again, resulting in no orders from our American clients,” he said. However happy they were in the moment, thedamage from tariffs announced in April hasalreadybeen done,Zhuang added,as theyare seeing fewer orders. She has orders for products up until June. Earlier this year, before Trump’strade warbegan,theyhad orders for production extending to August.
The uncertainty also means companies are lesswilling to makenew investments. Kelvin Liao, sales director at Action Composites, a manufacturerofcarbon fiberauto partsin
Dongguan, amajor city in Guangdong, said he wasoriginally planning to buy apieceof land to build anew factory,but opted instead to rent because of the tariff situation.
“It is good to reach atrade deal between the twocountries. Butpeople have already lost confidence in Trump, and we will take a wait-and-see attitude,” he said. “Webelieve the signing atrade deal is just apause and the ultimate goal of the U.S. is to curb China’sdevelopment.”
Tariffs also remain in place for some industries, whichare not part of the general deal. Hong Kong businessman Danny Lau, whoowns an aluminum-coatingfactory,said his companystill faces about a75% tariff fromtariffs leviedatdifferent points since 2018 by the U.S. Still he welcomed the news from the weekend, saying he would reach out to existing American customers to gauge their views.
“Although the policy change doesn’tcover our industry,wehopetalks will continue and therewillbebetternewsduringthe 90-day pause,” he said.
BY DEE-ANN DURBIN AP business writer
More than 1,000 Starbucks baris-
tas at 75 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest a new company dress code, aunion representing the coffee giant’s workers said Wednesday Employees at unionized stores in NewOrleans and Sulphur participated in the strike, union officials said.
Starbucks put newlimitsstarting Monday on what its baristas canwearundertheir green aprons.
Thedress code requires employees at company-operated andlicensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear asolid black shirtand khaki,
black or blue denim bottoms. Under thepreviousdress code, baristas could wear abroader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create asense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish awarmer,more welcoming feeling in its stores. ButStarbucks Workers United, the union thatrepresentsworkersat570 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S.stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining.
“Starbucks haslostits way.Instead of listening to baristas who makethe Starbucks experience what it is, they are focusedonall the
wrongthings, like implementing a restrictivenew dress code,” said Paige Summers, aStarbucks shift supervisor from Hanover,Maryland. “Customers don’tcare what color ourclothes are whenthey’re waiting30minutesfor alatte.” Summers and others also criticized thecompany for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing thatemployees no longer areallowedtowear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code.
StarbuckssaidWednesday that thestrikewas having alimited impact on its10,000 company-operated U.S. stores.
“Thousands of Starbucks partners came to work this week ready to serve their customers and communities,” thecompany said in a statement. “It would be more productive if theunionwould put the same effort into coming back to the table to finalize areasonable contract.” Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and theunion have yet to reach acontract agreement, despite agreeingtoreturntothe bargaining table in February 2024. The union said this weekthat it filed acomplaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks’ failure to bargain over the new dress code.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By NG HANGUAN
Visitorstalk to asales rep for televisions April 15 at the 137thCanton Fair in Guangzhou in southernChina’sGuangdong province.
Trump tries to negotiate nuclear deal with Iran
BY ZEKE MILLER, JON GAMBRELL and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
DOHA, Qatar President Donald Trump said Wednesday he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the Mideast as part of any potential agreement.
Trump, who is in the midst of a three-country visit to the region, also discussed Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program in one-on-one talks with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
The American president expressed measured confidence that the U.S. effort with Tehran would “work out one way or another.”
But in comments earlier in the day, at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump made clear he expected Tehran to end its role as the chief financial backer of the militant groups. Iran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Trump told the GCC leaders. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Al Thani did not directly address the Iran issue after his session with Trump in Doha. But the emir said U.S.-Qatar cooperation on a broad range of issues was lifting their partnership to “another level of relations.”
The two leaders, and others from their respective delegations, signed a series of agreements, including one between U.S. aircraft company Boeing and Qatar Airways. The White House said the deal was worth $96 billion.
The U.S. and Iran have en-
gaged in four rounds of talks since early last month, and Trump has said he believes brokering a nuclear deal is possible but that the window is closing
The Republican president’s latest push on Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen come as that proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump’s remarks “deceitful” but did not directly address Trump’s demand
Trump said that he also believed the moment was ripe “for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.” Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war last year with Israel in which much of its top leadership was killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms.
Lifting sanctions on Syria
Trump met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a face-to-face engagement with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned
by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq. Trump agreed to meet al-Sharaa at the end of his stay in Saudi Arabia.
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 al-Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54year rule of the Assad family
Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.
Trump told reporters that the meeting with al-Sharaa went “great” and described him as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.”
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said.
Prince Mohammed joined Trump and al-Sharaa for the meeting, which lasted 33 minutes. Erdogan took part via video conference.
Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion.
Trump meets with Syria’s interim president
BY ZEKE MILLER, JON GAMBRELL and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia U.S.
President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could serve as a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.
The meeting, on the sidelines of Trump’s get-together with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family and for its new leader, who once had a $10 million U.S. bounty for his arrest
Trump praised al-Sharaa to reporters after the meeting, saying he was a “young, attractive guy Tough guy Strong past. Very strong past Fighter.”
Under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa had ties to al-Qaida and joined insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. He was even imprisoned by U.S. troops there for several years.
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said. “He’s a real leader He led a charge, and he’s pretty amazing.”
Trump had announced the day before as he kicked off his three-nation Middle East tour in Riyadh that he would also move to lift U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria under the deposed autocrat Bashar Assad.
People across Syria cheered in the streets and set off fireworks on Tuesday
night to celebrate, hopeful their nation — locked out of credit cards and global finance — might rejoin the world’s economy when they need investments the most.
The meeting came even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier asked Trump not to lift sanctions on Syria, again underscoring a growing discontent between the White House and the Israeli government as its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip rages on.
Trump told the Gulf Cooperation Council after his meeting with al-Sharaa that he was ending sanctions on Syria in order to give the country “a fresh start.”
“It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful,” Trump said.
Trump said al-Sharaa had agreed to join the Abraham Accords and eventually recognize Israel, but Syria hasn’t confirmed that.
Trump told reporters, “I think they have to get themselves straightened up. I told him, ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do.”
Historic meeting
Trump said on Tuesday that he would meet alSharaa, who flew in to the Saudi capital for the faceto-face.
Even before its ruinous civil war that began in 2011, Syria struggled under a tightly controlled socialist economy and under sanctions by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terror since 1979.
Al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. The Trumpal-Sharaa meeting took
place behind closed doors, and the White House later said it ran for just over 30 minutes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the meeting with Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and al-Sharaa via phone. Turkey was a main backer to al-Sharaa and his rebel faction.
“I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance,” Trump said of Syria. “It’s not going to be easy anyway, so gives them a good strong chance. And it was my honor to do so.” What happened?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel, “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria” and help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Trump, a Republican, also asked for the Syrian government to “assume responsibility” for over a dozen detention centers holding some 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group, Leavitt added. The prisons are run by the U.S.-backed and Kurdishled forces that spearheaded the military campaign against the extremists and controlled the last sliver of land they once held in March 2019.
As part of a deal reached in March between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led forces, all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the Northeast would be brought under the central government’s control by the end of the year Trump’s desire for Syria to take over the prisons also signals the potential of a full American military withdrawal from Syria.
BY STEVE PEOPLES and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press
NEW YORK Six months after Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Democrats remain deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, although neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party is viewed favorably by a majority of U.S. adults.
A new poll conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about onethird of Democrats are “very optimistic” or even “somewhat optimistic” about their party’s future. That’s down sharply from July 2024, when about 6 in 10 Democrats said they had a positive outlook.
“I’m not real high on Democrats right now,” said poll respondent Damien Williams, a 48-year-old Democrat from Cahokia Heights, Illinois “To me, they’re not doing enough to push back against Trump.” The poll comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party, which is desperately seeking momentum after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress in last fall’s general election. In the survey, Democrats offer mixed reviews for some of their party’s best-known elected officials — including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of New York while reporting significant concerns about how leaders are chosen in the U.S. political system.
about the future of the GOP than they were last year.
The poll finds that about half of Republicans, 55%, are very or somewhat optimistic about their party’s future, up from 47% last summer. Still, only about 3 in 10 Republicans are optimistic about the state of U.S. politics, up from about 1 in 10 last summer.
Patrick Reynolds, a 50-year-old Republican community activist and pastor from Fort Worth, Texas, says he has conflicting feelings about Trump’s leadership and the future of his party
He worries that too many Republicans in Congress are falling in line behind the Republican president and his chief ally and adviser, Elon Musk, who has led Trump’s push to slash the size of the federal government. Reynolds also says he’s concerned that Trump’s aggressive moves to combat illegal immigration may be violating the Constitution.
“How can we be the party of the rule of law when we’re violating constitutional principles?” Reynolds said. “I think there could be a (political) backlash.”
Neither political party is especially popular right now
Overall, about 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of the Republican Party while about one-third have a positive view of the Democratic Party
This relatively weak support extends to some of each party’s most prominent officials
Roughly 4 in 10 Americans have a favorable view of Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who has twice run for the Democratic presidential nomination and has toured the nation in recent months rallying anti-Trump resistance Among self-described Democrats, about three-quarters view Sanders favorably
asio-Cortez, who has joined Sanders on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour She is less popular among U.S. adults overall about 3 in 10 have a favorable opinion of the 35-year-old representative, who is sometimes mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2028. Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, is less popular than Sanders or Ocasio-Cortez.
Just about one-third of Democrats have a somewhat or very favorable view of the 74-year-old senator who took a hit from many liberals for acceding to a Republicanled funding bill that kept the government open. The share of Democrats who view Schumer positively has fallen since December 2024, when about half had a somewhat or very favorable view Among all adults, his favorability stands at 21%.
“I just feel like the majority of the old Democratic Party needs to go,” said Democrat Monica Brown, a 61-year-old social worker from Knoxville, Tennessee.
“They’re not in tune with the new generation. They’re not in tune with the new world. We’ve got such division within the party.”
On the GOP side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Florida senator, is more popular than several other high-profile Republicans.
Williams, a member of the Teamsters union, said he likely won’t feel good about his party again “until somebody steps up in terms of being a leader that can bring positive change — an Obamalike figure.” Republicans, meanwhile, are slightly more optimistic
About half of Democrats have a favorable view of Oc-
Beyond their negative outlook on the future of their party, 55% of Democrats are also pessimistic about the way leaders are chosen in the U.S. The figure is up slightly from 46% last summer, when President Joe Biden was still in the White House. The AP-NORC poll of 1,175 adults was conducted May 1-5, using a sample drawn from NORC’s
Panel, which is designed
be representative of the U.S. population. Dems deeply pessimistic about future of their party, poll finds
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani meet at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday.
La. whooping cough cases soar
State on track to break 2013 record
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana is facing a recordbreaking surge of whooping cough cases and is on track to surpass the highest number of reported cases in decades, state health officials said Wednesday
The state has data on whooping
cough, also known as pertussis, going back to the 1990s, said Teresa Sokol, state epidemiologist at the Department of Health. Previously, the highest case count was 214 cases in 2013.
“Our current trajectory with whooping cough cases this year means that we are unfortunately on track to surpass that number of
cases, probably before the end of this year,” Sokol said.
During a news conference that incoming LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein said was about transparency and protecting the public’s health, officials shared updates on both the measles and whooping cough outbreaks. While the state has successfully contained measles, whooping cough cases continue to rise, posing a significant risk to infants too young to
THE BEAT OF THE MOMENT
Percussionist Aurélien Barnes, of the Grammy-nominated band The Rumble, practices on congas in the shade of a tree in City Park in New Orleans on Wednesday. Barnes said he went to City Park to practice so he wouldn’t bother his neighbors.
Suspect had warrant at time of Algiers shooting Girl, 9, wounded in gunbattle not
BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer
A 9-year-old girl who was shot in the head while fleeing a gunbattle in Algiers is not expected to survive, doctors told New Orleans police according to records filed in court related to the arrest of suspect Evans Rogers, 19. Leelani Brooks, who neighbors described as a sweet, fun child was “determined to be brain dead,” according to a police affidavit for an arrest warrant. “The doctors determined there was nothing else they could do to save the life of the victim, and they advised that (she) would eventually succumb to injuries.” The girl was playing near the 2900 block of Lawrence Street at 1:52 p.m. Monday when Rogers and another person walked in the 1600 block of Elizardi Boulevard and opened fire on three men, police said. Those three men shot back at Rogers, who fled toward General Meyer Boulevard, a wit-
ness told police. One
Get ready for the heat as temps to soar into 90s
Summer-like days, nights are moving in
BY KASEY BUBNASH and MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writers
Say goodbye to cool mornings and sleeves of any kind.
An incoming heat wave is expected to put an end to those mild spring temperatures you were probably really enjoying this week, instead bringing summer-like heat to south Louisiana.
National Weather Service forecasters said temperatures started ramping up across the region on Wednesday, with afternoon highs in the 90s expected to follow later this week.
“We’re not expecting any real cooling off over the next week,” said Bob Wagner a National Weather Service meteorologist. High humidity will make it feel even hotter, with heat index values, or “feels-like” temps, nearing 100 degrees “for the first time this year,” according to the weather service.
There’s not much rain in the forecast, which will offer little relief from what forecasters think will be unhampered sun-
be fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, the state reported 170 whooping cough cases in 2025, surpassing the total of 153 cases recorded in all of last year Since September 2024, the outbreak has led to 42 hospitalizations, with nearly 70% involving infants under 1 year old. Two infants have died, marking the first fatalities in Louisiana since 2018. Newborns are especially vulnerable to whooping cough because they have immature immune systems, said Dr Margot Anderson, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Tulane University In older kids, the virus is usually an “annoyance,” but its lengthy contagious period makes it easy to spread.
shine and intense heat across much of the region in the coming days.
The weather service is not likely to issue a heat advisory an alert about possibly dangerous heat conditions, but Wagner said the heat was about 3-5 degrees higher than normal for mid-May
“The fact that it is the first prolonged period of hot weather for the year means people might not be used to it,” Wagner said. Residents should remember to stay hydrated, take breaks if they are working outside and be aware of the heat, Wagner said.
Here’s the forecast for New Orleans:
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89 and a low around 74. Winds of up to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with afternoon highs nearing 90. Overnight lows near 75. Winds of up to 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high around 89 and a low near 75. Winds of up to 10 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny with a high near 89 and a low around 75. Winds of up to 10 mph.
Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey.bubnash@theadvocate. com.
“We used to call it the 100-day cough,” said Anderson “They’re contagious for at least three weeks of coughing.”
Overestimate error complicates city’s budget
BY BEN MYERS Staff writer
New Orleans officials overestimated 2024 property tax collections by $18 million, further complicating what has become a fraught year for city budgeting.
The revelation came during the quarterly Revenue Estimating Conference, when the city’s chief economist Matthew Cooper said he misjudged how much of the city’s assessed property taxes would actually be paid.
The error could have implications for other taxing bodies that rely on City Hall revenue estimates. The Orleans Parish School Board last year discovered a $50 million deficit, which school officials have partially blamed on bad revenue forecasting by the city Revenue collections have figured into a simmering feud between City Hall and the School Board over fees the city cuts out of sales taxes it collects on behalf of the schools. A $90 million settlement proposal was aborted late last year when Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city couldn’t afford to pay it, a claim that City Council members who supported the settlement disputed.
Administration officials who previously disagreed over the severity of the city’s budget woes eventually agreed there is no impending crisis, but there are concerns about
BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
New Orleans schools are bracing for possible funding cuts next fall as the Orleans Parish School Board debates how to close the district’s $25 million budget gap. Unless the board takes action, schools will like schools will get about $600 less per student this spring than the district
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
PHOTO PROVIDED By WWL-TV Leelani Brooks, 9, smiles in an undated photo. She remains in grave condition on life support after being shot in the head near the 1600 block of Elizardi Boulevard on Monday.
SHOOTING
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picking up her little sibling —she was holding that little siblingtoprotect that little sibling when she was shot in the head,” Kirkpatrick said.
Neighborhood residents were familiar with Rogers, who lived nearby and fit the suspect’sgeneral description, accordingto police. Magistrate commissioner Jonathan Friedman signed the arrest warrant Monday night. Previously,police were summonedinJune to Rogers’ addressinthe 1700 block of Elizardi Boulevard. Police said he strangled his mother after she asked him to do dishes, then strangled his grandmother and broke her walker,according to an affidavit for his arrest in that case.
That same month, he was accused of pushing his girlfriend’ssister, brandishinga handgun and threatening to “shoot her and shootupher (TullisDrive)residence,” according to court documents.
The following month, Rogers was accused of resisting arrest on suspicion of aggravated assault with a firearm and simple battery at his home, “putting his foot in the tire well of the (marked NOPD unit), hooking his feet around the legs of officers and pushing the door of the unit open with hisfeet,” according to court documents. Officers had seized from him astolen 9mm pistol and a15-round magazine, according to police records
On Feb. 19, all those caseswere closedwhen Rogers pleaded guilty in OrleansParish Criminal District Court to aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery,illegal possession of astolen firearm and resisting an officer and received asuspended 21/2-year sentence. He was released from Orleans JusticeCenter on Feb. 21. Awarrant was issued for his arrestonMay 1after his probation officerrevokedhis probation, according to records. The warrant was outstanding when police sayRogers shot the girl After theAlgiersgunbattle, witnesses picked out Rogers from alineup. U.S. marshals on Tuesday afternoon arrested him after afour-hour standoff at the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Terrytown. Rogers was booked into Jefferson Parish CorrectionalCenter.His bail has notbeen set. Leelani remainedin critical condition and on life support about noon Wednesday,accordingto reporting by WWL-TV
Hill, Huey Jackson, Michael JamesSr.,Herbert Joseph, Lula Joseph Sr.,Antoine Magee, Dianne Martin,Denise McGee, Barbara Moga Jr.,Adrian ProsperJr.,Patrick Rice, Genevieve Robinson Sr., James Shaw Jr., Charles Stansberry Montgomery, Jacquelyn Taylor,Ernest Thibodeaux, Raymond Vincent, Brenda Wicker,Harry EJefferson Garden of Memories
Boisdore,Marietta Patricia
MariettaPatricia Boisdorepassed away on April18, 2025, in New Orleans, LA, at theage of 67. Born on August 18, 1957, Marietta, affectionately called "Etta" by her family and friends, stood 5'11" and was lovingly known as "babygirl."
Marietta's education journey beganatSt. Gabriel and continuedat St.JamesMajor before she furthered her studiesat Tuskegee. Professionally, Mariettadedicated herself to hotel managementand caregiving,roles that allowedher to express her nurturing nature and commitment to service.
Ettafound joyinvarious hobbies including baking, crocheting, and reading. Her love forscience, photography, sewing, music, dancing, and water aerobics showcased her diverseinterests and vibrant spirit. Adevout member of St. Gabriel CatholicChurch, her faith was acornerstoneofher life,believing stronglythat through God, all thingsare possible.
Mariettaissurvived by her mother, Mayola Boisdore; siblings Bobby Boisdore, LaineSylve,Jean Sylve,LynnLeufroy,and ElliottMuhammad; ahost of nieces, nephews, greatnieces, and great-nephews and dear friend Stacie Burns. Herfather, Elliott Boisdore, and sister, JoAnn Smith, preceded her in death.
Bruff, Teresa NewOrleans Boyd Family Daggs,Dwayne McGee, Barbara Wicker,Harry Charbonnet Boissiere, Elaine Bailey
Hall Sr., Juan Joseph Sr.,Antoine Martin,Denise
Dennis FuneralHome
JamesSr.,Herbert
DW Rhodes Green,Louis
Servicestohonor Marietta'slife willbeheld on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at St. MartinDePorres CatholicChurch, located at 5621 Elysian Fields Ave NewOrleans, LA 70122. The schedule includes avisitation at 9AM, aRosary at 10 AM, followedbyMass at 11 AM. There will be no repass.
Xavier University,employ‐ees of TheRomi- Gonzalez and Associates LawFirm and SoutheastLouisiana Council of BoyScoutsof America areinvited to at‐tendthe funeral. AMassof Christian burial honoring the life andlegacyofthe lateElaineBaileyBoissiere willbeheldatSt. Maria Goretti Church,7300 Crow‐der Blvd NewOrleans,LA 70126 on Friday,May 16, 2025 at 11 am.Interment LakeLawnMetairieCeme‐tery. Visitation 9aminthe church.Pleasesignonline guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors (504)581 4411.
health team,Passages Hospice andThe Carrollton for theircompassionate careofTeresathislast year. Relativesand friends are invitedtoattendthe MemorialService at Gar‐den of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 AirlineDrive in MetairieLAonSaturday, May 17, 2025. Visitation will begin at 11 am andthe ser‐vicewillstart at 2pm. Pri‐vateinterment to follow.In lieuof flowers, donations may be made to St.Jude Children’sResearchHospi‐tal Foundation in memory ofTeresaBruff.
Celestine, TyronDonnell
also leaves behind ahost ofgrandchildren,great grandchildren,niecesand nephews,and familyand friends.Relatives and friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend thecelebra‐tionoflifeservice which willbeheldonFriday, May 17, 2025, at NewZionChris‐tianFamilyWorship Center located at 5040 Taravella RoadMarrero,La70072 PastorCarnell Bridgesis the host pastor,and BishopTyroneC.Washing‐ton,Sr.,officiating. Funeral planningentrusted to RobinsonFamilyFuneral Home9611 La -23, Belle Chasse,La70037. (504) 208 - 2119. Foronlinecondo‐lencespleasevisit www robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com
TyronDonnell Celestine, a native of NewOrleans and resident of Lake Charles,Louisiana,entered eternal rest on May1,2025, atthe ageof56. Born on January 10, 1969, Tyron lived alifemarkedbyquiet strengthand asignature sense of stylethatspoke volumes aboutthe manhe was.Hewas deeply loved byhis familyand admired bymany. Hisimpeccable style wasmorethanjust appearance-itwas an ex‐pressionofhis pride, confi‐dence,and presence.He leavestocherish hismem‐ory:His sonTyron Donnell Celestine II, themotherof his son, KynitraWatson; three sisters: Audrey Thomas, Beverly(Alfred) Harris, Lisette Jacobs and one survivingbrother Ken‐neth(Amanda)Celestine; along with ahostofrela‐tives andfriends whose lives were foreverenriched byhis presence.Hewas precededindeath by his fatherNathaniel Celestine Sr.,motherAudreyHaynes Celestine andbrother Nathaniel CelestineJr. Rel‐ativesand friendsofthe familyare invitedtoattend the CelebrationofLifeSer‐viceonSaturdayMay 17, 2025 for11:00 a.m. Visita‐tionbeginsat10:00 a.m. at Estelle J. Wilson Funeral Home, Inc. 2715 Danneel Street,New Orleans, La 70113. Rev. AntioneR.Ja‐cobsofficiating. Interment: Private.ArrangementsEn‐trusted To Estelle J. Wilson FuneralHome, Inc. 2715 Danneel Street,NOLA 70113. Information: (504) 895-4903. To sign online guest book please visit www.estellejwilsonfh.com
Dwayne CardellDaggs passedawayonMay 9, 2025, in NewOrleans,LAat the ageof54. Dwayne is survivedbyhis parents Bernice andNolan Daggs Jr.,his sonDwayneBrown daughters;D’lycia Daggs, Ayama Gabriel, siblings: Kenneth Daggs,LisaBlunt, Latonia DaggsRedditt ToddDaggs,Trenell Vallet, Chrissy Ancar, RoyRecas‐ner,Adriane Recasner Johnson anddevoted friendTheresa Rhea.Also survivedbya host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.Dwaynewas pre‐ceded in deathbyhis ma‐ternalgrandparentsEssie and CharleyTippen, and paternalgrandparents Stella andNolan DaggsSr. Familyand friendsare in‐vited to attend theHome‐going CelebrationService onFriday, May16, 2025, for 10:00 a.m. at NewHope Baptist Church,1807 Rev‐erend John RaphaelJr. Way,New Orleans, LA 70113. Visitation will begin at9:00a.m.PastorJamaal Weathersby, officiating. In‐terment will follow at Prov‐idenceMemorialParkand Mausoleum,8200 Airline Drive,Metairie, LA 70003 Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D.BoydOwners/FuneralDi‐rectors
Estelle JWilson
Celestine, Tyron
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Robinson Sr., James Lake Lawn Metairie
Moga Jr.,Adrian Shaw Jr., Charles Littlejohn FH
Magee, Dianne
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Amemorial ad is away to pay tributetoyourlovedone. This remembrance is often printedon the anniversary of aloved one's death. Formoreinformation on howtoplace an "In Memory Of" ad, call 504-636-7400 The deadline is four days prior to the dayyou want your ad to appear
Majestic Mortuary Hill, Huey Joseph, Lula Vincent, Brenda River Parish
Hobson BrownFH Taylor,Ernest
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Emmons,Ann
Elaine Bailey Boissiere peacefullypassedawayon Wednesday,May 7, 2025 at the ageof81. Shewas born May 20, 1943 in NewOr‐leans to thelateFelton, Sr and Alma Angelety Bailey She grew up in theseventh wardand attended Valena C.Jones andCorpusChristi Elementaryschoolsand graduated from Xavier Preparatory High School in 1961. Afterhighschool she attendedSouthernUniver‐sityofNew Orleansand AVOTECSchool of Cosme‐tology.After completing her cosmetology studies she opened herown shop where sheservedthe com‐munity formanyyears Later sheworkedasa parimutualatNew Orleans Fairgrounds, an adminis‐tratorfor theTechnical TrainingDesignand in Civil DistrictCourt as aclerk of Judge Okla Jones. Elaine is survivedbyher beloved husband of 60 years, Lam‐bertBoissiere, Jr;children, Lambert Boissiere, III (Michelle)and Monique Boissiere-Shaw,(Joshua); grandchildren,Morgane Lambert,IV, andAndre “AJ”; siblings,Brenda Gaines, Jean Henryand Errol Bailey (Susan); brother in law, Renard Boissiere, Sr.(Antoinette); sisters in law, Lindaand Jo‐hanna Bailey,aswellasa hostofniecesand nephews,other relatives and friends. In addition to her parents, Elaine is also precededindeath by brothers, Felton,Kenneth and RonnieBailey. Rela‐tives,friends andemploy‐ees of FirstCityCourt Con‐stables Office,Judges, Clerk andemployees of First City Court, Judges and employees of Municipal and TrafficCourt of New Orleans, employees of
With deep sadnesswe announcethe passingof TeresaSchlehBruff, of Harahan Louisiana, on May 5,2025. Teresa wasa kind, lovingand beautifulper‐son both inside andout She shared with us herjoy humor andgood nature every day, punctuated by her infectious laughand lovelysmile.She metthe loveofher life andbest friendBradley Bruffinhigh school,and they were mar‐riedfor thepast26years Teresaisalsosurvivedby siblingsGeorgeSchleh (Nancy) andKaroline Schleh(Sean Gerowin).She adoredher nieces and nephews Mariaand LysanderSchleh(Bi), Hanni and BanksGerowin,Rachel Bruff Lambuth(Will), Renee Bruff, grandnephew WulfSchlehand grand‐niece Olivia Lambuth. Daughterofthe late Ingrid and Walter Schleh.Teresa alsoleavesbehindher beloved dogFarleywho followedher everywhere Following graduation from Riverdale High School, TeresaattendedTulane Universitywhere shepur‐suedand completeda BachelorofScience in Ma‐rineBiology.Teresahad a lifelongloveofanimals and found this majortobe a perfectmatch forher passion.Her career,how‐ever, followed adifferent path. Asuperblyorganized personwitha flairfor decor,Teresastarted aca‐reer in hotelbanquet man‐agement in Memphisbe‐forereturning to NewOr‐leans to continue herful‐fillingand lengthycareer atthe RoyalSonesta Hotel. Teresafeltblessedtohave manylifelongfriends that originatedfromMemphis and theRoyal Sonesta. Be‐forereturning to herhome inNew Orleans, shealso had ashort career in the movie business and workedon films“Heavy‐weights”starringBen Stiller,“AFamilyThing starringRobertDuvalland James Earl Jonesand oth‐ers.Alwaysthoughtful, Teresamadesuretoget souvenirs forher nieces and nephews, includingan autographedsoftballfrom James Earl Jones. Afterre‐tiringfroma career in ho‐telsTeresastudied andbe‐camea jeweler. She started hersmall business under theTSB labeldesign‐ing andproducing handcrafted pieces in 2008. Her jewelry line reflectedher abundantcreativity, like her signatureringthe ‘Schlehtini’thatare color‐ful anddazzling. In recent years shegreatly enjoyed being abench jewelerfor GOGOJewelry.Teresaex‐celledasanartistand craftspersonwithmany talents andcreativeout‐lets, includingseamstress, costume designer,crochet, cross-stitching, and painter.She designed de‐lightfulcostumesfor her niecesand nephewsand oncecollaboratedwithher fathertomakeanamusing lifesizesheep.She enjoyed bread anddessert baking too, followinga familytra‐dition. Thoroughly steeped inher German heritage, she oftenparticipatedin Deutsches Haus activities asa third-generation cele‐brator. Teresa greatlyad‐mired performing artists and at thetop were Cyndi Lauperand Cher,singers thatshe sawliveoften.The comedic actors Lucille Ball JohnCandy andMartin Short always made her laugh no matter whatchar‐acter they played.Lifewith Teresahad guaranteed daily infusionsofcomedy, humor andlaughter. Most important though washer dedicationtoher family and especially herparents She sacrificedsomuch, but in loving support, to takecareofIngrid’sand Walter’shealthand wel‐fare. We thankher Ochsner
Vernell"Shot Gun" , Pops"Collins.February 15, 1948 -May 05, 2025. Ver‐nellCollins wasbornon February15, 1948 in Lib‐erty, MS.; Vernellwas born tothe late Esco Collins, Sr and AnoraCannonCollins Vernell passedaway peacefully on May05, 2025 atMarrero Healthcare Cen‐ter in Marrero, LA.; He was precededindeath by a son,Bernell Collins; par‐ents, Esco Collins, Sr.& El‐noraCannonCollins., Esco Collins,Jr.,Lee RoyCollins Sr. FrankCollins,Carolyn TobiasCollins,and Sliza‐bethCollins.Vernellat‐tendedCentral High school inliberty,MS.;Asa young adult Vernellmoved to New Orleans, Louisiana where he residedfor years beforemovingtoMarrero Vernell retiredfrom Ochaner hospital after 30 years where he worked in environmental services.He enjoyed hisSundays watchingfootball,moreso the Saints andlongdays playing hisguitar. Spend‐ing time with hisfamily and grandchildrenalways brought asmile to hisface. Heleavestocherish his memories, hiswifeDolores Collins,4 children,Vernell Collins,Sr. (lisa),Nakia Collins,Deshawnna Collins, and TarrellCollins,Sr.,Sib‐lings Shirley(le Voice) Weary of BeauxBridge, LA.; Edell Collins, Sr.OfNew Or‐leans,LAl.; WilliamCollins, Sr. (Yvonne)ofHuntsville A;EvelynCollins Webb of liberty,MS.;Linda Toney (Dwayne)ofloganville, GA.;and Elua Jackson (Melvin) of liberty, MS.; He
Armond John Dinet, Jr., age 88, passedaway peacefully at hishomeon Sunday, May4,2025, sur‐rounded by theloveofhis wife, children,and grand‐children. He departed this world gently andwithout pain—just as he lived— withgrace,quiet strength, and unwavering devotion tohis family. Armond leavesbehindhis beloved wife, Virginia SylveDinet, his cherished“Me Honey, of64beautiful years. Their lovewas ashining exam‐ple of faith,commitment, and enduring partnership. Together,theybuilt alife rootedinlove, resilience and deep familyvalues. He was adevoted father to six children: TammyMonley (Michael),Cindy Ancar (Dwayne Sr.),Wendy Walker(David),AbbeyTay‐lor (James), Armond Dinet III (Candice), andNicholas Dinet Sr.(Hillary).Armond guidedhis children with wisdom, compassion,and quiet strength.Hewas a constantpresenceintheir lives,leading by example and instillingthe values of faith,hardwork, integrity, and unconditionallove. His grandchildren:BonnieSue GlynJr.,DwayneJr.,Dylan, Shawnna,TyroneJr.,Ar‐mondIV, Isaiah,Neijhel, Amiah,NicholasJr.,Rae‐gan,Dalton, andgreatgrandchildren were his pride andjoy,and hissmile shinedbrightest in their presence. He is also sur‐vived by hissister, Virginia, and brothers Anthony, Terry,and Craig, alongwith his much-loved brother-inlaw,Richard Sylve, anda hostofnieces, nephews, family, andfriends.Hewas
Espinoza, Zashaun Green,Louis
Bruff, Teresa Schleh
Hall Sr., Juan Henderson, Elexia
Boissiere, Elaine
DinetJr.,ArmondJohn
Dixon, Lanier
Collins, Vernell
4B ✦ Thursday,May15,2025 ✦ nola.com ✦ TheTimes-Picayune preceded in deathbyhis father, Armond DinetSr.; his mother,AnnieCasbon Alexis; hissister, Bessie; and hisbrother,Rufin. Beloved uncles andfriends who also preceded himin death includeHermanCas‐bon,VernonSt. Ann(Uncle Kat), Joseph Alexis,Eddie Phillips, EmileMartin, and Bernard Martin.Inhis early years,Armondlived in har‐monywiththe land and watersofLouisiana,work‐ing as a fisherman, hunter, and trapper—more than justwork, it waspartof who he was. He laterbe‐camea skilledbutcher firstatPetrovich Market, and then at Martin’s Gro‐ceries, both of which he loved.Drivenbyanentre‐preneurialspirit, he even‐tuallypurchased Martin’s and transformeditintothe beloved HappyJackSuper‐market, apillarofthe Happy Jack community for manyyears.Astimes changed,hefollowedhis heart back to thewater convertingthe storeinto Armond’sBaitShop, where hereconnected with his lifelongpassion.Healso servedhis community with pride throughhis work withthe Plaquemines ParishGovernmentfor 10 years.Armondwas a proud andgeneroussup‐porterofSt. Jude School and Church,especially known forhis presence at the semi-annualTurkey Shoot,where he lovingly ran hisfamousfried fish booth. Hisservice wasal‐waysgiven with joyand deep devotion to the schoolhedearlyloved.The Dinet familywishesto ex‐press heartfeltgratitude to the many compassionate hands that caredfor their Dad during his finaldays. Special thanks to Dr.Shibu Varughese (oncologist),Dr. CodyHill(pulmonologist), Dr. DavidHutchinson(car‐diologist), West Jefferson Medical Center,St. Joseph Hospice (Tasha), Robinson FamilyFuneral Home Plaquemines Parish Police Department, Plaquemines ParishFireDepartment, Plaquemines Parish EMS, and thestaff of Walmart Pharmacy. Aprofound thank youtocaregiversLil‐lianCarmon, Lenetta Williams,and CarolSylve whose gentle presence and loving care brought peace andcomfort to our fatherand family. Though our hearts areheavy,we rejoice in knowingheis now at peace. Hisspirit lives on in each of us—and inevery cherishedmemory weholdclose.Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattend the memorialservice which willbeheldonSaturday, May 17, 2025, at OLPH Catholic Church locatedat 8968 LA-23, BelleChasse LA70037. Thefamilywill receive guests beginning at9 a.m.,and services will begin at 11 a.m. Father Kyle Daveofficiatingand inter‐mentwillbeprivately held Funeral planning entrusted toRobinsonFamilyFuneral Home, 9611LA-23, Belle Chasse,LA70037, (504) 208-2119. Foronlinecondo‐lences, please visitwww robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com
Lanier Dixon, age 88, passedawaypeacefullyin his sleeponSaturday, May 3,2025 at OchsnerMedical Center. He wasborn in Utica,MSonJuly18, 1936 tothe late R. J. andAmy Lee Dixon. Afterrelocating toNew Orleansand begin‐ninga career as along‐shoremanwithILA Local 3000, Mr.Dixon wasjoined inHolyMatrimony to the loveofhis life,Pauline T. Dixon on November 12,1961 and to this union,two chil‐drenwereborn. After17 years as alongshoreman, heretired andbecamea beloved presence at local establishmentsincluding Simmons Lounge,The Bot‐tom Line andespecially Bertha’sPlace,where he servedover20years as a doorman. He wasaffec‐tionately knownfor his sharp styleand bigperson‐ality. He is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, PaulineT.Dixon;children, Rev.Dr. Asters E. Dixon, Sr., Sherri Bransonand bonus son,Shareef Dawson; grandchildren,Chelsea C. Wheeler (Jeron)and Asters Dixon,Jr; great-grandchil‐dren, Nova Renee’ and Cairo Lanier Wheeler; sib‐lings,Charles Dixonand Idella Williams (Clarence); sister-in-law,Marilyn Dixon, as well as ahostof
nieces,nephews and friends.Inadditiontohis parents,MrDixon is also precededindeath by his siblings, Mary LeeHender‐son,R.J Jr Willie Lee (Joan), Mack andEsters Dixon (Melissy); sister-inlaw,Carlene Dixon and great-grandson, Noah Rayne Wheeler.Lanier “Dixon” Dixon’slegacy lives on in thecountless lives he touchedwithhis wit,style andunwavering dedicationtofamilyand the community.A Celebra‐tionservice honoring the lifeand legacy of thelate Lanier"Dixon" Dixonwill beheldinthe Chapel of CharbonnnetLabat Glapion FuneralHome, 1615 St.PhilipStreet,New Orleans,LA70116 on Fri‐day,May 16, 2025 at 10 am IntermentMount Olivet Cemetery. Visitation 9am inthe chapel.Pleasesign onlineguestbook at www charbonnetfuneralhome. com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581 4411.
Duronslet, DeolaGautier
DeolaGautier Duronslet passedawayMonday, May 12, 2025, at theage of 93 She wasborninVacherie, Louisiana to Georgina Oubre Gautierand Whit‐moreGautier,Sr. Deola was raised on thefamily farminWallace,Louisiana, adjacenttoRiver Road.She learned how to drivea manualstick shiftvehicle tohelpout on thefarm. She wasthe fourth of eight children. Deolamet and married O’Neil Duronslet, Sr.,and movedto Lucy/Edgard,Louisiana, where shelived forthe next71years.She wasem‐ployedasa Paraprofes‐sionalfor theSt. John the Baptist School System.She spent many dedicated years at Leon Godchaux School in Reserve, Louisiana.After 19 yearsof working in SpecialEduca‐tion, sheretired to care for her mother.In1969, Deola becamea member of the Knights of PeterClaver LadiesAuxiliary,Ladiesof Perpetual Help Court66, and remained amember until herdeath.Deola also dedicated many yearsas anExtraordinary Minister ofHolyCommunion at St Johnthe BaptistChurch Along with herhusband O’Neil, shespent many years openingthe Church inthe morninginprepara‐tionfor Sunday Mass Deola leaves to cherishher son O’Neil V. Duronslet, Jr (Kim),sister, Lois Green,5 grandchildren,and 7greatgrandchildren.She is sur‐vived by ahostofnieces, nephews,and godchildren Deola wasprecededin death by herparents GeorginaOubre Gautier and WhitmoreGautier,Sr. her husband,O’NeilV Duronslet,Sr.,son Gregory PaulDuronslet,daughter Danielle Duronslet, sister AllisonRoussel,brothers Perry,Stanford, Whitmore, Larry,and Elwood Gautier (Mary). Relativesand friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend aMassof Christian Burial honoring Deola G. Duronsletat10:00 a.m., Saturday,May 17, 2025, at St.Johnthe Baptist Catholic Church,2361 High‐way 18,Edgard, LA 70049 Visitationbeginsat8:00 a.m.withrecitationofthe Rosaryat9:00a.m.Inter‐mentwillfollowat St.John the BaptistCatholicChurch Cemetery. Finalarrange‐ments entrustedtoPatrick H.Sanders FuneralHome& FuneralDirectors,LLC,605 MainStreet, Laplace, LA 70068, 985-359-1919. “Pro‐vidingCare& Comfortis Our HighestMission.”
NewOrleans,Louisiana on February18, 1948. Sheis survivedbyher children; Tommy Emmons II and StaceyMorganaswellas her precious grandchil‐dren, Joseph,Taylor, Ash‐leigh,Hunter,Mason, Kevin,Corrin, Hannah,and Wyatt. Sheisalsosurvived byher siblings;Pete AmadeoJr. andJoseph Amadeo; andgreat-grand‐children, nieces,nephews, cousins,and wonderful lifelongfriends.She was precededindeath by her parents,Peter Amadeo and MaryHaar;her oldest daughter, Michelle Em‐monsHarding;and sister RoseAmadeoRaziano After graduating from Riverdale High School in Jefferson,Louisiana,she wentontoenjoy along successfulcareer as an ad‐ministrator at ATTfor 30 plusyears.Through ATT, she wasabletorelocate several timestodifferent locations throughout northernGeorgia.She was fortunate enough to be abletospend 25 yearsin the stateand really getthe mostout of hertimethere Her personalityexempli‐fied loving life,and sheal‐waysknewhow to make the most of herfreetime. Thisrangedfromshopping torelaxingonthe porchin her rockingchair andsip‐pinga margaritas andtak‐ing in theambiance. She was also agiver andwas abletodedicateher time ensuringher cats hada safe andcomfortable hometolivein. Herwarm presencewillbegreatly missedbyher loving fam‐ily andmultitude of friends.Contributions in memoryofAnn maybe madetoBig SkyRanch / CATNIPFoundationofFol‐som,Louisiana.Relatives and friendsare invitedto attendthe funeralservice atMaryQueen of Peace Catholic Church 1501 West CausewayApproach Man‐deville,LA70471 on Friday 5/16/2025 at 12:00 PM with a visitation to beginat 11:00 PM.E.J.FieldingFu‐neral Home hasbeen en‐trusted with funeral arrangements. TheEm‐monsfamilyinvites youto share thoughts,fondest memories, andcondo‐lencesonlineatE.J.Field‐ing FuneralHomeGuest Book at www.ejfieldingfh com
In Loving Memory of Za‐shaun Espinoza,March 16, 1999 –April 30, 2025. With heartsfullofloveand sor‐row,wehonor thelifeand legacyofZashaun Es‐pinoza, abeloved son, brother,uncle,and friend whose spirit shonebrightly eveninlife’sdarkest mo‐ments.BornonMarch 16, 1999, in Avondale Louisiana,Zashaun was the treasuredson of Kerry Brown, Jr.and Bertha Es‐pinoza, anda proudmem‐ber of alarge,close-knit familywho broughthim deep joyand unwavering strength. From an early age,Zashaun demon‐strated aquiet resilience and aheart full of hope BaptizedatLifeCenter Cathedral,hewas rooted infaith that carriedhim through everyseasonof life. AgraduateofJohn Ehret High School by way ofdetermination andgrit, helater earned hisGED,re‐fusingtolet anychallenge define hisfuture. In every stephetook,Zashaun soughttorisehigher, to growstronger, andtobe better—notjustfor him‐self, butfor thoseheloved Zashaun’slovefor family was therhythmofhis life Hewas abrother who en‐couraged, ason who hon‐ored, andanuncle who adoredand protectedhis niecesand nephewslike theywerehis own. Whethersharing laughs in the living room or offering a word of comfortwhen thingsweretough,Za‐shaun’spresencebrought peace.Hefound great pride in familygatherings and valued everybondthat tiedthemtogether. A giftedathlete,Zashaun lit upthe football fieldat JohnnyJacobsPlayground where he andhis team‐mates earned champi‐onshiptitlesand lifelong memories. Beyond the game, he carriedthat samespiritofteamwork and perseverance into the workplace at Loup Linen, where he wasknown for his reliability, hiswork ethic,and asmile that could brighten anyone’s day.Zashaun livedwithhu‐mility andgrace.Lifewas
notalwayseasy, buthe faced everytrial with courage andquiet strength. He didn’t seek at‐tention—hesimplylived withpurpose.His compas‐sionwas sincere, his laughtercontagious, and his loyaltyunshakable. He had away of making peo‐ple feel seen,valued, and loved.Heislovinglyre‐memberedbyhis parents, Kerry andBertha, his grandmother ShirleyEs‐pinoza, hisgrandfather Kerry Brown, Sr., andhis devoted siblings:Zyrah Nhoja,Jonyanna,Jawine, Unique, Jayden Espinoza and Kerryelle,Kerrick, KiRee, Kaorie Brown, and Kerry Leagea.Healso leavesbehindeight ador‐ing nieces andnephews,a hostofaunts, uncles, cousins,and friends—in‐cluding hisuncle,Pastor DamianJ.Brown, andFran‐cis Espinoza (Alicia)—all of whomwillcarry hismem‐ory in theirhearts. Za‐shaun nowrests in eternal peace,reunitedwithhis paternalgrandmother Diane Davis, andgreatgrandmothers, Vonne Davis andBerthaHarris—a heavenlyhomecomingthat offersuscomfort amid the pain. Though Zashaun’s timeonearth wasbrief,his lifewas filledwithmean‐ing.His storyisnot oneof sorrow, butofstrength, love, andtriumph over ad‐versity.Hetaughtushow tokeep going,how to love deeply,and howtorise above.His legacy liveson inevery life he touched, and hislight will never fade. Relativesand friends ofthe familyare invitedto attendthe celebrationof lifeservice which will be heldonFriday, May16, 2025, at Little Zion Baptist Church,433 Avondale Gar‐den Road,Avondale, LA 70094. Thevisitationwill begin at 8:30 a.m.,and the service will beginat10 a.m.PastorDamienJ Brown officiating, andin‐terment will follow at Rest‐lawnMemorialParkCeme‐teryinAvondale, La.Fu‐neral planning entrustedto RobinsonFamilyFuneral Home, 9611 La-23, Belle Chasse,La. 70037, (504) 208-2119. Foronlinecondo‐lences, please visitwww robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com
With sadnessweshare the passingofLouis An‐thony Green,onApril 22 2025. Please visitwww.rho desfuneral.comtoview service information, sign onlineguestbook,send flowersand sharecondo‐lences.
Juan AnthonyHall, Sr., a beloved father,grandfa‐ther, brotherand friend, entered eternalreston Saturday, May3,2025 at the ageof60. Born on Jan‐uary10, 1965 in NewOr‐leans,LA, Juan is theloving son of thelateGertrude Hall. Mr.Hallisa graduate ofAlfredLawless High School.Heleavesbehinda legacyofloveand cher‐ished memories in the heartsofhis four children Javonn(Davy,II) Crocklen, TaJuanand Juan Hall,Jr. and EbonyLindsey;seven grandchildren,Davy, III, Davyenand Davynchi Crocklen, Tamia, Larayon, Raijahonand EgyptBrown; devoted siblings,Carolyn Johnson,Keith,Clifton (Barbara),Wanda andEd‐wardHall; best friend Henry Charles, Jr;cousin, Byron Harrell; close friends,StevieJenkins and ClarenceTriche, alongwith a host of nieces,nephews other relativesand dear friends.Inaddition to his mother, Juan is also pre‐ceded in deathbysiblings, George, Lindaand Elaine Hall. Relativesand friends; employees of ILA3000 and Oakpark Village of Slidell are invitedtoattend the funeral. ACelebration ser‐
vice honoring thelifeand legacyofthe late Juan A. Hall, Sr., will be held at BeaconLight International Baptist Cathedral, 1937 MirabeauAvenue,New Or‐leans,LA70122 on Satur‐day,May 17, 2025 at 11 am IntermentProvidence MemorialPark& Mau‐soleum, 8200 AirlineDrive, Metairie, LA 70003. Apublic viewing will beginat10am inthe church.Repastto followatLivaudais Hall 2205 Second Street,New Orleans,LA70113. Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581-4411.
Henderson, Elexia Owens
Elexia OwensHender‐son,a lifelong resident of Mount Airy,Louisiana,de‐partedearthly life forher eternal home on Monday, May 5, 2025, at theage of 91. Belovedwifeofthe late LawrenceHenderson,Jr.; daughterofthe late Dee Branham andEva Mae Owens;daughter-in-law of the late Lawrence Sr.and Justine Nelson Henderson, sister-in-law of thelate Doris H. Jacksonand es‐pousedmotherofthe late JosephRonaldFranklin. Godmother of thelate SharonSealy andChad Coleman.She wasthe motherofWendell B. Hen‐derson(Paula),Brandon B. Henderson (Tonya), and MaryFranklinGreen; grandmother of 10 grand‐children, and7 greatgranddaughters; sister,of Lucinda OwensBrooks; sis‐ter-in-lawofJames Brooks, Richard andShirley Manuel, Allenand JanieVee Henderson,Grace H. Spearsand Lois H. Duhe; aunt of numerous nephews,nieces, otherrel‐atives, andfriends.Rela‐tives,friends of family, Pastors,officers andmem‐bersofFirst Community Antioch BaptistChurch and all neighboringChurches are invitedtothe Funeral Service at 11:00am on Fri‐day,May 16, 2025, at First Community AntiochBap‐tistChurch,10860 LA Hwy 3125, Lutcher, LA 70071. Dr StevenD.Beckham,Host Pastorand Reverend Willie LawsofLutcher Chapel UME,Officiating. Visitation 9:00amuntil thetimeofFu‐neral.Interment St.Peters Catholic Cemetery,1550 LA-44, Reserve, LA 70084 Final Arrangements En‐trusted to PatrickH Sanders FuneralHome& FuneralDirectors,LLC.605 MainStreet,Laplace,LA 70068. 985-359-1919. “Pro‐vidingCare& Comfortis Our HighestMission.” There will also be apublic visitationonThursday, May 15, 2025, from 4:00pm until 7:00pm at thePatrick H.Sanders FuneralHome, 605 Main Street,Laplace, LA70068.
Huey LeeHill, abeloved father, educator,and life‐longadvocateoflearning and community, passed awaypeacefullyonMon‐day,April 28, 2025, sur‐rounded by hislovingfam‐
ily. He wasblessedwith92 years of life,wisdom, and purpose.Hueywas born on January 2, 1933, in Grosse Tete, Louisiana, to thelate DallasHilland thelateCor‐nelia Hill.Hegrewupwith a strong senseofpurpose and dedication that guided him throughout hislife. He graduated from Booker T. WashingtonHighSchool in New Orleans, Louisiana, and went on to attend GramblingState University, where he earned aBache‐lor of Arts degree in Educa‐tionand proudlyplayed football forthe legendary GSU Tigers under thedirec‐tionofthe late Coach EddieRobinson. Whilein college,Hueywas drafted intothe United States Armyand served honor‐ablyinNew York before re‐turning to complete hised‐ucation.Helater earned his Master's Degree in Edu‐cationfromBallState Uni‐versity,further demon‐stratinghis deep commit‐menttoacademicexcel‐lence.Hueybegan hispro‐fessional career as an edu‐cator at RalphJ.Bunche School andservedinvari‐ous teaching andadminis‐trative rolesthroughout the JeffersonParishPublic School System.Healso coached,bringingthe samepassion anddisci‐pline he hadonthe field intothe livesofyoung ath‐letes.Heeventuallyretired fromEastJefferson High School,where he worked in administration, cappingoff a long andimpactful ca‐reer in public education. In additiontohis servicein education,Hueywas a businesspioneer.He ownedand operated abar‐bershop in Kenner, Louisiana,one of theearli‐est Black-ownedbarber‐shops in thearea. Hisshop was more than aplace for grooming; it wasa trusted gathering spacewhere community,mentorship, and brotherhood thrived. Hueywas adevoted mem‐ber of CalvaryTabernacle, where he served faithfully under many pastors. He spent thelast19years under theleadershipofhis son,Rev.Duane A. Hill Sr., findinggreat joyand pride inworshipingwithfamily. Hewas also deeply in‐volvedincivic andfrater‐nal life andwas aproud memberofseveral es‐teemed organizations, in‐cluding KappaAlpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. A.V. Williams Chapter#178 Order of EasternStar, PrinceHallAffiliation; Platta Temple #15, Ancient ArabicOrder of theNobles ofthe Mystic Shrine,Prince HallAffiliation;Knights Templar,PrinceHallAffilia‐tion; Holy RoyalArchMa‐sons, PHA. Stateof Louisiana;EurekaConsis‐tory#7: andThe Mt.Olive Lodge #21, Free &Ac‐ceptedMasons, Prince Hall Affiliation. He leaves to cherish hismemoryhis son,Duane A. Hill Sr (Sharon); hisbeloved baby sister, Mary Williams;and a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, andex‐tendedfamilywhomhe deeply cherished. Huey was preceded in deathby his belovedwife, JoyWell Hill; hisparents,Dallasand CorneliaHill; hissister, RubyPruitt; hissister-inlaw,AmandaBall; hisinlaws, Nancyand Bennie Woodard,and Welsey and ConnieWells;and his nephew, Wilbur "Peewee" Pruitt. Huey's legacy lives onthrough thefamilyhe loved,the students he taught, thelives he men‐tored,and thecommuni‐tiesheserved. He will be rememberedfor hiswis‐dom,humility, strong faith, and unwavering love.Rela‐tives andfriends of the family, also Pastors, Offi‐cers, andMembers of Cal‐varyTabernacleCME,all neighboring churches,and all affiliatedorganizations are invitedtoattend the WakeService on Friday, May 16, 2025 at 7:00 pm at Calvary Tabernacle CME, 3629 DryadesSt.,NOLA 70115. Viewingwillbegin at 6:00pm. TheFuneral Ser‐vicewillbeheldonSatur‐day,May 17, 2025 at 10:00 amatLawless Chapel,Dil‐lardUniversity, 2601 Gen‐tilly Blvd., NOLA 70122. Rev. MaggieC.Banks,officiat‐ing.Visitationwillbegin at 9:00am. Intermentwillbe inLakeLawnParkCeme‐tery. Professional arrange‐mentsentrusted to Majes‐
Green, LouisAnthony
Espinoza,Zashaun
Dixon, Lanier
Hall Sr., Juan Anthony
Hill,HueyLee
ticMortuaryService,Inc., (504)523-5872.
DOD: 5-12-25. Age:73
Resident of: Laplace, LA
Visitation: Friday, May 16, 2025, 11am-12pm Oakland Baptist Church, Kenner, LA
Funeral: Saturday, May 16, 2025, 12am Oakland Baptist Church, Kenner, LA Richardson Funeral Home of Louisiana Amite, LA.
Mr.Herbert B. "HB", Paw","Beda"James,Sr., joinedhis heavenly father onThursday, May1,2025 at the ageof84yrs.old.He was born on July 14, 1940 in Mount Hermon,La. to the lateTommieJames and Willie MaeVarnado.Her‐bertisthe loving husband of52yrs.tothe late Mary James,devoted father of Herbert Jr., Arnold (Ateja), HermeldaJames,Joycelyn (thelateLawrence) Hagan, and thelateHerbert Alexander,and Doris James;cherished brother ofClarenceL.(Fannie) James,Sr.,PaulineBar‐barain, andthe late Her‐man (VeraLee), Ernest James,Catherine Washing‐ton,Areciea Martinez,Cora BellDennis, Myrtle and DoraLee Brumfield. Also survivedby10grandchil‐dren, 16 greatgrandchil‐dren, alongtimefriend HopeLloyd,and ahostof nieces, nephews, otherrel‐ativesand friends. Rela‐tives andfriends of the family, also pastors, offi‐cers, andmembers of Pro‐claimingChristChurchand all neighboringchurches are allinvited to attend his Celebration of Life service Friday, May16, 2025 at 10:00 am at SolidRock Christian Fellowship,1817 Rev.Richard Wilson Hwy. Kenner, La.PastorDarren Burnette Host Pastor;Pas‐tor Darryl Wilson,Officiat‐ing Minister (Proclaiming ChristChurch). Interment willfollowatProvidence MemorialPark, 8200 Airline Dr.,Metairie, La.Visitation willbegin at 9:00 am in the above-named church.To viewthe full obituary and leave condolences, please visit https://www.dennism ortuaryservice.com/ obituary/herbert-james-sr
Lula Craft Joseph,a na‐
tiveofNew Orleans, LA and resident of Marrero, LA entered into eternalrest onTuesday,May 6, 2025 at age 74.Lulawas born to the late ElderJohnHenry Craft andAnnieMae Craft She wasmarried to the lateArthur LeeEvans and the late KennethJoseph. Lulahad 7children; Stacy Evans,Terrence, Keturah, and JemimahJosephand the late NikkiCraft and KennedraJoseph. Shehad 7 sisters: ErnestineCarroll (Alvin),Charlotte Payton (Ralph),Alsenia Robertson, and thelateBerthaSeals, RoseKirkland, Carolyn Williams,and Emma Growe.She had7 grand‐children, Sheria Pierre (Kelvin), Sierra Williams, JonathanSmith Jr., Ter‐rence Jr., Kaleb, Kaydan Joseph, andKingstonMar‐tin:3 greatgrandchildren SkyePierre, Terrence JosephIII andTyler Joseph Celebration of Life will be heldatGentillyBaptist Church5141 Franklin Ave. NOLA70122onSaturday, May 17, 2025at10:00am Viewing from 9:00am until servicetime. Intermentat
Mount Olivet Cemetery 4000 NormanMayer Ave. New Orleans70122.Profes‐sionalArrangementsEn‐trusted to Majestic Mortu‐ary Service, Inc. (504) 5235872.
Joseph Sr., Antoine'Papa'
Antoine"Papa"Joseph, Sr.,was born to thelate Antoine,Sr. andDelsina Jones Joseph on August 22 1930 in NewOrleans,LA. He completed hiseducation in the OrleansParishSchool system andafter graduat‐ing,enlistedin theU.S Army, where he washonor‐ablydischarged, aftertwo years of service. Beloved husband of thelateWillie Mae DixonJoseph. Sur‐vivorsinclude hischildren, Tyrone(Katherine),Sandra (Charles) Johnson, Cynthia (Glen,Sr.)Minor andDar‐ryl,Sr. (Brandy) Joseph; grandchildren,GlenMinor, Jr.,Lakeisha(Danny),An‐toine Minor, AltonJohnson, EricMinor,DarrylJr., Quianne,DeJuan, Emily and JacobJoseph; nine great grandchildren; brother,Issac (Joyce)John‐son,a host of otherrela‐tives andfriends.Inaddi‐tiontohis wife andpar‐ents, Mr.Josephisalso precededindeath by his stepfather, AntoineDupre; siblings, Bartholemess Ro‐bichaux andGloriaJ.Jack‐son.A Viewingwillbeheld inthe Chapel of Charbon‐net LabatGlapion Funeral Home, 1615 St.Philip Street,New Orleans, LA 70116 on Friday,May 16 2025 from 4pmto6 pm.A Celebration servicehonor‐ing thelifeand legacy of the late Antoine"Papa" Joseph, Sr., will be held at New Hope BaptistChurch, 5856 Greenwell Springs Road, BatonRouge,LAon Saturday, May17, 2025 at 10am. Visitation 9amin the church.Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery, New Orleans, LA.Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581-4411.
Magee, Dianne Anders
Dianne Anders Magee affectionatelyknown as “Turkey” or “Hen”entered intoeternal rest on Sun‐day,May 4, 2025, at herres‐idence. Mother of Vantonia DemetriaJames.Grand‐motherofChristopher An‐ders. Greatgrandmother of Kristen andKaneAnders and Kathlynn Worthy.Sis‐ter of CharlesAndresII, SheliaAnders, Denise (Michael) Martin,Sr. Sis‐ter-in-lawofDebra Andres and CassandraBrown of Enterprise, Alabama. Aunt ofTeahOwens (Lameurl), April Anders,Dimaraand Jasmine Davis, Henry James,Jr. and Bradley Breaux. Also survived by other relativesand friends. She wasprecededindeath byher parents, Charles Lee, Sr.and RuthMae War‐rensAnders, herhusband Fleet MageeJr.,fourbroth‐ers:Bobby,Reginaldand Clifton Anders andHenry James,one sister Delores Quinn, twonephews: Charles III andKeith An‐ders. One greatnephew Christian Carrier. Relatives and friendsare invitedto attend thefuneral service onFriday, May16, 2025, at St. JamesMethodist Church,1925 UrsulinesAve, beginning 11 am.Church visitation10amuntil ser‐vicetime. On Saturday May 17,2025, therewill alsobea funeralservice at Greater HayesCreek Bap‐tist Church,31499 Hayes Creek Rd., Franklinton, LA 70438 beginningat11am. Church visitation 10 am.In‐terment GreaterHayes Creek BaptistChurch Cemetery. Professional service entrustedtoLittle‐johnFuneralHome, 2163 Aubry Street,Cal K. John‐son,FuneralDirector/Man‐ager Info: (504) 940-0045
Martin,DeniseBlanchard
On Tuesday, May6,2025 DeniseBlanchard Martin transitionedtoher heav‐enlyhomeintothe loving armsofher Lord andSav‐ior,Jesus Christ.Wifeof the late Joseph M. Martin Beloved daughter of the lateEdgar,Sr. andMildred PerrilliatBlanchard.She is survivedbyher children, SharonMartin(Mike), Darolyn Martin,D’Andrea MartinWinchester(Freder‐ick), KarenMartin(Alfred), Keith Martin (Valerie)and Karla Martin;darling grandchildren,Kelli D. Scott-Hamilton (Clark,Jr.), LeahD.LeBlanc andher great-grandson, TristanJ LeBlanc,whomshe called her “Sunshine”;sisters-inlaw,JacquelineBlanchard (thelateEdgar Blanchard, Jr.), Louise Dupart (the late Floyd Dupart), Yvonne Du‐partMartin(thelateIra Martin),LorrainePayne (Rev. Tony Payne);brotherin-law, John Dupart,Sr. (Harriet),along with ahost ofnieces, nephews, cousins,other relatives and friends. In addition to her husband andparents Deniseisalsoprecededin death by siblings,Edgar Blanchard,Sr. andJulie Blanchard Norwood anda grandson, Harry S. Scott, Jr. ACelebration Service honoringthe life and legacyofthe late Denise Blanchard Martin will be heldatGentillyBaptist Church,5141 Franklin Av‐enue,New Orleans, LA on Friday, May16, 2025 at 10:30 am.Interment St Patrick No.2,Cemetery (CanalBlvd. at City Park Avenue). Visitation 9amin the church.Pleasesignon‐lineguestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors (504) 581-4411.
Mrs. BarbaraHarper McGee, age89, of NewOr‐leans,passedawayTues‐day morning, April29, 2025 peacefullyatSlidell Hos‐piceHouse.She wasborn July14, 1935, in Itta Bena, Mississippi,daughterof the late Albert Harper Sr and SadieSpann. Shewas raisedbyher aunt Josephine Harper Thornton inNew Orleans, LA.Bar‐barawas preceded in death by herhusband of 40 years Fred L. McGeeJr.; daughter, Lucretia McGee, and herfourbrothers. Bar‐baraissurvivedbyher lov‐ing sonand daughter-inlaw,Bryan McGee(Angela). Cherished grandmotherto Stephanie Hubbard (Marty),Stephen McGee (Gina), andChristine McGee (Twila). Shealso leavesbehindseveral great-grandchildren,and a hostofother relativesand friends who will miss her dearly. Family andfriends are invitedtoattend the MemorialService on Fri‐day,May 16, 2025, for1:00 p.m.atThe Boyd Family Fu‐neral Home,5001 Chef Menteur Highway, NewOr‐leans,LA70126. Visitation willbegin at 12:30 p.m. In‐terment will follow at St Louis Cemetery #3.Pastor GwenSmith will be offici‐ating theservice.Flowers willbeaccepted, or memo‐rialcontributions maybe madetoThe Hospice House,https://thehosp icehouse.org/. Thefamily
wouldliketoextendgrati‐tudetothe staff at Pas‐sages Hospiceand Slidell Hospice Housefor their loveand care forMs. Bar‐bara. Professional arrange‐ments entrustedtoThe BoydFamilyFuneralHome. Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D.BoydOwners/FuneralDi‐rectors
Adrian F. Moga, Jr. passed away on May 11, 2025, at theage of 77. He was born on December 23, 1947, in Alexandria, Louisiana. After graduating fromAlcée Fortier High School, he beganworking for South Central Bell, which laterbecame BellSouth. He stayed with BellSouth for 31 years before retiring.Inhis free time, he enjoyed woodworking,fishing,and spending timewithhis family and friends as well as hisbeloved dog, Shawnee. Those who knew Adrian wouldtellyou that he was askilled handyman and aparticularly hardworking man who was willing to help anyone and everyone. He was preceded in death by his parents, Adrian F. Moga, Sr. and Ella Mae Roy; sisters,Doris Stone and Laura Baley; and brother, Thomas Moga. Adrian is survivedbyhis belovedwife who stoodby his side for over 60 years, Jane B. Moga; daughter, EllenM.Lorio (Joseph) and StephanieMoga; son, David R. Moga(Oliver Blanco); brother, James Anthony Moga; and hisone and onlygrandson whom he absolutelyadored, Trent J. Lorio In lieu of flowers,please considera donationtothe American CancerSociety. Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend a memorial gathering at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home,5100 Pontchartrain Blvd in New Orleans, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. The parlor willbe open from11AMto1 PM Hisimmediate family will lay him to rest privatelyin Lake Lawn Park To view and sign the family guestbook, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com
PatrickLloyd ProsperJr. was born on August 15 2000, in NewOrleans, Louisiana to theproud par‐entsPatrick LloydProsper Sr. andGaynell Johnson. Patrick wasknown as "Lil Pat or PatPat." He wasthe beloved brotherofseven siblings, andfroma young age,his presence brought light andlaughtertoevery‐one who knew him. Patrick gainedhis wingsSunday, April 27, 2025. He attended and graduatedfromJesuit SeniorHighSchool Magna Cum Laude2018 andwent ontofurther hiseducation atHowardUniversity. Patrickwas also the
founder andCEO of his clothingline, Internal Vi‐sions,where he poured his creativity. Patrickwas cur‐rentlyworking alongside his father at Prospers A/C and HeatingasanHVAC technician. He wasalsoen‐rolledina programtoearn his HVAC certification demonstrating hisdedica‐tion, drive, andcommit‐menttoexcellenceinpath hepursued.Healsohad a deep appreciation for music,often findingcom‐fortand expression through hisfavoritesongs hewrote such as "Bless‐ings, Hustle,InMyZone, Struggling, andTragic." Patrick dreamedbig-one of his greatest ambitionswas tobecomea millionaire, and he carriedthatgoal withdetermination,always speakingabout building a successfulfuturefor him‐selfand thoseheloved Patrick is survived by his loving, parentsMr. Patrick & Mrs. Lashanda Prosper Sr. andGaynell Johnson, siblings, GregoryJohnson Mariah, Elijah,and Kyler Prosper,Jonathanand Bria Matthews, anda niece, 3 nephews,aunties,uncles, and cousins, alongwith manyother relativesand friends who will forever cherish hismemory. He was preceded in deathby his grandparents Gerald and GwendolynProsper Sr and sister Gezelle Johnson. A privateHomegoing Cele‐bration Servicewillbeheld withfamilyand close friends.Funeral planning entrusted to Robinson FamilyFuneralHome9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse,LA 70037. (504) 208 -2119.
Genevieve C. Rice (née Kocol) aged 103 passed away peacefullyon September 2, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Formerly of Greta, LA (1973-2015) she waspreceded in death by herhusbandoffifty years Raymond Rice (Cdr USN, Ret.). Genevieve was born on January 10, 1921, in Chicago,Illinois. Thelast survivingchild of seven brothers andsisters, she wasacreative forceinher familyinspiringmany with hercreative talents and artisticskills. Gene(as she wasknown) showed an interest in the visual artsat an early ageand attended classes at theArt Institute of Chicago in the Depression Era. Gene was aproud motherand grandmother of herchildren and grandchildren. Shewas a dedicated housewife, sculptress, painter, inspiredseamstress and costume designer, medical clinic volunteer, loverof birds andmusic.She served in theU.S. Women's Army Corps(WACs) during WWII. Sheissurvived by herthree children:Randy Rice,Wayne Rice, and RamonaKramer (Gregg); and by herfourgrandchildren MerylShriver-Rice
(Hunter),Allyx Shriver-Rice (Johnny), Conor Rice,and CaraPopernik; as well as great grandchildren Murphy andLachlan Dodson.Her warmsmile and abilitytomake life more pleasant for everyonearoundher will be dearlymissed. Amemorial service for theinterment of herashes is planned for May15, 2025 at Maryhill Cemetery in Niles, Illinois.
Robinson Sr., James
Pastor JamesAndrew Robinson Sr., age 75, enteredintoeternal rest on April 25, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana. A beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and spiritual leader, Pastor Robinson Sr.lived alifedevotedtofaith, family, and service to others. Aproud veteran of theUnited States Navy, Pastor Robinson Sr.servedhis countryduringthe Vietnam War.His life was marked by unwavering faith, compassion for others, and acallingtospiritual leadership that touched manylives in the NewOrleans community andbeyond. Pastor James Robinson Sr.leaves to cherish hismemory four devoted children: Tarshia Robinson-Skipper (Cleveland Skipper), Ivory Robinson-Delaney (ProphetFrank C. Delaney), JamesA.RobinsonJr., and AshleyRobinson. He is also survived by his loving sister, Willie Pearl Allen (AnaniasAllen); nine grandchildren; six greatgrandchildren; anda host of nieces, nephews, extended family, anddear friends whowill remember himwith love and gratitude. He wasprecededin death by hisparents, Superintendent Henry Robinson Sr and Missionary Sadie Robinson;his belovedwife SherniaRobinson; fivesiblings: Dorothy MaeTaylor, HenryRobinsonJr., Joe Robinson,Brenda Robinson,and Alfred Robinson Sr.; andhis grandson, Jyron Robinson Though he will be deeply missed, Pastor Robinson's legacyoflove, strength, andservice will live on in theheartsofall whoknew him.
AHomegoing Celebration will be held on Friday, May16, 2025, at Prayer TowerCOGIC, 8708 Willow Street,New Orleans, LA 70118. Public Viewing: 9:30 AM -10:30 AM,CelebrationofLife Service:10:30 AM, Repast to follow:Prayer Tower Fellowship Hall, Private burialfor thefamily.
Jackson, Michael
Moga Jr., Adrian Frank
JamesSr.,Herbert B.
Rice,GenevieveC.
McGee, BarbaraHarper
ProsperJr.,Patrick Lloyd
Joseph,LulaCraft
See more DEATHS page
OPINION
Louisiana graduates, take abow
It’sgraduation season, and we want to extend ahearty congratulations tothe thousands of new graduates of colleges and universities across Louisiana. Youare our future. As you make your way in the world, we know you’ll be well equipped to handle whatever you may face thanks to the education you’ve received at oneofLouisiana’shigher education institutions. Louisiana offers abroad array of opportunities for students to attain apost-secondary degree,from community colleges to public and private universities, including notable HBCUs.Weare proud of our higher education landscape and believe it provides students in our state the opportunities they deserve to achieve their dreams.
In 2019, the Board of Regentsset agoal for 60% of working-ageadults in the state to have completed some post-high school education by 2030. Since then, Louisiana’seducational attainment rate has grown steadily from 47.3% in 2021 to 51% in 2024. In 2023, 54.9% of Americans ages 25 to 64 had earned aposthigh school credential. Thisyear’sgraduating class puts the state on track tomeet itsgoal. That matters because higher educational attainment correlates withbetter jobs and higher wages. As the state moves to attract new economic engines, it will be important to have askilled workforceready tomove into these fields.
We know the road has not been easy for graduates. Youhave faced rising student debt and your professors have faced attacks on academic freedom. That’s why we urge our leaders at every level to support our colleges and universities. We are glad state lawmakers are looking at expanding the TOPS program, one of the nation’s first state-sponsored merit scholarships for higher education. Louisiana is losing students to neighboring states because of affordability issues as TOPS no longer covers tuition at anumber of colleges. We also note worrying trends. The number of Louisiana high-school students who submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, was down 12% after the state repealed arequirement that it be filledout for students to graduate high school. FAFSA is the first step to help families realize how they can pay for college.
And on the federallevel, we see the targeting of universities for their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as atroubling sign. The hallmark of higher education is afree and open exchange of ideas. We know that as graduates of Louisiana’scolleges and universities, you have benefitedfrom being able to hear from all points of view. Now,asyou are coming intoyour own, we wish you the best. Whether you stay in Louisianaormove on to explore the world, we hope our state stays in your heart and that,ifthe opportunity arises, you use your talentsto help make us better
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence
TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE OUR VIEWS
Iwriteregarding the congressional pilgrimage tothe Louisiana ICE Detention Center to visit Mahmoud Khalil. I start my notebysaying Iwill fight for dueprocess and free speech —two of themost fundamental tenets of Americanism. Ialso note by saying IamJewish and my grandfather was aHolocaust survivor.Mygreat-grandparents didnot survive.
Khalil should be free to express his disdain for theIsrael-Gaza war.But he should not be free to intimidateJewish students. He should not be free to lead encampments chanting antisemitic tropes. He should not be free to distribute Hamas terrorist propaganda. Andheshould not be free to siege universitycampus buildings.
Free speech should always be free. Yet, Khalil has exceeded the limits of what speech is considered free. U.S. Rep.Troy Carter’sreferring to Khalil as being “detained after peaceful
Anyone of us could be in abad car accident or suffer astroke and end up disabled.
Anybody could find themselves in need of aMedicaid bed in anursing homeorassisted living at sometime in the future. These facilities already
Thank you so much for theterrific article on Nan Parati, the Jazz Fest sign maker extraordinaire. Reading about her is why Iremain adaily subscriber: to get news like this.She is an institution and we needed to know
When we recently witnessed 133 cardinals processing into theconclave to elect anew pope, Iheard no commentaryabout how strange it is that those persons in colorful elaborate and expensive red dresses were all men because for centuries the hierarchy has excluded women from all positions of power,nowomen priests, bishops, cardinals are allowed, and so mother church, as they like to call it, is not a mother,it’sa patriarchal, hierarchal institution that discriminates against women. Until they treat women as equals, they are not faithful to the true spirit
pro-Palestinian advocacy”ispatently false. His advocacy has been violent and antisemitic. Idonot know any Jew who wants to see this fight go on, nor do Iknow any Jew whowants to see morePalestinian casualties. This is a logistically awful situation brought on by aterrorist regime. But without action,Israelis will die Ichallenge Carter to ask himself if meetingwith Khalil is rooted in antiTrumpadvocacy and geographic opportunism.Iask Carter to balance his ambitions with his advocacy.Tothumb his nose at the Jewish people forsome spotlight withaterrorist sympathizer is un-American. We are only afew monthsout from theNew Year’sDay terrorist attack on Bourbon Street. Let’snot lose sight of whoisonyour side, what happened in your district and use our energy for unity
MARK MELASKY NewOrleans
operate on budgets so tight they are feeding people on less than $4 per meal. Pleasebereasonable. No cuts to Medicaid just so thewealthy can enjoy tax cuts.
LESLIEMOORE NewOrleans
about her and how clearly she fits into theNew Orleanspanoply of artists, stars and characters.
Thank you so much ANDREAWILKES NewOrleans
and message of Jesus Christ. How tragic and sadthat those who should be leading by example continue to treat women as second-class Christians. They,who have failedto protect children from pedophiles in theirranks, have the arrogance to claim authority to deny people the right to choose whothey love and marry Iknow manyare kind, loving persons, but theinstitution is, by reason alone of its exclusions, sinful and unfaithful to themessage of Christ.
JIM O’NEILL Metairie
Tworecent stories, one on Neptune Pass in the lower Mississippi River and the other on the testing of the Bonnet Carre Spillway by the Corps of Engineers, are related and deserve mutual exploration.
The recently formed Neptune Pass, near Buras, is reported to be carrying too much water and is acandidate forpartial closure. Upstream,there are high river water levels with the possibility of another spillway opening, which would upset the ecological balance of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound.
Asimple observation on the flow of any river is that as it becomes impeded at its mouth, the river level will rise upstream.Spillway openings used to be rare occurrences. Now,the spillway seemsto be opening every fewyears as the river reaches critical stages more frequently.When openings occur, ecological damage is unavoidable. In earlier times, the river had multiple functioning passes at its mouth. Now, the Corps has concentrated on keeping only Southwest Pass open forshipping. The other passes have gotten shallower and are passing less flow.Due to such restrictions, the upstream river sought another opening, resulting in Neptune Pass.
The Corps of Engineers is responsible forMississippi River Flood Protection and maintenance of shipping lanes. Recent history records Southwest Pass as the single maintained outlet coupled with more frequent spillway openings. Closing or greatly reducing Neptune Pass while continuing to ignore the other passes will increase upstream water levels. Corps responsibilities need to be realigned to include the overall ecology of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound, together with flood protection and shipping interests. The destructive effects of spillway openings on these ecosystems should be amajor factor in overall planning for flood protection and river maintenance. JOHN BERGERON
Metairie
Charles "Jerry" Shaw,Jr. passed away peacefully on May 11, 2025, at the age of 80. Born in Orlando, Florida to Charles Shaw Sr. and Marion Bonnett Shaw, the family moved to Montgomery, Alabama where Jerry grew up and attended elementary through high school.He earned aBachelor of Sciences and aMaster's degree in Finance from the University of AlabamaRoll Tide! His distinguished career in banking began at First Union in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, where he served as an investment banker. His careerled Jerry and his family to New Orleans where he served in severalsenior and executive level roles, including President, at Hibernia National Bank. Over the years, Jerry wasa member of the Bienville Club, Metairie Country Club, New Orleans Country Club, and The Rex Organization and served on the boards of the United Way and New Orleans Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. He cherished his many years of duck hunting and fishing with his close friends and especiallyenjoyed weekly golf games and breakfast gatherings at the club. AEuropean andAmericanhistory buff, Jerry loved family vacations to the 30A beaches along the Florida panhandle, cheering on the CrimsonTide, gardening, and attending his granddaughter's sporting events."Bobo" as he was called by his granddaughter, rarely missed agame or match. Jerry is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years, Anne Glenn Shaw; his daughter, Amy Shaw Feirn (Clark Knapp), and his granddaughter, Elizabeth "Betsy" Feirn, whom he adored. Avisitation will be held on Saturday, May 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the home of his daughter
DEATHS continued from Amy, at 307 AthertonDrive in Metairie,Louisiana
Stansberry Montgomery, Jacquelyn Margaret Ann
Jacquelyn MargaretAnn Stansberry Montgomery transcended to thenext chapter of herlifeonMay 11, 2025. Bornin1940, Jacquelyn'slifewas defined by the love of her family andfriends. She was thebeloved wifeof Leo BMontgomery Nurturing mother to her threechildrenKim Mulder, Dana Cain and Leo B MontgomeryJr. Aviewing to honorJacquelyn'sjourney willbeheldonMay 16, 2025 from 9:00 am to10:00 am at St. Josephine Bakhita CatholicChurch (formerly St. Mary of the Angels CatholicChurch) in New Orleans,followed by a mass at 10:00 am. She will be laid to rest at ProvidenceMemorial Park and Mausoleum in Metairie.
Taylor, Ernest
Ernest Taylor, Jr., passed awayonFriday May02, 2025,atthe ageof 78. Beloved husband of the late Eria Braud Taylor. Son of the late Ruby and Rev. Ernest Taylor, Sr.,Fatherof Tonya (Jammie) Waston and Kevin (Yolanda) Taylor, Sr., Ernestisalso survived by sevengrandchildren, eleven great grandchildren, siblings,
nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.
Members of NewVision Missionary B.C. and all neighboring churches are invited to attend thecelebrationoflife service scheduled for Friday May 16, 2025, 11a.m.at Milesville Memorial C.O.G.C. 129 AppleSt. Laplace. with visitationfrom 9-am until service time. BishopRonald Frank, Pastor,Rev.Vernell Braud officiating. Interment in St. John Memorial Laplace,La Professional Services entrusted to theCaring Staff of Hobson Brown Funeral Home 134 Daisy St., Garyville, La 70051 (985) 535-2516.
Thibodeaux,Raymond P. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, LocalUnion #130. It iswithdeepestsorrow thatweinformthe Officers and Membersofour local union thedeath of our beloved retiredmember Raymond P. Thibodeaux on May 5, 2025. He will be misseddearlybyall who knewand lovedhim.By Order of:ErnestC.“Corky” CortezAttest:RodneyW Wallis, Business Man‐ager/Financial Secretary
Vincent, Brenda Price
Brenda PriceVincent akaMissB”was born on October 19, 1949, to the LateWilliam Calvin Price and AnnieMae HookfinPrice.She departed this life onMonday, April21, 2025 She wasa graduate of Booker T. Washington High School,and sheworkedin the HospitalityDepartment atOchsner Hospital.She is survivedbyone (1)brother Leo Price, andtwo (2)sis‐tersGaynetta Price-Miller (Husb.Charlie Miller Jr.), PatriciaGreen (Husb. RobertGreen), (1)daugh‐ter ShalvantaPrice (fiancé JeromeDuplessis),(1) son Leo Price, (4)grandchil‐drenLorealPrice,Shaun Price, Courtney Price,
Jacqueline Price, (14) great-grandchildren,and a hostofnieces, nephews, cousins,other relatives, and friends. Brenda was precededindeath,by(3) sisters Betty J. Francis“aka BJ”,GlendaPrice-Maxwell PamelaPrice-Bailey, and (1) brotherKenneth Price. Relatives andfriends of the familyare allinvited to at‐tendthe FuneralService on Saturday, May17, 2025 at 10:00 am (NoViewing)at MajesticMortuary, 1833 OrethaC.Haley Blvd., New Orleans,Louisiana 70113 BishopHardy Frazier, Offi‐ciating.Burialwillbein HoltCemetery. Dueto COVID-19, everyone attend‐ing is encouraged to wear masks andadheretosocial distancing. Professional arrangementsentrusted to MajesticMortuaryService Inc.,(504) 523-5872.
Harry Wicker entered intoeternal rest on Wednesday,April 30, 2025, atthe SELA VA hospital.He was 89 yearsold.Hewas educatedand alifelong residentofNew Orleans, LA. Harry wasalsoa Ko‐reanWar veteranofthe U.S.Air Force. He wasa familyman,businessman, businessowner, carpenter bytrainingand tradeas wellasa very hard worker Hewas very loyaland loved by hisfamily. He was the father to Leslie Eliza‐bethWickerCopelin,the grandfather to NedraEliza‐bethCopelin,father-in-law toGlenn Copelinand the beloved husband to the lateNedra EdwardsWicker of42years.Harry wasborn onJune 4, 1935, to thelate Moseand Gladys Ecter Wicker of Louisiana. Brother to thelateElton Wicker Sr,Alvin Wicker, brother-in-lawtothe late Bernadine Edwards (Calvin)Young,Lucille Ed‐wards (JohnA.Sr.)Rice, EthelBurgess Wicker,and
Walter Edwards. Harry Wicker wasmarried and buriedalong with hiswife, two sisters-in-law,and two brothers-in-law at St David’s Church andbap‐tized alltheir children and grandchildren at thefamily church.Heisthe uncle of Dione Wicker (George) Murphy, Rita Rice (Carl) Severan,JohnArthur (Diane) Rice Jr., Stephen Joseph(Irene) Young Sr the late CynthiaAnn Rice, JoanRice(Emile)Walker, and EltonWickerJr. He leavestorememberhim a hostofgreat,great-great and great-great-great nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, friendsand caregivers. Relativesand friends of thefamily, parishionersand members ofSt. David, St.Jude, St JosephCatholicChurch, Alumniand employees of XavierUniversity, OTSof La, Humana,Kaiser, Nasa Michoud,Orleans Parish School Board, LincolnMer‐cury, SELA VA,AalphaRe‐sources, Egan/Ochsner
andMedcentrisare invited toattend theFuneral Mass ofChristian Burial on Sat‐urday,May 17, 2025 for 10:00 a.m. at St.David’s Catholic Church,5617 St ClaudeAvenue,New Or‐leans,LA70117. Visitation willbegin at 8:00 a.m. Fa‐therOswaldP.Pierre-Jules Jr.,SSJ,officiating. Inter‐mentwillfollowatMount OlivetCemetery, 4000 Nor‐man MayerAve NewOr‐leans,LA70122. Guestbook Online: www.anewtraditi onbegins.com(504)2820600. Linear Brooks Boyd and DonavinD.BoydOwn‐ers/Funeral Directors.
When youneed thenews. Wherever youreadthe news
Shaw Jr., Charles 'Jerry'
Wicker,Harry
SPORTS
Shut outofprime time
coach KellenMoore answers questions at the team’s indoor practice facility on SaturdayinMetairie.
from the national spotlight as the Saintswill playnoprime-time games for
Saints notscheduled to play underthe lights for fi
rsttimesince 2000
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
Kellen Moore will attempttorebuild theNew Orleans Saints this season, and he’ll have to do so largely away from the national spotlight.
The NFL released its schedule Wednesdayand the Saints were shut out of prime timefor the first time since 2000. Coming off of a5-12 campaign, New Orleans partially hit the resetbutton this yearbyhiring Moore as its new coach and drafting quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round ahead of Derek Carr’sretirement
The Saints had three prime-time games ayear ago, and have had at least twoeveryyear since 2005. Perhapsthe lack of interest from network executives will be to the Saints’ benefit. In 2000,Jim Haslett’s first season as coach, New Orleans surprisedwith a10-6 record that resulted in aplayoff berth
The Saints will start theirunder-the-radar campaign at the Caesars Superdome when they host theArizona Cardinals at noon on Sunday,Sept. 7. The matchup marks the seventh time in eight seasonsthatNew Orleans opens its season at home, albeit with oneyearinJacksonville, Florida, because of Hurricane Ida.
They then host another NFC West team —the San Francisco 49ers —aweek later,setting up the possibility of Shough competing against49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.The two faced each other four times in high school. But forthattohappen,Shough willhave to win the starting job
After two straight home games, theSaints will hit the
2025 SAINTS SCHEDULE
Sept. 7 Arizona Cardinals, noon (CBS)
Sept. 14 San Francisco 49ers, noon (FOX) Sept. 21 at Seattle Seahawks, 3:05 p.m. (CBS)
Sept. 28 at Buffalo Bills,noon (CBS)
Nov.30 at Miami Dolphins, noon (FOX)
Dec.7 at TampaBay Buccaneers noon (CBS) Dec.14 vs.CarolinaPanthers, 3:25 p.m. (FOX) Dec.21 Newyork Jets,noon (CBS) Dec.28 at Tennessee Titans, noon (CBS) Jan. 3or4 at Atlanta Falcons,TBD Preseason
Aug. 10 at LosAngeles Chargers,3:05 p.m. (FOX8)
Aug. 17 Jacksonville Jaguars,noon (FOX8) Aug. 23 Denver Broncos, noon (FOX8)
road in back-to-back weeks —onthe opposite ends of thecountry In Week 3, New Orleans will travel to the Pacific Northwest, where they’ll takeonthe Seattle Seahawks,
The TV networks are telling us something about the New Orleans Saints. Theybelieve they’re“not ready for prime-time players.”
Unless they geta game flexed outof its scheduled slot, the Saints will notplay a prime-time game this season. That’sthe first time that’shappened in more than two decades.
When youhave a rookie head coach and unprovenquarterback, your QRating takes a hit.
The good news is the last time the Saints didn’thave aprimetime game (2000), they surprised everyone by winning the NFC West and going on to win the first playoff game in franchise history
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
PaulMainieri has gone through this before. He just thought that he wouldn’thavetodoitagain. Mainieri believed the South Carolina team he inherited had some talent, enough so that the Gamecocks could compete immediately in thetoughestconference in college baseball.
Rabalais: Mainieri’s returnto dugouthas been rocky
He didn’tthink his first year at his newschool would be as difficult as it wasin2007, his first season at LSU. “In the fall, Ithought there were afew pieces,” Mainieri told The Advocate.
But after getting swept at Clemsonduring nonconference play, Mainieri recognized shortcomings with his new team. They proved to be holes he couldn’t fill during Southeastern Conference play
On paper,the schedule appears to be the most user-friendly in recent memory.The Saints playjust three teams that qualified for the playoffs last season —the Buffalo Bills (134), Los Angeles Rams (10-7) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) and just one other team with awinning record fromayear ago —the Seattle Seahawks (10-7). Five of the Saints’ opponents finishedlast in their respective divisions in 2024. And it’s six, if youcount the Panthers, who tied the Saints forlast in the NFC South. The Saints will play
Carolina blues: S.C. struggling in Mainieri’s first season
“The conference is just so tough. Youknow, it’sunforgiving,” Mainieri said. “And our schedule in particularwas really difficult this year,and it exposed our limitations, where we have them.”
South Carolina holds a5-22 record in theSEC. Mainieri’steam is 27-26 overall and has won only one seriesinconference play,taking down Ole Miss twice lastmonth.
TheGamecocks arenowhere near thepostseason picture heading into this weekend’sseries against LSU beginning at 6p.m Thursday (SECNetwork) in Columbia,South Carolina.
“I forgot how hard it is to win college baseballgames, Iguess,” Mainieri said.
Mainieri’sdifficulties this seasoninsome ways mirror what happened in 2007, when he left Notre Damefor Baton Rouge to replace Smoke Laval.
TheTigerswere29-26-1 that season and went just12-17-1 in SECplay.Mainieri knew he’d have to take his lumps, but his confidence never wavered when it cametowhetherhecould turn the program around.
“I told the team that, ‘This will be the lastyear that LSU was ever taken lightly again,’ “Mainieri said. “Andit’sapretty bold comment,based upon what had happened in the first year.But Idon’t think LSU hasbeen takenlightly again since then.”
TheTigerswent to Omaha the next season before winning their sixth national championship in 2009. But before they could find thatlevel of success, theyhad to build the foundation in 2007. Thatmeant turning to freshmen such as Jared Mitchell, Sean Ochinko, Ryan Schimpf and Blake Dean.Deanled theTigersinbatting averageand started every game.
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Saints
Moorewill coachhis firstseason as Saints coach largelyaway
Jeff Duncan
NFL
Chiefs to geteight stand-alone games
BY ROBMAADDI AP pro football writer
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs willbefeaturedinatleast eightstand-alone games during the upcoming NFL season.
Their Super Bowl rematchagainst thePhiladelphia Eagles won’tbeone of them
The teams will meet Week 2in Kansas Cityinthe late afternoon game on Fox
The Eagles dominated the Chiefs40-22 to capture their second Lombardi TrophyinFebruary.Philadelphia is getting seven stand-alone games. There won’tbealong wait for aJoshAllen-Lamar Jackson showdown. Allen and the Buffalo Bills visit Jackson and the Baltimore RavensinWeek 1on “Sunday Night Football.” Allen edged Jackson for the NFL MVP award last season while Jacksonwas the AP’s first-team All-Pro quarterback.
After the Eagles raise their championship banner, they’ll kick off the league’s season against theNFC East rival Dallas CowboysonSept. 4.The Chiefs will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the league’s secondgameinBrazil, on Sept. 5atCorinthians Stadium in Sao Paulo.
The Chiefs are visiting Dallas on Thanksgiving Day and hosting the Denver Broncos on Christmasnight. The Cowboys also will play on both holidays. They’ll visit Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders to kick off atripleheader on Christmas.
The Chiefs are scheduledfor threegames on Sundaynight: at theNew York GiantsinWeek3; vs.the Detroit Lions on Oct. 12; vs. the Houston Texans on Dec. 7. Kansas City has two Monday night gamesin thesamemonth:atthe Jacksonville JaguarsonOct 6and vs. the Commanders on Oct.27.
The Chiefs-Bills AFC championshiprematch willbe in BuffaloonNov.2.The NFCchampionshiprematch betweenthe Eagles and Commanders will take place
Continued from page1C
the fourth-place finishersfrom the NFC East (Giants), NFCNorth (Bears) and AFC South (Titans) in the NFL’s scheduling formula. Here’swhat popped outatme about the slate:
Undaunting debut
Week 1, vs. Cardinals, Sept. 7
First-year head coach Kellen Moore couldn’tget amuch more manageable game for his NFL head coaching debut. The Cardinals have lost five consecutive games in the Superdomeand haven’t won there since 1996. They also have lost three consecutive season openers. The Saintsprobably will be underdogs, but they have agreat shot to extend their NFL-best streak of consecutive wins in season openers to seven.
Most intriguing game
Week 7atBears, Oct. 19
Dennis Allen landed the defensive coordinator gig on Ben Johnson’sBears staff after being ousted as Saints head coach last season. After spending 15 ofthe last 20 years with the Saints, Allen certainly willhave this onecircled on his calendar.The Bears went all-inthis offseason and shouldbe much improved.
Leastintriguinggame
Week 5vs. Giants, Oct. 5
Other than afascinatingquarterback room —Russell Wilson, Jamies Winston, Jaxson Dart and Tommy “Cutlets”DeVito —the G-menmight be the leastexciting team in the league. Arematch of the 14-11 pillow fight between
in Washington on Saturday,Dec. 20. The teams meet again two weekslater in Week 18.
Netflix, which is streaming the first two games of aChristmas tripleheader,announced earlier thatthe Lions will face theVikings in Minnesotainthe late afternoon game. Philadelphia visitsthe Giants on “Thursday Night Football” on Oct. 9and hoststhe LionsonSunday night Nov.16.
New Bearscoach Ben Johnson, who was the offensive coordinator for theLions,will face his former team for the first time in Week 2inDetroit No. 1overall pick Cam Ward could make his NFL debut with theTennesseeTitans against Bo Nixand the Broncos in Denver on Sept. 7. Former Titanscoach Mike Vrabel faces his former team in Week 7when theNew England Patriotsvisit Tennessee.
the teams last year seems quite possible. At least we should get to watchformer LSUstar Malik Nabers play Biggestchallenge
Week 4atBills, Sept.28
The Saints’ four-game winning streak in Buffalowill be put to aseveretest thisyear. The Bills areaSuper Bowl contender and feature oneofthe most explosive offenses in the league, led by reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen. TheSaints lost their first gamein Buffalo back in 1983 but have not lost in four trips to upstateNew York since then. They should be heavy underdogs in this one. Oh, and the Billswere 10-0 at home in the regular seasonand playoffs last season.
Second-biggest challenge
Week 9atRams, Nov.2
The City of Angels has not been kind to the Saints. Since theNFL returned to L.A., the Saintshave lost three consecutive roadgames to the Rams. The Saintshave not wona regular-season game at SoFi Stadium,going0-2.
Leastchallenging game
Week 16 vs.Jets, Dec.21
FormerSaints assistant Aaron Glennreturns to NewOrleans as a first-timehead coach. In trying to restore credibility to afranchise that has suffered nine consecutive losing seasons, Glenn’srebuilding job might be more challenging than Moore’s in New Orleans. At 200-to-1, the Jets—along withthe Saints andBrowns —are among thelongest shots in theleague to winSuper Bowl LX. Who knows?
The loser of thisgamecould gain the inside track to thetop pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
BengalsAll-Pro DE Hendricksonstill upsetovercontract
BY CHARLIEGOLDSMITH
The AssociatedPress
CINCINNATI Atext from coach
Zac Taylor led Bengals All-Pro defensive endTrey Hendrickson to head to Cincinnati,attend Tuesday’soptionalteam practiceasa spectator and speak to reporters.
Hendrickson, enteringthe final year of his contract, hasbeen seekinganew deal and also requested atrade.
Hendrickson
The Bengals’ front office hasn’t matched what he’slookingfor On Monday, Taylor textedHendricksonthat he’d be finedifhedidn’treport to mandatory minicamp next month.
That message frustrated Hendrickson, whoheldcourt with local reporters for 20 minutes during Tuesday’s practice.
“A little bit transpiredbetween me andZac,” Hendrickson said.
“We’ve tried to keep it the least amount personal as possible, but at some point in this process it becomes personal.Being sent 30 days before mandatory campor how many ever days it is that if Idon’tshow up Iwill be fined alludes to the fact that something won’tget done in thattime frame.
“The lack of communication post draft made it imminently clear to my party —meaning my wife, my son andmyagent,a small groupofpeople— that this might not work out.”
Hendrickson, who played for theSaints between 2017-20, led the NFL with 171/2 sacks last season and was selected as an All-Pro. He said that as thedefensive end market escalates, he’s lookingfor anew contract thatmatches what top pass rushers are getting paid Hendrickson is scheduled to earn $15.8 million in base salary andhas acap number of $18.7 million.
The Bengals haven’tbudged from their stance,and thetwo sides haven’tbeen able to find a middle ground. That’s led to frustrationcomingfromHendrickson, who released astatementtoESPN on Monday aboutthe lack of communication since the NFL draft concluded on April 26.
“I think over the last week or so,it’sbecome personal unfortunately,” Hendrickson said. “When there’salack of communication in any relationship, where it’sa business or personal relation-
ship, lack of communication leads to animosity,and that leaves my narrativeonlytomewithnoclear direction
“So, the lack of direction, the lack of communicationisleading me to things thatare allowing me to think aboutwhat’sgoing to happen more than how great they’ve treated me over the last four years.”
Taylorand the Bengals’ front office andownership weren’t made available for commentonTuesday.
Bengals executive vicepresident Katie Blackburn said during the league meetings in lateMarch the ball wasinHendrickson’s court to agree to adeal.
“I think some of it is on him to be happy at some point, andifhe’s not, that’swhatholdsitupsometimes,” shesaid. “It takeshim to say yestosomething. We have all the respect in the world for him He’s been agreat player.We’re happy to have him.” Hendrickson saidhewouldn’t be willing to play in 2025 without anew contract. He’suncertain aboutwhathis future with the Bengals will look like
“I can’t control the narratives,” Hendrickson said. “That is one thing Ifound through this whole process. Theway Ifeel is not being conveyed. Idefinitely am disappointed, Ilove Cincinnati. It’s this weird dilemma. Playersgo through it alot moreoften. Iam justnot goingtolet fear overtake me to do something and also give me aplatform to glorify Godin the good andinthe bad. Iamvery blessed.The perspectives Ican’t control. I’m afootball player.I’m itching to play football.”
While both sides appear to be deadlocked, Hendrickson did say he thinks the currentrelationship with the Bengals can be repaired over time with anew deal.Hendrickson cited Myles Garrett’sdemands to be traded outofCleveland earlier this year before he agreed to aextension worth$160 million, including $123.5million guaranteed.
“He’sdone great things for his family and obviously providing on andoff the football field. He’s tremendous. But Ithink thatrelationship will repair with time. And samewith this,” Hendrickson said.
“This is just the uncomfortable business sidethat we’veunfortunately hadtodeal with for the last coupleyears, and, quite frankly,I think we’re allspent.”
Potentialweather game
Week 17 at Titans, Dec. 28
The average low in Nashville on Dec. 28 is 32 degrees,sothe Saints will be wise to bring their coldweather gear.The Titans and Saints were acombined 8-26 ayear ago, but this game could feature amatchup of twoofthe top rookie quarterbacks in the league: Tennessee’sCam Ward, whowas taken No. 1overall, and Tyler Shough, whom the Saints selected with the 40th overall pick in Round 2. The two waged an epic shootout in college lastyear,with Ward’s Miami Hurricanes edging Shough’sLouisville Cardinals 52-45.
Toughest stretch
Weeks 2-4, vs.49ers, at Seahawks and at Bills, Sept. 14-28
This brutal stretch will test the Saints’ body clocks. Afterfacing the always-physical 49ers in the SuperdomeinWeek 2, theSaints flynearly 2,000 miles to theWest Coast to take on theSeahawks, then will charter roughly 1,000 miles to the East Coast to play the Bills. LumenField in Seattleand Highmark Stadium in Buffalo are two of the most hostile road venues in the league.
Easieststretch
Weeks 15-17, vs.Panthers and Jets, and at Titans, Dec. 14-28
If the Saints can outperform expectations and stay in playoff contention until mid-December, they’ll have agreat chance to finish the season strong. The Panthers, Jets and Titans were acombined 13-38 ayear ago. The Saints get to play the first twogames in this stretch at the Superdome.
Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com
SAINTS
Continued from page1C
theteam thathired former Saints offensive coordinator KlintKubiak this offseason to be their play-caller.The Saints then will take on quarterback Josh Allen andthe Buffalo Bills whenthey travel to upstate NewYork.
After thecross-country trip, the Saints get rewarded with back-to-back home games. The two-game stand starts with the NewYorkGiants (Oct. 5) and concludes with the NewEngland Patriots (Oct. 12).
Week 7marks another road game, this time against former coach Dennis Allen, who was hired as the defensive coordinatorofthe Chicago Bears. The matchup also will be abattleof two first-timehead coaches after theBears hired Ben Johnson.
If theSaints are going to surpass expectations in Moore’s first season, they’ll have to do much better in the NFCSouth than last year —whenNew Orleanswent 2-4 en routetoafourth-place finish.
This season, the Saints won’t face their first divisional rival until Oct. 26 when they host the Buccaneers. That’sthe latest New Orleanswill wait to face an NFCSouth opponent since 2009, when it squared offagainst the Atlanta Falcons also in Week 8. In that championship-winning season, however,the Saints played only sixgames to that pointbecause of an early Week 5bye.
The Bucs’ matchup kicks offa pivotal stretch of division games. Afteranother trip out west to face the Los Angeles Rams in
Week 9, the Saints get to face the Carolina Panthersonthe road in Week 10 (Nov.9)and the Falcons in Week 12 (Nov.23), sandwiched between aWeek 11 bye. After hosting the Falcons, the Saints have an away game against theMiami Dolphins (Nov 30) before facing the Buccaneers (Dec. 7) and the Panthers (Dec. 14) again. Tampa Bay, which hosts the rematch, is seeking its fifth-straight NFCSouth crown. The next twogames come againstnon-divisional opponents. Former Saints assistant and player Aaron Glenn comes to town when he and the New York Jets face the Saints in Week 16 (Dec. 21). Glenn turned down an opportunity to interview with the Saints in person before taking the Jets job this offseason. After the Jets, the Saints have to travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Week 17.That sets up ashowdown betweenrookie quarterbacksCam Ward —the first overallpickinthis year’s draft —and Shough, if he wins the job. The Titans will be oneoftwo straight road games to close the year.The Saints conclude their season at Atlanta in Week 18. That gamedoes not have adate yet as the NFL typically waits to finalize the week because of the stakes involved. Playing forthe division, for example, usually results in aprime-time “Sunday Night Football” matchup. In the meantime, the Saints will have their hands full with aslate that couldbemuch morecompetitive than its strength of schedule (.419, the second-easiest in the NFL) indicates. It’ll just have to be away from the limelight.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS Kansas City Chiefs quarterbackPatrick Mahomes eludes the reach of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Josh Sweat during Super Bowl 59 on Feb.9 in NewOrleans
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFFREy T. BARNES Quarterback Josh Allenand the Buffalo Bills visit the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1on‘SundayNight Football.’
LSUsprintershiftsmindset after first-season setback
BY TOYLOYBROWN III
Staff writer
Jaiden Reid’swarmup routine
disguised his panic before his 100-meter dash in Coral Gables, Florida.
In March 2024, the soon-to-be 19-year-old from the Cayman Islands was competing for the first time sincesufferinga left hamstring injury that kept him out for nearly five months.
The fully recovered first-year sprinterwas readytorun, but his mind betrayed his body.
“I was scared to run out,” Reid said. “I was feeling hurt,but I wasn’tactually hurt. It was like my mind wasplaying gameswith me.”
Fellow LSU sprinter Godson Oghenebrume spoketothe young standout in atime of need. While the upperclassman’swisdom was appreciated, it couldn’tsoothe Reid’spsyche.
He had the eighth-best time out of 19 runners in the event. A couple of months later,atthe outdoor Southeastern Conference championships,hedidn’tmakeit out of the preliminaries finishing 10th overall in the200,his primary event. These results were below his expectations but also served as awake-upcall to acknowledge his “mental block.”
Solving thisissue didn’thappen overnight, nor was it expected. His mom, Denise Brown, toldher son to accept the help of others and simply embrace thispart of hisjourney
“It’sjust part of the process,”
Brown said. “Talk to coach, talk to your medical team. It could’ve been worse.You have to go through this processbecause it’ll only make youstronger,more determined.”
Reid developed ahardened mind and stored allthe determination possiblefor ayear.Now asophomore, he’sready for redemption at the2025 outdoor SEC championships in Lexington, Kentucky,on Thursday through Saturday
The5-foot-10 sprinter will compete in the 100, 200and the 4×100 relay.Before Reid’sspeed arrived in Baton Rouge, it was cultivated in theCaymanIslands.Brown said her son’shigh activity level as a child made her confident the sport was aperfect match.
While the Cayman Islandsare knownfor their idyllic beaches, they don’thave arobustlist of track stars. Asof2023, it has a population of 73,038, whichis threetimes less than BatonRouge By 14,Reidsaidhewas clearly thefastest for his age group on the three islands, holdingthe Caymanianjuniorrecord of 10.24 in the 100.
Seeking stronger competition and training, Reidtook his talents to nearby Jamaica —anhour flight from his home —toattend Jamaica College for high school. There, he proved himself to be among the fastest teenagers and put himself on the radar of universities such as his dream school, LSU Reid wanted to come to TheBoot to compete at the same school as some of the biggest stars in the track world, such as Sha’Carri
Richardson and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake
Afreshman year that saw him miss practically the entire indoor season was nothow he envisioned the start to his LSUcareer.The hamstring injury andthe mental toll it produced alsodelayed him from achieving greatness by representing the Cayman Islands at an elite level.
“I like carryingthe weight of my country on my back,” Reidsaid. “I have the 200 record forthe CaymanIslands, so Iwouldn’tsay it’s alot of pressure in abad way, but it makes me drive moreand do better. Iwanttoput my country on the map.”
His national responsibility inspires his mom, but Brown wants him to keep things in perspective
“The country is very small, so therefore all eyes are on him,”she said. “I just always remind him to not be pressured by theexpectation.Thatcan happen because you overthink.”
No matter where Reid places, Brown just wants him to give his best effortand continue having fun. Afterthe disappointing result in lastyear’s200 at theoutdoor SEC championships, LSU assistant coach BennieBrazell —a formerLSU starintrack and football —sharedadvicethatReidcarries with him today “Rome wasn’t built in oneday, you just got keep grinding,” Reid said of the advice. “Just stay down and grind, and ever sincethen, I’ve been working on my mentality. Now Irealize I’ve evolvedinto abetter sprinter since then.”
Mainieri notready to wave whiteflag at SouthCarolina
When ranking rivalries in the Southeastern Conference, LSUSouth Carolina doesn’texactly rate high marks. Oh, there’ssome genuine dislike/ jealousy between the Tigers and Gamecocksinwomen’s basketball, ramped up even further with the recent transfer to LSU offormer South Carolina star and Columbia native MiLaysia Fulwiley But compared to the pool of venom that exists betweenLSU and Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss or LSUand Texas A&M, LSU and South Carolina generally is less likelytogin up deep-seated bitterness and more likely to evoke mild curiosity
That’sprobably in large part because the Tigers owna whopping20-2-1 edgeinthe football series, which includes awin by the Gamecocks in their first-ever meeting way back in 1930
That said, there never has been quite asituation like whatfaces the Tigers and Gamecocks this week, as No. 1-ranked LSU begins athree-game series Thursday at South Carolina. That’saSouth Carolina team coached by former LSUtop man Paul Mainieri. The only thing close to this was in 1966 when Paul Dietzel coached his very first game as the South Carolina football coachin Tiger Stadium. Dietzel, who led theTigers to the 1958 national championship, infamously said he wouldnever leave LSU before doing exactly that in 1962, leaving LSU for Army,aschool deartohis heart and where he’d once been an assistant. Dietzel didn’twin at West Point so he left after four seasons for South Carolina, starting with a game in Baton Rouge he’d helped schedule several years before This was long before South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992 LSU and South Carolina were
Tulane hasone eyeon Charlotte, otheronAAC
BY GUERRYSMITH Contributing writer
TheTulanebaseball team will land anywhere fromsecond to sixth in the American Athletic Conference standings, but theonly result that matters is finishing first in the league tournament. Although theGreen Wave (3021, 13-11 AAC)entertains Charlotte (32-20, 15-9) on Thursday through Saturday to end the regular season, coach Jay Uhlman’stop priority is setting up his pitching forTuesday’sAAC Tournament openerinClearwater,Florida. The first twogames this weekendare set for 6:30 p.m., with Saturday’s finale at 1p.m.atTurchin Stadium. “Wewant to playtowin, but I’ve explainedtothemthe roadmapto what we havetodoasa team to put ourselvesinthe best position to winthe tournamentnextweek,” Uhlmansaid. “The guys that have been here understandthat. The guys that haven’tbeen here maybe don’t.”
Thursday starter Luc Fladda (4-5,6.65 ERA) will be on astrict pitch count. Friday’sand Saturday’sstartingpitchers have not been determined. Charlotte figures to take thesameapproach, so staff ace Blake Gillespie (6-4, 2.65) almost certainly will have his shortest outingofthe conference season after throwing at least 62/3 innings in his previous eight starts. Both teamsneed to winthe tournament to punchtheir ticket to an NCAA regional, as is true for everyoneinthe league except for dominant regular-season champion Texas-San Antonio, an at-large lock. Asweep likely would move Tulane up to the No. 2or3 seed and out of UTSA’s half of the bracket. Getting swept could drop the Wave to No. 6, also away from theRoadrunners. Any other result almostcertainly would leavethe Wave at No. 4or5
“You have to look at it froma what’stogainand what’stolose perspective,” Uhlmansaid. “It’s going to be most important for us to haveour top-endpitchers healthy and ready to go (inClearwater).” To that end, forgetabout AAC saves leader Michael Lombardi returning to the everyday lineup.
MAINIERI
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“If we’re notgoing to winata high level, at leastI’m goingto get thesegood freshmen alot of experience andplaying time,so it’ll payoff down the road,” Mainieri said.“Anditcertainly did with thatgroup of guys at LSU.”
bound to play an SEC baseball series at some point,itjust so happens to come at ahugely important time for the Tigers and Mainieri’ssuccessor,Jay Johnson.
The aforementionedtop-ranked Tigers (40-12)are trying to secure atop-eightnational seed in the NCAA Tournament,and they probably need awin or two in Columbia to do that beforeheading to next week’sSEC Tournament
You’d think this would be abig dealinGamecocks country, and it might be if South Carolina weren’t so bad. The Gamecocks are 27-26 overall and awoeful 5-22 in SEC play.Thatrecord includes five lossesof10runs or more, including a17-0 shelling at Texas A&M, a22-3 home losstoFlorida and a 24-2 loss at Auburn.Not surprisingly,SouthCarolina —with its current6.31 overall team ERA— is in danger of posting theworst ERAinprogram history
No onesaiditwas going to be easyfor Mainieri, just like it wasn’t in 2007 when his first LSU team went 29-26-1 two years beforewinning the College World Series.
But the coachwho is in multiple halls of fame risks tarnishing his reputationbycoming out of retirement four years after he’d coached hislastseasonatLSU in 2021.ThatMainiericouldn’tlet the game go is atale as old as sports itself for countless coaches and athletes.
He missedthe action that nothing else in his life —such as daily rounds of golf at the University Club —could replace. So he took the call to performone morerebuilding jobfrom his old friend, South Carolina athletic director
and two-time national championship-winning coach RayTanner But Mainieri was shocked in September when Tanner announced he was stepping down. Mainieri reportedly has agood relationship with new athletic director Jeremiah Donati. But there’s no question that in the years Mainieri was away from the dugout college athletics has changed dramatically withthe double-barreled challenges of NIL and the transfer portal. It’sa landscape that has made coaches younger than the67-year-old Mainieri decide to retire,not return.
There isn’tasmuch interest for the LSU-South Carolina series in Columbia as thereisfor the NCAA softball regionalthere (theGamecocks areaNo. 8national seed).
South Carolina baseball fans still want to and expect to win, but the Gamecocks’back-to-back College World Seriestitles in 2010-11 are an increasingly distant memory. So is SouthCarolina’slasttrip to Omaha in 2012, and even the last timeithosted an NCAA super regional in 2016.
There are naturally grumblings among the fan base, but Mainieri is adamant he will be back in 2026. Considering it would takeabout $7 million to buy out Mainieriand his topassistants Terry Rooney (a pitching coach at LSU under Mainieri) and associatehead coach Monte Lee, Mainieri’spledge is likely to stick.
“I’mcoaching SouthCarolina,” Manieri said on May 6. “Nobody has told me anything different or implied anything different. If there’s going to be achange, it’s news to me.
“I didn’tcome herejust to be here for one year.”
Mainieri still has ahome in BatonRouge, and it is there thatpermanent retirement eventually will beckon. Hopefully for him that will come beforelosses mount so high at South Carolina theystart to gnaw at the 1,500-plus wins he’s had over his career
Uhlmansaidthe two-way standout is too important as acloser (1.55 ERA, 55 strikeoutsin29innings) to risk reaggravating an oblique injury he suffered against Florida Atlantic on May 2. “His value is on the mound for us,” Uhlman said.“With other guys playing well, we don’tfeel like we have to run him out there offensively.I’m notgoing to risk a swingoradive. Hislast hitwas a dragbunt forahit because it hurt, but he’sinamuch better place now.”
Lombardi’s replacement, Theo Bryant, leads the league in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) during conference games at 1.145. Another startingoutfielder, freshman Jason Wachs, is tied for second in batting average at .370. Although theTulane lineup lacks the home run ability of ayear ago —when it hit 91 long balls compared to this season’s42—ithas no weak spots. Nine-hole hitter Kaikea Harrison is batting .296 and an even hotter .357 since the start of April. The Wave trails only TSAinbatting average, runs, doublesand slugging percentage during conference play.
“Kaikea’sputting together really good at-bats,” Uhlman said. “I want him to continue to do the same thing that he’sbeen doing. From an offensive standpoint, we’ve been able to pass the baton. I’ve been pleased with the balance and continuity in the lineup.”
Thedefense is improved, too. In league games, Tulane (.981) is secondin fielding percentage to Charlotte (.984), whichleads all of Division I. Harrison, whohad aspate of errors earlier in the season, has been error-free at shortstop for the past 12 games.
The Wave has ways to compete this weekend regardless of how careful it is with its pitchers.
“We’renot sloughing thisoff to get to next week,” Uhlmansaid.
“That’s not the mentality. The mentality is win with what we’re providing ourselves each game to be ready for next week. That to me is postseason baseball —winning with what you’ve gotatthe time.”
Mainieri has deployed asimilar strategy at South Carolina, hoping that freshmensuch as KJ Scobey and Beau Hollins can help turn around aprogram that won back-to-back national championships in 2010-11.
“They’ve had up-and-down moments, just like thekidsdid way back in the 2007 season,” Mainieri said. “But they’ve also shown what they’re capable of doing at times.”
But alot has changed since Mainieriretired at LSU after the2021season,and even more aboutthe game hasevolved since 2007.
There’sNIL. There’s the transferportal. There’s more pitchers than ever throwing 95-plus miles per hour, and more hitters than ever strong enough to consistently hit balls out of the park.
Mainieri knew thesewere hurdleshe’d have to tackle when he decidedtoreturntothe dugout last summer,but the sheer impactofitall caught him abit off-guard.
“The strengthofthe players, thevelocities of the pitchers, that has been abig change since Iretired fouryears ago,” Mainieri said.“Iwas tellingsomeonethe other day,we’re beating Ole Miss 5-1inthe sixthinning or something, and they bring aguy in out of thepen throwing 100 milesan hour.
“I rememberwhenJaden Hill touched 96 mphinafall game, and how everybody oohed and ahhed. Iremember Alex Lange’s first pitch of his career (was 95 mph) and you could hear the buzz throughout the crowd.”
This brutal reality has, in part, led to SouthCarolina beingthirdto-last in theSEC in home runs (27) and second-to-last in ERA (9.27). “We’ve juststruggled on the mound mightily,” Mainieri said. “You just look at our statistics, andit’seasytosee that.” Acquiring the horses necessary to compete in the SEC is the
next step for Mainieri. He said he’salready hardatworkonthe recruiting trail fornext year and beyond.
But recruiting high school players is just aslice of the pie in the modern era of college baseball. Adding immediate impact transferswiththe helpof sufficient NILfunds is acomponentofroster building that has become equally crucial in 2025.
“When I first got here last summer,welostalot of recruiting battles because other schools were giving amore, shall Isay, appealing package to kids,” Mainieri said. “That’sthe realityofthe world we live in now.The schools that have alot of money and are willing to give it to the players are getting the best players.
“Wewere playing Tennessee, for example, and the first baseman (Andrew Fischer) and the No. 1starting pitcher (Liam Doyle)both played forOle Miss last year,and both had alot of success for OleMiss last year Whywould theychange schools fromOle Miss to Tennessee? Becausethey like the color orange? Imean, let’sbehonest.”
Mainieri is still confident he can get South Carolina back to where it was 15 years ago. It’sa feat he alreadyaccomplishedat LSU.
But he knows it’s not goingto be easy.
“Wejust have to upgrade and get better, like we did after the first year at LSU,” Mainierisaid. “And hopefully we will. We’re all working like crazy on recruiting fornext year.”
Email Koki
Mainieri
Scott Rabalais
BrotherMartinall business with baseball titleonline
BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
Brother Martin will take abattletested baseball team into its bestof-three state championship series against Catholic-Baton Rougethat begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursdayat McMurry Park in Sulphur
The Crusaders are in the state finals for the firsttime sincethey last won astate championship in 1996.
Brother Martin, atwo-time state winner,reachedthis point with a lineup that includes several players who have been starters for the past three andfourseasons.
Included among them are ace pitcher Cole Navarro (UNO commitment) and 9-5A co-player of the year RyanDarrah (Arizona State commitment).
Other recent seasons ended with disappointment, but this season has been different.
“The main thing is we don’tlet adversity get to us,” saidBrother Martin senior Reece Roussel, in thestarting lineup since he was afreshman. “Maybe we’ll have a badinning,but then we’llpickitup right after.” Or,inthe case of what happened Saturday,third-seeded Brother
Martin (31-7) overcame the sting of beingno-hit byNo. 2Holy Cross in the second game of astate semifinal playoff series to win thedecisive third game 8-0.
The Catholic League champion Crusadershave lost only twice sincetheybegan the season with a7-5 record, meaning they have won 24 of the past 26 games. Thetwo losses have come by onerun each —2-1 against John Curtis and1-0 against Holy Cross.
“Even though we’ve played some pretty good ball in the latter part of the season, they have stayed extremelyhumbleand extremely hungry,approaching each day as anew opportunity to compete,” Brother Martin coach Jeff Lupo said. “They’ve remained very businesslike and yet, very kiddish. If you listen to them,they kind of jump around andhavefun with oneanother But whilethey’re between the lines, they’re verybusinesslike. Andthey have very high expectations for themselves.”
Brother Martin ended thepast two seasonsprematurely,intheir eyes, after aregional-round loss at home againstC.E. Byrd when the currentseniors were sophomores,
and in the quarterfinals against Curtis last season.
This experienced team alsoincludescatcher EganPrather and secondbaseman Stan Wiltz, who along withDarrah and Roussel played on that Eastbank team that won theLittle League World Series in 2019.
Reigning state championCatholic (35-5) will providea stiff test. The top-seeded Bears have swept three playoff seriesonthe way to reaching thestate finals.Among them was an eight-inning win against John Curtis that ended the quarterfinals.
Shortstop Jack Ruckert is an LSUsignee who hit three home runs in asemifinalsweep of St Thomas More last weekend. Outfielder Noah Lewis is signedwith UL.
Junior left-hander Lucas Lawrence, aSouthern Mississippi commitment,has pitched theopening game in all threeofthe playoff series this postseason,including afour-hit shutout of Curtis in the state quarterfinals. He struck out eight and walked one.
Navarro, theace Brother Martin pitcher,holds the school career record in pitching wins with 26. He has 11 wins this season.
Holy Crosshires N.O. area track coachasnew athletic director
BYCHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
Holy Cross has hireda longtime New Orleans area trackand field coach as its next athleticdirector —but he will be an administrator-only at his new school. Mark Faliveno, the head track and field coach at Newman for nearly twodecades, wasnamed Wednesday as thenew athletic director at Holy Cross, effective immediately Faliveno coachedNewmantrack andfield for18yearsand the
crosscountryteamfor thepast
five seasons before he left Newman in November in what he said was a“mutualparting.”After leaving Newman, he coached the McGee track and fieldteam for one season. Thechance to become an athletic director was “something Ihad beenlookingfor for some time now,”Faliveno said.
Faliveno will not have acoaching role at Holy Cross, he said.
“I have been looking to make that move,” Faliveno said about becoming an athletic director.“I coached for nearly 28 years. Ifeel like Iaccomplishedagood bit over the28years. It was time for me to take thenextstepinmyprofes-
sional career.”
Falivenocoached track and field at Mount Carmel before going to Newman.
As athletic director,Faliveno filled theopening that was created when Mister Kirkwood moved from head basketball coach and athletic director to becomethe assistant principalfor student affairs. Holy Cross assistant tothe president forschool operations JohnSerio said in arelease from the school thatFaliveno’s“commitment to excellence, extensive coaching background andpassion for student development make him the perfect fittolead our athletic department.”
BY STEPHENWHYNO AP sportswriter
BALTIMORE The wrecking ball is coming to Pimlico Race Course, a long-awaited demolition of the dilapidated racetrack that opened in 1870 and fordecades has seen better days.
Asection of grandstand has been condemned since 2019, ceiling tilesare missing from the part of the structure that is still safe to occupy,and there is acrack in oneofthe large windows looking out at the track. The Preakness Stakes will move to nearby Laurel Park in 2026 while construction of the newPimlico takes place, with the aim of the second jewel of horse racing returning to its historic home in Baltimorein2027.
But first is the150th running of thePreaknessthisSaturday,one that without the Kentucky Derby winner will be atribute to acentury anda half of some legendary races andhorses who made their mark on the sport. Much likeBelmontPark in NewYork when it reopensafter getting knocked down and rebuilt, Pimlico will not be the same.
“I’m going to really miss it, 89-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas said. “It’salways been oneofmyfavorites, and I speak forthe other trainers, too. I have never talkedtoatrainerthat worked through thePreakness thatdidn’tenjoy this the most.”
Two-timeTriple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert had to makesure, “They’re keeping the track,right?” Most horsemen would love to see the old-fashioned, close-togetherbarns stay thesame, as well.
“It’s adifferent vibe: It’s chill,” Baffert said. “It has alot of charm to it.”
Before contemplating the future, some Preakness champions share their favoritememories at the place nicknamed “Old Hilltop.”
BobBaffert
No one haswon the PreaknessmoretimesthanBaffert’s eight, from Silver Charm in 1997 through National Treasure in 2023.
“Five of them were really exciting because we went for the Triple Crown,” Baffert said.
“WhenSilver Charm won, Iwas just hoping to hitthe board. And then he wins it and then I’mlike, ‘Oh wow,what do Idonow?’ I’ll never forget that.”
SilverCharm finishedsecond in the Belmont Stakes, then Real Quiet thenext year gave Baffert consecutive Kentucky Derby and Preaknesswinners. The 1998 racewas just as memorable for the power outagecausedbya transformer fire in the area and another smaller blaze in an air conditioner in the jockeys’ room on a96-degree day Real Quiet wasalsosecondin the Belmont, andin2002 Baffert hit theDerby-Preakness doublewith WarEmblembefore an eighth-place finish stopped theTriple Crown bid. Baffert was lucky enough to sweep all three races in 2015 with American Pharoah and then again with Justify in 2018 —aPreakness run in sloppy,foggy conditions.
“I hope thatbig white face is in frontwhenwecomeout of the fog,” Baffert said during the race. “And he was.”
D. WayneLukas
Entering thoroughbred racing from the sprinting world, Lukas
at the1980 Preakness was referred to by his fellow trainers as “the quarter-horse guy.” That year brought his first of seven wins, saddling arecord 48 horses in the race through 2024.
“The one that probably made the biggest impact on me was Tabasco Cat (in 1994),” Lukas said. “That was the horse that ran over my son and eventually cost him his life.”
Jeff Lukas wasrun over when Tabasco Cat got loose in the stable area at Santa Anita in California on Dec.15, 1993, and the 36-year-oldwas still in acoma forthe Preakness. He suffered permanent injuries, dying nearly three decades later in 2016.
“When he won,itwas kind of unexpected,” LukassaidofTabasco Cat. “For them to lead that horse in (to the winner’scircle) andeverything, that probably hadthe biggest impact.There was alot of emotion withitwith Jeff involved.”
Mark Casse
“You want to know my worst one?” Casse said. “Classic Empire getting beaten at the wire.”
Thatwas 2017,when Cloud Computing finishedaheadin front of Casse’sClassic Empire. Twoyears later came arollercoaster ride of alifetime.
Son Norm put his arm around hisfather during theKentucky Derby andtoldhim he’s about to winitwith WarofWill. Then Mark Casse’shorse clipped heels with Maximum Security, who crossed the finish line first andwas disqualified forinterference.
WarofWill miraculously stayed up and kept running on the way to finishing eighth.
“I was just happythathewas safe,” Casse said aboutavoiding whatcould have been aseriesof horses and jockeys going down. “That would’vebeen just devastating forracing. Iwas just happy that he wasOK.” OK, but notwithoutsome pain Each of WarofWill’sfront feet were bruised, and he was almost scratched from thePreakness unbeknownst to everyone but his trainer
“The weekafter the Derby was pretty nip and tuck,” Casse said. “You knowwhenIdecidedfor sure —Inever told anybody thatIwas going to run him? About 10 o’clock Preakness morning. Until that point, Iwas not 100% sure Iwas going to run him.”
During the week,Lukasdefended WarofWill when someone looked at the horse and said he had no chance.
“Wayne said, ‘You just watch himrun,’ ”Casse recalled. “And Wayne was right.”
SteveAsmussen
Curlin beating Street Sense in the2007Preaknesswas the “turning pointinour barn’s trajectory,” according to Asmussen, whonow hasthe most career wins of any trainer in North America.
It got even better twoyears later when he won it with filly Rachel Alexandra.
“I had never experienced when we walked out of the barn with Rachel forthe 2009 Preakness: Everybody was on her side,” Asmussen said. “You go to the races and people have their favorites and whothey’re rooting for. But running Rachel was different than anything Ihad done previously or since.”
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Brother Martin celebrates runs against Holy Cross in the first inning during astate semifinalplayoff series game at Holy CrossonMay 8.
No rolling needed
BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER
BY APRIL HAMILTON | Contributing writer
runchy iceberg salads were the star at every family dinner of my childhood. My mom had this magical way of grasping that head of lettuce in two hands and bumping the stem end on the counter with gentle force, then twisting the core and removing it with Excalibur finesse.
She ran it under the sink to rinse the head, then propped it onto the right size Pyrex cup to let the water run out, then into the fridge to chill and crisp while she made our nightly feast.
See GREENS, page 2D
Salad Dressing
I would call this “Mom’s Salad Dressing,” but it is not unique to her. There are countless variations. This one is a comforting classic. Vary to your whim, adding fresh herbs or a few drops of honey.
1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed or scraped with a
or
and pepper to
1. Combine the garlic with the vinegar in a pint-size Mason jar or covered container of your choice. Swirl to blend, then add the mustard. Swirl again. Add the olive oil in a stream and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and shake well.
2. Refrigerate up to a week and make on repeat. Remove from the refrigerator while you assemble your salad to loosen up the olive oil, which will congeal when it is cold Shake well and drizzle on your awaiting greens.
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
Protein from the fridge featuring boiled shrimp and pulled chicken join a fresh salad array at April Hamilton’s home in Baton Rouge.
PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER
Should Ihavecookedfor therepairguys?
Dear MissManners: Ineeded to have thewasher and dryer replaced in my apartment, and two maintenance workers showed up to do the work around breakfast time.
Iusually make breakfast for my husband before he heads to school, but Ifelt uncomfortable cookingfor the two of us without offering anything to the maintenance men who were there
Gentle reader: Not deprivedher husbandofbreakfast on the grounds that others did nothave the sense to have theirown meals before they left for work.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
So Ideclined to make breakfast because Idid notwant to cook for two extra people. My husband thinks Iwas being silly andshould have justmade breakfast for us without worrying about them. What would Miss Manners have done in this situation?
Dear Miss Manners: When cuttingmeat at the dinner table, my wife of nearly 50 years holds her fork as thoughshe’sstabbing someone. It apparently doesn’t embarrass her,but it makesmecringe inside. Isuppose Ishouldhave mentioned this along,long time ago, buthow would Ieven have gone aboutdoingthat? Or should Ijust let it ride?
Gentle reader: After 50 years, you might let things be.Miss Man-
ners can understand your having waited to be certain your new bride was not going to act on that violent impulse, but by now,she hashad ample opportunity
Dear Miss Manners: I’m retired, and Ivolunteer four days aweek at a senior center.Iassist low-income seniors withsimple tasks, playing games andgeneral socialization, andIalso help serve the daily communal meal. The employees of the organization are likely considered my supervisors, but we’re also quitefriendly and Ithought we’d established friendships.
Isuffered astroke recently and washospitalized for acouple of weeks. Afew of the seniors who have my phone number called and kindly expressed their heal-
Spiced Sweet Potato Croutons
Youcan give asingle sweet potato thecrouton treatment, or make abunch to keep on hand for theweek’s meals. Scale the recipe up as desired.
1largesweet potato, scrubbed and diced (my precise mother would say 3⁄8 inches —you do you)
1tablespoon olive oil
½teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning (I usealess salt/more spice variety)
Freshlyground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 425F Line alarge rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
Place the sweet potato dice onto theprepared baking sheet, drizzlewithoil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the seasoning and agood amount of pepperand toss again. Spread into asingle layer
2. Roast on the middlerack in the oven until golden and tender,about 20 minutes, turning once at 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and let coolonthe baking sheet
Serveimmediately or transfer to an airtight container and refrigeratefor up to five days.
GREENS
Continued from page1D
Imade the dressing. She simply calledthis formula “salad dressing,” not vinaigrette. If we requested one of the tempting bottles of dressing from the store with their little bits of garlic and things suspended in the mixture, the answer was always, “check thelabel.”Mom did not adore the long ingredient lists, which usually concluded with some type of preservative. The salads in my kitchen today bear little resemblance to the beloved bowl of iceberg.
Once mom figured outthe minimal nutrient content of
COOK-OFF
Continued from page1D
The seafood cook-off opens aseason of flavor on the northshore, launching the eighth annual Tammany Taste of Summer running Aug. 1-31. During that month, restaurants across St. Tammany Parish will be serving up exclusive dining deals showcasing the region’srich culinary scene, from freshGulf seafood to local dishes.
As an addedtreat,the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off will feature tastings from 15 par-
Pickled Red Onions
So simple and afestive addition to almost anything.
1large or 2small red onions, halved, peeled, and thinlysliced
½cup cider vinegar
¼cup water
½teaspoon coarse salt
½teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1. Place the sliced onion intoa wide-mouthpint Masonjar.They will be packed in withsome just above the rim
2. Combine the vinegar,water,salt and pepper in a small saucepan and bring just to aboil over mediumhigh heat. Swirl the pantodissolve thesalt, then pour thehot liquid carefully over the onions in the jar. Use a fork to gently press the onion slices to compress them in thejar.Whenalmost cool, cover with the lid and rotate the jartosubmerge the onions.Removethe lid and letcool completely before covering again and refrigeratinguptoaweek.
SpicedPumpkin Seeds
2cups pumpkinseeds(also called pepitas, out of the shell)
1tablespoon olive oil
½teaspoon each CajunorCreole seasoning (I use aless salt/ morespice variety), smoked paprika and garlic powder
1. Heat theoven to 350F.Line arimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.Place the pumpkin seeds on the prepared pan anddrizzle witholive oil, tossing to coat Sprinkle evenly with theseasonings and toss again. Spreadout into asinglelayer and roast in the oven untilgolden brown, tossing at 5minutes, forabout 10 minutes. Theiraroma will signal they are done.
2. Letcool in asingle layer on the baking sheet before transferringtoanairtight container
that crunchyfavorite,we moved on to emerald green romaineand beyond, raising the bar to maximize the nutrition punch. Ilove abed of vividgreens with added hues of purple and redleaf lettuce that accentabig bowl. The dressing remains aconstant.
Meal prep now includes sweetpotato “croutons” which Ishoweronmysalads like confetti. Toasted spiced pumpkinseeds are roasted and ready to top all things or eatout of hand.Pickled red onions add to therainbow andprovidetangy zip. Poached chicken and shrimp pump up theprotein and make any salad abalanced meal.
WhenI recently thumbed through one of mom’strea-
STAFF FILE PHOTO Achef prepares aplate to be servedtothe judges during a past GreatAmericanSeafood Cook-Off. Chefs are being sought for the preliminaryto thiscontest —the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off —on June 27.
suredcookbooks,Iteared up seeing that adored “recipe” from so long ago, penned in her unmistakable handwriting: “Salad Dressing: 3Tvinegar; 1TDijon; 1clove garlic, pressed; ½cup oil, S&P.” Imakeitonrepeat, sometimes àlaminute, in alarge jar or in the old school Good Seasonssalad dressing carafe. Ihave upped thevinegar to increase thepucker factor Back in theday,there was no saladspinner.Today,it getsa workout, so Iamalways ready to cure my salad fix. The salad is also theperfect entry point for getting kids to join the kitchen fun. Tear the lettuce, peel the carrots, shake the dressing, and grind the pepper.Happy cooking!
ticipating Tammany Taste of Summerrestaurants, offering attendees apreview of themonthlong culinary celebration. Learn more at TammanyTaste.com
Sponsors for the2025 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off include the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Visit theNorthshore, andthe Louisiana Restaurant Association. Follow @LaSeafoodBoard on Instagram and Twitter and keep up withall Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off events via the official hashtag, #LASCO25, and the Louisiana Seafood Facebook page.
ing thoughts and wishes, but no one I“work for” (the nonprofit and its employees) has expressed athought, called or showneven a hint of caring.
Ifeel like Idon’twant to return to my duties after healing, solely because none of them seem to missmeenough to say so. Admittedly,myfeelings are hurt.
Any idea howIcan pointedly, yet politely,inform them of my decision and how theirbehavior,orlack thereof, led me to this decision?
Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.
Gentle reader: The problem with the all-too-commonrhetoric about the company (any company) being a“family” and your co-workers being friends is that it is, as you have sadly discovered, insincere. Miss Manners does not mean to say that no one makes lasting friendships at work. But your expectation that friendship came with the job wasunrealistic. Youare of course free not to return, but aletter explaining your reasons will be shrugged off as naive —and perhaps as evidence that you are right not to come back. The genuine infraction is that all the people whoknow it is alie continue to repeat it.
When aloved onerefuses help
Dear Annie: Iamconcerned that my wife has given up on life and there is nothing Ican do to help. For background, Iama 67-year-old man, and my wife is around the sameage. We married about 20 years ago, and she was able-bodied and working. She has multiple healthissues. She is at high risk for cardiovascular problems, based on family history.She was put on astatin andsomething for blood pressure. She has asthma and frequent coughing spells. Over time, she has repeatedly resisted medical testing. She has never had amammogram or acolonoscopy More recently,she started to develop some kind of neurological symptoms. I got her to go to aneurologist and the preliminary screening suggested possible Parkinson’s. Asecond neuro appointment was inconclusive. They referred her for an MRIorsome type of scan, and at that point,she refused to go further in finding out what was wrong. Since then, her ability to stand and walk have gotten worse. She can only walk short distances with assistance. She needs
help getting in and out of bed or achair.She cannot get in or out of the shower Every effort Ihave madetohelp her has been frustrated. She has not been to adoctor for years, going back before the COVID epidemic. She no longer gets refills forher medications, and she doesn’ttake them anyway.We had the bath tub modified to help her step into it. She has not used it since it was completed. Ihad a stair liftinstalled to help her get up and downthe stairs. She has never used it and asked me to get it removed. The combination of physical problemsmeans she is at risk of death or injury almost all the time. She could die of heart attack or stroke. She has frequent choking or near-choking incidents, almost every timeshe eats. And every trip up or downstairs, or a trip from bed to the bathroom could mean afall and serious injury Ihave just about given up on trying to convince her to do anything about her medical condition. If Ieven hint at it she just says, “Nomore doctors.” Is there something I can do to get her to see a doctor? If not, maybe we can do something to make daily lifesafer —Frustrated Caregiver Dear Frustrated: The way your wife is living is not just dangerous forher; it’sdebilitating to all those around her.Her refusal to seek care and resistance to even basic safety measures could signal neurological changes or mental challenges like depression. Youcan’tforce her to seek help, but you can try adifferent approach. Perhaps alicensed therapist or social worker who specializes in chronic illness or elder care would be aless intimidating place to start. In the meantime, your instinct to focus on safety is wise. Reach out to ahome health agency or ageriatric care manager.Even if your wife won’tengage with them directly,they can help assess your home and suggest ways to reduce fall risks or choking hazards. Lastly,you need support, too. Acaregiver support group or counselor can help you manage the emotional toll and give you tools to cope, whetherornot your wife decides to engage.
Sendyour questions forAnnie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.
Storingleftoverdinner servings
Dear Heloise: It is difficult to makethe recipes Ienjoy withmy family for one person. The taste just doesn’tcome out right.So, when I cook, Imake afull recipe —6-8 servings. The leftovers go intozip-close bags in single serving sizes. If thefood is frozen while it is still warm, it keeps the flavor very well.
ByThe Associated Press
small bags go
large bags and into a“food file” in my freezer so that Ican microwave it and have the food Ilove available —with less effort than ordering takeout and no box taste. Dianne Lee, via email
Butteringbread
Dear Heloise: My wife of 30 years came up with this nifty trick at lunch. When you are served bread with cold, foil-covered butter, instead of smooshing the hard butter into your soft bread, hold the butter in your closed hand fora minute. Then open the foil and spread nice, softbutter onto your bread. Works like acharm! —Big Mike, in California
Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
Today is Thursday, May 15, the135th day of 2025. There are 230 days left in the year
Todayinhistory:
On May 15, 1970, less than two weeks after the shooting at Kent StateUniversity, two Black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi were killed and 12 were injured when police opened fire during student demonstrations
On this date:
In 1800, President John Adams ordered governmentoffices to relocate from Philadelphia to the newly-constructed cityof Washington, in the federal District of Columbia.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the DepartmentofAgriculture.
In 1928, the Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in front of apublic audience in atest screening of the short “Plane Crazy.” (Mickey made his formal screen debut with the release of “Steamboat Willie” six months later.)
In 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’sfast-food restaurant, in San Bernardino, California.
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its In re Gault decision, ruled that juveniles accused of crimes were entitled to the same due process afforded adults.
In 1972, Alabama Gov George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer,who would serve 35 years in prison for the attempted murder.
In 2015, ajury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death forthe 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and leftmore than 260 wounded. In 2020, President Donald Trumpformally unveiled acoronavirus vaccine program called “Operation Warp Speed,” to speed development of COVID-19 vaccines and quickly distribute them around the country
Today’sbirthdays: Artist Jasper Johns is
Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is
STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK
Fresh garlic and radishes join sweet potato croutons on afresh salad array.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson is 85. Musician Brian Eno is 77. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 73. Baseball Hall of Famer
Annie Lane DEAR ANNIE
Hints from Heloise
tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Look at every angle and see the endless possibilities. Letyour intelligence and experience guide you instead of letting someone bait you into ano-win situation.
GEMInI (May 21-June20) Athorough investigationofanything you wantto pursue is necessary.Ifyou educate yourself, you'll discover ways to cut costs. Knowledge gives you the power to negotiate.
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Discipline and hard work will pay off. Refrain from letting your body language divulge your true feelings. Keep your emotions out of conversations if you want to makeprogress.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Mixing business withpleasure can backfire if you are indulgent or vocal about your beliefs. Admirable actions will impact the people youencounter more than words will.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22) Keep an open mind, but refuse to letanyone talk you into something youcannot afford or don't want. Change begins with you. If someone's pestering you, stand firm, but be kind.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) An opportunity is apparent. Listentowhat others offer andweigh in on how you can contribute. Afinancial gain is possible if you are willing to do the work yourself.
ScORPIO (Oct. 24-nov. 22) Hold your head high andrefusetolet the little things get to you. Focus on engaging in
in-person eventsoractivities that offer beneficialresults.
SAGIttARIuS(nov.23-Dec. 21) Something won't add up. Personal issues will get blown out of proportion if your emotions mess with your common sense. Sticktothe factstoavoidbeing blamed formisinformation.
cAPRIcORn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take the edge off and chill while you consider the bestway to handle domestic situationsthatare weighing on yourmind. Before launching your response, figure out what's essentialtoyou.
AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You can observeand learn from what's happening around you, but holdtight lest you hitch aride on arunaway train. Put thought and consideration intohow you earnand handle your money.
PIScES (Feb. 20-March 20) Avoid being led astray or coerced intosomething costly or unsafe. Show respect, be polite, learn to say no graciouslyand walk away. Apositiveattitude, honesty and integrity are the road to abetter future
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Explore, enjoy the sceneryand take amoment to find your happy place. Listen more than you talk,and digest what you discover. A windowofopportunity will open.
CelebrityCipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, pastand present. Each letter in thecipher stands for another.
tODAy'S cLuE: GEQuALS D
CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
SherMAn’S LAGoon
Sudoku
InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the samenumber only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Colin Hay,a Scottish-born musician whocame to prominence as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, said,“Idon’twalk offand comeback for encores.I figureIcan addfourweeksto my lifethat way.”
In abridge column, though, encores canhelptoreinforce thepoint being made by the writer.
When the dealeropens oneofa suit and twopasses follow, if fourth hand overcalls twono-trump, it shows ahand worth atwo-no-trump opening bid —as in this deal.
Northmight use Stayman, but chooses to raise to three no-trump.After West leadsthe heartqueen, how should South plan the play?
Thedifficult part of this deal is thinking of therightplay. Declarer starts with six top tricks: two hearts, two diamonds andtwo clubs. There are two more tricks available in clubs, assuming a3-2 break, but one spade winner is also needed
If Southimmediately concedes aclub trick, West clearshearts and defeats the contract when in with thespade ace. If South leads his spade queen,West wins and establishes his hearts; the contract still fails
Instead, because West is marked with thespadeacefromhisopeningbid,South must start with thelow spade fromhis hand.IfWestgoesinwiththeace,declarer hasnine winners via three spades, two hearts, two diamonds and two clubs. Whereas if West ducks, declarer wins in thedummy andswitches to clubs. His ninetricksareonespade,twohearts,two diamonds andfourclubs.
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle whichcreates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
word game
InStRuctIOnS: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional
or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
tODAy’S WORD nutRItIOn: nu-TRISH-un: Nourishment.
Average mark 21 words
Timelimit 30 minutes
Can you find 29 or more words in NUTRITION?
yEStERDAy’S WORD —uLuLAtES
loCKhorNs
This kindofpraying will blessthe prayer andthose around them. G.E. Dean
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
hidato
mallard
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of theheirs of Akayla Hubbard, please contactAttorney MichaelJ Hall at 504-383-5294 or mjhall@mjhalllaw.com. 141068-5/14-15-16-3t $97.00
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Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of Dane A. Theriot,
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of theheirs of DorothyCollins, please contactAttorney MichaelJ Hall at 504-383-5294 or mjhall@mjhalllaw.com. 141095-May15-17, 3t $97
140942-May 14-16, 3t $133
don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss
armedforcesday commemoratio
Starting at 11 a.m. Saturday,The National WWIIMuseum will host apacked day of events, starting with the recognition of service members,past and present, at 11 a.m. Then, veterans, current military andfamilies are invited to attend acookout-style lunch on the Barksdale ParadeGround to kick off 2025’sBlueStar Museums program. And at 5:30 p.m., the Victory SwingOrchestra headlines aDineand Dance dinner at BB’sStage Door Canteen. Tickets start at $30. nationalww2museum.org.
four concerts sunday
Aquartet of concertswill featurevocal, instrumental and handbells around themetro areaSunday. NOLAVox, thea cappella ensemble, joins Shades of Praise for NewOrleansVoices at 2:30 p.m. at St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter.nolavox.org.The Perkins Rogers Handbells, Symphony Chorus and Louisiana PhilharmonicOrchestra present “Creation,” anew oratorio by Dan Forrest, at 3p.m.atSt. George’sChurch, 4600 St. Charles Ave. Tickets start at $10. sumphonychorus.org. Also at 3p.m.atthe UNOPerforming Arts Center, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, Charles Taylorleadsthe New OrleansConcertBand as it “goestothe movies.”neworleansconcertband.org. And “Songs That Changed theWorld” will be thetheme for theJefferson Chorale’sfree 3p.m. show at Westwego PerformingArtsTheater,177 Sala Ave.,directed by Louis LaBruyère.
senior fest
TheNew Orleans Council on Agingwill have food, entertainment,prizes, funand loads of information from cityofficials and departments forseniors in the metropolitan area startingat9 a.m. Friday at UNOLakefront Arena,6801 Franklin Ave., on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain. Ticketsare $6 at thedoor.nocoa.org.
Celebrating 50 years, the New Orleans Center for Creative Artsthrows a fundraising fêteat7:30 p.m. Saturday withfood from culinary arts students and faculty (and some great New Orleans restaurants), sounds from Sasha Masakowski and BigSam’sFunky Nation to entertain and get those feet moving, plus art, vacation packages and more on auction. Tickets start at $100, $50 for alumni. 2800 Chartres St. artandsoulnocca.com.
Opera goes German at 7p.m. Tuesday when the local performing ensemble heads to Deutsches Haus, 1700 Moss St., for worksranging from Verdi to Pucci and Rodgers andHammerstein to abit of Andrew Lloyd Webber and lots in between. The free concert features Lauren Gisclair, Mary Akin, Joe Akinand Jake Penick. Doors open at 4 p.m. and food and drinkservice is available. deutscheshaus.org.
music music music
SOUND CHECK
Continued from page3
BAYOUBOOGALOO
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
The fate of the 2025 Bayou Boogaloo, the annual music festival alongthe banksofBayou St. John near its intersection with Orleans Avenue, hung in the balanceuntil theverylast minute. Hoping toforce thefestival’sproducers to address some neighborhood residents’ concerns about traffic, parking, noiseand other issues, New OrleansCityCouncilmemberJoe Giarrusso held up final approvalofthe necessary permits until justa week before the gates werescheduled to open. Inthe end, the 20-year-oldfestival got thego-aheadto proceed with aslightly smaller footprint anda promise to reevaluate in 2026.
Boogaloo kicks off Friday at 5p.m.with New Orleans guitarist BillyIuso. Theschedule also includessingerAnjelika “Jelly”
Joseph, Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli and theHoney Island Swamp Banddoing its Pink Floydtribute.
Saturday opens at noon Green. On Saturday,you Andrews &the Crescent Volt, Alexis &the Sanity, at 9:15 p.m.,Big Freedia’
The Sunday finale opens Chorus at noon on themain Bo Dollis Jr.&the Wild Magnolias, Nudes, theTony Hall Ban music of James Brown, LSDClownsystem and, starting at 7:50 p.m., the popular Alanis Morissette tribute band Jagged Little Pill featuring vocalist Marceaux.
Thousands of patrons will
on all manner of inflatable and often homemade watercraft(all of which are subject to extensive rules and regulations). Tickets start $30 $50
OTHERNOTEWORTHYSHOWS
THURSDAY
The New Orleans Centerfor Creative Arts stages itsannual springtime Student Jazz Ensemble concert at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street.Pianist and composer Michael Pellera,the chairof the school’sjazz department, will lead the student musicians at 7:30p.m.and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.
Curley Taylor &Zydeco Trouble are featured for the weekly Zydeco Night at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($15).
TomWorrell is the week’s designated pianist for the 6p.m. “Booker Sessions” show at theMaple Leaf Bar ($10). Laterat8p.m, drummer Johnny Vidacovich is at the Maple Leaf withhis Astral Project bandmates bassist James Singleton and saxophonist Tony Dagradi ($15 advance, $20 door).
FRIDAY
Tipiina’shosts a“Graduation Throwdown” featuring Meters bassist George Porter Jr.& His Runnin’ Pardners Apricot Jam& Homesick open the show at 8p.m.Tickets start at $15.
The DesertNudes,featuring AndreBohren, David Pomerleau and John Paul Carmody,put their own spin on old-school country &Western music at the Maple Leafat 8p.m.($15 advance, $20 door).
The Jenn Howard Band and The Old Love share abill at Chickie WahWah ($20)
Yolanda Robinson and Jolynda “Kiki”Chapman carry on the legacy of their late mother,Topsy Chapman, with their swingingvocal group Solid Harmony.Hear them at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday at Snug Harbor ($35).
The Topcats play hitsfrom multiple decades at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($10).
SATURDAY
Fans of Talking Heads, takenote: Tipitina’spresents Tchoup Making Sense: ANOLA Tribute to TalkingHeads Grits &Greens opens theshow at 9p.m. Tickets start at $13.50.
Spend an eveningwith Layla Musselwhite at Chickie Wah Wah($20).
At 92, saxophonist and singer Charlie Gabriel is still goingstrong, performing with the Preservation Hall Jazz Bandand withhis own ensemble. At 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., he’llteam up with pianist Larry Sieberth at Snug Harbor.Tickets are $40.
and aKFC bucket atop his head forhis performances —plugs in at the Joy Theater.Tickets startat$45. It’scountry night at Rock ’N’ Bowl with Nashville South ($10).
SUNDAY
Cajun accordionist and singer Bruce Daigrepont and his band host their monthly fais do-do at Tipitina’sstarting at 5:15 p.m. ($15).
Pianistand composer MichaelPellera anchors atrio featuring drummer JohnnyVidacovich andbassist Grayson Brockamp at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Sunday ($30).
TUESDAY
Modern jazzpianist Jesse McBride leads The Next Generation at Snug Harbor at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. ($30).
WEDNESDAY
Keyboardist JonCleary plays asolo show at Chickie WahWah at 8p.m. ($20).
The Pfister Sisters vocal group swings out at Snug Harbor for afree show at 5p.m. Modern jazzdrummer Adonis Rose &the NOJO 7 then take over Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m.($35).
Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.
Buckethead
Charlie Gabriel
Alexis Marceau
music music music
AM PACKEDJ
Enjoy music, comedy, burlesque and more this weekend at Bayou Boogaloo
BY JAKE CLAPP Gambit Weekly
The Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo will have a smaller footprint when it takes place Friday through Sunday on Bayou St. John. Over the years, it had grown to reach from Lafitte Avenue at the bottom of the historic waterway to Dumaine Street at the top, but this year, the music festival will be between Lafitte and Orleans avenues.
The main stage at Orleans Avenue will host music each day while a tent on the south-end of the festival will have a variety stage featuring comedy, story-telling events and singersongwriters. There also is a kids’ area with activities, a crawfish-eating competition and information booths from environmental and conservation groups.
The Americana group Honey Island Swamp Band headlines the Orleans Stage on Friday with their Pink Floyd tribute show “Dark Side of the Bayou.” The first day’s music starts up at 5 p.m., and the lineup also includes Leo Nocentelli, vocalist Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph and rock guitarist-vocalist Billy Iuso.
The Variety Tent on Friday will have a performance by Inferno Burlesque, the Happy Time Healing Sheaux — which features Nick Rutherford, Karl Hess and the You’re Invited improv troupe — and a set by singer-songwriter Renee Gros.
Bayou Boogaloo expands to a full day of music and events on Saturday. Big Freedia will headline the Orleans Stage. The bounce artist has been working on a gospel record — which
should be out this year — and will be presenting her “Gospel Revival” during her Boogaloo show.
The day’s lineup also includes New Orleans hip-hop collective glbl wrmng, alt-country band the Crowe Boys, pop duo Alexis & The Sanity, blues rocker Ghalia Volt, trumpeter James Andrews & The Crescent City Allstars and alternative R&B singer-songwriter Kirkland Green.
Singer-songwriters Joy Clark and Shawan Rice also will perform Saturday in the Variety Tent, and that stage will be headlined by the Asylum Variety Show, with Dori Dimplez, Trombone Squirty, Samantha Bednarz and more. There also will be a comedy show hosted by Greetings, from Queer Mountain and a round of the NOLA Roast Battle League.
On Sunday, the 420 Funk Mob will perform with members of Parliament Funkadelic, and Alexis Marceaux (of Sweet Crude and Alexis & The Sanity) will be the vocalist for Jagged Little Pill, a tribute to Alanis Morissette. LSD Clownsystem, The Desert Nudes, The Asylum Choir and Bo Dollis Jr & The Wild Magnolias — who have a new album coming in June — also perform.
Keyboardist John “Papa” Gros will have a solo performance to headline the Variety Tent on Sunday, and there also will be a set by Mikayla Braun. Performer and podcaster JQ Palms will host the Banks St Com-
edy Brunch to kick off the day’s lineup, and there is drag bingo with Katrina Waters, Comedy Gumbeaux featuring Red Bean, Carey B and more, and the interactive comedy show Work the Crowd, hosted by Ryan Rogers and Marcus Bond.
Kayaks, canoes, homemade rafts and innertubes are a common sight on the bayou during the Boogaloo, and all tickets for the event include water access. The festival, though, does say you have to have a flotation device designed for outdoor water activities, and leave the trolling motor at home. There are some rules if you want to launch a homemade raft, like registering the barge with the festival and making sure it’s removed from the area. More info is on the festival’s website.
The festival is cashless, and attendees are encouraged to use bikes and public transportation to get to and from the fest. The Lafitte Greenway runs along the south end of the festival.
Bayou Boogaloo opens at 4:30 p.m. Friday and at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $29.80 per day or $45.25 for the weekend, and there are VIP options available, which offer access to a VIP area, private bathrooms and food and drinks.
Find tickets and information at thebayouboogaloo. com.
Email Jake Clapp at jclapp@gambitweekly.com.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
By land and by water, attendees of the 2024 Bayou Boogaloo line Bayou St. John to enjoy music.
television television television
CBS’s ‘Sunday Morning’ host Jane Pauley films a New Orleans-centric episode May 5 at Longue Vue House & Gardens in New Orleans.
New OrleansFocus on
CBS ‘Sunday Morning’ set to feature city’s local history and style
BY LESLIE CARDÉ
Contributing writer
Design goes far beyond what’s visually appealing. Good design can take an average product from merely usable to delightfully extraordinary A first-class design can even be meaningful on a soulful level.
That’s why CBS’s award-winning program “Sunday Morning” devotes an entire episode annually to exploring the world’s best in design The 90-minute special has anchored itself this year in New Orleans, as host Jane Pauley and an array of regular contributors
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
LEFT: The Design Issue will examine the city’s ironwork along with streetcars and Mardi Gras Indian beadwork
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER
THE DESIGN ISSUE: NEW ORLEANS
8 a.m.Sunday |“Sunday Morning”on CBS
Sydney and Walda
Sculpture
City
is among the featured spots set for Sunday’s Design Issue on CBS
The
Besthoff
Garden in
Park
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Rand Morrison, executive producer of ‘Sunday Morning,’ left, watches as ‘Sunday Morning’ host Jane Pauley, right, films a show at Longue Vue House & Gardens in New Orleans on May 5.
ABOVE: A New Orleans streetcar heads down St Charles Avenue along Audubon Park, which will be among the spots featured on Sunday’s edition of the Design Issue, a segment of CBS’s ‘Sunday Morning’ program
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
television television television
DESIGN
Continued from page 6
explore the design traits that make this city unique.
The Design Issue, airing Sunday, will explore the art, architecture, fashion, music, food, entertainment and history that are such an important part of the cultural underpinnings of the city. When we caught up with the crew last week, they were spending an entire day filming at Longue Vue House and Gardens off Bamboo Road.
“We’re pretty sure that most of our audience will not know of this particular place until the Sunday morning that this episode airs,” Pauley said. “We’ll share things that viewers never knew about, because as is the case of New Orleans, it’s already a popular destination. We will touch on aspects of design and history here that will be a very revealing surprise, even to people very familiar with New Orleans, because that’s what ‘Sunday Morning’ does.”
Cathedral, museum and more
The Design Issue will explore everything from Jackson Square to Audubon Park and Zoo, and St. Louis Cathedral to the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Besthoff Sculpture Garden.
And what exploration of design in New Orleans would be complete without delving into the magnificent homes displaying Greek Revival, Italianate and Victorian architecture in the city’s fabled Garden District?
“As someone who lives in New York, where there’s very little that’s old left, it’s just so nice to be surrounded by things that are old, respected, and valued as opposed to being torn down to make way for something glass and modern,” said Rand Morrison, executive producer of “Sunday Morning.”
As the program explores the Crescent City, correspondent Lee Cowan will enlighten the national audience about the rich history of the place we call home. Former New Orleans first lady and CBS correspondent Michelle Miller will examine the city’s unique ironwork, streetcars and the beadwork of Mardi Gras artisans. And Louisiana native Jamie Wax, another CBS correspondent, will tell the story of the seersucker suit.
Chefs who step it up a notch
“When it came to food, we wanted to know who was doing things new and differently and asked who we should be telling the audience about,” said Jon Carras, senior producer of the Design Issue in New Orleans. “So we found the two James Beard award-winning chefs that we are going to feature: Nina Compton, of Compere Lapin; and Serigne Mbaye, of Dakar NOLA.
“These two people, who are both from outside New Orleans, one from St. Lucia and the other from Senegal, are both doing very interesting things with traditional New Orleans food ... stepping it up a notch and taking the food world by storm down here,” Carras said.
Mo Rocca will report the story.
Although the focus is New Orleans, there will be reports about some incomparable designs from elsewhere.
Correspondent Seth Doane will show viewers the fairy-tale peaked houses of Puglia, Italy. Jonathan Vigliotti will venture to Hawaii to examine the ancient Polynesian custom of making leis.
Back in the continental United States, Tracy Smith talks with Oscarwinner Christian Bale about the new California community he’s developed to keep foster siblings together; Susan Spencer looks at redesigning one’s personality and creating a “brand-new you”; Nancy Giles and David Pogue investigate the trends of building hidden rooms at home; and Luke Burbank takes us to Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, as the Air Jordan turns 40.
Loving Louisiana
Surrounded by the gardens at Longue Vue, Pauley reflected on the mystique of Louisiana.
“You know, we’ve been to London, Amsterdam and Rome,” Pauley said. “In 2022, we went to Santa Barbara — I had never been there, nor had I seen or
heard of the bearded wild iris (a Pacific Coast native flower, known for its magnificent spectacles of colors and patterns) and I was astonished at the abundance of year-round flowers there.
“Then you take Louisiana — it’s just such a beautiful word. Even the word bayou is so evocative. You know, I grew up in the Midwest. There’s really nothing all that exotic there.”
The Design Issue is always full of surprises. In 2019, the host city was Florence, and it included a tour of rock star Sting’s home in Tuscany
Viewers on Sunday will hear a musical tribute to New Orleans as well when the Design Issue plays the “Sunday Morning” theme song with a special New Orleans flair. It’s only fitting, because the song, the “Ablassen” trumpet fanfare, was recorded for the show by the Crescent City’s own Wynton Marsalis, in 2004.
I asked executive producer Morrison why it’s important to devote time to the topic of design.
“Because it’s fun,” he said. “Particularly now at this time when we’re surrounded with serious, it’s nice to escape (politics) with porch furniture or a new recipe. It’s a break for the audience, and frankly, a break for us.”
Leslie Cardé can be reached at lesliecardejournalist@gmail.com.
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
During a break in filming, ‘Sunday Morning’ host Jane Pauley strolls the grounds of Longue Vue House & Gardens in New Orleans with Longue Vue staff.
Compton
Mbaye
food food food
With its dine-in-only $1 special,
Tacos & Beer draws crowds on Tuesdays
BY POET WOLFE Staff writer
Outside the restaurant, a horde of people waited in line — conversing, glancing at their phones and inching ever closer to the entrance door.
It was just an average Tuesday for a local mini-chain with a frank name and a cheap menu that attracts massive crowds every week.
Tacos & Beer, housed in a lemon-yellow building shrouded by the live oaks of St. Charles Avenue, opened its New Orleans location in 2013. Four years prior, owner Gilbert Valencia debuted the concept in Slidell, introducing the flavors of Jalisco to a metro area whose thriving Mexican dining scene came slowly, but surely.
Such fare has been in New Orleans for decades, with locally bred restaurants like Juan’s Flying Burrito and Taqueria Corona opening in the late ’90s. But it didn’t start becoming mainstream until the early 2010s, when New Orleans’ Hispanic population rose
to 5.2%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The city’s embrace of Mexican cuisine is especially prevalent at Tacos & Beer on a Tuesday during its all-day $1 street taco special.
Dine-in
only
At 5:15 p.m., nearly a dozen people stood in a messy line that curled around the restaurant like a shepherd’s crook. In the outdoor seating area, customers sipped jumbo margaritas with glimmering salted rims between mouthfuls of chips and salsa. Inside, a wall portrait of five tuxedoed luchadores overlooked filled tables and a bar where people sat shoulder-toshoulder
It is rare to see a restaurant as packed as Tacos & Beer on a weekday in 2025, after the pandemic sparked a rising movement in takeout. A 2024 survey by US Foods found that 57% of Americans prefer takeout or delivery over dining for reasons relating to the comfort of home, where people can
dress down and eat in front of a television.
So, why is it that throngs, mostly young because of the restaurant’s proximity to two universities, dine in at Tacos & Beer?
“$1 tacos are dine-in ONLY,” read a sign in bold black ink taped to the entrance door.
My colleague and I waited nearly an hour in line before a hostess sat us at an outdoor table with a view of the streetcar occasionally rolling by What’s on the menu?
The specials menu featured a choice of nine meat options, including al pastor, grilled chicken and carnitas, or three vegan options — portabello mushrooms, potato and beans — topped with cilantro and onions on soft corn tortillas. Opting for flour or hard shell costs 25 cents, the same price for add-ons like shredded cheese, grilled onions and pico de gallo.
As an appetizer, I had the chips and salsa with queso. The tortilla chips
were thin and crisp, contrasting with the liquid-like consistency of the white queso. The chunky red salsa with a fairly mild spice level, paired with salt in a Dos Equis beer bottle as the shaker, filled a molcajete-style bowl to the brim.
The four tacos I ordered — with choices of carne asada, birria and chorizo — were served quickly, alongside four lime wedges nestled on a plastic tray. The meats, ranging from shredded pork to grilled steak slices, were enveloped in two layers of corn tortilla. With an 18% gratuity automatically included in the check, the total for the appetizer and seven tacos, including the ones my colleague ordered, was $23.57.
At almost 7 p.m., we left Tacos & Beer, weaving through crowds that waited in an ever-growing line, with the tail of it at the front of a Vietnamese restaurant next door
Email Poet Wolfe at poet.wolfe@ theadvocate.com
STAFF PHOTOS By POET WOLFE
Four tacos are nestled in a tray, left, at Tacos & Beer, above, a popular Mexican restaurant in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans.
stages stages stages
‘The higher the hair ...’
Big hair, big changes and big laughs are just teasers for the upcoming production of “Pouf” at Cutting Edge Center for the Arts, opening Friday and running through May 24.
The Slidell theater, located notably in a salon, travels back to the 1950s, when a housewife, unsuccessful in starting a family but is not permitted to work outside the home by her husband.
What’s a gal to do — curl up and dye? Not Betty, played by Emily Roy With the encouragement of her sister, she sets up a secret in-home salon and along the way, she teasers, sets and pins change to the lives of her neighbors, with lots of laughs and shellacking of style.
The show’s author, South Carolinian Lou Clyde, will be in attendance Saturday. Also, each night of the show, there will be a big hair contest for prizes. The show starts at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through May 24 at 767 Robert Blvd., in Slidell. Tickets start at
PROVIDED ILLUSTRATION
Emily Roy is Betty in the Cutting Edge production of ‘Pouf,’ opening Friday.
$34. Visit cuttingedgetheater.com.
Onstage
“CLOWN BAR 2”: 7 p.m. Friday and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Monday and selected days and times through June 6; AllWays Lounge, 1040 Marigny St. The second installment of Adam Szymkowics’s comedy, two years after the first,
the clown-crime boss Happy Mahoney is missing and foul play (duh) is suspected. Two cops go undercover to solve the mystery. Tickets start at $20. nolaproject.com
“DOUBT,A PARABLE”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, with a 2 p.m. matinee May 17, through May 18; Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St. A nun, principal at a Bronx school in the early 1960s, takes it upon herself to ferret out the truth about a young priest’s supposed relations with a male student. It brews a heady concoction of doubt and suspicion for the characters and the audience. Tickets start at $35. lepetittheatre.com.
“SOMETHING ROTTEN”: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays plus May 22, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 25; Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St., Kenner. Tony-nominated musical comedy about a pair of brother playwrights trying to achieve success with a musical against the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon when he’s at
the peak of his Renaissance popularity in 1500s London. Tickets start at $41. rivertowntheaters.com.
“TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through May 25; Marquette Theater at Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Ave. Crescent City Stage’s four-person show based on Cheryl Strayed’s book of the same title, about “advice on love and life from Dear Sugar.” Tickets start at $10. crescentcitystage.com.
“THE WIZ”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday plus 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; Saenger Theatre, 1111 Canal St. Broadway in New Orleans continues with the soft-rock, all-Black telling of the story of Dorothy, Toto and a yellow brick road that debuted on Broadway 50 years ago. Geoffrey Holder won Tonys for directing and costuming. Tickets start at $72. sangernola.com.
Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.
