The Acadiana Advocate 05-25-2025

‘Becoming a reality’

New St. Anne Church poised to serve youngsville’s growing Catholic community

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

The sounds of an organ bellow across the pews of the hall of St. Anne Catholic Church in Youngsville.

Gold-trimmed ceilings stretch high while stained glass paints the floor of the Gothic cathedral, which two weeks prior had its first service and dedication after a year and a half of construction.

“They’re tuning right now the organ,” said the Rev Michael Russo as he stood in front of the church’s altar

The Italian-made organ sounded off again while Fabrizio Scolaro meticulously fine-tuned the massive instrument that looms over parishioners, a process that will take two weeks, said Russo. So delicate is it, that tuning takes into account the ambient temperature of the church

The organ is making its debut at this week’s service — a

capstone to the mostly completed first phase of construction. The second phase will see the original church renovated into a room for prayer and baptisms. In total, construction and renovation will cost $16 million, Russo said, with the organ alone costing around $300,000. Parishioners have raised $11 million since 2021. Youngsville’s Catholic community turned out in droves for the church’s first two services, Russo said. The building can hold 850 people compared to the previous 350. While Russo wasn’t sure of the square footage, previous reporting stated the new church would sit at 14,500 square feet.

“I was actually this past weekend looking at how full the church is for the Masses, and I’m thinking, ‘I hope I built the church big enough,’” Russo said.

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TOP and ABOVE: The interior of the recently constructed St. Anne Catholic Church is seen in youngsville on Monday. The new church is welcoming parishioners after a $16 million renovation and construction project. Parishioners have raised $11 million since 2021. The 14,500-square-foot building can hold 850 people.

Can La. speed up fortified roof adoption?

Bills considered to require permits, offer $10K tax credit

BY SAM KARLIN | Staff writer

While Louisiana lawmakers have struggled to rein in rising home insurance premiums, one solution can both lower costs and make homes more resistant to hurricane damage: fortified roofs. Now, lawmakers appear poised to pass some bills that are expected to accelerate the pace at which stronger roofs are put on homes. A plan to give homeowners a $10,000 tax credit if they pay for a fortified roof has gained momentum this legislative session, which ends June 12 So has a bill to require local governments to permit new roofs, which can help to verify if they’re built to correct standards. And some lawmakers are pushing to set up a dedicated funding source for a separate and popular state grant program where people enter a lottery to receive $10,000 grants to build fortified roofs. The moves are aimed at a lofty goal: Building higher roof standards on a critical mass of south Louisiana homes — thought to be 25% of the housing stock.

See FORTIFIED, page 4A

Bill shrinks area around schools requiring concealed carry permit

BY ALYSE PFEIL and SOPHIE KASAKOVE | Staff writers

Less than a year after Louisiana agreed to let people carry concealed weapons in public without a permit, bills are now moving through the state Legislature to allow more people to have concealed guns close to schools and along parade routes. On the Fourth of July, constitutional carry — a term favored by gun rights advocates referring to the Second Amendment right to bear arms became law in Louisiana.

Last year, lawmakers also strengthened the state’s preemption of any local gun laws that were more restrictive, prohibiting the enforcement of those ordinances and declaring them null and void.

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Block upheld on efforts to close peace institute

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday denied the Trump administration’s request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S. Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board.

In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell said the government did not meet any of the four requirements for a stay, including a “strong showing” of whether its request could succeed on the merits.

Howell reiterated her finding that the institute is not part of the executive branch and is therefore beyond President Donald Trump’s authority to fire its board. She added that the firings also did not follow the law for how a board member of the institute might be removed by the president.

Most of the board was fired in March during a takeover of the institute by the Department of Government Efficiency. That action touched off the firing of its acting president, former Ambassador George Moose, and subsequently most of the staff. The organization’s headquarters, funded in part by donors, was turned over to the General Services Administration

In her ruling May 19, Howell concluded that the board was fired illegally and all actions that followed that were therefore “null and void.”

In Friday’s ruling Howell also rejected the government’s argument that the organization had to fall into one of the three branches of government and since it does not legislate, nor is it part of the judicial branch, it must be part of the executive branch. “As the Court has previously pointed out, other entities also fall outside of this tripartite structure,” she wrote.

1 killed in sewage boat blast on Hudson River

NEW YORK One man died Saturday morning after an explosion on a boat carrying raw sewage that was docked on the Hudson River in New York, authorities said.

Two other workers on the cityowned Hunts Point were hurt and taken to the hospital after the blast around 10:30 a.m., New York City Fire Department Deputy Assistant Chief David Simms said at a news conference.

The boat takes raw sewage to be treated, Simms said.

The men on the boat were doing work involving a flame or sparks when the explosion happened, the U.S. Coast Guard said on social media.

First responders answering a 911 call found a 59-year-old man unconscious in the river, and he was declared dead at the scene, New York police said The explosion happened near the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The blast spread raw sewage over the deck of the boat, and firefighters and other first responders had to be decontaminated, Simms said.

‘Rust’ armorer released from prison early NEW YORK “Rust” armorer

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been released from prison after spending more than a year behind bars for the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Prison records show GutierrezReed was freed from the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility on Friday morning, having served about 13 months of her 18-month sentence.

Sources told TMZ her early release was due to good behavior, specifically her completion of a drug program while behind bars.

Hutchins was attending a rehearsal at New Mexico’s Bonanza Creek Ranch on Oct. 21, 2021, when she was fatally shot by a prop gun handled by leading man Alec Baldwin. He’d been seated in a church pew practicing a move in which he whips a pistol from its holster, when it suddenly went off. The 42-year-old cinematographer was pronounced dead a short time later, while director Joel Souza was also injured and transported to Christus St. Vincent’s Regional Medical Center by ambulance. He was later released from the hospital

Russia, Ukraine swap more prisoners

Exchange comes hours after massive attack on Kyiv

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV and ALEX BABENKO Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners Saturday as part of a major swap that amounted to a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire.

The exchange came hours after Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war

“We expect more to come tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia’s defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations as Russian

drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital overnight

In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks since Russia’s 2022 fullscale invasion Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each.

‘A difficult night’

Officials said Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones overnight while Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralized 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said it was one of the biggest combined

missile and drone attacks on the capital.

“A difficult night for all of us,” the administration said in a statement

Posting on X, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it “clear evidence that increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process.”

Posting on X, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke of “another night of terror for Ukrainian civilians.”

“These are not the actions of a country seeking peace,” Lammy said of the Russian strike.

Katarina Mathernová, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, described the attack as “horrific.”

“If anyone still doubts Russia wants war to con-

tinue read the news,” Katarina Mathernová wrote on the social network.

Air raid alert in Kyiv

The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least six Kyiv city districts. According to the acting head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, six people required medical care after the attack and two fires were sparked in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district.

The Obolon district, where a residential building was heavily damaged in the attack, was the hardest hit with at least five wounded in the area, the administration said.

Yurii Bondarchuk, a local resident, said the air raid siren “started as usual, then the drones started

to fly around as they constantly do.” Moments later, he heard a boom and saw shattered glass fly through the air

“The balcony is totally wiped out, as well as the windows and the doors,” he said as he stood in the dark, smoking a cigarette to calm his nerves while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.

The air raid alert in Kyiv lasted more than seven hours, warning of incoming missiles and drones.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, warned residents ahead of the attack that more than 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city As the attack continued, he said drone debris fell on a shopping mall and a residential building in Obolon. Emergency services were headed to the site, Klitschko said.

Separately, 13 civilians were killed on Friday and overnight into Saturday in Russian attacks in Ukraine’s south, east and north, regional authorities said.

Three people died after a Russian ballistic missile targeted port infrastructure in Odesa on the Black Sea, local Gov. Oleh Kiper reported. Russia later said the strike Friday targeted a cargo ship carrying military equipment. Russia’s defense ministry on Saturday claimed its forces overnight struck various military targets across Ukraine.

Officials: 9 of doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli strikes

BY SALLY ABOU ALJOUD and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

CAIRO — The bodies of 79 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, Gaza ‘s Health Ministry said Saturday, a toll that doesn’t include hospitals in the battered north that it said are now inaccessible

Nine of a doctor’s 10 children were among those killed in Israel’s renewed military offensive, colleagues and the Health Ministry said.

Alaa Najjar, a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, was on duty at the time and ran home to find her family’s house on fire, Ahmad al-Farra, head of the hospital’s pediatric department told The Associated Press.

Najjar’s husband was severely wounded and their only surviving child, an 11-year-old son, was in critical condition after Friday’s strike in the southern city of Khan Younis, Farra said.

The dead children ranged in age from 7 months to 12 years old. Khalil AlDokran, a spokesperson

Hamas has included a blockade of Gaza and its over 2 million people since early March This week, the first aid trucks entered the territory and began reaching Palestinians since the blockade began.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid for Gaza, said 388 trucks had entered since Monday About 600 trucks a day had entered during the ceasefire.

Warnings of famine by food security experts, and images of desperate Pales-

tinians jostling for bowls of food at the ever-shrinking number of charity kitchens, led Israel’s allies to press the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow some aid to return. Netanyahu’s government has sought a new aid delivery and distribution system by a newly established U.S.backed group, but the United Nations and partners have rejected it, saying it allows Israel to use food as a weapon and violates humanitarian principles.

for Gaza’s Health Ministry told the AP that two of the children remained under the rubble.

Israel’s military in a statement said it struck suspects operating from a structure next to its forces, and described the area of Khan Younis as a “dangerous war zone.” It said it had evacuated civilians from the area, and “the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review.”

Earlier on Saturday, a statement said Israel’s air force struck over 100 tar-

gets throughout Gaza over the past day

The Health Ministry said the new deaths brought the war’s toll to 53,901 since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamasled attack on Israel that sparked the 19 months of fighting. The ministry said 3,747 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed the war on March 18 in an effort to pressure Hamas to accept different ceasefire terms. Its count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Israel’s pressure on

Authorities suspect arson as power outage disrupts Cannes Film Festival

By The Associated Press

CANNES, France French authorities believe arson may have played a role in a power outage Saturday in southeast France that threatened to jeopardize the Cannes Film Festival’s closing celebrations, including the much-anticipated Palme d’Or ceremony.

Power was restored hours before the ceremony at about 3 p.m. as music began blasting again from beachfront speakers. The end of the blackout was greeted with loud cheers from locals Authorities were investigating the likelihood of

arson in a fire at an electrical substation near Cannes that weakened the grid overnight, a spokesperson for the French national gendarmerie said.

The power outage happened hours later, after a high-voltage line fell at another location. Authorities were investigating what caused that line to collapse.

About 160,000 households in the Alpes-Maritimes area lost electricity

In a statement, Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect for the area, condemned “serious acts of damage to electrical infrastructures.” “All resources are mo-

bilized to identify, track down, arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators of these acts,” said Hottiaux.

Cannes Film Festival organizers confirmed the outage affected the early activities of Saturday and said the Palais des Festivals — the Croisette’s main venue — had switched to an independent power supply “All scheduled events and screenings, including the Closing Ceremony, will proceed as planned and under normal conditions,” the statement said. “At this stage, the cause of the outage has not yet been identified. Restoration efforts are underway.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA

Ukrainian soldiers walk after a prisoner of war exchange between Russia and Ukraine on Saturday in Chernyhiv region of Ukraine.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LEO CORREA

Israeli activists hold photos Saturday of Palestinian children killed during the Israel air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, calling for an end to the war during a protest in Tel Aviv Israel.

GAZA STRIP

Trump’sWest Pointspeechmixes praise,politicsand grievances

Presidentaddresses military academy graduates

BY SEUNG MIN KIM andALI SWENSON Associated Press

WEST POINT,N.Y.— President Donald Trump used the first service academy commencement addressofhis secondterm Saturday to laud graduating West Point cadets for theiraccomplishments and career choice while also veering sharply into acampaign-style recitation of politicalboasts andlongheld grievances.

“In afew moments, you’llbecome graduates of the most elite andstoried military academy in human history,” Trump said at the ceremonyatMichie Stadium. “And you will become officers of the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known.And I know,because Irebuilt that army,and Irebuilt the military.And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.”

Wearing ared “Make America Great Again”hat,the Republican president told the 1,002 members of the Class of 2025 at the U.S. Military Academythat the United States is the “hottest country in the world” and underscored an “America First” ethos for themilitary.

“We’re getting rid of distractions and we’re focusing our military on itscore mission: crushing America’s adversaries, killing America’senemies and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before,” Trump said. He later said that“the job of the U.S. armedforces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures,” areference to drag showson military bases that Democratic President Joe Biden’sadministration halted afterRepublicancriticism

Trump said the cadets were graduating at a“defining moment” in Army history as he accused political leaders in the past of sending soldiers into“nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.” He said he was clearing the military of transgender ideas, “critical race theory” and types of training he called divisive and political Past administrations, he said, “sub-

jected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes while leavingour borders undefended anddepletingour arsenals to fight other countries’ wars.”

At times, hisremarkswere indistinguishablefrom those heard in apolitical speech,from his assessment of the country when he left office in January 2021 to his reviewoflast November’s victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, arguingthatvoters gave hima “great mandate” and “it gives us the right to do what we want to do.”

Frequently turning thefocus on himself, he reprised someofhis campaign rally one-liners, including the claim that he has faced moreinvestigations than mobster Al Capone.

At one point the crowd listenedas Trump, known forhis off-messagedigressions,referredto“trophy wives” andyachtsduringananecdoteabout thelatereal estate developer William Levitt,abillionaire friend who Trump said lost momentum.

But the president also took timeto acknowledge the achievements of individual graduates

He summoned ChrisVerdugo to the stage and noted that he completedan 18.5-mile march on afreezing night in January in just two hours and30minutes. Trumphad thenationally ranked men’slacrosse team, which held the No. 1spotfor atimeinthe 2024 sea-

son, stand andberecognized. Trump also brought Army’s star quarterback, Bryson Daily,tothe lectern, where the president praised Daily’s “steel”like shoulder.Trumplater used Daily as an example to make acaseagainst transgender women participating in women’sathletics

In anod to presidential tradition, Trumpalso pardoned about half adozen cadets who had faced disciplinary infractions.

He told graduates that “you could have done anything you wanted, you could have goneanywhere,”and that “writing your own ticket totop jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn’t be bad. But Ithink what you’re doing is better.”

Hisadvice to them included doing what theylove, thinking big, working hard, holding on totheir culture, keeping faith in America and taking risks.

“This is atimeofincredible change and we do not need an officer corps of careerists and yesmen,” Trumpsaid. “Weneed patriots with guts and vision and backbone.”

Just outside campus, about three dozendemonstrators gathered before theceremony and were waving miniature American flags. Oneinthe crowd carrieda sign that said “Support Our Veterans” and “Stop the Cuts,” while others held up plastic buckets with the message: “Go Army Beat Fascism.”

BY MATTHEW LEE, AAMERMADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump is ordering amajor overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink itssize, lead to the ouster of somepolitical appointees andreturn many career government employees backtotheir home agencies,according to two U.S. officials and one person familiar with the reorganization.

The number of staffatthe NSCisexpectedtobesignificantly reduced, according to the officials,who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter

The shake-up is just the latest shoetodropatthe NSC, whichisbeing dramatically madeoverafter theousterearly this month of Trump’snational security adviser Mike Waltz, who in manyways had hewed to traditional Republican foreign policy

SecretaryofState Marco Rubio hasbeen serving as national security adviser since the ouster of Waltz, whowas nominated to serve as Trump’sambassador to the United Nations.

The move is expected to elevatethe importance of the State Department and Pentagon in advising Trump on important foreign policy moves. But, ultimately, Trump relies on his own instincts above all else when making decisions.

The NSC, created during theTruman administration,isanarm of theWhite House tasked with advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policyand coordinating amongvarious government agencies.

Trump was frustrated in hisfirst term by political appointees andadvisers who he felt gummeduphis

“America First” agenda. There were roughly 395 people working at the NSC, including about 180 support staff, according to one official. About 90 to 95 of those being ousted are policyor subject-matter experts seconded from other government agencies.Theywill be givenanopportunity to return to their home agencies if they want.

Many of thepolitical appointees will also be given positions elsewhereinthe administration, theofficial said.

TheNSC has been in a continual state of tumult during the early going of Trump’ssecondgo-around in the White House. Waltzwasoustedweeksafter Trump fired several NSC officials, just aday after the influential far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staffloyalty.Loomer has in thepast spread 9/11 conspiracy theories andpromoted QAnon,anapocalyptic and convolutedconspiracy theorycenteredonthe belief that Trump is fighting the “deep state,” and took credit forthe ouster of theNSC officials that she argued were disloyal And the White House, days intothe administration, sidelined about 160 NSC aides, sendingthem home while the administration reviewed staffing andtried to align it with Trump’sagenda. The aides were career government employees, commonly referred to as detailees. This latest shake-up amounts to a“liquidation of NSCstaffing, with both career governmentdetailees on assignment to the NSC being sent back to their home agencies and several political appointees being pushed out of their positions, according to the personfamiliarwiththe decision.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM GRAy

President Donald Trumpsalutes alongside Lt.Gen. StevenW.Gilland on Saturday duringthe U.S. MilitaryAcademy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.y.

But disagreementshave emerged among lawmakers over how to best encourage enough homeowners to re-roof their houses to better standards. Many residentscan’tafford those improvements in astate with lower incomes andhigher premiums than most of the country

Some of those concernscaused lawmakers to sideline abill that would have required roofs in coastal Louisiana to be built to fortified standards —aset of building practices that requires paid evaluations from the Insurance Institute for Business &Home Safety,atrade group that established the program.

For the second year in arow, Republicans on the Senate Insurance Committee killed aproposal to require insurerstodeliver a minimum discounttohomeownerswho get afortified roof.

And citing budget concerns, lawmakers on the HouseAppropriations Committeerejected HB663 to set up anew fund to build stronger roofs in coastal Louisiana. The fund would have come from aportionofsales taxes paid in south Louisiana in the two months after amajor hurricane.

“The faster we can fortify these roofs, the faster we can returnto normalcy,” said Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, who sponsored thebill.

‘It’sworking’

Fortified roofs use several basic measures to make shingles less likely to blow off,including better nails and stronger edges. Roofers are required to tape down the seams, making water less likely to pour into ahome even if the roof blows off it.

Homeswith fortifiedroofs were 56% less likely to haveaninsurance claim after Hurricane Sally than normal roofs, according to the Center for Risk and Insurance Research at the University of Alabama. Homes that werebuilt to an even higher standard, fortified “gold,”were 70% less likelyto have those claims.

But when Hurricanes Laura and Idaripped thousandsofroofs off Louisiana homes in 2020 and 2021, thestate had no grant program or widespread campaign to inform residents about it. That meant roofs rebuilt after the storms were generally not built to the higher standard.

Now,Louisiana is racing to try to retrofit roofs by doling out grants, though demand so far has far exceeded the amountofmoney the state has to give out. And lawmakers are close to passing a bill by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, to give residents who pay for afortified roof on their own a $10,000 tax credit.

The move would represent a significantly better incentive than the current $5,000 taxdeduction, though Talbot’sbillwould be cappedat$10 milliona year across the state, limiting the number of people who can benefit. The cap, put in place over budget concerns, means 1,000 homeowners will be able to get the tax benefitoutside the grant program. More could qualify if some roofs on smaller homes cost less than $10,000. Talbot has said that putting fortified roofs on homes is theonly waysouth Louisianaisgoing to remaininsurable long-term.He brought the taxcredit to incentivizehomeowners to getthe roofs without waiting for the state grant program, which doesn’t have enough capacity forevery-

Louisiana lawmakers have debated bills to addmore fortified roofs across the state, including $10,000 tax credits, grants and permitting requirements for roofs.

one seeking agrant. And he said he’sconfidentlawmakers will support the bill, though it still hasseveral stepstogo. It needs approval from the House tax-writing and possiblybudget committee, as well as thefull House,before being senttothe governor “It’sworking,” Talbot said. “It’s agreat program. This just allows people who can front the money to put theroof on to get thetax credit later.”

Discount debate

Many residents reported to the Louisiana Legislative Auditorthat they sawsignificantsavings on insurance premiumsafter getting a fortified roof. The savings are particularly largewhen people move from Citizens —the expensive, state-backed insurer of last resort —toaprivatecarrier

Louisiana modeled its fortified roof program after Alabama, which sets a20% discount bench mark that an official with Smart Home America,a nonprofitthatadvocates for fortified roofs,recently testified is metbyall participating insurers there. ButLouisiana didn’t include amandated or benchmark discount.

Statedata shows most insurers in Louisiana still offer asignificant discount on homes with fortified roofs, with many offering savings of 20% to 30%. But several insurers onlyoffer meager discounts, sometimes as low as 5%.

Sen. Royce Duplessis, DNew Orleans, sponsored legislation to require insurers to offer significant savings in exchangefor the roofs. ButRepublicans on the Senate Insurance Committee rejected the bill amid opposition from Insurance Commissioner TimTemple andthe insurance industry,who argued it wouldpushinsurers away Theaudit found the median homeownersaved 22% on their insurance premiums. ButDuplessis noted thedata came from asurvey that asked homeowners to recalltheirinsurancepremiumsbeforeand after, ratherthancomparing the actual premiums.

appointedthatapackageofproindustry bills Templepushedlast year had not yet produced meaningful reductions in premiums. But Landry,who hasnot offered apackageofbills to alleviatethe homeownersinsurance crisis, didn’tofficially support Duplessis’ bill.

Templesubsequently issueda bulletin reminding insurers they arerequired to submit “actuarially justified” discounts for fortified roofs

Mandated roofs?

Louisiana’scodetechnically requires all roofs to be built to nearly the same standard as fortifiedroofs. But manyparisheshave no way of verifying whether that’sthe case because theydon’trequire permits or inspections for new roofs.

That’schanging in some parishes, including Orleans, whichfollowed in the footsteps of Jefferson Parish recentlybyrequiring permits for new roofs.

Abill by Rep. Foy Gadberry, R-WestMonroe, would require it statewide. The bill madeitthrough the House and is awaiting action in the Senate.

But lawmakers will notrequire newroofs to be built to fortified standards, after Rep. AimeeFreeman,D-New Orleans, shelved her bill amid opposition from homebuilders andothers concerned with higher costs for homeowners. Freeman said sheisworking on a substitute bill.

Dan Mills, head of the Homebuilders Association of Greater New Orleans, said recently he supports fortified standards,but noted many residents don’t have the foundation type required to get them. He said he wants to see the state boost participation in wind mitigation surveys, where asurveyor verifies that a home has certainroofstandards thatmake hurricane damage less likely,often resulting in insurancesavings.

“Fortified is agreat thing in ourstate,” Mills said.

CHURCH

Continuedfrom page1A

“I was very moved (bythe service). Number one: This is actually becoming areality.All the hard work that was put into planning and fundraising, and finally seeing it cometofruition. And then having asense of pride as being the spiritual father of the community that made this happen,” he added. Thediocesebrought Russo to Youngsville in 2019 specifically to the see to the construction of a newchurch. The oldbuilding had become too small for therapidly growingcity of Youngsville.

Around 8,000 people lived in thecityin2010 compared to the 19,000 people that live in it now

The church received the goahead for reconstruction in 2003, Russo said. Butresistance from some parishioners of the past pushed back on the idea when they learned it could mean losing theoriginal church, whichdates back to the 1890s.

“So Icameand said, ‘Let’scompromise,’ and try to preserve the previouschurch,” Russo said.

That preservation took on different forms, fromkeeping the old structure in place and bringing in original items like the Stations of the Cross and statues into the new space.

“(I)asked peopletogiveme their ideas,” Russo said, “And what most of them wanted was a feel of theold church coming into the new.”

In the old church, construction workers were tearing down Sheetrock andold wood when they discovered oldwritingon the wallsabove the alms box, which read, “REMEMBER THE POOR.” Russosaid he intends to keep the writing.

Phasetwo of construction, whichencompasses therenovation of the old church, is expected to be completedbysometime in the beginning of 2026. At the time of reporting, workers were setting up to replace the building brick facade to better match the new space.

“We’re going to preserve as much as we can of theprevious look of the original church,” Russo said.

StephenMarcantel at stephen. marcantel@theadvocate.com.

Duplessissaidhe’sconcerned that insurers whooffer low discountsare holding back theprogram fromgaining momentum andencouraging homeowners to put strongerroofsonvoluntarily “Weknow there are instances where people arenot getting discounts,” he said duringthe hearing on his bill. “And they’re telling their neighbor they’re not getting a discount.”

Gov.JeffLandry said in December he supported requiring such discounts, saying he wasdis-

“Weare opposed to mandating fortified. We already have the codes.” In the meantime, the Legislature appears likely to keep the same level of funding as last year for fortifiedroof grants,$15 million.The Legislaturesent$30 milliontothe programin2023, enough for3,000 homeowners.

Temple is asking lawmakers to dedicate $15 million ayear in insurance premium taxes and fees to the fortified roof grant program, which has seen demand far outstrip available funding. Untilnow,lawmakers have been sending money from the state budget to fund it.

“This is adirect benefit back to the taxpayers,” Templesaid.

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

The interior of the recently constructed St. Anne CatholicChurchisseen in youngsville on Monday.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By SOPHIAGERMER

Duplessis Temple

Now, people 18 or older can carry a gun in many public places either openly or concealed, so long as they aren’t otherwise prohibited by federal or state law from having a firearm, for example, due to felony or domestic violence convictions.

Under the state’s gun-free school zone law, however, a Louisiana concealed carry permit is still needed to have a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.

That could change with a bill sponsored by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, who for years has championed gun-rights legislation, including last year’s permitless carry law

Anyone legally allowed to carry a gun, including those without permits, would be able to do so up to a school’s property line under Senate Bill 101.

ing this month, Miguez said that reducing restrictions on carrying concealed firearms within 1,000 feet of a school is about bringing consistency to Louisiana’s gun laws.

“This allows individuals who are carrying, by constitutional carry, the same rights as those who carry with a permit within a thousand foot of a school zone,” he said. “It does not allow an individual any additional rights to carry on school property.”

Dan Zelenka, president of the Louisiana Shooting Association, noted that those who have concealed carry permits from other states recognized as valid through reciprocity agreements aren’t allowed to carry a gun within the 1,000-foot gun-free school zone.

Miguez said that when he brought the constitutional carry bill last year, he committed to ensuring consistency across Louisiana’s gun laws for those who carry under the new constitutional carry provision, those with a Louisiana permit, and those with recognized permits from another state.

“I want one set of rules that treats law-abiding citizens fairly not creating a patchwork of laws,” he said in an interview “We never want a law-abiding citizen criminalized because of some complication in the law that they weren’t aware of.”

Another measure would clarify that laws restricting concealed carry at parades only apply to those actually in the parade, not those watching.

The proposals come after state and New Orleans officials last year clashed over the city’s efforts to establish a firearm-free school zone in the city’s French Quarter to skirt the state’s relaxation of gun regulations.

Leatrice Dupre, a spokesperson for Mayor LaToya Cantrell, said that the city “recognizes the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; however, the city does not agree with the idea that more guns on the street will necessarily make people safer.”

School gun-free zones

During a public vetting of Senate Bill 101 at a committee meet-

“The reason this is a big deal is that a thousand feet from a school property line is three blocks, and if you were to accidentally carry within those three blocks, you can be charged with a felony,” he said.

Kelby Seanor, the National Rifle Association’s state director, echoed that concern.

“We simply just don’t want law-abiding gun owners to get ensnared with a felony,” he told lawmakers.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission in New Orleans said that the proposals to roll back restrictions in school zones pose a major safety threat.

“For every one example of a firearm preventing a crime from occurring there are going to be multiple examples of a bad outcome with a firearm in those areas that’s why those laws were passed,” Goyeneche said. “It’s really commonsensical and it’s really a fundamental public safety issue.”

The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education declined to comment on the legislation, and the Louisiana School Boards Association did not respond to a request for comment.

The bill would also remove privately owned vocationaltechnical schools from the list of schools where guns are prohibited.

“They just get to decide on their own whether they want to restrict guns or they don’t want to restrict guns,” Miguez said, calling it a matter of property rights.

Guns at parades

Louisiana law includes a list of several places into which “no concealed handgun may be carried.”

Among those are parades and demonstrations being held with a government permit.

The language has led to conflict over whether it is against the law for parade spectators to carry firearms or whether the law is a prohibition aimed at people directly participating in parades.

Rep. Dennis Bamburg Jr., RBossier City, said legislation he is sponsoring is meant to address that confusion.

“This is a badly needed cleanup bill,” he said of House Bill 393 during a public hearing on the measure. “It just basically clarifies in law that you cannot carry if you’re an active participant in a parade or a demonstration, but this shall not apply to a bystander or spectator who attends a parade.”

But Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans, questioned the logic of the law

“It seems backwards to me,” Knox said. “In all transparency, I would want to carry a gun if I’m riding in a float rather than being defenseless to a bystander at a parade who can carry a gun. That’s where I’m confused.”

Over the years, a number of attempts have been made to ban firearms at parades, including 2009 legislation to ban guns within 1,000 feet of a parade, which was

vetoed by then Gov. Bobby Jindal at the request of the NRA.

Last year a bill sponsored by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, would have specifically outlawed carrying a gun along parade routes without a concealed carry permit, but the proposal failed to clear even one chamber of the Legislature

Bobby Hjortsberg, captain of the Krewe of Freret, said he believes it would be a major risk to allow guns on parade routes.

“Considering those people are under the influence, it’s just not an environment for someone to have a gun,” Hjortsberg said. He also questioned the logic of distinguishing between paradegoers and participants.

“I can’t understand why they would try to distinguish those kinds of things — that’s basically saying the people who are in charge aren’t allowed to be armed and the people who are attending can?” he said.

Carrying a concealed firearm while intoxicated is illegal under state law

What happened last year?

In New Orleans, local officials, including City Council member Helena Moreno, Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick and District Attorney Jason Williams had pleaded with legislators to carve out the crowded and bar-filled French Quarter from permitless carry

law, arguing that it would put police in danger and block their efforts to seize illegal guns.

Those requests were rejected. Miguez at the time downplayed critics’ concerns by noting that other restrictions were still intact.

As the law came into effect in July local officials set about using the school-zone exception: They announced a plan to designate the New Orleans Police Department’s Eighth District station as a vocational technical school in order to create a gun-free zone in the 1,000-foot radius around it including blocks bounded by Canal and Toulouse Street and a large stretch of Bourbon Street. That plan quickly hit roadblocks when Attorney General Liz Murrill derided the city’s designation as “clearly not legal or effective” and warned that the city could face civil rights lawsuits if it arrested people based on it.

Miguez also promised to reverse officials’ efforts to create a gun-free zone in the French Quarter if they were successful.

“The message is very clear to the locals in New Orleans that don’t necessarily respect individuals’ Second Amendment rights: that it’s going to be a losing battle,” Miguez said in September “We’ll strengthen that law to close any gaps. That’s not something, if I were them, I would be wasting my time on.”

In Lafayette, a similar attempt to seek the designation around the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s downtown science museum, on property owned by the parish government, failed amid pushback from Murrill and Miguez in August. The university instead designated the museum as a weapons-free facility Karen Boudrie, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department, declined to comment on this year’s proposed legislation.

Kirkpatrick called repeatedly last year for the French Quarter to be excluded from the permitless concealed carry law, and said she planned to continue pushing for that change with legislators. It is unclear whether any local New Orleans officials made efforts to push for gun restrictions during the current legislative session.

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com

PERSCHALL

Miguez

Cannes awards Palme d’Or to Iranian revenge drama

BY JAKE COYLE AP film writer

Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for his revenge thriller

“It Was Just an Accident,” handing the festival’s top prize to a director who had been banned from leaving Iran for more than 15 years.

Cate Blanchett presented the award to Panahi, who three years ago was imprisoned in Iran before going on a hunger strike. For a decade and a half, he has made films clandestinely in his native country, including one film (“This Is Not a Film”) made in his living room, and another (“Taxi”) set in a car

The crowd rose in a thunderous standing ovation for the filmmaker who immediately threw up his arms and leaned back in his seat in disbelief before applauding his collaborators and the audience around him On stage, Panahi was cheered by Cannes jury President Juliette Binoche, who in 2010 in Cannes held up Panahi’s name to honor the director when he was under house arrest. On stage, Panahi said what mattered most was freedom in his country “Let us join forces,” said Panahi. “No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do or what we should not do. The cinema is a society Nobody is entitled to tell what we should or refrain

from doing.” The win for “It Was Just an Accident” extend an unprecedented streak: The indie distributor Neon has now backed the last six Palme d’Or winners. The latest triumph for Neon, which acquired “It Was Just an Accident” for North American distribution after its premiere in Cannes, follows its Palmes for “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Anora.”

All those films were Oscar contenders and two, “Parasite” and “Anora,” won best picture.

Last year, filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof fled Iran to attend the premiere of his film in Cannes, and resettle in Germany. Panahi, though, has that unlike is friend Rasoulof life in exile isn’t for him He planned to fly home to Tehran on Sunday “It Was Just an Accident” was inspired by Panahi’s experience in prison. In the film, a group of former prisoners encounter the man who terrorized them in jail, and weigh whether or not to kill him.

Panahi was jailed in Tehran’s Evin Prison after going there to inquire about the then-jailed Rasoulof. Panahi was released in 2023 after going on a hunger strike. In 2009, he was banned from traveling out of Iran after attending the funeral of a student killed in the Green Movement protests. Through those years, Panahi continue to make films

illegally in Iran, without permit, and having his films smuggled to festivals on USB drives. His travel ban was lifted after his release in 2023.

“The film springs from a feeling of resistance, survival, which is absolutely necessary today,” Binoche told reporters after the ceremony “Art will always win. What is human will always win.”

The Cannes closing ceremony followed a major power outage that struck southeastern France on Saturday in what police suspected was arson. Only a few hours before stars began streaming down the red carpet, power was restored in Cannes.

“A day without electric-

ity,” sighed John C. Reilly, who sang an English-language “La Vie En Rose” at the ceremony The festival’s films he said, supplied “all the needed electricity.”

The Grand Prix, or second prize, was awarded to Joachim Trier’s Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value,” his lauded followup to “The Worst Person in the World.” Some had expected “Sentimental Value” to win the Palme, but Trier — whose film reunites him with actor Renate Reinsve still took a major prize.

“We live in a time of tremendous excess and saturation of images. Moving images are being thrown at us all the time,” said Trier “And

I want to give homage to the Cannes Film Festival for being a place where the big cinematic image, which is the foundation of the moving image, the free image, the image that we take time to look at, the image where we can identify with each other in contemplation and empathy, to be cherished in this place in such a way is very important in this moment.” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent” won two big awards: best director for Filho and best actor for Wagner Moura. Though Cannes juries are generally urged to spread awards around, the two for “The Secret Agent” showed the jury’s strong

feelings for it. Asked about the two prizes, juror Jeremy Strong explained, simply, “That was our wish.” The wins, which followed the international film Oscar victory for Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” in March, gave Brazil more to celebrate. On X, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said the awards “show that our country’s cinema is second to none.” The jury prize was split between two films: Óliver Laxe’s desert road trip “Sirât “ and Mascha Schilinski’s German, generationspanning drama “Sound of Falling.” Best actress went to Nadia Melliti for “The Little Sister,” Hafsia Herzi’s French coming-of-age drama. The Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, who are two-time Palme d’Or winners, won best screenplay for their latest drama, “Young Mothers.” It’s their ninth prize in Cannes. The festival’s award for best first film, the Camera d’Or, went to Hasan Hadi, for “The President’s Cake,” making it the first Iraqi film to win an award at the festival.

Saturday’s ceremony brings to a close a 78th Cannes Film Festival where geopolitics cast a long shadow, both on screen and off. Shortly before the French Riviera extravaganza, which is also the world’s largest movie market, President Donald Trump floated the idea of a 100% tariff on movies made overseas.

Experts: Wear sunscreen even if you have darker skin

BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN AP science writer

NEW YORK — People with darker skin still need to wear sunscreen for more reasons than one. Too much ultraviolet exposure from the sun can lead to sunburn, dark spots and wrinkles, and increased risk of skin cancer

The melanin in darker skin offers some extra protection from the sun, but dermatologists say that isn’t enough on its own.

“Everyone needs sunscreen. But the reasons that one might be reaching for sunscreen may differ depending on your skin tone,” said Dr Jenna Lester, who founded the Skin of Color Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco.

Miami Herald (TNS)

MIAMI A propane gas explosion in a Florida City bakery on Saturday morning injured 10 and damaged multiple businesses, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and witnesses who spoke to the Miami Herald. The blast, which erupted

8:50 a.m. in a strip

Do darker-skinned people need sunscreen?

White people are overall more likely to get skin cancer compared to Black and Hispanic people. But Black and Hispanic people are less likely to survive the most dangerous kind of skin cancer called melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society

Black patients more commonly get melanoma on their hands and feet — places that are more shielded from the sun. Still, sunscreen is an additional protective layer that helps prevent a host of other problems including sunburns, hyperpigmentation after acne, rosacea and dark patches on the face.

Dr Oyetewa Asempa at Baylor College of Medicine often reminds her darker-

skinned patients: “All of the problems that you’re coming to see me for are caused or worsened by the sun.”

How much sunscreen do people of color need?

To stay safe in the sun, it’s important to grab sunscreen with a sun protection factor or SPF of at least 30 and reapply every two hours. People headed for the pool or beach should put on sunscreen beforehand remembering to reapply liberally and after getting out of the water

Most people don’t wear enough sunscreen when they apply, Lester said Make sure to put two long fingers’ worth on the face and a hefty blob for the body

Look for chemical-based sunscreens to avoid ashy white cast. Two key ingredients in mineral-based prod-

ucts zinc oxide and titanium oxide — are the culprits for that pesky discoloration on dark skin.

Tinted sunscreens contain pigments that block visible light from the sun, offering additional protection against dark spots. And wearing a

hat or sun-protective clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor or UPF grading can provide an extra safety boost.

Whatever the sun protection routine, it’s important to keep it up, Lester said. Some UV rays can climb right

through car and house windows to cause sun damage even when indoors, making it even more important to take care of the skin while the sun shines.

“It’s about trying to make it a daily habit,” she said. “Consistency over intensity.”

and sent people running as more than two-dozen rescue units sped to the scene. Eight people were taken to the hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Two others took off for the hospital before rescue crews arrived. Two of the 10 victims were classified as trauma alerts and airlifted to a nearby trauma center The explosion caused a partial roof collapse. More than 27 rescue units responded, including canine teams dispatched to search for victims.

“Local businesses were not open at the time, but we did have to call unsafe structures to ensure that the structure of the building was safe,” said Erika Benitez, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesperson.

Director Jafar Panahi, winner of the Palme d’Or for the film ‘It Was Just an Accident,’ poses for photographers Saturday at the 78th international film festival in Cannes, southern France.

Key moments from second week of Sean Combs’ trial

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Jurors heard from a dozen witnesses during a second week of testimony in the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial as prosecutors sought to prove sex trafficking and racketeering.

Rapper and actor Kid Cudi was on the witness stand. So was singer Dawn Richard, formerly of the group Danity Kane.

There was more testimony from witnesses who said they saw Combs beating his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. Jurors also heard testimony about guns, extortion and a car being set on fire.

The trial resumes Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday Here are key moments from Week 2:

Proving racketeering

Much of the case presented by prosecutors so far has revolved around accusations that Combs physically and sexually abused Cassie for years, and coerced her into sexual encounters called “freak-offs” with men who were paid thousands of dollars to have sex with her

Yet Combs isn’t simply charged with sex crimes.

He’s charged with racketeering Prosecutors say they will prove that Combs used his businesses and employees “to carry out, facilitate, and cover up his acts of violence, abuse, and commercial sex.”

Some of those employees testified in Week 2.

George Kaplan, a personal assistant for Combs from 2013 to 2015, told jurors he’d toss out liquor bottles and drugs and clean up baby oil from Combs’ hotel rooms after the music producer finished freak-offs.

He said he never reported

abuse to authorities even after Combs beat up Cassie on a private jet

Another personal assistant, David James, testified that Combs had him stock hotel rooms with Viagra, condoms, baby oil and lubricant, among other supplies. He also recounted how Combs had three handguns on his lap as they drove to a Los Angeles diner looking for his record industry rival, Death Row Records cofounder Suge Knight.

Cassie’s mom

Cassie briefly dated Kid Cudi during a period of time when it looked like she might split with Combs

Cassie’s mother, Regina Ventura, testified that she felt “physically sick” after her daughter sent her an email saying Combs had learned about the relationship with Cudi and planned to retaliate by releasing tapes of Cassie having sex.

Then, Ventura said, Combs contacted her and angrily demanded $20,000, saying he was owed it because he’d spent money on Cassie’s career Ventura tapped home equity to wire the money to Combs’ business. Several days later, the money was returned.

Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi testified Thursday that Cassie sounded “very stressed, nervous, just scared” when she phoned him in December 2011 to say that Combs had learned they were dating.

Cudi said he was confused because he thought Combs and Cassie had broken up. Then, he said, one of Combs’ assistants called. She said Combs and an aide were in Cudi’s home, waiting to speak with him. She also said she had been forced into a car to join them.

Bones washed up on N.J. beaches belonged to 19th-century ship captain

BY NICK VADALA

The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

PHILADELPHIA Skeletal remains that washed up on several South Jersey beaches starting in 1995 have been identified as a 19th-century ship captain who was commanding a schooner bound for Philadelphia at the time of his death, bringing an end to a three-decade mystery

The remains were those of 29-year-old Henry Goodsell, who died in the wreck of a ship dubbed the “Oriental” off the coast of Brigantine in 1844, the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center said in a statement. The schooner was transporting about 60 tons of marble to be used in the construction of Girard College when it went down, according to reports from the time. Goodsell’s remains began washing ashore in 1995, when his skull was discovered on a beach in Longport, Atlantic County More bones were discovered in Margate in 1999, and additional remains washed up in Ocean City, Cape May County, in 2013. Due to their wide dispersal, the remains came to be known as “Scattered Man John Doe,” a nickname that stuck for years as investigators failed to determine their owner’s identity

But in 2023, the New Jersey State Police partnered with Ramapo College’s genealogy center in Mahwah to crack the case. The center sent a sample to a forensics lab, which later uploaded its results to genealogy databases.

As part of that effort, Ramapo genealogy students found ancestral ties for the remains dating back to the 1600s in Connecticut. The students also began investigating reported shipwrecks off the New Jersey coast, and found the wreck of the Oriental referenced in two newspaper reports from the time one in the York Democratic Press, and another in the Boston Daily Bee. According to those reports, the Oriental began its journey from Connecticut to Philadelphia in December 1844. Onboard were five crew members, along with the marble slated for Girard College, when the ship began to leak. It sank about a mile from the shoreline off the coast of Brigantine Shoal, killing everyone aboard The ship sank on Dec. 4, 1844, according to records maintained by the New Jersey Maritime Museum. Only one crew member’s body, a man named John Keith, was discovered following the wreck, the Boston Daily Bee reported at the time.

week, Dawn Richard, got her big break in the music business as a cast member on Combs’ reality TV show, “Making the Band.” She performed with two Combsbacked acts, Danity Kane and Diddy — Dirty Money

But Richard said Combs threatened her life after she saw him beat Cassie and try to hit her with a skillet in 2009. She said Combs told her and another woman that they “could go missing” if they didn’t stay quiet.

She said she saw Combs beat Cassie frequently “He would punch her, choke her drag her, slap her in the mouth,” she said.

Cassie’s former friend

As Morgan contemplated a lawsuit a month later, she met Cassie at a pizza parlor, where Cassie had her sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for $30,000, she said. But then, she said, Cassie “told me she thought I was milking it, that I was overexaggerating.” They haven’t spoken since.

Hotel manager testifies

One of the last witnesses of the week was Frédéric Zemmour, the general manager of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills in California.

Cudi said he raced to his house, but Combs was gone. Inside, he testified, he found Christmas gifts had been opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom. After the break-in, his dog was “very jittery and kind of on edge all the time,” he said.

Then, someone set fire to Cudi’s car, destroying it

Cudi set he met with Combs to squash their beef

the next day at a Los Angeles hotel. When he walked in, he said Combs was staring out the window standing with hands behind his back “like a Marvel supervillain.”

Combs denied having anything to do with the burned car, but Cudi said he didn’t believe him.

Dawn Richard

The first witness of the

Kerry Morgan said she had a falling out with Cassie, her friend of 17 years, after Combs attacked her in a rage in 2018 demanding to know who Cassie was cheating on him with.

Morgan said he slung a hanger at her head and tried to choke her, leaving her dizzy, vomiting and concussed, with finger imprints on her neck.

He revealed that Combs’ guest profile noted that he “ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil.” The profile instructed staff to “place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”

“Please authorize an extra $1000 when guest stays with us to cover any room damages,” Combs’ guest profile said. Witnesses have testified that Combs liked to use candles and baby oil during freak-offs.

IMAGE PROVIDED By ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

Defense attorney Brian Steel, center cross examines Kid Cudi, far right, as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, far left, looks on during Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial on Thursday in Manhattan federal court in New york.

BY SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

TEL AVIV,Israel The only time the Palestinian man wasn’tboundor blindfolded, he said, was when he was usedbyIsraeli soldiers as their human shield.

Dressed in army fatigueswith acamera fixed to his forehead, Ayman Abu Hamadan was forced into houses in the Gaza Strip to make sure they wereclear of bombs and gunmen, he said.When one unit finished with him, he was passed to the next.

“They beat me and told me: ‘You have no other option; dothis or we’ll kill you,’”the 36-year-old told The Associated Press, describing the21/2 weeks he was heldlast summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza.

Orders often came from the top, andattimes nearly everyplatoon used aPalestinian to clear locations, saidanIsraeli officer, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Several Palestinians and soldiers told theAPthatIsraeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to actashuman shieldsin Gaza, sendingthemintobuildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during 19 months of war,they said In response to theseallegations, Israel’smilitary says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields —a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blamethe militants forthe civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousandsof Palestinians.

In astatementtothe AP,the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilianstoparticipate in operations, and“allsuchorders areroutinely emphasizedto the forces.”

The militarysaid it’s investigatingseveral cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions, but wouldn’tprovide details It didn’tanswer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commandingofficers.

TheAPspoke withseven Palestinianswho described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and with two members of Israel’smilitary who said they

engaged in the practice, whichis prohibited by international law Rights groups are ringing the alarm,saying it’sbecome standard procedure increasingly used in the war.

“These are not isolated accounts; they pointtoasystemicfailure and ahorrifying moral collapse,”said NadavWeiman, executive directorofBreaking theSilence —a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers that has collected testimoniesaboutthe practice from within the military. “Israel rightly condemns Hamas for using civilians as human shields, but ourown soldiers describe doing thevery same.”

Abu Hamadan said he was detainedinAugust after being separated from hisfamily,and soldiers toldhim he’d help with a“special mission.”Hewas forced, for 17 days, to search houses andinspect every holeinthe ground for tunnels, he said Soldiers stood behind him and, once itwas clear,entered the buildings to damage or destroy them,hesaid. He spent each night bound in adarkroom, only to wake up and doitagain Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shieldsinGaza and the West Bank for decades. The

SupremeCourt outlawed thepractice in 2005. Butthe groups continued to document violations.

Still, expertssay this war is the first time in decades thepractice —and thedebate around it —has been so widespread.

The twoIsraeli soldiers who spoke to theAP— and athird who provided testimony to Breaking the Silence —said commanders were aware of theuse of human shields and tolerated it,with some giving orders to do so. Some said it was referred to as the “mosquito protocol” and that Palestinians were also referred to as “wasps” and other dehumanizing terms.

Thesoldiers —who saidthey’re no longer serving in Gaza—said thepracticesped up operations, saved ammunition, and spared combat dogs from injury or death.

Thesoldiers saidthey first becameaware human shields were being used shortly after the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, and that it becamewidespread by the middle of 2024.Orders to “bring amosquito”often came viaradio, they said —shorthand everyone understood. Soldiersacted on commanding officers’ orders, according to theofficer who spoke to theAP. He said that by the end of his

nine monthsinGaza, everyinfantryunit used aPalestinian to clear houses before entering.

“Oncethis idea was initiated, it caught on like fire in afield,” the 26-year-old said. “People saw how effective and easy it was.”

He described a2024 planning meeting where abrigade commander presented to the division commandera slide reading“get amosquito” and asuggestion they might “justcatchone offthe streets.”

Theofficer wrotetwo incident reportstothe brigade commander detailing theuse of human shields, reports that would have been escalated to the divisionchief, he said. Themilitary said it had no comment when asked whether it received them.

One reportdocumented the accidental killing of aPalestinian, he said —troopsdidn’trealize another unit was using him as ashield andshothim as he raninto ahouse

The officer recommended the Palestinians be dressed in army clothes to avoid misidentification.

He said he knew of at least one other Palestinian who died while used as ashield —hepassed out in atunnel Convincing soldiers to operate lawfully when they see their en-

emy using questionable practices is difficult, said Michael Schmitt, adistinguishedprofessor of international law at the U.S. Military AcademyatWest Point.Israeli officials and other observers say Hamas uses civilians as shields as it embeds itself in communities, hiding fighters in hospitals and schools.

“It’s really aheavylift to look at your own soldiers andsay you have to comply,” Schmitt said. One soldiertoldthe AP his unit tried to refusetouse humanshields in mid-2024 but were told they had no choice,with ahigh-ranking officer saying theyshouldn’tworry about international humanitarian law

The sergeant —speaking on condition of anonymity forfear of reprisal —said the troops used a 16-year-old anda 30-year-old fora fewdays.

The boyshook constantly,he said, and both repeated “Rafah, Rafah” —Gaza’s southernmost city,where morethan 1million Palestinians had fled from fighting elsewhere at that point in the war It seemed they were begging to be freed, the sergeant said.

Masoud AbuSaeed said he was used as ashield for two weeks in March 2024 in the southern city of Khan Younis.

“This is extremely dangerous,” he recounted telling asoldier.“I have childrenand want to reunite with them.”

The36-year-old saidhewas forced into houses, buildings and ahospital to dig up suspected tunnels and clear areas. He said he wore afirst-responder vestfor easy identification, carrying a phone, hammer and chain cutters. During oneoperation,hebumped into his brother,used as ashield by another unit, he said.

They hugged. “I thought Israel’s army had executed him,” he said. Palestinians also report being used as shields in the West Bank. Hazar Estity saidsoldiers took her from her Jenin refugeecamp home in November,forcingher to film inside several apartments and clear them before troops entered. She said she pleaded to return to her 21-month-old son, but soldiers didn’tlisten.

“I was most afraid that they would kill me,” she said. “And that Iwouldn’tsee my son again.”

PHOTO PROVIDED By BREAKING THESILENCE

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

La.lawmakers at center of sprint to pass Trump’sbill

WASHINGTON U.S.Rep.

Troy Carter,D-New Orleans arrived at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday to procure aseat. If Carter left, he’d lose his place in the small hearing room. Instead, he sipped tea andnibbled on banana nut bread while waiting10 hours togive afive-minute speech opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The House had adjourned Tuesday evening after afull day of work. Afew hours later at 1a.m. Wednesday the House Rules Committee convened to consider 537 amendments.

After advancing the bill Wednesday evening, the full House debated overnight the procedures to consider and then the merits of the bill. The House approved the bill by asingle vote a few minutes before 7a.m. Thursday,then adjourned after working 30 hours straight.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, spent their time nailing down the final votes needed to pass the legislation. The rest of Louisiana’ssix-member House delegation were involved in their own ways during the marathon session that ledto passage in the House of the most consequential legislation since Donald Trump became president in January

The storybehind late night in the La. Senate

Carter,61, wanted to present hisamendments and his outrageatthe bill’sspending reductions to Medicaid andfood stampstocover the increasedcosts ofcontinuing Trump’s2017tax cut,new tax breaks fortip and overtime earnings, additionalspending onborder controland fulfilling other campaign promises CleoFields, DBaton Rouge,also waitedhoursfor a chance to present an amendmentthathad no chanceofbeing added by the GOP majority.Hesaid theparade of dozens of Democrats to the Rules Committee was notorchestrated by the minority’sleadership but seemed to grow organically as the night woreon.

“The Republicans wanted to do it easy,inthe deadof night, when they thought America was notwatching so that onlything people would know about it is what Republicanssaid.We weren’t going to letthathappen,” he said afterthe bill passedthe HouseThursday morning by one vote Fields, 62, said he had beenuptwo straightdays, fueled by coffee, but could take anap on hisflight home Democrats didn’thave the numbers to stopthe 1,116page bill. But theycould and did—delay its passage. House leadership didn’t

after alengthy debate.

whenitlooked like the thing might fall apart,” Johnson said Thursday.Inbetween meetings with the competing groups, Johnson said he visited the Capitol chapel to pray This being Johnson’s greatest victory during his 19 months as speaker,national media focused on him. Their articles marveled at Johnson’swillingness to sit for long hours to sort through an adversary’sposition —atrait he has held since aLSU student dipping his toe into conservative politics for the first time. Scalise, an old hand at congressional votes, told an Americans for Prosperity gathering Tuesday he reminded the last holdouts that no votes aligned them against Trump and his bill to energize the economy.

The state Senate remained in sessionuntil almost 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the insistence of Senate President Cameron Henry,who said immediately afterward that he wanted his chamber to finish its work on contentious car insurance bills.

The Senate needs to begin focusing on the annual budget debate next week, Henry,R-Metairie, added.

The Senate passed six car insurance bills, with Democrats and Republicans alike expressing unhappiness at being asked to approve legislation with eleventh-hour amendments.

Sen. Jay Luneau was especially vocal in protesting the proposed rewrite of Senate Bill 231, ameasure soughtbyinsurance industry lobbyists that would reduce payouts for medical claims.

“If nothing else, the Senate has been afair place to serve,” Luneau, D-Alexandria, told his colleagues. “Wedoa little bit of gamesmanship,but not something like this. This is too important for the people Irepresent in my practice for us to gloss over it and for us to take it up and do this ambush-type work.”

Republicans used their majority to overrideLuneau’sobjection, taking up the bill and passing it

spend any time trying to persuade Democrats.

Johnson and Scalise focused on turning recalcitrant Republicans from no to yes because if threeGOP membersjoined Democrats, Trump’sbill would’ve failed. One of those holdoutswas Rep. ClayHiggins, R-Lafayette.Hewrote on social media thatthe U.S. was facing financial insolvency because of deficit spending. The bill would add $3.8 trillion of debt over 10 years to thenation’s$36 trillion deficit, if passed as-is by theSenate.

Later,itwas Republicans who expressed unhappiness at alate amendment for House Bill 148, ameasure pushed by Gov.Jeff Landry to give the insurance commissioner greater authority to reject proposed rate increases Theamendment would require insurance companies to make their rate filing requestspublic. They say thatcould force them to expose trade secrets, which would discourage themfrom doing business in Louisiana.

Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of HB148, while Republicans supplied all the no votes. Henry voted for the measure, which was handled by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, normally an insurance industry advocate.

“The insurance industryis never happy,” Henrysaid afterward. “They don’twant anyone todoanything to them that would require them in any way shape or form todoanything other than exactly what they are doing now.Exactly what they are doing now is rates keep going up, their profitskeep going up and everybody is getting less coverage. What Talbottried to do is balance that playing field alittle bit. It’ssomething the governor wanted.”

Twoofthe car insurance bills passed by the Senateon Wednesday go to Landryfor

Trump visited theCapitolonTuesday and met Wednesday at the White House witha handful of members, including Higgins. Trump said the time for negotiations were over and thatthey should accept the deals or face the consequences.

“It was aproductive meeting to the extent that we feel pretty positive about the direction thatwe’removing in,” Higgins said. He voted in favor of the bill.

Rep. Julia Letlow’svote was never in doubt. The

his signature, while the House is planning to takeupand pass theother three on Tuesday,said House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice.

Trump picks Louisiana lawyer for CIA job

New Orleanslawyer Peter M. Thomson was nominated by President Donald Trumpasinspector general of the Central Intelligence Agency,according to his law firm, Stone Pigman Walther WittmannLLC.

Thomson chairs thefirm’s white-collar criminal defense practice and co-chairs the firm’s information security practice. He concentrates on criminal defense, government investigations and internal investigations.

Beforejoining Stone Pigman, Thomson was an assistant United States attorney withthe U.S. DepartmentofJustice for 23 years. He also served on special assignmentatthe National Security Agency

“I am grateful for the opportunitytoreturn to government service and look forward toadvancing the mission of the CIA with integrity and professionalism,” Thomson said.

ANew Orleansnative, Thomson graduated from Tulane University.

The CIA inspector general oversees audits, inspections and investigations to prevent and detect fraud, waste and misconduct within the intelligence agency and ensures that operations com-

Start Republican spent the sprint attending her committeemeetings and being on call to cast her votes as needed.

Johnson and Scalise had spent months negotiating with conservatives who wanteddeeper cuts to Medicaid and the not-asconservative faction that didn’t. Then there were Republicans from richer blue states who wantedmore of afederal tax break for local and state taxes paid.

“There (were) afew moments over the last week

ply withthe law

His nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

He was nominated by Trumpto be inspector general of the CIA in 2020, but his nomination was returned after Trumplost the presidency to Joe Biden.

Kennedy pushonbank mergerssucceeds

The U.S. House gave final approval to aresolution of disapproval of Biden-era bank merger rules sponsored by Louisiana U.S. Sen. John Kennedy

The legislation, which effectively ends the rule, now heads to theWhite House forPresident Donald Trump’ssignature.

“When the Biden administration decided to tinker with bank merger rules for no good reason, they threw agut punch to small communitybanks just trying to offer their customers agood service,” Kennedy,R-Madisonville, said in astatement.

ABC’s“This Week”: Preempted by coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix

NBC’s“Meet the Press”: Dr.Vivek Murthy, aformer U.S. surgeon general; former Rep. Patrick Kennedy,D-R.I

CNN’s“State of the Union”: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton; Sens. Michael Bennet, D-

“Most Americans just want to know,how is my life going to be better or worse,” said Scalise. “With this bill, your life will be dramatically better because you’re going to have more money in your pocket, your small business that you’re working for,orlarge business, is going to now invest more money into the economy to allow you to get ahigher paying job.” The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now before the U.S. Senate.

EmailMark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

The rule, which wentinto effect on Jan. 1, 2025, amended the Bank Merger Act of 1960 to require the Office of Comptroller of the Currency take agreater role in deciding if abank merger would harm business.

Kennedy argued that the new rule added unnecessary red tape and madeitharder forbanks, particularly community banks, to make“smart, strategic mergers.” Democrats countered that, before the rule change, merger applications were rubber-stamped, resulting in less competition and morecommunities without abank branch.

The Republican majority approved the resolution on May 8. The House passed it Tuesday on a 220-207 vote with five Democrats and one Republican not voting.

Only one Democrat voted yes: Rep. Henry Cueller,ofTexas. Both Democrats in Louisiana’s six-member House delegation voted against the measure, while all four Republicans approved.

Colo., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Mike Johnson; Reps. JimHimes, D-Conn. Zach Nunn,R-Iowa,and Don Davis, D-N.C.; Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program.

“Fox News Sunday”: Mike Johnson; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. The Associated Press SUNDAY NEWS SHOWS

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

PresidentDonald Trump, left, and House Speaker MikeJohnson, R-Benton, speak to reporters Tuesdayafter departing aHouse Republican conferencemeeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Mark Ballard

THE GULF COAST

St.James Cheese Companyexpands to Pass Christian

N.O. storeto open location at Mississippiresort

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

Long before their vision of asprawling waterfront resort took form, two brothers-turned-business partners were certain that atranquil, yet fast-growing Mississippi beach town would be its home.

Old Metairie natives who moved to the Coast when they were children, Jourdan and Fields Nicaud have built their own empire of restaurants and vacationrentals across south Mississippi in the last decade. But Pass Bungalows —acontemporary-style resort that soft launched its first 21 hotel rooms, swimming pooland tiki bar,and aclothing shop on May 1— is their biggest venture yet.

In early July,all 36 hotel rooms will be open, including two local restaurants within the development: Field’sItalian and Mable’sIce Cream and CoffeeShop.ANew Orleans restaurant and gourmet cheese store, St. James Cheese Company,will also debut its first out-of-state location at Pass Bungalows. Around the same time, the brothers will open Nine Toes Brewery,featuring golf simulators and an arcade, next to the resort.

Jourdan added that they are working on aseparate development named St. Paul Center ablockaway from the resort. There will be 36

lots available for people to purchase and build homes on, as well as acentralized pool,curatedwalking paths andgardens in the community

St. Paul Center will launch in March 2026 as an addition to the Nicaudsevolving commercial hubonW.Scenic Drive.

In September,Cat Island Coffee —alocal establishment in Pass Christianand Gulfport —will also open two new spots in Nicauddevelopments across the Coast: brunch-style restaurants in what is now Bacchus Bar in Pass Christianand next to the Field’sItalian location in downtown Ocean Springs.

WhyPassChristian?

The business partners’ row of developmentsinPass Christian is areflection of how drastically the beachtown’s population, tourism industry and development scene havegrown since the area was ravaged by HurricaneKatrinanearly 20 years ago.

New datareleasedbyU.S. Census Bureau shows that Pass Christian is one of the fastest-growing cities along the Gulf Coast, withits population increasing by13% within thelast four years.

Ayear afterKatrina, just under 5,000 residents still lived in Pass Christian.The population continued to declineuntil 2010, plummeting to 4,600, accordingto census data.

Now,withnearly 6,500 residents and new businesses liningthe city’scoastal stretch, Pass Christian is slowly returning to what it was once

PHOTO PROVIDED By HARRELL A.D.C. COMPANy

ANew Orleans restaurant and gourmet cheese store, St James Cheese Company,will soon debut its firstout-of-state location at Pass Bungalows, anew waterfront resortinPass Christian, Miss.

like before the storm.

Thecity’ssuccessisone reason why the brothers chose it to be thelocation for their resort, Jourdansaid Thursday afternoon. He also noted how thearea is alongtime seaside retreat for New Orleanians —including for his own family,who would vacation in Pass Christian every year until permanently moving there.

Gulf Coast’s‘renaissance’ Rich Sutton, whoopened St. James CheeseCompany in Uptown New Orleans with his wife shortly after Katrina, chose to open up shop in PassChristian because he also feels the Coast has been going through a“renaissance” within the last few years.

“I think youcan feel it when you’re there,” Sutton said, “And the energyand the vibe …People are excited about being there.”

The restaurantwill be similar to itslocations in the WarehouseDistrict and Uptown neighborhood, in terms of its cozy,artisanaesthetic and cheese-centric menu.

Though Sutton added that they plan to expand themenu beyond traditionallunch fare

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Sun Herald

BaySt. Louis andPass Christian have grown fasterthanany other cities across the Mississippi Coast in the last four years, according to new population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.

PROVIDED PHOTO At St.James Cheese Company’s classes, attendees can expect to get adelicious, curated sampling of cheeses paired with wine, beer or even chocolates.

with some breakfast plates and offer fresh items other than craft cheese.

“Wehave avision for it,” Sutton said, “That’sbeen tailored to whatwethink folksinthatcommunity,Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis and the neighboring communities there would be excited about.”

Email PoetWolfe at poet. wolfe@theadvocate.com

The census data, released Thursday,suggests South Mississippi is defying troubling trends in other parts of the state. The populationofmost cities in the six southernmost counties is either rising or staying the same, even as other communities across Mississippi are shrinking.

BaySt. Louis andPass Christian’spopulations have each grown since 2020 by about 13%, which is among the highest rates in the state. More than 1,000 newcomers in that period have raised the population in Bay St.Louis above 10,000. Pass Christian’s population is nearing 6,500 andhas grown by morethan700 peoplein the last four years. Slower growth is also happening in Long Beach, D’Iberville and Ocean Springs. And Gulfport, the state’ssecond largest city,has gained about 1,700 people.

But growth is not happening everywhere.

Biloxi, Diamondhead, Waveland, Moss Point and Pascagoula all shrunk slightly over thelastfour years.

Trends since 2020 show dozens of towns and cities across the state getting smaller,too. Jackson lost more than12,000people in that period.The population in theDelta citiesof Greenville and Cleveland each dropped by about 9%.

Biloxi’spopulation fell but fared better than elsewhere in the state: It has declinedbyabout 1,300, or 2.6%, since 2020. Annual growthrates are more modest.

But other cities in the South arebooming: Census data showscities across theregion grew, on average, fasterthan in anyother part of thecountry last year Last year alone, Pass Christian, Gulfport and Diamondhead were the fastest-growing on the Coast. Pass Christian’s growth rate of 2.6% in 2024 was more than double thenational average forcitiesofits size.Gulfport also grew by roughly 2% last year. Diamondheadgrew by 1.5% in 2024, but still hadfewer people than it did in 2020. The data may not reflect thewhole pictureintouristcities,becauseitmeasureswhere people live mostofthe timeand does not account for second homes.

Theinflux is forcing officials to expand roads and fueling urgent debates abouthow to balance quaint neighborhoods withnew development. It is also driven in part by people moving to South Mississippi from Louisianaand across thecountry

EDUCATION

Ex-La. schoolschief talkstestscoresonrise, policy puzzle

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

For years, John White was the face of Louisiana education policy

He served as Louisiana’ssuperintendent of education for eight years —one of the longest tenures of any state K-12 education leader in the country —beforestepping down in 2020. During thattime he earned anational reputation as ahard-charging, often divisive reformer who pushed forhigher standards, stricter accountability and expanded options, including charter schools and private school vouchers.

His positions often put him at odds with the state teachers unions and, at different times, Republican Gov.Bobby Jindal and Democrat Gov.John Bel Edwards

Yetascontroversial as his policies could be, White could point to real progress: improving test scores, rising graduation rates and more students enrolling in college or earning industry credentials

White’ssuccessor,state Superintendent Cade Brumley,has maintained some of the same priorities, such as giving students access to high-quality early education, holding schools accountablefor results and preparing students for careers. But he also has made some notable changes, including ending apolicy started under White that required high schoolers to apply for college financial aid or request to opt out.

White, who still lives and works in New Orleans, is now CEO of Great Minds,acompany that creates curriculum used in schools nationwide.

We recently spoke with White about the latest education news in Louisiana —including students’ big gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP,test —and nationally,as President Donald Trump seeksto eliminate the U.S. Department of

WE’RE ASKING

Q&A WITH JOHN WHITE

John White servedasLouisiana’ssuperintendent of education

Education. The interview has been condensedand edited for clarity.

What led you to work at acurriculum companyafter serving as stateeducation chief?

Louisiana really pioneered the idea thatthe state should play a role in reviewing the curriculum andensuring the highest of standards—not justinwhat thecurriculumis, but in how it’s implemented

Thatbecamea real life calling for me,and so it was anatural thing for me to go work at Great Minds, which makes Eureka Math andother curriculumproducts.

Our goal is reallytoensure that everychild in America has acurriculumthateducatesthem on a very deep level.

By theway,Eureka Mathwas originally written at LSU. We work in hundredsofschools in Louisiana.It’sanice thing to be able to godown the street and see ourcurriculum at work in classrooms. What factors do you think contributed to

Louisiana’srecent academic gains?

Though this year was particularly remarkable, over timeLouisiana hasbeen improving steadily There are ahandful of other places thatcan saythe same thing —for example, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Washington, D.C.

What do those six jurisdictions have in common? One is the idea thatthe state should playavigorous role in along-termstrategy for improvement.That sounds so obvious,but the truth of it is there aremany statesacrossthe country wherethe state is more of just abureaucratic vessel, an administrator Second, accountabilityfor results among all adults —and even among kids and families —has been acornerstone of the plans for all of those places. They all have held fast to theidea of accountability for resultsatatime when many,many statesare shedding thatperspective.

Do you think anypolicies from your tenure as superintendent are bearing fruit now?

We did fivethings that Ithink arerelevant today

First, we established aplan to grow early childhood education and to ensure quality.Second, we instituted ahigh-quality curriculum and the supports to train teachersatagreat scale. Third, we incorporated that support into the collegesofeducation where teachersare now trained with a full-year residency model like a nurse or adoctor in Louisiana.

Fourth, we providedmultiple paths to increased university admissions, and we also promoted career paths. Fifth, we ensured aggressive intervention at struggling schools. The Recovery School Districthas been akind of force for recognizing that you cannot persistently fail young people in this state and continue to earn the privilege of educating them

What are your thoughts on thestate ending the policy you championed to gethigh schoolers to applyfor college financial aid?

I’m worried about the kid who needs that plumbing program at BatonRouge Community College, thatnursing program at Delgado, thatwelding credential at South Louisiana Community College. Kids who didn’tget TOPS (statefunded scholarships) and who really do need financial aid.

How could anybody be against that? Ifind it confusing. Especially when it was getting results, putting moneyinkids’ pocketbooks so theycould getthat plumbing or welding credential.

Iwould like to see someone explain how we are going to ensure thatthat young person still gets all the information they need. There’s an opportunity for low-income youthtohave that workforce credential paid for,but they’ve got to be aware of it in order to pursue it. Oneargument for theTrump administration’sefforttodismantle the U.S. Education Department is that it mainly creates bureau-

cratic red tape.Asstate education chief, did you feel likethe federal agencywas a hindrance?

You’ll get no argument from me (against the idea) that the Department of Education bureaucracy in Washington needs arestructuring. In some cases, it needs to take a step back.

At the same time, the federal government does play arole that is important —most notably,to hold the states to minimum standards of excellence or to require that states create those standards of excellence.

Whatdoes it mean to have a great school in Louisiana?How many kids should be reading on grade level? Who’s measuring that? Those arequestions thatCongress hasfor yearsrequiredstates have an answerto, andIthink on balancethat’sbeen agood thing. Looking ahead, if you couldchoose one policy to keep Louisiana education moving forward, what woulditbe?

This is not anew argument, but in truth any state that can outcompete other states for teacher talent will improve. Right now, the economics of paying teachers acompetitive wage is not working. Our profession is simply not keeping up with other white-collar professions.

Icredit the governor and the Legislature for trying to give incremental raises to teachers every year.But in aworld of 3or4% inflation, you’re just keeping your head above water —it’snot really turning the tide.

Changing the economics of the profession will take ageneration. Changing the model in away that makes it such that (a teacher) who is adding value to the lives of children can have afamily,own a home and be prosperous. Idon’t think that this state or any other has really solved that puzzle.

EmailPatrick Wall at patrick. wall@theadvocate.com.

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STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIAGERMER

MINNEAPOLIS

Ex-policechief:SeeingGeorgeFloyd video‘gut-wrenching’

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS FormerMinneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo vividly remembers receiving acall around midnight from acommunity activist. The caller told him to watch avideo spreading on social media of aWhite officer pinning aBlack manto the ground, despite his fading pleas of “I can’tbreathe.”

The dying man was George Floyd. The officer was Derek Chauvin. And Arradondowas the city’sfirst Black police chief.

“It was absolutely gutwrenching,” Arradondo, 58, recalled in an interview ahead of the fifth anniversary of Floyd’smurder

What he saw conflicted with what his own people had told him about the deadlyencounter,and he knew immediately it would mean changes for his department and city.But he acknowledged he didn’timmediately foresee how deeply Floyd’sdeath would reverberate in the U.S. and around the world.

“I served for 32 years,”he said. “But there’snodoubt May 25, 2020,isa defining moment for me in my public service career.”

The video shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’sneck, pinning him to the pavement outside aconvenience store where Floyd had tried to use acounterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Chauvin maintained the pressure for 91/2 minutes despite pleas from onlookers to stop, even after an off-duty firefighter tried to intervene and another of-

KARNOWSKI

officers from being held accountable for wrongdoing.

Fiveyears on, Arradondo, whoretired in 2022, saidhe believeslaw enforcement agencies nationwidehave made progress on police accountability—albeit incremental progress —and that policechiefsand sheriffs nowmovefaster to hold officers responsible for egregious misconduct

Arradondo was promoted to chief in 2017, and his elevation was greeted with hope among local African Americans who affectionately called him “Rondo.” Buthis department had areputation for being too quick to use force and many were angry about police killing young Black men in Minnesota and beyond.

licing, and thechallenges of working within aflawed system.Hecloses it with a letter dedicated to Floyd’s daughter,Gianna.

“I never had an opportunity to meet Gianna, but I wanted hertoknowthat, even though Iwas notout there that evening, at that intersection when her father was pleading forhelp, that I heard him, and Iwas going to do everything Icouldto bring him justice,” he said. He wanted to say the words thatshe has not heard from the four former officers who were convicted for their roles in George Floyd’s death: “I’m sorry.I’m sorry for your father being taken from you.”

ficer said he couldn’tfind a pulse.

Arradondosat for theinterview in apublic library that was heavily damaged in the unrestthat followed Floyd’s death. It’son Lake Street, a majorartery that saw some of theworst destruction, a street thathe says still bears “remnantsof thepain and anger of what occurred five years ago.” Just down the block, there’s the empty shell of apolice stationthatwas torched during theriots. Andwithin sight is aTarget store and aCub Foods supermarket that were looted.Storefronts remain boarded up. While some businesses were rebuilt, empty lots sit where othersdid not. Arradondo still stands

by his andMayor Jacob Frey’s decision to abandon the Third Precinct and let it burn.Protesters breached thebuilding, and police who were spreadthin didn’thave the resources to hold it. So he ordered his officers to evacuate.

“During the most significant crisis we’veeverexperienced,arguably in the state, when it’slife or death, I’ve got to go on the side of keeping people alive and safe,” he said.

Arradondo subsequently helped launch an overhaul of policing in thecity despitea resistant policeculture and a powerful officers union. He testifiedagainst Chauvin in his2021murdertrial,a rare breach of the“blue wall” that traditionally protects

Haitians with HIVdenounce USAID cuts anddwindling medication

BY DÁNICA COTO and EVENS SANON Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Avideo showing dozens of people marching toward the office of Haiti’sprime minister elicited gasps from some viewers as it circulated recently on social media. The protesters, who were HIV positive, did not conceal their faces —arare occurrencein acountry where the virus is still heavily stigmatized.

“Callthe minister of health! We are dying!” the group chanted. The protesters risked being shunned by society to warn that Haiti is running out of HIV medication just months after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump slashed more than 90% of USAID’sforeign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall aid across the globe. At ahospital near the northerncity of Cap-Haitien, Dr.Eugene Maklin said he struggles to sharethat reality with his more than 550 HIV patients.

“It’shard to explain to them, to tell them that they’re not going to find medication,”

he said.“It’slike asuicide.”

Morethan 150,000 people in Haitihave HIV or AIDS, according to official estimates, althoughnonprofits believe the numberismuch higher.

David Jeune, a46-year-old hospital community worker, is among them. He became infected 19 years ago after having unprotected sex.

“I wasscared to letpeople know because they would point their fingeratyou, sayingyou areinfecting others with AIDS,” he said.

His fear was so greatthat he didn’t tell anyone,not even hismother.But that fear dissipated with the support Jeune said he received from nonprofits.His confidence grew to the point where he participated in Monday’sprotest

“I hope Trumpwill change hismind,”hesaid, noting that his medication will run out in November.“Let the poorpeopleget themedication they need.”

PatrickJean Noël,a representative of Haiti’sFederationofAssociationsofHIV, saidthat at leastfive clinics, including one thatserved 2,500 patients, were forced to

close after the USAID funding cuts.

“Wecan’t staysilent,” he said. “More peopleneed to come out.”

But mostpeople withHIV in Haiti arereluctant to do so,said Dr.Sabine Lustin, executive director of the Haitibasednonprofit Promoters of ZeroAIDS Goal.

The stigma is so strongthat manypatients are reluctant to pickuptheir medication in person. Instead, it is sent via packages wrapped as gifts to not arouse suspicion, Lustin said.

Lustin’sorganization, whichhelps some 2,000 people across Haiti, receives fundingfrom the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.While their fundinghasn’tbeen cut, shesaid thatshortly after Trump was swornin, the agency banned prevention activities because theytargeteda group thatisnot apriority. By that, Lustin saidshe understood they were referringtogay men. That meansthe organization can no longer distribute up to 200,000 free condoms a year or educatepeople about the disease.

Arradondo said he wishes he hadmademore changes to the policedepartmentbefore Floyd was killed.

“I wouldhavepushedharder andsooner at tryingto dismantlesomeofthe toxic culture that allowed that indifference to exist that evening, on May 25, 2020,” he said. “I certainly would have investedmoretimeelevating the voices in our community that hadbeen pleading with police departmentsfor decadestolistentousand change.”

Arradondo just published abook, “Chief Rondo: Securing Justice for theMurder of George Floyd,” that explores leadership,justiceand race, the broader impacts of po-

Lake Charlesnative leadsPennington Biomedical’s new Advanced Endocrinology andDiabetesClinic

PenningtonBiomedicalResearchCenter,an LSUHealthaffiliateand oneofthe nation’s largestresearchinstitutions, hasopeneda newEndocrinology andDiabetesClinicin BatonRouge.The clinicprovidesspecialized care for patients managing diabetes andendocrine disorders, bringworld-class expertisetothe region

Leadingthe clinic is Dr.Timothy Gilbert, an endocrinologist andLakeCharles native Dr.GilbertjoinsPenningtonBiomedicalwith nearly 20 yearsofprivate practice experience in SouthwestLouisiana.Heearned hismedical degree from LouisianaState University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, followed by an internal medicine residencyatLSUHSCBaton Rougeand a fellowship in Endocrinologyand Metabolic DiseaseatOchsner Health Systems. Dr.Gilbert is joined by ahighlyexperienced care team,including SheriAmmons, F.N.P.,KatherineCash, R.D.N.,CDCES,and

Hanh Gutowski,R.N., B.S.N. In addition to leading theclinic, Dr.Gilbert serves as a clinical research physicianatPennington Biomedical,contributingtopharmaceuticaland investigator-initiated studiesthat advancediabetesand metabolichealth treatments. ThroughPennington Biomedical and Dr.Gilbert’s leadership,patients receive care informed by thelatestresearchand technologicaladvancesinendocrinology Patients also have theuniqueopportunity to participateingroundbreakingclinical trialstakingplaceatPenningtonBiomedical Thesestudies provideaccesstoemerging treatments notyet availableonthe market, whilehelping advancescientific knowledge andimprovecarefor countlessofothers living with similarconditions. Forappointments, call (225)763-0250 or fax(225) 763-0256.Learn more at www. pbrc.edu/EDC.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By STEVE

Former Minneapolis PoliceChiefMedaria Arradondostands Tuesday at the East LakeLibraryinMinneapolis.

Coalition of pastors opposes Pride Month

Lafayette officials urged to halt proclamation

braced by faith frees people from their sins.”

stand up for biblical truth.”

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Pride Month in Acadiana has gained momentum locally over the past few years, but continues to be an ongoing effort for members of the local LGBTQ+ community and their allies to keep the declaration of the annual celebration alive.

Judge: Inmates must be protected from heat

Angola officials must issue alerts when heat index exceeds 88 degrees

BY ANDREA GALLO Staff writer

A federal judge ruled Friday that officials at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola must again take special precautions to protect inmates who work in the prison’s fields during high temperatures, rebuking a new state policy that raised the temperature necessary for inmates to receive such measures

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Jackson of the Middle District of Louisiana issued a temporary restraining order Friday that requires prison officials to issue a “heat alert” when the heat index at the prison exceeds 88 degrees. The order also requires prison staff to monitor the heat index every 30 minutes for the farm line at Angola, in which inmates perform grueling manual labor in the prison’s sprawling fields.

The ruling followed an order Jackson issued last July, which directed Angola officials to do more to protect inmates from extreme heat. He had ordered them to address problems on the farm line, where workers lacked shade, sunscreen and relief from the heat. During heat alerts, prison staff were supposed to provide the workers with more frequent water, ice and breaks But three months after the order last year, the state raise the threshold necessary to trigger a heat alert — from 88 degrees to 91 degrees.

“Incredibly, although the Court found that Defendants’ proposed remedies to address the threat to human health and safety on the Farm Line ‘border(ed) on bad faith,’ Defendants nonetheless chose to raise the Heat Alert threshold,” wrote Jackson, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama. Voice of the Experienced, a nonprofit that represents people who

Members of the Lafayette City Council have presented proclamations, which act as official announcements in a government

A coalition of pastors from churches in Lafayette, Milton, Opelousas and Vatican, Louisiana, recently signed and sent a letter to Mayor-President Monique Boulet and members of the Lafayette City Council requesting local government officials refrain from issuing proclamations or using public resources in support of Pride Month.

setting, in the past few years recognizing June as Pride Month. Lafayette Consolidated Government has not allocated any funding for Pride celebrations, according to its approved budgets In the letter, the pastors call the proclamations “divisive, illadvised and unloving” because they encourage the community to remain in “sins contrary to the Gospel of Jesus which when em-

Pastor Chad Norman, of First Baptist Church of Opelousas, in a recent interview emphasized the importance of building a community that continues to thrive in God’s word. He also said he wants to ensure no taxpayer dollars are used for Pride events.

Another signee of the letter, Pastor Chad Thibodeaux, of Vatican Baptist Church, said as leaders in the community the pastors wanted their voices to be heard and “to

“We just respectfully ask that they do not make public declaration or, more importantly, use taxpayer dollars. And we love the people in our community; we just want to be clear on God’s word.”

Brandi Ortiz Comeaux, of the Acadiana Queer Collective, a nonprofit group that creates visible support for LGBTQ+ people in Acadiana, said in a recent news release that Pride celebrations were

SPEAKING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE

Moncus Park events showcase Lafayette’s multicultural community

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

When Faryal Atif was invited to pitch an idea at last year’s 24 Hour Citizen Project, she knew just what she wanted to propose: a community language cafe that would connect people in the melting pot that is Lafayette. Language cafes are an open-ended concept that invite people to gather, share and learn about different languages and cultures in their midst. They are a cousin of the popular French tables held throughout the Acadiana area, where French speakers meet and converse à la française.

Atif had held a language cafe at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during Hispanic heritage month, when she was president of the international student council. As a graduate student (and 2023 homecoming queen) from Pakistan, Atif saw firsthand how students and faculty from around the

world contributed to UL’s campus community, and she knew that she wanted to bring the concept to the rest of Lafayette. Unfortunately, her language cafe pitch was not formally funded that day But in an example of the serendipity that often accompanies good ideas, Moncus Park’s program manager was in the audience — and the park had the space and time slot to bring Atif’s idea to life

Moncus Park now hosts a language cafe on the third Thursday of each month as part of its community hour programming. Each cafe is designed around a monthly theme, typically based on the calendar of nationally observed heritage months. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States, so on May 15, Atif and her team members brought native speakers from Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia to speak, share and even dance with community members at

the park’s treehouse pavilion.

“This is not specific to any one community It’s for everyone,” said Atif. “That’s the beauty of it, that’s it’s people from all different backgrounds, who all live in Lafayette. Lafayette is such a diverse, multicultural place. This is one way to showcase that, and give people a space to come and sit and just get to know each other more.”

The focus is on languages, but participants may also

choose to show other unique elements of their culture like traditional clothing, or even line dances. At the May language cafe, UL global engagement coordinator Vinca Duhon who came to Lafayette as a student from Jakarta, Indonesia — taught a line dance that she said was like the “Indonesian Cupid Shuffle.” At other tables circling the pavilion, people could be seen learning how to write

Lake Charles zydeco musician releases new album

Rusty Metoyer’s ‘King of I-10’ showcases growth

BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

Lake Charles native and musician Rusty Metoyer released his sixth album on Tuesday “King of I-10,” which Metoyer recorded and released with his band Rusty Metoyer and the Zydeco Krush, has 12 tracks and

showcases his musical growth, he said.

Metoyer said he’s been around Creole and zydeco music his entire life. His grandfathers, Cornelius Pappion and Louis Metoyer, would have holiday jam sessions.

When he turned 10, Metoyer received his first accordion from his uncle Dempsey Pappion and learned his first song. Metoyer said after that he didn’t play the instrument again until he was almost 15 and both of his grandfathers had died.

“I was just wanting to learn it

to be able to keep that tradition going in my family and was not really planning on having a band or anything when I was learning to play the accordion,” Metoyer said. “But, as time went on I started wanting to put a band together and did that in high school, and really started playing professionally, probably my freshman year of college, in 2011.”

Metoyer said his first album came out around 2013, and everything launched off from there.

While his supporting musicians have changed over the years,

Metoyer said he’s been with the same group since 2019 and they recorded his last few albums together

Now, Metoyer has nearly 4,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and is known for songs such as “Old Time Zydeco,” “Calcasieu by 2” and “Thinking and Drinking.” Metoyer said he and his band have performed around the United States, France and the Netherlands.

For Metoyer, that’s where the

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN Language Cafe team member Vinca Duhon leads participants in an Indonesian line dance at a Language Cafe, part of Moncus Park’s Community Hour programming on Thursday.

Lawsuit alleges BR coroner skipped autopsies

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

A federal lawsuit alleges the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s

Office had an unwritten policy of skipping autopsies in cases believed to be drug overdoses, leading to a botched death investigation in November 2018.

The lawsuit says the Coroner’s Office ruled the death of 23-yearold Dylan McClendon an accidental overdose by “multidrug toxicity” without an autopsy or full toxicology report.

Brought by Ascension Parish resident Regina Hebert, McClendon’s mother the May 15 complaint questions the coroner’s conclusion. Filed in the U.S. Middle District Court of Louisiana by attorney Andrew Walker, it accuses Coroner Beau Clark and employees Shane Evans and Mike Pozzi of the deprivation of constitutional rights, fraud and negligent hiring training and supervising.

Hebert testified about the investigation to a Louisiana Senate committee meeting in 2023, and the lawsuit says she is bringing the case now because she didn’t discover the factual basis for it until last year

“Critical facts were concealed by Defendants, including the failure to perform a legally required autopsy, the use of an unwritten policy to avoid autopsies in overdose cases, and the issuance of a death certificate unsupported by forensic evidence,” Walker wrote

LANGUAGE

Continued from page 1B

their names in Japanese kanji letters, or repeating phrases in the closely-related Malay and Indonesian languages. One of the Language Cafe organizers, Martha Viator, said that the event is a way to show Lafayette residents “who their neighbors are.”

“Children love it, because they’re curious. They love learning about things that they don’t know anything about it,” she said. “You can learn about aspects of culture that everyone can relate to, like food, and where all the different restaurants we have in town came from. When everybody knows about their neighbors, it increases quality of life.” Atif is now a doctoral student and residential engagement coordinator at the university, where she continues to focus on helping students succeed in an environment that’s rich in diversity of all kinds. She says that building bridges between the city and campus is one of the perks of Language Cafe, since many members of Lafayette’s international community come to the area as students and faculty members.

“The university is a big factor, because it’s a big campus with a lot of international students, faculty and staff from different regions,” she said. “So we do have a big university presence here, and the great thing is that it brings together the community, the campus and the alumni.” Language Cafe is held at Moncus Park on the third Thursday of each month, from 6 to 7 p.m. on Treehouse Deck. They will continue until November, when the park’s programming switches over to holiday and winterthemed events.

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

in the filing. “It was only after subsequent FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) responses and direct admissions from Defendants Pozzi and Evans in 2024 that Plaintiff became aware of the full scope of misconduct.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Evans was the chief criminal investigator for the office at the time.

Clark did not respond to requests for comment. An email to Evans went unanswered, and no contact information for Pozzi could be found in online databases Court records didn’t list an attorney for the men.

Criminal case dropped

The lawsuit says McClendon’s death at a sober living facility occurred days after he sent texts to his parents about conditions there. His roommate allegedly suffered a heroin overdose two days before, Walker added.

He wrote that records and statements obtained through an independent investigation showed several men staying at the facility communicated to acquire heroin.

“These events reflect a coordinated plan to acquire narcotics involving multiple individuals at the sober living facility facts which should have prompted immediate and thorough investigation by both law enforcement and the coroner’s office,” Walker wrote.

Police arrested four men following McClendon’s death. Accord-

ing to the complaint, prosecutors dismissed the criminal case “due in part to insufficient forensic evidence.”

“Prosecutors cited limitations stemming from the lack of autopsy and the absence of preserved physical evidence,” Walker wrote. “In post-dismissal interviews, one resident reportedly admitted to lying to police.”

The lawsuit points to alleged failures by the Coroner’s Office in its investigation, which in turn kept prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges in connection with McClendon’s death.

Walker wrote that a roommate called 911 just after 1 a.m. and reported that McClendon had ingested heroin and was unresponsive. Pozzi, a Coroner’s Office investigator, arrived a little more than an hour later and declared the death “accidental” due to “multidrug toxicity,” the lawsuit alleges.

But the lawsuit claims Pozzi did so without ordering an autopsy, violating a state law mandating autopsies for deaths where criminal violations are reasonably probable to have contributed The complaint also states that the family discovered visible surgical staples on McClendon’s chest despite no documented autopsy Pozzi drew blood and urine for testing but certified the death one day later before the toxicology report returned, the lawsuit alleged.

“Dylan’s body was buried before the report was completed,” Walker wrote. “The premature issuance

of the death certificate was not based on medical certainty, but on assumptions unsupported by forensic data — assumptions later adopted and relied upon by other agencies in their criminal investigations.”

Alleged informal policy

The lawsuit alleges the lack of an autopsy stemmed from an informal, unwritten policy of foregoing autopsies if investigators could obtain urine samples and the scene suggested drug use.

“Chief Investigator Shane Evans explained that in 2017, the Coroner’s Office had ‘modified procedures’ due to an ‘explosion of overdoses’ and a limited-capacity contract pathologist,” Walker wrote. “… This policy was not based on statute, medical necessity, or written guidelines, but solely on capacity constraints and internal discretion.”

The complaint also alleges detectives obtained statements indicating McClendon was alert and playing video games 20 minutes before the 911 call. In response to hearing that Walker wrote that Pozzi said he “definitely would have changed (his) decision.”

The suit seeks a judgment that the plaintiff’s violated Hebert’s First and 14th Amendment rights and award punitive damages against them.

Email Christopher Cartwright at christopher.cartwright@ theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1B

were formerly incarcerated, asked the courts to toss out the state’s new policy raising the heat threshold. Jackson held a hearing on the issue last month.

“This ruling affirms a basic truth: The men we represent are human beings who deserve dignity, safety and protection from extreme heat,” said Samantha Pourciau, an attorney at the Promise of Justice Initiative, who is also involved in the case. “This second temporary restraining order is a necessary next step to protect the constitutional rights and basic human dignity of our clients.”

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections will comply with the order, said Tiffany Dickerson, a spokesperson for Secretary Gary Westcott. She said they could not comment further because of ongoing litigation.

The department had argued in legal filings that the plaintiffs were trying to hold them to higher standards than agricultural workers around the country, and that the farm line serves a legitimate purpose by harvesting fruits and vegetables to feed the prison population.

Attorneys for the state said they increased the threshold for heat alerts to 91 degrees based on advice from Dr Carl Keldie, a physician and health care consultants for prisons who they retained as an expert witness. Jackson, however, wrote in his order that Keldie was “wholly uncredible” and that he had no expertise in heat-related medical care. The judge instead leaned on testimony from an expert witness for the plaintiffs, Dr Susi Vassallo, a physician and expert on thermoregulation. Vassallo testified that the risk of heat stroke and other heat-related disorders rises substantially at a heat index of 88 degrees.

ZYDECO

Continued from page 1B

title and meaning behind his new album comes from.

He said it focuses on his goals on owning the zydeco scene along I-10 from Houston to New Orleans.

“(King of I-10 is) kind of a role that I would think any young Creole zydeco musicians in Southwest Louisiana, Southeast Texas would want, you know,” Metoyer said. “I’ve gone and I’ve done the playing around the world but nothing is like really having that home crowd, and what I call home crowd is between Houston and New Orleans (in) that I-10 circuit.”

He said that when he made the decision that he wanted to be the “King of I-10” is when he began to work on the album, which he said is his favorite.

“Every single song is different,” Metoyer said. “It’s my favorite project so far, just because I can feel the growth in my music as far as the musicality, the lyrics and the messages that I’m talking about in the songs.” Metoyer wants the new album to be relatable for anybody

“I’ve got something on this album that really can talk to anybody or touch anybody and really make them connect to the music,” Metoyer said.

Email Courtney Pedersen at courtney.pedersen@ theadvocate.com.

built from the ground up by local residents, small businesses and grassroots supporters.

City Council Chair Kenneth P Boudreaux on Friday responded to the pastors’ letter He said while religious organizations have a duty and responsibility, as a government official, he has a distinctly different duty and responsibility to “represent all people within the jurisdiction of the city of Lafayette’s governing authority and without favoring or endorsing any particular belief system while adhering to a separation of church and state.”

“The impulse to condemn anything not aligned with one’s personal views fosters division and runs counter to the principles of mutual respect and coexistence that underpin our democratic society,” Boudreaux said. The issue of Pride Month became contentious during the administra-

tion of former Mayor-President Josh Guillory, who repeatedly refused to approve or sign Pride Month proclamations. During Guillory’s administration, PFLAG Lafayette was able to go around the mayor to get support from and

proclamations declared by individual City Council members. In June of 2024, three city council members signed a Pride Month proclamation including Boudreaux, Liz Hebert and Elroy Broussard. Two other city council

members did not sign the proclamation, nor did Mayor-President Monique Boulet.

Robert Voitier, a Broussard resident, attended Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to make several requests regarding 2025 Pride Month in Acadiana.

Voitier asked the council to not allow rainbow pennants on Jefferson Street light poles, to halt any proclamation for June as Pride Month in Lafayette and to refuse a parade permit to the Acadiana Queer Collection or any other organization promoting what he called sexual immorality

“Lafayette is the most Catholic city in the country The people who promote Pride use deceptive language and hide behind a pretty rainbow,” Voiter said.

In his response, Boudreaux said, “I am unaware of any city of Lafayette, parish of Lafayette or Lafayette Consolidated Government funds either budgeted for or expended toward these affairs.”

Although it’s unclear whether there will be an official Pride Month proclamation this year, Co-

meaux announced this year’s Pride events. The events include the Pride Acadiana Parade, the Pride Film Showcase, a Stoned vs Drunk vs Sober: Pride Edition event, comedy night, a festival and more.

“We’re building something beautiful here in Acadiana something loud, local and lasting,” Comeaux said. “And we’re just getting started.”

Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori. madison@theadvocate.com.

FILE PHOTO By ROBIN MAy Santana A. Savage, left, and Miss Thing ride in the Pride Parade on June 11, 2022, during the kickoff of Pride Acadiana in downtown Lafayette.

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

Tuti Smith, left and Vinca Duhon represent Malay and Indonesian language and culture at a Language Cafe, part of Moncus Park’s Community Hour programming, on Thursday.

Cantrell leaves mixedbag fornextN.O.mayor

Thecrime rate is plummeting,but thepopulationis dwindling

BY JAMES FINN, BEN MYERS, SOPHIE KASAKOVE and JONI HESS Staff writers

New Orleans’ populationis shrinking again after years of steady recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Alack of affordable housing is making life unbearable for some.

At the same time, residents are taking homebigger incomes than eight years ago, when Mayor LaToya Cantrell was running for the city’stop office. And despite asurge in killings in 2022, crime later plummeted, and 2025 is on pace to finish as the city’s least-deadly year on record.

Aswath of economic, housing, demographic and crime data reviewed by The Times-Picayune paintsa complex portrait of the city the next mayor willinherit whenCantrell leaves office in January.New Orleans has made strides in key areas over her eight-year term,a period when the city weathered several punishing hurricanes and aglobal pandemic. But its leaders have struggled mightily to enact meaningful progress on other entrenched challenges.

The next mayor,who voters will select in apivotal municipal election this fall, willface immediate pressure to show improvement on the challenges that will landin their lap —some withintheir immediate control, some not. They also must piercea cloud of voter disillusionment with the city’spolitical class that enveloped Cantrell’ssecondterm, which was colored by aseries of scandals and anowsputtering investigation by federal prosecutors.

Aheadofanofficial qualifying period in July,three major candidates have emerged: City Council member Oliver Thomas, City Council Vice PresidentHelena Moreno and retired judge ArthurHunter.Former 911 call center managerTyrell Morris, counselor Ricky Twiggs and business owner Renada Collins are also running.

Cantrell’soffice did not respond to multiple requests to interview the mayor and senior administration officials about the data reviewed for this story and what it shows abouther administration’s performance.

Her office in recent months has touted its ambitious effort to curtail homelessness by movingunhousedpeople into long-term livingunits, its hiring of civilian workers to carry out certain public safety duties in thefaceof ashortage of NOPD officers and its role on shepherding the city through the Super Bowl in moving NewOrleans forward. The administration has also highlighted investment in youth programs, maternal and child health, and early childhood education.

“We’re doing it from the grassroots levelinyourcity of New Orleans, from investing in (ages) zero to 3, investing in our families, no matter who they are, who they love,” Cantrell saidata news conference this month. “I hope you’re connecting the dots that we’re building future of the city of New Orleans every single day by connecting (youngpeople) to theseprograms.”

Ashrinking population

Dean Bigbee, 44,had planned to stay in New Orleans.

But when Bigbee began looking to buy ahome in 2015 after renting since 2010, there were few affordable options. As Bigbee continued to save for adownpayment, skyrocketing homeowners’ insurance became anew complication.And theflooding, termites and roof damage that plagued past rentals made Bigbee question if buying locally would evenbe aworthy investment. In 2023, Bigbee moved to Cincinnati. “I love New Orleans, Imiss it, Iwould love to have kept living there,”

said Bigbee. “But Isadly have stopped being abeliever in its long-term stability.”

Bigbee isn’talone.Nearly 30,000 people have leftNew Orleanssince2016, amounting to a7%decline.

In 2018, departing Mayor MitchLandrieu left behind acity that had grownduring his mayoral tenure by over 50,000 people —astunning comeback from Hurricane Katrina’s devastation

New Orleans’ shriveling population reflects itsintertwined challenges with job opportunity,housing affordability,quality of life and politicalleadership, said Michael Hecht,chief executive of GreaterNew Orleans Inc., aleadinglocal business group.

Hecht said thenextadministration should focus onsecuringthe working and middleclass as climate threats drive up housing costs. Leadersshouldfocus on reformingbuilding codes to bring down home insurance premiumsand investing in drainage infrastructure, he said “It’s veryimportant to make the distinction between resistant and resilient, because resilience has almost become acliché or an excuse for poor planning, and that’s notacceptable,” he said

The Cantrell administration wants to help calm the home insurancecrisis by requiring permits for new roofs to verify they arebuilt to code, with thehope it will encourage insurers to lower premiums

TheCityCounciladopted thenew rules inFebruary, though some builders are worried that thecity’snotoriously slow permitting department won’tbeable to efficiently grant permits for urgently needed roofing repairs.

The administration this month sought to calm those concerns by promisingto complete all roofing permit reviews within four days, andtoallow geotagged photostosubstitute for in-person inspections

Mixedbag

While thepopulation declines, economic data paints acomplicated picture of those who remain.

New Orleans’ ethnic demographics shifted slightly during Cantrell’stenure. The city remains majority Black, but theproportion of Black residents dipped from nearly 60% in 2017 to 56%lastyear.

The shareofWhite residents also dipped, from 34% to 31%, while theproportionof Hispanic residents rose from 6% to 8%.Peoplereporting two or more races increased from2.1% to 9%

Median householdincome is up sinceLandrieu left office,far exceeding inflation, andthe povertyrateisdown. Rents haveincreased but fewer renters are considered burdened by their monthly bills.

Yethomelessnessisupand homeownershipcosts are becoming impossiblefor some to bear.

Theshare of homeowners whoare “costburdened” thosespendingmorethan 30% of their income on housing —rosefrom 32% in 2017 to 41.2% in 2023.Yet the share of renters who fall in that same category was 64% in 2017 but down to about 59%in2023

Demographer Greg Rigamersaid thedatashows signs of widening economic inequality.The percapita income,unlikethe median outperforms thestate averageand is comparablewith therest of the country,suggesting afew high earners bringing up the average

“You have aprofessional class that does very well,and youhave aworking class that doesn’t,”saidRigamer, who is consulting for Moreno’s campaign.“At one time, New Orleans had avery viable middleclass, but themiddle class is kindofhard to find these days.”

Vauchell DeArmas, 33, hoped to achieve alevel of stability as ahomeowner that she never had as arenter But shortly after she bought herGentilly home, her insurance premium skyrocketed to $13,000a year,she said DeArmas, who receives

KEY INDICATORS IN NEWORLEANS

Here’show Mayor LaToya Cantrellinherited thecityin2017, and how it compares to the city the nextmayor will

TOURISM

Source:New Orleans&Co. ECONOM

Sources: City of NewOrleans;St. LouisFeder

POPULA 2017

Source:U.S.Census

Public school enrollment4

Graduation rates7

Source:Louisiana Department of Education

disabilitycompensation from Veterans Affairs, managed to find anew policy for $6,000, but has had to cut back on other expenses to keep paying herbills. Though recent city policies have aimed tohelp people in her situation, shesaid more should be done

“It’sevenmoredisheartening when you’rebornand raisedhere, wanting to put back into your own city,and thehelp isn’tthere when it comes to support from your city officials, mayor,” said DeArmas,who had her roof replaced by alocal nonprofit earlierthismonth in hopesof bringing her premium down.

Homelessness increased over the course of Cantrell’s term,from1,198 people on a single night in 2017 to1,362 in 2024. Buthomelessness nationwide alsoincreased dramatically during those years, noted Martha Kegel, directorofUNITY of Greater New Orleans,which helps coordinatehomeless outreach services

Kegel saidthat Cantrell’s effortstoexpand the size of thecity’slow-barrier homelessshelter anduse federal COVID-19 relief funds to house vulnerable residents were effective. “She’snot given enough credit for what she accomplished in reducing street homelessness and helping to ensure that homelessness hasnot spiraled upward as rapidly as it has elsewhere around the country,” said Kegel.

Even so, the seemingly intractable issue will remain a problemfor thenextmayor Kegelsaid, as “tremendous rent increases” and“the implosion of thereinsurance market” leavequickfixesout of reach. Pressure to tackle the issue from residents, business leaders and state politicians including Gov.Jeff Landry, who cleared aseries of encampments ahead of the Super Bowl in February,has alsomounted.

Crimesoaredand plunged

Despite aharrowing surge in violence following the pandemic, Cantrell is leaving thecitysafer than she found it: Nearly every statistical crime category is now lower thanwhen she took office.

Her term containedboth one of the city’smost peaceful and one of itsmost violent years on record. And if 2025’shistorically low homicide ratekeeps pace, Cantrell may leave office in Januaryonthe tailend of NewOrleans’ least-deadly

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OPINION

OUR VIEWS

Memorial Day asks us to reflecton ultimate devotion to country

Editor’snote: This editorial, with variations, has been published on previous Memorial Days in this newspaper Barbecues, sales, pool parties and an unofficial summer kickoff. For many,those are the thingsthat Memorial Day heralds. The last Monday in May has become aday of celebration and relaxation.

Those current markersofMemorial Day are farfrom its founding in the aftermathofthe Civil War, when community membersacross the country adornedgraves with flowers as a way to remember their war dead.

These days were known as “decoration days,” asolemn commemoration of the toll armed conflict takes. In 1866, aladies’ group in Columbus, Georgia, lobbied for aspecific day on which to place flowers on Civil War-era graves. Then, on May 5, 1868, agroup of Union veterans issued an order that was known as the “Memorial Day Act” which is often recognized as the formal start to Memorial Day In the years since, Memorial Day has been consistently celebrated through two world wars, conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and several other smaller engagements. In each of these conflicts, American military members have put themselves in harm’sway in service of our country.They left family and loved ones to answer the call to protect our nation. Hundreds of thousands of them never made it home.

Memorial Day should prompt us to think aboutthe sacrifices of those who have raised their hands, taken the oath and offered themselves up in defense of others. For some, that meant the ultimate sacrifice. For others, terrible injuries. For all, we offer our gratitude and respect, sentiments that should be as steadfast as their resolve.

We should also remember that theirsacrifices are ongoing —even when U.S. troops aren’tinvolved in active wars. Tensions roil regions around the globe, in places such as the Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. In many of those locales, American soldiers face peril every day.Athome,that means many families’ Memorial Day celebrations are clouded with concern for aloved one on active duty.

In Louisiana, we are fortunate to have thousands of current soldiersstationed in installations acrossthe state, from Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City toFort Johnson in Leesville to the Naval Air StationinBelle Chase to the Louisiana National Guard Training Center in Pineville. Those Americans could be sent, at amoment’snotice, intoharm’sway

We are not immunetothe evolution of Memorial Day from quiet commemoration to summer inauguration.

But this year,asweeat,shop, swim or relax, we urge everyone to offer asolemn remembrance for those who have died, aheartfelt thanks to those who have retired and afervent prayer for the safety of those still serving.

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

Critiquesneedtohaveclarity

We welcome reader feedback on our reporting, and our letters to theeditor often comment on specific articles. Yet, sometimes it isn’t clear what article readers arereferring to. If you are writing about aspecific article, it is recommended that you include the date it was published. In thesame vein, letters to theeditor need to be able tobe understood by anyone who picks up thepaper that day.Soifyou disagree withapoint made by an article, quoting directly from thepiece you are referencing helps other readers understand your argument if they missed the article in thenewspaper Of course, online we link to the article from theletter,but still, it should be clear what points you want to raise. We appreciate when readers include, “This is in responsetoanarticle published on such-and-such adate” and include the title of thearticle. That way,it’sclear what the writer is talking about. Lettersthat seek corrections toour

reporting or make allegationsthat go beyond opinion are generallyreferred to theeditor of the article. If significant corrections need to be made, that will be done in consultation between the reporter and editor.But we generally allow writers to take issue with any facts presented or the qualityofthe reporting. The feedback we get isn’tall negative. We also get letters praising our reporting. We are grateful for those, and Itry to share them with the reporters of thearticle. Seeing what topics interest our readers also helps guide future reporting.Usually,it’sthe articles that explain complex topics or raise theprofile of little-known people, places or eventsthat receive kudos. Even though we can see what people click on online, our print audience is often an indicator of what is important to our local communities. Andsometimes, readers just want to register disapproval of or support for our reporting. There are writers who

ask not to be published but want editors to take note of their view.Wehonor that request as well.

With the Memorial Dayholiday,we don’thave atally forthis week’sletters. But we hope to have an update next week. There has been asignificant increase in letters since the start of the legislative session, and we know that will continue. But generally,inthe summer months, we see fewerletters as readers unplug to spend timerelaxing with friends and family

And if you wantsomething to contemplate in the meantime, we are still accepting letters forour Town Square feature. The question we are asking you to write about is: How important is your faith to your daily life, and what role, if any,should it play in public life? Send your responses to letters @theadvocate.com. We will publish a selection in an upcoming edition. Arnessa Garrett is Deputy Editor | OpinionPage Editor.Emailher at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com.

Arnessa Garrett

COMMENTARY

Pointing fingers won’tsolve entrenched jail challenges

It’sgood that Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is now taking“full accountability” for the mass breakout from the jail she runs, and calling it what it is:an epic failure that played outonher watch.

Youknow what wasn’tgood?

That it took Hutson more than four days to say so after initially labeling the early morning escape of 10 Orleans Justice Center inmates —without offering ashred of evidence —as “very suspicious” because it happened“as we’re getting ready to startthis sheriff’srace.”

the notion that it is possible to balancepublicsafety with less incarceration of those who do not pose apublic danger. That would obviously not include the escapees who’vebeen charged with or convicted of murder or attempted murder

was predictable and depressingly tone deaf. He should remember thatthe Troop NOLA policing experiment works because it represents cooperation among those withdifferent political views, not scolding confrontation.

Stephanie Grace

And it’sgood that Gov.Jeff Landry quickly put stateresourcesbehind the search forthe escapees, vowed to investigate and proposedanexamination of policies thatcould have led to the shocking breachofsecurity— all ideas that are in line with his wellreceived support for establishing astate police presence in New Orleans.

Not so good: Landry’sknee-jerk rant against progressive criminal justicereform —basically

For good measure, Landry also managed to insult New Orleans voters for making bad choices at the ballotbox, andlump in otherofficials who have run on criminal justice reform platforms —including District Attorney Jason Williams, whowas personally part of the prosecutionteam that convicted one escaped inmateofagang-related murder

“George Soros came over the last decade orsoand spent aton of money in thecityofNew Orleans, electing these progressive people,” Landry told talk show host Chris Cuomo. “It’slike he came[as] Santa Claus, and inside hissack,heput outaDA[district attorney], asheriff,and Ithink about six judges, and we have been havingproblems in thecity

ever since now.” Apparently it needs to be said that if ever there were atime for all public officials put their personal politics aside, it should be during amoment of obvious official inadequacy that resulted in an ongoing public safety crisis. Besides, all this finger-pointing isn’tgoing to tell voters anything they don’talready know It’snot as if Hutson, who was elected amid deep frustration with the incumbent she beat, Marlin Gusman, had demonstrable voter confidence before the escape.

Atax increase she sought two years ago failed by aspectacular 91%-9% margin at the polls, and a morerecent renewal to keep operations going passed by amere two votes. Her reelection bid this fall —which she suspended last week —had already attracted muscular opposition before the escape. While she’sstill nominally acandidate (pending qualifying in July), Hutson’shad her chance to set abetter course.

As for Landry,even if some of the factors he mentioned turn out to be significant,his broad diatribe

While these politicians couldn’t resist thechance to score points, this shocking breakout is actually adifferent type of opportunity: To finally tackle the intractable challengesthe jail faces, from understaffing and overcrowding to physicaldeficiencies such as faulty locks, in afacility that is just nine years old and wasbilled as state of the art.

Someofthose have to do with thecomplicated division of responsibility between separately elected branches of government, amess that long predates Hutson and Landry,and extends into every corner of the state.

Here’show the Bureau of Governmental Research described thehistory in its call to come up with ajoint strategy: “The City must provide mostofthe jail’s funding under state law,but it has no control over how the Sheriff runs thejail. Conversely,the

Sheriff’sability to improve jail conditions can be limited by the City’scontrol of the purse strings. Over the decades, the City has blamed the jail’sdeficiencies on mismanagement, while the Sheriffhas cited inadequate funding. The resulting power struggles have impeded cooperative problem solving.”

No kidding. So to that end, the jail’sfuture should be acentral topic not just forsheriffcandidates but forthose running for mayor and City Council on the samefall ballot.

There are also clearly problems to work out between the sheriff’s office and the state Department of Corrections, including how and when to transfer dangerous inmates to from local to state custody

The bottom line is that, beyond recapturing all the escapees and arresting those whohelped them, there’sawhole lot to do.

But if politicians won’tstop pointing fingers, they’ll never get downtothe hard workathand.

Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@theadvocate.com.

State’sstudenttests areexcellent,sokeepLEAP

Astate senator’sbillonLouisiana’sstatewide student tests is well-intentionedbut ill-advised. At best, it’ssuperfluous, andat worst, directly counterproductive. Senate Bill 246, by Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, would require the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to research alternatives to the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program. It also would mandate that the LEAP tests in social studies and science be administered at only four grade levels (during the K-12 schooling career), ratherthan the current six —something that BESE already is in the processofdoing anyway Abraham wants the board to examine whether a“nationally normed”test, rather than the Louisiana-specific LEAP,might be better to help this state’sstudents compete nationally, andalso to spend less time taking statewide mandated tests. Louisiana’sACT (college admissions test) scores rank among the ten worst inthe nation —although among the far smaller population thattakes the SATtest instead, Louisianaranks an impressive 13th out of 51. Of course the test itself doesn’t determine how wellstudents will do, but agood test will accurately assess whether children are learning what top educators

think they should. Agood test and agood curriculumwill influence andcomplementeach other holistically.Both LEAP andthe Louisianacurricula and standards enjoy solid national reputations.

Quin Hillyer

“The LEAP test is areally good test,” said Dr.Christy Hovanetz, asenior policy fellow of ExcelinEd,animpressively bipartisan national education-policy group. “Louisiana has selected one of thepremier largescale test providers in the country …[and LEAP] has strong content standards and it meets all the aspects for validity,reliability,accuracy, andaccommodations.”

What would happen if LEAP were replaced bya “nationally normed” test is that Louisiana’s whole educational approach, at greatexpense, would need to be revamped.

“A change in assessment will prompt changes in teacher training, curriculum purchases and educational standards,” said Cade Brumley,Louisiana’sSuperintendent ofEducation. “Absolutely there is arisk in shifting assessments.”

There is ample reason to avoid takingthat risk, andnocompelling reason to force BESE’shand. If the length of testing is amajor complaint, as it is for Abraham and for theLouisiana School Board Association, well, BESE alreadythis year cut the LEAP

Cade Brumley, Louisiana state superintendentofeducation, speaks about the 2023 LEAP standardized test scores during anewsconference on Aug. 2, 2023, at the

reading and mathtests by 25%.

Andifthe main point is to get BESEtododue diligence about whether LEAP is the best testfor Louisiana, that’salso something that needs no extra push from the Legislature: The current contract for theLEAP assessments runs out in two years anyway,soBESE already is slated to takealook at thewhole assessment process

That’swhy,whether thequestion is fewer science and social studies tests, shorter math and reading testsora basic review of LEAP going forward, SB 246 appears remarkably redundant. The reason Louisiana has astate school board in thefirst place is

so theLegislature won’t need to micromanage education policy, but instead just ensure adequate financing while making major policy decisions. Yes, the Legislature has theultimate authority,but why should it waste its timemandating things that BESE already seemstobedoing?

Granted, if Louisiana still were manifestly failing its students, theLegislature might have reason to intervene on everything from soup to nuts to, well, to testing. Louisiana, though, isn’tfailing, unless one measures by the ACT testalone. But the ACT is a trailing, not aleading, indicator

Here’swhy: Using state-specific

curriculum and the state-specific LEAP assessments, Louisiana already is showing tremendous improvement on the national index that matters mostofall for elementary education, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The so-called “Nation’s Report Card” revealed in January that Louisiana’s“back to basics” approach in the past fewyears is paying big dividends: The state’s fourth graders led the nation in reading progress (compared to past results), moving in just two years from 42nd place to 16th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. And Louisiana wasone of only two states where 4th graders’ scores improved from pre-pandemic levels in both reading and math.

Brumley says that as these younger students “matriculate through their K-12 experience,” the newly solid foundation evident in the NAEP results should show up when those pupils begin to take the ACT

“Our board president said it well in aSenate committee hearing,” Brumley said. “Wehave a strategy.It’sworking. We need to be able to implement our strategy.”

LEAP is an integral part of that strategy that is working. To update an old adage, if it ain’tbroke, don’tgive orders to fix it. Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin.hillyer@theadvocate.com.

TrumpembracesSouth Africans —the Whiteones

President Donald Trump’srefugee policy reminds me of what automakerHenry Ford supposedly said about his company’s Model T: “A customer can have acar painted any colorhewants as long as it’sblack.”

So it is with the Trump administration’spolicy towardrefugees who are fleeing war or political persecution, albeitwith acolor preferencesomewhat at odds with Ford’s.

The Trump administration is welcoming White Afrikaners, acenturies-oldethnic group descended mainly from Dutch colonists, after suspending the program for everyone else. The first group of almost60arrived from South Africa at Dulles InternationalAirport on May 12 —ona charter flight paid for by the U.S. government.

That means all other Africans who have waited in refugee camps for years after beingvetted and cleared must step back and wait even longer for their uncertain futures to play out, as

White SouthAfricans get ushered throughthe express lane. This also throws into limbo the Afghans who risked their lives to assist American combat troops who have been left ever since they were unable to leave the country after the Taliban took over.“Betrayal” is atoughword, but it taxes themindtothink of amore appropriate description.

Such wasthe outrageexpressed by theEpiscopal Church, which announced after theAfrikaners arrived that it was terminating its partnership with thefederal government to resettle refugees. In aletter senttomembers of thechurch, the Most Rev.Sean W. Rowe, the presiding bishop, said that two weeksago, thegovernment“informed Episcopal MigrationMinistries that under theterms of ourfederal grant,we are expected to resettle White Afrikaners from South Africa whom theU.S. government has classifiedasrefugees.” That request, Rowe said,

crossed amoral line for the denomination, which is part of the global Anglican Communion, once led by the late Archbishop DesmondTutu, ahero of South Africa’santi-apartheid movement.

ButTrumpembraced his own version of apartheid, special treatment for White South Africans, based on evidence that is, at best,shaky

Trumpordered ahalt to all foreign assistance to South Africa and ahigher priority to theresettlingofWhite “Afrikaner refugees” intothe United States because of what he called actions by SouthAfrica’sgovernment that “racially disfavored landowners.” How badly disfavored? With his usual freewheeling approach to language, Trumpcharged that Afrikaners were victims of a“genocide,” acharge that has turned out to have little moresupport than his bogus accusation during his presidential campaign last year that Haitian migrants in Ohio were “eating the cats! They’re eating thedogs!” In South Africa, hehas told reporters, “Farmers are being

killed. They happen to be White. Whether they are White or Black makes no difference to me. White farmers are being brutally killed and the land is being confiscated in South Africa.”

Yet, police data do not support that narrative. They show killings on farms to be rare and, as in urban areas, thevictimsare mostly Black

With similar fervor,Trumphas expressed support forSouth Africa’sWhite farmers and attacked anew law that he insists would permit the seizure and redistribution of land to redress racial inequalities rooted in the legacy of apartheid, the system of racial segregation that Afrikaner-led regimes enforced from 1948 to 1994.

How did Trumpbecome so captivated by South Africa’sracial challenges? Youcan credit —or blame—right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson.

Back in Trump’sfirst administration, when Carlson wasthe mostwatched Fox News anchorcommentator,Carlson picked up and repeated on air the dire warn-

ings of “White genocide” in South Africa that circulating in White nationalist social media circles. Thirty years after the end of apartheid, NPRreported, “most commercial farmland in South Africa, where land reform persists as amajor issue, is still owned by the country’sWhite minority.” Yet, no land has been seized, nor are seizures expected. For now,there also is the matter of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’sousting of South Africa’s new ambassador,Ebrahim Rasool, as a“race-baiting politician.” Rasool’soffense wasthat he opined in an online seminar that the MAGAmovement waspartially aresponse to demographic worries about afuture in which White people would no longer be the majority Mr.Ambassador,aword of advice: Don’t pay too much attention to what Tucker Carlson says. Most of us Americans know better Or at least, Ihope we do. Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.

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LSU right-hand pitcher Jacob Mayers throws apitch in the seventh inning of an SECTournamentsemifinal game against Ole MissonSaturdayinHoover, Ala.LSU pitchers Jayden Noot, Chase Shores and Mayers combined to strike out 14 batters on Saturday.

LSU’sbatsgo cold in shutoutlosstoOle Miss in SECsemifinal

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

HOOVER,Ala.— At first, getting the week off seeminglydid wonders for LSU’soffense.

In its first three innings at the SECTournament on Friday, the Tigersscored four runs on five hits. Junior Ethan Frey cracked atwo-run home run andLSU held a 4-0 lead against adesparateTexas A&M team. But the next 15 inningswere another story for the Tigers’ bats. No. 3LSU washeld tojusttwo hits, including none for extra bases. It worked five walksbut alsoflew out 17 times.

The final nine of those innings came on Saturday in the Tigers’ 2-0 loss to No. 7Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinal, LSU’sfirst shutoutdefeat of the year

“Great job by Ole Miss,” LSU coachJay Johnson said. “They’ve obviously pitched very wellhere. Theycertainly didinthisgame, as they didagainst Floridaand Arkansas.” LSU’sbiggest inning at theplate came in thethird when freshman Cade Arrambide and junior Chris Stanfield hit a

pair of one-out singles. But neither runner advanced any further because freshman Derek Curiel struckout and juniorJared Jones flew out to end the inning.

LSU(43-14) also had the game-tying run at the plate with twooutsinthe ninth inning followinga two-out walk from Frey.But senior pinch-hitter JoshPearsonflew out to center field after Frey took second base, handing Ole Miss (40-18) the victory

“Kind of letthemoff thehooka fewtimesonthree ball counts, andthat doesn’tlead to alot of success,”Jones said. “Myself included, I’ve got to do better in the box at the top of the order and get thingsgoing.”

The Tigers put arunner in scoring position in just two innings anddidn’tget arunneronthird untilthe ninth. Stanfield andArrambide’ssingles were LSU’sonlyhits of the day

“It’sbaseball,” Jones said. “I think there’s going to be upsand downs, highsand lows,but we’ve gottobe tougher mentallytohandlethose.And we weren’tthat

ä See LSU, page 4C

ThunderingHerd’sscoring onslaughtdowns Cajuns

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

UL’s offense showed it was up for most battles in Friday’sSun Belt Tournament elimination gamewith three runs in the top of thefirst inning It would have been virtually impossible to match Marshall’sscoring onslaught, though, in a17-13 loss to the Thunderin’ Herd at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery,Alabama.

“Tip of the cap to Marshall,” UL coach Matt Deggssaid. “Theyare very,verymuch improved from theMarshallteams we’ve played in thepast. That’sacreditto(coach Greg Beals) andhis staff. Theyput an outstanding product on the field.”

The loss ends UL’s season at 27-31, while

‘A new energy around’

Carl Granderson didn’tknow awhole lot about the new young coach the NewOrleans Saints hired in February to resurrect the franchise. All Granderson really knew was that Kellen Moore was once astar college quarterback. “I just knew he went to Boise State, and Iwent to Wyoming, and we hated Boise,” Granderson said. Granderson has abetter understanding of whoMoore is now Moore’splaying days are athing of the past. He’s been an assistant coach in the NFLfor the past seven seasons. Now, at the age of 36, he has landed one of the 32 mostcoveted positions in the NFL. Moore conducted his first three practices with his full team this weekasthe Saints conducted OTAs (Organized Team Activities). It hasn’ttaken Moore long to convince his players that he’sthe right man for the job.

“He brings adifferent type of energy and vibe to the locker room,” Granderson said. “I feel like everything seemsmore intact and on schedule. He is just bringing a different swagger to the whole facility and organization right now.”

The Saints need someswagger.You tend to lose all the swagger you once had when you finish aseason 5-12 and fail to make the playoffs forthe fourth consecutive year.Itwas aseason so bad that it prompted the midseason firing of Dennis Allen and the eventual hiring of Moore, who spent last season as offensive coordinator of the Super Bowlchampion Philadelphia Eagles.

Just three months on the new job, Moore says the transition from coordinator to head coach has been asmoothone.

“It’sbeen areally good process,” Moore said. “I feel fortunate to be teaming up with somereally good people here who

Marshall advanced to Saturday’ssemifinal with a33-25 record. The Herd defeated UL 9-5 in the tournament opener Wednesday Marshall must now beat top-seeded Coastal Carolina twice in order to reach Sunday’s championship game.

“Our kids fought andscrapped hard,” Deggs said. “Wewere arun away from getting 10-run ruled and theyscrapped and claws against some real quality armsto find away back in there —just notenough pitching, just not enough pitching and our defense was suspect.Wefought like heck at thedish. It just wasn’tenough.” Playingthrough ashoulder injury requiring surgery,Luke Yuhasz sparked the threerun first withanRBI single. Yuhasz finished the game 4for 6with ahomer and three RBIs “It was agreattournament by Luke,” Deggs said. “It’spretty remarkable,tough kid. He’sgoing to have had twosurgeries

this year.Hebroke his hand andnow he’s gotatorn-up shoulderthat’sgoing to have to be surgically repaired this week sometimes or next week. It’s veryimpressive what he did.” UL’s lead didn’tlast very long. Maika Niu beganhis monster nightatthe platewitha solo homer in the first, before Marshall added five runs in thesecondtotakethe lead forgood. Amisplayed grounder for asingle led off the second, before abad-hop single by Tyler Kamerer setupJacksonHalter’sRBI single to chase UL starter Andrew Herrmann. Reliever Matthew Holzhammer,however, wasn’ttreated well either,giving up agrand slam to Eddie Leon fora6-3 cushion. Niu’ssecond homer cameinthe four-run third fora 10-3lead.The New Orleanstransfer was 4for 6with three homers, atriple

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UL designated hitter Lukeyuhasz

HO OV ER ME TR OP OL IT AN ST AD IU M•H OO VE R, AL A.

Djokovic clinches his 100th career singles title

GENEVA Novak Djokovic has finally clinched his 100th career singles title by beating Hubert Hurkacz to become the Geneva Open champion.

Djokovic won their final 5-7, 7-6, 7-6. Djokovic lost his two previous finals since his 99th title win nine months ago at the Paris Olympics at Roland-Garros. The three-time French Open champion heads back to Paris looking to add to his 24 Grand Slam singles titles. He has a French Open first-round match on Monday against Mackenzie McDonald of the United States.

Griffin, Schmid share lead at Colonial

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sportswriter

FORT WORTH, Texas Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid matched each other again Saturday, and will go into the final round at Colonial tied four strokes ahead of the field and with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler lurking not much further back. Griffin and Schmid each shot 2-under 68 after fast starts they didn’t maintain. They were at 13-under 197 after posting the same score for the third straight day at the Charles Schwab Challenge. They followed opening 66s and then 63s that put them in the lead together

Rickie Fowler shot 67 and at 201 will be paired with the coleaders in the final group Sunday when Schmid seeks his first PGA Tour victory and Griffin his first individual title after pairing with Andrew Novak to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last month. The 36-year-old Fowler, who has dropped to 127th in the world after being in the top 25 as recently as early 2024, hasn’t won since the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit that was his sixth victory and ended a fouryear winless streak. Coming off his third major victory at the PGA Championship a week ago, Scheffler began the day 10 strokes back before a 6-under 64 that got him to 7 under and

within six strokes. He would have been closer if not for three bogeys his last seven holes But, with another big round on Sunday, he still has a chance to become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win in three starts in a row. Robert MacIntyre and Lucas Glover also shot 64 MacIntyre was in a tie for fourth with Nick Hardy and Akshay Bhatia at 8 under Scheffler was on the wrong end of one of the biggest comebacks at Colonial, three years ago when Sam Burns overcame a seven-shot

deficit in the final round and beat his good friend on playoff hole. That matched Nick Price’s record seven-shot comeback in 1994, when he caught Scott Simpson and won on the first extra hole. Griffin and Schmid both had birdies on the first three holes Saturday to get to 14 under and quickly create some separation from the rest of the field. All three birdie putts by Griffin were 7 feet or less, while Schmid had a 40-footer at the 461-yard third hole. They remained tied until Grif-

fin’s approach at No. 5 adjacent to the Trinity River was out of bounds and resulted in a doublebogey 6. He then missed the green with his approach at the sixth hole before two-putting from 14 feet for bogey

Griffin got two strokes back with birdies at No 8 and at No. 10 with a 35-footer. That got him to 13 under, and Schmid dropped back to that when he drove into the right rough and then hit into a bunker on way to a bogey at the 637-yard par-5 11th.

Scheffler who teed off more than two hours before the coleaders, was at 8 under after his eagle at No. 11, where he got on the green in two shots and made the 15-foot putt. That followed consecutive birdies as Nos. 9 and 10, and starting the back nine with an approach to 2 1/2 feet.

But back-to-back bogeys followed after Scheffler hit tee shots into bunkers at Nos. 12 and 13. He got those strokes back with birdies at Nos. 16 and 17, only to miss the fairway at No 18 to finish with another bogey

The only player to win the Byron Nelson and Colonial in the same season was Ben Hogan in 1946. Scheffler earlier this month won his beloved hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson when matching the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record at 31-under 253 for an eight-stroke win.

Bae settles for 1-shot lead in LGPA event in Mexico

The Associated Press

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico Jenny

Bae started with three straight birdies and had a one-shot lead that could have been larger except for a soft finish Saturday in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open

Bae didn’t make another birdies after the third hole. What held her back were having to settle for pars on easy scoring holes, and then closing with a bogey when it took her two shots to get out of the crushed coral left of the green on the par-5 18th.

Bae was at 7-under 209, and the LPGA rookie faces a big test Sunday — along with just about everyone else chasing her — in a bid for her first LPGA victory “I didn’t finish as well as I wanted to, but that’s OK,” Bae said “Just tells me that I need to fight more the last 18 holes.”

The El Camaleon course at Mayakoba was set up for scoring, with

the tees moved up on the par-4 17th to make it reachable with a fairway metal, and the par-5 closing hole.

Yahui Zhang of China finished birdie-birdie for a 68 and was at 6-under 210, along with Chisato Iwai of Japan, who also birdied the last two holes.

Another shot back was Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, who had the strongest closing kick of all.

Ruffels was 3 over for her round when she holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. On the par-4 16th, the toughest on the back nine, she holed a birdie putt from 20 feet.

Ruffels left her tee shot just in front of the green on the 17th, pitched to a back pin some 4 feet away for birdie, and then made it three straight at the end with a birdie at the 18th. That allowed her to salvage a 71 and left her very much in the mix.

“I was just proud of the way I kind of stuck in there and felt like

I gave myself the chance to kind of come back,” Ruffels said. “To finish the way I did is really good and some momentum into tomorrow.”

Also finishing strong was Miranda Wang of China, even if it was to keep her head above water She was five shots behind when Wang started missing to the left — a tee shot into the bushes on the 16th that led to a penalty shot, a tee shot on the 17th into the water left of the green. Both times, Wang made 15-foot putts to save par, and then after pulling her approach left of the 18th green, she got that up-anddown for birdie for a 73. She was among seven players at 4-under 212, three shots out of the lead.

Bae was pleased to be in front, though she missed an opportunity to have a little more room for error She missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th. She was in good position off the 17th, just short of the green, but her pitch was

strong and too far right and rolled through to the collar She had to settle for par. On the 18th, she pulled her approach into a patch of crushed coral to a short-sided pin. She didn’t catch enough of the golf ball and left it in the sandy area, then caught all ball and sent it 25 feet past the pin on the collar Two putts from there led to bogey “I feel like I definitely left a few birdies out there, but it’s OK because I know those chances that I missed today could also be the birdies that I get tomorrow,” Bae said.

This is the final week before the U.S Women’s Open, and the LPGA’s return to Mexico for the first time since 2017 did not attract a strong field with Charley Hull at No. 15 the highest-ranked player But it’s a great opportunity for everyone else. The top 11 players on the leaderboard — everyone at 4 under and better are going for their first LPGA win.

Pacers bring a 2-0 lead over the Knicks back home

BY BRIAN MAHONEY AP basketball writer

NEW YORK — Tyrese Haliburton smiled widely as he envisioned the scene Sunday when the Pacers host Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals to cap a daylong sports celebration in Indiana. Yet along with the Pacers’ excitement after winning the first two games against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden came a word of caution. A 2-0 lead guarantees nothing and things can change quickly Look no further than last year in a series between these same teams.

“You cannot assume going home is going to be easier It never is,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Each game as you ascend in a playoff series becomes harder New York, they’ve got an amazing fighting spirit.” The Knicks will have to call upon it after digging themselves a big hole in New York. They blew

Game 1 with a bad finish to the fourth quarter, then couldn’t overcome a poor start to the period in Game 2.

Now they will need to become the first team to lose the first two games at home in the conference finals and come back to win the series.

“We know it’s 2-0 but it’s still a long series,” Knicks guard Mikal Bridges said.

Bridges wasn’t on the Knicks team that took a 2-0 lead over the Pacers last year in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Indiana evened it up when the series changed sites and eventually won it with a Game 7 romp back at Madison Square Garden.

The Pacers may not need to go back to New York this time. A win Sunday and another Tuesday in Game 4 would send them to the NBA Finals for the second time as they chase the franchise’s first title since their ABA days.

An NBA Finals wouldn’t be any bigger than what the Pacers should have Sunday The India-

napolis 500 is being run that afternoon, with Game 3 tipping off at night. It’s the first time since 2013 the Pacers have a home game the day of the race.

“I’ve been to the 500. It’s crazy, so I can’t imagine all those people then coming over to Gainbridge (Fieldhouse). You know, going to be a rowdy crowd, going to be a little intoxicated. Who knows?” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said.

“It’s going to be a special time. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

On the other side, Jalen Brunson was telling the Knicks’ fans to hang in there.

New York’s first trip to the conference finals since 2000 is shaping up to be a short one. The starting unit has put the Knicks into quick deficits in both games and the Pacers’ huge depth advantage may have worn down the Knicks and led to their shaky play in both fourth quarters.

Coach Tom Thibodeau played backup center Mitchell Robinson longer than All-Star Karl-Anthony

Towns in Game 2 for better hope of stopping the Pacers, but that weakened his team offensively The Knicks need to figure out the right combinations if they have any — to both score with and slow down the Pacers.

“For me, what I want to say to them is obviously we’ve got to continue to fight,” Brunson said, when asked his message. “It’s going to take one day at a time, one game at a time. We can’t look ahead, we can’t think about anything other than Game 3 at this point.”

The All-Star point guard has done his part, scoring 43 points in Game 1 and adding 36 more along with 11 assists in Game 2. But the Knicks went cold when he was on the bench to start the final 12 minutes and that turned out to be the decisive stretch of the game.

The Pacers don’t have those problems. Carlisle can go deep into his bench — even for players who hadn’t been in his recent rotation and Indiana remains just as effective.

Djokovic joins tennis greats Jimmy Connors, who has a record 109 titles, and Roger Federer with 103 as the only men with a century of tournament wins in the Open era.

Taxi drivers might block access to French Open

PARIS — Striking taxi drivers in Paris are threatening to take their protest to the French Open and block access to Roland-Garros on Monday if the government does not listen to their demands.

The drivers are worried about threats to their income and have already brought sections of Parisian traffic to a standstill for five straight days, gathering at landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe and blocking roads while honking horns and flashing their car lights.

The French Open begins on Sunday

The drivers are unhappy with new medical transport rules and competition from ride-hailing apps. Their movement has also spread to other French cities.

Overall Giro d’Italia leader

Del Toro has strong stage NOVA GORICA, Slovenia Overall leader Isaac Del Toro has gained chunks of time on many of his biggest rivals who were slowed by a crash in the wet and slippery 14th stage of the Giro d’Italia.

Kasper Asgreen of Denmark won the mostly flat stage on his own after getting into an early breakaway Del Toro finished in the second group, 16 seconds behind.

Del Toro is the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey He leads Simon Yates by 1 minute, 20 seconds.

Juan Ayuso dropped fron second to third, 1:26 behind; 2019 champion Richard Carapaz was fourth, 2:07 behind; and Roglic trailed by 2:23 in fifth.

The mountain stages will be held this week.

Coward opts for NBA draft over transferring to Duke SEATTLE — Washington State guard Cedric Coward, who intended on transferring to Duke, will instead keep his name in the 2025 NBA draft, he told ESPN on Saturday Coward, 21, averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in six games for the Cougars last season before his year ended prematurely because of a partially torn shoulder labrum The 6-foot-6 Coward also shot 40% from 3-point range last season, his first with Washington State.

Coward started his collegiate career at Division III Willamette in 2021 and then transferred to Eastern Washington, where he spent two seasons.

ESPN’s latest mock draft projected Coward as theNo 30 overall pick.

Americans advance to final at ice hockey worlds

STOCKHOLM The United States has beaten Sweden 6-2 to advance to the final of the ice hockey world championship in Stockholm. In Sunday’s gold medal game, the U.S. will play Switzerland, which made the second straight final by shutting out Denmark 7-0. The Americans built a 4-0 lead after two periods. The home team cut the deficit in half but it was too little, too late.

Shane Pinto finished it off with an empty net to complete a three-point game. Nino Niederreiter scored twice for Switzerland which has never won the tournament.

Switzerland shut out the United States 3-0 in the group stage, the Americans’ only defeat. Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots against Sweden.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Matti Schmid watches his shot off the first tee during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

INDIANAPOLIS NASCAR

star Kyle Larson will be taking another shot at “the Double,” one of the most grueling feats in all of motorsports, when he tries to complete every lap of the Indianapolis 500 and the CocaCola 600 on Sunday Tony Stewart is the only driver to have successfully pulled it off, and that was nearly 25 years ago.

But while attempts have been scarce since John Andretti first tried it in 1994, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of ambitious drivers interested. Defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin and reigning IndyCar series champion Alex Palou all expressed some desire to give it a go this week.

“Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it,” said Newgarden, who is aiming for an unprecedented third straight Indy 500 win. “You could ask the majority of the field (and they) would want to do the double. It’s so much fun.”

Yet it’s also a massive undertaking, which is why Stewart still stands alone, and not just on the driver who has to complete 1,100 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway — tracks some 550 miles apart. It also takes some serious financial support, the backing of teams in both IndyCar and NASCAR, tremendous logistical help, and plenty of luck that the weather coop-

SCOREBOARD

erates, cars hold up mechanically and the driver is able to avoid any wrecks.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose brother Kurt completed the Indy 500 in 2014 but failed to finish the CocaCola 600, is among those who have tried to put together a deal to attempt “the Double” but haven’t quite pulled it off.

“It’s just very difficult to get that lined up,” Newgarden said. “Doing what Kyle (Larson) is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground

That’s Kyle Busch It should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together It was quite difficult.” So who else could be in line to try?

Ryan Blaney has contemplated it, and he presumably would have plenty of synergistic support given that Team Penske has established NASCAR and IndyCar programs. But it would take the convincing of team owner Roger Penske, who also owns the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 — a race he has won a record 20 times.

“I would love to see Blaney do it at some point,” Newgarden said.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing,

was close to a deal years ago when that team still had a NASCAR program Dixon pointed out that there are also conflicts of interest to overcome, such as when an IndyCar driver whose team is powered by Honda has the chance to drive a Cup Series car that might have a Chevrolet engine.

“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Dixon said. “Really admire the people that do it.”

Dixon paused, before telling Palou sitting next to him:

“Alex, you should do it.”

“I would love to do it,” he replied. “I would do it.”

McLaughlin, another Team Penske driver with extensive stock car experience, was asked about trying to tackle both Memorial Day weekend races. Before jumping to IndyCar, McLaughlin was one of the most dominant drivers in the history of the Supercar Series in Australia and New Zealand, winning 56 races and three series championships.

Those races take place on road courses, though, and the Coca-Cola 600 is on the Charlotte oval. So, McLaughlin said, all those years of stock car experience Down Under might not translate so easily to a Cup Series car

“The only reason you’d think that is is if it was road course-to-road course,” he said. “But I think the oval is a completely different kettle of fish. If I was to do ‘the Double,’ I would like to do an (oval) race before Charlotte.”

Larson’s attempt is once again a joint effort of Hendrick Motorsports on the NASCAR side and Arrow

McLaren on the IndyCar side. He had high hopes of completing all 1,100 miles last year, but rain wreaked havoc with his schedule. Larson managed to finish the raindelayed Indy 500, then do the entire helicopter-planehelicopter trip to Charlotte, only to be greeted there by more rain upon his arrival. It ultimately washed out the rest of the NASCAR race before he

today at all, and we’ll be better foritand better moving forward.”

LSU turned to redshirtsophomore righthander Jaden Noot to start Saturday after using junior right-handerAnthony Eyanson to close out Friday’swin

In his first start in SEC play,Noot had another strong outing. He allowed justone earned run in four innings,striking out seven batters and allowing just three hits. He walked two batters but had his splitter working from the jump.

The only two runs he surrendered cameon asolo home run in the first inning anda runscoring single in the fourth. But because of LSU’sstruggling offense,the Tigers trailed 2-0 as Noot exited for redshirt junior righthander Chase Shores in the fifth inning.

“Really happy with how Jaden(pitched),” Johnsonsaid. “I thought he tooka step forward last weekatSouth Carolina.I thought he took another stepforward today against agood team.”

Shores tossed 22/3 scoreless innings in relief of Noot. His fastball hit 102mph and routinely reached triple digits. He walked three battersbut didn’tallowahit and recorded three strikeouts.

“I think the best thingthatweprobably did forhim was start him and get the innings up andget the experienceup,” Johnsonsaid.

“And he hadtogrind through some of that, but he did, and he’s obviouslyincredibly talented.He’sgot agreat head on his shoulders. We have someexperience underneath us now.Ithink that’sleading to confidence.”

With twooutsinthe seventh, Shores was lifted for junior right-hander Jacob Mayers. The Nicholls State transfer forced aflyout to endthe inning while stranding arunner at second base.

Mayers then hit 101 mph on the radar gunina scoreless eighth inningbeforereturning to the mound to start the ninth. He tossed ascoreless final inning to finishhis outing with fourstrikeouts and no hits allowed in 21/3 innings.

Noot, Mayers and Shores combined to strike out14batters on Saturday

“It’stough to go outthere andbeasbad on offense as we were, Iguess would be the word, when they threw as well as (they) did,” Jones said. “And we talked before the gameabout how four to fiveruns would win the game, and it wouldhave. And then we weren’table to come through in that, but those three guys gave us areally good opportunity to win this game.”

LSUwill learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Monday. The selection show on ESPN2 will beginat11a.m.

WALKER

Continued from page1C

have done it for along time. Youlean on thoseresources.”

Those resources include everybodyfrom defensive coordinator Brandon Staley (former head coach of theLos Angeles Chargers) to TedRath, the team’sdirector of sports performance. Moorealso hasn’t been afraid to lean on veteran players like linebacker Demario Davis toget agauge on the locker room. Honest dialogue is something Moore believes in. It’sthe one thingtight end Juwan Johnson has appreciated the most in the early stagesofplayingfor his third head coach in five years. When DerekCarr announced his retirementtwo weeks ago, Moore made sure his players knew about it before they saw it somewhere on social media or scrolling across the bottomof their TV screens on the ESPN ticker

“Kellen relayeditto us before it hit the public, and that says alot,” Johnson said. “In the past, news broke and we didn’t even know until it hitthe media. So Ithink the communication part andhis ability to really open up to guys is going tobebig for him. There’snot adisconnect between upstairs and downstairs.” Moore hasn’tbeen afraid to switch things up, evident by who lined up where on the offensive line during Thursday’s practice. Taliese Fuaga, the Saints’first-round draft pick last year who played left tackle as a rookie, wasatright tackle. Kelvin Banks, this year’sfirst-round pick, was playing left tackle. Trevor Penning, whoplayed right tackle last season, was playing left guard Fuagalikes whathe’sseen thus far in Moore.

“It’sdifferent than we had lastyear, I’ll justsay that,” Fuaga said.“Iwon’tsay it’s the opposite, but it’sjust more of arelaxed guy.But aguy that wants towin.It’sa good thing. He comes from awinning program.

Continued from page1C

and six RBIs in the game.

“This is definitelythe best I’ve played in a longer stretch,” Niu said. “It’sfun. I’m seeing the ball. I’m looking at the good pitches and swing at them and not swinging at the bad ones, so yeah, it’sfun.” No matter which reliever UL’s staff sentto the mound, they struggled to getMarshall’s hitters out. Holzhammer gave up four, Dylan Theut apair of runs,Riley Marcotte three and WilTaylor two.

The Herd added afive-run fifth behind Niu’stwo-run triple and atwo-run single by Kamerer to run their lead to 16-7.

But again, UL’s offense was up tothe task. It just was too tall amountaintoclimb,but the Cajuns sure tried.

“What agreat performance by both ballclubs,”Beals said. “I give coach Deggs’ ballclub alot of credit. We were on the verge of putting them away acouple of times and they just kept fighting back,sogive them credit for that.

“But our guys battled andjust put together great at-bats up and down the lineup the whole night.” The Cajuns added four runs in thesev-

The things he’sdoing, Ilove.”

Playerssee some benefits in Moore’s youthfulness. Moore, who is just six months older than Davis, is theyoungest coach in the NFL. ButMoore started his NFL coaching career when he was 30, so coachingplayers his age is nothing new

“Obviously he’sa younger guy,soIfeel like he can fit in well with thewhole team,” said quarterback Spencer Rattler.“It’s just anew energy around, and Ithink that’sa good thing for everybody Ijust think he hasareally calm demeanor.”

If there are any concerns that demeanor,tight end Foster Moreau says there shouldn’tbe.

“It could be confused that he’slaid back or alittle passive,” Moreau said. “But he’s activeand he’sintelligent and agood playcaller in this league. We’repretty fortunate to have him.”

All the high praise for Moore should be expected this time of the year.After all, it’sthe honeymoon stage. Everything is perfect right now.Inevitably,Moore will be judgedonwins and losses. All that will mattersisifhecan get theSaints back on track.Outside of the Saints facility,expectations are low.The Vegas oddsmakers have setthe over/under on wins this season at 51/2

Theoptimismaround theleague is so low that the Saints, for the first time since 2000, don’thave asingle prime-time game on their schedule. While therest of the country won’tsee Moore’steam much this season,Saints fans will be watching witha keen eye to see if their first-year coach can getthings pointed in the right direction. It’searly,but his players believe he can.

“Let’sjust start out withhis mentality first,” Granderson said. “His whole demeanor,play calling and everything is different. We are trying to change things aroundand get to theplayoffs,and Ithink Kellen is the right coach to do that.”

We’llhave to wait until September to see if Moorecan win games.

But as we get to the end of May,itseems clear he’salready won the locker room.

enth,but an even bigger inning was spoiled by adoubleplay. Connor Cuff hadanRBI single in theinning to finish 2-for-3 with three RBIs, beforeDrew Markle’sRBI single.

“I’m proud of the grit and the fight in them, but this ain’tit,” Deggs said.

UL gotafourth hitfrom Yuhasz in the eighth and then aHiggs double to spark a two-run inning to really threaten amiracle comeback. Butsubmarine relief ace Nicholas Weyrich came on to coax two force outs at theplate and force UL to leave the bases loaded still down 16-13.

Higgsfinished thenight 5-for-6with four runs scored.

“I’m proud of Conor and the wayhefinished,” Deggs said. “He’shad aremarkable career.I’d saywhenthe dust settles,it’sa borderlineHall of Fame career just from a longevitystandpoint of it and when youreally look at his numbers, it’spretty impressive.”

Parker Smith turnedout to be UL’s most effectivereliever only giving up one run in threeinnings to closeout thegametogive the Cajuns’ offense achance at ahistoric comeback.

UL outhit Marshall 17-16 in the marathon game Weyrich pitched 1.2shutout innings to record his seventh save of the season.

LSUgymnasticsgets transfer from Denver

Three-time All-American Ulrich choseLSU over SEC rivalOklahomaand Utah

BY SCOTTRABALAIS Staff writer

The LSUgymnastics team has gotten its top transfer portaltarget for this year’srecruitingcycle —and beat outits topSoutheastern Conference rival in the process.

Madison Ulrich,a rising juniorfrom Denver University,announced hercommitment to the Tigers on Friday night on her Instagram account

Athree-time All-American, Ulrich chose LSU after also making visits to new NCAA champion Oklahoma and Utah.

“I am honored andblessed to sharethatI have decided to commit to LSU forthe remainder of mycollegiate career!!” Ulrich posted.“Iamsograteful for this incredible opportunity andextremelyexcited and hopeful for what’s to come! Geaux Tigers!!!”

She also hadappreciative words forthe program she is leaving behind.

“Withall my love, Iwould like to thank my Denver family for these past two years,” Ulrich posted. “I have learned and grown so much through my time with you all and will carry therelationships and ex-

periences I’vehad withmeinto thisnext chapter.”

Anative of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Ulrichcompeted with Oklahoma as an unattached individual during theNCAA Championships in April. Top-qualifying gymnastswhose teamsdonot make it to nationals are allowed to compete for NCAA individual titles.

Shortly after the NCAA Championships, Ulrich enteredthe transfer portal.She visited LSU first, then madetrips to Utah and OU,each time posting on social media that she was still uncommitted. Now,she is. Ulrich tied for 16th in the all-around (39.325) and on balance beam (9.8875) at nationals and tied for20th on uneven bars (also 9.8875). Her career highs are 39.575 (all-around), 9.975 (bars), 9.95 (floor), 9.925 (vault)and 9.90 (beam).

Ulrich wasafive-star recruit in 2023 according to College GymNews. Before going to Denver,she was atwo-timechampion at DP Nationals (2021, all-around; 2023, bars) and was athree-timemember of the USA Gymnastics developmental Level 10 national team

Ulrich is the third transfer for LSU in this cycle. The Tigers previously signed Clemson’s Molly Brinkmanfrom Chandler, Arizona, andWashington’sEmily Innes from Pittsburgh.

PHOTO

SOPHIA GERMER

FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL WOODS Denver gymnast Madison Ulrich competes

Zydeco Extravaganza keeps culturealive ‘inarealway’

Home to 400festivals,Louisiana hosts events that celebrate everything except divorces and pregnancy tests. Just wait aminute —that’ll change. Yetfor every successful good time, there’saFirst Annual “Fill in the Blank” Festival that never reached the second year. That reality is not lost on Dustin Cravins of Zydeco Extravaganza, which celebrates 38 years Sunday in Lafayette.

Cravins is the second-generation organizer of this familyrun music festival that has drawn thousands to Blackham Coliseum, a75-year-oldarena that’sbeen astage for James Brown, The Supremes andthe then-USL Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team.

He gets emotional about Zydeco Extravaganza’s long life.

“I know howhumble the beginnings were and how much of alift it is for asmallfamily to put this on each and every year,said Cravins, 44. “Every year,the people keep coming. That touches me deeply

“Every year,Iget a(hotel) room close by becauseI’m too tired to go home. I’ll sit down and have amoment with (wife) Jessica and go, ‘Wow.Whata thing to be apart of.’

“Nowhere else in the world are peopledoing what we’re doing today.Just talking about it fills me.”

Always held the Sunday before Memorial Day, Zydeco Extravaganza 2025 marks year 38 with astar-studded lineup: Keith Frank, Nathan Williams, Lil Nate, Geno Delafose, Rusty Metoyer,Jeffery Broussard Step Rideau, Leon Chavis, Southern soul icon Tuckaand DJ Troy Dperform.

‘It’sapartofwho Iam’

The Cravins familyofSt. Landry Parish has along history of promoting native Creole music and culture. Dustin’s father,former state senator and Opelousas mayor Don Cravins, and his uncle Charles, now a27th Judicial District Court judge, created apopular radioshowand trail rideinthe 1980s. By the 1990s, their popularity grew into “Zydeco Extravaganza,” aSunday morning TV show prerecorded at dancehalls throughout the region. The show was monumental for the Creole community,putting zydeco on the same TV channel as “American Bandstand”and other renowned entertainment

The“Extravaganza”festival at Blackham soonfollowed Family involvement remained key, with ayoung Dustin and hiscousin Patrick servingsoft drinks. Their grandmother and aunt cooked food nearby

ä See ZYDECO, page 4D

RobertBallard’s exploration boat, Nautilus, documented the wreckageofthe German submarine U-166 in theGulfof Mexico in 2014. The wreck is considered awar gravesite and cannot be disturbed.

PROVIDED PHOTO

IN FOOD

Marcelle Bienvenu dishes on étouffée,Ella, Emeril andalifesteeped in Louisiana flavor

BY JANRISHER | Staff writer

Spending aspring afternoon withMarcelle Bienvenu in her St. Martinville kitchen and garden is likestepping into aCajun waltz —colorful, unhurried, layered and playful.

Volunteer zinnias are bloomingthick as apolka-dot blanket. Nine different birds aresinging. The grand dame of LouisianaCajun cooking is making crawfish étouffée just theway her mama taught her

To be clear,her mother,Rhena Broussard Bienvenu, called it a“stew-fay.”

“Everybody has their own way to do anything,” Bienvenu said. “Aslong as you think it tastes good, it’sfine with me, but as soon as I seeabrownétouffée, oh no.”

ä See BIENVENU, page 4D

A1982 portraitof Marcelle Bienvenu and her beloved late mother,Rhena Broussard Bienvenu

PROVIDED PHOTOFROM MARCELLE BIENVENU

DidHitlersenda WWII U-boat to

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Reality can be stranger than fiction, but sometimes thetwo intersect, as it did when Sharon Coldiron recently was reading James Lee Burke’s1994 novel, “Dixie City Jam.” In it, thebest-selling author’s main character,Dave Robichaux, finds himself at the center of aconflict between opposing

MARCELLE BIENVENU’S ROUX GUIDE

How darkdoes Beinvenu like her roux?

“Itdepends on what I’m cooking,” shesaid.

Forseafood gumboorcrab stew,she says the roux should be the color of peanut butter

Forachicken and sausage gumbo, it should be brown, but not as darkasa Hershey’s Milk ChocolateBar. Formeatball stew,itshould be darkbrown, “darker than chicken and sausage gumboroux,” she said.

forces whowant to raise asunken NaziU-boat only miles from Louisiana’scoast. Of course, Burke’sstory is fiction, but Coldiron was intrigued. Is it true? “Is there really aU-boat in theGulf of Mexico?” the Deville resident asked. “Ifitis, why? And where, exactly,isit located?”

Herman Fuselier

STAFFPHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Marcelle Bienvenu prepares her Crawfish Stew-FayonMay 15 at her home in St. Martinville.

‘Our Last Wild Days’agrippingthriller

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

“Our Last Wild Days”Atria Books, 352 pages, released May20

“You might think that alligators pose the greatest threat to humans on the bayou. Maybe hurricane season keeps you up at night.”

These words openthe article that LoyalMay regrets writing more than any other

“These are all natural dangers we’ve cometoaccept as part of living in this beautiful but deadly environment,” she continued. “But what about when people are the danger? One family in particular hasbeen darkening our wildernessfor too long.”

In Anna Bailey’snovel, “Our LastWild Days,” the Labasques, the family in question, aren’t like other people in Jacknife, Louisiana. They live out in a shack by the swamps and scrape by —hunting alligators. In town, rumors abound about what they get up to out there, but Loyal and Cutter Labasque had always been friends.

At least until the article.

After Loyalslammedthe Labasques in the local paper,the girls stopped talking. At first it was days, then months, and before they knew it, it had been over adecade.Days after Loyal returned home to care forher ailing mother, Cutter is found dead, face down in aswamp. The police rule it asuicide, but Loyal is skeptical. Cutter wouldn’tdo that, but if she didn’tdoit, what happened?

Against the backdrop of afictional small towninAssumption Parish where everyone knows everyone’sbusiness,Loyal goes searching for answers in the woods, ostensibly for an article.

Author Anna Bailey is no strangertothe small town gothic novel. Bailey’sdebut novel, “Where the TruthLies,” amiss-

ing persons story set in alumber town in Colorado, waspraised for its encapsulation of small town dynamics. “Our Last Wild Days” does not disappoint as a follow up. Bailey successfully captures asense of southern Louisiana.

It wouldbeeasy to sensationalizeamurder,the alligator hunting occupation or even the day-to-day poverty these characters face. ManyotherSouthern gothics have beencriticized for doing so, but Bailey paints the smalltown of Jacknife with sensitivityand complexity Baileyhas clearly done research into Louisiana,and where other writers might fall intostereotype, Baileyshines in complicating the narrative. In Bailey’sworld, alligator hunters aren’tjust brutishly strong, masculinecharacters, and Cutterisn’tjust alonely victim —she actually has a reputationfor severing atendon in the sheriff’s son’s finger after he tried to assault her in high school

What do people owe to each other in life —and in death? What happens to people on the fringes of societyoreven of a family? The book grapples with themesofaddiction, masculinity,guilt and grief while also de-

livering apage-turning mystery

Though compelling, the novel portrays acaricatured version of journalism that more closely resembles television. Loyal is not held to the rules of journalistic ethics, and that’sahuge

plot hole. The central conflict between Loyal and the Labasques would never have happened if she was —she would never be able to write about her own best friend’sfamily (conflict of interest), and it shouldn’thave been asurprise (she would have been forced to reach out to them for comment).

This isn’tentirely Bailey’sfault.

Like most jobs, much of what the typical journalist does is not suitable fodder for a novel. An accurate depiction of ajournalistic investigation would involve alot less snooping around and alot more unanswered phone calls, monitoring databases while waiting around for details, news releases and conversations with apublic information officer

This oversight can be partially excused by the size of the townand the newspaper but could be easily resolved by changing the occupation of the protagonist. But what the book gets wrong about journalism, it more than makes up for in its characterization. The cast of characters are all deeply flawed, but the reader can’thelp but root for them whether they’re discovering new things about themselves while shooting their first alligator or investigating murder.

Email SerenaPuang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com. Follow heronInstagram@dear yall.

Summer readingoffersnew destinations

When our family of fourheaded out for summer vacations, I’d throw some paperbacks in an old canvas bag just in case therewas time to read. Life as ayounghusband and father seldomyielded those moments, but Iwas ready if aspare hour came while we sunned on the beach or lounged on amountainside porch Summers are differentnow that our kids are grown. My wife and Inolonger answer to the school calendar,sothere might be years when we travel in other seasons and spend summers at home. But even when my summer excursions are no more ambitious than atrip between the living room and den, Istill carrymy summer reading in atattered tote sack. Habits tend to movealong on theirown momentum, needing no logic in their defense. But if called to explain why Ikeep my summer books packed, Imight say that I’m preparing myself to go places. Though Imight not move beyond my armchair on warm afternoons, Ilean into bookseach summer thathave astrong sense of destination. It’sinthat spirit that I’vebeen reading “The Living Mountain,” Nan Shepherd’sWorld WarII-era memoir about her travels into the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. She encountered wonderinawounded time —anice reminder that wonder canstill touch us, too.

In “The Friendship Bench,” Dr.Dixon

Chibandatakes us to another faraway place, his native Zimbabwe. After witnessingsomuch grief and anxiety as apsychiatrist, Chibanda recruited 14 grandmothers to sit on parkbenches and listen to anyonewith aproblem. His program, documented in this remarkable new book, is atestamenttowhat can happen when we open our ears and hearts to neighbors.

Ever since boyhood summers with “Robinson Crusoe,” I’ve been asuckerfor castaway tales, which is how Iended up within the pages of “Save Our Souls, Matthew Pearl’s true-life story of a 19th century shipwreck, some surviving passengers and the mysterious man who shares their newisland home.

I’ll let you discover therest.

As aBBC correspondent, Eliot Steintravels the world, often chroniclinghow locals keep alive customs as varied as talking to beesorrepairing woven grass bridges.He’scollected the best of these stories in “Custodians of Wonder,” abook that’sasbeautifully

odd as it sounds.

“Beautifully odd” might also describe “Pink Dust,” Ron Padgett’s new collection of poems. The title refers to those little grains of rubber left on paper after an eraser rubs out mistakes. Padgettfinds this trail of revision themost interesting thing on the page, which says alot about his eye for lively little miracles. Even when he writes about small things, like freshly baked scones, he nudges you to see what’sordinary in new ways. Padgetttakes us someplace new,the best summer reading of all.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.

Dan an AT RANDOM ny Heitm DannyHeitman

PROVIDED PHOTO By ROBIN CHRISTIAN Anna Bailey, author of ‘Our Last Wild Days’

TRAVEL

BentonvilleFilmFestivalbeckons movielovers

Eventtohonor Lucy

Liu, Arkansas films, with appearance from Elmo

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

When Cassie Keet was12years old, she was writing in online chatroomsabout“Buffythe Vampire Slayer” in Little Rock, Arkansas. Today,she’safilmmakerwithtwo films under her belt, but when asked about her writerly beginnings, that’swhere her mind goes first.

She graduated from chatrooms to playwriting competitions and eventually made her way intothe filmindustry

“My film school wasessentially askingmyfriends who went to film school like, ‘Hey,does this look right?’”Keet said.

This year,her film,“Abigail before Beatrice” is premiering at The Bentonville Film Festival, which is held June 16-22 and showcases 28 feature competition films, nine of which are world premieres.

In its11th year,the Bentonville Film Festival will open with“East of Wall,” writtenand directed by Kate Beecroft, afilm that is inspired by the lives of Tabatha and Porshia Zimiga. The film features acast of mostly nonprofessional actors playingthemselves.

RecognizingLucyLiu

On June 21, Lucy Liu willbe honored with the Rising to the Challenge Award that recognizes artists who champion storytelling thatbreaks barriers andbroadens representation. Liu’s latest film, which she starred in and produced, will also be screening at the festival. The film, Rosemead,” is inspired by true events and highlights aChinese American woman’sstruggle to protect her son from his violent obsessions.

“As we celebrate 11 years of BFF (Bentonville Film Festival), I’m so proud of how the festival continues to elevate bold storytelling and amplify voices that reflect the full spectrumofthe human experience,” said Geena Davis, actress and chair of the festival, in anews release. “We’re especially thrilled to honor Lucy Liu, whose groundbreakingwork continues to inspireand open doors for the next generationof storytellers.”

For those with small children, Elmo will also be making aguest appearance at the festival. He and Davis will be reading The Girl Who WasToo Bigfor thePage” from11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.June21.

This year,the film festival is hosting its inaugural Homegrown Competition which celebrates movies either filmedinthe state or created by people based in Arkansas. Keet’s“Abigail Before Beatrice” is competing in this category.The film is aboutawoman who is confronted by her past when afellow formercultmember reachesout to let her know their leader has been released from prison early As adirector/writer/producer, Keet splits her time between Arkansas andLos Angeles, but after winning aPanavision grant as part of an award at the FILMLAND: Arkansasfestival,she

knewshe wantedtoshoot her next film in the state. It wasn’t aconditionofthe grant,but shesees it as giving backtothe community that made her film possible, adding that choosingto filminaspecific location brings jobs to the area and spotlightslocal businesses. Many people whowork on the crew forindependent films are freelance workers who arelimited by the number of productions that arefilmed near theirhomes. This is often influenced by state taxincentives.

“Wehave people who could work and should work all thetime in L.A. and New Orleans and Texas and Oklahoma, butthey want to call Arkansas their home because they re Arkansans. Having this homegrown filmcompetition is a way to say,‘Hey,Arkansas is becoming abigger and bigger film community.It needs to be recognized, and it needstobesupported.’”

Alocal’s perspective

Plenty of people say that Crystal Bridgesisthe can’t-miss museum in the area, but make sure not to miss itscontemporaryart counterpart, the Momentary.Nearby, Sushi House getscustomers in andout within20minutesofbeingseated. Evenifthere’saline, it’sworththe wait, and they make sure you leave full.

For areal treat, try the “Flaming Volcano,”a fish dish that comes to the table on fire.

Northwest Arkansas isn’tjust Bentonville —it’sa regionof small cities that all have unique amenities and activities to offer The four biggest cities are Bentonville, Rogers,Springdaleand Fayetteville.

In Rogers, visit the headquarters of Onyx Coffee Lab, alocal chainof world-class coffee that is offered at coffee shops all over the country but roasted right there in the natural state.

Forfood, try Mirabella’sTable, alocals-favorite Italian spot with amazing brunch options. Keet said the restaurant served her the best raviolishe’d hadinher life during

her own first visit to thearea.

If venturingintothe local flagship college town, Fayetteville, makesure to check out DicksonStreet Bookshop which has over 100,000 booksand amazelike layout to getlost in.Stop by Hammontree’sGrilled Cheeseto sample therestaurant’sinventive selection of sandwiches and hot dogs.Menu highlights include a mushroom goatcheese grilled cheese, baked briewithgrilled apple and fig jam, andachicken, asiago and spinach sausage hot dogwithpineapple. Vegan cheese andgluten-free bread is available as well. For accommodations, try the Victoria Bed &Breakfast, a beautiful bed-and-breakfast on Main Street in Bentonville with great reviews.For amore budget friendly option, checkout thelocal Airbnb scenewherethereare aselection of quirky staysincludingsmall cabins and glamping tents

Email Serena Puang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com. Follow her on Instagram @dear.yall.

Irented

Christopher Elliott

Sedgwick told me that they think Avis made abilling error because Iwas not at fault for the accident. Idon’tunderstand

whyAvischarged my credit card for 29 days. When Icall to ask, they just sayloss of use. Canyou helpmeget arefund? —Nicholas Chandler,Windham,Maine Unfortunately,you’re on the hook for the vehicle’sloss of use. When you rent acar,you accept responsibility for the vehicle no matter who is responsible for the accident, and since your name was on the contract, Avis sent you abill.

Butthe company made some errors when it charged you. It looks like there was aseries of miscommunications in your case. For some reason, Sedgwick only charged the other driver $1,222, presumably for repairs, leaving youresponsible for the difference. And, according to your records, Avis would not

sendyou abill for theloss of use. Instead, it just appears as if you rented acar at the most expensive daily rate, which no one would do. Iwould be remiss if Ididn’t mention that loss of useishighly controversial. Thecar rental company is charging you the maximum daily rate for what it would have earned if it had been able to rentthe car while it was in theshop. Butthat assumes it could have rented thecar the entire time. I believe lossofuse is not afair charge, even if your contract permitsit. Many consumers, insurance companies and state regulatorsagree with me. We can discuss loss of use another day,though. Youwere amodel customer

Youhad insurancethat covered you and youresponded quickly to Avis and Sedgwick when they asked for your insuranceinformation. Youdrove the carcarefully.You triedtowork within thesystem to clearupthe miscommunication. Ithink you should have appealed this to amanager.Ilist thenames, numbers and emails of the Avis customerservice managers andSedgwick customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott. org. This wasa confusing case. But after several conversations with Avis,itappearsthatthere were “some issues” with the car rental location andthe towtruck, which created some confusion in its internal system.

“We’re adjusting the contract back to aone-dayrental and removing allthe additional days thatthe customer didn’thavethe vehicle,” arepresentative told me. Ashort while later,you reported back “Avis chargedmeone dayfor the rentalasyou mentioned and refunded me the rest,” you said. “The credit wasposted back to my cardthis morning. This is incredible, and Ican’tthank you enough forall of your help.”

Christopher Elliott is the founderofElliott Advocacy,a nonprofitorganizationthathelps consumers solvetheirproblems. Email himatchris@elliott.org or get help by contacting himon hissite.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

‘Abigail before Beatrice’ is about awoman whoisconfronted by her past when afellow former cult member reaches out to let her knowtheir leader has been released fromprison early

‘Abigail Before Beatrice’ by writer/director CassieKeet will premiere at the Bentonville Film Festival

STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER

And her voice trails off, because a brown étouffée is where she draws the line.

“We gonna do it Mama’s way,” she said. “It’s so simple It takes me half an hour.”

As she added the onions to the pot she recalled a visitor who asked how long making the étouffée would take, to which Bienvenu answered, “About 45 minutes.”

“She says, ‘Oh, I thought I was gonna be here for three hours,’” Bienvenu said with a laugh “And I said, ‘No, anything that takes three hours or is ‘day one/day two,’ that is not for me.’”

‘Her life in food’

The author of the 1991 classic “Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?” and a host of other cookbooks, Bienvenu has witnessed — and helped shape — many milestones in the rise of Louisiana cuisine Her résumé winds through the kitchens and careers of Louisiana’s culinary greats and it’s hard to say who inspired whom along the way

Bienvenu met renowned New Orleans restaurateur Ella Brennan in the early 1970s when she was working on a Time Life book with a photographer and researcher who wanted to learn about Cajun Country That was a time when Bienvenu says she didn’t even know she lived in Cajun Country. Brennan invited her to come work at Commander’s Palace.

“Ella and I would sit between shifts,” Bienvenu remembers “She and I would sit on the patio, and she would tell me about New Orleans food. And I would tell her about Cajun food.”

In 1975, when Brennan was weighing whether to bring Paul Prudhomme to Commander’s Palace as its first American chef, she talked it over with Bienvenu, who was then working in the Commander’s catering division.

In 1982, when Brennan considered hiring a young Emeril Lagasse, she and Bienvenu again sat down to talk through the possibilities When Lagasse went out on his own, Bienvenu joined him and helped to manage the creation of his brand and cookbooks.

“Marcelle Bienvenu is one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to Louisiana cooking,” Lagasse said “She is a gracious and humble woman whose passion for the cuisine runs deep.”

For years, she was a food columnist for The Times-Picayune.

Bienvenu also worked with Chef John Folse for 11 years teaching culinary classes at Nicholls State University

“She certainly has always been right there being the most beautiful, elegant thing in the room,” said Poppy Tooker host of “Louisiana Eats!,” the NPR-affiliated radio show and podcast. “She’s just such a special and wonderful person, and I think that comes from her life, partially her life in food from her earliest days right through her entire career.“

Last year, Bienvenu rereleased “Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make A Roux: A Cajun/Creole Family Album Cookbook” in a new bold and beautiful, updated style. Lagasse wrote the foreword for the giant 398-page bright pink collection of recipes and photographs.

In reflecting on her life and legacy and how she built so many relationships, Bienvenu says she learned a lot from her father, who was a newspaperman

CURIOUS

Continued from page 1D

transport ships in the effort to cut American oil supply lines through the Gulf of Mexico,” Eli Haddow wrote in the July 2021 edition of The Historic New Orleans Collection’s “First Draft” blog “In about a year’s time, more than 56 vessels were destroyed by the German Kriegsmarine, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.”

Haddow was a marketing associate for the collection when he wrote the piece, which was inspired by a framed draftsman’s map. He’s no longer with the museum but now works for the Peter Mayer Agency in New Orleans

“But I was doing a lot of social media then. I would spend time walking around the galleries, and I always found this map fascinating,” he said.

An intriguing map

The map was created by draftsman Carl D Vought, who documented how the U-boat fleet of 20plus crisscrossed the Gulf, easily picking off targets.

“The marks on the map represent sunken or damaged ships whose names are listed on the right side,” Haddow said. “The section of the map nearest the mouth of the Mississippi, marked ‘DA90,’ was particularly dangerous.”

It’s in this section, about 45 miles off the Louisiana coast at Houma, where Vought’s map shows the U-166’s proposed location.

Why did it sink?

So, how did the submarine find its way to the Gulf’s floor? Well, U-166 became a bit ambitious and torpedoed the civilian passenger ship Robert E. Lee on June 30, 1942. The ship’s escort, U.S Navy boat PC-566, immediately retaliated by dropping depth charges on the sub.

Crawfish Stew-Fay

Recipe by Marcelle Bienvenu. Makes four to six servings.

¼

and cayenne

2 tablespoons chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves Cooked long-grain rice

1. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large, heavy pot. Add the onions, bell peppers and celery Cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden about 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Add the crawfish and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to “throw off a little liquid” — about five minutes.

3 Add the water/flour slurry (Bienvenu puts hers in a small, lidded jar and shakes it up to mix it well). Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens — about three to four minutes

4 Season with salt and cayenne.

5. Remove from heat. Add the green onions and parsley

6. Serve in bowls over rice.

“I guess everybody always said I was like Daddy He was a big raconteur He never met a stranger He was always happy,” she said. “He was of the opinion that you never let the truth get in the way of a good story It was wonderful. I think that has been me. I like stories. I like to know about people, how they feel, what they do.”

“ but the small oil slick that appeared suggested that the crew had only damaged the U-boat, not destroyed it,” Haddock wrote.

“According to the Navy Times, the boat’s captain, Lt Cmdr Herbert Claudius, was sent to antisubmarine school to improve his tactics. A couple of weeks later, a Coast Guard plane off the coast of Houma spotted a sub and dropped its own depth charge. A larger oil slick appeared — U-166 had been sunk.”

Meanwhile, most of the Robert E Lee’s crew of 131, six merchant marine officers and 270 passengers, escaped by lifeboats or rafts. Attacks by the German fleet peaked in the summer of 1942. It wasn’t until later that year, when merchant ships traveled with military escorts, that the killing abated.

“However until then, many vessels were doomed,” Haddock wrote. “Illuminated coastlines silhouetted ships, making them easy to see in the night. Slow and unarmed vessels became easy prey for the nimble U-boats.”

Mandated blackouts

The government remedied this by mandating blackouts along the coast, meaning homes and businesses were required to turn off all lights at night, thereby hampering the Nazi fleet’s night vision.

Haddow was aided in his research by Historic New Orleans Collection Chief Curator Jason Wiese, who located World War II posters designed by Federal Arts Project artists during this time. The posters were community service pieces created by the Works Progress Administration War Services for the Office of Civilian Defense in New Orleans, reminding American citizens to adhere to the blackouts and keep all information about the Port of New Orleans’ ship schedules confidential.

It’s interesting to note here that

She claims her father’s take on life of never letting the truth get in the way of a good story as her motto.

“I told that to the priest the other day,” she said. “And he said, ‘Now, Marcelle, I’m not sure about that.’”

‘Good ice’ and cheap crawfish

These days, Bienvenu spends most of her time in her St. Martinville home with her husband, friends and family She is a fan of saying “yes” to invitations to get out and about.

At 80, Bienvenu is as svelte and stylish as a Paris runway model — with twice the grace and just a touch of fuss, which only adds to her charm.

After all, she’s famously particular about her ice, often bringing her own to events and restaurants.

She likes, as she describes it, “good ice.”

“The ice in home refrigerators, they’re white, right?” she asked. “It’s nasty They smell bad.”

For the record, “good ice” is clear and “tastes like water,” Bienvenu explains. “And if you don’t have good ice, you cannot have a good cocktail.”

In the guest house kitchen — just next door to the home she has shared with her husband, architect Rock Lasserre, for decades — Bienvenu prepares her mother’s crawfish étouffée.

Lasserre designed the kitchen in the guest house. It’s picture perfect, but there’s one thing she wishes they had done differently The propane burners are situated at the end of the island, taking up its full width, leaving no room to rest a spoon or prep ingredients nearby

A little design flaw like that doesn’t faze

NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION

lluminated coastlines made it easy for German captains to pick targets in the Gulf of Mexico. This WPA War Services poster urges citizens to black out their lights. This poster is part of The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Anna Wynne Watt and Michael D Wynne Jr Collection.

one such poster was created by noted WPA artist John McCrady of New Orleans, known for his public murals, French Quarter art school and such paintings as “The Shooting of Huey Long.”

Along with the posters, Wiese also unearthed a letter from the Office of Civil Defense dressing down New Orleans’ Antoine’s Restaurant for failing to turn off a light in one of its rooms.

Wasn’t the first time

However, the summer of 1942 wasn’t the first time Louisiana’s coast was under threat by a German Navy

“What’s also interesting is there are photos taken in 1919 or 1920 after World War I, when a German U-boat was captured,” Haddox said. “They sailed it up the Mississippi River and kind of showed it off in New Orleans.”

Bienvenu. She’s been making her mama’s crawfish étouffée so long, she could do it with her eyes closed.

She believes she knows the origin of crawfish étouffée.

“As far as I’m concerned, it started in Breaux Bridge,” Bienvenu said. “There was a little cafe on Main Street across from the church in Breaux Bridge I think it was called Thelma’s, and she would have that every Friday Back before they started the Crawfish Festival, all the crawfish came from the basin.”

She remembers her father saying, “We’re so poor we’re going to have to have crawfish Friday because they were like 15 cents a pound.”

Bakelite jewelry and beyond

Bienvenu says she doesn’t spend much time thinking about what kind of legacy she’ll leave — though she does want her nieces and nephews to appreciate her Bakelite jewelry collection. (One of her nephews is Gov Jeff Landry, by the way — her sister’s son.)

“I said they’ll probably throw that away, so I better label it,” she said. “They’ll just think it’s plastic.”

So, she did what she does well: She documented it. She made a little booklet about the pieces and their history, just like she once did with her mama’s recipes, and the flavors and stories of Cajun Country In her own way, Bienvenu is responsible for far more than a collection of cookbooks. Her work has helped preserve a way of life — one meal, one story and one good-ice cocktail at a time.

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

As for the U-166, there was vindication for Claudius, lieutenant commander of U.S. Navy boat PC-566.

Location was wrong

“Geologists scanning the Gulf floor in 2001 found the felled German submarine close by the wreckage of the Lee, far away from its assumed resting place off of Houma,” Haddox writes.

“The submarine hit by the Coast Guard plane, it was discovered, was damaged but managed to escape. The US Navy corrected the error in 2014 and gave Claudius and PC-566’s crew credit for sinking U-166 — 72 years after it happened.”

According to other historic accounts, this places the U-166 about 45 miles east of where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf.

Photos of wreckage

Finally, in 2014, The Associated Press published a story of marine geologist and geophysicist Robert Ballard’s exploration of the wreckage. Remote photos taken from his vessel, Nautilus, show both U-166 and Robert E. Lee about a mile beneath the Gulf’s surface.

Ballard is best known for his photos of the Titanic’s wreckage in the North Atlantic Ocean. His crew videoed and mapped the Gulf vessels for a National Geographic documentary Ballard’s photos show that the U-boat itself was broken in two by the U.S. Navy ship’s depth charge.

The article also points out that the submarine’s commander Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Günther Kuhlmann, and his crew of 51 died in the wreckage.

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

ZYDECO

Continued from page 1D

Since becoming the main organizer in 2007, Dustin has faced the challenges of rising band fees, venue rental, security, advertising and more expenses.

“It’s all that, and you still try to keep the tickets at a price where the native people can come and participate,” added Cravins. “The community knows us well enough now to know this is not our bread and butter This is not how we make a living. If it was, we would have been out of business a long time ago.

“But the reality is, it’s important to us. We invest our own money into it each and every year so that our children and the generation after them have a culture to experience in a real way and not in a museum.” Cravins advises others looking to follow in their festival footsteps to be true to the culture.

“Learn about what you’re trying to present to the world. The festival we put on is an extension of our lives,” Cravins said.

“It’s nothing different from what we’re doing today or any other day I’m headed home to cook a gravy for my family

I’m making boudin for Zydeco Extravaganza, but I’m making boudin every week. I’m listening to that music every day because it’s a part of who I am. I live it. When people do real things, they get real results.”

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

PROVIDED PHOTO By THE HISTORIC

A ‘slurry’ of corn starch and water is added to Marcelle Bienvenu’s Crawfish Stew-Fay

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

Marcelle Bienvenu tends to her zinnias at her home in St. Martinville.

AT THE TABLE

Turn state’sofficialfruit into strawberry jam

BY DEBRA TAGHEHCHIAN

Contributing writer

The pelican is the state bird of Louisiana, and the state flower is the magnolia But did you know that thestate fruit is the strawberry?

Yes, that most common andmuchloved fruit is our Louisiana statefruit. Strawberries grow in theeastern part of Louisiana in communities with names like Ponchatoula,Amite, Albany, Holden and Independence. Best known is Ponchatoula and its annual Strawberry Festival. Festivalgoers feast on all things strawberry,from strawberry shortcakes to strawberrydaiquiris.

We can thank the Italian andHungarian immigrants who started the cultivation of strawberries in Louisiana in the 1800s.Bythe 1920s, the berry business was booming, with berries beingput onto trains and shipped to other parts of the United States.

Springtime is the optimal time tohave the freshest and tastiestofthis fruit. It is also the time to preserve that goodness.Itis precisely whenI take out my trusty old water bathcanning pot and make some strawberry jam.Later in the summer,Iwill preserve figs and blackberries,but springtime is reserved for making strawberryjam.

We take for granted in this modern world that we can always find allthe fruits and vegetables that we want. In previous times, canning andpreserving was the only way to havefruitsinthe offseason. Now,people can findthem pretty much year-round.But one fact remains: to get really tasty strawberries, it’simportant to buy theminseason

Although strawberry season in Louisiana has ended, look for fresh berries from other regions at the supermarket

Like most of my recipes, Iuse few ingredients in this jam —justthree, in fact. Strawberries, sugar and pectin is all that’sneeded.

There may be some initial investment if someone has never canned before and needs to buy jars and ahot waterbath canning pot, but with this equipment comes years of canning —asthe canning jars can be reused. After canning and preserving the fruits’ goodness for the first time, the activity mightbring

some experimentation with other fruits and vegetables. With an ever-growing concern over what additives have been added to processedfoods,making your own preserves will help control what you eat. Forfirst-time canners, be sure to read andfollow careful directions about proper canningtechniques.Remember, theidea is to preserve food that can be enjoyed year-round. Most of all, maintain thefruit color and flavor and avoid sickness due to poor canning practices.

Strawberry Jam

Makes 10 (8-ounce) Mason jars

51/2 cups of crushed strawberries (about 3 1-quartboxes of strawberries)

1(1.75-ounce) box of fruit pectin

8cups of sugar

1. Sort andwash the strawberries, removingany blemishes and stemsand caps. Chop the berries and place in a large bowl. Using apotato masher,mash theberries.

2. Following manufacturer’sdirections, sterilize thecanning jars and prepare thetwo-piece canning lids. Set asideand make thejam.

3. Place thecrushedberries intoa large 8-quart Dutch oven. Add thepectin and stir well.

4. Place on high heat and, stirring constantly,bring quickly to afull boil with bubbles over theentire surface.

5. Addsugar and continue stirring. Heat again to afull bubbling boil. Boil hard for1 minute, stirring constantly

6. Removefromheat.Skim off foam that hascollected on thesurface of the jam.

7. Fill hot jam into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at top. Wipe rims of jars with aclean, dampened paper towel. Adjust thetwo-piece metal canning lids and fingertip tighten the metal lids.

8. Process the jam jarsina boiling water canner.Becareful to follow the recommendeddirections and processing time depending on your elevation.

9. Remove jars from canner and place on acoolingrack. Allow the processed jars to remain undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours afterthe hot water bathcanning process. Storeinacool, dry and dark place. Refrigeratejam after opening the sealed jar

StanleyTucci returnstoItaly with newseries

BY MARK KENNEDY

AP entertainment writer

NEWYORK Youcan’tkeep Stanley

Tucci from hisbeloved Italyjust like you can’tkeep cheese from lasagna.

The Golden Globe- and Emmywinning actor is once again elegantly roaming through theland of his heritage in NationalGeographic’s newfood-travel series “Tucci in Italy,” lessthan three years after asimilar show was axed.

“I think that visually it’s more interesting this time around, and Ithink that we try to go more in depth into the stories as much as you can, given the format,” he says. Tucci goes from athree-Michelin-star restaurantinMilan where the staff grow their own vegetables —“Stop it!” he halfheartedly begs achef adding salmon eggs to apestorisotto to cooking fish for anglers onthe banks of the Sarca River.

“I’m exploring the complex connections betweenthe land, the people and the food they eat in order to discover the essence of each regioninthe countryI love —Italy,” the “Conclave” and “The DevilWears Prada” star tells viewers in each installment.

‘The people aregreat’ Eachepisode of the firstseason of “Tucci in Italy” explores adifferent region —from Tuscany to Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy, Abruzzo and Lazio. It was shot over six months, from January to July in 2024.

“It’salot of planning, itisalot logistics. But ultimately,once you get to where you’re supposed to be, which isn’talways easy in Italy,especially in the mountainous areas, it’sgreat,” says Tucci. “The people are great, extraordinary.” In Tuscany,the cradle of the Renaissance, Tuccieatslampredotto asandwichmade with thecow’s fourth stomach, and abeeftongue stew.Inthe Alpine regionof Trentino-Alto Adige, he skis and munches on beefgoulash and polenta near the Austrian border National Geographic greenlit Tucci’snew docuseries ayear after CNN canceled his “Searching for Italy” despite winning Emmys for Outstanding HostedNonfic-

tionSeries or Special. Much of the same production staff and crew transferred over with Tuccitohis newTVhome, and they embraced the use of the latest drones,givingthe seriesa sweep and majesty Executive producer Lottie Birmingham, who worked on “Searching for Italy” and jumped aboard “Tucci in Italy,” says the newseries pushes viewers into new parts of the European nation.

“I thinkbeforewedid focus quite alot on the major cities, whereasthistime we’vekindof gone out into thewiderregions,” shesays. “InLazio,for example,

we haven’tjust focused on Rome or in Tuscanywehaven’tjustfocused on Florence.”

Deeper issues

The series also stops to look at some of the social issues roiling Italy,like immigration and gay rights. Tucci andhis team spotlight Punjabi migrants, particularlySikhs,who have asignificant presence in thenation’s dairyindustry,and theimpact that Ethiopian immigrants have had despite facing racism andbeing treated as “other.”

“Every country does it,and it’s never ahelpful thing,” says Tucci.

“And after people assimilate, then they often find otherstobecome ‘others.’ So it’s just this sort of weird, vicious circle.”

The new series—produced by Salt Productions andBBC Studios —inmany ways is more true to Tucci’s initial vision, which was to look carefullyattrendsbelow thesurface of whatappears to be ahappy,sun-blasted land.

“The original ideaofthe show that Ihad almost20years ago, at this point, was to show the diversityofItaly.But alsoto, in a weird way,dispelthe myth that it’ssunny all the timeand everybody’seating pizza andpasta and

everybody is happy and smiling allthe time.Yeah,thatexists, but that’snot everything.”

It wasTucci who suggested a stop in Lombardy after reading an article aboutagay couple who haven’tbeen able to legally adopt theirbabyboy sincethe government doesn’trecognize adoptions by same-sexcouples.

“There’s adarkerside,asthere arewith everycountry,” says Birmingham. “Italians are so focused on food andfamily,but whatdoes family mean?Thatwas what we wanted to look at in that story.”

Tucci’sspecial touch

Tucci is part of acrowded field of celebtravel hosts, which includesRainn Wilson, Eugene Levy, Zac Efron, JoséAndrés, ChrisHemsworth, Will Smith, MacaulayCulkin andEwan McGregor.Birminghambelieves herhosthas something special to offer

“I think he’sparticularly good at putting people at ease,” shesays.

“He is genuinely interested, and it is areal passion for him. He’s nothosting this series just to host it. He loves Italy morethan any of us,and Ithink that’s really apparent.”

Oneofthe series’highlights is when Tucci visitsSienna,acity in central Italy’sTuscany region, and watches its medieval-era horse race run around the Piazza delCampo.

Afterward,each city ward hosts adinnerparty in the streets wherethousands sing andtoast their neighborhood.

“I didn’tknowabout that and Ijustthink it’s incredible,” says Tucci, who first visitedSienna whenhewas about 12. “Italy was avery different place and yet still is very muchthe same.”

It’sthatpush andpull of modernity andtraditionthatthe show highlights, like arestaurantin Florence that caused astir when traditional regionaldelicacies were done with Japanese styles andingredients. Tucci found the food delicious andworried that Italians must embrace change. “They maintaintheir traditions, they maintainthe quality. Butitalso stops them from growing,” says Tucci. “There’s no reason why youcan’t have both.”

PHOTO By DEBRA TAGHEHCHIAN

Strawberry jam can be made by usingjust three ingredients. Although strawberry season in Louisiana has ended, look for fresh berries from other regions at the supermarket.

StanleyTucci stands in the Abruzzo region of Italy during the filming

his series ‘Tucci in Italy.’

HOLLYWOOD SOUTH

3young womenexplore vanishingLa.

Film documents

eye-opening journey

Leslie Cardé

As three young women look out over Terrebonne Parish’s diminishing coastline, now barely above sea level, it’s astark reminder that Louisiana is sinking —its land masses, so critical to the stability of our coastline, dissolving into the Gulf of Mexico because of rising sea levels.

The ever-changing banks of the Mississippi River,eroded by decades of oil and gas exploration and now an ongoing climate crisis, are the subject of the documentary film “Hollow Tree.”

The title refers to the only cypresstrees left in the wetlands: old, hollow and no longer useful for lumber

Just this week, Tulane Universityannounced research that showed the Mississippi River Delta is losing 90% of its sediment before it ever reaches theGulf.

“Hollow Tree,” which screened earlier this month at the Zeitgeist Theatre, delves into the history of the region as seen throughthe eyes of three young women, all from very different backgrounds

Taking youngpeopleonajourney

The producers of the film, Monique Watson and ChachiHauser, wanted to explore the problem by taking young peopleonafilmmaking journeytohelp them understand their environment.

The producers interviewed manyyoung people across the state about changes they were noticingintheir environment Most didn’tknow they lived in aplace that is sinking or understoodwhy it floods so frequently, the producers said.

The producers found three women who they felt stood out as being exceptionally curious, as well as open to the adventures of filmmaking. Since there’sno scriptinvolvedindocumentaries, it’salearn-as-you-goprocess.

The resulting filmfollows the educational journeys of Mekenzie

Fanguy,18, aHouma resident whose roots extend to the United Houma Nation; Tanielma Da Costa, 17, aBlack woman from Angolanow livinginBaton Rouge; and Annabelle Pavy,18, aWhite woman, with Cajunroots, from Lafayette.

Thedocumentary covers alot of ground,quite literally,when experts discuss how man-made leveeshave encroached upon the natural order of the state’stopography

“We’re actively puttingthe river in astraitjacket and keepingitfrom doingwhat it’s meant to do,whichisbuild land,” said Dean Wilson, Basin Keeper for the Atchafalaya River Basin

Filmmaking as aclassroom

Forthe film’s director,Tira Akerman, therewas amethod to themadness. It involved using filmmaking as aclassroom, andit meant bringing in awhole hostof experts from differentfields.

“The film brought these women into conversationwithpeople of different generations, races,

socioeconomic backgrounds and forms of expertise, including scholars, scientists, crawfishermen, engineers and community activists,” Akerman said. Akerman and Hauser spent time at The HistoricNew Orleans Collection and LSU’slibrary, doing immense research, so they could provide critical information tothe women of this film about their environment before they went off on their factfinding mission. They were, after all, partaking in acrash course involving history,geography andthe effectsof everything from acid raincaused by polluting industries along the industrial corridor,torepercussions of the climate crisis and how it plays adefining roleinthe land we standonand theair we breathe.

“Weeven decided which texts or maps might be useful to share with the women,” Akerman said. “The goal was to guide them in an inquiry process where the documentaryform constituted a pathtonew understandings.

“We’d submerge ourselves in thephysical landscape, too, swimming in the Atchafalaya and wondering if feeling sediment in the water would shape ayoung person’sunderstanding of how land was made. We wondered how we could accelerate alearning process, andmake it cinematic, so thataudiences could also experience it?”

Historyand harshreality

Learning abouthistory,the women were confronted head-on with the harsh realities of the areas they called home

Visiting WhitneyPlantation meant learning how the levees were built upon the backsof slaves, who were protecting the cane fields where they worked from flooding. There was brutalityincotton picking, but there was death in cane— the bodies were often buriedinthe ground beneaththe levees,Susan Gebhardt,ofthe WhitneyPlantation said.

As Pavynoted,previously she had associated plantations with

wedding venues.

Fanguy,ofHouma,recounted howshe wastoldinmiddle school thatLouisiana would one daybeunderwater.But, without context, the information didn’t have muchimpact

And, for Pavy,raisedinLafayette where livelihoods were enmeshed with the oil and gas industry,some ideas were taboo.

“There areunspoken rules aboutwhatcan andcan’tbetalked about,” Pavy said. “I always understoodthatclimate change was off-limits, because it was a myth.”

Noted documentarian Ken Burns calledthis “an extraordinary film thatasks allofusto think differently about the communities in whichwelive and the environments that we must respect.”

Da Costa summeditup.

“This is our approaching future. Why areweaccepting this?”

Email Leslie Cardéat lesliecardejournalist@gmail. com.

Send clearmessage on boundaries by followingthrough

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Dear Miss Manners: The first time my friend left me waiting forher for an hour when we had plans to meet for lunch, Iexpressed my displeasure. She defended herself with the same excuses she used in her textstome: She was running late; she’d run into traffic; she would be there in another 5minutes (sometimes at 15-minuteintervals) The second time Ihad plans to meet my friend for lunch, I waited 15 minutes, then left the restaurant. She was furious and told me it was rude not to tellher

Ihad adeadline. From her point of view,Ihad changed the rules on her My partner and Iinvited a couple toour home to watch a movie. Inever heard from them, despite making the invitation by email, text and phone call, and asking them toRSVP.When we heard nothing, we changedour plans.

It was awkward when they showed up at our door.Wewere not expecting guests; they were intent on seeing the movie. When Itold them we couldn’tpossibly have them in, they saidIshould have told them. Perhaps Iwas toinclude a sentence saying, “If Idon’t hear from you, this invitation is rescinded?” AmIsupposed to

Removing hair from razor

include consequences in all my communications?

Gentle reader: No, you need only demonstrate them, as you have done.

MissManners would like to think that these friends will have now learned that your invitations —and patience —are not infinite. Butsadly,you and sheboth know better

Dear Miss Manners: My husband and Ifrequently entertain a smallgroupoffriends for light appetizers and dinner.One friend usually arrives with a tobacco pouch in his mouthand places it on his dinner plate while he dines. He will insert another pouch after dinner but before dessert. When Iclear thetable, Ifind the

By The Associated Press

pouches on his dinnerplate as well as his dessert plate.Ihave even found oneofthese foul things on alinencocktail napkin in my living room. Iplace the pouchesinthe trash,where theytendtoprovide afoul odor to ourkitchen until thecan is emptied.

Is there away to let our friend know that I’d ratherhetakehis used tobacco pouches home with him rather thanhave them foul our table andtrash can?

Gentle reader: He hasgivenyou apresent. Now it is your turn: Next time he is at your house, give him his very ownused tobacco holder.

Mind you, Miss Manners has no idea if sucha thing exists, but imagines something the size

TODAYINHISTORY

ing aman on the moonand returning him safely to the earth.”

of amint tin with alid on it, or asnack-sizedbaggie.Ifyou are crafty,you could even decorate it to make it more presentable. At leastthe first time At subsequent gatherings, or when he inevitably forgets the original, keep extrasonhand thatare less decorative and more readily disposable. Or tell him thatyourhouse is not only a nonsmoking area, but atobaccofree one.

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

Station.

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Ihave foundthat the simplest way to remove hair bristles from inside of an electric razor is not with the brush that typically comes with the razor.Instead, flip open the blade panel and suck out the contents using asmall handheld vacuum cleaner —Jim R., in Houston Crossedlegs

Dear Heloise: So many picturesof women, even professionals and celebrities, show them standing with one leg crossedover the other.This strikesmeassoodd! Why do women do this? —Valerie H., Lolo, Montana Valerie, Ithink it’sconsidered acharming or cute pose by some people,but it also tends to make the thighs appear thinner —Heloise Travel hint

Dear Heloise: I’ve been aware that

many people use ahanging shoe bag at home to storeitems, but I’ve found thatitisalsovaluable when traveling. Ihave afew healthissues (nothing deadly), butI have to carry afew items for themand take pills. Having my “traveling shoe bag” has been areal lifesaver. Thanks for all of your great ideas, and please keep them coming! —Isabel G., in Norman, Oklahoma Magnetic clamps

Dear Heloise: Iglued amagnet to the back of acabinet that hangs over my workspaceinthe kitchen. Then Ibought plastic bag sealing clamps with magnets on the back. WhenIwant to try out anew recipe, Iplace therecipe on the cabinet door using these magnetic bag clamps, and it makes it so much easier to read. Therecipe is also out of danger from being splattered with ingredients. —Ava D.,inDenver Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

Today is Sunday,May 25, the 145th day of 2025. There are 220 days left in theyear

Todayinhistory

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, aBlack man, was killed when aWhiteMinneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’sneck for 91/2 minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and pleading that he couldn’t breathe; Floyd’sdeath, captured on video by abystander,would lead to worldwide protests, some of which turned violent, and areexamination of racism and policing in theU.S.

On this date: In 1787, theConstitutional Convention began at thePennsylvania StateHouse (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for aquorum. In 1961, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy toldCongress: “I believe that this nation should commit itselftoachieving the goal, before this decade is out,ofland-

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Griffin v. County School BoardofPrince Edward County,orderedthe Virginia county to reopen its public schools, which officials had closed in an attempt to circumvent theSupreme Court’s1954 Brown v. BoardofEducation of Topeka desegregationruling.

In 1977, “StarWars” was released by 20thCentury Fox; it would become the highest-grossing film in history at the time.

In 1979, 273 people died when an American Airlines DC-10 crashed just after takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

In 2008, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on the RedPlanet to begin searching for evidence of water; the spacecraft confirmed the presence of water ice at itslanding site.

In 2012, the private company SpaceX made history as its Dragon capsule became the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the InternationalSpace

In 2018, HarveyWeinstein was arrestedand chargedinNew York with rape andanother sex felony in the first prosecution to result from the wave of allegations against him. (Weinstein would be convicted of two felony counts in 2020, but an appeals court would overturn the convictionin2024. Aretrialonthe chargesbegan in April 2025.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Ian McKellenis86. Country singer Jessi Colteris82. Actor-singer Leslie Uggams is 82. Filmmaker andpuppeteer Frank Oz is 81. ActorKaren Valentine is 78. ActorJackiWeaver is 78. Rock singerKlaus Meine (Scorpions) is 77. ActorPatti D’Arbanville is 74. Playwright Eve Ensler is 72. ActorConnie Sellecca is 70. MusicianPaulWelleris67. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is 65. Actor-comedian Mike Myers is 62. ActorOctavia Spencer is 55. Actor Cillian Murphy is 49. Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher is 47. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Aly Raisman is 31.

PROVIDED PHOTO By TIRA AKERMAN

Mekenzie Fanguy,from left, TanielmaDaCosta and Annabelle Pavy explore the Mississippi River delta region in the documentary film ‘HollowTree.

VIEWS THE FROMDOWN HERE

scribers, nearly 100,000 paid subscribers to its online content, anda growing number of advertisers on Spotifyand Apple.

BY RICHCOLLINS Staff writer

New Orleanians who pay attention to national news have likely seenpolitical commentator TimMiller on one screen or another over thelast fewyears.

Since 2023, they’ve been justaslikely to see him walking down Magazine or Freret streets. The podcast host, YouTube creator and cablenews contributor moved to New Orleans in April of that year.Now,each weekday,Miller worksupto 12 hoursa

Conference

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL

day from astudio in his Uptown home, producing content for The Bulwark, a national news and opinion website launchedin2018 by agroupofwriters, journalists and politicos.

TheBulwark, whichbegan as anonprofit homefor center-right political voices, has growninto aprofitablemedia organization with more than 1.2 million YouTube sub-

Last year,the company reported revenue of about $5 million. This year,itexpectstodouble that. The growing audience forThe Bulwark andMiller—who providespassionate, sometimesirreverent takes on issues shows how it’s possible to build abooming media business entirely on platforms that didn’texist acouple decades ago. Andto do it from anywhere in the world.

Miller said, for him, NewOrleans is the ideal location.

“Many political people and other notablescomethrough town for events or conferences or vacation,” he said in a ä See PODCASTER, page 5E

attendance underscores thestate’s real

estate hurdlesahead

The issue,they said, is uncertainty around tariffs and inflationata time when interest ratesand rising insurance costs are continuing to hamper deals in asector still grappling with thedisruptions of e-commerce. “There weren’tany Chicken Littles running around,” saidRichardWeber, abrokerwith Corporate Realtyin NewOrleans.“There wasjustmore caution. Consumer sentimenthit a

ä See REAL ESTATE, page 2E

TimMiller,a politicalanalyst and content producer for The Bulwark website, records apodcast in hishome studio in NewOrleans. STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

PROVIDED PHOTOByMIKE

Firm gains backing as nonopioid treatment trials progress

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

Gulf South Angels, a New Or-

leans-based venture investment group, said Tuesday that it plans to invest in South Rampart Pharma, a local startup that is trialing a new drug it hopes will be a breakthrough in the burgeoning market for nonopioid pain treatments.

South Rampart’s main drug — called SRP-001 while it is in the trial stage has successfully passed through the first phase of Food and Drug Administration clinical trials and has been granted permission to fast-track Phase Two trials, which will be conducted with larger groups of humans.

The company, which was spun out of the LSU Health School of Medicine in 2016, has so far raised a total of $9 million through a series of grants from the National Institutes of Health, money raised through Louisiana’s research and development tax credit program, and equity from Ochsner Health’s venture arm.

In January, South Rampart be-

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Artmosphere hires booking agent

The new owners of Artmosphere in downtown Lafayette have partnered with a seasoned booking agent.

Co-owner Justin Bennett and booking agent Anthony Daniels — known to many in the industry as Moose Harris — are leading the business that has been open for two decades into a new chapter They discussed their plans — which include renaming the venue — with Jan Swift, of the Discover Lafayette podcast. The team soft-launched Artmosphere during Festival International de Louisiane with eight different events in five days, showcasing everything from hip hop and zydeco to burlesque and R&B. Every act was carefully chosen, and every night was intentional.

“As Justin clearly puts it, this is first and foremost a music venue,” Daniels said. They want to make Artmosphere a home for touring artists and a launching pad for local talent. A name change will happen soon and their goal is to create a sustainable, artist-respecting space with good music, good food and good drinks Golden Chick to open Opelousas location

A Texas-based regional fried chicken chain that bought property last year just north of Interstate 10 in Scott will first open an Opelousas location later this year. Golden Chick bought property last year at 931 Creswell Lane next to Burger King and could open that store possibly in August, said Mike Jensen, president of Golden Operating Corp. that oversees the company-owned and operated locations.

Construction on the Scott location at 215 La. 93 will follow he said.

A second Acadiana location would be the brand’s latest move in Louisiana after opening a Sulphur location last week and unveiling plans for three more locations in the Shreveport area, he said. The company could open as many as 15 locations in the state.

“The number 15 has been tossed around, and whether that’s written down anywhere, I don’t know,” Jensen said. “We’re about halfway there. And I think filling in the Lafayette area is one that’s pretty important. We don’t want to just drop a couple of stores. We’ve got room for more than that.”

Golden Chick’s menu includes chicken strips, sandwiches, fried catfish and salads.

H. Bazan

gan a “Series A” round to raise at least $8.5 million to finance the critical Phase Two trials, according to Dr Hernan Bazan, a vascular surgeon at Ochsner Health, who founded South Rampart Pharma with his father, Dr Nicolas Bazan, director of LSU’s Neuroscience Center of Excellence.

N. Bazan

Pete November, CEO of Ochsner Health, joined the South Rampart Pharma board of directors earlier this month and Ochsner’s venture arm invested an undisclosed amount in the company’s Series A round.

Gulf South Angels’ chair, Mike Eckert, said he was approached by Ochsner about making an investment in the company

“It brings immediate credibility when a company like Ochsner steps up,” said Eckert, who was a

Issued May 14-20

Commercial alterations

MEDICAL: 902 Coolidge St., description, renovation of an existing building for four labs, an administrative facility and lounge for Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center Physical Therapy; applicant, AQ Studios; contractor, Fremin General Contractors; $749,853.

SALON: 611 Settlers Trace Blvd., suites 100-200; description, buildout of Building A for Uniq Nail Lounge; applicant, Passion Home Design; contractor, Amour Construction; $650,000

SALON: 611 Settlers Trace Blvd., suites 100-200; description, buildout of Building B for Uniq Nail Lounge; applicant, Passion Home Design; contractor, Amour Construction; $400,000

OTHER: 1911 Chemin Metairie Parkway, Suite 5A, Youngsville; description, none listed; applicant, none listed; contractor, Van Alan Homes;

REAL ESTATE

Continued from page 1E

five-year low last month. That affects things.”

Brokers looking to do deals in south Louisiana face additional hurdles. They have to overcome concerns about the state’s shrinking population and its vulnerability to climate disasters.

In New Orleans, they also have to contend with questions about public safety

“I haven’t had a meeting yet where I’m not asked how the inmates escaped,” said land use attorney Mike Sherman, who was at ICSC on Tuesday, while escapees from the Orleans Parish jail remained at large.

“The jailbreak is a public safety issue. What is clear from being out here is that it’s also an economic development issue.”

Experiential tenants

An estimated 25,000 real estate professionals attended this year’s gathering of the International Conference of Shopping Centers, as the organization is formally known, at the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center.

Though smaller than its peak of 40,000 in 2019, its attendance was roughly the same as it has been for the past two years and it still offers brokers, developers and retailers an opportunity to put a face to a name and make a connection.

“Everything you do out here can be done on Zoom or conference calls,” Hebert said. “But golf, gambling and concerts make the trip worthwhile. Networking is the ma-

founder and CEO of The Weather Channel in Atlanta and, later, of digital media platform Pathfire, before moving into venture investing full time.

The amount Gulf South Angels will invest in South Rampart isn’t known yet as the group is syndicating the investment to its network of similar organizations around the country, Eckert said.

Boom or bust

A new drug’s path to market in the U.S. must follow a rigorous, multiphase process regulated by the FDA before it can be sold to the general public.

South Pharma already has done preclinical testing in the laboratory and on animals and has done its safety and dosage — Phase One testing — on smaller groups of humans. The Phase Two testing on much larger groups of humans is crucial, not only to test for efficacy and side effects but to confirm proof of concept.

Success in Phase Two means the company then typically would be acquired by one of the big, estab-

lished pharmaceuticals companies, Bazan said.

Companies that have a drug with SRP-001’s prospects would expect to be sold for between $300 million and $800 million after successful Phase Two trials, according to Eckert. If the company didn’t like the offer or chose to move on and complete the final Phase 3 trials on even larger groups of human participants, then it could expect a valuation around $1.5 billion if successful. “With drug companies it’s pretty binary: You’re either going to hit a home run or you’re going to lose your money,” he said.

Gulf South Angels, which was started in 2014 as NO/LA Angels Network, now has 140 members and 14 “exits,” i.e. either selling or taking public companies they’ve invested in Eckert said they’ve averaged a return on their investments of 26%, which would be more than double the S&P 500’s annual average return over the past decade. Bazan said the company will be working with Todd Bertoch, a pain

BUILDING PERMITS

$95,000.

OFFICE: 222 Tower Drive, description,

business office being renovated to house airplane hangar; applicant, MBSB Group; contractor, Bulliard Construction; $78,000.

New residential

100 SANDPIPER DRIVE: Hays Homes, $530,910.

206 AMSTERDAM AVE., YOUNGSVILLE: Blue Wing Builders, $441,844.

102 PRAGUE AVE., YOUNGSVILLE: Blue Wing Builders, $433,719.

300 ABERCROMBIE WAY, BROUSSARD: EJ Rock Construction, $380,000.

205 SWEET HARVEST ROAD, YOUNGSVILLE: Level Homes, $308,334.

115 BIG LAKE RUN, YOUNGSVILLE: Homes by Heritage Builders, $314,600.

306 BIG LAKE RUN, YOUNGSVILLE: Homes by Heritage Builders, $310,000.

PROVIDED PHOTO By MIKE SHERMAN

A booth at the annual ISCS convention in Las Vegas on May 20 displays the real estate holdings of the Feil organization, which owns Lakeside Shopping Center and several class A office towers in the New Orleans area.

jor benefit.”

It’s also an opportunity to get an idea of what’s trending and what kind of space a new quick serve chicken chain or home goods store might want.

Kirsten Early, a principal with SRSA who specializes in the Metairie market, noticed that smaller sized food-and-beverage tenants are more interested in buying than leasing, unless they can do a “reverse build-to-suit,” where a tenant acts as the developer and oversees the buildout of a property

“Experiential” tenants that peddle experiences to customers like games, golf, pickleball or laser light shows also are hot and looking for new markets, Sherman

203 BIG LAKE RUN, YOUNGSVILLE: Homes by Heritage Builders, $308,000.

308 BIG LAKE RUN, YOUNGSVILLE: Homes by Heritage Builders, $301,320.

210 CHESTNUT OAK DRIVE: DR Horton, $243,990.

208 CHESTNUT OAK DRIVE: DR Horton, $179,010.

201 PORCH VIEW DRIVE: Bailey Home Builders, $241,200.

204 SOUTHERN OAK DRIVE: DR Horton, $204,930.

206 SOUTHERN OAK DRIVE: DR Horton, $215,010.

208 SOUTHERN OAK DRIVE: DR Horton, $179,010.

319 WHITE PINE DRIVE: DR Horton,

treatment specialist, to manage the Phase Two trials. Bertoch had overseen similar trials for Bostonbased Vertex. In January, Vertex achieved a significant milestone with the FDA approval of Suzetrigine, marketed under the brand name Journavx. The approval was the first new class of nonopioid pain medication authorized in over two decades, offering a promising alternative for managing moderate-to-severe acute pain.

South Pharma’s drug is distinct from Journavx in that it targets the central nervous system rather than peripheral, pain-sensing neurons. Similar to Journavx, the drug reduces pain without the addictive potential associated with opioids and positions it to treat various pain conditions.

Eckert notes that Vertex’s shares jumped about 10% after the Phase Two success was announced, adding about $10 billion to the company’s value.

Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

said. Among those he noticed promoting their brands were the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit and New Orleans-based Five O Fore Golf and Entertainment, which opened its first location on Howard Avenue in April.

Shopping center vacancies from the demise of big-box stores like Big Lots and Bed Bath and Beyond are not necessarily a bad thing, according to Jonathan Walker a broker with Baton Rouge-based Maestri-Murrell.

“Shopping center owners have been happy with the vacancies,” he said. “They’re getting more rent from better replacement tenants.”

Other takeaways from the conference, according to brokers: There’s little construction of new shopping centers anywhere in the country; most deals involve repurposing existing space; specialty concepts like Trader Joe’s continue to be sought-after anchor tenants; and Chick-fil-A is rapidly expanding, seemingly everywhere.

“Deals are still getting done,” Weber said. “But just about all the new deals we see are adaptive reuse.”

Looking to expand in Louisiana

For south Louisiana markets, the 2025 ICSC is unlikely to produce any major new deals in the Lafayette, Baton Rouge or New Orleans markets, according to brokers who attended the event.

But national chains with an existing presence are looking to expand in all three markets, they said.

Hebert’s largest client, RaceTrac, is interested in growing its chain of gas stations and convenience stores, he said.

“They are really hot on Louisiana,” he said. “Anything from Lake Charles to Mississippi.”

Corporate Realty’s national clients, including Starbucks, Chipotle, T.J. Maxx and Five Below, are also all pursuing new locations in the state, Weber said.

Early said she is optimistic there may be a “new-to-market” tenant in the New Orleans or Metairie area within the next 12 months, though she could not say who it might be.

Weber said he’s heard a supermarket chain, currently with locations elsewhere in the state, is eyeing the New Orleans area for expansion.

“Our clients do well in Louisiana,” he said. “They are looking to perform in Louisiana.”

But Hebert and Sherman both said concerns about declining population in the state, not to mention other quality-of-life issues, have scared off some retailers and will continue to hamper deals with others if left unaddressed.

“Lack of growth is an issue every elected official should hyper focus on,” Sherman said.

Outside of the convention, Sherman had another takeaway about Louisiana — the success of its homegrown brands, which he noticed everywhere on the Las Vegas Strip.

New Orleans-owned District Donuts has a location in The Cosmopolitan Emeril’s is in The Venetian. Chef Alon Shaya recently had a residency at the Wyn Encore Hotel. Baton Rouge-born Raising Cane’s has not one but three outlets there.

“What’s really cool is the demand for New Orleans and Louisiana culture,” he said. “Out here, you can see our concepts being exported around the country.”

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

Sherman

TALKING BUSINESS WITH BRITTON SANDERFORD

Under-the-radar tech pioneer undertaking a new venture

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

In a picture from 1974, Britton Sanderford, sitting in front of a circuit board with his pageboy cut and dark-rimmed glasses, looks like he wouldn’t have been out of place in that mythical Los Altos garage with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs at the birth of Apple computers.

In fact, Sanderford was literally in his own garage in Kenner around the same time working on inventions.

A colleague of his, Nicholas Hansel, said Sanderford was a “technical prodigy” and wrote the featured paper in IEEE Computer, a prestigious electronics academic publication, when he was just 16 years old. Now 68 and father to four grown children with wife Sheila, Sanderford can look back on a career where he has obtained more than 80 patents many of them making significant progress in areas including mobile phones and smart metering.

One of his early inventions was a breakthrough in dye pack technology, to catch bank robbers more effectively

He has also started several companies, including Advanced Metering Data Systems, which he sold in 2006 to Sensus Metering Systems for around $180 million. Later he founded Axonn LLC, a pioneer in spread spectrum com-

munications — Axonn was the first U.S. company to receive Federal Communications Commission approval for this technology and its patents were licensed by 18 companies. The company was sold to Globalstar (which later relocated from Silicon Valley to Covington) for about $11 million.

Sanderford is still in the innovation business. His latest venture is Focus Automated Equities, which is using artificial intelligence to make abovemarket returns on investment.

He said it’s like trying to create a robot stock analyst that unlike a human has the ability to look at 25 years of data for predictive patterns in a matter of seconds.

The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity

Your colleague referred to you as the “Patent King of New Orleans.” But do you think it’s fair to say that despite your success in inventing and innovating and selling companies based on your technology — for dollar amounts that would make a big splash in today’s environment you’ve flown a bit under the radar? Oh, I don’t know about that. But you know I got to meet Jay Lapeyre’s dad (J.M. Lapeyre), who I think was the real patent king of New Orleans. He had something like 180 patents, and I know how difficult it is to get one. He invented the shrimp peeling machine, an electro-optical printing system, the modular

conveyor belt. The diversity of his inventions was really quite amazing.

But it was his son, Jay, who figured out how to monetize it. The patent on its own doesn’t do you any good unless you figure out how to make money with it.

You’ve concentrated more on investing in recent years, backing some local New Orleans companies.

I’ll get asked to help some companies with new technology looking to start up, and I’ll sometimes help them with their patents. But I would not consider myself a venture capitalist, because that’s a very rigorous environment.

It’s more through relationships and I get involved. I think in New Orleans we have some great attributes that maybe get overlooked in technology In Silicon Valley, if you have a company with a great idea you’ll get someone staying there 18 months, three years maybe.

But in New Orleans, if you have a company that really takes care of people they can stay with you a really long time and it allows you to set longterm objectives. Was that your experience in the companies you founded?

That’s interesting because the way that (Advanced Metering) was purchased was an earn out over five years, and I stayed on at Sensus as chief technology officer

We had probably 30 people, and Sensus had, like, 4,000 people at the time. Our team ended up being very integrated into Sensus and stayed with the company as it expanded. They sold something like 200 million water gas and electric meters across the world. They’ve even now started to sell some to the Sewerage & Water Board in New Orleans.

How many people to you have in your current venture? We’ve been building FocusVQ

Committed.

To thesafety, health,and wellbeing of our employees.

To investingdeeply in the communities we call home.

To deliveringinnovative storage solutionsfor our customers.

To creating opportunities fora more sustainable future.

Britton Sanderford has more than 80 patents and has sold companies that pioneered technology in dye packs to curb bank robberies, mobile phone technology and energy metering He’s now building an AI ‘robot analyst’ for investing

and Focus Automated Equities, platforms to perform automated trading. Combined, the companies employ and contract with 30 full- and part-time employees and consultants, including a core group of machine learning experts from a variety of backgrounds. We’re also engaging with finance professionals, quantitative investing experts, exchange specialists, academics, and fund managers. I have personally invested nearly $20 million so far based on a 35-year vision to use biologic neuron models to trade stock signals. Any other local companies you have an interest in?

My daughter has started docpace, which uses AI to keep doctors’ offices on schedule. But that’s another story Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

Victimsadvocacygroup eyes bolstering scam intervention

Our interactions —through email, computers, mobiledevices and social media —face relentless daily attacks.

Text messagescan’tbetrusted Everyemail should be seen as suspect. Answering the telephone puts you at risk of being defrauded.

Cybercriminals and scammers have infiltratedthese spaces with alarming ease and they will keep siphoning victims’ money without astronger,unified response.

In its latest Internet Crime Complaint Center report, the FBI says criminalsstole arecord $16.6 billion in scams and cybercrime in 2024. That’sajumpof 33% from ayear earlier

This year’sreport marksthe 25th anniversary of the FBI’s analysis of these crimes,a milestonethat underscores adisturbing trend. Initially,the bureau got about 2,000 complaintsevery month. In the past five years, the number has exploded to an average 2,000 complaints every day Separately,complaints to the FederalTrade Commission, which also tracks fraud, echo thisgrim reality.The FTC reportedthat consumers lost more than$12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a25% increase over 2023. By the way,the FTC said that jump isn’tthe result of more reported complaints but adouble-digit increase in the per-

Fool’sTake:

Microstrong

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)isa

Motley

Fool

financially strong business that delivers essential software services for consumers and businesses. It has alarge base of Windowsusers and, with itsAzure cloud platform, is the second-leading cloud services provider Over the past decade, Microsofthas shifted from relying on one-time purchases of software to acloud-based services strategy that generates revenue from subscriptions. The MicrosoftCloud ecosystem includes revenue from Azure, the Microsoft 365 office suiteand oth-

Michelle Singletary

THE COLOR OF MONEy

centageofpeople who reported losing money These staggering figures don’t fully convey the depth of the problem in the United States because many people who are scammed don’treport the crime or their losses.

That’swhy theFTC also adjusts for underreporting. In areport last year,the agency included an estimate that theoverall loss in 2023 was in fact $158.3 billion. This total includes $61.5 billion stolen from seniors. (While younger adults reportexperiencing fraud more frequently,older adults tendtosuffer greater financial losses.)

Thecase of aMaryland woman wholost nearly $600,000 in retirement fundstoasophisticated government impersonation scam illustrated afundamental weakness in ourapproach to financial fraud:Welargely expect individuals to defendthemselves, an approach that often leadstovictimblaming and further discourages reporting.

er services that all together grew 20% year over year last quarter to $42 billion.

Thecompany’sartificial intelligencepartnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has been a huge growth driver.Integrating OpenAI’stools has driven strong momentum for Azure: Its revenue grew 33% year over year last quarter,outpacing the broader cloud market Microsoft is positioned to be a leader inAI. In 2022, it disclosed thatthere were more than1.4 billion devices running Windows 11 or Windows 10. There are now more than 400 million commercial 365 users, meaning amassive built-in base of businesses can adopt Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant.

Thanks to recurring revenue streams from various software

To combat this growing crisis, we need an aggressive strategy that moves beyond mereprevention through consumer education and prioritizes acoordinated nationwide initiative —encompassing bothprivateand public entities to actively target and dismantle criminal operations.

This is themission of the newly launched National Elder Fraud Coordination Center

Founded and directed by former FBI agentBrady Finta, the nonprofit’s initial partners include AARP,Google, Walmart and Amazon (whose founder,Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post) Finta said thecenter will use datafrom retailers, financial institutions and other businesses to create aunified front in elder fraud investigation across the United States. This collaboration would make it easier to spot trends and connect individual cases stemming from the same criminal network, which are often based overseas. The center would then refer cases to federal authorities for investigation and prosecution.

“The new center will help law enforcement fill asignificant gap in their abilities to address this type of fraud,”said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention programsatAARP Fraud Watch Network.

services, Microsoft is arelatively safe growthstock. Analysts expect its earnings per share to grow an average of 12% annually in the coming years. (The Motley Fool owns shares of and has recommended Microsoft stock and options.)

Fool’sSchool:Warren Buffett’sannual meeting

Every year,tens of thousands of shareholders descend upon Omaha, Nebraska, to attend the annual meeting of Warren Buffett’scompany,Berkshire Hathaway Here’ssomewisdom dispensed at the latest meeting, held earlier thismonth:

n On tariffs: Buffettsaid that “trade should not be aweapon. He also said that “we should be looking to trade with the rest of

Victims often express frustration after filing reports with agencies like the FBI or FTC and receiving no further communication.However,Stokes believes that connecting morecases could lead to better interventions.

If more cases can be linked together,there’sabetter chance of stopping thescammersand disrupting the lucrative fraud business model,” Stokes said.

She emphasizes the larger organized nature of these crime networks.

“Weknow that so much of what is happening in this country, where fraud is concerned, is coming from transnational crime gangs,”she said. “The FBI and other authorities do not have thetime, the capacity or the resources tolook at that landscape through an organized crime lens.”

Just as importantly,this new initiative may encourage more victimstoreport fraud. It representsanupdated approach to prevention,driven by an understanding that currentmethods are insufficient.

It’salso driven by Finta’s personal experience, which highlighted thelimitations of consumer education.

As theformer supervisory special agent and founder of the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, he witnessed his own mother fall

the world, and we should do what we do best, and they should do what theydobest,” and “I do not think it’sa great idea to try and design aworld where afew countries say, ‘ha, ha, ha, we’ve won,’ and other countries are envious.”

n On work goals: “You really want to work at something you enjoy …Ifyou find people that are wonderful to work with, that’sthe place to go. …Don’tworry too muchabout starting salaries, and be very careful who you work for because you will take on the habits of the peoplearound you.”

n On stock-market volatility: “That’s part of the stock market, and that’swhat makes it agood place to focus your efforts if you’ve got the proper temperament for it, and aterrible place to get involved if you get frightened by markets that decline and get ex-

victim to atech support scam even though he had frequently discussed fraud risk with her Janet Finta, now 80, said about a year ago she purchased anew Apple computer.Aproblem arose, so she searched online forhelp. The first entry on her internet search led to an official-looking site that ended with acall to acon artist impersonating acustomer representative from Apple.

“I thought he wasbeing very helpful,” Finta said in an interview.“He was so nice.”

The impersonator kept her on the phone formore than an hour, eventually steering her to click on links to give him access to her financial accounts, which she later had to close.

“It’sanemotional roller coaster,” she said. “It takes your joy away.”

Even knowing he could help, Finta said his mother was reluctant to share whathad happened or file acomplaint.

“My own mother told me,after she tried to hide the fact that she was avictim, ‘Well, nobody was going to do anything anyway,so why even complain?’”hesaid. “But people have to comeforward, or else we’re never going to get our hands wrappedaround this.”

Email Michelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost. com.

cited when stock markets go up.

…Iknow people have emotions, but you’ve got to check them at the door when you invest.”

n On being prepared: Buffett’sheir apparent, Greg Abel, said: “While we’re looking at opportunities …wewant to act quickly,but never underestimate the amount of reading and work that’sbeing done to be prepared to act quickly We know that when the opportunity presents itself, whether it be (buying stocks) or private companies, we’re ready to act, and that’s alarge part of being patient —using the time to be prepared.” Buffett, now 94, announced at the meeting that he will step down as CEO at the end of the year, after 60 years. Abel will become CEO and Buffett will remain chairman, available to offer advice.

PODCASTER

recent interview at French Truck Coffee on Dryades Street “I can meet potential guests and build rapport with them over a cocktail away from the D.C./New York grind. And the cost of space here is cheaper.”

Busy days

After growing up near Denver, Miller attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and then began working in politics, eventually joining the communications teams of John McCain and, later, Jeb Bush.

After Bush’s exit from the 2016 presidential race, Miller signed on to be the face and voice of a conservative-funded, anti-Trump organization He spent several months criticizing the then-candidate on TV and online, so after Trump’s victory, Miller’s job prospects dimmed in the new Republican establishment.

Looking for a fresh start — and some distance from D.C. he relocated to Oakland, where he lived for six years, working in media, public relations and as a political strategist.

As his career as a political commentator took off, Miller found he was making lots of trips to D.C. and New York, and the cross-country flights were getting old. So, in 2023, he and his husband, Tyler Jameson, a government relations consultant, decided to head east, though not too far east.

“I refused to move to D.C. because I want a life separate from politics,” Miller said. “We love New Orleans, so we decided to try it.”

Miller first discovered the city in the early 2000s through a college friend from Baton Rouge Since then, he’s built up a group of friends through regular visits to town.

“New Orleans is the place I always went to have fun for vacation, and now I have to do my laundry here,” he said. “I was afraid the magic would be gone, but honestly, the opposite happened. We’ve been so happy.”

While Miller loves his new home, he hasn’t adopted the city’s famously laid-back approach to life. He wakes up around 6:30 a.m. and prepares for his first podcast interview of the day, which he records from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in a

An award recognizing The Bulwark for surpassing 1 million subscribers hangs on the wall in Tim Miller’s New Orleans home studio.

studio equipped with fancy lighting, sound panels, a steady cam and a green screen. The space is built into a small extra bedroom on the second floor of Miller’s Craftsmanstyle home.

After each recording session, a remote production team edits the content and uploads it to YouTube, Spotify, Apple and other platforms.

Miller, meanwhile, uses the rest of his morning to record shorter videos, reacting to something in the news or conducting a quick interview

He said he takes a “mini nap” around lunchtime, then leaps back into action for the rest of the afternoon, which usually includes a live appearance on MSNBC, more YouTube videos or guest spots on other shows.

Miller switches into dad mode in the evening to spend time with his daughter Toulouse and maybe catch a Denver Nuggets game on TV Later in the evening, he might make another cable news appearance. Most nights, he records one more late-night video.

Miller said his New Orleans contacts helped create the podcast. Ken Cooper, a college friend, built the studio. Musician John Michael Rouchell created theme songs for two of his podcasts.

Nonprofit no more

The Bulwark, founded by political strategist Sarah Longwell, began as a donor-funded enterprise. One notable early supporter is Kathryn Murdoch, the wife of Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch’s son James. In 2021, it became a forprofit business. The company’s primary source of revenue is paid subscriptions on Substack, a publishing platform that supports digital newsletters. Substack allows independent writers, journalists and bloggers to trade traditional media outlets and their ad revenue models for direct support from consumers.

The Bulwark’s paid subscribers on Substack have more than doubled over the last year, and now it is the second most popular content provider in the platform’s politics category Even as The Bulwark has grown quickly as an indie, it is starting to look and act more like a traditional newsroom. Its full-time staff is approaching 30 people, mostly working in D.C.

Miller joined The Bulwark full time in 2021 and has become one of the most visible faces on its growing YouTube channel, though the enterprise has multiple contributors. Among other well-known journalists on the team are former Politico reporter Sam Stein and managing editor Jonathan V. Last.

Miller’s focus on YouTube is paying off. In addition to his morning podcast, he also co-hosts a separate politics show targeting Gen Z viewers.

“Tim recognized that people are consuming news in different ways these days,” Stein said. “We had been putting out three or four videos a day, but we realized we needed eight nine or 10. It’s a big growth area for us.”

Paradoxically, President Donald Trump’s reelection in November has been a major driver of that growth The site began as a haven for “Never Trump” Republicans, but it’s grown to attract people of all political persuasions concerned

about the country’s direction.

“The election was very dispiriting for a lot of us, but it’s simultaneously a massive boon to the business,” Miller said.

Following the lead of other podcasts, The Bulwark will be exploring new revenue models by hosting live events. In 2023, Miller participated in a small gathering at Le Petit Theatre in the French Quarter New Orleans journalist Walter Isaacson and political consultant James Carville two national media figures also based in New Orleans were in attendance.

Bigger events are planned this year for Chicago; Nashville, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C.

‘Heavy social calendar’

After spending all week creating content, Miller said he and his family dive into New Orleans life each weekend, keeping a heavy social calendar

He appreciates the chance to get away from politics in a town that has other priorities.

“I don’t want to be in my little bubble,” he said. “I want to hear what’s happening in people’s lives. If I lived in D.C. or the Bay Area, I don’t think I could ever talk about anything else. Here, people want to talk about politics for a second then switch to music or LSU sports.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

From Gulf to Global Markets: HowMenhaden Powers theU.S.and the World

By Amanda McElfresh

amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

Thisarticle is brought to youbythe Louisiana CommercialFishing Coalition LLC

Along Louisiana’sworking coastlines asmall silver fishpowers avast network of food, health, and agriculture.Knownas menhaden, sometimes called pogies,this humble species forms the backbone of one of our state’s most valuable and least understood commercial fisheries.But the story doesn’t end at the water’sedge. Once caughtand refined, menhaden support industries acrossthe U.S. and around the world—from aquacultureand pet food to livestock feed and dietary supplements Each year,Louisiana’smenhaden industry generatesmorethan $419 million in economic output and supports over 2,000 jobs across32parishes.Its reach extends farbeyond the dock, anchoring avalue chain critical to national food systems and Louisiana’scoastal communities

Harvesting aRenewable Resource Louisiana is home to themenhaden fishery—one of the most productiveand sustainably managed fisheries in the world

Lessthan 2% of the Gulf’s menhaden biomass is harvested each year under sciencebased management, innovativetechnology, and strict adherence to state and federal regulations.The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certifies the fishery forits responsible practices,and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission confirms thatpopulations arehealthyand growing. Abundant, fast-growing, and naturally renewable, menhaden areanideal sustainable resource.

Twocompanies—Westbank Fishing and

Ocean Harvesters—operate fleetsout of Empire, LA and Abbeville,LA. Their vessels useadvanced netting technologytominimize bycatchand ensuresafe, efficient harvests

Once landed, the fish go to localprocessing plants to become twoprimary products: fishmeal and fish oil Processing for U.S. and Global Markets

During theproduction process, menhaden arecooked, pressed, dried, and ground into high-protein meal, while the extracted oils are filtered and refined. Nothing is wasted. The processisdesigned formaximum efficiency and minimal environmental impact,aligning with circular economyprinciples that prioritizefull resource utilization. Theseproducts arerich in omega-3s protein, and essential nutrients,making them ideal ingredients foraquaculturefeed, pet food, and nutritional supplements.Most product stays in theU.S.tosupport domestic industries,with the balance exported to meet global demand forhigh-quality, sustainable feed ingredients

Fueling Aquacultureand Food Security

As global demand forseafood continues to rise, aquaculturenow represents more than half of theworld’ssupply. Remarkably efficient, fish cangain one kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of body masswith just one kilogram of feed—makingaquacultureone of themost effectivemethods of protein production. Amajor useofmenhaden-derived fishmeal and oil is in aquaculture. Thesemarine ingredients areessential to thediets of farmraised species such as salmon and seabass, supporting optimal growth and overall health. Menhaden fishmeal and oil arealsousedin products likeartificial crawfish bait and feed

AGlobal Impact with Local Roots

PetNutrition and Agriculture

Menhaden plays agrowing role in pet nutrition. Premium U.S. pet food brands rely on menhadenfishmeal and oil for its high levels of DHAand EPA—types of omega-3 fattyacids that arenutrients thatsupport jointhealth,coatcondition, and brain developmentindogsand cats In acompetitiveglobal market,Louisiana menhaden provides premium and sustainable ingredients to U.S. pet food manufacturers, therebyreducingthe industry’s reliance on imports In agriculture, menhaden fishmealand oil serveasa protein- and nutrient-rich feed supplementfor U.S. livestock such as pigs, chickens and even horses. Louisiana Menhaden is ahighly sustainable resource that plays acritical role in U.S. and global food security.

While menhaden products reach customersindozens of countries,the biggest impact is felt hereathome. Their economicimpact starts in Louisiana.In 2023alone, Westbank Fishing and Daybrook Fisheries deliveredmorethan $36.5 million in employeecompensation—supporting hundreds of jobs in southern Plaquemines Parish, one of the state’s most economically vulnerable regions.In2023, OmegaProtein and its fishing partner Ocean Harvesters provided an additional $23million in payroll and benefits in rural Vermilion Parish, locatedinthe heart of Louisiana’s Cajun Country.Manyemployees come from multigenerational fishing families,and most arepeople of color—underscoring the industry’s role in providing inclusive,livingwage employment. By keeping processing local, companies ensurethatthe economic value stays in Louisiana

Connecting Louisiana to the World Louisiana’smenhaden fishery is amodel forhow local, sustainable industries can support national food systems while fueling global supply chains.Fromfeeding fish and petsand supporting exports,this century-old fishery continues to evolve—proving that when managed responsibly,asmall fish can makeabig impact As regulators and lawmakersconsider futurepolicy,it’scritical to recognizethe broad benefits of this working fishery.It’snot just about whathappens offshore, it’sabout howLouisiana’sfishing heritagehelpsfeed the country and the world.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Jonathan V. Last, from left, Bill Kristol, Sarah Longwell, Andrew Egger and Tim Miller, of The Bulwark, appear live onstage in October in Philadelphia.

forcatfish

fingerlings raised on farms across the southern United States.

Antifreeze: Firestone (all locations)

Appliances: Louisiana Scrap Metal Weekly curbside as Bulky Waste www.lafayettela.gov/public-works/ curbside-services/bulky-waste

Automotive Batteries: Louisiana Scrap Metal Most AutomotiveStores –Call ahead

Compact FluorescentBulbs: Home Depot Lowe's

Compressed Gas Cylinders: Ameri-Gas -2317 North University Avenue

Fire Extinguishers: Gulf Land Fire Safety Services,Inc.Carencro

Medicine/Prescription Drugs: Most Local Pharmacies Call ahead

RechargeableBatteries: Best Buy -Lithium ion only Batteries Plus

Motor Oil: MostAutomotive Stores Wal-Mart

Tires: Colt, Inc: 1223Delhomme Ave, Scott

Do your parttokeep Lafayette Safe &Clean!

Improper disposal of household chemicalscan posea threat to health, contaminate land, airand water supply andcause injury to staff collecting ourgarbage.

Chemicals Accepted

•Alkaline Batteries

•Chemical Cleaners

•Fluorescent Tubes

•Gasoline

•Herbicides

•Mercury Thermometers

•Paint &Paint Products

•Paint Thinner &Stripper

•Pesticides

•Photographic Chemicals

•Pool Chemicals

•Stains

•Turpentine

Will NOT Accept

X-NOAppliances

X-NOFurniture

X-NOTV's(any kind)

X-NOCRT Monitors

X-NOOffice Copiers

X-NOCompact Fluorescent Bulbs

X- NO Toner/Ink Cartridges

X-NOGPS Devices

X-NOMP3 &DVD Players

X-NODigital Cameras

X-NODVD Movies& DVRs

X-NOVideo Games

X-NOTapes,CD's, Disc

X-NOStereo Equipment

X-NOSpeakers

X-NOFire/Smoke Detector

Electronics Accepted

•Computer Hardware

•Computer Accessories

•Laptops

•Processors

•Networking Equipment

•CircuitBoards

•LCD Monitors Only

•Printers

•Fax Machines

•Security Systems

•Xboxes, PlayStations, Wii

•Cell Phones/Bag Phones

•Telephones, Cables &Telephone Systems

•Computer Cables

•Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

•Cable Boxes

•Also Accepting Glass Bottles &Jars

X-NOAutomotive or RechargeableBatteries

X-NOMotor Oil

X-NOPCB Oil

X-NOAntifreeze

X-NOCommercial Waste

X-NOCompressed Gas Cylinders

X- NO Medical Waste

X-NOMedicine

X-NORadioactive Material

X-NOExplosives(including ammunition)

See back page for alist of places to dispose of UNACCCEPTED items

Tattoo removal program changes lives

Medicalstudents getcrucial experience performing procedure

BY CALEB LUNETTA

The San DiegoUnion-Tribune (TNS)

CLOTTING CONCERNS

Doctorsoffer advice on howtoavoid bloodclots aheadofthe summer travel season

BY MARGARETDELANEY Staffwriter

Warmer weather andnoschool means more travel for Louisianans. These travels can take Louisianans to international, national or local vacationspots in the air or by car

However,those longer trips can give waytohealthconcerns: Developing blood clots.

Whileclottingisa normal processin the body —tohelp heal wounds, forexample —certain bloodclots in the legs can cause intense pain and swelling

Blood clots, specifically deep vein thrombosis, are blood-proteins that have turned from liquid into asolid,jellylike substance that can form in veins in the arms, legs or groin area on thebody

These clots, caused most commonlyby remaining in one position for an extended period of time, can travelthrough the body to the heart or the lungs to cause pulmonaryembolisms —a life-threatening condition.

Symptoms of apulmonary embolism include sudden shortness ofbreath, chest pain that worsens with deep breaths, rapid heart rate or coughing up blood. Both blood clots and pulmonary embolisms require immediate medical attention

Dr.Josh Sibille, Lafayette-born vascular surgeon in Louisiana, treats patients for this condition often.

Although deep vein thrombosiscan form in the arms, the legs are morecommon —and more problematic,according to Sibille.

Dr.Godfrey Parkerson, avascular surgeon, said blood clotsinthe arm are

Experts saypatients whoplan to travelonlong trips, whether in acar,bus or airplane, should be mindful to move the body at various increments during the journeytohelp avoid blood clots.

less common than in the legs because the blood in the arms does not have to travel as far against gravity to return to the heart.

Thusthe bloodismuch less likely to stagnate and turn into clot.

“Veinsinthe legs are much larger which can make larger blood clotsand larger pulmonary embolisms that can blockthe main arteries of thelungs and be dangerous or even fatal,” Pakerson said.

Blood clots in thearmscan cause swelling, pain or discoloration of the arms just like in thelegs.

“What we seemost commonly are patients who recently traveled. They spend 10 or 12 hoursinthe car or on a plane,” Sibille said. “Orfive or six hours on aflight.”

Symptomsofblood clots, specifically deep vein thrombosis, in thelegs include:

n Swelling in one leg

n Discolorationinone leg, typically redness

n Intense pain in one leg

n New pain or discomfort in one leg.

Thesesymptoms develop in amatter of hours. According to Parkerson, that swelling or pain typically persists or worsensthe longerthe persongoes without treatment.

“It does not go away overnight with sleep or withelevation,”Parkerson said.

Dr.BradVincent, apulmonologist in BatonRouge,saidnot allblood clots causepain or discoloration, but swelling

ä See CLOTS, page 2X

SAN DIEGO Since she wasachild, Maya Shetty knewshe wasgoing to be adoctor

She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her parents, whoare both primary care physicians in West Virginia. And she wantedtouse her future career to help underservedpopulations thatoftentimes fall through the medical system’s cracks.

So,asa first-year medical student at UC San Diego, she and five classmates jumped at the opportunity to volunteer fortheir school’s newClean SlateFreeTattoo Removal Program. The unique programatUCSD puts medical students in front of patients and in clinics as early as their first year

Startedin2016, theprogram has utilized volunteer dermatologists to help those impacted by thecriminal justice system improve themselves, officialssaid. But arecent growth in the volume of patients being treated at theclinic,aswellasthe number of medical students expressing interest in service-learning activities,pushedadministratorsto createthe newvolunteer program in 2023 to improvethe clinic’s flow and support student learning, officials said.

Shetty saidmedical students with her levelofexperienceare not traditionally working directly with patients and doctors, at least for afew years. The program has already taught them how to build relationships with patients and develop skills early on in aclinical setting —regardless of whether they end up pursuing dermatology as aspecialty,she said.

And while the students build their credentials, the patient who might not have previously been able to afford thetattoo removal —takes another step toward abetter future free of cost.

“Historically,tattoos have not hada very positive image,” said Victoria D. Ojeda, aprofessor at theUCSan DiegoSchoolofMedicine andthe Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health &HumanLongevity Science. “Some of ourclientsare looking to make a change in whatother people may see about them.”

Ojeda, who runs the removal program,said people come in because their tattoos are creating boundaries, whetheritbesocially or economically

For instance, some clients are looking for employment or to improve their financialstatus and

Sibille

HEALTH MAKER

La. nurse’s second chance sparked a mission to save lives

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Susan Foret was sitting at her desk in New Orleans, where she led a team of nurses in the oncology department, when a colleague said she had to leave early for a mammogram. Foret, a registered oncology and bone marrow transplant nurse, told her colleague that she hadn’t gone for her checkup in a while.

”She said, ‘I’m making your appointment now,’” Foret said. “Had she not done that, I would not be here today.”

Foret was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer shortly after, the most aggressive form of the disease. If Foret had gone to the doctor just two weeks later, her doctors said the cancer would have spread to other parts of her body

Foret received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from William Carey University in 1994, and her master’s in health care sciences from the University of New Orleans in 2015

”Seeing it from the patient perspective,” Foret said. “I was a bit of an empath before, but I truly saw it from the eyes of the patient, and the passion for my work was just so overwhelming.”

While she underwent her cancer treatment, which involved multiple surgeries and therapies, Foret went back to school and received a master’s for health care science from the University of New Orleans. She graduated on time, with a 4.0 GPA.

”School put me in a mindset where I felt like I was needed,” Foret said “And there was a purpose.”

Ten years later, Foret is cancer free and a leader in Louisiana cancer health and research in Baton Rouge

Expert

BY STEPHEN WADE

AP sports writer

Foret started her career as a registered nurse at Memorial Medical Center before moving to various positions in the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, then to East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie as vice president of oncology and lastly, the associate vice president of oncology and radiology at Touro Infirmary Foret’s 34-year career in medicine has led her Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, where she leads the Cancer Institute. After a year and a half as vice president, Foret has been making moves in Louisiana and the Capitol region to bridge the gap in communities for cancer care. Why did you choose nursing? What drew you to cancer care? I was a licensed practical nurse first, but I went back for my registered nurse certification and classes almost immediately I fell in love with working in oncology In oncology, you get to know the patients. The average length of stay is 30 days in a bone marrow transplant unit. As an RN in the oncology and bone marrow transplant unit, I really got to know not only the patients, but the families as well. I’m very devoted to the oncology patient population At Our Lady of the Lake, the leadership team, the commitment to quality from the nursing perspective, the physicians are all

outstanding.

There’s a great deal of collaboration, and it’s really and truly quality driven and outcomes driven to make sure that you treat patients as though you’re your own family You don’t see that everywhere.

Having had cancer, it has given me a different perspective when I listen to what patients are going through. I’ve been through it. I know what they’re going through, what their families are going through. It just means so much. It’s the differentiator, and we definitely have that here. What are your goals to move cancer care forward?

When joining the Lake, the biggest things we wanted to look at was our current footprint. At the Regional Medical Center we knew that we

needed to bring in additional medical oncologists. We needed to have a larger base of physicians to deploy, not only here, but at St. Elizabeth’s in East Ascension.

Between October 2024 until December, we brought on six new doctors two of them are bone marrow transplant doctors and the other four are medical oncologists.

We opened an infusion center at our Ascension campus, and we’ve already doubled our volume in the first month from 96 in March to 204 in April. And we’re still growing.

We want to be able to bring care closer to home, that is one of our main priorities to the community. A lot of those malignancy and bone marrow transplant patients would not have pre-

viously been able to get the care they needed.

Now, we have it here in the Capitol Region. Patients can go to their homes at night and sleep in their own beds, then come here to get treatment.

What efforts in clinical research is the institute involved in to push toward innovation?

Our first CAR-T therapy here in Baton Rouge will happen in May The young lady is a 40-year-old with lymphoma, with five children. She’s on Medicaid, which would have been really difficult for her to get this care. But it’s 100% covered by the sponsor, so she won’t have to worry about any finances that go with her treatment.

To me, that makes me realize everything we’re doing is God’s work, and we’re do-

ing what we know for people that would not be able. This woman would probably never have been able to get this treatment otherwise. From the research perspective, we’re continuing to grow beyond even CAR-T therapies with all kinds of treatment trials including Ascension, our partnership with Women’s Hospital and possibly Livingston.

We had our first bone marrow transplant in January By the first week in June, we’ll be up to nine bone marrow transplants, and by the end of the summer, we’re looking at being around 30 patients. All of those patients are able to receive this advanced care closer to home — the kind of care that’s going to be life changing and life saving.

gives tips on working exercise into a busy schedule

mentor.”

You’re too busy to exercise, right? Your job consumes all your time. You’re strapped by professional and family demands As you get more and more responsibility, your free time shrinks.

Well, these blockers don’t have to be an excuse. Making time simply calls for creativity and a broader understanding of how to get in daily exercise.

“The trap is thinking that exercise must be an hour in the gym,” said Charles Scott, who describes himself as an executive mentor or exercise coach.

His message is simple: If you have a very demanding job, you need to find a worklife blend

“An hour in the gym is exercise,” Scott told The Associated Press. “But it’s just one form of exercise.” Scott coaches about 70 business executives online and otherwise — and

other busy people to improve their physical and professional well-being.

He’s based in New York and is relatively hard core about his own exercise but realizes not everyone can be — or wants to be.

He’s planning to run across the Grand Canyon in June — the out-and-back version that covers about 46 miles. He also has guided his blind friend Dan Berlin on several endurance events including a speed ascent up Mount Kilimanjaro and tandem cycling across the United States with a team of blind cyclists.

Ambitious person’s trap

Rather than terming it exercise, Scott talks about teaching “intentional movement” to his goal-driven clients.

“The ambitious person’s trap is when you undermine your physical and emotional health in pursuit of your professional goals,” he said.

“It’s common in this culture among the executives I

blood clot has moved from the legs to the lungs or heart.

If these serious symptoms are present, it is important to receive immediate medical attention

Scott asks busy people to focus on something other than making money or chasing fame inside the profession. He said he tries to emphasize a holistic approach that includes the emotional, the professional and the physical.

“Our bodies need to move,” he said. “No matter what age you are, our bodies must move to stay healthy So if you’re not exercising, you’re out of alignment.”

Alternative exercise

Scott has a list of ways to blend movement into your day without needing a gym.

Of course, if you can hit the gym, that’s great, too.

He suggests doing one-onone meetings while you’re walking instead of sitting behind the office desk or laptop. Or, he suggests standing rather than sitting when you hold meetings.

“If you want a meeting to be short and efficient, choose the standing conference

room,” he said.

Or do isometric exercises during a meeting to tone, for instance, your stomach muscles.

“Tighten up your stomach muscles. Hold for 20 seconds and don’t hold your breath,” he said. “Don’t make it obvious Release. Do it again. You’ll be sore tomorrow It burns calories. It tones muscles. And it takes precisely zero seconds out of your I-am-too-busy-to-exercise day.”

Blend work, exercise

Here are a few more ideas about blending exercise into your work schedule.

If your flight is delayed, go for a walk around the airport and add to your daily step count. Link workouts to daily events. For example, when you wake up, always go for a walk. Or, when you get home from work, do a certain number of pushups after you walk through the door

Make a workout a social

event and do it with a friend or a group.

Give yourself the title “athlete” and build habits around that identity Scott is an advocate of experiencing “meaningful discomfort,” which he calls the “birthplace of resilience.”

Pay attention to the food you put in your body Treat your body with respect.

Take a quick break from answering emails and do 10 squats or pushups or whatever to add movement.

“In business, many people show up to work and they crank it out all day,” which he termed a “rookie mistake,” like a newcomer going out too fast at the start of a marathon.

“Then they go home exhausted and they are fussy with the people they love.”

The partitioning approach

One of Scott’s clients is Harrison (Harry) Kahn, the general manager of the Vermont Creamery an artisanal dairy

Rather than blend, Kahn uses the partition method and awakens at 5 a.m. to get in his exercise, typically running, biking, or popping on skis in the winter in largely rural Vermont.

“I kind of get in the me stuff before the rest of the house wakes up,” he said. He said his wife Elisabeth, teaches French. She sets off early as they both combine to get their two children ready for school — 11-yearold Iris and 8-year-old Asher “Charles has reminded me that life isn’t a game of comparison with other people,” he said. “You have to figure out your own stuff.” Kahn describes himself as a routine-oriented person who is comfortable dividing his day into chapters. Once he’s in the office, his attention is the job and 120 employees.

“I’m very focused when I’m at work, so I can get it all in as opposed to going in and out and having the day go on really long.”

is a very common symptom.

“You can do exercises to move your legs like calf raises or calf flexes,” Sibille said. “You don’t want the blood to just sit there and pool in your legs.”

n Raise and lower the heels while the toes remain on the floor

n Raise and lower the toes while the heels remain on the floor

about wearing compression stockings or taking medicine before departure. Taking aspirin to prevent blood clots when traveling is not recommended, the CDC said.

der n Recent surgery, hospitalization or injury

n Use of estrogen-containing birth control or hormone replacement therapy

“If you look down at your ankles and feet and no longer see bony archite cture poking through — you can’t see your ankle bones (because of swelling),” Vincent said.

“That’s a strong indicator of a blood clot.”

If the swelling doesn’t improve with ice and elevation according to Sibille, it is a good indicator that something else could be wrong, and medical attention is necessary Not all blood clots in the leg cause swelling or discoloration.

Trouble breathing, shortness of breath or sharp chest pain could be signs that the

“Anybody who has new swelling and pain in the arms, legs or groin should go in to be evaluated by their primary care doctor or the emergency room,” Sibille said. “It can be a very serious condition, but it’s also easy to rule out.”

A noninvasive ultrasound can find most blood clots in the arms, legs and groin.

Once a blood clot is found, the typical treatment is to place a patient on blood thinners for at least three months, depending on the severity and reason for the blood clot.

Preventing blood clots

Patients who plan to travel on long trips, whether in a car, bus or airplane, should be mindful to move the body at various increments during the journey

The sweet spot is to move the legs, standing up and stretching if possible, every two to three hours, according to both Sibille and Vincent. The blood in the legs can move in and out of the veins by compressing the muscles, and keeping the calves and legs in motion reduce the risk of clotting.

Parkerson also recommend compression socks, although they are only a part of the picture for preventing blood clots. Patients should also keep up their movement and stay well hydrated.

“Our blood gets thicker and more prone to clotting when we get dehydrated,” Parkerson said. “So drink plenty of water.”

Some stretches and movements to prevent blood clots in the legs and arms include:

n Tighten and release the leg muscles (both the calves and thighs)

n Manually massage the calves and legs to move the muscles around.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends high-risk patients to speak to their doctor

Other conditions increase the chances of getting blood clots, according to the CDC, include:

n Having had a previous blood clot

n A family history of blood clots

n A known clotting disor-

The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and reexamining tried and true methods on ways to live well.

n Current or recent pregnancy

n Older age

n Obesity

n Cancer or cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy

n Serious medical conditions like congestive heart failure or inflammatory bowel disease.

Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Health editions will also profile people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana. Do you have a health story? We want to hear from you.

FILE PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON

William ‘Ed’ Carruthers, a bone marrow transplant patient at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, walks on Feb 5 with his wife Ginny Carruthers, center, as part of efforts by Susan Foret, right, to bring more innovative cancer care to the Baton Rouge region.

Foret

Vincent

EatFit Live Fit

Cool treats, warm memories: Frozen delights youcan make together

Thisweek’scolumniswrittenbyBrittanyCraft,RDN,LDN,wholeadsourEatFitnonprofitinitiativeatOchsnerHealth.Whensheisn’tguidingourteamofdietitians astheypartnerwithrestaurantsandcommunitiesacrossLouisiana,Brittanyisnavigatingmealtimewithherpreschool-ageddaughter.It’ssafetosaysheknowsa thingortwoaboutbalancingnutritionwithreallife.Iamthrilledtohavehershareherexpertise—andsomesweetkid-approvedrecipes—withyoutoday.

WhenourLouisianasummerisright aroundthecorner,myfamily entersaphasewherealloutdoor activitiesmustinvolvewater—orbe wrappedupinunder30minutes—tokeep everyonecomfortableandingoodspirits.Of course,italwayshelpstoendwithasweet frozentreat.

Fortunately,mydualrolesasaregistered dietitianandamomworktogether beautifullyhere.Therearesomanyfrozen dessertsweenjoyasafamily—andthebest partis,wemakethemtogether.It’spart treat,partactivityand100%timewellspent. Threetreatstobeattheheat Whentheweatherishot,popsiclesarea must.Withjustablenderandasetofmolds, youcancreateyourownfrozentreatsthat easilyrival(andsurpass)thestore-bought kind.AndourEatFitCherryBerryPopsicles donotdisappoint.Therecipecallsfor cherriesandblueberries,butyoucanswitch upthefruitsorcreatecolorfullayersfor extraflair.Irecommendusing2%or5%(full fat)Greekyogurttogiveyourpopsiclesa smooth,creamytexture.

Yogurthasastarringroleinanotherone ofourgo-tosummertimetreats:Greek YogurtBark,whichisalwaysahitinthe kids’cookingclassesIteach.Therecipe requiresminimalequipmentandiseasily

customizabletoincorporatedifferent toppings.

Kidscandoalmosttheentirething themselves.Dependingontheirage,it canbeagreatopportunitytoteachsafe fruit-choppingskills.Ifyouhaveyounger kids,prepthegarnishesaheadoftimeand letthemtakethereins—mixing,spreading anddecorating.Trytoresisttheurgeto rearrangetheirworkandjustenjoyeach bite,evenifsomepiecesendupalittle heavyonthechocolatechips.(Also,be preparedforafewtoppingstodisappear straightintolittlemouthsbeforetheyhit thepan.)

Wealsomakeourownkindofice cream.BananaNiceCreamisa“nicer”take ontraditionalicecream.Aneasytwoingredientrecipewithnoaddedsugaror fat,itdeliversarich,creamytexture—noice creammakerrequired.Allyouneedisafood processororhigh-qualityblendertogetthat smooth“softserve”texturewealllove. Whetheryou’reinitforthecooling effectsorthekitchenbonding,making thesefrozentreatschecksalltheboxes. They’refresh,funandfullofingredientsyou canfeelgoodabout.Findtheserecipesand moreonthefreeEatFitmobileapp.Here’s tomakingsweetsummermemories—one biteatatime!

—BrittanyCraft,RD,LDN,OchsnerEatFit

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsnersEatFit nonprofitinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

CherryBerryPopsicles

RecipebyHopeFrugé,EatFit MonroeDietitian

Makes10popsicles

2cupsfrozencherriesandblueberries 1cupplain2%or5%Greekyogurt 2tablespoonsliquidallulose

Blendallingredientsuntilsmooth.Pourinto popsiclemoldsandfreezeforatleast4 hours,untilfullyset.

Perserving:41calories,1.3gramsfat,0.5 gramssaturatedfat,8mgsodium,8grams carbohydrate,1gram fiber,4.5gramssugar (0addedsugar),2.5gramsprotein

GreekYogurtBark

Makes12servings

11/2cupsplainGreekyogurt,preferably2% or5%fat

1tablespoonsweetener(honey,maplesyrup orliquidallulose)

¼cupdicedstrawberries

¼cupblueberries

¼cupLily’schocolatechips

¼cupsliveredalmonds

Mixyogurtandsweetener.Spreadinathin layeronaparchment-linedbakingdish. Sprinklewithtoppings,coverandfreezefor atleast4hours.Oncefullyfrozen,remove frompaper,breakintopiecesandenjoy! Storeleftoversinafreezer-safecontainer orbag.

Note:Youcancuttheseintoevensmaller piecesforafun,bite-sizedvariationfor yoursmallesteaters.Andgarnishescanbe tailoredtowhat’sinseason,yourfamily’s preferencesoryoursenseofculinary adventure—thinkcinnamon,mango,

BY THENUMBERS

pumpkinseedsorvanillaextract.Thesky’s thelimit!

Perserving:80calories,5gramsfat,2 gramssaturatedfat,15mgsodium,7 gramscarbohydrate,2gramsfiber,1.5 gramssugar(1gramaddedsugarwhen madewithhoneyormaplesyrup)

Banana“Nice”Cream Makes4servings 4cupsfrozenbananaslices (about2largebananas) 2-4tablespoonsmilk Blendfrozenbananaslicesinafood processoruntilsmooth.Addsmallsplashes ofmilkasneededtohelpwithblending. Thelessliquidyouuse,thethickerthefinal texture.Enjoyimmediatelyforasoft-serve consistencyorfreezefor1–2hoursfora firmerscoop.

Perserving:65calories,0.5gramsfat, 0saturatedfat,4mgsodium,16grams carbohydrate,2gramsfiber,9gramssugar (0addedsugar)

LOUISIANAHOSPITALS RANK 17TH IN NATIONAL SAFETy RANKINGS

Multiple times ayear,the Leapfrog Group, atwo-decades-old nonprofitgroup, releases hospital safety grades forhealth systems across the United States.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which are “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” classification, are given to general hospitals in the U.S.,focused exclusively on howsafe theyare for theirpatients Hospitals whowere awarded astraight “A” classification this year sustained an “A” in safetyfor each gradingperiod since at least spring of 2023.

The Leapfroggrading system uses more than 30 measures includingrates of preventable errors, injuries and infection and whether hospitals have systemsin place to prevent them.

In May2025, states withthe highest number of straight “A”hospitals,in descending order,are: n Connecticut and Utah (29%) n NewJersey(27%) n Rhode Island (22%) n Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia (20%). Twelvestates have no hospitalsreceiving astraight “A” status, according to Leapfrog: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, NewMexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming

The national averageis10% straight“A” hospitals per state. Louisiana ranked 17th in rates of straight “A” hospitals. Only hospitals whohaveearned an “A” rating for two

REMOVAL

Continued from page1X

are told they will be hired or promoted if they remove the tattoo. Others are attempting to distance themselves from certain criminal organizations, such as gangs that they are no longer apart of.

Officialssaidthey havenot

Hospitalswith‘Straight A’s’

This mapshows thepercentageofhospitals that havereceivedagrade ‘A’for safety for five or more rounds of grading. Ahospitalmusthavesustained an ‘A’safetyscore from Leapfrog since at leastspring2023.

n St.TammanyHealth System (Covington) n TouroInfirmary(NewOrleans).

Other Louisianahospitals received an “A” forthe spring 2025 hospitalgrades: n CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier (Shreveport)

Source:LeapfrogHospitalSafetyGrade

consecutiveyears qualify forthiscategory. In Louisiana, 14% of the state’shospitals sustaineda grade“A” forsafety sinceat leastspring of 2023.

Louisiana is tied with both Texas and Idahointhe national rankings.

These Louisiana hospitalsreceived straight“A’s”:

n EastJefferson General Hospital (Metairie)

had any patientscome for tattoo removaloverfearof immigration enforcement or deportation, but recent federal policy and national headlines have put thestigma associated withtattoos back in the limelight

“They’re trying to remake their lives,”Ojeda said.

“They can also have tattoos thatmight notbeperceived well, but they have no actualaffiliation.

According to astudy published by Rutgers University in 2019, 81% of minors involved in gangs have tattoos, and those youths hada162%greater risk of being rearrested within 12 months compared with youths without tattoos.

The program now has eight students —including two medical students who were partofthe original cohort ayear before Shetty

n Lakeside Hospital (Metairie)

n LakeviewHospital (Covington)

n Our LadyofLourdes RegionalMedical Center (Lafayette)

n Our Ladyofthe LakeAscension (Gonzales)

n Our Ladyofthe LakeRegional Medical Center (Baton Rouge)

—and they allassist with one to 13 laser removal sessions over multiple months, officials said.

By helping aformerlyincarcerated person remove atattoo that represents a past version of themselves, Shettysaidthe clinichelps remove some of the stigma they face in everyday life.

“There’s just alot that people go throughthat you won’tnecessarily know

n CHRISTUS Ochsner LakeArea (Lake Charles)

n CHRISTUS Ochsner St.Patrick Hospital of LakeCharles (LakeCharles) n Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (Natchitoches)

n Ochsner LSUHealth Monroe (Monroe) n Ochsner LSUHealth Shreveport— St MaryMedical Center (Shreveport) n Ochsner Medical Center —Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge)

n Ochsner St.Mary(Morgan City)

n St.BernardParish Hospital (Chalmette) n Terrebonne General Health System (Houma)

n University Hospital and Clinics (Lafayette)

n West Jefferson Medical Center(Marrero) Most of thedataLeapfrog uses comes fromthe federalagency Centers for Medicareand MedicaidServices, and in some cases, CMS does not publish adequate safety data on an individual hospital, accordingtothe Leapfrog Group Sometimes thehospitalistoo small to issuereliable numbers, and sometimes thehospitaldoes not offer services relevant to thesafety data.Grades are updated twiceannually,inthe fall and spring,and arefreely available to the public at hospitalsafetygrade.org

unless you ask or have the time to listen,” Shetty said.

“The program has opened my eyes …Ithink everyone should have an equal opportunity at afresh start.”

According to Ojeda,the tattoo removal process, which usually involves laser removal and multiple appointments over many months, can be expensive.

Ojeda said people who apply start by explaining how

they’ve been impacted by the criminal justice system andwhattattoos they’d like removed. If the applicant fulfills the criteria andis selected,theywill be contacted by the clinic to begin setting up theirfirst appointments, officials said. The clinic operates one Saturday permonth and serves approximately 25 patients each session,officials said.

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

From stroke to beautiful keystrokes

AshleyK. | StrokePatient

Ashleywasinherearly40swhenabloodclotinherbrainandblockages inhercarotidarterycausedhertosufferastroke.Ochsner’sexpert neurosciencesteamwasabletocareforAshleyandgetherontheroad torecovery.Now,she’sbacktoplayingthepiano,improvingeveryday anddoingwhatsheloves.Whateveryourreasonsarefordoingthethings youdo—we’veonlygotone.You.

Learnmoreorscheduleaconsultationatochsner.org/neuro

Fair winds, followingseas

Oldpromise drives twoBRmen to teachnextgenerationhow to sail

BY JOYHOLDEN Staffwriter

In afew shortweeks, theidyllic setting of aFalse Riverpavilionand pier willbecome asailing classroom. Shaded under the NewRoads Waterfront Pavilion,Bob Kennedy and Roger Seals discussedtheir plans for this summer’scampatLouisJ Thibodeaux Youth Sailing Camps

Kennedy,81, isaformer sales representative for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Seals, 85,isaretired LSU professor of civil engineering.

Thetwo octogenarianshavemadeit their post-retirement mission to teach sailing to kids to honor their friendand sailing buddy,Louis J. Thibodeaux. For three weeks during the summer on False River,Kennedy and Seals instructchildren ages 8to17onthe skills andterminology of sailing.

“They’re learning new things, they’re actually doing things,and they’re not sitting in front of ascreen or phone,” Seals said of the campers. “I think it really helps them develop cognitively,physically and intellectually.”

Kennedy and Seals both reside in Baton Rouge, but as longtime members of the Pelican Yacht Club, which was foundedin 1960, they spendtime meeting and sailing on False River throughout the year

Last year,withassistance fromPelican Yacht Club friends and volunteers,Kennedy and Seals conducted their first Louis J. Thibodeaux Youth Sailing Camp, which is inclusive and free forparticipants.The two modeled their program after other youth sailing camps around the country that can cost hundreds of dollars per camper

The False River sailing camp costs around $5,000torun,soKennedyand Seals have sponsors, including JJL&W Insurance Consulting Firm and The Hank Saurage Fund of theBaton Rouge Area Foundation. In 2024, the camp received a grant from the Boo GrigsbyFoundation and contributions from JJL&W as well.

Although the sailingcampcurrently takes place at the New Roads Waterfront

Pavilion, with cooperation from New Roads’ mayor,the sailing programplans to offer camps at MilfordWampold Park in BatonRougewhenthe dredgingproject is complete.

Thibodeaux’s ripple effect

As thenamesake of the youth sailing program, Thibodeauxwas afrequent sailingbuddy with Seals, sailing numerous bareboat chartersinthe British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Turkey,the Seaof Cortez and Saint Martin/St. Barts.

He was aformer LSU professor of chemical engineering who sailedfor over 50 yearsand introduced his two children andseven grandchildren to sailing.Now hisgreat-grandchildren are learning. Because of theprogram, Thibodeaux’s rippleeffect extendstoyoungsailors that he never met.His children, Michelle andScott, nowhelpout at thesailing camps Thibodeauxpassed away in 2020,soit took Kennedy and Seals over threeyears to get the infrastructure in place for the first camp in 2024.

“Part of thereason this started was that when Louis passed away,”Kennedy said, “his family wanted to do somethingmoremeaningful than flowers.Sothey asked people to donateto theLouis J. Thibodeaux youthsailing program.”

Seals usedthe donationstopurchase a fleet of four Optimist Prams, small sailing boatsbuilt to teach children how to sail, and appliedtocertify the programasa 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit corporation.

By the end of 2022, the sailing program became apublic charity. Seals purchased more sailboats and began developing plansfor theinauguralcamps. Kennedy, his close friend, gotroped in as his “sidekick” when Seals needed ahand in picking up some boats. He’sbeen by his side helping out ever since.

In addition to thesailing lessons taught at the camps, the program’sgoals include promotingand nurturing the development of leadership and teamwork skills.

Camp days

Kennedy thought it was acrazy idea to put an 8-year-old on asailboat, but the camp, and the campers, surprised him.

The five-daysailing campstarts with a swimming test andquite abit of “chalk talk,” knot tying and vocabulary under the pavilion. Safetyisamajor theme, and the campers must be able to swim 25 yards withalife vest on.

The second day involves an initiation of sorts where Kennedy andSeals taketurns familiarizing the campers with aPelican YachtClub“Flying Scott” sailboat that can fit about six children. They go out on the water withanadult and rotate taking turns on the helm, the tiller andthe sailstoexposethemto sailing.

Throughout the week, the kids split up into twogroups, one on the water with an adult and one learning underthe pavilion. After snacks andlunch, the groups swap, so they bothget pavilionand water time.

By the third day, the campers get out in theboats, capsize them andlearn howto right the boats. This happens in asmall

See SAILING, page 2Y

LouisianaInspiredannounces 2025 ENCORE Awards

Honorrecognizes extraordinary Louisianansover60

JanRisher

LONG STORy SHORT

When Istarted the first Postcard Project in 2022, Iexpected it to be aone-off thing.

Iwas wrong. This year’sPostcard Project begins with Memorial Dayand runs through Labor Day, Sept. 1. I anticipate an uptick in the arrival of postcards, but the truth is that these days, Ireceive postcards year-round from people Idon’t know —and each one makes my heart go pitter-patter.Just last week, Ireceived four from Dru Troescher

Because some people send postcards so frequently,Ifeel like I’ve gotten to know them —even if we’ve nevermet.

In the last few weeks, Ireceived four postcards from Troescher from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Arkansas.

The first was from the Ohio State Capitol Building. Troescher happened to be there on the anniversary of the day President Abraham Lincoln laid in state there for eight hours.

“He then continued on his train trip to Springfield, Illinois, his burial site,” Troescher wrote, adding that they were on their way to visit the Capitol building and Lincoln’sPresidential Library in Springfield next.

Once there, she found another postcard, but not at the state capitol.

“The Illinois Capitol did not have agift shop, so we went to the Illinois State Museum. It was free and very nice —lots about fossils and natural history.We’re on our way to Independence, Missouri, to see the Truman Library,” Troescher wrote fromSpringfield.

Idid not receive apostcard from Troescher at the Truman Library in Missouri, but she delivered in Indiana, but, once again, not from the Capitol building, which did not have agift shop.

The intrepid Troescher went to the University of Notre Dame and found abeautiful postcard to send, representing Indiana.

On her wayback to Baton Rouge, she stopped at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock and sent apostcard from there.

Her thoughtful stops and notes add to the fabric of this project. I’ve never met Troescher,but I appreciate her dedication to the project.

There are afew people who have, through the years of this project, sent so many postcards or such interesting postcards and messages that Ihave become friends with them —good friends, in fact. Just yesterday,Ihad lunch with afriend in NewOrleans who is adirect result of the Postcard Project!

Each summer,the goal is to get postcards from every state and as many countries as possible. Ien-

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Louis J. Thibodeaux youth Sailing Program director RogerSeals and associate directorBob Kennedystand recently at the floating docksonthe False River that theprogramuses in NewRoads.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sailing campers enjoybeing out on False River last year during the inaugural Louis J. Thibodeaux youth Sailing Camps.

PHOTO

By MIKE SCOTT

LSU instructor to lead aspiring business owners

Program helps high school students develop ideas

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

Native to Texarkana, Tex-

as, Casey O’Banion came to Baton Rouge to go to LSU in 2007. Since graduating in 2011, he’s had several positions in the area, including teaching English at Catholic High and creative writing at LSU. He worked for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber as the director of business retention and expansion and then as the director of entrepreneurship.

He has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from LSU, master’s degree in fine arts from Antioch University Los Angeles and University of Southern California, as well as a law degree from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center

O’Banion is a father of four married to a Shreveport native. He is also the author of ”Chinese New Year” and “Ant Hills.”

This year he was named CEO of Young Entrepreneurs Academy Baton Rouge, a hands-on program that equips high school students with the tools, mentorship, and experience to launch their own businesses. In partnership with the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business, students spend an academic year learning how to develop business ideas based on their passions, write business plans, pitch to judges for seed funding and launch their startups.

What drew you to Young Entrepreneurs Academy?

When I got into BRAC, business development was a new field for me. I really enjoyed it. When I was teaching at LSU, that was feeding that side of teaching and writing, but the Young Entrepreneurs Academy position seemed like everything that I’ve been doing.

Not only was it an opportunity to impact kids and

their futures but also to use my business development abilities and everything that I had learned at BRAC. I wanted to continue using those skills that I learned, like connecting businesses and making sure Baton Rouge was growing.

I’ve always said, ‘Wherever I live, why wouldn’t I want it to be the best place for us, right?’

If more people are hired, if more people come here, then that’s going to make it better for me and for everyone Young Entrepreneurs Academy is doing that, but it in a more direct way What do you think people would be surprised to know about the academy?

These students are creating real businesses These are businesses that they registered with the Secretary of State, and they’re going to continue running with the seed money that they win from the pitch night. They’re going to continue running in the future. That has a long-lasting impact. A lot of these businesses were things that our community needs, and they are starting right here in Baton Rouge — not only community needs for Baton Rouge but also for Louisiana, the United States and places around the world It’s very interesting and creative things that are happening.

What are you looking forward to this summer with the new group of young entrepreneurs coming in?

The summer is looking

like we’re going to be re-

cruiting different mentors.

One of the things the kids said they really loved was the mentor piece, where we set them up with entrepreneurs and people around the community who have run businesses and other things.

I really want to work on that mentor piece and make sure that it’s running on all cylinders and creating the biggest impact for the students.

Anybody in Baton Rouge could benefit from being involved, whether young or old — doesn’t really matter I’m looking for new fresh speakers, and we’ve had a lot of fantastic ones in the past. I’m looking to hear from all different areas of Baton Rouge and the surrounding area to expose the students to successes and failures and different paths that people have taken.

What is your vision for the next few years? How do you see this program growing?

As a teacher at LSU or Catholic or wherever I’ve been, one of the things that I’ve prided myself on is trying to create an environment for my students where it’s safe to make mistakes and it’s safe to fail and it’s safe to ask questions and try again.

That’s what I want for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, is for these kids to see, “Why don’t I follow this passion of mine to see if it leads to a viable business? And hey, you know, I wish I could do this differently.” Well, they can, because they are

only 16 or 17 years old.

I think anybody, no matter what career you’re in, if you could have looked back and had some practical, real experience in that in high school, it would have only benefited you.

I’ve never been a CEO or a president before this position. These kids are CEOs right now, so the things that I’m going through, they’re learning right now and they’re 20 years younger than me. They’re being able to pursue a passion right now, and it’s just something that I think is invaluable.

Why is this program important to the community?

It’s not a program that is available to only public school or only private school students It’s a program available to literally every student homeschool, public, private, charter

In my first class that I got to go to, a group of three kids started a business together One is public school, one is at private school and then one is homeschooled. Through YEA BR, they got to meet, collaborate and fail together

They got to try new things together in an environment that was safe and comfortable and innovative, and that’s what they did And so these kids are getting to

SAILING

Continued from page 1y

U-shaped space within the floating pier right by the pavilion. Kennedy says the kids love that part. By the end of the week, after sailing with adults and sailing in pairs, the campers are sailing by themselves.

“It’s rewarding,” said Seals. “It’s very rewarding that you can take them from a zero state to where they’re reasonably confident in the boats. It’s something. It’s stimulating to the kids.”

This summer, the sailing camp schedule is:

n Introduction to Sailing: June 9-13 and June 12-16

n Advanced Sailing: July 7-11

The minimum number of campers is six and the maximum is 10 per session. Registration is still open for people to apply at www ljtyouthsailing.org.

Part of something bigger

Liam Coenen, an 11-year-old from Baton Rouge, participated in one of the inaugural sailing camps last summer He says the camp made him feel good about learning a new skill. He is even going back for the advanced camp this year along with nine other camp veterans The advanced camp will include more challenging courses, races and rigging lessons.

“It’s really nice to pick up speed with a good wind and be able to actually control something and to go across the water without getting wet,” Liam said.

He’s looking forward to getting back out on False River for more sailing and more learning.

“You really feel like you’re a part of something because it’s in honor of Louis Thibodeaux,” he said.

Initially, the program targeted its recruitment efforts on youths in East Baton Rouge and Pointe Cou-

pee Parishes with a special empha-

sis on those from underserved population groups, which includes rural areas. Seals said that they have had campers from Baton Rouge Jarreau, Livonia, New Roads, Oscar, Prairieville, St. Francisville, Torbert and Ventress.

During the sessions, older campers sail on the Pelican Yacht Club’s sunfish sailboats, which are bigger to accommodate the teenagers.

Seals says that learning how to sail has valuable benefits. Not only does it promote physical fitness balance and coordination, but sailing also fosters spatial awareness, independence and problem-solving skills while connecting them with nature.

“The intellectual, cognitive, physical benefits and decisionmaking skills are valuable,” Seals said. “If you’re in the boat, you’re responsible and accountable to the rest of the team. You’re responsible for yourself, the other person in the boat and the boat itself.”

meet, cheer on, help out other kids from around Baton Rouge. These are connections they’ll have as long as they stay here.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1y

dimension to travel.

Rifling through the bounty of the 2024 Postcard Project, in which we received more than 272 postcards from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 34 other countries, I can’t help but be touched by the sincerity of the messages and amused by the obvious humor and ingenuity of some of the postcards sent in — not to mention being awed by the many vintage postcards people have sent in. As evidenced by Troescher’s effort to find postcards, the near relic from the past can be difficult to find. Last year, a guy named Michael G got tired of looking for them and started making his own. He sent me postcards made of the end of a Kleenex box, the front of a cereal box and a piece of a campaign mailer I hope some people this year will follow in Michael G’s path and make postcards from unexpected paper and objects.

A. Kern sent a postcard from Paris, saying, “I am an old, retired French teacher, returning to Paris for another visit.” Carla from Germany wrote a

year ago this week, on May 23, 2024: “Today the German Constitution, called Grundgesetz, has its 75th birthday.” She goes on to explain that the first sentence of the German Constitution is: “Human dignity is inviolable.” Just to be sure, I looked up “inviolable.” It means: never to be broken, infringed or dishonored. I like that.

Carla went on in her postcard: “Also, the (West) German state was founded today 75 years ago, thanks to USA, France and Great Britain after the horrible Nazi terror and World War II. I think our constitution can avoid another dictatorship and protect the democracy I think it is one of the best in the world.” Reading back through last year’s postcards makes me both grateful and hopeful — for the many people who took the time to send them last year and for the many we hope to receive this year Who knows where they will come from and what they will say? The postcard magic continues, and I can’t wait.

To participate, send postcards to: Jan Risher,The Advocate, 10705 Rieger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. The 2025 Postcard Project will end Labor Day weekend.

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

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Casey O’Banion, the new president of young Entrepreneurs Academy Baton Rouge

Zachary High School student Khaliyah Claiborne, with Superintendent Ben Necaise, is recognized at the Zachary Community School Board’s May 6 meeting for her BeatsbyKMarie business pitch and award at the young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge.

Students meet one another at a young Entrepreneurs Academy Baton Rouge class.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS A collection of postcards

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sailing campers enjoy being out on False River last year during the inaugural Louis J. Thibodeaux youth Sailing Camps

Duck huntingtradition healsdried-out landscape

By the early 1900s, it was clear that draining the swamps, bayous andbackwaters of the Mississippi Rivertocreate new and valuable farmland wascausing drasticfalls in duck and wildlife populations acrossthe continent.

BY GREG STANLEY

Contributing writer

Editor’snote: This story,created by Greg Stanley for the Minnesota Star Tribune, is part of the AP Storyshare. Louisiana Inspiredfeatures solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities —solutions that can be adopted around the world.

It was late in the season and most of the birds were gone. But there had to be afew stragglers out there, late migrators that hadn’tyet left for warmer waters

Jordan Lillemontossed his decoys into Lake Christina, afew yards from shore, and hoped that western Minnesota still had somegoldeneyes,ducks with starkblack-andwhite bodies. He was almost certain that sunlight would bring in hooded mergansers, smaller ducks that fly fast and dive and appear suddenly from anydirection, at any time, and are among the most difficult to shoot.

Kettle, his 7-year-old black lab, paused for amoment in the water, thenclimbed up to her platform next to the hunting blind andwaited for the sun to rise.

Nearly all of the wetlandsinMinnesota’sprairieregionhavebeen destroyed, drained away and turned into row crops by thousandsofmiles of ditches and tile lines. Manyof the few that remain —an estimated 5% of the total before settlement— were saved by duck hunters.

The love of birds, for sport and food, or simply for observation, hasbeenthe saving graceofthe swamps, marshes and shallow lakes alongthe MississippiRiver,fromits upper reaches in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa on downto Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Hundreds of species, including every kind of duck, goose and swan, need those wetlands, which rise and fall, flood and recede, to breed, forage and rest.

When wetlands are destroyed,the birds are usually the first to noticeably die off.

After 1918, waterfowlpopulations continued to fall forthe next 15 years, until thehabitat lossand over-hunting pushed several species to thebrink of extinction.

In 1934, Congress tried something new —and simple. Lawmakers required every goose andduck hunter over the ageof16tobuy a$1stamp.

All the moneycollected from the stamp would be used to buy and permanentlyprotect swamps and marshesupand down theMississippiFlywaythatthe birdsneeded to survive.

It worked. Through the first few years of the program,the United States and hunterswere able to save thousands of acres of marshes. Then tensofthousands.

Theducks almost immediately returned

The agency in charge of the duck stamp, which became theU.S.Fish and WildlifeService, started working with nonprofitconservation groups like Ducks Unlimitedtonot only save swamps but revive ones that had been destroyed. Ducks Unlimited would negotiate easements withlandownersand then remove drainage tiles, ditches and dams to restore thenatural flow of water to breeding groundsthat had been lost. TheFish and WildlifeService worked with Ducks Unlimited and other groups to buyand permanently protect restored wetlands.

Overthe last 90 years, revenue from the hunting stamp,whichnow costs $25,has saved about 6million acres of wetlands. Ducks Unlimited, which is funded primarily by hunters, estimates it has restored18 million acres in North America, the vast majority in nesting grounds for birdsthat migrate along the Mississippi Flyway, fromprairieCanada to theGulf of Mexico.

That’satotal area of swamps, marshes, bogs and shallow lakes larger than LakeSuperior

But it’sa fraction of what it was Lake Christinawas one of the most famedand productive hunting lakes in Minnesota in the 1920s. There were regular reports then of more than 100,000 white-backed

canvasback ducks dottingthe lake. Butby1959, that number had fallen to about 250.

Lillemon grew up on the lake, and seeing its rebirth helpedinspire him to becomea habitat engineer for Ducks Unlimited.

“It’shardfor me to hunt anywhere else,” he said,asthe birds have becomesoconsistent.

The waterline in ahealthy and functioning wetland needs to fluctuate, like lungs. Thedamage done to awetland when it is drained is immediate and obvious, likeair sucked out of acollapsed lung. The rich soil dries up and can be plowed and turned into acorn field. Butthe other extremeisjust as damaging. Wetlands can be flooded to death. This happens when dams, drainage ditches and tile lines force too much water into the system and don’tlet it leave. Imagine taking adeep breath and never being abletoexhale.

That’s what happened to Lake Christina.

As thousands of acres of what had been meandering streams and marshes were drained to build out the crop fields of west-central Minnesota, some of that water pushed into Lake Christina. The higher water levels allowedbullheadsand carp to thrive. They churned up the lake bottom,and it becamedark and mucky.Nativeaquatic plantslike wild celery died off.

The birds left. About 15 years ago, Minnesota

lawmakers funded apumping system in one of the dams near the lake withthe help of Ducks Unlimited and theFish andWildlife Service.

In 2010, the statedrew down water levels, allowing the system to exhale forthe first time in 50 years. Fish and algae populations immediately dropped to more naturalnumbers Sunlight once againreached the lake bottom. Plants started growing.

As thelake rose with therainsand snow melt of the following spring, thousandsofducks returned. Still, for every acreofwetland being restored in Minnesota,more are being lost.

The Supreme Court’s2023 Sackett decision hasalso removed federal Clean Water Act protections for wetlands unless they have acontinuous surface connection to navigable waters.Thatstripsfederalprotection from many shallow breeding ponds, which fill up with rain and snowmelt only in the spring.

Those ponds, called prairie potholes, will nowhave to rely either on state protectionsorconservation programslike those funded by the duck stamp Over the last 20 years, wetlands have been losingsome of their most ardent advocates. Duck hunting, as apastime, is in declinethroughout theirbreedinggrounds of the Upper Midwest.

But across the country,sales of the federal duck stamp have remained stable at about 1.5million

stamps soldeachyearsince2010

Some of thatisbecause duckhunting hasbeen growing as asport in the South, in places like Arkansas wherelicensed hunters have increased

It’s also becausetherehas been anew-found push amongbirders, those who observebut don’thunt, to buy duckstampstosupport the preservation of wild places, said Scott Glup, the recently retired project leader of theLitchfieldWetland Management District for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

“They take as much pleasurein seeing abirdasIdowatching my dog work afield,”hesaid. “If you want bird habitat,here’ssomething you can do. Buya duckstamp.”

The farmlandwheremuch of the losses have been is valuable. Some of it was drained by county or state governments for what was believed to be for thepublic good.

In November,Glupstood by the side of oneofthe wetlands he helped restore afew days before hisretirement. It took 15 years for the Fish and Wildlife Service to work out a deal with the landownerstoput a conservation easementonthe property.It’sstill owned by the farmers, but it can never be drained or intensively farmed again. How can youjustify taking land outofproduction?

That’sthe most persistent questionGlup receivedinhis 37-year career restoringwetlands.

Glup saidheused to dreadthat question fromhostile county boards andskeptical farmers.But thenhe started looking forward to it,after he hadhunted in restored fields, and seen all that they had brought back.

“We’re not taking it out of production, we’re putting it backinto production,” Glup said.“With these wetlandswe’re producinggroundwater recharge, erosion control, floodprotections, ducks and pheasants. We’re producingpublic land thatpeople cangoout and enjoy We’re producing pollinators.” Throughout his career,Glup was usually thefirst oneinthe office, arriving around sunrise. The Litchfield office is asmall building off of atwo-lane road that backs up afew hundredacres of restored prairie. During the season, he would hunt pheasantsoverhis lunch break in thatprairiewith Rica, the best pheasant dog Glup has ever had.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Scott Glupisseen at the Squashed Frog Waterfowl Production Area on Nov. 26. Glupisproject leader of the Litchfield Wetland Management District and is retiring after almost 40 years.

FAITH & VALUES

‘Playful’ approach to planning for death

Former theology professor’s program has new view

BY ELLIE DAVIS Contributing writer

Lea Schweitz has become a fan of and a facilitator for having conversations we all like to avoid.

She remembers that soon after her Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis two years ago, a caregiver told her she better get her finances together But between triaging her responsibilities and focusing on healing, she set aside the daunting “get your affairs in order” aspect of her diagnosis, she said.

Then, her 10-year-old’s friend showed up at her Chicago home on Halloween in a Grim Reaper costume.

“The whole thing was hilarious to me,” said Schweitz, a former systematic theology professor.

“It was this little snapshot of this long playdate with death that we had gone on.”

Soon after the Grim Reaper visit, Schweitz invited friends to gather and do the end-of-life planning she’d been avoiding. And in February 2024, she started her Substack, “Playdates with Death,” which aims to serve as a place for people from anywhere to come together and do the hard work of preparing for their deaths. The online community meets on Zoom once a month for a “community playdate,” which tackles one of 12 projects for the year, from obituary writing, to creating phone trees for emergencies, to funeral planning, to a Q&A session with an estate attorney Schweitz has started hosting

workshops on related topics at churches Americans are starting to talk about death in new ways. The growing death-tech industry hopes to streamline end-of-life planning Death Over Dinner is a project that encourages people to discuss death at their next dinner party And in February, The New York Times’ Tech Tip focused on digital estate planning.

Meanwhile, the International End of Life Doula Association’s membership rose from about 1,700 in 2023 to 2,296 last year

The death awareness movement of the 1970s and 1980s seems to have to morphed into the death positive movement today, which encourages people to talk about and learn to accept the reality of death, dying and burial — topics that often make people anxious or scared

Schweitz earned her Ph.D. in religion at the University of Chicago. Throughout her career, she’s long been asking deep, hard questions, whether about climate change, dementia or technology

Then, two years ago, at age 48, while navigating a job loss and divorce, the mom of two received her diagnosis.

“There’s a need to find playful ways to do this hard work in community,” Schweitz said. “Professional training helped me hold this space with people’s biggest concerns. As hard as it is, it is also life-giving and glorious.”

While “Playdates with Death” isn’t explicitly religious, Schweitz said many of the practices are theologically and spiritually informed, whether she’s leading a gratitude practice or an embodied movement session. Kathleen Garces-Foley, professor of religious studies at Marymount University in Arlington,

Virginia, has written extensively about hospice and efforts to improve end-of-life care by bringing “spiritual presence” to those who are dying. While there is no specified survey to ask people if they are interested in end-of-life information and care, she said that once you add up those seeking “death cafes, death doulas and death memoirs, you do get a picture of interest.”

“Using death as a spiritual opportunity for growth was a popular theme in the 20th century,” she said. “But the growing financial burden of end-of-life care is a big concern.”

For Schweitz’s workshop series at St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Manhattan, 75 people signed up.

“Doesn’t that tell you how hungry people are for information like this?” said participant Leah Heimbach “There were young, old, some in other states.”

The four-part series that started in January covers subjects such as “Finding your why and the big 3 of end-of-life planning” and “End-of-life celebrations.” Schweitz intends to bring the workshops, which first started with her friends, to different churches around the country

Among the participants was Courtney Behm, 45, who moved to Manhattan from Ohio four years ago and had been intending to update her life planning paperwork, she said. When she saw the workshops advertised, she said it gave her the nudge she needed.

Behm works in construction management, but her family runs a fourth-generation funeral business. She’s always known taking care of these types of things while you are still around can be a huge support for your family, but she hadn’t yet gone into

the details that “Playdates with Death” offered.

“Lea makes complex things relatable,” Behm said. For example, when Schweitz said on her Substack that an obituary writing lesson would be part of one of the church sessions, Behm decided to attend “It’s a powerful experience to write an obituary,” she reflected. “It helped me get grounded before I dove into the work.”

Whether Schweitz is leading in-person workshops or online community playdates, her goal is to “turn the volume down” on participants’ nervous systems when considering these tough topics, she said. She opens with a lighthearted check-in question and gentle movement, like chair yoga, before moving into the day’s task. She ends every “playdate” with a dance session hoping everyone will leave feeling better than when they came in,

even after doing the hard work of preparing for death.

Heimbach, 64, has a health care background and was intrigued when she heard about the workshops, she said. At a “celebration of life” session, her view on funerals expanded as Pastor Andrea Steinkamp told stories about various funerals at St. Paul & St. Andrew For one member who loved gardening, her memorial service was held outside at the church.

“My husband doesn’t make a big deal about what he’s done, but I intend to have a celebration for him,” Heimbach said. “That’s what I learned in the celebration of life session. Sometimes, it isn’t for you it’s helping the people left behind.”

Schweitz considers herself adjacent to end-of-life caretakers like death doulas and hospice workers but is clear that’s not the work she is doing. She sees herself as a community builder around end-of-life planning to empower families to take care of necessary tasks before things are dire, she said.

“It’s not necessarily folks who have gotten a diagnosis recently,” she said of her participants. “You have to want to be in this space if things are imminent, it’s harder to have that cheeky playfulness.”

She said the group is for people of all ages, and the hope is participants can stay relaxed and playful when having hard conversations because they practiced once a month through the workshops.

Earlier this month, Behm submitted her life planning paperwork to an attorney

“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “But you can see how much it can help others.”

Son of a Saint helps to build confidence for N.O. students

‘The world can be mine’

BY DESIREE STENNETT Staff writer

At 13 years old, Jayden Cavet was excited to be accepted into the Son of a Saint program. Coming of age without his dad, the program was a shot at getting a mentor who could serve as a father figure, guiding him as he grew into a man. The program, which was started in 2011 by Bivian “Sonny” Lee III, the son of former New Orleans Saints defensive back Bivian Lee, Jr., allowed Cavet to take a trip out of state for the first time. Since he was a wrestler on his Jefferson Parish high school team, Son of a Saint paid for him to join a summer wrestling camp that his family wouldn’t have been able to afford on their own.

Before being involved in Son of a Saint, Cavet thought he would skip college to join the military. After joining the program, he decided he wants to attend the competitive U.S. Naval Academy after he completes a year of Marion Military Institute in Alabama, which he will start in August.

A week after graduating high school, Son of a Saint is still helping Cavet toward his goal of joining the Naval Academy though the nonprofit’s ACT prep program, funded by Chevron.

“After going through college, I’d like to have a degree in electrical engineering,” he said. “But realistically, when I go to the military, I’d like to do Special Forces.”

But to get on that path, Cavet needs his score on the standardized college entrance exam to be as high as he can get it to make sure he can claim his spot among all the other students who have just as impressive grades, extracurriculars that show their leadership skills and recommendations from members of Congress.

When Cavet, now 18, took the ACT test for the first time two years ago, he scored a 27 out of 36. Since then, he has done a combination of in-person and virtual test prep. After retaking the test in September, he’s already been able to raise his score to a 31. He plans to study more and take the test at least two more times this summer in hopes of seeing his score jump again.

Building test-taking confidence

Cavet is one of 22

Son of a Saint mentees who logged more than 450

hours of ACT test prep study this school year

Jonathan Brockhoff, a 16-yearold rising senior at Jesuit who has hopes of attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used the test prep opportunity to take his score from a 22 on the practice test to a 32 on his first try on the real thing. He wants to keep studying and is aiming for a perfect score next time.

And Calvin Drake, a 17-year-old rising senior at Newman rose his score from a 19 to a 26. He decided to pursue a career in sports medicine after Son of a Saint got him opportunities to shadow athletic trainers with the Saints, Tulane and Ochsner over the past two summers.

Now that Drake has seen his score jump so dramatically, he’s aiming higher too.

“It was almost like a sense of relief,” Drake said after watching his score rise by seven points.

After all, his score on the test would, in part, determine where he could go to college.

“I had a newfound confidence in myself when it came to the

test,” he said. “I had a lot of that nervousness going into the test. But after prep and getting confidence in myself and just knowing how to properly take the test, after seeing my 26 and all my hard work pay off, it felt really good.”

As Drake gets ready to retake the test, he said he’s happy with the progress he’s already made.

“But I know I can get a much higher score,” he said, adding that he’s focused mainly on time management now His lowest scores have been in science, but he said it’s not the material that’s the problem. He just needs to build up his test-taking endurance.

Lot of time working hard

Building test-taking confidence is part of the magic of the Son of a Saint program said Jesse Weber, who started as a volunteer in 2021 and has since left his teaching job to work full time with the program.

“It feels really cool through time to see the longitudinal effect of someone grabbing their goal,” he said. “Somebody on their time de-

fining their own goal and then going after it then kind of exceeding your effort.”

Mentorship, he said, can take work making sure the students are showing up for their test prep sessions, making sure as they set their goals, they aren’t selling themselves short, resisting the urge to push the kids in a particular direction before they’re ready

But the moment when a young man starts to take the reins is always rewarding.

“I think I’ve spent a lot of time working harder,” Weber said.

“Then, as you watch mentees grow, I’ve watched them grow in ways I didn’t even expect. It’s really cool because you can see lessons that people learn in real time.”

Those lessons come from test prep, which is how Drake decided time management would be his next focus and how Cavet realized that attention to the small details would help him get a higher score. They come for the social parts of the program, too.

For Brockhoff, Son of a Saintsponsored trips already took him to Ghana, and this summer, he’ll

get the chance to go to France. With those trips under his belt, an out-of-state school is far less intimidating.

“The major I want to go into, aerospace engineering, is not available in the state of Louisiana,” he said. “I need good test scores so I can get scholarships out of state.”

The confidence to chase a dream is perhaps the greatest gift for many of the boys and young men who find mentors though Son of a Saint.

Drake said he’s grateful for the program and credited it for changing the trajectory of his life.

“Within today’s society, a Black young man growing up in a single mother household, the odds of you being successful really aren’t that high,” he said. “But Son of a Saint has completely changed that, and it’s opened up my mind to the idea that the world can be mine. I can take on anything in life and have the confidence to win everything.”

Email Desiree Stennett at desiree.stennett@theadvocate. com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Lea Schweitz hosts workshops to encourage tough conversations about death.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Jesse Weber and Jayden Cavet sit at the Son of a Saint office recently in New Orleans.

SUNDAY, MAY 25, 2025

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

word game

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

todAY's Word — QuALities: KWAL-ihtees: Inherent features.

Average mark 42 words Time limit 60 minutes

Can you find 56 or more words in QUALITIES?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Sudoku

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

wuzzLes

Perseverance

Today’s deal is from a recent tournament in India. South had beenastarplayerinIndiaformany decades, but he was in his 80s now and had lost some of his patience. He showed that in both his bidding and his play on this deal. South won the opening trump lead in his hand and drew the rest of the trumps. Seeing nothing better to do, he took the heart finesse at trick three and was quickly down one There were some extra chances on this deal, and expert discussion sorted through them at the end of the day It was possible that one opponent started with three clubs to the king and queen. After drawing trumps, South might have led a club to the ace and ruffed a club. The fall of the king would be exciting! Declarer could now cash two high hearts, in case the queen fell, and ruff another club. East’s discard would be disappointing, but South could now start to run his diamonds. This would be the position with one diamond to go:

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Take the path that has the most opportunities. Diversification is the route to your happiness. The more ways you can use your attributes, the easier it will be to find your niche. Put your assets to good use.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Review conversations and requests. Someone will ask for too much. Curb any inclination to be excessive or let situations spin out of control. Declining a deal that doesn’t meet your requirements will be necessary

On the two of diamonds, West would have to keep his club so would part with a spade. The jack of clubs would be discarded from dummy and East would have the Hobson’s choice of discarding a spade or a heart. 13 tricks for South either way!

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. ©

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Refuse to let anger take charge, even in selfdefense. Keeping the peace will separate you from the crowd. No matter who you are dealing with, a positive attitude will put you in command and turn you into a hero. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Keep an open mind, but refuse to let anyone take advantage of you. Look around you, consider what you are happy with make some hard decisions. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) An open conversation can help clear up a lot of uncertainty Prepare to ask tough questions, verify facts and make choices that will positively impact how and where you live. Opportunity is apparent.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Channel your energy into accomplishing your goals, working out and being the best you can be in all aspects of life. Refuse to let your anger and frustration mount regardless of what others do or say SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Set a tight schedule. The busier you are, the better Using your energy to get things done will help you avoid an argument. Physical activities and self-improvement projects will give you a needed boost.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Be receptive to change. If you go with the flow, you’ll find it easier to get

things done. Check for hidden costs and read the fine print. Invest more time in self-improvement.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Invest time and money in yourself and your surroundings. Streamline or update your surroundings. Do the work yourself, where possible. Romance is in the stars.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Refrain from taking on more than you can handle. Offering less and presenting more will lead to the boost you need to achieve your goals. Refuse to let anyone take advantage of you financially Play fair

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Emotional spending, indulgence and excess will lead to financial setbacks. Changing how you handle money will help you make ends meet. Live within your means. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Weigh the pros and cons of every situation and look for a unique solution. Set a budget and an achievable plan. Say no to excess. Romance and selfimprovement are favored.

1. Denmark. 2. Germany.3.Spain.4.Malta. 5. Portugal.6.Hungary.7.Ukraine or Bahrain. 8. Argentina. 9. Singapore. 10. Indonesia. 11. Cameroon. 12. Bangladesh.13. Liechtenstein. 14. Slovenia.15. Botswana.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

Saturday's Cryptoquote: Having children is like living in afrat house —nobody sleeps, everything's broken, andthere's alot of throwing up. —Ray Romano

jeFF mACnelly’sshoe/ by Gary Brookins &Susie MacNelly

FoXtrot/ by BillAmend