The Times-Picayune 06-11-2025 by The Advocate

Horseracingseason in perilatFairGrounds

Bill aimedat out-of-state abortion pill prescribers passes

Pregnantwomen cansue doctorswho providedrugs, performprocedure

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Abillthataimstostopout-of-state doctors fromprescribing abortion drugs like mifepristoneormisoprostol to people in Louisiana passed the Legislature on Tuesday Called the “Justice for VictimsofAbortion Drug Dealers Act,” the legislation would allow pregnant womentosue thosewho illegally give them drugs foranabortion or try to perform an abortion on them.

BY ANTHONYMcAULEY and TYLER BRIDGES Staff writers

The upcoming horse racing season in New Orleans is in peril after the owner of the Fair Grounds Race Course &Slots said it plans to give up its racing and gambling licenses followingafailedefforttoget state legislators to agree to asubsidy to replace lost revenue from slots.

William Carstanjen, the chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc which hasowned the historic track for thepasttwo decades, told the Louisiana State RacingCommission and state legislators in aletter dated June

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

The Hilton New OrleansHotel, which startedlifeinthe 1920sasthe Masonic Temple building at 333St. Charles Ave., has been sold for $47 million, ownerSunstone Hotel Investors said on Monday. The building, one of the ﬁrst skyscrapersto be built in New Orleans, was initially converted into ahotel in 1982 andlater operated as the Kimpton Hotel Monaco until it was damaged after Hurricane Katrina. It was reopened in 2007 as the Hilton NewOrleans andboughtbySunstone,a California-based real estate investment trust, in 2013 for $59.35 million The company said in anews release that it chose to sell the hotel rather than make any further investment in it. The company’schief executive,Brian Giglia, said it made more sense to usethe sale proceeds to buy backSunstone’sshares than to make the “cyclical renovation” in-

9thatthe company planstorelinquish its license to operate the track and its other 13 off-track betting operationsatthe oversight board’snext meeting.

The commission’sexecutive director,Stephen Landry,saidTuesdaythathe’sseen the letter but the commissioners haven’tyet set adate for the meeting. He said they expect it willbeheldsometime within the next 30 days. He declined tocomment further Thestalemateleavesindoubt the upcoming season, which normally begins on Thanksgiving andrunsthrough March.

FAIR GROUNDS, page 11A

Rep. Julie Emerson, RCarencro, aco-sponsor of the bill,saidinLouisiana it’salready acrime to provide drugs to someone for an illegalabortion, but the stateishavingahardtimeholding medical providers outside of thestate criminally liable forsending themedication to people here.

House Bill 575 creates an avenue to hold

MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana maybeable to speed up executions after the Legislature passed a bill to overhaul post-conviction relief, a mechanism where inmates seek to have their sentences shortened or overturned. Whiledebate over thebillcentered around capital cases, House Bill 675

STAFF FILEPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The Fair Groundsseason includes theLouisianaDerbyand

races that arepartof

BRIEFS

Barbara weakens

to a tropical storm

MEXICO CITY Tropical Storm

Barbara gradually weakened

Tuesday as it continued heading northwest away from land after earlier strengthening to a hurricane. The storm marked the ﬁrst hurricane of the eastern Paciﬁc hurricane season.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said swells generated by the storm system will affect portions of the coast of southwestern and west-central Mexico, as well as the southernmost portions of Baja California, on Tuesday Those swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Hurricane Barbara was located about 180 miles west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico. It strengthened into a hurricane on Monday, but its maximum sustained winds had since decreased to about 60 mph. The storm’s center was moving northwest at 8 mph. The NHC said continued weakening was forecast, and Barbara is expected to dissipate by Wednesday

The storm had been expected earlier to bring heavy rainfall to coastal areas of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states, with the possibility of localized flooding. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cosme strengthened slightly Monday but remained well off the coast of Mexico on Tuesday about 605 miles southsouthwest of the tip of Baja California, the NHC said.

Penguins show decline in region of Antarctica

WASHINGTON The population of emperor penguins in one part of Antarctica appears to be declining faster than previously thought, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery released

Tuesday

The estimated population of 16 penguin colonies — visible in satellite photos taken between 2009 and 2024 — had declined 22% during that period mainly because of climate change that’s shrinking the amount of available sea ice. It’s unclear whether this drop is seen across the continent, scientists said.

“Sea ice is very important for the penguins because they breed on sea ice and forage on sea ice,” said Peter Fretwell, of British Antarctic Survey, who helped analyze the data.

Scientists previously estimated that the total emperor penguin population declined about 10% across all of Antarctica over the past decade and a half. The latest survey included a region covering the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen Sea.

“It’s absolutely alarming that the numbers are so much worse than predicted,” said Daniel Zitterbart, a penguin researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who was not involved in the study There are uncertainties in the latest estimate. The analysis relies on a calculation of how densely the penguins are clustered in each area where they’re detected in a single satellite photo taken each year 4 dead in explosions in southwest Colombia

BOGOTA, Colombia — At least four people were killed in Colombia on Tuesday as rebel groups detonated bombs near police stations in the city of Cali and the neighboring Cauca province, according to authorities.

Military and police spokespeople blamed the attacks on the FARC-EMC, a group led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia who broke away from the group after it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016.

Authorities said the rebels placed bombs in cars and motorcycles that were parked near police stations. The attacks on the police stations come just days after Miguel Uribe, a conservative presidential candidate, was shot during a rally in Bogota. Authorities say they are investigating who was behind the attack on Uribe, who is in a critical condition in hospital in Bogota. Colombia’s government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia following its peace deal with the government.

Two Israeli Cabinet ministers sanctioned

BY JULIA FRANKEL and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway said Tuesday they have imposed sanctions on two farright Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The decision by Western governments friendly to Israel was a sharp rebuke of Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank and of settler violence, which has spiked since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, are champions of Israeli settlement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements there. They could now face asset freezes and travel bans.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the ﬁve countries said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous.”

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the two men “have been inciting violence against Palestinian people for months and months and months” and “encouraging egregious abuses of human rights.”

“These measures are directed at individuals who directly contribute to extremist settler violence,” said Canadian

Foreign Minister Anita Anand. “The measures are not directed against the state of Israel itself.”

Smotrich wrote on social media that he learned of the sanctions while he was inaugurating a new West Bank settlement. “We are determined to continue building,” he said.

Ben-Gvir, also writing on social media, said “we overcame Pharoah, we’ll overcome Starmer’s Wall,” referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Israel’s government condemned the announcement, which came as traditional allies of Israel escalate denouncements of Israel’s actions in Gaza, from the high civilian death toll to a monthslong blockade that led to famine warnings.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the sanctions decision “outrageous.” He said he had discussed it with Netanyahu and they would meet next week to discuss Israel’s response.

He said that the move threatened to harden Hamas’ stance in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Gaza and to cut short Israel’s operation in Gaza before it achieves its goals.

Benny Gantz, an centrist Israeli lawmaker an political rival to Netanyahu, wrote he “vehemently” disagreed with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir but said the move was “profound moral mistake and sends a dangerous message to terrorists around the world.”

Netanyahu is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year over alleged war crimes in Gaza, part of a global wave of outrage at Israel’s conduct during its 20-month war against Hamas. Netanyahu has denied the allegations and accused the court of being biased against Israel.

Former student opens fire at an Austrian school, killing 10

BY PHILIPP JENNE and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press

GRAZ, Austria A former student opened fire at a school in Austria’s secondbiggest city on Tuesday, fatally wounding 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, authorities said.

There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who had no previous police record. He used two weapons, which he was believed to have owned legally, police said.

“Today is a dark day in the history of our country,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker told reporters in Graz, a city of about 300,000 people in southeastern Austria.

He called it a national tragedy that shocks us deeply” and said there would be three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-staff at ofﬁcial buildings A national minute of silence is to be held on Wednesday morning in memory of the victims.

Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, over half a mile from Graz’s historic center, after calls at 10 a.m. reporting shots at the building. More than

300 police officers were sent to the school, which was evacuated Footage from the scene showed students ﬁling out quickly past armed ofﬁcers.

Police said security was restored in 17 minutes.

The assailant, who acted alone, was a 21-year-old Austrian man who lived near Graz, police said. His name wasn’t released.

Regional Police Chief Gerald Ortner said two ﬁrearms a long gun and a handgun — were used in the shooting and recovered from the scene, and that the assailant was apparently legally in possession of them. The man took his own life in a bathroom Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the gunman had been a student at the school and hadn’t

Wis. man accused of threatening Trump can be released on bail

BY SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press

CHICAGO An immigrant man who was falsely accused of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump can be released from a Wisconsin prison on bail, an immigration judge determined Tuesday Ramón Morales Reyes was accused of a writing a letter threatening Trump in a blistering social media post by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

The post includes Morales Reyes’ photo and an excerpt from the letter he purportedly wrote in English. But the claims quickly fell apart as Wisconsin authorities determined that Reyes, who doesn’t speak English well or write in the language, was framed.

The immigrant from Mexico was a victim in a violent 2023 attack where his bike was stolen. According to authorities, the alleged attacker Demetric D. Scott, forged the letter to try to clear his case. Morales Reyes was set to be a witness in Scott’s July trial for armed robbery and aggravated battery

Judge Carla Espinoza set Morales Reyes’ bail at $7,500 during a brief hearing at immigration court in Chicago.

“The defendant does not present a danger to the community,” she said. Morales Reyes, 54, appeared virtually from Dodge Detention Center in Juneau about 70 miles north of Milwaukee. He could be released this week if the federal government does not appeal.

An attorney for the federal government did not speak at the hearing. In a statement Tuesday the Department of Homeland Security said it would “continue to ﬁght for the arrest, detention, and removal” of immigrants without legal status but did not respond to a question about whether government attorneys would appeal Morales Reyes’ bail.

Morales Reyes, a married father of three U.S. citizen children, works as a

dishwasher in Milwaukee. He was arrested by immigration agents last month after dropping a child off at school. He immigrated from Mexico in the 1980s and doesn’t have legal permission to be in the U.S. This year, he applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who are victims of serious crimes. Getting such a visa can take years.

Homeland Security issued a statement to reporters last week saying that although Morales Reyes was no longer considered a threat to Trump, federal attorneys would still pursue an immigration case. The government alleges that Morales Reyes reentered the U.S. times numerous times without a visa.

However, Noem’s social media post blaming Morales Reyes for an assassination attempt, which was circulated by Trump supporters, remains online. Cain Oulahan, an attorney for Morales Reyes, said his client is a crime victim and blasted the misinformation.

“We’d like to hear an ofﬁcial public correction and that someone else is responsible,” he said. Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Morales Reyes daughter spoke to reporters, saying her father is hardworking and always focused on putting food on the table and keeping a roof over the family’s heads. She said he also loved to take his children to parks or for walks and planned frequent cookouts.

“My dad is a not a threat to anyone. He is a good man who got caught up in a terrible situation,” said Anna Morales. “Now that the truth has been proven, I ask from the bottom of my heart he gets the justice he deserves. We need him more than words can explain.” A hearing for Scott on newer charges related to the letter, including felony witness intimidation and theft, was rescheduled from Tuesday to June 23. He is in the Milwaukee County Jail.

completed his studies. He didn’t specify when the man left the school or at what age.

Karner said Tuesday afternoon that six of the dead were female and three male, but didn’t give further information. He said 12 people were wounded. The state hospital in Graz later said that a 10th victim, an adult woman, had died of her injuries, the Austria Press Agency reported.

Austria’s Red Cross said it had deployed 65 ambulances to the scene and 158 emergency staffers were helping treat the injured. In addition, 40 specially trained psychologists were counseling students and parents. The Red Cross also called on locals to come forward and donate blood.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAJDI MOHAMMED

An Israeli armored vehicle drives near burning tires during a military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KLEINE ZEITUNG

Police officers attend the scene of a shooting at a school in Graz, Austria, on Tuesday.

National Guard protects ICE agents in L.A.

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ, CHRISTOPHER WEBER, LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP Associated Press

LOS ANGELES National Guard troops began protecting immigration agents as they made arrests in Los Angeles on Tuesday, an expansion of their duties that had been limited to protecting federal property

Photos posted Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show National Guard troops standing guard around ofﬁcers as they made arrests.

ICE said in a statement that the troops were “providing perimeter and personnel protection for our facilities and ofﬁcers who are out on daily enforcement operations.” The change moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised.

U.S. officials said earlier Tuesday that the Guard members were authorized to provide protection and

secure streets and perimeters around areas where enforcement actions are taking place The ofﬁcials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, said the Guard members are not participating in any of the enforcement actions, but were providing security in missions in the Los Angeles area.

California Gov Gavin Newsom earlier Tuesday asked a federal court to block the Trump administration from using the National Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles, saying it would only heighten tensions.

Newsom filed the emergency request after President Donald Trump ordered the deployment to L.A of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines following protests of the president’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. The demonstrations in the city of 4 million people have largely been centered downtown.

Marines were not seen on

the streets yet while National guard troops so far have had limited engagement with protesters.

The federal government said Newsom was seeking an unprecedented and dangerous order that would interfere with its ability to carry out enforcement operations. A judge set a hearing for Thursday

The governor’s request said it was in response to a change in orders for the Guard members, who were originally deployed to protect federal buildings. The court documents said sending troops on immigration raids would only escalate tensions and promote civil unrest

The Marines and another 2,000 National Guard troops were sent to L.A. on Monday adding to a military presence that local ofﬁcials and Newsom do not want and that the police chief says makes it harder to handle the protests safely

Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith said Tuesday that the Marines deployed to the area

had not yet been called to respond to the protests and were there only to protect federal officials and property

The Marines were trained for crowd control but have no arrest authority, Smith told a budget hearing on Capitol Hill.

Insurrection Act

Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy mili-

tary forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations.

It’s one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president.

“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it.

We’ll see,” he said from the Oval Ofﬁce.

Later the president called protesters “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg ostensibly to recognize the 250th anniver-

sary of the U.S. Army Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth.

The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles.

Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on ﬁre over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and ﬂash-bang grenades.

The demonstrations have been far less raucous since. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids. Los Angeles police said they made over 100 arrests Monday evening, mostly for failing to disperse downtown. One person was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, and two police offers were injured, the department said.

Trump says he will ‘liberate’ L.A. in speech to mark Army anniversary

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — President Donald Trump called protesters in Los Angeles “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday as he defended deploying the military on demonstrators opposed to his immigration enforcement raids and as he vowed to “liberate” the West Coast city Trump, in his most aggressive language yet regarding the protests, used a speech ostensibly supposed to be used to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army to denounce the protesters while repeating his false statements about the 2020 election being rigged and attacking the previous commander in chief, former

goals, has used the recent protests in Los Angeles as an opportunity to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines over the objections of California’s Democratic governor Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on ﬁre over the weekend in Los Angeles, but the demonstrations in the city of 4 million people have largely been centered in several blocks of downtown.

most extreme emergency powers available to the president. It authorizes him to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations.

partisan, especially his comments on Los Angeles.

“I thought that was better left for a news conference than what we were celebrating today,” the 50-year-old said.

President Joe Biden. The Republican president, who sees the military as a critical tool for domestic

“We will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy That’s what they are,” Trump said Tuesday Trump’s heated rhetoric came as he has left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, one of the

Trump received plenty of cheers from the crowd, which laughed at the president’s jokes and delighted in his dancing to his campaign anthem of “ YMCA.” However some members of the audience were uneasy with certain aspects of his remarks.

Robin Boothe, who voted for Trump and works on the base as an audiology assistant, said the speech was “classic Trump.” However, she also found it to be too

The president called Los Angeles “a trash heap” with “entire neighborhoods under control” of criminals and said the federal government would “use every asset at our disposal to quell the violence and restore law and order.”

“We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean and safe again,” Trump said.

Trump authorized the deployment of 4,000 National Guard soldiers to the city against the wishes of California Gov Gavin Newsom.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

Protesters gather to denounce U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations Tuesday in Los Angeles.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump speaks at Fort Bragg on Tuesday in Fort Bragg N.C.

RFK aide attacks health system while promoting alternatives

BY MATTHEW PERRONE AP health writer

WASHINGTON Calley Means has built a following within the “Make America Healthy Again” movement by railing against the failings of the U.S health system, often pinning the blame on one issue: corruption.

Means, a top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr was hired as a White House adviser in March. He has used that perch to attack the nation’s leading physician groups, federal agencies and government scientists, claiming they only protect their own interests in the nation’s $4.9 trillion-a-year industry In recent interviews, speeches and podcasts he has called the American Medical Association “a pharma lobbying group,” labeled the Food and Drug Administration “a sock puppet of industry,” and said federal health scientists have “overseen a record of utter failure.”

Means, however, has his own financial stake in the sprawling health system He’s the co-founder of an online platform, Truemed, that offers dietary supplements, herbal remedies and other wellness products. Some of the vendors featured on Truemed’s website are supporters of Kennedy’s MAHA movement, which downplays the benefits of prescription drugs, vaccines and other rigorously tested medical products.

Kennedy has pledged to run the Department of Health and Human Services with “radical transparency,” but Means has never had to publicly disclose his own ﬁnancial details or where exactly they intersect with the policies he’s advancing.

“It reeks of hypocrisy,” said Dr Reshma Ramachandran, a health researcher at Yale University “In effect, he is representing another industry that is touting nonregulated products and using his platform within the government to ﬁnancially beneﬁt himself.”

In a written statement, Means said his government work has not dealt with matters affecting Truemed and has focused on issues like reforming nutrition programs and pressuring companies to phase out food dyes.

“Pursuing these large-scale MAHA goals to make America healthy has been the sole focus in my government work,” Means said.

Truemed helps users take tax-free money out of their health savings accounts, or HSAs, to spend on things that wouldn’t normally qualify as medical expenses, such as exercise equipment, meal delivery services and homeopathic remedies — mixtures of plants and minerals based on a centuries-old theory of medicine that’s not supported by modern science.

The business model caught the attention of the IRS last year, which issued an alert: “Beware of companies misrepresenting nutrition, wellness and general health expenses as medical care.”

Truemed co-founder and CEO, Justin Mares, said in a statement the company is “in full alignment” with IRS guidelines.

“Truemed enables patients to work with providers to use medical funds for root cause interventions like exercise and vitamin D to reverse

them. Means rails against big pharma and food conglomerates, two industries that he says he spent years working for as a consultant in Washington.

Means has no medical

training A graduate of Harvard Business School, he previously ran a bridal gown startup with his wife. On Wednesday, he’s scheduled to be the keynote speaker at FDA’s annual science forum, according to a copy of the

program shared with The Associated Press. He traces his passion for health care reform to the death of his mother from pancreatic cancer in 2021. Shortly thereafter, Means and his sister, Dr Casey

Means, took psychedelics together and had “a mindblowing, life-changing experience,” which led them to co-author a wellness book, launch separate health startups and begin appearing on podcasts.

PUBLIC NOTICE

and FDA announced plans to ban petroleum-based food dyes, in Washington on April 22.

disease under current law,” Mares said.

The full extent of Means’ potential conﬂicts — including his personal investments— are unclear because of his status as a special government employee.

Unlike presidential appointees and other senior officials, special government employees are temporary staffers who do not have to leave companies or sell investments that could be impacted by their work Also, their financial disclosure forms are shielded from public release.

“It’s a big problem,” says Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush now at the University of Minnesota. Painter and other experts have raised alarms over a whirlwind of Trump administration actions to dismantle the government’s public integrity guardrails.

Still, part-time government employees are subject to the same law that bars all federal staffers from working on issues that could directly beneﬁt their ﬁnances. When such cases arise, they must recuse themselves or risk criminal penalties.

Means regularly opines on matters before HHS, including rethinking the use of drugs for depression, weight loss, diabetes and other conditions. Recently he’s been promoting a new government report that calls for scaling back prescription medications in favor of exercise, dietary changes and other alternatives.

“If we rely less on our medical system, less on drugs, it necessitates the spiritual, cultural conversation about what we’re doing to our children’s bodies,” Means said in a recent podcast appearance.

Experts note that government ethics rules are intended to both prevent ﬁnancial conflict violations, but also the appearance of such conﬂicts that might undermine public trust in government.

“If I were running the ethics office over at HHS, I sure as heck wouldn’t want anybody going around giving interviews and speeches about government matters that could have an effect on their own ﬁnancial interests,” Painter said.

A rising star

Means’ rapid rise reﬂects the seeming contradictions within the MAHA movement itself, which urges followers to distrust both big corporations and the government agencies which regulate

Noticeishereby given pursuantto Article 7, Section 23(C)ofthe Louisiana Constitution and R.S. 47:1705(B) that apublic hearing of St TammanyFire DistrictNo. 2 in St.Tammany Parish will be held at St.TammanyParish CouncilChambers, locatedat21490 Koop DriveMandeville, La 70471July21, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. to consider levying additional or increasedmillage rateswithoutfurther voter approval or adopting the adjustedmillage ratesafter reassessment and rolling forwardto ratesnot to exceed the prior year’s maximum. Theestimated amount of taxrevenuestobe collected in the next year from the increased millage is $7,196,581.33 and the amount of increase in taxesattributable to the millage increase is $533,984.94.

In accordancewithLRS 39:1309, theFloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission hassubmitted an amendedbudgetfor theGeneral Fund and SpecialRevenue Funds forthe fiscal year ending June 30,2025. Theamendedbudgetdocumentsubmitted is available by all interested parties at thefollowing locationsduring normalbusiness hours beginning on June 5, 2025.A public hearing on theamendedbudgetwill be held at 4:30p.m.onMonday -June30, 2025 at theFlorida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center28526Highway190,Covington, La.inaccordancewiththe requirements of theLouisiana BudgetAct

FloridaParishesJuvenile Detention Center, 28526Highway190,Covington, La 70433 Livingston Parish Council, 20355GovernmentBlvd.,Livingston, La 70754

St HelenaParishPoliceJury, 1791 lHwy 43 N.,Greensburg, La 70441

Tangipahoa Parish Council, 206EMulberrySt.,Amite,La70422 St TammanyParishCouncil, 21490 Koop Rd., Mandeville,La70471

WashingtonParishCouncil, 909PearlSt.,Franklinton, La 70438 and at www.fpjdc.org/budget

FloridaParishesJuvenile JusticeCommission and Detention Center GeneralFund and SpecialRevenue Funds AmendedBudget

For theFiscal Year July 1, 2024 through June 30,2025

GeneralTax RevenueCourtCost

Fund Balance- Beginning of Year $400,000 $22,344,655$1,173,317

ProjectedRevenues$14,121,364 $13,286,952$ 300,500 ProjectedExpenditures$12,499,441

ProjectedFund Balance- EndofYear$ 1,621,923$22,123,896 $1,211,337

In accordancewithLRS 39:1305, theFloridaParishesJuvenile JusticeCommission has submitted aproposedbudgetfor theGeneral Fund and SpecialRevenue Fundsfor the fiscal year ending June 30,2026. Thebudgetdocument submittedisavailable forpublic inspection by all interested parties at thefollowing locationsduring normalbusiness hours beginning on June 5, 2025.

Apublic hearing on thebudgetwill be held at 4:30 p.m. on Monday -June 30,2025 at theFloridaParishesJuvenile Detention Center, 28526Highway190,Covington, La in accordancewiththe requirements of theLouisiana BudgetAct.The purposeofthis hearing is to consider afiscal Year Ending June 30,2026budgetaswellasthe amended Year Ending June 30,2025budget forthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission.

FloridaParishesJuvenile Detention Center, 28526Highway190,Covington, La 70433

Livingston Parish Council, 20355GovernmentBlvd.,Livingston, La 70754

St HelenaParishPolice Jury,17911 Hwy43N., Greensburg, La 70441

Tangipahoa Parish Council, 206E Mulberry St., Amite,La70422

St TammanyParishCouncil, 21490KoopRd.,Mandeville,La70471

WashingtonParishCouncil, 909Pearl St., Franklinton, La 70438 and at www.fpjdc.org/budget

FloridaParishesJuvenile JusticeCommission and Detention Center GeneralFundand SpecialRevenue Funds ProposedBudget For theFiscal Year July 1, 2025 through June 30,2026

Fund Balance- Beginning of Year $2,021,923 $22,143,896 $1,211,337

ProjectedRevenues$12,840,780

Other Financing Sources$ 0$ 0$ 0

ProjectedFund Balance- EndofYear$ 2,472,882 $24,348,616$1,490,587 Budget Message

As Presidentofthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission, lherebysubmitan amendedbudget forthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission which includes theoperationsofthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Detention Centerfor theyear ending June 30,2025, in accordancewiththe provisionsofLRS 39:1309. This amendedbudgethas beenprepared using themodifiedaccrual basisofaccounting

Theamendedbudget as presentedreflectsthe anticipatedresults of operations forthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Detention Centerand theFloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission forthe period July I, 2024 to June 30,2025.

Additionally, in my capacity as Presidentofthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission, Iherebysubmit abudget forthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission which includesthe operationsofthe FloridaParishesJuvenile Detention Centerand theFloridaParishesJuvenile JusticeCommission forthe year ending June 30,2026, in accordancewithprovisionsofLRS 39:1309. This budgethas beenprepared using themodifiedaccrual basisofaccounting.

Thebudget as presentedreflectsthe anticipatedresults of operationsfor theFlorida Parishes Juvenile Detention Centerand theFloridaParishesJuvenile Justice Commission forthe period July 1, 2025 to June 30,2026.

IslGeorgeR.Coxen

President- FloridaParishesJuvenile JusticeCommission May19, 2025

PROVIDED PHOTO By C-SPAN Calley Means, a key adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr speaks during a news conference where the HHS

Russia launches new large-scale drone, missile attack on Ukraine

BY VASILISA STEPANENKO and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Russia attacked two Ukrainian cities with waves of drones and missiles early Tuesday, killing three people and wounding at least 13 in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “one of the biggest” strikes on Ukraine’s capital in the 3-year-old war

The attack struck Kyiv and the southern port city of Odesa. In an online statement, Zelenskyy said Moscow’s forces ﬁred 315 drones, most of them Shaheds, and seven missiles overnight.

“Russian missile and Shahed strikes are louder than the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace,” Zelenskyy wrote, urging “concrete action” from the U.S. and Europe in response.

A maternity hospital and residential buildings in the southern port of Odesa were damaged in the attack, regional head Oleh Kiper said. Two people were killed and nine injured, according to the regional prosecutor’s ofﬁce

Another person was killed in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district, regional head Tymur Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

“Russian strikes are once again hitting not military targets but the lives of ordinary people. This once again shows the true nature of what we are dealing with,” he said.

Explosions and the buzzing of drones were heard around the city for hours.

POWs swapped

The fresh attacks came a day after Moscow launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war Ukrainian and Western ofﬁcials have been anticipating Moscow’s re-

sponse to Kyiv’s audacious June 1 drone attack on distant Russian air bases.

Russia has been launching a record number of drones and missiles in recent days, despite both sides trading memoranda at direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2 that set out conditions for a potential ceaseﬁre.

However, the inclusion of clauses that both sides see as nonstarters make any quick deal unlikely, and a ceasefire, long sought by Kyiv, remains elusive.

The only tangible outcome of the talks has been the exchange of prisoners of war, with a swap that began Monday for soldiers aged between 18 and 25.

A second group was exchanged Tuesday, focusing on seriously wounded and sick Ukrainian service members, Zelenskyy said on Telegram. “Exchanges must continue. We are doing everything to ﬁnd and return everyone who is in captivity,” he said.

Among them were soldiers captured over three years ago in the battle for Mariupol, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Telegram.

All of those freed had severe injuries and illnesses, including amputated limbs

and vision problems, it said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it also received a second group of exchanged soldiers in the deal.

Amina Ivanchenko was reunited Monday with her husband, a POW for 18 months, in the initial release. She said was grateful to Ukrainian ofﬁcials for supporting her

“My struggle was much easier thanks to them Our country will definitely return everyone. Glory to Ukraine! Thank you!”

Anastasia Nahorna waited in the Chernyhiv region to see if her husband, who has been missing for eight months, was among those being released in the latest swap.

“This pain is more unbearable every day,” she said.

“I really want to hear some news, because since the moment of his disappearance, unfortunately, there has been no information. Is he alive? or maybe in captivity? Has someone seen him?” she asked.

Anna Rodionova, the wife of another Ukrainian POW, also was waiting.

“I just want him to come back soon and for this to all be over,” she said. “We are tired of waiting, we come every exchange and he is not there.”

Weinstein jury pores over emails from accuser during deliberations

BY JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

NEW YORK Jurors in Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes retrial appeared to be focusing on one of his three accusers as deliberations stretched into a fourth day Tuesday, with no further sign of interpersonal tensions that ﬂared earlier The jury had requested to start off Tuesday with electronic copies of emails and other evidence pertaining to Jessica Mann the accuser with arguably the most complex history with Weinstein. Ju ro rs d el ib er at ed through the day, winding up with a request to rehear on Wednesday a key part of Mann’s testimony. Jurors also indicated they want on Wednesday to keep reviewing the emails and some medical records concern-

ing her reaction to news accounts of other women’s allegations against him. During days of testimony Mann said the Oscar-winning movie producer raped her in 2013 amid a consensual relationship that continued for years afterward. Weinstein’s lawyers emphasized that she kept seeing him, accepting invitations and sending warm messages to him. Mann said she “compartmentalized” the pain he caused her Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges in the case. In addition to the rape charge, he’s accused of sexually assaulting two other women, Mimi Haley and Kaja Sokola. Weinstein didn’t testify during the current trial, but maintained through his attorneys that he had completely consensual encoun-

ters with his accusers, who wanted his help building show business careers. Weinstein was one of the movie industry’s most powerful ﬁgures until a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him became public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo movement and eventually leading to criminal charges. The jury is made up of seven women and ﬁve men. Their closed-door discussions began Thursday and apparently have been fractious at times. Weinstein originally was convicted in New York in 2020 of raping Mann and forcing oral sex on Haley Sokola’s allegation was added last year, after New York state’s highest court overturned the 2020 conviction and sent the case back for retrial.

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Under crossexamination, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend testiﬁed Tuesday she took part in sex acts with male sex workers at the music mogul’s request because it made her feel loved by him, but now regrets what she came to recognize as the “cuckold” lifestyle.

The woman was testifying at Combs’ sex-trafﬁcking trial under the pseudonym “Jane” to protect her identity A day earlier, she revealed their three-year relationship stretched up until the Bad Boy Records founder was arrested in September at a New York hotel, where she’d been planning

to meet him. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafﬁcking and racketeering conspiracy charges that carry a potential penalty of 15 years to life in prison. He has been jailed without bail.

Prosecutors allege Combs used violence, threats and a network of employees and associates to control and abuse women for two decades. His lawyers have told the jury in federal court in Manhattan that although there was domestic violence in his relationships, everything he did sexually was consensual.

Earlier in the trial, R&B signer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura testiﬁed over four days that Combs physically abused her and that she participated in hundreds of

“freak-off” sexual performances during a nearly 11year relationship that ended in 2018. The Associated Press doesn’t name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent unless they have shared their identities publicly, as Cassie has. Teny Geragos, a lawyer for Combs, cross-examined Jane on Tuesday by leading her into discussing the drugfueled sexual marathons choreographed by Combs — which Jane said sometimes happened weekly — by reminding her that she mentioned regrets in earlier testimony

“I resent him for leading me into the lifestyle he led me to,” Jane said. “I resented the way he went about introducing me to this lifestyle.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA

People sleep on a floor as they take cover at a metro station during a Russian drone strike on Kyiv Ukraine, on Tuesday.

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ABORTION

Continued from page1A

someone civilly liable for providing abortion drugs, Emerson said.

“When doctors and pharmacies realize that this is athinginLouisiana and that they could be civilly liable, then they’ll stop sending them here,” she said, referring to abortion medication.

The bill the Legislature ultimately passed wassigniﬁcantly narrower than theoriginalversion.Both Democraticand Republican lawmakers had raised concerns thatpreviousversions were too broad and could end up entangling women and their medical records in lawsuitsagainst their will.

An earlier iteration of the measure wouldhave allowed “the mother of the unborn child” as well as the biological father and the maternal and paternal grandparents to sue anyone “who performs, causes, or substantially facilitates” an abortion forupto 10 years.

Now, only apregnantwoman herself wouldhavea causeofaction during that same timeframe.

Emerson saidthe father and grandparentswere removed from the bill over concerns that it could be difﬁcult to prove paternity and to avoidcompromisinga woman’s medical records in alawsuit.

Lawmakersalso narrowed the deﬁnitionofwhat would count as an actthat“substantially facilitates an abortion” for the purposes of suingunder the law

The legislation now clarifies that it would only include instances when abortion drugs were provided to someone in the state of Louisiana, and it would not include providing abortion drugs for uses that arelegal under Louisiana law

Aregimenofmifepristoneand misoprostol canbeused to terminate apregnancy,but both drugs have other uses, too. Mifepristone can beused to treat Cushing’ssyndrome,and misoprostol can be usedfor stomach ulcers andfor miscarriages,for example.

The term “substantially facilitates” is now deﬁned in the bill as

after the inmate completed their direct appeal.The ﬁnal version of the bill bumps that timeframe back to two years.

It also restricts shellpetitions, bare-bonesapplicationsfor post-conviction relief that actasplaceholders so that defendantscan come back later to ﬂesh out legal arguments.

The Senate softened some of the bill’smeasures through amendments. For example, an earlier version of thebill gave defendants until the end of the year to ﬁle fully “briefed” applicationsinplace of shell petitions. An amendment extendedthat deadline to July 2026. Another amendment allows defense attorneys and prosecutors to ask for up to three 60-day extensions on certain court deadlines

The bill originally would have allowed an inmateone year to ﬁlefor post-conviction relief aftertheir sentencewas ﬁnalized —that is,

Proponents of the bill, which was backed by Attorney General Liz Murrill, said it would give closure to victims and prevent them from having to wait decades to see perpetrators on death row executed.

Critics said it would create chaos in the courts and place too many burdens on prison-

“administering, prescribing, dispensing, distributing, sellingor coordinating thesale of an abortion-inducing drug to aperson in this state.”

Aprevious versionsimply deﬁned“substantially facilitates”as “administering, prescribing, dispensing, distributing, marketing, advertising, promoting,orselling an abortion-inducing drug.”

The ﬁnal versionalso says that Louisiana healthcare providers licensed to practice medicine, Louisianalicensed pharmacists in compliance withstate pharmacy board rules, anda pregnant woman herself could not be sued under theact.

The previous version would have allowed for somecases when Louisianahealth care providers or pharmacistscould be sued under themeasure.

Many Democrats still opposed thebill, however Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, this week called it “pretty horrific” during Senatefloor debate.

“Wealreadyhavethe most restrictive laws on thebooksasit

erswho typically have few resources to pursue postconviction claims.

HB675 passedthe Senate by a28-11 vote, withDemocrats opposed.

TheHouse agreed to the amendments on Tuesday on avote of 82-13. The bill still needsGov.JeffLandry’s signature before becoming law

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

relates to abortion,” he said. He argued that “year after year,” the Legislature returns to further restrict women’sautonomy and healthcare,and drives health care professionals and young people out of Louisiana.

Last year,lawmakers added mifepristone and misoprostol to the state’slist of controlled dangerous substances. Theyalso created the crimeof“coerced criminal abortion,” when someonegivesapregnant woman an abortion-inducing drug without her consent.

This year,Emerson, bill sponsor Rep.Lauren Ventrella, RGreenwell Springs, and Louisiana AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill have all argued that Louisiana law containsaloophole allowing outof-state doctors to prescribe abortion drugs forpregnant women in Louisiana.

While presenting the measure on the House floor last month, Ventrella linkedthe need forthe law to thecaseofNew York doctor Margaret “Maggie” Carpenter Carpenter earlier this year faced afelony indictment in West Baton

Rouge for allegedly prescribing abortion drugs that resulted in the termination of aPort Allen teenager’spregnancy.The case against Carpenter is at astandstill, however,asNew York Gov.Kathy Hochul has blocked Louisiana’sattempts to extradite her “Ifdoctorsare going to come to our state and harm our people and ourunborn children —who we do recognize as life—then they need to think twice about coming into ourstate,” Ventrellatoldher colleagues.

Murrill spokeinsupport of the measure during two public hearings on the bill this session.

“There areactivists whoare intent on sending these pills to people through the mail,” Murrill said last month at ameeting before aHouse committee. “This bill providesfor civil liability and allows anothermechanism —itis anothertool in the toolbox—for people who are harmed by somebody who is intentonviolating our laws.”

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

Israel deportsactivistThunbergafter

BY ISAACSCHARF and AREEJ HAZBOUN Associated Press

JERUSALEM Israeldeported activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, aday after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by theIsraeli military Speakingupon arrivalinParis en route to her home country of Sweden, Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Madleen. She described a“quite chaotic and uncertain” situation during the detention. The conditionsthey faced “are absolutelynothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now,” she said. The trip was meant

HOTEL

Continued from page1A

stock near current levels willgenerally represent a more accretive allocation of capital for our shareholders.”

Sunstone didn’tdisclose thenameofthe buyerand public records of the sale are not yet available.

‘Good time to buy’

Giglia noted that Sunstone still owns the “well-located”

JW Marriott hotel in the 600 block of Canal Street. The JW Marriott has just over 500 rooms, comparedwith 252 rooms forthe Hilton on St. Charles.

Sunstone is typical of publicly owned hotel operators in that it has been showing steady recovery in its ﬁnancial performance after the hit from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2021. Also likeother operators, it has beenselling off properties that have been deemedto be underperforming, especially whenthey are in need of repair or renovation.

Sunstone, for example, posted asolid 8% rise in revenue in the first three

to protest Israeli restrictionson aidtoGaza’spopulation of over 2million people after 20 months of war,according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey “Wewere well aware of the risks of this mission,” Thunberg said. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able todistributethe aid.”She said the activists would continue tryingtoget aid to Gaza.

On Monday, U.S. PresidentDonaldTrump calledThunberg “a youngangry person” andrecommended she takeanger management classes.

“I think the world need alot more youngangry women,”Thunberg said Tuesdayinresponse.

Thunbergsaid it appeared she was headedback to Sweden,hadn’t

“This isagood time to buy ahotel in New Orleans. There are reasonablevalues, a limited new supply of hotel rooms anda stacked convention calendar for nextyear.”

LEN WORMSER, senior vice president for HospitalityRealEstate Counselors, ahotel property brokerage

months of this year,to $234 million.But it reported a 60% drop innet income, to $5.3 million,mainly because of depreciation in the value of assets that need an upgrade, like theHilton New Orleans.

The sale priceand earnings multiple Sunstone reported for Hilton meant thehotel’s net earningslast yearwere about $18,400 per room, which would put it at thelower end of hotels in its category,according to real estate consultantCBRE.

“This is agood time to buy ahotelinNew Orleans,” said Len Wormser,senior vice president for Hospitality Real Estate Counselors,

hadaccesstoa phone in afew days and wanted ashower.The activists were held separately and some had trouble accessinglawyers, she added.

Asked whyshe agreed to deportation, she said, “Why wouldI want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?”

Thunberg called on supporters to asktheir governments“to demand notonly humanitarianaid being letinto Gaza but most importantly an end to the occupation and an end to the systemicoppression andviolencethatPalestinians are facing on an everyday basis.”

She said recognizing Palestine is “the very,very,very minimum” that governments can do to help. Thunberg was oneof12passengers on the Madleen. Israeli naval

ahotel propertybrokerage.

“There are reasonable values, alimited new supply of hotel rooms and astacked convention calendar for next year.”

Rich history

The building itself has deep roots in New Orleans andisconsidered a“NeoGothic” architectural gem.

The 18-story structure, completed in 1926, wasthe thirditeration of thetemple of the Grand Lodge of Free andAccepted Masons, which first leased the formerCommercialExchange on the site in 1845, according to the Preservation Resource Center Abuilding designed by James Freret —which the Daily Picayune described as “14th-centuryGothic” lasted on the site from 1892 until the Freemasonsdecided to go in amodern mixedusedirection andreplace it with the current building. It was at the time the secondlargestlodge in thenation,

forces seized the boat without incident early Monday about 125 miles off Gaza.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, alongwith rightsgroups, said Israel’sactions in international waters were aviolation of international law.Israel rejects that charge, saying such ships intend to breach what it argues is alawful naval blockade of Gaza.

Israel viewed the ship as apublicity stunt, calling it the“selfie yacht”with a“meager” amount of aidthat amounted to less than atruckload

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said three activists, including Thunberg, had been deported along with ajournalist. It said it hadencouragedsome to do it so they could speak freely about their

experiences.

“Their detentionisunlawful, politically motivated and adirect violation of international law,” the coalition said in astatement. Eight otherpassengers refuseddeportation and are being detained at Givon prison in Ramle. On Tuesday,Israeli authorities heard their cases at adetention tribunal.

“Weargued today,and that also was emphasized by all the activists, that their goal is to enter humanitarianaid to Gaza,toend the famine and to end agenocide in Gaza,” said Lubna Tuma, alawyer with legalrightsgroupAdalah, whoisrepresenting the activists.

“Any violation or any prohibition to entering the humanitarian aid to Gaza is deepening the complicity of Israel in the famine in Gaza.”

NEWS 24/7

With Father’s Day aroundthe corner andJune being Men’sHealthMonth, it’s the perfect time to check in on your health. Many men admit they’remorelikely to tackle chores than schedule adoctor’s visit—but prioritizing your well-beingisone of

costing $3 million —about $52 millionin2025 —for 103,000 squarefeet, accord-

Luke, aCreole brasserie owned by BRG Hospitality, occupies the hotel’scorner space at St. Charles Avenue

and Perdido Street, where a Cadillac and bicycle dealership once operated whenit wasalodge.

Disney taking full control of Hulu

Disney will pay Comcast’s

NBCUniversal nearly $439 million for its stake in Hulu, taking full control of the streaming service.

The move closes out an appraisal process that’s dragged on for a few years. Disney said in November 2023 that it was acquiring a 33% stake in Hulu from Comcast for at least $8.6 billion. That amount reflected Hulu’s guaranteed floor value of $27.5 billion, according to a regulatory filing. Disney has run Hulu since 2019, when Comcast ceded its authority to Disney and effectively became a silent partner Hulu began in 2007 and quickly evolved into as a service backed by entertainment conglomerates who hoped to stave off the internet with an online platform for their own TV shows Disney joined in 2009, planning to offer shows from ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel. A decade later, Disney gained majority control of the business when it acquired 21st Century Fox.

Disney said in a regulatory ﬁling on Monday that its appraiser arrived at a valuation below the guaranteed floor value during the initial phase of the appraisal process, while NBCUniversal’s appraiser arrived at a valuation substantially in excess of the guaranteed ﬂoor value. A third appraiser was brought in and concluded that The Walt Disney Co. will pay $438.7 million for the Hulu stake.

The transaction is anticipated to close by July 24.

MLB acquires stake in Jomboy Media

NEW YORK Major League Baseball has agreed on a strategic partnership with Jomboy Media and will acquire a stake in the company The two sides announced the deal on Tuesday Jomboy Media will be used across MLB’s digital channels. MLB will also help grow Jomboy Media’s other shows, including “Talkin’ Baseball,” “Talkin’ Yanks” and “The Warehouse Games.” According to the release, Jomboy Media set revenue and proﬁtability records last year and had more than 93 million engagements on social media. Jomboy Media was founded in 2017.

Game app accused of promoting revolution HONG KONG Hong Kong police on Tuesday accused a mobile game application of advocating armed revolution and promoting secessionist agendas, saying that those who publish it or share it with others online may risk violating national security laws

The announcement — the ﬁrst to publicly denounce a gaming app — indicates that authorities are widening the crackdown that has followed anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities have crushed or silenced many dissenting voices through prosecutions under the 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing and a similar, homegrown law enacted last year

In a statement, police warned residents against downloading the “Reversed Front: Bonfire” application, saying those with the app installed might be seen as possessing a publication with a seditious intention. They also warned people against providing financial assistance to the application developer, including making in-app purchases.

The game application was developed by ESC Taiwan, which did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment. On the application’s Facebook page, the developer posted about surging searches for the game name and a Hong Kong broadcaster’s news report about Tuesday’s development. According to the application’s introduction, players can assume the role of Hong Kong, Tibet, Uyghur, Taiwan or Cathaysian Rebel factions, among others, to overthrow the communist regime. They may also choose to lead the communists to defeat all enemies.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

World Bank downgrades economic forecast

Citing ‘a substantial rise in trade barriers,’ the 189-country lender World Bank predicted that the U.S. economy — the world’s largest — would grow half as fast (1.4%) this year as it did in 2024 (2.8%) That marked a downgrade from the 2.3% U.S growth it had forecast for 2025 back in January.

Trade wars cited as reason, but Trump not mentioned by

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s trade wars are expected to slash economic growth this year in the United States and around the world, the World Bank forecast Tuesday

Citing “a substantial rise in trade barriers” but without mentioning Trump by name, the 189-country lender predicted that the U.S. economy — the world’s largest would grow half as fast (1.4%) this year as it did in 2024 (2.8%). That marked a downgrade from the 2.3% U.S. growth it had forecast for 2025 back in January

The bank also lopped 0.4 percentage points off its forecast for global growth this year. It now expects the world economy to expand just 2.3% in 2025, down from 2.8% in 2024.

In a forward to the latest version of the twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill wrote that the global econo-

name

my has missed its chance for the “soft landing” — slowing enough to tame inﬂation without generating serious pain it appeared headed for just six months ago. “The world economy today is once more running into turbulence,” Gill wrote. “Without a swift course correction, the harm to living standards could be deep.”

America’s economic prospects have been clouded by Trump’s erratic and aggressive trade policies, including 10% taxes — tariffs — on imports from almost every country in the world. These levies drive up costs in the U.S and invite retaliation from other countries.

The Chinese economy is forecast to see growth slow from 5% in 2024 to 4.5% this year and 4% next. The world’s second-largest economy has been hobbled by the tariffs that Trump has imposed on its exports, by the collapse of its real estate market and by an aging workforce.

The World Bank expects

the 20 European countries that share the euro currency to collectively grow just 0.7% this year, down from an already lackluster 0.9% in 2024. Trump’s tariffs are expected to hurt European exports. And the unpredictable way he rolls them out — announcing them, suspending them, coming up with new ones — has created uncertainty that discourages business investment. India is once again expected to be the world’s fastestgrowing major economy, expanding at a 6.3% clip this year But that’s down from 6.5% in 2024 and from the 6.7% the bank had forecast for 2025 in January In Japan, economic growth is expected to accelerate this year — but only from 0.2% in 2024 to a sluggish 0.7% this year, well short of the 1.2% the World Bank had forecast in January

The World Bank seeks to reduce poverty and boost living standards by providing grants and low-rate loans to poor economies. Another multinational organization that seeks to promote global prosperity the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — last week downgraded its forecast for the U.S and global economies.

U.S. stocks drift closer to record

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stocks drifted closer to their all-time high on Tuesday as the wait continued to hear what will come of trade talks between the United States and China.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as talks between the world’s two largest economies carried into a second day The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 105 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.

Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20% below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked ﬁnancial markets with his announcement of tariffs that were so stiff that they raised worries about a possible recession. Much of the rally has been due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 1.7% of its record set in February

It’s getting to be time to see whether such hopes were warranted. The talks with China were going “really, really well,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Tuesday evening in London, where the talks were being held. The two sides worked on “all sorts of trade issues,” he said, according to a video clip posted by the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.

Both the United States and China have put many of their tariffs announced against each other on pause as talks continue.

Even though many tariffs are on hold for the moment, they’re still affecting companies and their ability to make proﬁts because of all the uncertainty they’ve created.

Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe store chain, became the latest U.S. company to yank its ﬁnancial forecasts for 2025 because of “uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.”

The company, which also owns Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short of forecasts. CEO Doug Howe pointed to ”persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary” spending, and the company’s stock tumbled 18.2%.

The uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday of optimism among small U.S. businesses improved a bit in May

“While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,” according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business.

On Wall Street, J.M. Smucker fell 15.6% even though its results for the latest quarter topped analysts’ expectations. Its revenue fell short of expectations, as did its forecast for proﬁt in the upcoming year Tesla helped to make up for such losses after rising 5.7%. The electric vehicle company has been recovering since tumbling last week as Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump imploded That raised fears about possible retaliation by the U.S. government against Tesla.

recovered, according to the reports.

BY SHARON LURYE AP education writer

It was an unusual question coming from a police ofﬁcer Heather Brady was napping at home in San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon when the officer knocked on her door to ask: Had she applied to Arizona Western College?

She had not, and as the ofﬁcer suspected, somebody else had applied to Arizona community colleges in her name to scam the government into paying out ﬁnancial aid money When she checked her student loan servicer account, Brady saw the scammers hadn’t stopped there. A loan for over $9,000 had been paid out in her name — but to another person — for coursework at a California college.

“I just can’t imagine how many people this is happening to that have no idea,” Brady said. The rise of artificial intelligence and the popularity of online classes have led to an explosion of financial aid fraud. Fake college enrollments have been surging as crime rings deploy “ghost students” — chatbots that join online classrooms and stay just long enough to collect a financial aid check.

In some cases, professors discover almost no one in their class is real. Students get locked out of the classes they need to graduate as

bots push courses over their enrollment limits. And victims of identity theft who discover loans fraudulently taken out in their names must go through months of calling colleges, the Federal Student Aid ofﬁce and loan servicers to try to get the debt erased.

On Friday, the U.S. Education Department introduced a temporary rule requiring students to show colleges a government-issued ID to prove their identity It will apply only to ﬁrst-time applicants for federal student aid for the summer term, affecting some 125,000 borrowers. The agency said it is developing more advanced screening for the fall.

“The rate of fraud through stolen identities has reached a level that imperils the federal student aid program,” the department said in its guidance to colleges

An Associated Press analysis of fraud reports obtained through a public records request shows California colleges in 2024 reported 1.2 million fraudulent applications, which resulted in 223,000 suspected fake enrollments. Other states are affected by the same problem, but with 116 community colleges, California is a particularly large target.

Criminals stole at least $11.1 million in federal, state and local ﬁnancial aid from California community colleges last year that could not be

Colleges typically receive a portion of the loans intended for tuition, with the balance going directly to students for other expenses. Community colleges are targeted in part because their lower tuition means larger percentages of grants and loans go to borrowers.

Scammers frequently use AI chatbots to carry out the fraud, targeting courses that are online and allow students to watch lectures and complete coursework on their own time.

Brittnee Nelson, of Shreveport, was bringing her daughter to day care two years ago when she received a notification that her credit score had dropped 27 points.

Loans had been taken out in her name for colleges in California and Louisiana, she discovered. She canceled one before it was paid out, but it was too late to stop a loan of over $5,000 for Delgado Community College in New Orleans. Nelson runs her own housecleaning business and didn’t go to college. She already was signed up for identity theft protection and carefully monitored her credit. Still, her debt almost went into collections before

the loan was put in forbearance. She recently got the loans taken off her record after two years of effort.

“It’s like if someone came into your house and robbed you,” she said.

The federal government’s efforts to verify borrowers’ identity could help, she said.

“If they can make these hurdles a little bit harder and have these veriﬁcations more provable, I think that’s really, really, really going to protect people in the long run,” she said.

Delgado spokesperson Barbara Waiters said responsibility for approving loans ultimately lies with federal agencies.

“This is an unfortunate and serious matter, but it is not the direct or indirect result of Delgado’s internal processes,” Waiters said.

In San Francisco, the loans taken out in Brady’s name are in a grace period, but still on the books. That has not been her only challenge. A few months ago, she was laid off from her job and decided to sign up for a class at City College San Francisco to help her career But all the classes were full.

After a few weeks, Brady ﬁnally was able to sign up for a class. The professor apologized for the delay in spots opening up: The college has been struggling with fraudulent applications.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

TheFair Grounds season is acritical part of the $2.5 billion Louisiana horse racing andbreeding industry’sannual calendar,and includes the Louisiana Derby and the Risen StarStakes, both highpurse races that are part of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series.

At issue is the loss of tens of millions of dollars in revenue by ChurchillDowns afterthe Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in March that thecompany couldnot operatea type of slot machine called Historic Horse Racing, or HHR —unless it got voter approval ineach parish where the slots operate.

The court decision overturned a2021 law that had allowed the HHR slots, which are based on anonymized previously run races, as an extension of horse race betting. The court ruled that HHRs are effectively another typeof slot machine and require parish-by-parish permission under the state constitution.

The lawsuit had been broughtbyagroupof truck stop owners whose video poker operations had been hit by the growth of HHR machines, which can pay outjackpotsofupto $100,000, compared with acap of $1,000 for video poker

Churchill Downs representatives told the commission last month that the HHR ruling would mean the loss of half its Louisiana revenueand nearly threequarters of its proﬁts. They said they wouldn’tbeable to run Fair Grounds and their other 13 off-track betting outlets proﬁtably unless the revenue was replaced by a subsidy In the letter,acopy of which was obtained by The Advocate |The Times-Picayune, Carstanjensaidthat efforts to lobby for astate subsidy had made no progress.

“Todate, our efforts to engage elected officials have not led to meaningful discussions and, confoundingly,CDI’sefforts have been metwithacombination of reluctance, indifference, apathy and even opposition,” Carstanjen wroteto the commission. The letter was copiedto Gov.Jeff Landry; Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie; House Speaker Phillip DeVillier,R-Eunice; and Sen. Jimmy Harris, DNew Orleans, whose constituency includesthe Fair Grounds.

Landry declined to comment. Churchill Downs, in a statement Tuesday,reiterated the points Carstanjen made in hislettertothe commission.

Newrules

In addition to the financial hitChurchillDowns said it is taking becauseof the ruling on HHR slots, the state Legislature this week passed two bills that Carstanjen said would further eat into the operator’s revenueinLouisiana.

The biggest concern is

Churchill Downsdoesn’t reportseparate financialresults for the FairGrounds, butlawmakers andracing industry officials have pointedtothe company’srecord revenue of more than $2.7 billion and all-timehigh profit of $427 million lastyear

The record pace continued in theﬁrstthree months of this year,and Louisiana racing officialsnoted that Churchill Downsaccounts showeditreported positive cash ﬂow of $44 million in Louisiana, with just $6 million coming from HHR

The company has not commented on whether it plans to sellthe Fair Grounds if it pulls out of Louisiana.

the sale of ArlingtonInternational Racecourse in ArlingtonHeights, Illinois, in 2021 to theChicago Bears organization for$198 millionprompted astrong backlash from Illinois horse racing stakeholders.

There likely would be similar efforts by the Louisiana horse racing industrytokeep racing at Fair Grounds, whichhas zoning stipulations that would makeredevelopment difﬁcult, racing industry ofﬁcialssaid.

House Bill 540, which was passedby the House and Senate and awaits Landry’s signature. Thebill allows truck stop operators to increase the number of poker machinesateachsite from 50 to60, and licensed bars and restaurants to go from 3to4machines.

HB540 aims to offset the loss of revenuetothe horse racing industry from the shutdownofChurchill Downs’ HHR machines Forthe ﬁrsttime, thenew law sets aside ashareof video poker revenue from sources otherthantrack operators.Thatmoneywill go directly to the horse racing industry in the form of higher purses.

Under the legislation thefirst $22 million in taxrevenue fromthe additionalmachines would boost winningsatthe four horse racing tracks in Louisiana. Apart from theFair Grounds, the others are Louisiana Downs in Shreveport-Bossier City,Delta DownsatVinton in Calcasieu Parish, and Evangeline Downs in St. LandryParish, just east ofOpelousas.

Carstanjen said in theletterthatthe newlegislation and lack of progress on the subsidymean Churchill Downs “is left with no choice” but to “begin the next steps forvoluntarily surrendering the racing license held by theFair Grounds.” That would also mean it would have to surrender its gambling license, which is tiedtoits obligations to operate the horse

racetrack,headded.

If Churchill Downsdoes relinquish itslicense, it is notclear what will happen to this year’s racing season, racing ofﬁcials said.

The most likely scenario wouldbethatthe races would have to be moved from theFair Grounds to one or more of theother racetracks, saidone senior racing ofﬁcial, who wasn’t authorized to be quoted.

After Hurricane Katrina, when the Fair Grounds was flooded, theentireracing season was moved to LouisianaDowns and held under theFair Grounds banner Record revenue

While thehigh-stakes game of chicken threatens thefuture of racing at the historic track, at leastfor thetime being, Senate President Henry said lawmakersbalked at paying apublic subsidy to ahighly profitableprivatecompany,especially at atime when the state was making efforts to ﬁnd money for teachersand to ﬁll other gaps in thestate budget

“Theycameatthe end of thesession andwanted asubsidy from the state, andwesaidwecouldn’tdo it because they’reaproﬁtable business,”Henry said Monday “Iftheychoosetoclose thetrack,we’ll work through that. If they choose to sell it,we’ll work through that as well,” Henry added.

Gov.Jeff Landry’sofﬁce didn’t respond to arequest for comment.

PUBLICNOTICE

Notice is hereby givenpursuanttoArticle 7, Section23(C) of theLouisiana Constitution andR.S. 47:1705(B) and47:1705.1thata public hearingofthe BoardofCommissioners forSt. TammanyFireProtectionDistrictNo. 13 will be heldatCouncil Chambers forthe St.Tammany Parish Councillocated at 21490 Koop Dr., Mandeville,LA, on Monday,July 21, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. to consider levyingadditional or increasedmillagerates withoutfurther voterapprovaloradoptingthe adjusted millagerates after reassessment androlling forwardto ratesnot to exceed theprior year’s maximum. Theestimated amount of taxrevenues to be collectedinthe next year from the increasedmillageis$4,926,199 andthe estimatedamountofincreaseis$423,638.

But it hasstrategically exited severalhorse racing markets in theU.S. over the past twodecades, selling properties to focus more on gambling, online wagering, and marquee assets like the Kentucky Derby

In some cases, this has resulted in racing ceasing at the tracks. For example,

“It would seem to me they would be better off having alicense in good standing if theyare looking to sell Fair Grounds,” the seniorracing ofﬁcialsaid. Speculation amongLouisianahorse industry players has focused on Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Bensonasthe most likely buyer if Churchill Downs seeks to sell Fair Grounds as agoing concern. She and her late husband, TomBenson, had talks eight years ago about buying the grounds, where

there has beenhorse racing in some form since the 1830s Benson owns ahorse breeding operation in Kentucky and has adeep interestinthe industry,spokesperson Greg Bensel said last month, after Churchill Downs’ initial threat. While he declined to commenton whether Benson would be interested in buying Fair Grounds, he notedthatshe has supported several other historic New Orleans-area enterprises and is “monitoring the situation.” Henry said it is premature to discuss who might buy the track but said there are several groups that might be interested. He said the topic came up when he had lunchwithBensononJune 3inBaton Rouge “She lovesthe horse racing industry,” he said, declining to give speciﬁcsof their conversation.

Email AnthonyMcAuley tmcauley@theadvocate. com.

Orleans, in the above entitled cause,I will pro‐ceed to sell by publicauction, onthe ground ﬂoorofthe Civil DistrictCourt Building, 421 LoyolaAvenue, inthe FirstDis‐trict of theCity onJuly17, 2025 at12:00 o'clock noon, thefol‐lowingde‐scribed prop‐ertytowit:

301SEATTLEST NEW ORLEANS, LA70124 LOTS:1 -5, SQUARE: 7 SEVENTHMU‐NICIPAL DIS‐TRICT ACQMIN: 887304 WEST ENDSUB‐DIVISION WRIT AMOUNT: $76,349.58

Seized in the above suit, TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter

Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING.

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

GH 14

GRAHAM,ARCE‐NEAUX &ALLEN LLC 504-5228256 FOERSTNERG MEYER

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025

jun11-jul16-2t $88.77

NOTICE

BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL

Seized in the above suit, TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING.

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 15 JACKSON& MCPHERSON, LLC504-5819444 CRIS R. JACK‐SON

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $91.95

PUBLIC NOTICE

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 2634 PAINTERS STREET,THIS CITY,IN THEMATTEREN‐TITLED:FED‐ERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE AS‐SOCIATIONVER‐SUSSZERRET FARRIA, KATANYA GANIER,AND KATITANNA COLEMAN

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2024-9526

p chaseprice,and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter

Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING.

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Or‐leans

GH 10 DEAN MORRIS, LLC 318-3881440 ZACHARYGAR‐RETTYOUNG

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $89.30

PUBLIC NOTICESALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUNDBEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER1123-25 NORTH MIRO STREET,THIS CITY,INTHE MATTERENTI‐TLED: MIDFIRST BANKVERSUS JOSEAUGUSTO FRANCOASIN‐DEPENDENT ADMINISTRA‐TOROFTHE SUCCESSIONOF STEVENFRANCO

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2025-658

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Or‐leans GH 12 DEAN MORRIS, LLC 318-3881440

ZACHARYGAR‐RETTYOUNG

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $88.77

THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 2221 ESPLANADEAV‐ENUE,THISCITY, IN THEMATTEREN‐TITLED:U.S BANK TRUST

NATIONAL AS‐SOCIATION, NOT IN ITSINDIVID‐UALCAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER

TRUSTEEFOR RCF2 ACQUISI‐TION TRUST VERSUS KEN‐NETH DRETAR

A/K/AKENNETH JOHN DRETAR

ANDFRANCES

DRETAR

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2023-7573

2221 ES‐PLANADE AV NEW ORLEANS, LA70119 LOT4,SQUARE 1189

THIRDMUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQMIN: 675558 WRIT AMOUNT: $659,203.63

Seized in the above suit, TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter.

Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING.

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

GH 6 DEAN MORRIS, LLC 318-3881440

ASHLEY E. MOR‐RIS

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025

jun11-jul16-2t $94.07

y public auction, onthe ground ﬂoor of theCivil DistrictCourt Building, 421 LoyolaAvenue, inthe FirstDis‐trict of theCity onJuly17, 2025, at12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowingde‐scribed prop‐ertytowit: 5150 WILTON DR NEW ORLEANS, LA70122 LOTS 8& 9SQUARE5 3RDMUNICIPAL DISTRICT MIRABEAU GAR‐DENSSUBDIVI‐SION ACQMIN: 1410623 WRIT AMOUNT: $166,479.89

Seized in the above suit TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter. Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING.

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

RB8 DEAN MORRIS, LLC 318-3881440 CANDACEA COURTEAU

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025

jun11-jul16-2t $89.30

PUBLIC NOTICE SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 6642 AVENUE B, THIS CITY,INTHE MATTERENTI‐TLED:EUREKA HOMESTEAD VERSUS MELISSA JACK‐SONA/K/A MELISSA JACK‐SON-WILLIAMS

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2024-11266

sonalChecks. FACEMASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING. SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Or‐leans GH 23 MENTZSIM‐MONSLAW GROUP,L.L.C (504) 766-6786 JANETFAIA MENTZ

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $88.77

PUBLIC NOTICE SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 1129 SOUTHLAWNBD, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, IN THEMATTEREN‐TITLED:U.S BANK TRUST NATIONAL AS‐SOCIATION, NOT IN ITSINDIVID‐UAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEEFOR RCAF ACQUISI‐TION TRUST VERSUS ESTATE OF ELLIOTT H. WILLIAMS CI

Case No: 2023-1639

Seized in the above suit, TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter. Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING. SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans RB29 JACKSON& MCPHERSON, LLC504-5819444 RACHEL BREAUX

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $93.54

THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 936 LAMANCHE STREET,THIS CITY,IN THEMATTEREN‐TITLED:GREEN‐SPRING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, NOTINITS INDIVIDUAL CA‐PACITY,BUT SOLELY AS AD‐MINISTRATOR OF THERMH 2023 1TRUST VERSUS SCOTT DUNCANMC‐NAUGHTON AND CLIFTON BEARDSFIELD MCNAUGHTON TRUSTEES OF THEEEANAND JOAN MC‐NAUGHTON TRUSTAND THE UNOPENED SUC‐CESSIONSOF JOAN ALVA LUCASMC‐NAUGHTON AND EUGENE EEAN MCNAUGHTON, JR. DECEASED

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2024-9903

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

GH 13 GRAHAM,ARCE‐NEAUX &ALLEN, LLC 504522 8256

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025

jun11-jul16-2t $114.18

THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 1724 EAGLEST, CITY OF NEWOR‐LEANS, IN THEMATTER ENTITLED:TRU‐ISTBANKVER‐SUSRONALD NAVARRE AND JOYCELYN SHAMBURG NAVARRE AKAJOCELYN SHAMBURG BUJOLNAVARRE AKAJOYCELYN SHAMBURG BUJOLNAVARRE

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2025-00659

Byvirtueof a WritofSeizure and Sale di‐rectedtomeby the Honorable JudgesofCivil DistrictCourt for theParishof Orleans,inthe above entitled cause,I will pro‐ceed to sell by publicauction, onthe ground ﬂoor of theCivil DistrictCourt Building, 421 LoyolaAvenue inthe FirstDis‐trict of theCity onJuly17, 2025, at12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowingde‐scribed prop‐ertytowit: ONECERTAIN LOT OF GROUND TOGETHERWITH ALL THEBUILD‐INGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THERON AND ALL THERIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐LEGES,SERVI‐TUDES, ADVANTAGES ANDPRESCRIP‐TIONS (BOTH LIBERATIVEAND ACQUISITIVE) THEREUNTOBE‐LONGING OR IN ANYWISE AP‐PERTAINING, SITUATED IN THE PARISH OF ORLEANS, CITYOFNEW ORLEANS,STATE OFLOUISIANA IN SQUARE NO.232, BOUNDEDBY EAGLE,GENERAL OGDEN,GREEN AND HICKORY STREETS; WHICHSAID PORTIONOF GROUNDCOM‐MENCESATA DISTANCEOF 201 FEET FROM THE CORNER OF EAGLEAND GREEN STREETS, AND MEASURES THENCE39FEET FRONT ON EAGLE STREET,SAME IN WIDTHINTHE REAR, BY A DEPTH OF 100 FEET BETWEEN EQUAL ANDPARALLEL LINES;SUBJECT TORESTRIC‐TIONS,SERVI‐TUDES, RIGHTS OFWAY ANDOUTSTAND‐INGMINERAL RIGHTSOF RECORDAF‐FECTING THE PROPERTY. WRIT AMOUNT: $55,319.33

Seized in the above suit TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING. SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans RB 7

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBERS2619 21 23 25 FELIC‐ITYSTREET, THIS CITY,INTHE MATTERENTI‐TLED:LOAN PARTNERS,L.L.C VERSUS ROYAL AMBASSADOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C.,AND SONJADEDAIS

CI VI L DI ST RI CT CO UR TF OR PA RI SH OF OR LE AN S Case No: 2024-3195

Byvirtueof a WritofSeizure and Sale di‐rectedtomeby the Honorable JudgesofCivil DistrictCourt for theParishof Orleans,inthe above entitled cause,I will pro‐ceed to sell by publicauction, onthe ground ﬂoor of theCivil DistrictCourt Building, 421 LoyolaAvenue inthe FirstDis‐trict of theCity onJuly17, 2025, at12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowingde‐scribed prop‐ertytowit: TWOLOTSOF GROUND, to‐getherwithall the buildings and improve‐ments thereon, and allof therights, ways, servitudes, ap‐purtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longing or in anywise appertaining situated in the ParishofOr‐leans,inthe FIRST DISTRICT, inSQUARENO. 418, bounded by Fe‐licity, Clara, Melpomene and Magnolia Streets, desig‐nated by the NOS.13and 14,ona plan an‐nexed to actbe‐foreJ.D.Taylor, lateNotary, July 5,1889. Lot13 measures32 feet 6inches1 linefront on Fe‐licityStreet; 31'8" in widthin the rear by a depth of 59 feet 5 inches6 lines onthe side line dividingitfrom Lot 12 and a depth of 91 feet 2 inches 6lines on thesidelinedi‐vidingitfrom Lot 14. Lot14 measures32 feet 5inches1 linefront on Fe‐licity Street;31feet 7 inches2 linesin width in the rearbya depth of59feet 5 inches6 lines onthe side line divid‐ing it from Lot 13and adepth of66feet 8 inches6 lines onthe other sideline therebeing a commonalley, opening on Fe‐licityStreet which adjoins saidLot 14 on sideline nearestMagno‐lia Street.Said alley measures 6 feet 9inches2 lines wide on FelicityStreet, 60 2inwidth on its rear line by 66'8" 2"'deep and is common tosaidLot 1and others bordering thereon.

Thefollowing is providedfor in‐formational pur‐poses only: Improvements h l

Homeless couldbearrested afterrefusingshelter in Calif.

BY JANIE HAR Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO Homeless peo-

ple who reject three offers of shelter could be arrestedunder acontroversial proposal before the city council of the most populous city in California’s Silicon Valley on Tuesday

The proposal being pushed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahon is eye-opening because it comes from aliberal city headedbya Democratinthe left-leaningSan Francisco Bay Area. It is among the stricter anti-encampment deterrents proposed by elected ofﬁcialssince theSupreme Court in 2023madeiteasier to ban homeless people from camping on public property

And it’sanothersign of just how frustrated people have become with squalid tents lining sidewalks and riverbanks, and erratic behavior of those using drugs or in distress in astate with an estimated 187,000 homeless people.

California is home to roughly aquarter of all homeless people in the country

Mahan says most people do accept offers of shelter.But he wantstomake clear to the smallpercentage of peoplewho refuse, thatasthe city builds more shelter and interim housing, they have aresponsibility to move indoors.

“I think we need acultural change, aculture of accountability for everyone involved,” said Mahan. “I don’twant to use the criminal justice system tomake vulnerable people’s lives harder Iwant to use it as alast resort.”

California Gov.Gavin Newsom, aDemocrat and former mayor of San Francisco, has repeatedly urged citiestoban encampments. Arrests for illegal lodging have soaredin San Francisco, and its current mayor,Daniel Lurie, has reiterated that it is not appropriate for people to live outdoors.

Advocates for homeless peoplesay cracking down on encampmentsistraumatizing and even counterproductive. Forcing apersontoclear out sets them back in their search for stability as they could lose importantdocuments needed to apply for work and housing, they said.

“Pushing people with mental healthneeds or drug addiction into incarceration —without anycrimecommitted —isboth inhumane and ineffective,” said Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, in awritten statement emailedMonday to The Associated Press.

Lee and other county leaders are opposed to the mayor’sproposal. They saythey need more housing, beds and services, and not punishment.

The “responsibility to shelter” proposal does not mandate an arrest after three rejected offers. After talking with the city attorney’soffice andpolice, Mahansaid it mademore sense to give front-lineoutreach workersand policeofficers discretion to decide when to escalate or prioritize asituation. The city will setupanew six-officer quality of life unitwithin thepolice department.

Hegsethfaces questionsondeploying

BY LOLITAC.BALDOR and TARA COPP

Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethwas met with sharp questions and criticism Tuesday by lawmakers who demanded details on his move to deploy troops to Los Angeles, and they expressed bipartisanfrustration that Congress has not yet gotten afull defense budget from the Trump administration.

“Your tenure as secretary has been marked by endless chaos,” Rep.RosaDeLauro, D-Conn., told Hegseth.Others, including Republican leaders, warned that massive spending projects such as President Donald Trump’sdesire for a $175 billionGoldenDome missile defense system will get broad congressional scrutiny

The troop deployment triggeredseveral fiery exchanges that at times devolvedinto shouting matches as House committee members andHegseth yelled over one another

After persistent questioning about thecostofsendingNational Guard membersand Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, Hegseth turned to his acting comptroller,BrynWoollacottMacDonnell, who said it wouldcost$134 million. Hegseth defendedTrump’s decision to send the troops, saying they are needed to protectfederal agentsasthey do theirjobs

And he suggested that the use of troops inside the United States will continue to expand.

“I think we’re entering another phase, especially underPresident Trump withhis focus on thehomeland, where theNational Guardand Reservesbecome acritical component of how we secure that homeland,” he said.

The hearing before the House Appropriations defensesubcommittee wasthe ﬁrst time lawmakers have been able to challenge Trump’sdefense chief since he was conﬁrmed.

It is the ﬁrst of three congressional hearings he will face this week.

Plannedspending

Lawmakers complainedwidely that Congress hasn’tyet gotten details of the administration’sﬁrst proposed defense budget, which Trump has said would total $1 trillion, asigniﬁcant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion. And they said they are unhappy with the administration’s efforts to go around Congress to push through changes.

Spending issues that have raised questions in recent weeks include plans to spend hundredsofmillions of dollarsonsecurity upgradesto turn

andtopourasmuch as $45million into aparade recently added to the Army’s250th birthday bash, which coincides with Trump’sbirthday Saturday

Rep. Betty McCollum,D-Minn., quizzed Hegseth on the deployment of about 700 Marines to assist more than 4,100 National Guardtroops in protecting federal buildings and personnel in L.A. She gotintoatesty back-andforth with him over the costs of the operation. He evaded the questions but later turned to MacDonnell, whoprovidedthe estimate andsaid it covers the costs of travel,housing and food.

Hegseth said the 60-day deployment of troops is needed “because we want to ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police ofﬁcers know that we’re not going anywhere.”

andSaledi‐rectedtomeby the Honorable JudgesofCivil DistrictCourt for theParishof Orleans,inthe above entitled cause,I will pro‐ceed to sell by publicauction, onthe ground ﬂoor of theCivil DistrictCourt Building, 421 LoyolaAvenue inthe FirstDis‐trict of theCity onJuly17, 2025, at12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowingde‐scribed prop‐ertytowit: 2122-22 1/2SEC‐OND ST NEW ORLEANS,LA 70113 SQUARE 23, LOT 17 FOURTH MUNIC‐IPALDISTRICT ACQ MIN:1429968 WRIT AMOUNT: $166,516.95 Seized in the above suit TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter Note: Thepay‐ment must be p on the2 lots bearNos.2619 212325Felicity Street,New Or‐leans,LA70113. Beingthe same propertyac‐quiredbyAbi‐gailGreen Washingtonby act datedJuly1, 2020, registered in CIN 575651, Or‐leans Parish, Louisiana WRIT AMOUNT: $100,000.00

Cash,Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPONENTERING BUILDING.

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 19 LOGS LEGAL GROUP LLP 504838-7535 EMILYA MUELLER

TheN.O.Advo‐cateDate (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $87.18

Case No: 2024-3195 Byvirtueof a WritofSeizure and Sale di‐rectedtomeby the Honorable JudgesofCivil DistrictCourt for theParishof Orleans,inthe above entitled cause,I will pro‐ceed to sell by publicauction onthe ground ﬂoor of theCivil DistrictCourt Building, 421 LoyolaAvenue, inthe FirstDis‐trict of theCity onJuly17, 2025, at12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowingde‐scribed prop‐ertytowit: ACERTAIN LOT OFGROUND, to‐getherw:it.hall the buildings and improve‐ments thereon, and allofthe rights ways, servi‐tudes, appurte‐d d

pp nances andad‐vantagesthere‐untobelonging orin anywiseapper‐taining,situated inthe FIRSTMU‐NICIPAL DIS‐TRICT of the CityofNew Or‐leans, Parish of Or‐leans,State of Louisiana,and being more fully described as follows:

LOTS 15 and1 A ofSQUARE418, ofsaiddistrict and which squareis bounded by Fe‐licity Street,Magnolia Street, Melpomene Street andClara StreetSaidlots formthe comer ofFelicity Street andMag‐nolia Street and measure as fol‐lows:

LOT15mea‐sures 38 feet 8 inchesfront on MagnoliaStreet bya depth on FelicityStreetof 123feet, 2 inchesand 1 line, by adepth onthe opposite sideof67feet,0 inchesand 4 lines ﬁrstdepth,then a width of 6 inches,then a

second depthof 54feet,6 inches and awidth in the rear of 31 feet,1 inchand 7lines LOT1 A, mea‐sures 6feet,9 inchesand 2 lines fronton FelicityStreet bya widthof6 feet,7 inches and2 lines in therear, bya depthof68 feet,3 inches and 1line(ac‐tual) (68feet,9 inches and6 lines title) on the side nearest MagnoliaStreet and adepth of 66feet,8 inches and6 lines(ac‐tual) (68feet,9 inchesand 6 lines title) on the opposite sidelinenear‐est Clara Street andad‐joins LotNum‐ber 15

Allasmorefully shown on sur‐vey made by J.J. Krebs andSons, Inc.,Registered Land Surveyors, datedFebruary 23, 1983, acopy ofwhich Is an‐nexed to act dated March17, 1983, registered In COB 2412, folio 672, N.A. Num‐

ber487769. The followingis providedfor in‐formational pur‐poses only: Improvements thereonbear MunicipalNo. 1623 27 Magno‐lia Street and 2607 2615 Felic‐ity Street,New Or‐leans,La. Beingthe same propertyac‐quiredbyRoyal Ambassador HousingDevel‐opment. LLC, by act datedJuly9, 2021, registered inCIN 696345, Orleans Parish WRIT AMOUNT: $100,000.00

Seized in the above suit TERMS -CASH. Thepurchaser atthe moment ofadjudication tomakea de‐posit of tenper‐centofthe pur‐chase price, and the balance withinthirty daysthereafter Note: Thepay‐mentmustbe Cash, Cashier's Check,Certiﬁed Check or Money Order.NoPer‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJOSE LUIS MAGANA The Chair of the JointChiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, left,and Department of Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth testify before the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on the Department of Defense on Capitol

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JUNE

Dynasties at odds over levee board

State senator’s bill targeting Lafitte panel reignites feud

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

A state senator is taking aim at a small south Louisiana levee board in his district over claims it has been used for political purposes by the town’s father-and-son former mayors, reigniting a longtime feud between two rival political dynasties of Jefferson Parish. Sen. Pat Connick, R-Marrero, au-

School Board suit trial halted

N.O. seeks to expand list of defendants

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

A trial scheduled in the closely-watched Orleans Parish School Board lawsuit against Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration was postponed at the last minute this week when Judge Nicole Sheppard granted the city’s request to expand the list of defendants. The suit claims the city has improperly kept as much as 2% of the sales and property taxes it collected on the board’s behalf as a fee. Instead of going to educate students, the suit says $132 million in tax revenue was diverted to finance city operations, pay down pension debt and fund the Assessor’s Office. Sheppard ordered the board Monday to refile its suit in the next week to include Assessor Erroll Williams’ office as a defendant The board claims the city used $46 million in schooldedicated taxes to help fund Williams’ office.

Attorney James Garner argued for the revision, saying the city routinely diverts a portion of school property taxes to the Assessor’s Ofﬁce and had already paid out the disputed amount.

ä See TRIAL, page 2B

BY MARCO CARTOLANO and JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writers

A former Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office employee and girlfriend of New Orleans jail escapee Derrick Groves is accused of aiding in the planning of the breakout and setting up phone calls with a third party in which Groves discussed ﬂeeing, according to police records.

Darriana Burton, 28, was arrested and booked Monday on a felony count of conspiracy to commit simple escape, according to online court records She was described by law enforcement as a girlfriend and associate of 27-year-old Groves, one of 10 inmates who ﬂed the Orleans Parish jail on May 16.

ä See JAILBREAK, page 3B

thored a bill to create new regulations for members of the Lafitte Area Independent Levee District Board, such as prohibiting them from accepting or giving political donations, restricting when board members can run for office, and permanently relocating meetings to the Southeast Flood Protection Authority-West office in Marrero, where meetings have taken place since March and can be livestreamed. The bill had its final vote on the House floor last month before it could

former president of the board and longtime mayor of Jean Laﬁtte — two roles also held by his son and new Jefferson Parish Council member Timothy Kerner Jr “I don’t mean no harm but this bill is so outrageous and so bad, I ask you to please vote against it.”

Kerner Sr said the proposal unfairly targeted the Laﬁtte board and created rules that were stricter than other similar levee boards, particularly because of proposed requirements that four of its ﬁve members have 10 years of

NOPD satisfaction improves

Survey shows uptick as violent crime declines

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

The New Orleans Police Department’s standing among residents has continued to improve alongside dramatic declines in violent crime, according to an annual survey commissioned by the New Orleans Crime Coalition to gauge perceptions of local law enforcement and public safety

Nearly half of the 800 residents interviewed in a recent telephone survey by Faucheux Strategies said they were somewhat or very satisﬁed with the NOPD, continuing a trend of signiﬁcant improvement

since the department’s ratings bottomed out in 2022 and 2023.

A majority of respondents, 54%, also said the city is fairly or very safe. And most approved of Gov Jeff Landry’s deployment of the State Police to a new unit called Troop Nola. Nearly 60% said the added policing was “working well.”

A statement issued by the department, led by Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, attributed recent progress to partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and the hard work of the city’s own ofﬁcers.

“The NOPD appreciates the public’s conﬁdence in the department as reﬂected in the NOCC survey,” it read. “We thank our citizens for partnering with us to reduce crime in the city and creating a safer New Orleans for our residents and visitors.”

The racial makeup of respondents closely tracked the city’s demographics, with Black residents comprising 57% of the sample, White residents making up 35% and the remaining 8% listed as “other.” The survey was conducted between May 27 and June 4.

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce did not fare as well as the NOPD, although the survey didn’t measure overall satisfaction with Sheriff Susan Hutson’s administration.

Respondents were instead asked if they believe the May 16 escape of 10 inmates resulted from jail mismanagement or lack of funding, a question that Hutson and City Council members have debated.

See NOPD, page 2B

Official defends his pick for Library Board

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

Police: Motorists chosen at random

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

property, court records show. He has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity Barrette is accused of gunning down Nicky Robeau, 57, and Manuel Caronia, 45, as they rode in a vehicle on West Metairie Avenue on the afternoon of June 18, 2019, about 18 hours after authorities say he fatally shot 22-year-old Isai Cadalzo Sevilla 2 miles away on the very same street. Investigators allege evidence from a cellphone, license-plate recognition cameras and shell casings link Barrette to the homicides as well as two other shooting incidents in which no one was injured. Murder trial begins for man accused of killing 3

Jury selection began Monday in the Jefferson Parish trial of Sean Barrette, the Metairie man charged with killing three motorists and shooting at three others in a two-week spree during which authorities say he selected his targets at random. Barrette, 28, is charged with two counts of ﬁrst-degree murder, two counts of attempted ﬁrst-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, one count of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated criminal damage to

See MOTORISTS, page 3B

Connick

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Officers with the New Orleans Police Department’s Mounted Unit watch from a distance recently as children play on the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans. The department’s standing among residents has continued to improve alongside dramatic declines in violent crime, according to an annual survey.

Kerner Sr

Following his comments, the House voted to kill the bill, 47-30.

Connick, on the other hand, says the legislation was intended to ensure the board acted independently and in compliance with state laws.

In an interview, he accused the Kerners of using their political power to curry favor with engineering ﬁrms in political campaigns, and claimed the board has a history of violating open meeting laws.

“It’s being used as a political power base, and it shouldn’t be,” Connick said “The focus should be on building levees.”

A long-standing feud

The Kerners and Connicks have long held a rivalry and both families include powerful public ofﬁcials.

Sen. Pat Connick is the younger brother of Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick; nephew of former Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick Sr.; and a first cousin of musician Harry Connick Jr. Kerner Sr served as president of the Lafitte board during his seven terms as mayor, and Kerner Jr succeeded him in 2020 both as mayor of Jean Lafitte and president of the board before becoming a council member

The feud between Kerner Jr and Pat Connick came into the spotlight in 2023, when they both ran for a Senate seat. Connick was reelected.

Kerner Jr accused the senator of belonging to a “political machine,” while Connick described the 34-year-old as “immature.”

Kerner Jr echoed the “machine” accusations again this year during the race for a Jefferson Parish Council seat, which he won over former council member Ricky Templet. Board accusations Earlier this year during

LIBRARY

Continued from page 1B

‘I was so impressed’ Todd has taught high school English at Christ Episcopal in Covington since 2012. Thompson is a project manager at a construction company in New Orleans and also serves on Slidell’s Board of Zoning Adjustment and the community group Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany Council member Patrick Burke said he asked Thompson, a politically active Republican from Slidell, to run because of his youth — he is 27 — as well as his commitment to the library and because he has small children.

Kids’ access to materials with sexual and LGBTQ+ themes has been central to the controversy in the parish’s library system in the past three years The library has instituted a tiered card system that gives parents control over what library items kids can access, but the board could see renewed debate over what “access” means.

Rolling said he had never spoken with Todd until she called him and asked him to nominate her Todd said in an interview she was partly inspired to seek the nomination by a powerful experience at a board meeting in December She was there to help her son fulfill an Eagle Scout requirement, and the board was debating whether to put “The Hate U Give,” a novel some of her students were reading, in the teen or in the adult section, which kids need a special card to access.

Todd asked the board to shelve the book in the teen section, saying some her students, who could not afford to buy a copy, relied on libraries to access the book, which she called a “vital story to have on the shelves.” Months later, after a colleague from her school, Pam Georges, resigned from her board seat,

Kerner Jr.’s council campaign, Connick nominated three new members to the levee board: Chuck Shano, Frank Panepinto and Steven Marque. Marque took over for Kerner Jr as president of the board in February, and Kerner Jr later resigned once he was elected to the council.

“I don’t think it should be controlled by two members of one family,” Connick said of the board. “It’s got to be open, and it’s got to be transparent, and they’ve got to deliver.”

Connick also said he attended a board meeting on Sept. 17, when one of its members, Robert Briscoe, voted on items over the phone, which violates the board’s bylaws. The board rescinded the items at a meeting the following month, after Connick notiﬁed Kerner Jr Connick reported the board to Attorney General Liz Murrill in February and requested an attorney from her office attend future meetings to ensure compliance. Kerner Jr called the accusations “absurd.”

“Our actions were guided by legal counsel, and when clariﬁcation was needed, we promptly adjusted in accordance with the law,” he said. “The vote in question was simply an effort to restore a temporary tax break we gave residents after Hurricane Ida.”

Connick says his focus on the Laﬁtte board is not for political revenge, and is him “doing (his) job to expose this (issue) and correct it.”

Connick said he will attempt to pass the legislation through an amendment to another bill before the session’s end on Thursday Kerner Jr declined to comment on the bill, but said the board “has done commendable work” and that members “genuinely care about the community they serve.”

What is the Lafitte board?

Laﬁtte, Crown Point and Barataria are all outside of the federal levee protection

Todd said she decided to seek a nomination Rolling said Todd’s resume and the way she conducted herself during the interview impressed him. He said he didn’t ask her political afﬁliation because he didn’t think it mattered. During his years spent on the Covington City Council, he said, political afﬁliation had never mattered for board positions. Still, he said he took a few days before agreeing to nominate her He prayed about it, he said. He also asked the registrar of voters to remind him of the makeup of the 18,000 voters in his district. While Republicans made up 46%, he said, 18% of the voters were Democrats, and 36% were another party “I serve a lot of people,” he said “After I really thought about it hard, the easy road for Larry Rolling would be not nominating anyone,” he said. “But I really thought about it, and I said, ‘I was so impressed by her, why in the world wouldn’t I give my constituent the chance to get on the ballot?’”

Soon after he nominated her in May, Rolling said, the threatening emails and texts started to come in. Some suggested he was throwing his party under the bus by nominating Todd; others said that what he was doing could cost him his seat.

During a council meeting late in May, he watched as Todd was grilled by council member David Cougle, who questioned her decision to recently change her party afﬁliation from Democrat to Independent.

Then after he saw the meeting unfold on Thursday, in which Republican council members’ political affiliations were openly questioned, Rolling said he decided to speak freely

“This has to stop in this parish. This one board is tearing this parish apart,” Rolling said during a 10-minute speech, in which he lambasted anonymous social media accounts that accused council members

system and rely on their own 29-mile system of levees standing 7.5 tall. The Laﬁtte levee district one of 24 across the state — builds and maintains levees, canals and ﬂood walls in the small area of lower Jefferson carved out from the Southeast Flood Protection Authority-West, which oversees the rest of the West Bank outside of Grand Isle.

Both Kerners fought for federal and state dollars to fortify the ﬂood protection system during their mayoral tenures, with over $100 million in projects on the books. Those include the $20.7 million Lower Laﬁtte Basin Tidal Surge project and $40.1 million Rosethorne Tidal Protection project, both in progress.

The board has five members who live within the district and are appointed by the governor. Four are nominated by the area’s legislative delegation, and the fifth is nominated by Jean Lafitte’s government. One member must be an engineer with at least 10 years of experience.

Laws governing levee boards are not uniform. For example, Connick’s proposed law closely resembles state law for commissioners at the Southeast Flood Protection Authorities, which include a ban on political activity But at the Grand Isle Independent Levee District, 35 miles South of Lafitte, Mayor David Carmardelle has presided over the board for more than 20 years.

“At its core, the bill aimed to single out one levee board in order to consolidate power in the hands of a single individual, place decision-making in the hands of people with no connection or accountability to the community, and distance board members from the very people they’re meant to serve,” Kerner Sr said in a statement, sent through his son.

Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate. com.

of being traitors and Democrats.

“I want to ask my fellow councilmen. No group should control us. We are independent up here,” he told the council.

“This parish has so many different issues that people really care about in their heart,” he said by phone later “This Library Board and this topic sucks the energy out.”

Up next

While Todd could have another crack at being on the board — council member Jeff Corbin nominated her for one of the two seats that will be debated in July — she said she plans to withdraw from the nomination process altogether

“I talked it over with my family and decided — if I did win, then I feel certain that that kind of really heated political rhetoric over something apolitical would continue for the next ﬁve years of my life, which is not something I want to sign up for.”

Thompson, who will have his first board meeting in July said in an interview he, too, had been affected by the politics of the process, though he blamed his experience on people on the left.

“I want to make clear,” he added. “I really want people to be treated fairly not just conservatives, not just people who lean left. I promise to be fair and to work hard and to do the best we can do for the library system as a whole.”

Email Willie Swett at willie.swett@theadvocate. com.

Man pleads guilty in death of Wit’s Inn security guard

BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer

A man pleaded guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice Monday in the fatal shooting of a security guard outside a Mid-City bar in April 2024, according to court records.

Tirrell Gilmore Jr., 29, was sentenced to 10 years in prison as part of a plea agreement. The deal was OK’d by the family of Darriel King, a 53-year-old security guard who was shot dead outside Wit’s Inn on North Carrollton Avenue during an argument,

TRIAL

Continued from page 1B

“Given we’re talking about money in the assessor’s coffers, they have to be part of this case,” said Garner, who represents the Cantrell administration.

William Aaron, a lawyer for the School Board, retorted that the city’s request was a gambit to stall the trial. He said school taxes are different than others and must be paid entirely to the School Board, adding the board has no quarrel with the Williams’ ofﬁce.

“We’re not asking for money for the assessor We want money from the City of New Orleans,” Aaron said. “The city took the money The city should not have taken the money. The city should have done its due diligence.”

An Assessor’s Office spokesperson said Williams is reviewing the issue and declined further comment.

The legal debate over the fees, which the School Board says have amounted to $72 million since 2009, centers on a tangle of arcane state laws and constitutional provisions, as well as a decades-old agreement allowing the fees for sales tax collections that the School Board says is invalid.

The School Board also claims the city illegally used $14 million to pay down pen-

NOPD

Continued from page 1B

The survey found nearly two in three respondents blamed mismanagement for the jailbreak. Those results were similar across race, age and gender groups. The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 47% rating for the NOPD in 2025 marks a seven-point increase over last year and a 16-point jump since 2023. The department’s 31% rating that year was its lowest in the survey’s 16-year history

The force enjoyed higher marks among Black residents, who reported a 52% satisfaction rate compared

the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday

While officials with the District Attorney’s Office said investigators conﬁrmed Gilmore was involved in the shooting, the case presented evidentiary challenges, including a lack of surveillance footage capturing the moment gunﬁre erupted.

“This resolution ensures accountability while respecting the wishes of Mr King’s loved ones, and we are grateful for their strength and guidance throughout this process,” the ofﬁce said in a

sion debt. All told, the School Board says it is owed $132 million The six-year-old lawsuit picked up steam last fall after an unusual chain of events tanked a settlement proposal and sparked an intense political controversy

Cantrell’s chief administrative officer Gilbert Montaño, joined City Council member Joe Giarrusso and school officials in November to publicly announce a $90 million settlement Cantrell then signed a 2025 budget ordinance containing $10 million for the School Board the first of two equal lump-sum payments envisioned by the agreement, which also included $70 million over the next decade for programming

Two months later, Cantrell said she hadn’t been told of the settlement and the city attorney hadn’t signed off on it, exposing rifts within the administration. Ratcheting up the tension, Cantrell and Chief Financial Ofﬁcer Romy Samuel said the city couldn’t afford to pay and issued dire warnings about a lack of cash ﬂow in the city budget.

That led to an awkward City Council hearing in February, when Montaño, seated next to Samuel, disagreed with Samuel’s characterization of the city’s ﬁscal outlook while admitting he didn’t have authority to unilaterally commit the city to the settlement agreement.

to 40% of White residents. The improved marks still leave room to grow compared with pre-pandemic years, before an astronomical spike in violent crime during the pandemic, and then its rapid decline. The average NOPD satisfaction rating from 2016 to 2020 was 56%.

“Public perceptions of the NOPD are trending in a positive direction,” pollster Ron Faucheux said in a statement. “Despite this progress, New Orleans residents believe there is still much more that needs to be done to make the city safer and the police department better.”

Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

statement. “Our hearts and support remain with the family during this difﬁcult time.” King was killed shortly before midnight on April 7, 2024, after he denied someone entry to Wit’s Inn. Gilmore was arrested about a week later at an apartment complex in Harvey and booked with second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and manslaughter Wit’s Inn closed about a year later

Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey.bubnash@ theadvocate.com.

Incensed council members accused Cantrell and Samuel of sounding false alarms to get out of the deal and joined the lawsuit to back a School Board motion to enforce the nixed settlement agreement. Samuel and Montaño have since conveyed a more unified public message on the city’s financial outlook, broadly agreeing that, while no crisis is imminent, some cuts will be necessary to keep the budget balanced Sheppard on March 19 agreed with the administration that the settlement hadn’t been finalized, since it lacked Cantrell’s signature. The judge also ordered the administration to pay the $10 million that Cantrell had signed off on in the budget, imposing a 30-day deadline. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal has since backed Sheppard on both matters, but the administration has yet to pay out any money City officials instead asked Sheppard to reconsider her ruling on the payment, which was one of half a dozen motions and other requests that Sheppard heard on Monday Among them was a School Board motion to hold Samuel in contempt of court for failing to pay the $10 million. Thus far, Sheppard has only ruled on the city’s request to add the Assessor’s Office as a defendant.

Email Ben Myers at bmyers@theadvocate.com.

New Orleans recorded 266 homicide victims in 2022, marking one of the highest per capita murder rates in decades. The violence began to taper in mid2023. The 52 killings in the city so far this year have the city on track for one of its lowest murder rates on record, despite the Jan. 1 truck attack that killed 14 people. Other violent crimes, like carjackings and armed robberies, have also seen huge declines, aligning with national trends. Much of the crime reduction has come under the watch of Kirkpatrick, who took the permanent job in fall 2023.

Email Ben Myers at bmyers@theadvocate.com.

BR’s Blue Bayoutoreopenin2026

Soak’n Fun will lease only waterpark, not DixieLandin’

BY ELLYN COUVILLION and TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writers

Blue Bayou Water Park in Baton Rouge will reopen in May2026 under new management anda new name —Soak’n Fun —itwas announced Tuesday.

The water park off Interstate 10 didn’topen this summer,and it was unclear what the futureof the popular venue was, especially after its sister attraction, Dixie Landin’ Theme Park wasopen for about aweek.

The new management company is Leisure Sports and Recreation, based in Mandeville, which also owns and operatesthe Gulf Islands Waterpark in Gulfport, Mississippi.GulfIslands is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year

“The Soak’n Fun family of water parks is known for delivering clean and safe familyfun,” the news release said.

“We’re thrilled to bring the Soak’n Fun experience to Baton Rouge,” Glenn Haggerty,managing partner of Leisure Sports and Recreation, said in the announce-

MOTORISTS

Continued from page1B

Prosecutors are alsoexpected to introduce evidence linking Barretteto the June6,2019, death of Bruce Reed, a61-year-old man gunned down at aNew Orleans intersection with the same weapon used in the Jefferson Parish shootings, court records said.

‘Murderousrage’

Barrette had ahistory of mental illness but no criminal record whenauthorities say he began acting with what Jefferson Parish Sheriff JosephLopintoat the time called a“murderous rage.”

On the night of June 5, 2019, acouple noticed an SUV beganfollowing them as they drove on Airline Highway in Metairie. Though the man tried to make turns to shake the SUV,itcontinued to tail them onto Interstate 10 and into Kenner,according to court records. When the couple exited at LoyolaDrive, the SUV pulled alongside, andsomeoneopenedfire, striking their vehicle but not the occupants, according to authorities. Kenner policecollected spent shell casings from a.40-caliberpistol

The next night, Reed was shot 12 times with a.40-caliberpistol as he stoodnear the intersection of Hayne Boulevardand Marquis Street in New Orleans. He

JAILBREAK

Continued from page1B

Only Groves, aconvicted murderer,and 32-year-old Antione Massey remained on the run as of Tuesday afternoon. According to apolice afﬁdavit, investigators found that Burton andGroveshad exchanged texts and video calls before the jailbreak through SmartCom, an internetbased messaging and video calling service that inmates use through jail-provided iPads.

On May 14, twodays before the escape, Groves took aFaceTime call with Burton and an unknownman whose identity investigators say they kept “intentionally vague,” apparently aware the call was being monitored, according to the afﬁdavit. Investigators said it was implied that Burton would make an unmonitored call to the unidentiﬁed manwhere they would go over timing, transportation and the man’s role in the escape. In another FaceTime call

ment LikeBlue Bayou, Gulf Islands is aregional attraction, also located off Interstate 10.

It features awave pool, waterslides and what itbills as a“waterroller coaster.” Gulf Islands recently started courting Baton Rouge visitorsafter Blue Bayou announced it was not opening this year

Leisure Sports andRecreation will be working thisyear in preparation for the newSoak’n Fun opening next year,itsaid. The company said further details will be announcedlater this year

It will notbeleasing or operating Dixie Landin’, it said.

The theme park located next doortoBlue Bayou reopened for the 2025 season butclosed about a week later.Sam HaynesJr.,CEO and owner of Blue Bayou and Dixie Landin’, told WBRZ that Dixie Landin’ hasclosed permanently

The parks have operated on a limited basissincethe COVID-19 pandemic.

DixieLandin’ wasclosedfrom 2019to2024, while Blue Bayou closed aftera shortened season in 2021 due to HurricaneIda.In2022, thewater park was open for only acouple of weeks due to stafﬁng issues.

In 2023, park ofﬁcials said Blue Bayou was open while Dixie Lan-

diedafter beingtaken to a hospital.

NewOrleans police learned thatReed was shot by someone in alightcoloredSUV,court records said.

The next bout of gunfire was reported about 8:15 p.m. June 17, 2019, whena womansaidsomeone shot at her car as she droveeastonI-10nearOaklawn Drive inMetairie. She was not hit, but her vehicle was damaged, Sheriff’sOfﬁce investigators said. About 11:12p.m.that samenight, Cadalzo was shot in thehead, torsoand legs while driving eastbound on West Metairie Avenue near Henry Landry Drive, the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said. Hisbullet-riddled car then crashed intoatree along the roadway He was taken to ahospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Despite the rain, adry iPhone was found lying on theground near Cadalzo’s crashed car,still playing music. Sheriff’s Office investigators later determined thephone belonged to Barrette,according to authorities Investigators also recovered 10 spent .40-caliber shell casings from the scene, authorities said Historyofmentalillness

As detectives begancollectingmoreevidencethat implicated Barrette in Cadalzo’s death, authorities say he took aimone more time.

between thethreepeople,the unidentified man allegedly told Groves the escape was a “bad move” thatwould trigger a“manhunt,” according to court records. He advised Groves to seek his release through thejustice system, accordingtothe afﬁdavit.

“This exchange conﬁrmed that Burton had alreadydisclosed the escape plan to the outsidecontact,actively soliciting his involvement,” investigators wrote.

Burton also allegedly drove another escapee,LentonVanburen, 26, to ahouse in New OrleansEast the morning of the jailbreak, accordingtopolicerecords.

Afamilymember ofVanburen’stold police that Burton called her via FaceTime shortly after the escape,and she saw Vanburen andBurton togetherinthe car Agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and theU.S. Marshals Serviceobtained awarrant for Burton’s arrest on May 27. Burton was arrested while she was pulling out of aparking lot in the 2600 blockofSt. Peter Street in Tremeand bookedinto the PlaqueminesParishjail.

Her bail was set Monday at $2.5 million,accordingto court records.

Burton is among ahandful of Sheriff’s Office em-

din’ remained closed becausethe water park was more popular They denied widespread speculation that staffing issueswere keeping both parks from operating fully

Before COVID-19, theparks traditionally were open from midMaytoLabor Day weekendand featured concerts from pop, rock andcountry acts including Blake Shelton, Panic! at the Disco, Jason Aldean and Cheap Trick.

According to alease ﬁled Friday with theEast Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court’sOfﬁce, SFBB LLC of Mandeville will pay $50,000 a month in baserentfor Blue Bay-

About 4:16 p.m. June 18, 2019,ManuelCaroniawas driving Nicky Robeau to an auto-parts store when someoneopenedfire on their vehicle at West Metairie Avenue and Lynette Drive, authorities said.

Caroniasuffered gunshot wounds to hishead,while Robeau was shot in the shoulderand chest.Both died of their injuries.

While no spent shell casings were collected at this scene, aprojectile collected during Caronia’sautopsy was linked to the .40-caliber weapon believedused in Cadalzo’sdeath, authorities said.

Awitnessreported seeing alight-colored SUVpull next to the victim’svehicle andopenﬁre.Investigators pulled video from licenseplate cameras in the area and identified atan, 2005 Nissan Pathﬁnder that traveled theintersection at same time as Caronia’s vehicle, authorities said.

That Pathﬁnder was registered to Barrette’sfather, according to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce, and also matched the description of the suspect vehicle from Cadalzo shootingthe night before, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce SWAT team surroundedBarrette’s Trefney Avenue home shortly after the double homicide andtook him into custody A.40-caliber handgun later linked to the homicides and the shooting incidentswere found in alaundry basket in Barrette’shouse, theSheriff’s Ofﬁce said.

ployees who were ﬁred and arrested between 2023-24 in connectionwith contraband in the jail.

Burton, who began workingatthe jail in 2022, was accused of bringing afolding knife and abag of Cheetos containing tobacco and marijuanaintothe jail, according to The Associated Press.

Burton was initially booked with malfeasance in office and introducing contraband in prison. Court records showthe Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office ultimately refused thecharges in October 2024.

The District Attorney’s Ofﬁce said in aprepared statement Tuesday thatBurton’s charges were reviewed by a senior screening attorney

The District Attorney’s Ofﬁcefound that Burtonleft the contraband inside abag at thelockup entranceand did notfollowthrough with thedelivery Because of that, along with her cooperation in the investigation and lack of criminal history,Burton was offered andcompleted apretrial diversion program,according to thedistrict attorney Email Marco Cartolano at marco.cartolano@ theadvocate.com.

ou. SFBB is madeupofHaggerty; Paul Rees, aMandeville tax attorney who serves as president and chieffinancialofficerofLeisure Sportsand Recreation; andMark Moore, general manager of Gulf Islands Waterpark, according to a businessfiling with the Louisiana Secretary of State’sOffice.

Thelease is set to expire at the end of 2027, but there are options to renew the lease foruptosix ﬁve-year terms. SFBB also has the right of ﬁrst refusal to buy Blue Bayou if the park ownership receives an offer for the land.

The agreement allows SFBB to bring in third partiestorun res-

Barrettewas diagnosed withschizoaffective disorder andhad beentwice committed involuntarily for mental health treatment in the six months before the shooting spree began, according to court records.

After being indicted, the court ruled he was not mentally competent enough to standtrial in November 2020. He was sent to the East Louisiana Mental Health System in Jackson for treatment and declared competentinOctober 2022.

Barrette was again declared competent for trial in aMay 21 hearing, court records said.

Jury selection was still underway Monday evening.

taurants,giftshops or retail in the park andtoadd new attractions, waterslides andpermanent structures to the park.

Alongwith Gulf Islands and Soak’n Fun, Leisure Sports and Recreationisdeveloping Jubilee Park, aproposed $60 millionattraction in Mobile,Alabama.Jubilee Park would include an indoor and outdoor water park,zip linesand sportsﬁelds. Plansare to open the park in phasesbetween 2027 and 2029, according to The (Biloxi) Sun Herald.

Email Ellyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate.com.

St.Charles sheriff’s unit involved in crash

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

ASt. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Officedeputy vehicle was involved in acrash at U.S. 90 on Ruth Street in Paradis on Tuesday morning. The left lane on the highway was blocked by the crash, according to astatement the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office posted to Facebook about7:50 a.m. Photos of the crash show thedeputyvehiclewas seriouslydamaged, withwreck-

age to itsfrontend andleft side. The vehicle’sbumper hadbroken off, andair bags were deployed. Trafﬁcwas diverted to the highway’sshoulder while theSheriff’s Ofﬁceresponded to thecrash The Sheriff’s Officedid notimmediately release more information on the crash or say whether any injurieswere reported Email Marco Cartolano at marco.cartolano@ theadvocate.com.

dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock,leading people to put off or even go without care

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

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1

That’sright. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocovereverything. Thatmeans if you wantprotection,you need to purchase individual insurance.

Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensive ones.

The best waytopreventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. TheAmerican Dental Association recommends checkups twice ayear.

Even if you’ve hadquality dental work in the past, you shouldn’t takeyourdental health forgranted. In fact,yourodds of having adental problem onlygoupas you age.2

Treatment is expensive especially theservices people over 50

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Blue BayouWater Park in Baton Rougewill reopen in May2026 under newmanagement and anew name Soak’n Fun —itwas announced Tuesday.

Bennett, Judith Bolian,Aljean Conic, Charles Dicks, Madge GuichetJr.,Otis

Guidry,Madeline

Hurst, Rochelle

PréauJr.,Walter

Shank, Jane

Stagni,Evelyn

Taffaro, Mary

Taylor,Marie

Tucker,April

Viguerie, Edward

Vincent, Dorothy Young, Glennand

Marguerite

EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Guidry,Madeline

Viguerie, Edward

NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Tucker,April

Charbonnet

Hurst, Rochelle

Gertrude Geddes

Conic, Charles

Taylor,Marie Greenwood

Taffaro, Mary

Lake Lawn Metairie

Dicks, Madge

St Tammany

EJ Fielding

Bennett, Judith

Young, Glennand Marguerite West Bank

Mothe

Stagni,Evelyn

Vincent, Dorothy Obituaries

Bennett, Judith D.

Judith D. Bennett, age 86, of Bush,LA, passed peacefullyfromthisearth onThursday, June 5, 2025 She wasbornonJune 24, 1938 in Middletown, Ohio

Judithwas preceded in death by herlovinghus‐band, Ernest LouisBennett her son, RandallLeslieBen‐nettSr.,parents,James KellDarragh andThella Kling Darragh, sister,Gail Young Richardson,and grandson, Joseph L. (Joey) Nuzzolill.Judithissurvived byher daughters, Stephanie Bennett, Laura Lawlor, Anne Favret;her daughter- in-law Karen Bennett; hergrandchil‐dren, Nikki JoyNuzzolillo Norvell (Michael), Daniel Louis Lawlor (Kayla), Abi‐gailLillian Lawlor,Randall Leslie BennettJr.,Christo‐pherErnestBennett (Amanda), BrianLouis Ben‐nett(Angelle), andRonnie Scelson;her greatgrand‐children, Emma Grace Norvell, Sophia Nicole Lawlor, DianaEllen Lawlor ClaireAltheaBennett, Gabriella Noel Bennett, Laila JoyBennett,Kayla Scelson,Cameron Scelson, RobertScelson;greatgrandsonLukaJaceHege onthe way, andmanyex‐tendedfamilymembers and friends. Judith gradu‐atedfromChillicothe High School,and then went to MiddletownHospitaland enrolledintheir x-raypro‐gram. Shebecamea regis‐tered x-raytechand spent manyyears at Middletown Hospital. Judith then be‐cameaninstructorshap‐ing young mindsatFort Hamilton Hospital in Ohio

forseveral years. In 1969, JudithwenttoBostonto takesummerclassesat NortheasternUniversity, where shemet Ernest Ben‐nett(herlatehusband) and were marriedfor 27 years.Her career in x-ray spannedover 50 years, being registered with ARRT and LSRT andteachingat Delgado Community Col‐legeinNew Orleansand teachingand laterbecom‐ing ProgramDirectorat North Oaks School of Radi‐ologicTechnology in Ham‐mond. LA.Judy'sinterest included ﬁshing, garden‐ing,water colorpainting, WWII history, cruisesto Alaska, andspendingtime withfamily. In lieu of ﬂow‐ers,donations in memory ofJudithBennett maybe madetoNorthshorePas‐sages Hospice. Thead‐dress is 46 LouisPrima Drive,Covington,LA70433 Checksormoney orders can be made payableto PassagesHospice with Ju‐dithBennett on the“memo line”.Relatives and friends are invitedtoattendthe funeralservicesonThurs‐day,June12, 2025, at 11:00 atE.J Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 West 21st Av‐enue,Covington,Louisiana withvisitationbeginning at9:00AM. Intermentwill followin theadjacent Pinecrest Memorial Gar‐dens.

Bolian, Aljean F. 'Gina'

Aljean"Gina"F.Bolian, 79, of Kiln, Mississippi, passedawayonSaturday, June 7, 2025

Belovedwife, mother, grandmotherand friend, Gina was known forher heart for Jesus, family and all people,aswellasher petsand animalsofall types. Gina's love and servant'sheart willbemissed dearly, but at the same time we celebrate her life and that she is with her Lord in heaven.

Gina was preceded in death by her son,John Michael Bolian; and parents,Albertand Jeanne Breitkreutz.

Sheissurvived by her lovinghusband of 58 years, John Philip Bolian III; two sons, Albert John Bolian (Daphne) and Carl Jeffrey Bolian (Alissa); three grandchildren, Asia Ferguson (Adam), Priscilla Bolian, and MalloryBolian; two sisters, Jeanette Marquise (Anthony) and Jeanne Wilson; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral serviceswill take place on Thursday, June 12, 2025atFirst BaptistChurchinBay Saint Louis, MS,with Visitation from 11:00a.m. till 1:00 p.m. followed by Funeral at 1:00 p.m. Interment will take place at the Gulf Coast MemorialCemetery in Bay Saint Louis, MS

Edmond Fahey Funeral Home is honoredtoserve the family of Gina Bolian.

CharlesEdwardConic, age 72 wasbornonDecem‐ber 2, 1952 in Woodville, MS departedthisearthly home onMonday, June 2, 2025 Heattended Wilkerson CountySchool District (Woodville, MS) andwas employedasa sandblaster offshore. Charleswas the lovingfatherofSivia Conic, CharleConic andChris Conic.Beloved brotherof MaryJ.White,Francis Lane and Sara Lane.Hewas also survived by 6grandchil‐dren, anda host of nieces nephews,cousins,family and friends. He waspre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐entsCharlie Conicand Is‐doraConic;his siblings Willie Conic, CormealScott and Robert Robinson;and his life partnerLouisa Robinson. Relativesand friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life Serviceon Thursday,June 12,2025 at GertrudeGeddesWillisFu‐neral Home,2120 Jackson Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113 at 10:00a.m.Visita‐

tion from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. PrivateBurial. You maysignthe guest book on http://www.ger trudegeddeswillis.com Gertrude GeddesWillisFu‐neral Home,Inc.incharge (504) 522-2525.

Dicks, MadgeBeavers

Madge Beavers Dicks passed away peacefully at home on June 4, 2025, at theage of 92. She is survivedbyher husband's nephew, John Dicks Thomas (Mimi Parker) of Diamondhead,MSwho cared for her like ason. She is also survivedbyher nieces and nephews, Sallie Beavers Buchal (Michael), Wilson Franklin Beavers IV, Ann DicksFlowerree,John Hewes Flowerree,David ReilyFlowerree (Jane), Margaret Clifton Scott (Steve), Ernest RoyClifton III(Lisa), Nancy Gay Quarles (J.V.), Andrew Price Gay Jr (Lynelle), Barbara Gay Rice (Winston), and John Fleming Gay (Karen); her great-niece, Hali'a Buchal and numerous other greatnieces and nephews on her husband'sside She was predeceased by her loving husband of 42 years, John Fleming Dicks, Jr., her mother, Frances HarmonBeavers, her father, Wilson F. Beavers Jr. and her brother,WilsonFranklin Beavers III. Madgewas born and raised in Meridian, MS. She graduated from the University of Alabama and moved to Jackson, MS to beginher career as an art teacher. Madge later moved to Gulfport,MS where she met her future husband at theGulfport Yacht Club.Uponmarrying and moving to New Orleans, LA she taught art at St. Mary's Dominican High School formany years. Madge was known for her love of life and her vivacious nature. She readily madefriendswherever she went.Madge lovedart, music, entertaining,horses, her clubs, holidays, traveling with her husband Johnny, and of course her dogs and her squirrels. She served as President of the Lighthouse for theBlind Auxiliary. By serving in many Boardpositionsand as an Officer, she was awarded as an Honorary Member in The Orleans Club.Madge also served on the BoardofDirectors of Le Petit Salonwhere she filledmost positions in the Officers category. Madge and Johnny were members of theSouthern YachtClub, where they enjoyed sailing on the'Sugah'.They also spent timerelaxing with friendsand family at their home on the MS Gulf Coast,atthe Pass Christian Yacht Club, or at their home in Cashiers, NC The family wouldliketo thank her devotedcare-

givers BettyClayton, Yolanda Young, and AntoinetteFrank for their loving care of Madge over theyears. Amemorial servicewill be held on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at Lake Lawn Metairie FuneralHome, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. NewOrleans, LA.Visitation willbeheldfrom 10 AM -11 AM with amemorialMass to begin at 11 AM Inurnment willbeata later date in Meridian, MS. In lieu of flowers,a memorial donationcan be madetoLePetit Salon, 620 St. PeterStreet, New Orleans, LA 70130; or The OrleansClub,5005 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70115

GuichetJr., Otis Philip

Longtime husband,father, friend, educator / principal,and sportsman Otis Philip Guichet,Jr. (82 years old) of Harahan, Louisiana, passed away peacefully in thepresence of his belovedfamily at home on May 29, 2025. Otis, aka"BigO"ispredeceased by hisparents Otis Philip Guichet, Sr.,Mother Clarabelle Hebert Guichet, Step-Grandson Jeffrey Klein, former Sister-in-Law Janet St. Pe Guichet, and brother-in-law Charles "Charlie"Booksh. Our father is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Shirley Bouquet Guichet. DaughterMichelle Guichet Klein(Michael) Grandson Devin Klein(Dr. Alex Carter-Klein)and yetto-be-bornGreat GrandchildBabyKlein; DaughterMoniqueGuichet Lemoine (Chad), Granddaughter Mia Lemoine Stansbury (Scott) and Great-Grandsons DawsonStansbury and Hayes Stansbury; SonOtis "Chip"Guichet, III(Aimee), Granddaughters Hannah Guichet Fouchi (Vincent), Margaret "Maggie Guichet, and Audrey Guichet; DaughterMelissa Guichet Murray (Kyle), Grandson JacksonMurray and Granddaughters Brooke Murray and Drue Murray; Brother Ronald "Noonie" Guichet,Nieces ErinGuichet Nuss(Pete) and Heather Guichet; Sister Simone Guichet Booksh and Niece Tara Booksh Barnhart (Scotty); Sister-in-Law Linda Bouquet Passauer (Kenny) and Niece Lindsey Passauer Vasquez (Javier) and Brother-in-Law Roland "Rusty" Bouquet,Jr. (Diana). Otis spent his entire professional career as alifelong educator with theJeffersonParish Public School System. For his entire 33-year career with JeffersonParish, he served as theprincipal,chief mentor, role model, and educational leader at Barbre MiddleSchool. The family wouldliketothank Dr. JosephMiceli from OchsnerHospital, Rachel Stewart and Andrea Schexnayder-Guillot from St.Joseph'sHospice and Nurse Practitioner Rebecca

Afullservice funeralhomeofferingtraditional funerals direct burial andcremations. Honoringall insurancepoliciesand servicingall churches andcemeteries. (504)208-2119• (504)208-2138 (504)358-4232

JEROME L. ROBINSON AND PERRILYNALEXIS-HARRIS, OWNERS 9611 HIGHWAY23, BELLE CHASSE,LOUISIANA

20 minutesfromdowntownNew Orleansand half ablock northofBelle ChasseNavalAir Station. Celebrating Life,One Family at aTime

Oretha Castle HaleyBlvd NewOrleans,LA70113 We offer affordable burials, cremation, andlifeinsurance majesticmortuary.com ResthavenMemorial Park 10400Old Gentilly Road,New Orleans,LA70127 Servingthecommunityforover75years

Ezell for theircare and compassion duringour dad's sickness. In the Bible,specifically Galatians5:22-23, the ApostlePaullists 9specific charactertraits reflected andseenina Godly believer's life; theseare commonly calledthe Fruitsof theSpirit. Thesefruitsare identified as love,joy, peace,patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control.All whoknewDad, either for abrief time or duringa lifelongrelationship couldeasily see acontinual bounty of thesefruits produced in hislifeyearafter-year...these harvests resulted directlyfroma life firmly rooted in faithin Christ.Althoughhis legacy as awise,generous, caring, andGodly man lives on,hewill be missed by so many familyand friends. Visitation will be on Thursday, June 12, from 10:00 AM -12:00 PM at St Rita Catholic Church,194 Ravan Ave,Harahan,La. A funeral mass will follow at 12:00 PM.Inlieuofflowers, thefamilyisrequesting that donations be made to either St.Jude's Children's Hospital or Shriners' Children'sHospital

Guidry,MadelineOlivier

Madeline OlivierGuidrybornonApril 28,1940 in New Orleans, LA passed ontoher heavenly home onJune 7, 2025, at theage of85. Shelived most of her lifeinher home in Metairie withher family, to whom she wasverydevoted.She was also devotedtoher other familyatStEdward the ConfessorCatholic Church,where shegaveof herself generously as a volunteer.Madelinewas precededindeath by her husband of 57 years, Noel Guidry; parents, Emma and SidneyOlivier,Sr.;brother, Russell Olivier; father and mother-in-law,Leonand Jeanne Guidry;brothers-inlaw,Leonand RoyGuidry and HenrySchiro, Sr.; sis‐ter-in-law, Elaine Guidry; andson-in-law, Armand

Matherne,Jr. Sheissur‐vived by herchildren, Michael Guidry,MaryEar‐les (David), DebbieAnder‐son (John),SharonMath‐erne, andKevin Guidry;her grandchildren,Jason Guidry, Matthew Guidry, LisaEarles, Margaret Ear‐les,RobertAnderson (Samantha), Thomas An‐derson, Alex Matherne,An‐dreaMatherne, andNatalie Matherne; hersiblings, SidneyOlivier,Jr. (Carol), Janet McCormick(James), Kenneth Olivier, Sr.(Gin‐ger), andsisters-in-law, MaryLenaOlivier,Carol Guidry, andSylviaSchiro. She is also survived by the manymuch-lovedcousins nieces, nephews, andchil‐drenofthese.Familyand friends areinvited to at‐tendthe funeralservices onFriday, June 13, 2025, at St. Edward theConfessor Catholic Church,4921 W. MetairieAve., Metairie,LA 70001. Visitation will begin at9am followed by aMass at11am. Intermentwillfol‐low after mass in Garden ofMemoriesCemetery, 4900 AirlineDrive,Metairie, LA70001. To offeronline condolences,send ﬂowers tothe familyorplant atree inmemoryofMadeline Guidry, please visit, www gardenofmemoriesmetairi e.com

Rochelle Deonne Hurst entered eternalrestonthe morning of Thursday,June 5,2025 surrounded by her son andfamily. Rochelle was aproud graduate of Booker T. Washington Class of 1972 andTalladega College,Class of 1976. She was aretired employee of the United States Postal Service anda Teacherfor the NewOrleans School system. Sheloved children and they lovedher.There was always someonevisit‐ing or stayingather home She wasalsofondof ﬂow‐ers andplantswitha kitchengardeninthe rear

Hurst, Rochelle Deonne

Conic, CharlesEdward

of herhomeuntil shebe‐cameill.Daughterofthe lateEmily Yvonne and Jaret Hurst, Sr.Survivors include herson,Leighlan Hurst;granddaughter, LeiandraHurst andgreatgranddaughter,Brielle Amore Conley;siblings, EarlR.Hurst,Sr. (Harriet), Jaret W. Hurst, Jr.(Estelle) and CharlotteS.Hurst;sis‐ter-in-law, Collinetha Hurst,aswellasa host of nieces, nephewsand cousins,who love her dearly. In addition to her parents,Rochelleisalso precededindeath by sib‐lings,Larry,Sr.,Harry,Sr. Albernae, Sr.and An‐toinette Hurst. Family friends andmembers of Edgewater andNew Hope Baptist Churches;alumni ofBooker T. Washington (Classof’72),DillardUni‐versity,Orleans Parish PublicSchool System;Staff ofthe United States Postal service areinvited to at‐tendthe funeral. ACele‐bration Servicehonoring the life andlegacyofthe lateRochelle Deonne Hurst willbeheldinthe Chapel ofCharbonnetLabat Glapion FuneralHome, 1615 St.PhilipStreet,New Orleans,LA70116 on Friday June 13, 2025at10am, Rev. JonathanF.Smith,Ofﬁciat‐ing.Interment private. Visi‐tation9 am in thechapel. Repastimmediatelyfol‐lowsatthe National Asso‐ciation of LetterCarriers Hall, 4200 ElysianFieldsAv‐enue,NOLA70122. In lieu of ﬂowers, memorial dona‐tions maybesenttothe AmericanCancerSociety inhonor of Rochelle Hurst, www.ACS.org.Phone num‐ber 800-992-2623. Please signonlineguest book at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581 4411

AMass of Christian Burial for Walter Antoine Préau, Jr.MDwillbeheld at 10:00AMonSaturday, June 14,2025, at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church with Rev. Thomas Kennedy officiating. Areceptionwill follow Mass in the Divine Providence Center until 1:00 PM. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM until the time of service on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the church. Interment willbeheldat 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at St. Roch Cemetery, New Orleans. Walter Antoine Prèau, Jr passed away on May 15,2025, at Summer House Retirement Community of Alexandria, at the age of 86. Born in New Orleans, La., Walter Préau attended Holy CrossHigh School where he played football. He graduated from L.S.U. in anthropology and wasa graduate of L.S.U. School of Medicine (1967) in New Orleans. Walter did his medical residency at Charity Hospital and opened his own general practice in Metairie, La. before shifting to emergency medicine and moving to Alexandria, La. There he served as an emergency medical physician at Rapides General Hospital for 34 years, as Director of Emergency Services, and as MedicalDirector of Cenla Ambulance Service and Medflight. Walter was aU.S Marine.Healso served as amedical adviser to the U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group (S.O.G.). In that capacity, he served as amedical control officer and adviser to all emergency medical technicians. In 1994, Walter Préau was named Citizen of the Year for his work with the U.S. Marshals Service S.O.G. as well as the Rapides Parish Sheriff'sOffice and State Police Troop E. He was always available and qualified to help anyone in almost any emergency. Dr. Préau was curious and passionate in pursuing his hobbies and interests. He raised horses, earned his pilot's license and flew pipelines as well as travelled extensively. In his travels, he hiked to the Phantom Ranch of the Grand Canyon, learned to build snow caves and pursued other extreme weather survival tactics, and studied wilderness medicine. Walter's hobbies included scuba diving,skiing, camping,hiking, trav-

elling, canoeing, archery, and reading. He was adevoted outdoorsman and naturalist. As aconservation-minded landsteward, he planted over 5,000 longleaf pine trees adjacent to Kisatchie National Forest to contribute to restoring anativeLouisiana ecosystem there Walter willbedearlyrememberedand loved by the many peopleinhis family and community. Precededindeath by his parents, WalterAntoine Préau,Sr. and Audrey Tank Préau; and one sister, Lynn Préau Cortez Heissurvived by his wife, Bridgett Bertrand Préau; daughters,Tina Louise Préau McNamara and husband G. Timothy McNamara,Jeanne Marie Préau, Aimee Kathryn Préau, and Jolie Anne Préau; sons, ShawnRobert Préau and wifeVictoria Garcia Préau, and Brandon Monceauxand wife KatherineAntoon Monceaux; his grandchildren, MeghanMcNamara Jordan,Mandy McNamara Porter, Nicole Elizabeth Préau,Isabel Marie Préau, Lewis Tank Préau,Anders Dillon Préau, Camille Elise Monceaux, Adam Antoon Monceaux, Tommy Bertrand Monceaux; and hisgreat-grandchildren, Della and Norah Jordan, and James and JackPorter. To extend online notes of condolence to the family, please visit www.KramerFunerals.com.

Jane FinleyShank, beloved mother, grandmother, and dedicated nonprofitleader,passed awaypeacefully on June 7, 2025 at theage of 79.

Agraduate of Louisiana State University and John McDonogh High School in New Orleans, Jane served her communityfor over three decades,including as President and CEO of Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge (2003 to 2015). Herlegacy of compassionand leadership impacted thousands across Louisiana, particularly in supportingthose impactedbyHurricane Katrina.

She was adevoted mother to fourchildren, Jeremy, Jared, Jessica,and Jordan, and sixgranddaughters, Gracie, Eden, Annie, Polly, Selby,and Elowen. She is precededin deathbyher parents, Joseph and IlahGraceFinley, and sister,Ila Dieterich.Her family was at theheart of everythingshe did, and she was always therewith love,guidance and unwavering support

Acelebration of herlife will be held at St. James Episcopal Church, 205 N 4th St, Baton Rouge,LA 70801, at 2:00pmonSaturday, June 14, 2025

In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be made in her memorytoVolunteersof AmericaSouth Central Louisiana

Jane willberemembered forher strength, warmth, and unwavering dedication to her family and community.

Stagni,EvelynWeaver

tended familymembers and friends. Herfamilywas her greatest accomplish‐ment, andshe createda happy andlovinghome. Evelynwas knownfor her joy in life,her kindness and hergenerosity. She had boundless energy and loved to cook,garden, travel, andlinedance.Each yearshe enjoyedMardi Grasand attended as manyparades as possible She wasa long standing memberofthe Theta GoldenAge Club and Honky Tonk Stompers.Her ability to make everyone feel welcomeand apartof the familywas admiredby all who knew her. Evelyn was preceded in deathby her parentsBen andHort‐enseWeaver, hersiblings Clare Weaver,MaryBan‐non,and ErnieWeaverand her greatgranddaughter Anna Beth Smith. In lieu of ﬂowers, please send con‐tributionstoGiGi’sPlay‐house NewOrleans Down SyndromeAchievement Centerhttps://tinyurl com/2nbxuuzeorSt. Jude Children’sResearchHospi‐tal https://www.stjude. org/give.html.Her children would like to thankher hospice caregivers forthe careand comfortgiven Relatives andfriends are invited to attend thefu‐neral services at Christ the KingCatholicChurch,535 DeerﬁeldRoad, Terrytown, LA70056, on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 12pm, with visitationfrom10amto 12pm. Intermentwillbe heldprivately.Mothe Fu‐neral Home hasbeen en‐trusted with funeral arrangements. Thefamily kindlyinvites youtoshare thoughts, fondestmemo‐ries, andcondolences on‐lineatwww.MotheFunera ls.com.

Mary AnnMares Taf‐faro, age76, passedaway inher home on June 5, 2025, with herhusband by her side.MaryAnn, ana‐tiveofNew Orleans, was bornMarch 2, 1949, and resided much of herlifein Metairie. Shewas agradu‐ate of FrancisT.Nicholls HighSchool andfurthered her educationbyattending additional classesatTu‐laneUniversity. Aftercom‐pleting hereducation MaryAnn worked as acus‐tomer servicerepresenta‐tivefor SouthCentral Bell In 1971, shemarried her highschool sweetheartAn‐thony with whomshe be‐camethe devotedmother toher threechildren. Mary Ann reenteredthe work‐force as theschool secre‐taryatSt. LouisKingof FranceSchool where she workedfor twenty-six years.Duringher time at St. LouisKingofFrance, she touchedthe livesof manystudents, parents, and faculty members. Af‐fectionatelyknown to all as“Miss Mary Ann”,she was a ﬁxtureofthe school whether it wasrunning the school ofﬁce,helping to at‐tendtoa student’sinjury, givingone of herMickey Mouse stickers to achild makingsurethateach child hada prayer card on his or herbirthday, or sim‐ply providinga kind and lovingwordtobothstu‐dents andteachersalike Tothisday,manyofSt. Louis’s former students, parents,and faculty still remember“Miss Mary Ann” fondly andremember the impact that shehad on them. WhileatSt. Louis, MaryAnn became very in‐volvedinchurch and school life servingtwo terms as presidentofthe school’s Parents’ Club.She, along with herhusband, spent many yearsvolun‐teeringatthe fairinevery capacityimaginablein‐cluding fairboothcaptain andfairchairperson.She

Evelyn WeaverStagni, a residentofTerrytown, LA passedawaypeacefully on June 6, 2025 at theage of 93years with herfamilyby her side.Evelynwas the beloved wife of thelate Francis (Frank)Stagni. Throughouther life,Evelyn was asourceofloveand strengthfor herfamily. She was adevoted mother to her children KeithStagni (Theresa),DebbieStagni (Frank),Karen Fernandez (Kenny),TonyStagni (Tonia),and CarolMacera (Joey). Shewas much loved by hergrandchildren Kristy, Robert,Jeffrey, MaryBeth, Stephen, Can‐dice, John, Patrick, Nick, Vinny,Shae andMaddy and her12great grandchil‐dren. Shewillbemissedby many nieces,nephews,ex‐Contact us to learnhow we canhelpyou preparefor life’s eventsand protectyour family with advance funeral plans in MetroNew Orleansand Baton Rouge.

also served St.Louis King ofFrancechurch parish where shewas aparish‐ioner,asbotha lector and a EucharisticMinister. Also, Mary Annspent time volunteeringatbothJesuit HighSchool andMount CarmelAcademy.Inaddi‐tiontoher duties andvol‐unteerismatschool and church,MaryAnn further servedthe Archdioceseof New Orleansbygivingof her time to WLAE-TVwhere she wasoften found work‐ing theboards, thephones, orbehindthe scenes at its annualtuition auction. Due toher dedication to both her parish andArchdio‐cese, Mary Annwas hon‐oredwiththe OrderofSt. Louis IX Awardbythe Archdiocese of NewOr‐leans.Uponretiring, Mary Ann beganher next career asa full-time Grammy and part-time carpool chauf‐feurtoher eightgrandchil‐drenwho sheloved and treasured.Toher,eachone was aspecial gift from God,and sheloved each one in herown special way.MaryAnn lovednoth‐ing more than to spend timewithher grandchil‐dren: laughing with them, telling them jokesand sto‐ries, playingcards,or being arolemodel to them showing each onewhatit means to live agood Catholic life.She wasal‐waysthere foreachgrand‐child enjoying many birth‐day parties, graduations, balletand danceperfor‐mances, awardcere‐monies, androckconcerts. MaryAnn wasaffection‐ately knownasthe “Queen”byher grandchil‐drenand many family friends.She wasanavid readerand lovedDisney. She enjoyedtakingtrips withher familytoDisney and Orange Beachenjoying eachminutesharedwith her husband,children, and grandchildren.Her favorite movie wasBeautyand the Beast,and herfavorite songwas “BeOur Guest” which shewould oftensing withher grandchildren. She also loveda good meal and wasa regular fixture onFridaynightsatVin‐cent’sItalian Cuisine. To sum up Mary Ann’slife, she wasnot only awoman ofGod,but atruewoman for others.She made what could be an ordinary life extraordinary.MaryAnn was preceded in deathby her mother andfather Frank P. Mares, Sr andEs‐therSelhoferMares.She is survivedbyher devoted husband of fifty-three years AnthonyJ.Taffaro, Sr.,and herthree children Anthony J. Taffaro, Jr., Michael J. Taffaro(Jen‐nifer), andVirginiaTaffaro LaHatte (Joey).She is the lovinggrandmother to and issurvivedbyher eight adoring grandchildren, An‐thony,III, Evan,Nicholas, Kaylin, Caroline,Charlotte, Olivia, andDaniel. Shealso leavesbehindone brother Frank P. Mares, Jr.Relatives and friendsare invitedto attend theFuneralMassat Greenwood FuneralHome Chapel, 5200 CanalBlvd. on Thursday,June 12, 2025, at 11:00 AM.Interment will followinGreenwood Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 8:30 AM.Inlieuof flowers, Massesordona‐tions to St.JudeChildren’s ResearchHospitalare pre‐ferred. We also invite you toshare your thoughts fondmemories, andcon‐dolencesonlineatwww greenwoodfh.com.Your sharedmemorieswillhelp uscelebrate Mary Ann’s lifeand keep hermemory alive

MarieTaylor, age66was bornonAugust19, 1958, in New Orleans, LA,passed awayonTuesday,June 3, 2025, in herbeloved home‐

town. Shewas agraduate ofBookerT.Washington HighSchool andworkedas a nurse’saideatBaptist Hospital. Mariewas known for hercompassion, humor,and honesty. Shelit upevery room with her sharp witand fun-loving spirit, living life boldly and onher ownterms.Even duringnearlytwo yearsin a vegetative state, shein‐spiredloved ones with her strengthand spirit.Marie leavesbehinda legacy of laughter, love,and unfor‐gettablememories. Marie was thedaughterofthe lateBessieTaylorand RobertM.Taylor. Devoted motherofRobertD.Taylor and thelateCodey L. Tay‐lor.Cherished grand‐motherofDiamonte Beasley Sr.Great-grand‐motherofDiamonte Beasley Jr andthe loving sisterofEloiseTaylor. Rel‐ativesand friendsofthe familyare invitedtoattend the CelebrationofLifeSer‐viceonFriday, June 13 2025, at Gertrude Geddes Willis FuneralHome, 2120 Jackson Avenue,New Or‐leans,LA70113 at 11:00 a.m.Visitationfrom10:00 a.m.until 11:00 a.m. Inter‐mentProvidenceMemorial Park, 8200 AirlineDrive, Metairie, LA 70003. You may sign theguest book onwww.gertrudegeddesw illis.com.GertrudeGeddes Willis FuneralHome, Inc.,in charge(504) 522-2525.

Tucker,April Reimonenq

AprilReimonenq Tucker, age 59, passedaway peacefully on May27, 2025, at9:47PM. Born in NewOr‐leans,Louisiana,onNo‐vember29, 1965, shewas the beloveddaughterof the late Charlesand Berna‐dineReimonenq.April de‐voted herlifetoservicebothcivic andmilitary. She began hercareer at New Orleans City Hall before proudly enlistinginthe UnitedStatesAir Force, where sheservedwithdis‐tinctionfor 15 years. After completingher military service,she continuedher commitmenttopublicser‐vicethrough alongcareer withthe Social Security Administration, from which she eventually retired. A proudmemberofZetaPhi

Beta Sorority,Inc., April embracedsisterhood and service throughout herlife. She found joyincruising the open seas,visitingthe casino, andmostrecently, cherishingher role as “Gammie"toher beloved grandsons -her greatest joy in herlater years. April was preceded in deathby her parents, Charlesand Bernadine Reimonenq. She leavestocherish hermem‐ory herthree devotedchil‐dren: Edmond Sidney Fer‐nandezIll (Tatiana), Wayne Lloyd Tucker II, andChante Chavonne Tucker Wright (Ellis).She is lovingly re‐memberedbyher two grandsons,Ezekiel andEli‐jah Wright,her twobroth‐ers,Charlie andKevin Rei‐monenq; herbeloved part‐ner,EdwardJosephDucy 3rd;her bonus daughters NicoleMonique Henryand Briunna Tucker,and ahost ofnieces, godchildren, nephews,cousins,ex‐tendedfamily, andfriends April'slifewas atestament tolove, resilience,and un‐waveringdedicationto those shehelddear. Thoughshe maybegone fromour sight, herspirit, strength, andthe legacy of her love will live on in the heartsofall who were blessedtoknowher.Fam‐ily andfriends areinvited toattend theCelebration ofLifeService on Friday, June 13, 2025, for10:00 a.m. atOur Lady of Gaudalupe Church,411 N. Rampart Street,New Orleans, LA 70112. Visitation will begin at8:30a.m.FatherTony RigoliOMI,ofﬁciating. In‐terment will follow at Southeast LouisianaVeter‐ans Cemetery,34888 GranthamCollege Drive, Slidell, LA 70460. Guest‐book Online:www.anewtra ditionbegins.com(504)2820600. Linear Brooks Boyd and DonavinD.BoydOwn‐ers/Funeral Directors.

Edward Jéan Viguerie (TheItalian side of the familycalledhim Giovanni orGio forJohn),66, of Harahan,Louisiana passedawayonFriday, May 30, 2025, after an ex‐tremelybrief butcoura‐See more DEATHS page IN LOVINGMEMORYOF Donald Marcus Mar04, 1935 -May 04, 2022

On what would have been our anniversary, we celebrate the incredible life we shared and the enduring love that binds us still. You are forever in our hearts, deeply loved and profoundly missed by your wife, daughters, and grandchildren.

Shank, Jane Finley

Taffaro, Mary AnnMares

Préau Jr., Walter Antoine

Viguerie,EdwardJéan

Taylor,Marie

OUR VIEWS

Moving UNO into theLSU system

anew startfor beleaguered school

The University of New Orleanshas longbeen akey economic beneﬁt to thecityand the state as awhole.

But since Katrina, dropsinenrollment and funding have led to asevere crisis at the once thriving school,which in recentyears has faced mounting debt and an uncertain future.

That’swhy we applaud theLegislature for overwhelminglypassing Senate Bill 202, sponsoredbySen. Jimmy Harris, D-NewOrleans.

The bill moves the school from the University of Louisiana system, where it has beensince 2011, back under the LSU system, whereitwas beforethat year

The LSU system, which in recent yearshas experienced record enrollments at its campuses,isbetter positioned to pullUNO up from its doldrums.

The bill will now go to Gov.Jeff Landry’sdesk, whereheisexpected to sign it. It mustalso be approved by UNO’saccreditingagency, the Southern Association of Colleges andSchools, beforeitcan become ofﬁcial.

UNO’schallenges are signiﬁcant.The deﬁcit is estimatedashigh as $30 million. Enrollment hasshrunk from apre-Katrinapeakofaround 17,000 to around 6,000. Employees havebeen furloughed and laid off. Some majors have been eliminated and colleges consolidated

UNO President Kathy Johnson hailedthe move, calling it “the beginningofanimportant new chapter in our institution’shistory” and adding that “it reﬂects ashared commitmentto securing UNO’slong-termﬁnancialhealth.”

There are already some encouragingsigns Enrollment was up slightlyinthe fall, andadministrators will end furloughsonJune 30. Hiringand spendingfreezesremain in place.

The school,which was foundedin1958 as LSU NewOrleans, was akey driver in creatingthe large New Orleans middle class in the second half of thelastcentury.Offeringmyriaduseful degrees, UNO was aplace where Korean War veterans and local high school graduates could get aworthwhile education.

Now,the school boasts more than 53,000 graduatesinthe New Orleansarea, in ﬁeldsacross the professional spectrumfrom hospitality to engineering. Yetithas struggled to ﬁnd footing within the state’s higher education ecosystem

The passing of SB202 is agood step,but there is still plenty of work to be done. Atransition team has been named and must submit aplan to theBoard of Regents andthe Legislature by April. Potential impacts on students,faculty, operations and programs must beworkedout, including whetherthe school will retain its blue and silver colors and Privateer mascot or be wrapped in purple and gold.

We trust that the transition team andstate leaders are up to the task. UNO has givenmuch to the people of New Orleans andLouisiana. It would be ashame to allow it to fade away

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

Changestolong-term care facilities tucked in budget bill

If you have aloved one living in a Medicare or Medicaid-funded longtermcare facility,you need to know about “The OneBig Beautiful Bill.” Tucked inside this massive piece of legislation are devastating changes that will eliminate all required stafﬁng standards in these facilities. While thewealthiest Americans stand tobeneﬁt from tax breaks, the mostvulnerable —our elderly and disabled family members—will pay theprice.

Amongthe mostalarming provisions is the removal of any requirement for registered nurses to be present 24/7. In fact, under this bill, not even a single RN would be required to staff an entire long-term care facility,even though many residents require complex, specialized care. These facilities are already struggling withinadequate stafﬁng. Quietly stripping away what little oversight remains—without public debate and buried in amassive bill —isboth reckless and cruel. This change will impact countless families who depend on LTCfacilities to provide essential care foraging or disabled relatives. We’ve already seen substandard conditions in manyof these institutions. Removing the last line of defense —mandatory stafﬁng by trained health care professionals like RNs, LPNs and LVNs —will only worsen thequalityofcare. This is not theway to save money Ourmost vulnerable citizens are already carrying aheavy burden. Asking them to carry moreisnot only unjust,it’sinhumane.

The 10 pointsraised by Baton Rouge lawyer Eric Guirard in arecent letterto the editor are excellent recommendations for lowering automobile insurance rates. He says, however,“Don’tblame the lawyers.” Ibeg to differ.Wemoved here from Indiana nearly 10 years ago, astate in which automobile insurance ratesare seventhfromthe bottom nationally.One difference Iimmediately noticed when we moved here is the large number of ads from personal injury lawyers —ads on billboards and television, especially.These ads encourage potential plaintiffs to seek large settlements using testimonials, some allegedly from past clients, who say such things as,“So-and-so got me asettlement of $400,000,” or “Let so-and-so get you the settlementyou deserve.”

The Indiana legal code of ethics speciﬁcally states that information in legal advertising is unethical if it “contains

NICHOLE ROBICHAUX Slidell

statistical data or other information based on past performance or express or implied prediction of future success;” or “contains any reference to results obtained thatmay reasonably create an expectation of similar results in future matters;” or “appeals primarily to a lay person’sfear,greed, or desire for revenge.” Louisiana’sethical guidelines have no such statements. Iwould be less inclined to holdthe Louisiana legal profession partially responsible for the high automobile insurance rates if it hadsimilarethical guidelines, and if personal injurylawyers demonstrated awillingness to follow them. So, Iwould addan11th point to the 10 posed by Guirard: “The legal profession should adopt andfollowethical guidelines in advertising that do not encourage clientstoseek largesettlements.”

MARC LOUDON NewOrleans

No reason to lament enforcementofimmigration laws

In response to theletter,“Cartoon sadly captures where our country is today:” It’sa shamethat manyinthis country continue to blatantly ignore simple facts.

Along line of past presidents, excluding Joe Biden, have strongly advocated for strong compliance with

immigration laws and deportation of those in this country illegally,including the children of undocumented immigrants. Ourcountry must continue to insist that immigrants follow the laws for entry into theUnited States. JACK

TRUITT

Covington

Whenmydaughter wasfirst diagnosed withautism, Iwas overwhelmed withfear anduncertainty. Butbecause of accessible, well-funded earlyintervention programs, we had avillage of support to help guide our journey.Therapists, educators and specialists helpedher build theskills sheneeded to thrive andgavemethe hope andtoolsI needed as aparent. Recently, during ReadyLouisianaCoalition’sEarlyEdDay at the Louisiana State Capitol,asaSavethe Children Action Network volunteer advocate, Iwas able to share that my daughter is now thrivingasa GirlScout and4-H participant;she shinesintheater classes, confidently performing on stage; she’scurrently learning Russian,having developed alovefor languages; and, shecodes herown videogames! Iproudly see my child communicate, connect and create daily,having hadthe support to grow andshine As amental health professional workinginthe earlylearning sector, Itake my daughter’sstory intomy professional role, and Isee firsthand howinvestmentinearlychildhood education reduces costlyintervention later in life.I see parents’ livesbeing positivelyaffected when children are fully supported through theservices earlychildhood programsprovide Yet, in allthat I’ve seen through my personal andprofessional journey,it saddens me to knowthatnot every child gets these opportunities, though they should. Many families are stuck on waitlists or can’taccess thehelp they need.

Thatiswhy,asthe state budget moves through theLegislature, Iam urging lawmakers to protect and expand funding forearlychildhood programs. Because allLouisiana children,nomatter theirfamily’sZIP codeorsocioeconomicstatus, deserve to thrive

KRYSTLE JOHNSON Elton

As alifelong citizen of Louisiana living in New Orleans, Ifeel safer in my townwith escaped inmates than Ifeel with the recent vaccine announcements from the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr CAROLYN CLARK NewOrleans

COMMENTARY

Watchyourlanguage

Thebeginning of summer offers acolumnist the opportunitytoaddress subjects he might avoid the rest of theyear because of his focus on domestic and foreign issues.

Inattention to proper English seems to be a subject that few are bothering to address. I have been making alist of misusedwords that in the past might have labeled aperson uneducated. The following are just afew of what could be hundreds, even thousands, added almost daily toagallery of misspoken words.

People who appear on TVare frequently guilty of mangled English. “As you can see” is one phrase that is especially annoying. Someoneshould tell them we CAN see because it’s called television.

“Obviously” is repeatedly used by some of the most experienced news anchors. If it is obvious,why are you telling me?

The use of nouns and pronouns in the same sentence is annoying. Example: “The (name of team) they,” or “(name of quarterback),he.” Pronouns are supposed to replace nouns, notadd to them. Former quarterback Troy Aikman, who is nowanNFL sports commentator,does thistothe point of major irritation

Whydothey say “mayoral” and “gubernatorial” and not mayor or governor? No one says, “who are you voting for in the gubernatorial or mayoral election?” Only TV people say that.A “goober” is achocolate-covered peanut or alabel kids used tocall phlegm when it is coughed up. Icannot ﬁnd the meaning of “natorial.”

Whydoes David Muir on ABC’s “World News Tonight”say “tonight” in virtually every sentence? Has that word been poll tested for some reason? Doesn’therealize it isn’tnight at 6:30p.m. ET in other time zones?

“Like” and “You know” are used as sentence ﬁllers. Like what? If Iknow,

why are you telling me?

“Here” and “there” are other unnecessary sentence place holders.

“At the end of theday” is ameaningless statement. Would that be standard or daylight time?

How about “Alleyes areon?” Really?

“Gearing up” is asubstitute for preparing, or getting ready. Do people have gears?

“The American people” is used by all politicians, as if we are united in beliefs. If we were, we wouldn’thave twoparties and independents.

“Ifyou will.” What if Iwon’t?

Why do so many,especially young restaurant servers, respond when you thank them by saying “noproblem” instead of “you’re welcome?”

Airportshave their own language.

“Preboarding” is afavorite. Youcan get on before others, or boardearly butyou can’tpreboard. It’sanimpossibility,like preexisting, unlessyou believe in reincarnation.

About thatairplane seat —itmust be returned to its“full, upright and locked position.” Isn’tthat redundant?

Ilike this one: Passengers who choose to wear face masks must lower those masks before putting on oxygen

masks. What’snext,instructionson how to usethe toilet?

Airlines lie alot. Those countdown clocks at thegate almost always expire before you are allowed on, assuming theplane is at thegate. When it’s not,the screen goes from “time to board” to “boarding soon”toblank.

“Bombshell” used to refer to an especially attractivewoman. Now it is used to describe almosteverything, except an explosive device. Cliché.

“Change theworld” is often used to label an individual who apparently is thought to have powers no oneelsepossesses. If someonecould change the world (and deﬁne what that means) would it not have been changed by now,presumably for the better?

(Someone) has “come under ﬁre.” Call theﬁre department.

The teaching of what was once called “proper English” apparently has been replaced by woke subjects and arefusal to correct its misuse. It’sbecoming obvious to anyone with ears to hear and eyes to see, you know Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com.

NewpoliticsofMetropole vs.Heartland Democrats really want your votes

Yousee the same pattern over much of the world. In three consecutive presidential elections in theUnited States. In the latest polls in Britain, where the 2016 Brexit referendum wasthe ﬁrst notable outbreak. In France’smost recent national electionand in Germany’s. In Canada’selection lastmonth And maybe in Poland and South Korea earlier this month. The pattern can be summarized in asimple formula. M+M versus H. Or,increasingly and to the discomfort of established politicians and presspersonnel, M+(1-x)M.

Where are the Democrats? What are they doing about the damage President Donald Trumpisdoing to everything?

Ihear that alot from my liberal friends these days, ever since Trumpsweptthe battleground states six months ago and proceeded to dismantle government as we Americans used to know it. With the fury of aman whoistrying to makeupfor the time he lost on the sidelines after losing to Democrat Joe Biden, Trumphas been rolling out radical changes almost daily that seem to be aimed at retribution —one of his favorite words —more than decent governance. In the face of the onslaught, Democrats sound about as depressed as the party’sapproval ratings —27% in arecent NBCNews poll, or barely morethan afourth of the electorate.

That’sthe party’slowest positive rating in the network’spolling data since 1990. Only 7% say those viewsare “very positive.”

Throwing moresalt into their wounds is the simmering discontent in the party’score constituencies on whom the party has come to count for decades: young people, Black voters and Latinos, in particular,all of whom turned toward the political right, atrend that —unlike 2016 —included Trump’swinning the popular vote forthe ﬁrst time.

Self-identiﬁed Democratic voters say by atwoto-one margin in the NBCpoll that they would rather see their party “hold the line on their positions, even if it leads to gridlock,” instead of looking forareas of compromise to, as the old Capitol Hill saying goes, get things done. As aself-described moderate liberal, I’mdismayed but not surprised by that angst-driven reaction. Trump’sslash-and-burn approach to reform —onissues as varied as immigration enforcement to Medicaid to Veterans Affairs and COVID-19 shots, just forstarters, it will take a strong pushback just to land somewhere there near the ever-elusive sensible center

Where are the Dems now?Ofparticular interest this timearound, the party is trying to wooyoung men —diligently

The ﬁrst Mstands for “Metropole,” thedominant governmental, media and cultural center of eachcountry.London and Paris in Britain and France, obviously, with 16% to 20% of thenation’spopulation and practically allits elites. In the U.S., metro New York, Washington, Los Angelesand San Francisco. In Canada, Toronto and Anglophone Montreal. In SouthKorea, Seoul.

The second Mstands for“Minorities,” racial and ethnic. In Britain, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Muslims in industrial cities. In the U.S., the various peoples, bracketed bythe Census Bureau ukase, as Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Francophone Canadians. People whoseexperiences have setthem apart as alien and potentially adversary to thedominantsociety.

Theelites have fought back. Johnson wasoustedfollowing an ethics complaint,and aFrench court barred Le Pen from runningfor five years on a flimsyrationale. European Union elites removed the candidate who led the first ballot in Romania from the runoff andhavethreatened to bar Germany’s AfD party,the second-place finisher in theFebruary election, from future contests.

Youcan see the similarities with the lawfare attacks on Trumpand thekangaroo court prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Elites justify these moves by invoking the tragic history of the ﬁrst half of the20th century.But objecting to having economic policies set by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels is not undemocratic. Andbarring or limiting theuncontrolled inﬂux of often culturally hostile immigrants is not the moral equivalent of murdering 6millionJews. Preventing voters from exercising theirfree choice is afunny way of “saving democracy.” And not avery effective way.LePen’sdeputy Jordan Bardella is running well in polls, and Labour in Britain polls way behind Nigel Farage’sReform party by 362 to 136seats at present, with nearly 40% of theparty’s seats in metro London. AndTrump’s2024 victory seems to

Iﬁrst discerned the M+M vs. Hpatterns in June and November 2016. As Iwrote in 2019, in the Brexit referendum, 60% or more of voters in metro London and Scotland voted against leaving the European Union, but Brexit won because 57% in Englandoutside London voted for it. Similarly,inthe U.S., Hillary Clinton beatDonald Trump 65% to 30% in the NY/DC/LA/SF Metropole, which is 15% of the nation, but Trumpwon 49% to 45% in the Heartland in between Key electoral votes came from 2012 Obama voters switching to Trumpin thenonmajor metropolitan half of the Midwest. The Heartland doesn’talways lose. Joe Biden’s November 2020 victory over Trumpisone example of that The ouster of pro-Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson in summer 2022, and theLabour party victory in the July 2024 general election, is another 2022 saw incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron, whointhe ﬁrst round ran behind aleftist in the Metropole andjust 4points ahead of the populist anti-mass-immigration MarineLePen in the Heartland. Macron won the runoff butbyonlyhalf the margin of four years before.

have produced arealignment in his direction. The Metropole-Minorities alliance is fading, as Hispanics, Asians and, to alesser extent, Blackshave trended Republican.

Abrilliant New York Times graphic shows that Trumphas gained percentages in each of the last three elections in 1,433 counties with 42 million people, while his Democratic opponents have gained percentages three times in only 57 counties with 8million people. As Jewish Insider’sJosh Kraushaar noted on X: “For years, thebelief was Democrats have had demographic destiny on our side. Now,the inverse is true.”

Onecorollary of this largely unpredicted movement of Minorities away from Metropole attitudes and toward theHeartland is that the young, for Minorities tendtobeyounger than average, are moving that way too. Perhaps that helps account for the victory of KarlNawrocki, who was trailing in preelection polling and even in the exit poll in Poland. There’s polling evidence that young voters switched from the center-left in 2020 to theright this time.

At thesame time, the map of last weekend’sPolish election results looks almost identical to those from 2005 to 2020. Andthey’re correlated withhistoric patterns. The center-right party wins areas within the pre-1914 tsarist Russia empire, minus the large cities of Warsaw and Lodz. The center-left wins those areas within pre-1914 Germany. The strongest right areas are in southeast Poland,along the Ukrainian border,which were in pre-1914 Austria, theonly one of those multi-ethnic empires with aCatholic monarch. All of which is to say that the “Metropole plus Minorityversus Heartland” patterndoes not apply everywhere, and history still has its claims on many voters. Butwe’re watchingsome new electoral history being made, with no clear end in sight. Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

The harsh Democratic reality includes downwardlong-term trends forDemocrats while Republicans have been gaining ground in recent decades, particularly among noncollege graduates. Working-class voters have been turning away from the Democrats, long-viewed as the party for working families but increasingly perceived as the party of college-educated elites. Which leads us to the mostsigniﬁcant new moves by the Dems’donor class and strategists: a $20 million “strategic plan” called “Speaking with American Men,” or SAM forshort.

That’sright, guys. Like an old Uncle Sam poster today’sDemocrats wantyou! Perhaps morethan ever

The decline of men and concomitant rise of women in Democratic voting ranks has been observed fordecades and is not expected to change drastically soon.

Democratic pollsters are advising the party leaders to avoid taking the wrong lessons from the 2026 midterms, when manyofthem hope President Trump’sexcesses will backﬁre in favor of the Dems

That’swise. Trump’ssuccesses, including his victory last year,have tended to be larger than expected after the Democrats underestimated his popularity

As Anat Shenker-Osorio, aDemocratic consultant, told The NewYork Times,“Voters are hungry forpeople to actually stand up forthem —or get caught trying.”

In other words, she said, “The party is doing a lot of naval-gazing and not enough full-belly aching.”

I, too, have heard that lament, particularly from Democrats in cities like Chicago who remember an era when the party seemed less concerned with trying to sound polite and moreconcerned with delivering the goods to its constituents.

That’sespecially important at times like these when funding cuts forresearch, veterans and health care, among other issues, can mean life and death forthem

Scott Galloway,amarketing professor at NYU and aprominent commentator,has gained ameasure of fame forhis speeches and research on the feeling of abandonment by the Dems that has been amajor turnoff forthe audience of the socalled “Manosphere” of malepodcasting.

He argues that the party’sfocus on other demographics, like womenvoters, is important, but has fedafeeling of neglect and abandonment among young men

This development caught little attention in the era before podcasting. But today’selectorate, like the news, is not what it used to be. Democrats will have to keep up with changing times before the party’scandidates are overwhelmed by them Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail. com.

Letters are not

Clarence Page

Michael Barone

Cal Thomas

NewOrleans Forecast

ForecastFrom WWL-TV,Your Local Weather Experts

geousbattleagainst can‐cer.Jeanwas born in New Orleans,LAonDecember 23, 1958,and grew up in Bay St.Louis andWave‐land, Mississippi.Asa young manheattended school at CoastEpiscopal Helater movedbackto New Orleanswhere he ﬁn‐ished hiseducation.JéanV ashewas lovingly called, was preceded in deathby his parents, Patricia Bar‐tramViguerieand Joseph EdwardViguerie, andhis beloved in-laws, Martin J. Simone, Sr.and Jeanne Faucheux, hisnephew, SeanSimone, brother-inlaw,William Duncan Lamb, and uncle, Daniel A. Viguerie. He is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, LisaSimoneViguerie, his sisters,Janie Viguerie LambDropco(Ken) and Dorothy Viguerie Sjostrom brother-in-lawMartinJ Si‐mone, Jr.(Laura) anda dearfriendhereferredto ashis adoptedbrother-inlaws, JimmyHuxen (Jane) and AnthonySequeria (Wendy).Heleaveshis aunts to cherishhis mem‐ory:ClaireViguerieEvans (Kenneth),Anne Viguerie, Marie Viguerie Castaing (Eddie),and BettyViguerie Bienvenu(Al). Additionally, hewas lovedand will be dearlymissedbyhis niecesand nephews: Mar‐tin “Trey” JSimone, III, AmandaSimoneCalhoon (Bret), WilliamRobertson Lamb(Duyen),RobertDun‐can Lamb (Emily), andKyle AlbertSjostrom, alongwith 9 greatniecesand nephews.Asper Jéan’s wishes, aprivate burial service will be held at a later date at Garden of Memories.

Vincent, Dorothy Jean Littleton

DorothyJeanLittleton Vincent passedawayon June8,2025 holdingthe handsofher sons and

This week, we’regetting alot of humidity plus some scattered downpoursinthe afternoons. Temperatures will risetolower 90s when it’s not raining,and themugginesswill make it feel like100-105. The other partofthe forecast is the daily growth of showers and afew heavy thunderstorms oncedaytime heating gets going from aboutlunchtime through early evening.Most rain will wrapupbysunset. The patternthis weekend will shift to placeusbetween twobig high-pressurecenters. This puts us in a“weakness” where scattered rain will be able to form. Theeffect on the local forecast: not much change, as we expect more lower90s and about a40 percent chanceofstormsinthe afternoons.

DEATHS continued from grandson at home.She is survivedbyher sons Dade, Jr. andDarrenMichael,one stepdaughterChristal (Ellis) Macaluso andtwo grandchildren-Erica and Ellis Macaluso.She is also survivedbyher chosen family! She wascalled MamaJeanand Mawmaw bya multitudeofloved ones. Shewas preceded in death by herparents, Dorothy Litz Littletonand KarlLittleton,her husband, DadeVincent,her son DwayneVincent andsister Verna Littleton. Sheisalso survivedbyseveral nieces, nephews,extendedfamily and cousins! Shewas born inDecatur,IllinoisonJuly 15, 1934 andher family moved to Plaquemines Parishin1941. Sheand her husband raised theirfam‐ily in Port Sulphur priorto movingtoBelle Chasse in 1995. Shewas employed by the US Postal Servicefor 35 years andworked with her husband in their Gulf/ChevronOil Jobber‐shipand herMotheratthe Delta Club Restaurant.She was aBrownieleader, Cub Scout leader,Catechism teacher,room mother class mentor forHolyFam‐ily Catholic School in Natchez,MS, Eucharistic Ministerat RiverBend Nursing Home andso muchmore. Sheloved car‐nival andwas aMaidinthe Royal Courts of Iris in 1983 and 1985. Shewas known as“TheGrandeDame” in her sons carnival Krewes She also lovedtotravel, shopand eatout.In2006 she purchasedher “Hurri‐caneHouse”inNatchez MSand made so many wonderful friends. She loved hertimewiththem. She neverknewa stranger and wason ﬁrstname basis with allthe store clerks! Shewas always willing to adoptanyone who needed loved! Her heart wasalwaysopenand willing to accept everyone regardless! She will be missedbysomanyloved onesbut shelived herlife fully anduntil thevery end!She liveda life of ser‐vicetoher family,her com‐munity and herChurch! The family wouldliketo thank VickyEverage,Kathy Allen andRenee Perezfor their loving care andPulse HomeHealthand Heartof Hospice fortheir compas‐sionand making Momfeel loved andunderstood!Rel‐ativesand Friendsofthe Familyare invited to at‐tendthe FuneralMassat Our Lady of PerpetualHelp Catholic Church,Belle Chasse,LAonSaturday, June 14,2025 at 11 AM.In‐

termentWestlawnMemor‐ial Park Cemetery,Gretna, LA. Visitation will be held atchurch from 9AMuntil masstime. Thefamilyin‐vites youtoshare your thoughts, fond memories, and condolencesonlineat www.mothefunerals.com

Young,Glenn Clydeand Marguerite Lala

GlennClyde Young,age 95, of Mandeville,LA, passedawayonTuesday, May 6, 2025. He wasborn onAugust13, 1929, in Lima, OH. He is survived by his daughter, LindaYoung Puyau (Steve); sixgrand‐children; andelevengreatgrandchildren;and many extendedfamilymembers and friends. He waspre‐ceded in deathbyhis lov‐ing wife of 50 years, Susan MossbargerYoung;his secondwife, Marguerite (Peggy)LalaYoung;two sons, Jack ClydeYoung and James Robert Young;par‐ents, ClydeAgnew Young and Emma Jane Reynolds Young;and siblings,Orville Young andGailYoung.Dr. Young wasa 1952 graduate ofthe ChicagoSchool of Optometry andenjoyed a successfulcareer in Op‐tometry.Hefounded and ran Custom ContactLens LaboratoryinNew Orleans for over 30 years. Just eight daysafter hisgraduation, hemarried theformer Susan Mossbarger.They sharedover50years of marriageuntil herpassing in2004. He latermarried MargueriteLala, with whomheshared18years ofmarriage. Marguerite LalaYoung,age 81, of Man‐deville,LA, passedawayon Monday, April14, 2025. She was born on April8,1944 in New Orleans, LA.She is survivedbyher sister,Jean LalaBarousse (Irvin), one niece,six nephewsand manygreat nieces and nephews.She waspre‐ceded in deathbyher par‐ents, John AnthonyLala and MarieCharvet Lala her brother, Rene Anthony Lala, andone nephew Peggy wasa 1962 graduate ofUrsulineAcademy,New Orleans,and attended SLU, Lafayette andLSUNO prior

to hercareer as asecre‐tary. Sheretired in 1999 with22years of serviceat LSU MedicalSchool in downtownNew Orleans. She lived35years in the Gentillyneighborhood be‐forerelocatingtothe Northshorein1986. She married GlennYoung in 2007. Both Glennand Peggy spent thelast5+years of their livesatSageLakeAs‐sistedLiving, where they enjoyed an active social lifewhile also benefiting fromthe specialcareand attentiontheyreceived fromthe staff. In lieu of flowers, contributionsin memoryofDr. Young may bemadetoNorthshore Bible Church online at https://www.northshoreb ible.com/onlinegivingorby mailat19516 Sunshine Av‐enue,Covington,Louisiana 70433 and/or in memory of Peggy Young to theSamar‐itanCenter, 402 GirodSt. Mandeville, LA 70448. Rela‐tives andfriends arein‐vited to attend thefuneral servicesonSaturday, June 14, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. at Our Lady of theLake Roman Catholic Church, 312 Lafitte Street,Mandev‐ille, Louisiana, with visita‐tionbeginning at 11:00 a.m. E.J.FieldingFuneralHome ofCovington,Louisiana,is honored to be entrusted withMr. andMrs.Young's funeralarrangements. Their familyinvites youto share thoughts,memories, and condolencesbysign‐ing an online guestbook at www.ejfieldingfh.com

Mathieusayshe likesnew

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

At ﬁrst, Tyrann Mathieu was hard to ﬁnd

The New Orleans Saints safety had returned for the start of this week’smandatory minicamp after sitting out the voluntary portion of the offseason. But if not for the No. 32 on his jersey,Mathieu would have blended into the crowd.

He wasn’taseasy to spot since his golden dreads were no longer there, ﬂowing out of his helmet.

“(I was) tryingtoshave some years off,” Mathieu said with asmile.

Mathieu nowsports a buzzcutafter gettingin abarber’schair this offseason. And though the 33-year-old joked about wanting to feel younger ahead of his 13th season, Mathieu said the real reason for the makeoverwas that he wastiredofhis old look.

Thedecision, he said wasn’ttough —even if it took some convincing at home.

“I just had to persuade my daughter,” he said. “Because all her brothers have longhair, shewas looking at me strange for two days. Andthenfinally shewas like, ‘Dad,your hair looks good.’ With hisdaughter’s ap-

“I wastrying to shave someyears off.”

TyRANN MATHIEU,Saintssafety

proval, Mathieuisback with the Saints foranother season. For the second straight year,he reworked his contract to stay —this time agreeing to lowerhis $6.25 million base salary for aone-year,$4million deal.This time around, however,Mathieu’scontract also comeswith anew defense.

After missingthe team’s voluntary workouts, Mathieu will have to get up to speed in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s scheme.The lack of familiarityperhaps explains why Mathieu’ssnaps were limited Tuesday.The safety saidhewas on a“pitch count,”held somewhere in the range of 7-10 playsduring seven-on-sevens. But Mathieu is optimistic. As he stoodathis locker,he recalled facingStaley’s Los Angeles Chargerswhen he wasstill with the Kansas City Chiefs —and how hard Staley’sdefensesplayed “Even from the back-end perspective,I alwaysfelt like the safetieswere very involved,” he said. “They played alot of top-down

ä See MATHIEU, page 4C

Familiar start

LSUopens CollegeWorld Series with Arkansas.Here’salookat theRazorbacksand theother twoteams in theTigers’ bracket

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU is back in Omaha, Nebraska. The Tigers begintheir20th triptothe College World Series on Saturday against Arkansas (6 p.m., ESPN)before facing either Duke or Murray State on Monday.IfLSU wins, it’ll play at 6p.m.Monday Aloss would mean the Tigers would play at 1p.m Here’sadeeper look at the other teams on LSU’s side of the bracket: the Blue Devils, Razorbacks and Racers.

Arkansas

LSU is familiar withArkansas,a foethe Tigers have faced every year since 2021. Thetwo sides

played in May at Alex Box and LSU won the series with a5-4 victory in 10 innings in Game 1and a13-3 run-rule victory in seven innings in Game 2while Arkansas won the ﬁnale 7-4. Arkansas will almost certainly start junior lefthander Zach Root on Saturday. The East Carolina transfer was pursued by the Tigers in the portal but chosethe Razorbacks andhas been theirace this season.

Root hasa 3.59 ERAin922/3 innings. He allowed just one earned run in seven innings Saturday against Tennessee in the Fayetteville super regional, surrendering two hits and striking out six. Against LSU in May,Root gave up two earned runs on ﬁve hits in six innings. He’ll be amajor challenge

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The little kidsinthe risers were screaming for Alvin Kamara’sattention and the mercury rose to barely bearable conditions —summer has arrived for the Saints. The Saints held the ﬁrst of three minicamp practices Tuesday afternoon at their Metairie facility running drills in front of a capacity crowd that came out to get alook at the new things going on. Most of Tuesday’spractice was devoted to specialteams and individual periods, but quarterbacks SpencerRattler and Tyler Shough did operate two competitive seven-on-seven periods. Onto theobservations, starting with who took the ﬁeld.

Attendance

Everyone on the Saints roster was present, including those who opted outof attending the voluntary organized team activities last month. That list includes Taysom

Hill,who spent the practice watchingfrom thesideline as he recovers from atorn ACL that he sufferedin December. Afterpractice, coach Kellen Moore declined to offer atimeline for Hill’sreturn,thoughhe made it sound like training camp would beambitious JoiningHill as spectators were tight end Foster Moreauand defensive back Dalys Beanum. Quarterback Jake Haener (oblique), cornerback Quincy Riley and tightend Dallin Holker allparticipated after missingtime in OTAs because of injury AlleyesonQB After practice,Moore applaudedthe fans for packing into the available seating for thenoon practice. Many of them were there to watch thebrewing quarterback battle. Though Moore hasbeen careful to include Haener as part of this competition, allofthe snaps in the

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

Sibling squabbles were handled at Mount Trashmore Park during Michaela Rose‘s childhood.

That’sthe Virginia Beach,Virginia, park where theLSU middle-distance star had one of her early seminal moments in track.

Michael RoseSr. took his kids to run. Michaela and Michael Jr.sometimes raced around one of the hills with their dad observing from above.

OneSaturday morning, Michaela’s best chance todethrone her older brother arrived. His early lead in the race wasn’tasign of an eventual win. When his pace slowed, she pressed harder withaburning desire until she was in front.

Atrailing Michael Jr ,who becamea sprinter at Liberty, tried to regain an advantage, but it was afutile effort as his sister,who is two years younger, ﬁnally beat him As expected of asibling, he assumed malpractice. Their father rejected thecheating claim.His 6-yearold daughter won decisively Michael RoseSr. remembersitas themoment he realized his oldest daughter had something his other kids didn’t.

“(That was) themoment Irealized that she is determined to workharder, outwork anyone that she’scompetingagainst,” he said. “When she beat

LSU’sMichaela Rose, whohas the second-fastest 800-meter runtime in women’s collegiate history, will compete in the NCAA outdoor track and field championships starting WednesdayinEugene, Ore.

him,hestopped trying to beat her in distance.

“She took it from him that day,and she never relinquished it.”

That same moxie is still within the soon-to-be 22-year-old. Michaela Rose intends to take amedal or two in the NCAA outdoor championships. She’s among the 21 entries, nine men and 12 women, LSU is sending to Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 11-14. She will be competing in the 800 meters and the 4x400-meter relay The 5-foot-9 senior enters her ﬁnal NCAA championships with her name

already etched in the collegiate record books.

Her personal best timeof1 minute, 58.12 seconds in the 800 is the second fastest in collegiate history.She is a10-time All-American, asix-time Southeastern Conference champion and a2023 outdoor NCAA champion in the 800. She also holds the collegiate record in both the indoor 600-yard race (1:16.76) and outdoor 600-meter race (1:25.75).

Amodel of consistency is the easiest way for her distance coach, Houston Franks, to describe her greatness.

“She’salways in the mix,” Franks said. Since her freshman season, Rose has madethe ﬁnal in every SEC and NCAA championship and U.S. Olympic trials.

She is the only LSU runner on the All-SEC ﬁrst team,and, forathird straight season, is on the Bowerman watch list. The Bowerman Award is given to the mostoutstanding male and female athlete in American collegiate track and ﬁeld.

‘Not themosttalented’

Rose’sfirst day at LSU was her first day at any school. The biology graduate washome-schooled forthe first 18 years with her twobrothers and one sister One guarantee in the Rose family was apassion fortrack and field. Michael Rose Sr., whoisfrom Jamaica, and his wife, Marcia Rose, both competed at Auburn. Michaela Rose started running in the Faith in Action Ministries track program,led by her dad, at her church when she was4

PROVIDED PHOTO

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu, left, warms up during minicamp practiceTuesdayinMetairie.

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU catcher Luis Hernandez gets the throwlate at home plate as Arkansas center fielder Justin Thomas slides in safely in thesecond inning on May11atAlex BoxStadium.Arkansas wonthe game 7-4 but LSU wonthe series2-1.

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Finals are shifting to Indianapolis

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

INDIANAPOLIS The Oklahoma City Thunder showed their bounce-back capability in Game

2. The Indiana Pacers know they better do the same in Game 3. The NBA Finals resume Wednesday night with the series tied at a game apiece, the matchup shifting to Indianapolis for Game 3 and what will be the ﬁrst ﬁnals game in that city in 25 years. And the Pacers know it’s on them to respond after Game 2 wasn’t much of a contest

It’s obviously possible: The Pacers haven’t lost back-to-back games in three months, going 9-0 after losses in that span. This would be a good time for them to extend that run.

“Biggest game of the year,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said.

That’s technically accurate when said before any finals game, but it does ring especially true in this case. Indiana did what it had to do in Oklahoma City; it got a win and stole home-court advantage. Win three games at home over the next week or so, and the Pacers will be NBA champions. Lose any game at home, and the Thunder get the edge right back. But the Pacers have shown a penchant for resiliency It’s much like how Oklahoma City is 17-2 after losses this season (or 18-2, if counting the NBA Cup final); the latest bounce-back effort for the Thunder came in Game 2 after Indiana won Game 1 of the finals.

“I think that we try not to dwell on things,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “As NBA players, just as basketball players in general, it’s easy to make a mistake and dwell on it, give up a bucket or whatever I feel like we do a great job of getting to the next play.”

When the ﬁnals are tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner eventually wins the title 80.5% of the time. It’s a big, big game and everybody knows the stakes.

“I think we just have to keep finding ways to get better as a group,” Thunder guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “If we continue to do that, we’ll be just ﬁne. If we’ve struggled in an area, that’s an area we can get better at. We have to attack that opportunity I think Game 3 is a perfect example of that.”

Haliburton’s status

Haliburton was limping after Game 2 and acknowledged there’s an issue with his lower leg. He didn’t offer much in the way of details, and it doesn’t matter He’s playing.

“He practiced. He went through

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, left, greets guard Bennedict

after losing Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday in Oklahoma City ä Thunder at Pacers. 7:30 P.M.WEDNESDAy ABC

everything,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I know he has some discomfort He feels it. But each day it’s getting better I don’t think you’re going to hear him making a big deal out of it. This is the time of year where it just doesn’t get any better than this.” Pacers at home

The Thunder have a big homecourt edge thanks to their crowd at Paycom Center

The Pacers are hoping for just as much energy — if not more — from their crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Games 3 and 4.

And the Thunder know what’s coming.

“That’s one thing we have to be ready for coming in here, is understand they’re going to be playing with a lot of energy,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They play very well here. They play very comfortable here

We’ve got to level up to that if we want to give ourselves a chance to compete.”

Long time coming

Indiana’s Myles Turner has played in 346 games at home with the Pacers, including playoffs — by far more than anyone else on the team. No. 347 will be his ﬁrst there in the NBA Finals.

“I think the city’s been waiting for an opportunity like this. I expect a hell of an environment (Wednesday),” Turner said. “I know it’s going to be. It’s exciting times for everybody just to experience the ﬁnals in Indianapolis.”

Thunder in the first half

The Thunder won the ﬁrst and second quarters in Games 1 and 2, taking a 12-point halftime lead in Game 1 and an 18-point halftime lead in Game 2. Indiana knows that can’t keep happening. Oklahoma City is 63-9 with halftime leads this season.

“Obviously it’s going to be a different challenge coming on

the road,” Thunder guard Alex Caruso said. “This place will be rowdy They’ll be excited to cheer on their team. For us, I think just sticking with the details of the stuff that we’ve talked about as a team that are important to win the game.”

Winning on the road

Road teams are still winning at about a 44% clip in these playoffs, which is on pace to be the best record in 30 years. Entering Wednesday, road teams are 35-44 in this postseason.

Teams won road games at a 45% clip in 1995. That doesn’t count the 2020 COVID-19 “bubble” playoffs, where everybody was in one spot at Lake Buena Vista, Florida and the “road” winning percentage was .518 — 43-40. Oklahoma City is 4-3 on the road in these playoffs.

Indiana is 7-3.

The best league-wide road record for a playoff season was in 1966 — 14-13, a .519 winning percentage.

Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas struggle to ﬁnd their way

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

Through the first 20% of the WNBA season there are a bunch of teams that have struggled out of the gate. The Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings have combined for ﬁve victories so far The Wings’ lone victory came over the Sun while the Sky have beaten the Wings twice. Connecticut has the best two victories in the WNBA so far this season, topping Indiana and Atlanta, but also suffered the secondbiggest blowout in league history in a 48-point loss to New York

All three teams have new coaches and are experiencing the learning curve of new systems.

The Wings also have been missing No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers for their last few games while she dealt ﬁrst with a concussion and then an illness. She should be back soon. The Sky just suffered their own injury setback, with veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot going down for the season with an ACL tear in her right knee. The injury occurred Saturday night during their game against the Fever

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABBIE PARR

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers looks toward a referee after being called for a foul against the Minnesota Lynx on May 21 in Minneapolis.

It’s a major blow to the Sky who now need to find a point guard to fill in for Vandersloot The 36-yearold had returned to Chicago this season after helping New York win its first WNBA championship last year

The Liberty are on the other end of the spectrum, picking up right where they left off after winning the title. New York hasn’t lost yet this season and is one of two undefeated teams along with WNBA Finals runner-up Minnesota.

Power poll rankings

New York led the way as the No. 1 team in the power poll again this week. Minnesota was still right behind in second. The national voting panel chose Seattle third, Phoenix fourth and Atlanta ﬁfth. Indiana was sixth with Las Vegas seventh. Golden State, Washington and Los Angeles were the next three. Chicago, Connecticut and Dallas rounded out the poll.

Wembanyama to rest 10 days in China temple

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs is in the midst of what’s expected to be a 10-day stay at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place for those who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more.

The NBA China office confirmed that Wembanyama is at the temple, and some Chinese media also confirmed his presence there with the temple itself. A social media post on the NBA’s Weibo account revealed the plans for a 10-day stay

Some photos of Wembanyama with a shaved head and wearing a robe similar to the other monks began widely circulating this week. One of the photos showed the 7-foot-4 center sitting on a Chinese style chair in front of multiple Buddha sculptures.

Phillies pitcher Nola sidelined two more weeks

PHILADELPHIA Phillies righthander Aaron Nola suffered another setback in his return to pitch when an MRI showed he has an injury in his right ribcage and will be shut down for two weeks.

Nola, a former LSU star, had already been out since early May with a sprained right ankle that was progressing more slowly than expected. He experienced stiffness in his right side last week in Toronto and that wiped out a planned session against live batters. Nola underwent testing this week and had what the Phillies called a stress reaction in his right ribcage. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs that Nola was unsure how the injury may have happened.

Corso’s ‘GameDay’ finale set for Aug. 30

BRISTOL, Conn. — Lee Corso’s final headgear pick on “College GameDay” will be on the campus where it all started. ESPN’s iconic show will begin its 39th season at Ohio State before the defending national champion Buckeyes host the Texas Longhorns on Aug. 30.

Corso, who turns 90 in August, announced earlier this year that his ﬁnal show would be on the opening week of the season.

Corso began his popular headgear segment on Oct. 5, 1996, before Ohio State faced Penn State. Since then, he has gone 286-144 in 430 selections wearing everything from helmets and mascot heads to dressing up as the Fighting Irish leprechaun from Notre Dame, the Stanford tree and historic ﬁgures James Madison and Benjamin Franklin.

Sanders doesn’t attend camps held at Colorado

Calling it a career

Allie Quigley announced in The Players Tribune on Tuesday that she’s ofﬁcially retiring after not playing since 2021. Quigley, who played in the WNBA for 14 seasons after getting drafted by Seattle in 2008, was a four-time 3-point champion at All-Star weekend.

Player of the week

Napheesa Collier of Minnesota earned Player of the Week honors for the third time this season. The Lynx forward averaged 23 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists to help the team win both its game and stay undefeated.

Other players receiving consideration were Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana, Satou Sabally of Phoenix, Breanna Stewart of New York and Gabby Williams of Seattle.

Game of the week

New York at Indiana, Saturday The Eastern Conference representative in the Commissioner’s Cup could come down to this game. The two teams met earlier in the season and the Liberty had to rally for the victory It also could mark the return of star Indiana guard Caitlin Clark, who has been sidelined with a left quad strain the last few weeks.

BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders has not attended football camps in Boulder, Colorado, this spring. The University of Colorado said it couldn’t comment on a reason for his absence. ESPN, citing a source it did not name, said Sanders has been ill and out of the ofﬁce recently Over the weekend, his son Deion Sanders Jr posted a livestream video on YouTube in which he said his father remains at his Texas home and “feeling well,” according to USA Today His son added in the video: “He’ll tell y’all soon enough what he’s going through.”

The 57-year-old Sanders has struggled with his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State.

WCWS sees record attendance, viewership

OKLAHOMA CITY The Women’s College World Series has set viewership and attendance records. ESPN said in a news release that the average of 1.3 million viewers across 15 games on its platforms was the most-watched World Se-

Game

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Mathurin

Scheffler primed foranother toughmajor at theU.S.Open

BY DOUGFERGUSON AP golf writer

OAKMONT,Pa. ScottieSchef-

ﬂer doesn’tcare what the oddsmakersthink or what people say about his status as the overwhelming favorite in this U.S. Open, and pretty much everywhere he plays.

But he can hear them —and sometimes, he hears from them.

“That’swhy Ihad to get rid of my Venmo, because Iwas either getting paid by people or people requesting me abunch of money when Ididn’twin. It wasn’ta good feeling,” Schefﬂer said with alaugh Tuesday at Oakmont

It wasn’tentirely clear if he was kidding.

He did say laterthe most anyone tried to pay him for awin he has won 19 times worldwide in just over three years —was a couple of dollars.

“That didn’thappen nearlyas much as therequestsdid,” he said.

Perhaps the most telling number for Scheffler,No. 1inthe world ranking for the longest streak since Tiger Woods in the late 2000s, is that he has won 25% of his tournaments sincecapturing his ﬁrst PGA Tour title at the Phoenix Open in 2022

He has won three of his past four tournaments —including his third major at the PGAChampionship last month at Quail Hollow —bya combined 17 shots There’salot of numbersthat deﬁne his dominance in golf. None of it matters to him.

“I don’tpay attention to the favorite stuff or anything like that,” he said. “Starting Thursday morning, we’re at even par and it’suptometogoout there and play against the golf course and see what Ican do.”

Thatdoesn’tﬁgure to be easy Oakmont is considered the toughest golf course in America, and the last few days of practice rounds have notchanged anyone’sopinions. Most of the attentionisonthe rough thatcovers

thetopsofshoes. Sunshine on Tuesdaymade the greens feel even faster after afew days of rain. Schefﬂer saidhethinks the bunkers are underrated.

The overallconsensus?

“Man, it’sjust tough,” Collin Morikawa said.

Schefﬂer would seem to have a game built for this givenhis extraordinary ability to controlhis golf ball from tee-to-green. He has yet to win his national open, though he hadchances at Los Angeles(2023),Brookline (2022) and Torrey Pines (2021).

The exception was last year at Pinehurst No. 2, where Schefﬂer wasnever in themix. Onereason might be theschedule —the Memorialwas the week before the U.S. Openlast year,another tough test that Schefflerwon and never felt he had achance to catch hisbreath. He won the Memorial again this year

“Having theweek off was really important for me to get home, getsomerest, recover, andI showed up here on Sunday and was able to play maybe 11 holes and reallyget used to the conditions,”Scheffler said. “Itfeels much more likemynormal major prep, versus last year where you’recoming in from basically amajor championshiptest. Coming into another one ispretty challenging.”

Rory McIlroyhad afew extra days off after missing the cut in the Canadian Open lastweek, giving him time to ﬁnd adriver that will help ﬁnd the fairways at Oakmont, perhaps the most critical part of this test

McIlroy and Scheffler were listed as close toco-favorites after McIlroy won the Masters, giving him the career Grand Slam.Healready hadwon three timesonsomeofgolf’sbiggest stages.Schefﬂer at that point had yet to win this year

So much has changed in the past two months. McIlroy spoke at thePGA Championship of still wanting to achieve moreingolf, knowing that nothing will ever

beat that feeling of finally becoming aMasters championto join the most exclusive club of players withall four majors. He spoke last week of lacking motivation when getting ready for the Canadian Open.

“At some point, youhave to realize thatthere’s alittle bit more golf left to playthis season,” said McIlroy,singling outOakmont, theBritish Open in his native Northern Irelandand theRyder Cup in September

“But Ithink weeks like Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week,itmakes it easier to reset in some way,tobelike, OK, Isort of need to getmystuff together here and get back to the process andsort of what I’d been doing for that sevenmonths from October last year until Aprilthis year.”

For Schefﬂer,he’sbeen on such aroll thathow he plays will be a big part in the chances the rest of the ﬁeld has.

Jordan Spiethwas asked about Dustin Johnson —only Schefﬂer has been at No. 1longer in the last 10 years—and Spieth immediately turned it into aconversationabout his Dallas neighbor

“Scottie’slevel is something Ihaven’tseen personally out here,” Spieth said. “I playwith him at home, too. He might pull an iron shot once and thenhit the pinonhis chip.”

The margin for error is smaller at Oakmontthanonmost courses, mainly because of all the trouble off the tee—bunkers and dense rough —and challenges on the fastgreens.

“I think everybody knows this is probably thetoughest golf course in the world right now, and you have to hit the fairways, you have to hit greens, and you have to two-putt, worst-case scenario,” reigning champion BrysonDeChambeau said.

“Whenyou’ve got those putts inside 10 feet, you’vegot to make them. It’s agreat test of golf. I’m looking forwardtoit. I’m sure everybody else is.”

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

OAKMONT,Pa. EversinceRory McIlroy checked the biggestbox off hisimpressivegolf to-dolist, allhe wanted was to enjoy it. Very quickly, he has discovered how harsh this gamecan be with his foot off the gas.

Heading into the U.S. Open this week, McIlroy hasbeen disabused of any notion that life once he completed the career Grand Slam with that winatthe Masters in April would be smooth sailing.

“I think it’s trying to have alittle bitofamnesia andforget aboutwhat happened,” McIlroy said Tuesday when asked aboutthe difficulties he has faced —onthe golf course, at least—since donning the green jacket.“Then, just tryingtoﬁnd the motivationtogoback outthere and work as hard as I’ve been working.”

That edgehas been tough to rediscover,buried somewhere beneath the satisfaction of ﬁnally conqueringAugusta Nationaltobecome only thesixth player to win all four majors in his career.Hehas celebrated by taking more trips, playing more tennis, hanging out at home and “basically saying ‘no’ to every request that comes in.

His forays back to his day job rough.

McIlroy arrived at the PGA Championship amonth after the Masters only to learnthatthe driver he’d been using for morethan ayear had been deemed nonconforming in aroutine test.

He hit only 46.4% of the fairways that week, tying him for 68th out of 74 players in that statistic who playedfour rounds. Those struggles

with the new driver made him anonfactor andheﬁnished tied for47th. Thatthe normally closely held newsofMcIlroy’sillegal driver leaked to the media and Schefﬂer’s did not annoyed McIlroy,and he said last week that waswhy he didn’t speak to the media after all four rounds at QuailHollow.

That issue appears to be behind him. The next teststarts Thursday at abrutal,brutish Oakmontcourse that McIlroy said might be playing easier than the last time he was here.

No, he wasn’ttalking about 2016, whenhemissedthe ﬁrst of three straight U.S. Open cuts,but rather, last Monday, when he needed to go birdie-birdiedown the ﬁnish to shoot 81 in apractice round.

“It didn’tfeel like Iplayed that bad,”McIlroy said. “It’smuchmore benign right now than it was that Monday.They had thepins in dicey locations, andgreenswererunning at 151/2 (compared to an estimated 141/2 forthe tournament). It was nearlyimpossible.But yeah,this morning, it wasalittlesofter.” Speaking of softcourses, McIlroy saidhebristled at thereputation that begandeveloping after his ﬁrst major title, in 2011, whenhedemolished arain-dampenedCongressionalwitha U.S. Open-record score of 268 that still stands.

“I didn’tlike that reputation becauseI felt like Iwas better than that reputation, so that’sego driven in someway,” McIlroy said. His other majors —atValhalla, Kiawah andRoyal Liverpool were also on soft courses.All that, plus hisinability to capturethe Masters, ledcritics to label himaplayer who couldn’tconquer ﬁrm and fast.

Tensions up in StanleyCup

FinalasPantherslead2-1

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP hockeywriter

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla Things got chippy in the Stanley CupFinal lateinGame 3when the Florida Panthers were well on their wayto blowing out the Edmonton Oilers.

Brawls ensued,Darnell Nurse and Jonah Gadjovichdropped the gloves, and eight guys gotsentto the showers early with misconduct penalties. Long before garbage time, Florida took it to Edmonton, withthe defending champions dictating theirstyle of play and knocking their opponents off kilter to takea2-1 series lead with a6-1 laugher.Ifmoreofthat continues in Game 4onThursday night, it’s advantage Panthersbecause they thrive on making other teamsfeel uncomfortable.

“Weplayed our game, our style, stuck up for each other when we needed to,”Panthers wingerMatthewTkachuk said. “If you have to take apunch, take apunch.”

It shouldnot be surprising that tensions boiled over giventhe lopsidedscore in the 10th game in the Cup ﬁnal between these two teams over the past year.The Oilers and Panthershave growna healthy distaste for each other with all that familiarity.With that comes plenty of hits,shoves and jabs that lead to slashes, punchesand gear strewn all over the ice

The 140 combined penalty minutes in Game 3were themost in a ﬁnal since Game 4between Montreal and Calgary in 1986.

“The game’sover with 11 minutes left,” Oilers star Leon Draisaitlsaid Tuesday after practice. “Thenall hell breaks loose. It’saUFC ﬁght.”

The penalties that mattered to the result cameearly

TheOilers werenot shy about criticizing the officiating and the Panthers for allegedly influencing it.GoaltenderStuartSkinnersaid, “Someguys are flaking and going down trying to cause penalties.”

Toeing that line is what the Panthers do best, and it is arecipe that has them in thefinal forathird consecutive year under coach Paul Maurice, who creditedTkachuk for having “a little bit more impact on the tenacity of the team than the guy who wears asuit behind the bench and never takes ashift.”

Florida’sroster is full of truculence with talent to match.

SamBennett deliveredabig, open-ice hit that led to his breakaway and playoff-leading 14th goal,and ﬁnishingchecks on John Klingberg hashampered the veteran defenseman’s play in the series compared to the ﬁrst three rounds. Maurice didnot buy intothe idea that Game 3was the Panthers showing what they can do at their best. The opener went to overtime and Florida needed double OT to win Game 2.

TheOilers certainly look at it as the opposite, discombobulatedand nothing resembling the group that hadgone12-2sinceacouple of losses to open the ﬁrst round.

They’ve dropped two in arow for the ﬁrst time since.

ASSCOAITEDPRESS PHOTO SETH WENIG

Scottie Scheffler walks downthe sixth fairwayduring practice ahead of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country ClubonTuesdayinOakmont,Pa.

NFL Cousinsstaying positive despite beingbackupQB

Pittsburgh Steelersquarterback Aaron Rodgers:‘It’slikethe first dayofschool. Idon’t knowa lot of guys names. Theydon’t have names on the backoftheir jerseys yet. Theydon’t have names on the meeting rooms.I literally walk out of thelockerroom lost.’

Rodgerslearningropes on firstday as Steeler

RAYFITTIPALDO

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette(TNS)

PITTSBURGH Aaron Rodgers is jumping on the proverbial moving train Mike Tomlin references so often. Eventually,the trainwill slow down, but on Tuesday,Rodgers felt like arookie during his first day at the office on the first dayof Steelers minicamp.

“Everythingisnew,” Rodgers said after practice. “It’slike the ﬁrst day of school. Idon’tknow a lot of guys’ names. They don’thave names on the back of their jerseys yet. They don’thave namesonthe meeting rooms. Iliterally walk out of the locker room lost. Ihave to grab somebody and say, ‘Hey, where am Igoing?’ But I’ll getthe feel of it. I’m excited about making this home.” Rodgers might not know many of thenew faces, buttheyknow him. Rookie quarterback Will Howard was 4years old when Rodgers entered the NFL in 2005 after being selected in the first round of thedraft by theGreen Bay Packers.

Heck, even the oldestSteeler is sixyears younger than Rodgers and grew up watching him.

When Cam Heyward entered the league in 2011, Rodgers was fresh off of avictory in Super Bowl XLV over the Steelers and already had six years in the NFL.

“I’mﬁred up, too, man,”Howard said. “Believe me, he’sa guy Igrew up watching, idolizing. It’scool to beinthe same room as him. Justhearing the ﬁrst day, his thoughts, the way that he looks at things —he’sa legend in this game.I’m going to try and learnas muchasIcan fromhim and be the best support guy Ican be for him. It’samazing. The opportunityfor me to learn andwork witha guy like thatissecondtonone.”

Rodgers spent most of practice watching Howard andthe other quarterbacksrun theoffense during team andseven-on-seven drills. Hewatched alongside offensivecoordinator Arthur Smith, trying to get afeelfor theplay calls and theverbiage in Smith’s offense

Rodgers saidheexpectstohave the playbook and the newverbiage down“in acoupleofweeks.”

“I trust that whateverissues or learning curve things he needs to get through will be handled during the down period of thesummer, forsure,” said Tomlin, who downplayed thesigniﬁcance of Rodgers notworkingwith the starters.

“June reps are aheck of alot more important for aguy like Will Howard than aguy who has beendoing it for 20 years,”Tomlin added.

Rodgers did not call the Steelerstotellhim he was going to sign

untilJune 1, ending amonthslong courtship during whichhegot married and had been dealingwith some personal issues.

Rodgers said it wasn’t until recently he felt comfortable making acommitment for the 2025season.

“I was dealingwith alot of things in my personal life,” Rodgers said. “Things improved alittle bit where Ifelt like Icould be all in herewith theguys.Ididn’twant to short change the guys, be signed and be elsewhere mentally or physically Until Icould be here and be all in, I had to take care of business.”

The Steelers and Tomlin gave Rodgersthe spacetoworkthrough theissuesinhis personal life. He visitedthe Steelers foraday in March, but he kept in contact with Tomlin andother members of the Steelers front ofﬁcefor thepast few months.

Rodgers said Tomlin’s handling of the situationisone of the main reasons he signed with the Steelers. “A big attraction was Mike Tomlin,”Rodgers said. “The way the conversations went,. they were some of the coolest conversations I’ve hadinthis game —deﬁnitely withahead coach.

“He’s abig reason I’m here. Ibelieve in him.”

Andwhy wasTomlin willingto wait so long for Rodgers?

“Read his resume,” Tomlin said.

By The Associated Press

FLOWERYBRANCH,Ga. Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins reported for the ﬁrst day of Falcons minicamp on Tuesday Cousins, whosigneda four-year

$180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed in March 2024, was benchedafter Week 14 last season andlost his starting job to rookie Michael Penix Jr.Cousins threw for 3,508 yardswith 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Therewas offseasonspeculation that Cousins was looking fora starting jobwithanew team

“Obviously you’d love to play but I’m not(going to) dwell on things that aren’treality,” Cousins said. “It’sbetter (time) spent to focusing on the situation you’re in and controlwhat you can control. Ithink that’s theright mindset to have Certainly there were conversations in January,February,March and even April but we’re moving forward timeline-wise.”

While Penix will begin the upcoming season as the starting quarterback, Cousins hasmaintaineda positive attitude.

“I’ve always believedgoing back to my rookie year what (former coach) MikeShanahan toldme which is ‘Tough times don’tlast, tough people do,’”Cousins said “It’snot just (aboutbeing)physically tough. It’s (aboutbeing) mentally tough andemotionally tough. You (have to) be resilient. Life is (goingto) throwyou some curveballs. Youjust havetokeep moving. The keyisyou don’tpout or stop. You just keep moving andkeep working forward.”

Cousins, who tore his Achilles tendon while withMinnesota in 2023, said he spent time focusing on getting healthy in the offseason afterdealing with an ankle injury Steelers

WATT SKIPS START OF MINICAMP: In Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers is ready to take the practice field for the Pittsburgh Steelers. T.J. Watt is not.

The star outside linebacker is skipping the start of mandatory minicamp. Watt likely is eyeing a new deal as he enters the ﬁnal year of his currentcontract. The fourtime All-Pro and 2021 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed a four-year extensioninSeptember

competitive periods went to most likely optionsatquarterback: rookie Shoughand second-year player Rattler Both quarterbackswere given 16 reps in the sevenon-seven periods, and if fans were hoping to get aticketto alasershow, theymay have come away disappointed.It appeared much of what Saints asked their quarterbacks to do was to take the easy completions if there.About 90%of thepassescame within5 or 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Rattler had the best completion of the day when he hit running back Xazavian Valladay on awheel route deep downthe right sideline. Valladay was well behind Chase Young in coverage, and Rattler threaded hispassinto Valladay’s hands before safety Travion Fluellen could get there to help. All of Shough’scompletions were relatively short, but he did showoff some of his best traits on twoincomplete passes. There was an out-breaking route to Brandin Cooks that Shough zipped to the sideline that showed his arm strength. Cooks hauled in thepass but landed out of bounds. The timing needed to be better,as Shough was ahair late on his release, but the throw was impressive. Shoughalso placed his one deep shot deepdown the left sideline, but undrafted rookie receiver Moochie Dixon wasn’table to get both feet inbounds when he came down with it. Neither quarterback turned the ball over in seven-on-seven, thoughRattler cameclose when he didnot put enough touch on asecond-level throw to Juwan Johnson.Rookie safety Jonas Sanker nearlymade aleaping interception. Odds andends LSUquarterback Garrett Nussmeier wasatpractice. The son of offensivecoordinator Doug Nussmeier could beatop-10 pick in next year’sdraft. Garrett Nussmeier spent several minutes chatting with Moore on the sideline.

Kamara looked like the usual version of himself doing drills. It will be interesting to seethe vision Mooreand and his staff has for him Kicker BlakeGrupe is coming off astrongsecond season in which he made27ofhis 31 kicks,and he looked ready to pick up where he left off. Grupe was perfect in Tuesday’ssession, and capped it by making a61-yarder. He will again have to hold off the Irishman Charlie Smyth There was along line of playerswaiting to catch both puntsand kickoffs duringthe specialteams periods. Rashid

Shaheed was among them, and he has been one of the NFL’s best sincebreaking in with the Saints in 2022, but his injury history might make the Saints hesitant to use him in that role The return men didn’tinclude offensive and defensive linemen, though we did get to see one fun momentatthe end of practice when guard Kyle Hergel and defensive lineman Omari Thomas were both asked to ﬁeld punts. Hergelcaught his lone attempt, while Thomas dropped bothofhis chances.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

2021 thatwas scheduled to pay him $112 millionand made him the highest-paid defender in the league at thetime. Clevelanddefensive endMylesGarrett now holds that honorafter signing adealworth $40 millionaseason in March.

Commanders

WR McLAURIN MISSES OPENING OF MINICAMP: In Ashburn, Virginia, wide receiver Terry McLaurin is not at Washington Commanders mandatory minicamp as he looks fora new contract.

Coach Dan Quinn said Tuesday it’sa situation where football and business intersect. McLaurin turns 30 in September and is only signed through the next NFL season. McLaurinwas also absent for voluntaryorganizedteam activities last month.

Bengals

HENDRICKSONMISSESFIRST DAYOFMINICAMP: In Cincinnati, defensive linemanTrey Hendrickson wasnot at theopening dayofthe Cincinnati Bengalsminicamp on Tuesdayas he seeks anew contract.

Hendrickson is expected to be fined forhis absence, as coach Zac Taylor warnedhim about last month. Hendricksonwas an All-Pro selection last season after he led the league with 171/2 sacks. He did make an appearance during an offseason workout last month specifically to speak to reporters andventhis frustrations.

Hendrickson is looking for alongterm contract with asignificant chunk of guaranteed money,and he said the Bengals were just offering ashort-term deal.

Bills

FORMER PANTHERS LB SIGNS: In Orchard Park, New York, the Bills signedShaqThompson to aoneyear contract in providing the veteranlinebacker an opportunity to continue his career after two injury-shortened seasons. Thompson was not re-signedby CarolinainMarch afterspending his ﬁrst 10 seasonswiththe Panthers. He joins the Bills, where he’sreunited with coach Sean McDermott, who was Carolina’s defensivecoordinator during Thompson’sﬁrst twoseasons with the team

MATHIEU

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(coverages). Youcan go watch Derwin James’ﬁlm, acoupleofother guys’ ﬁlm. Ithink that’sexciting.”

The next fewweeks and months will revealhow Mathieu ﬁtsin. He said he’s still learning his role, but added Staley’ssystem emphasizes vision and that plays to his strengths.Mathieu has had10 interceptionsinhis pastthree seasonswith the Saints, which ranks 10th in the NFL.

But if he retainshis starting status,he’ll likely be paired with anew safety acrossfromhim. In March, the Saints signed Justin Reidfrom the KansasCityChiefstoa three-year, $31.5milliondealin an attempt to shore up their secondary

Thetwo have history, however.Not only didReid replace Mathieu in Kansas City in 2022, but thetwo spent one season together in Houston in 2018. Reid, 28, was arookie then

“We’retwo veteransinthe back endnow,” Reid said. “When Icame in as arookie, it was really following behind him. Ilearned so muchfromhim. He hada big impact on the early stages of my career.And nowweboth come in with awardrobe of experience.

“Weboth gettocome in and add our ownﬂavors to the defense.”

Mathieu said Reid’sadditioncan help with mentoring what is otherwise ayoung secondary. The Saintsdrafted safety JonasSanker andcornerback Quincy Riley,and projected starters Kool-Aid McKinstry and Alontae Taylor are entering their second andfourth seasons. Mathieu said communication will be key, so they’re on the same page come the fall.

Standing at his locker,Mathieu acknowledged outside expectations forthe Saints aren’tthe highest. The defense, in particular, is coming off a season having given up the third-mostyards per game. Mathieu said the defense needs to tackle better as well as ﬁndaway to force more turnovers.

Still, change can be agood thing, Mathieu said. Andthe Saintshave madeplenty of changes sincelastseason, starting with the hiring of coach Kellen Moore.

“I’m happy to be here,” Mathieu said. Even though he looks alittledifferentthan usual

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Saints cornerbackKool-Aid McKinstrygives autographs after minicamp practice Tuesday in Metairie. Fans gota chance to watch the practice and will getanother chance Wednesday

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J. PUSKAR

UNOexpected to hire former Belhaven’sGipsonasnew coach COLLEGE

BY SPENCERURQUHART

Staff writer

UNO is expected to hire Belhaven University coach Andrew Gipson as the school’snext baseball coach, sources told The TimesPicayune on Tuesday Gipson hasbeenthe headcoach at Division III Belhaven, whichislocated in Jackson, Mississippi, since 2023. He was an assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 201522 before returning to Belhaven,his

UCLA coach John Savage is surrounded by players as he hoists the CollegeWorld Series trophy on June 25, 2013, in Omaha, Neb

ASSOCIATED

alma mater, as head coach. Thenews was ﬁrst reported by WDSU’sSharief Ishaq and later by KendallRogersofD1Baseball com.The Times-Picayune sources conﬁrmed thereports

Gipson is coming off asuccessful 2025 season with Belhaven in which he led his alma matertoa 34-15 record, its ﬁrst NCAA Division III tournament appearance andasuper regional trip.

UNO has been searching for its third head baseball coach in as

many years after Dax Norris and the programparted waysonSaturday. Norristook over just one month before the start of the seasonafter Blake Dean announced that he’dbestepping down to take ajob outside of coaching. Gipson’s time at Southeastern includedvarious roles, including pitching coach and associatehead coach.

Email SpencerUrquhart at surquhart@theadvocate.com.

‘Thisisfor theWest’

CollegeWorld Series will featuresomePac-12nostalgia

BY ERIC OLSON Associated Press

OMAHA,Neb. The ghostsofthe old Pac-12 will be lurking at Charles Schwab Fieldthisweekend when the College World Series opens. Oregon State, UCLA and Arizona will be backinOmaha, where they combined for eight ofthe 29 national baseball championships won by the conferenceits previous iterations.

“This is for the West,” UCLA coach John Savage said.

The Pac-12 went all butdormant last July when 10 of its members dispersed to other conferences. The Pac-12 willramp up again in July2026 with holdoversOregon State and Washington Statejoined by ﬁve members of the Mountain West Conference and one fromthe West Coast Conference.

No. 8national seed Oregon State (47-14-1) is in the ﬁrst of two years as abaseball independent and had only 19 regular-season home games because of scheduling challenges. The Beavers played eight more at home in the NCAA Tournament —the maximum possible —after coming out of the loser’s bracket to win their regional and beating Florida State in athreegame super regional UCLA (47-16) was the BigTen regular-season co-champion, made it to the conference tournament championship game and was 3-0 in its regional before it sweptUTSA in its super regional. Arizona (44-19)tiedfor fourth in the Big 12, won the conference tournament and went 3-0 as theNo. 2regional seed in Eugene, Oregon. The Wildcats hadtogotoNorth

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Between in-home classes, the Rose kids trained and remained mindful of their diets. Her parents used what they learned from then-Auburn assistant Dennis Shaver,who is now the LSU’shead coach. Michaela Rosedidn’tcommittoLSU because of that familiarity.Her decision rested more on therelationship with Franks, her distance coach. One of their ﬁrst interactions was avirtual campus visit during the COVID-19 pandemic. He aimed his phone’scamera around the school grounds as assistant coach Tamara Ards drove the golf cart. After ameticulous college searchand some prayer,Michaela Rose chose LSU for her education and athleticdevelopment She knew her Olympic hopes as a middle-distance runner depended

Carolina for their super regional and lost 18-2inthe opener.They won the next two, beatingthe Tar Heels4-3 in theﬁnale after erasing a3-1 deﬁcitinthe eighthinning.

Three other formerPac-12 schools —ArizonaState, Oregon and SouthernCalifornia— didn’t advance past regionals.

Arizona meets Coastal Carolina (53-11) in the CWSopener Friday afternoon with Oregon Stateplaying Louisville (40-22) at night

UCLA squares off with Murray State (44-15) on Saturdayafternoon andLSU (48-15) takes on Arkansas (48-13), theonly remaining SECteams, at night.

For LSU coach Jay Johnson, it will be old homeweek in Omaha.

He’s aCalifornia native who lived his entire life in the West before theTigers hired him in June 2021.

He coached at Nevadaand Arizona, leading the Wildcatstothe ‘21 CWS.

“I know the brand of baseball out there, something I’mproud of,” Johnson said.“It’s where Ireally cutmyteeth against some of those greatcoaches, and it’ll be fun to see them out there” in Omaha.

Oregon State coach MitchCanham was the catcher on the Pat Casey-coached teams that won nationalchampionships in 2006 and ‘07 at RosenblattStadium. Casey and theBeavers also wonthe title at the current CWS stadium in 2018,when Canham wasmanaging in the minor leagues.

“Omahaisin the Beaver blood, man,” Canhamsaid.“It’llbethe ﬁrst time stepping in that stadium for me and each and every one of these guys, other than Zak Taylor,” referring to hisdirector of baseball developmentwho played on

the2018 team.

Canon Reeder,who hit athreerunhomer in the Beavers’14-10 winoverFlorida State on Sunday, said he and his teammates formed aunique bond through the challenges of aseason spent mostly on theroad.

“Tobeinthe position wherewe are, youhavetotakea step back andappreciate what you’ve done andwhere we’vecome this season,” he said. “Job’snot ﬁnished. There’seight teams left and we want to be thelast one standing.”

Arizona coach Chip Hale, an infielder on theWildcats’ 1986 championship team andinhis fourthseason as coach, said he’s impressedwith howhis team responded to the ups and downs of the first year in the Big 12. The Wildcats opened 0-3, won 17 of their next 18 andlost ﬁve of six late in theseason.

“Wehit some real roadblocks along the way and it ended up being ablessing to us because we got hot at the right time,” Hale said.

The CWS berth is especially meaningful to Mason White,who leadsthe Wildcats witha .332battingaverage, 19 homers and 72 RBIs.Hegrew up afan in Tucson, recalling that he watched every game when Arizona won the 2012 titleand in 2016 when it lost to Coastal Carolina in theCWS ﬁnals. Hisfather,Ben White, played for Arizonafrom1993-96 andhis grandfather,Tim White, lettered in 1968.

“Tobeathird-generation guy to go to Omaha, I’m the ﬁrst one of my dad and grandpa to get to go,” he said. “It’s almost like adream.I just can’tbelieve it.”

more on her training than natural ability

Despite being themost successful runner in her family,her dad said she’sthe least athletically gifted. Franks saidsomething similar several months agoinameeting with the distance team

FANS INVITED TO SEND OFFTIGERS

The LSUTigersare leaving forOmaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, and Tigers fans are invited to Alex Box Stadium to see them offontheir trip to the CollegeWorld Series. Fans are encouraged to arrive at the ballpark by 9:15 a.m. near Gate 1.Those coming to campus forthe send- offmay parkinthe Hall of Fame lot on the third-base side of the stadium

LSU

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for aTigers lineup that at times has struggled against left-handed pitching. Against Arkansas, theTigerswere11for 44 against lefties. If Root is out of the game, Arkansas has options in the bullpen. The Razorbacks have six pitchers with an ERA less than 4.00 who have made at least 14 appearances this season. Righthander Christian Foutch leads theteam in saves with four despite having a4.15 ERA. LSU will also have its hands full on the other side of the ball. Arkansas has one of the most explosive lineups in the nation. They’re fourth in the country in home runs and ﬁnished ﬁrst in the Southeastern Conference in batting average and slugging percentage.

Shortstop WehiwaAloyleads thecharge for their attack. He’s ﬁrst on theteaminhomeruns and slugging percentage and is acritical part of their defense at shortstop.

Seven Razorbacks have at least 13 home runs this season, including outfieldersCharles Davalanand Logan Maxwell, designated hitterKuhioAloy andinﬁelder Cam Kozeal. Kuhio is Wehiwa’syounger brother and leads the team in RBIs.

Murray State

The Racers, in many respects, are the opposite of ateam like Arkansas or LSU.

Murray State had to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournamentjusttoreach the NCAA Tournament.But once they punched its ticket into the dance, the Racers never looked back, defeating Georgia Tech and Ole Miss twice to winthe Oxford regional before coming back from aGame 1loss to defeat Duke in the Durham super regional. The strength of the Racers is their offense. They’re top-30 in the country in batting average and on-base percentage while being ﬁfth in doubles. Eight of theirninestarters have started at least 57 games. Center ﬁelder Jonathan Hogart leads the way with a1.162 onbaseplus slugging percentage and team-high 22 home runs. Second baseman Dom Decker is first on the team in batting average and has a.504 on-base percentage. The only Racer who has started at least10games andhas

The Tigers’ team buses will departfor Baton RougeMetro Airportat9:30 a.m. No.6-seeded LSU(48-15) swept West Virginia 16-9 and 12-5 in the NCAA Baton Rouge superregional over the weekend to qualify forthe Tigers’ 20th CWS appearance.LSU opens play at 6p.m. SaturdayinOmaha against No.3 Arkansas on ESPN. ScottRabalais

an OPS under .790 is outﬁelder Jackson McCoy Junior right-hander Nic SchutteisMurrayState’s ace, but the Tigers would likely face right-hander Isaac Silva if the two sides face off Monday.Silva surrendered six earned runs in 51/3 innings last weekagainst Duke after giving up three earned runs in four innings the week before facing Ole Miss. In thebullpen,MurrayState lacks quality depth. It doesn’t have apitcher who has made at least 10 appearances and has an ERA under 4.30. Right-hander Graham Kelham leads the Racers in outings with 23.

UCLA

UCLA has not been to the College World Seriessince 2013, but coach John Savage knows a thing or two about Omaha. The Bruins made it to the College World Series three times in four years beginning in 2010 under Savage, winning the program’sﬁrst national championship in 2013.

Heading into 2025, they had only made one super regional since winning the title, but the Bruins ended their Omaha droughtthisyearafter taking down UTSA in the Los Angeles super regional. UCLA heads to the College WorldSeries with one of the best hitters in the field in Roch Cholowsky.The shortstop leads the Bruins with a.742 slugging percentage, .367 batting average, 23 home runs and a.494 OBP Cholowsky is surrounded by a lineup that includesthird baseman Roman Martin andleft fielder Dean West. Both hitters have better than a.450 OBP and are hitting over .310. Besides Cholowsky,first baseman Mulivai Levu and outfielder AJ Salgado are the only Bruins with double-digit home runs. Right-hander Michael Barnett leads the UCLA pitching staff. Butifitfaces LSU on Monday, right-hander Landon Stump will likely start. Stump didn’t allow arun in four innings on Sunday against UTSA, posting a 4.54 ERA in 731/3 innings on the year.He’ssurrendered more than three runs in an outing just twice this season. Out of the bullpen, UCLA has someintriguing pieces. Righthander Jack O’Connor holds a1.80 ERA in 24 appearances while right-hander Cal Randall has an ERA of 3.09 in 26 outings. Email Koki Riley at Koki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

MurrayState pitcher Graham Kelham celebrates with catcher Will Vierlingafter a 9-6 winoverOle Miss during a regional game on May30in Oxford, Miss.

Rosewas fast but lacked aerobic capacity andoverall strength. At her ﬁrst 800-meter competition at LSU, she wascrushed after not making the ﬁnal. In freshman year practices, she was in back of the pack in drills as her endurance was tested.

Lastyear,she lost at the indoor NCAA championships after a lackluster kick, the ﬁnal push near theend of arace.

Anyshortcoming in the last four years only sharpened her focus.

“She’svery talented, but her best talents are her focus, her drive, her dedication,” Franks said.

“Michaela, she’snot themost talented person,” Roserecalled him saying. “She’shere because of her hard work.

“And Iwas like, ‘You know what, that is so true’ because I’ve seen alot of parts in my life where Istruggled because just people were better than me.”

Striving forexcellence is true off the track. Michael Rose Sr recalled hisdaughter crying as a kid when she hit the wrong note in choir rehearsal at Mount Carmel BaptistChurch.

“Pretty much every part of her life, you know,she practiced,” he said. “So when it’stimefor her to perform, whether in the classroom,whether it’sonthe track, whether it’sinchurch, wherever

she goes, she wants to makesure that she’sgiving the best.”

The inspiration to do her best reached anew high after an underwhelming freshman year,by her standards.

That summer,she earned a bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the World Athletics U20championships in 2022. But seconds before she earned amedal in Colombia, an uncharacteristic smile crossed her face.

Awave agratitude washed over her

Her reason forputting in copious hours in the sport she loved changed suddenly.Becoming a future Olympian took abackseat to her new guiding light that she’ll carry to Eugene.

“My motivation used to be, ‘I want to be the best,’ but now Isee apurpose greater than that,” Michaela said.

“I see track and ﬁeld as aministry forme.”

Email Toyloy Brown IIIattoyloy brown@theadvocate.com

PROVIDED PHOTO LSU’sMichaela Rose leads the wayduring arecent 800-meter run.

LIVING

Restaurant Week showssummerdining at itsbest, seeideas to make plans

Here’sone idea: Start with thegumbo, because it’sgumbo ya-ya,and you’re at Mr.B’s Bistro,amodernclassic in theFrench Quarter.Then maybe it’sseared trout,gently modernized butunmistakably Creole, and lemon ice boxpie toﬁnish this three-course summer supper,a reminder of the greatnessofa cuisineNew Orleans calls its own Another option: On the other side of theQuarter, settle in at the deeply atmospheric Cane &Table for ceviche, duckwithguava reduction and amango tart and afresh interpretation of the city’s Caribbean connection, with adestination-worthycocktail program to boot. These are two among hundreds of possible eating itineraries duringNew Orleans Restaurant Week. The citywide dining promotion returns June 16-23,coordinated by the LouisianaRestaurant Association and New Orleans&Co., the tourism marketingand sales agency.

How it works

More than 100 restaurants have signed up to participate this year,all of them offering multicourse, set price menus. Many have multiple versions, changing up for lunch, brunch and dinner Simple math means there’salot on the table

In achange from the last fewyears, Restaurant Week againhas setprice (aka prix ﬁxe) menus. Here’show that works:

n Two-course lunch, $25 or less

n Two-course brunch, $36 or less

n Three-course dinner,$32 or less (think casual restaurants) n Premium three-course dinner,$56 (more upscale restaurants).

How to cut in? After alook at this year’smenus, Ihave afew ideas below

Summer glory

It’s coming along at the right time. Summer is anotoriously difﬁcult time forlocal restaurants, and they need the business. But what deservesmoreattention is the pleasure of dining out in NewOrleans in the summertime.

Many chefscallsummer their favorite season forcooking because of thequalityoflocal produce and seafood they get.

Reservationbooks arelooser,and often so are

ä See WEEK, page 2D

BITESINBRIEF: By IANMcNULTy Email him at imcnulty@theadvocate.com

Covering the New Orleansfood scenemeans encounteringclassics,surprises, moments and memories.Here’safew quick hits from my notebook of late.

Arecent dinner has me newly in praise of the early dinner reservation, especiallywhen it makes room for ashow afterward. The restaurant was Sylvain, 625 Chartres St., (504) 265-8123, the table was for 6 p.m., and “the show” that followed was avista of the Mississippi River where it makes its crescent curve below the French Quarter as sunset turned to evening, with a go-cup in hand. It gave me renewed appreciation for arestaurant

I’velongbeen drawn to in the French Quarter, andalso for the evocative power of ourcity,perhaps especially in its quieter span of summer I’vebeen goingtoSyl-

The striped bass with crab, asparagus and leeks has a crisp seared crust at Sylvain.

vain periodically since it opened 15 years ago, a shocking stat toconsider because it still feels so fresh today

The beef is from Chicago, the bread is theNew Orleansclassic and the sandwich is aspecial at a downtown dive bar witha lot of character and agenerous streak. It’sanItalian beef, the Chicagoland sandwich that’sbecome anational phenom thanks to its role in theHulu chef-life series “The Bear.” It’sa lunchtime special through themonth of June at the World FamousCorporation Bar &Grill, 931 S. PetersSt., (504) 527-6069. The Corporation has

An Italianbeef sandwich is a specialasa fundraiser at the WorldFamous Corporation Bar &Grill.

RIGHT: PadThai with seared scallops and shrimp is a twist on aclassic at Good Catch Thai Urban Bistroin NewOrleans.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

ABOVE: Gumboya-yafrom Mr.B’s restaurantinthe French Quarter

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Champagneisput on ice for afestivelunch at Antoine’s, the oldest restaurant in NewOrleans.

STAFF PHOTO By IANMcNULTy

STAFFPHOTO By IAN McNULTy

IAN McNULTY Staff writer

STAFFPHOTO By

IAN McNULTy

SYLVAIN

Continued from page1D

ButSylvain has alwaysbeen a blend of the timeless, in itsold bones and graceful architecture, and themodern, in an approach freeoftouristy cliché, even though it’sright by Jackson Square, tourist central.

Cocktailsand comfortfood

Start with acocktail.Inone calledthe four tempers, the taste of snap pea and agrassy, ﬂoralAlpeggio liqueur gave a whiff of summer freshness over its rum base.

The Pho-lomo, along, tall sipperwith Vietnamese Song Cai ﬂoral gin and citrus, had a refreshing ﬁzz well-tunedtothe weather,all smooth and light, tasting the way seersucker feels in the summer It also felt in sync with the crunchy green cabbage salad, Southeast Asianinstyle,strewed withcilantroand peanuts between fried shallots (with added optional mushrooms to boost the umami) and ajalapeno spice that built stealthily Fried greentomatoes are cut thin as chips and stay crisp, carrying portions of shrimp rémoulade, asubtle update on the classic created at the dearly departed Upperline restaurant.

The head-turning dish here now is aseared striped bass,

FAMOUS

Continued from page1D

getting fancy about it. The Italianbeef has entered the lineup through aHogs for the Cause connection.

The bar owners aremembers and big sponsors of ateam at the charity barbecue cook-off, House of Hogs. These teamsare active year-round raisingmoney for Hogs, which is the nation’s leading funder supporting families contending with childhood brain cancer Team co-founder Sam Panice reached back to his hometown roots in Chicago for the Italian beef idea, capitalizing on its newfound cachet to raisemore money

This sandwich is abeauty.The meat is from Bari Beef, alongstanding supplier of Italian beef in Chicago. Youcan get it with crunchy-spicy giardiniera or without and with cheese, something of acontroversial addition to Italian beef devotees. The beef is wavy,soft and whispery thin. The Corp serves

with aburnished surface that crackles over thedelicateﬁsh.

Joined byleeksand asparagus, interspersed with crabmeat, it feels both refreshingly different and also at home in aNew Orleans restaurant.

Afew dishes from the original Sylvain menuremain, andone is the timeless pappardelle Bolognese, homestyleand heartyin its savor andspice, with delicate noodlesgivingasatisfying slurp.

Next course:ago-cup

Dessert was another drink, this time to go: the Sylvain cola, which is simply anot fancy bourbon (Evan Williams) and cola (fancier,made in house), which hits not too sweet, and plentystrong. Thus equipped, it was afew cobblestonestepstoJackson Square,pastthe nowfamiliar trafﬁcbarriers (desperately in needofamorehistorically elegantsolution), andover to the riverfront

Peoplewere gathered on steps watchingthe river as thesun, setting behind us, painted the moving water and sailing clouds and passingvessels in changing hues.Bythe time theCreole Queen paddle wheeler chugged past with its nighttime lights glowing, Ipractically wanted to stand andapplaud

Instead, this show ended with a toast of theSylvainsodago-cup andagratiﬁed feeling headed home

it with acup ofjus,the gravy,on theside. Youcan dip it (theway Panice prefers) or youcan pour it all over the sandwich, which is closer to what Chicago makers call dunked,when they submerge the whole sandwich. The bread is apistolette from Leidenheimer Baking Co. It’s toasted on thegrill, and it’supto the task of temporarily corralling the ﬁllings.

TheItalian beef is $15, with proceeds beneﬁtsHouse of Hogs, which has itsown nonproﬁt status.Itcomes with fries, which are crinkle style and right from thebag.But let your sandwich dribble jusover the basket, andnow you havejus fries, and that’sadifferent story

TheCorp gives off late-night vibes atany hour,thoughfor nowthe kitchen isopen only during theday,from 11 a.m. to 4p.m.Bythe register, there’sa tray of chocolate chip cookies, individually packedinplastic bags that look andtastelike they came from afamily bake sale. Adive bar with itsown cookies? No wonder this place is world famous.

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday,June 11, the162nd day of 2025. There are 203 days left in theyear

Todayinhistory: On June 11, 1963, the University of Alabama was desegregated as Vivian Malone and James Hood becamethe ﬁrst two Black studentsallowed to enroll in classes; Alabama segregationist and Gov George Wallace initially blocked thedoorway to the auditorium where course registration was takingplace, delivering aspeech before deferring to National Guard orders to move.

Also on this date: In 1776, theSecond Continental Congress appointed theCommittee of Five (composed of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman) to draft adeclaration of independence from Great Britain,tobecompleted in

thesubsequent17days. In 1955, in motor racing’sworst disaster,more than 80 people were killed during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Francewhen two cars collided and crashed into spectators.

In 1962, Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and JohnAnglin, prisoners at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay,staged an escape, leaving the island on a makeshift raft. They werenever found or heard from again.

In 1963, Vietnamese Buddhist monkThich Quang Duclit himself on ﬁre on aSaigon street as aprotestagainst the Vietnamese government’spersecution of Buddhists.

In 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the ﬁrst British prime minister in over 160 years to win a third consecutive term of ofﬁce as her Conservative Party held onto a reduced majority in Parliament.

In 2001, Timothy McVeigh, 33, was executed by lethal injection

at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, forthe 1995 OklahomaCity bombing that killed 168 people. In 2009, with swine flu reported in morethan 70 nations, the World Health Organization declared the first global flu pandemic in 41 years. Today’sBirthdays: Drummer Bernard Purdie is 86. International Motorsports Hall of Famer Jackie Stewart is

Continuedfrom page1D

ourown social calendars.It’sa good time to gettogether andhit that spot that’s been on your list to tryorrevisit.

Thepacingofsummerisalso part of the enjoyment —it’sabout taking time to appreciate theblend of only-in-New Orleanstradition, next-generation culinary creativity and increasingly diverse global ﬂavors that animate the dining scene now

That’swhat makes this city such adrawfor foodiesinthe busy times,and Restaurant Week helps frame that in summer Fancy adrink?

Restaurants can work theirown styles within this framework, and often they add extras.

Antoine’s, for instance, will tack on bottomless mimosas andsparkling wine at brunchfor $20, or even real-deal Champagne for $40.

The Bayou Bar,the historic tavern inside the Pontchartrain Hotel where theSaints’ NFL franchise was born, has athree-course wine pairing option also for an additional $30. And if you’re keen to try the Portuguese dishes at Emeril Lagasse’snew 34 Restaurant&Bar, lunch and dinner set menus offer atourand dinnerhas a$25 Portuguese wine pairing option (including port, of course).

A“welcome cocktail” is included at Tujague’s(aSazeracorFrench

75),atBirdy’sBehind theBower oneofthe courses fora $19brunch deal is aspiked coffee cocktail.

Menu preview

Likethe twoexamples at the top, Restaurant Week spots can take you from traditional to modern, andsometimes even within the samemenu. Whenwas thelasttime you did breakfast at Brennan’s? This breakfast is really brunch, and the French Quarter landmark has a two-course brunch deal next to its dinner offer,where you can get a taste of what newly installed executive chef Kris Padalino hasbeen up to. Afew early tastes have been highly impressive. Would you book amulticourse meal around one dish? Restaurant Week dishes abound with signature dishes, someofthem bucket listtastes. That’scertainly true of thefriedchickenatDooky Chase’s Restaurant, the Treme landmark. And the peppermintPatti dessert rounding out the menu at neighboring Gabrielle Restaurant has its own pedigree, going back to the1990s as atribute to the owner of an even older restaurant (Patti Constantin of the long-gone Constantin’sRestaurant).

High proﬁle to hidden gems

The range of restaurants participating is impressive in variety this year,running from luxury restaurantswith bargain deals (the nor-

mally opulent Nobu, for instance, and Miss River) to more affordablespots packaging multicourse feasts.

In Mid-City,for instance, there’s acasual cluster that includes Vessel (for cocktails in an old church), Rosella (a modern take on the corner joint), Clesi’sSeafood (to taste its menubeyond the boiler), Katie’s(which includes awhole pizza andthreemorecourses), Boswell’s Jamaican Grill (for jerk ﬂavor galore) and Blue Oak BBQ (with two courses of smoked meats).

Youcan start ameal with the hummus withpitafrom the woodfiredoven at Shaya; or see what happens when aCreole grande damegoesoff theusual script, as at Arnaud’swith tuna tartar and the kitchen’sscallops St. Jacques making its perennial appearance; or try the “sets” of Thai dishes assembled by Good CatchUrban Thai Bistro at each price point, $25 (lunch), $32 or $56 (both dinner options).

Youcan see what the buzz is aboutatthe Elysian Bar, which was ranked No.2inthe nation for hotel bars this year by Food +Wine (after the famous King Cole Bar at the St. Regis in New York). This “bar” is actually afull-ﬂedged restaurant, with Restaurant Week brunch and dinnermenus (the latterfeaturing littleneck clams, which caught this clam lover’sattention).

See all the Restaurant Week menus and service details per restaurant at neworleans.com.

Email IanMcNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By IANMcNULTy

The courtyard at the restaurant Sylvain is an atmospheric space in the French Quarter

n The Best of the Fest

Billed “A Cultural Affair,” the2025 Jazz& Heritage Gala made groove the“go”atGenerations Hall.Inhuge lighted letters, “JAZZ FEST” welcomed the partying pack in support of the New Orleans Jazz &HeritageFoundation, Inc. Proceeds from the galawill beneﬁt the Heritage School of Music.

All three of the hall’slargespaces rocked with the revelry thatstarted at the 6p.m. patron party. Alignedwiththe celebrationof Mexico during the Shell-presented JazzFest, the sounds, dancing,food,and drinks were respectively by Mariachi Jalisco, Vive Mi Tierra, MAWI Tortillas, and Eve Marie. An hour later,and on the Hancock Whitney Stage, JonCleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen –featuring Cornell Williams, JamisonRoss, Xavier Lynn, Nigel Hall and PedroSegunda –furthered the musical momentum. Elsewhere, NaydjaCoJoe &the Lagniappe Section did the same on the GiaMaionePrimaStage Back to the formerstage itwas at 8p.m. for the 2025 Champion of Culture Awards Ceremony, which honored Sharon Martin, James Andrews, and Belinda Flores Shinshillas.Although, the official month for the season’s start was weeks away,“Summertime” resonated on thatstagemoments later as played by Derek Douget, Grayson Brockcamp,Andrew Baham,RickySebastian, Michael Pellera and Tonya Boyd Cannon of the HeritageSchool of Music All-Stars. At the oppositeend of Generations Hall, The OhioPlayers ignitedthe GiaMaionePrimaStage with“ProudMary.” Thebelt-out ballard gotpeople gyrating like crazy.Line dancing followed. Meanwhile, thefood stations beckoned throughout, as did theauction. Noted making rounds were GH’s GeorgeDemmas, Dickie Brennan, Terryand Beth Arroyo Utterback, Kathleen Maumus, Donna KayBerger,Kim Boyle (whose dress featured music notes), GinnyWise and Kevin Wilkins, and Mark Vicknair and MindyBrickman.Tomention avery few TopFest names are producer/director Quint Davis and JayMarciano, COO, AEG, chairman and CEO, AEGPresents. Foundation VIPs are CEO Blake-AnthonyJohnson, boardpresident Rachel F. Cousin,and officers Sidney H. Cates IV, J.R. Pegues and Ellen M. Lee,all heading up the 25-person board of directors. Abhi Bhansali, Kelly B. Dixon, Daniel Hammer,Sunni LeBeouf, FrederickB Palmer,Morkeith Phillips and Jamison Ross figure on the advisory council. Another high-profile name is that of Gretchen Watkins,President,Shell USA, Inc., who stated in theFest’sofficial program, “At Shell in theUSA,wevalue and are honored to celebrate our 20th year in partnership with Jazz Fest.” (On August 1, NewOrleanian Colette Hirstius,whoselocal alma matersare St.Mary’sDominican High School and Tulane University,will succeed Watkins as president.)

The gala’srewards were sizable on multiple fronts and ushered in two outstanding weekends, and 650 performances, for what Quint Davis described as “Like no other Festivalin the world.”

n Spring Fling

The Audubon TeaRoom was the site for the night for the two-fold fun of Mount Carmel Academy.Cocktail attire was the dress for the event that commenced with apatron party before segueinginto the gala and Sugar Shaker’ssounds. Live and silent auctions, libations stations, fine dining from 16 noted New Orleans restaurants,and the décor of the senior class’ssignature shades of blue, with touches of red, fused ever so festively.More embellishment came from the floral arrangements by IRIS, and fanciful paper flower displays. All this was admired, as were the 130 silent auction items that had Suzy and Frank Donaldson as purchasers of artwork by George Rodrigue, and Susan Lepine as thetop bidder for afive-night stay at Pensacola’sRegency Towers donated by Arlea and Troy Keller As for the exciting array of raffles, Gina Perret copped a$4,500 vacation “of the winner’schoosing.”

Headliners were school president Sister Camille Anne Campbell, Sister Lawrence Habetz andSister Sheila Undang,all O. Carm., along with culinary co-chairs Arlea and Troy Kellerand GinaHuguet Also Tiffanyand JoeCaldarera, Dottie and Ricky Loupe, Nicole Chauvin and Billy Slaughter,Holly Bethay, Melanie and JoeStephens, Blaine and Chad Moncrief, Kim and Wayne Durr, Michelle and Paul Reuter,Judy and Bob Quinilty,Thomas Loehn anda host of MCA merrymakers, who, as thebashmoved along, did so on the dance ﬂoor.

Nell Nolan SOCIETY

n AndAll that Jazz Brunch

Years ago,25 “charming couples” huddled to propose adancing party –in thedaytime. And to announce spring. What resulted was The 25 Club’s leisurely seated brunch with great jazzmusic. “Perfect for conversation and dancing,” stated amember The 2025 annual Jazz Brunch took place at Ralph’sonthe Park with, as committee cohorts, PennyBaumer, Meredith Carriere, Eileen Gambel, MargaretLouise Hogan, John Ormond, Issie Betz Smith, and Chris Zazulak Spouses or special guests joined them.Sodid Pat Denechaud, Patrick and Cody Riess Washburn, Rebecca Metzinger,NenaKey and Eric Bay, Melissa and Bruce Gordon,Sue and Bruce Senter, Linda and Alan Brackett, Marie and TimJacquet, Debbieand Jamie Reily, Kathleen and Jim Wilbert, Christine and Otto Briede,Adrienne Rynning,Charlene and Wade Walk, Denise and ChetMehurin, Laurie and Sam Oliphant, Lizand Jim Haley,Terryand John Olivier, MaryBeth and Seth Nehrbass, Charlotte and Chris Dorion, and Donna Bossier and Peter Gambel. “The perfect blend of elegance, tradition and pure fun,” said Donna in summary.

Further features included pre-brunch cocktails on the balcony overlooking City Park’smajestic oak trees, the attendees’ white linen suits and spring dresses, party favors of small organza bags ﬁlled with hard candies in spring colors, an extensive brunch menu, and music by Swingaroux. “Let the Good TimesRoll” was ahit number, and also asymbolic one for the club that dates back to 1941. Showcased at the brunch were original 25 Club memorabilia, along with Helene Tebo‘s blue suitcase to store them.

n ASustainer salute

Each year,the Junior League of New Orleans hails its Sustainer of the Year at aMint Julep soiree. The mostrecent accolades were for MegCharbonnet, whosucceeded KathyEastman last year and Elizabeth “Liz” Hadden Creel in 2023. Both were former League presidents. The recognition tapsa“Sustaining member whoexempliﬁes the organization’s educational and charitable mission.” Liz, League president from 2005-2006, hosted thereception at the stunning Garden District homethat she shares with husband Dr Terry Creel. He wasin attendance as was honoree Meg’shusband, Hunter. Also making rounds, and receiving congratulations, was Michelle ClarkePayne,

who becamethe 2025-2026 president at the 101st annual Passing of the Gavel ceremony held in the organization’sheadquarters. Roundly applauded was outgoing president Tara Waldron

Kelly Dixon, AnthonySylvester,Caryn Rodgers Battiste

Rhesa and Alden McDonald,Brittany Major

Sunni LeBoeuf, Skipper Bond

PHOTOSByMARy STROUT

Blake-AnthonyJohnson, TimPoche, Rachel Cousin, Billy Hoffman

Angie Bowlin, MartinRobinson

John Ormond, Isabelle Betz Smith, Margaret Louise Hogan

AllisonRussell Waldron, Marvin Russell

PHOTOSByJEFF STROUT

Linda and Alan Brackett, PennyBaumer,Adrienne Rynning

Jamie Falcon, Bill Deris, Denise Crespo

Maria and Arthur Grundmeyer

Norman and Melissa McEvers

PHOTOSByMARy STROUT

BethAnn Simno, Sister Camille Anne Campbell, Ginaand Eddie Perret

Michelle ClarkePayne

STAFFPHOTOSByNELL NOLAN Meg and Hunter Charbonnet

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Focusing on what you can afford will help you dodge getting involved with a risky joint venture. Keep an open mind, but refuse to let anyone pressure you into participating in something that isn't right for you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Be specific and accommodating if you want to get your point across. Participate in causes that resonate with you, and you'll connect with someone unique. Romance is favored.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) A passionate approach to whatever you pursue will pay off. Stand tall, be proud and make your point heard. A distinctive plan will separate you from any competitor.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Keep to yourself. You'llgaingroundifyouplaytheroleofa sounding board reflecting and directing without trying to control. Your best resultswillcomefromself-improvement projects.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Show respect, and you'll gain respect. Charm and persuasive tactics can do wonders initially, but you'll need a backup plan if you want to go the distance. No lazy Libra tactics will suffice; you must deliver the goods.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Set your sights on a financial goal and put a solid plan together. Leave nothing to chance or in someone else's hands. Do the work and finish what you start; everything else will fall into place.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Keep emotions under control and your mind on what you want to achieve. Expect dis-

tractions and false information, and be ready to deal with them. Success is within reach if you finish what you start.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Distance yourself from negativity and people who cause chaos. You have plenty to gain if you maintain a positive attitude and a willingness to compromise. Opportunity knocks, so answer the door.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take on a challenge and show everyone your capabilities.Yourinputcanleadtoanewideaand position you for future opportunities. Be the one to lead the way; a positive change will enrich your life.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Pay more attention to domestic issues. Discipline will be necessary to divert negativity and opposition. Listen to complaints, show compassion and offer solutions. Don't be afraid to compromise.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Stay alert and be aware of what everyone around you is doing and saying. Someone will try to take advantage of you. Take care of your responsibilities and protect your rights. Travel and learning are favored.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Don't overextend yourself. Stick to the facts, promise what's doable and walk away from unpredictable situations. Pay attention to money matters. Protect yourself and your assets.

FAMILY CIrCUS

TODAy'S CLUE: N EQUALS F

CeLebrItY CIpher

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Bobby Moore, who was captain of the Englandsoccer team that won theWorld Cup in 1966, said, “If you never concede agoal, you’re going to win more games thanyou lose.”

That is certainly true in soccer, but not inbridge.Thereisanoldsayingthatruns along these lines: If you watch abeginner play in three no-trump, he wins the first eight tricksand loses the last five. In contrast, an expert loses the first four and wins the lastnine. Obviously, that is not exactlytrue, but it makes avalidpoint. How is that agood hint to thisthreeno-trump contract afterWest leads the spade queen to dummy’ssingleton king?

NoteNorth’sthree-no-trumpresponse. Without West’s intervention, it wouldbe automatic. It should be even after West’s overcall.EvenifWesthasspadesheaded by theA-Q-J-10, he is unlikely to leadthe ace. And five clubs is along wayoff.

Southstartswith five top tricks: two spades, one heart,one diamond and one club. He needs to make useofdummy’s clubs. Butdeclarer must lose at least one club trickwhatever happens. Anda good general rule in no-trump is that if you must lose atrick to establishasuit, loseitasquickly as possible, and the first round of the suit is rarely too soon.

Here, South should play alow club fromthe board at trick two. West wins andpersevereswithspades,butdeclarer takes that trick, plays aclubtodummy’s queen, and has nine top tricks. Also, if he reads the end position correctly, he can catch West in an endplay for an overtrick.

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters 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 wordsare not allowed toDAY’s WoRD DEFIcIts: DEF-ih-sits: Deficiencies; disadvantages.

Average mark21words

Time limit 40 minutes

Can you find 28 or morewords in DEFICITS?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —KEELson

gathers not

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato mallard

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Puzzle Answer ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

WiShinG Well

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

2024 Notice of Applicationfor Funding JeffersonParishDepart‐ment of Community De‐velopmentFunding Ap‐plicationunder the LouisianaEmergency So‐lutionsGrantsProgram 2024-2026 TheParishofJefferson Councilisscheduled to ratify the2024 Noticesof FundingAvailability (NOFAs)for theState EmergencySolutions GrantProgram on June 18, 2025. TheParishof Jeffersonisproposing to issueanapplication packagefor theEmer‐gencySolutions Grants Program, (ESGP),admin‐isteredbythe Louisiana HousingCorporation (LHC). Fundingavailable under theEmergency So‐lutionsGrantsProgram canbeusedfor thefol‐lowing purposes:street outreach,emergency shelter, homelessness prevention,rapid rehousingassistance, Homeless Management InformationSystem (HMIS),and administra‐tive activities.Applica‐tionsfor thesefunds throughthe 2024 NOFAs aredue by no laterthan 4:00 p.m. CDTonFriday, July 25, 2025. Forany questionsre‐gardingthisapplication please contactStephanie Brumﬁeldat504-7366262, or visitthe Depart‐ment of Community De‐velopment, 1221 Elm‐wood Park Boulevard, Suite605, Jefferson, Louisiana. Acopyofthe 2024 ESGP Program NOFA is accessible usingthe followinglinks: https://www.lhc.la.gov/ hubfs/Document%20L ibraries/Public%20C omments%20and%20N otices/Funding%20A nnouncements/NOF A%20Emergency%20S olutions%20Grants%20P rogram%20FY%202024. pdf It is anticipatedthatthe applicationwillbesub‐mitted to theLouisiana HousingCorporation priortothe Friday,July 25th2025 deadline HonorableCynthia Lee Sheng Parish President StephanieBrumﬁeld Department of Community Development ACCESSIBILITYNOTICE In accordance with provi‐sionsofthe American with DisabilitiesAct Amendments Actof2008, d d ff

KENNER LEGALS

INVITATION TO BID Sealed Bid No. 25-6907

TheCityofKenner(also referenced as “Kenner”and “Owner”) willreceive sealed bids for: Woodlake Playground ConcessionBuilding Demolition

Theproposed work (“Work”) includes: Complete demolition of existingwood and CMU concessionsarea, demolish existing concrete paving, andelectric power modification in gym

Sealed bids willbereceived until June 24, 2025 by 9:45 AM the City of Kenner in theFinance Department located at: 1610 ReverendRichard Wilson Drive, Building D Kenner,Louisiana 70062

All interested parties are invited to attendthe BidOpening on thesameday at 10:00 a.m.inthe City of Kenner,Building DAuditorium, 1610 Rev. RichardWilson Drive, Kenner Louisiana, at which timethe bids willbepubliclyread. There willbeapre-bid meeting on June 12, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at CityofKenner Building DAuditorium, 1610 Rev.Richard Wilson Drive,Kenner,LA70062. All interested biddersare encouragetoattend. All bids mustbeinaccordance with theContract Documents (which include, butare notlimited to,all documents,sections terms, provisions, andany requirements provided forinthis bid) on file withMeyer

istrict Court Building,421 Loyola Avenue in theFirst Dis‐trictofthe City on July 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowing de‐scribedprop‐erty to wit:

2306 ES‐PLANADEAV NEWORLEANS, LA 70119 LOT29- SQUARE 317 2NDMUNICIPAL DISTRICT ACQMIN: 1264778 WRIT AMOUNT: $825,688.98

Seized in the abovesuit, TERMS- CASH Thepurchaser at themoment of adjudication to make ade‐positoften per‐cent of thepur‐chaseprice,and thebalance within thirty days thereafter

Note:The pay‐ment must be Cash,Cashier's Check, Certiﬁed CheckorMoney Order. No Per‐sonalChecks. FACE MASKS ANDTEMPERA‐TURECHECKS AREREQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING

SusanHutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans RB 3 CARVER DAR‐DENKORETZKY TESSIER FINN BLOSSMAN & AREAUX LLC 504-585-3800 WILLIAMT.FINN

TheN.O.Advo‐cate Date (s): 6/11/2025 & 7/16/2025 jun11-jul16-2t $89.30

SALE

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTIONOF GROUND BEAR‐INGMUNICIPAL NUMBER 20002002 PAINTERS STREET,THIS CITY,INTHE MATTERENTI‐TLED:CITI‐GROUPMORT‐GAGE LOAN TRUST2018-B VERSUS MARY WHITAKER FLEMINGA/K/A MARY W. FLEM‐INGA/K/A MARY FLEMING, ROSE MARY FREDER‐ICKA/K/A ROSE M. FREDERICK A/K/AROSE FREDERICK, LYNN M. WHITKERA/K/A LYNN WHITAKER,ERIC WHITAKER A/K/AERIC WHITAKER, KARENC WHITAKER A/K/AKAREN WHITAKER,AND GARY BURNS, HEIRSOFGLO‐RIAMAE BURNS A/K/A GLORIA M. BURNSA/K/A GLORIA BURNS ANDARTHUR BURNSA/K/A ARTHUR BURNS, JR. CI VI L

OR PA

SH OF OR

AN S Case No: 2024-9203 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure andSaledi‐rected to me by theHonorable Judges of Civil District Court forthe Parish of Orleans, in the aboveentitled cause, Iwillpro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on theground oor of theCivil District Court Building,421 Loyola Avenue in theFirst Dis‐trictofthe City on July 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon,the fol‐lowing de‐scribedprop‐erty to wit: 2000-2002 PAINTERS ST NEWORLEANS,

NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117 LOT: 1018, SQUARE:22-A THIRDMINICI‐PALDISTRICT ACQMIN: 693167 WRIT AMOUNT: $48,848.69

Seized in the abovesuit, TERMS- CASH Thepurchaser at themoment of adjudication to make ade‐positoften per‐cent of thepur‐chaseprice,and thebalance within thirty days thereafter Note:The pay‐ment must be Cash,Cashier's Check, Certiﬁed CheckorMoney Order. No Per‐sonalChecks

Meet with an Install Designer Completethe In-Home Assessment -Location of generator -Sizerequired -How it works -How installhappens - Qualify for financing -Answer questions

Receivea Written Quote -Location of generator -kWsizer report -Install details -Total Price

Schedule Installation -Pick install date -Pay Down Payment -Sign Agreement